Looking at Lin Yongcheng swallows back the words on the tip of his tongue, Han Siqi feels strange and stares at him.
Lin Yongcheng’s eyes flash. He opens mouth but just says, “Nothing. I’ll park the car.” Then he goes out.
Fu Zhengzheng doesn’t notice it. After putting down Fu Xing, she helps her mom to tidy the house covered with a thin layer of dust.
“Your dad’s foot was hurt before the Spring Festival. We spent the Eve in the hospital.” Chen Yuying says while she is wiping a table.
Fu Zhengzheng cleans the floor and asks, “Didn’t my brother come back in the Spring Festival?”
“Your brother is busy all year round. He seldom returns home and always leaves in a hurry even if he spares time to come back. But we don’t ask much about his business in the troop. He calls us once in a while. It’s enough for us to know he is safe.”
“Mom, is my brother still single?”
Chen Yuying stops wiping and sighs, “Talking of it, I’ll be anxious. He is busy in the troop every day and has no time to contact girls. I said to your dad the other day that maybe your brother will devote his life to the troop and remain single all his life. I’ve regret allowing him to join the army.”
“Hush–” Fu Zhengzheng stops her mother grumbling immediately. Turning around to look at the sitting room and finding her dad isn’t watching them, she sighs with relief and says in a low voice, “Mom, if my dad hears it, he will definitely criticize you for your low ideological awareness.”
“He has criticized me for hundreds of times. Each time we talked about that, we would quarrel. If I said too much, he would smash cups and bowls.”
Fu Zhengzheng can’t help laughing, “If so, who do you still say that? You are clear about my dad’s temper. If it’s from another one’s mouth, I’m sure he’ll smash a cup on the person’s face.”
“If he isn’t afraid that nobody will cook dinner for him, perhaps he will smash it on my face. Do you forget how I dealt with your dad before?”
Zhen Mingzhi spent over half of his life in the troop. He can command battles, train soldiers, march and camp, but he can’t cook.
Fu Zhengzheng lived in a military family courtyard with her family in her childhood. She still remembers when her father and mother quarreled, her mother would lie on the bed with pique and did not cook dinner. At the beginning, her father would take her and her brother to dine in the troop canteen. Later, perhaps because laughed at by his comrades-in-arms several times, her father would not take them to dine there in order to save face, even when he quarreled with her mother. She was hungry and always cried and shouted before her father. Unable to do anything about his daughter, he had to apologize to his wife and coaxed her to get up and cook dinner.
Today when her mother mentions it again, she can’t help laughing, “It seems it’s not a completely bad thing that a man can’t cook.”
“I always compromise in the end.” Chen Yuying smiles. She looks at the time and asks, “I have to go to the foot market for groceries. What dish does Xingxing like?”
“Xingxing is not a picky eater.”
“Even so, he must prefer some dishes.”
“So long as a dish contains meat, he’ll like it.”
“Does he prefer stewed meat with brown sauce or stir-fry one?”
“Stir-fry—you see he is slightly plump and can’t eat stewed pork anymore.”
“Kids are not really plump. When they grow tall, they will become thin naturally. I’ll cook stewed pork with brown sauce for Xingxing later.”
Then Chen Yuying takes a basket and is ready to go out.
“Mom, I’ll go with you.”
“You can stay at home to look after Xingxing.”
Fu Zhengzheng doesn’t listen to her but follows her, “No, I want to go. I have to know where the food market is. From tomorrow, shopping and cooking will be exclusive to me.”
Chen Yuying’s eyes become wet, “Alas, honey. You can cook now. You really lived a hard life these years.”
“Well, mom, I have to grow up sooner or later. OK, let’s go.” When walking to the door, Fu Zhengzheng shouts to Han Siqi, “Siqi, I’ll go to the food market with mom. You look after Xingxing and dad at home.”
“OK.” Han Siqi responds.
“Boil water and make tea for my dad.”
“Got it.”
Then Fu Zhengzheng takes over the basket from her mother and steps out with her.
When going out of the yard, they see Lin Yongcheng standing outside and staring at the distance in a trance. Fu Zhengzheng can’t help looking over in the direction of his eyes, but there are only some villas with the same structure as this one in the distance.
Fu Zhengzheng asks curiously, “Yongcheng, what are you looking at?”
Lin Yongcheng withdraws his eyes quickly and prevaricates, “No…nothing. I’m enjoying the landscape.”
Landscape? Can it be regarded as a landscape?
It’s strange. Why does he flush if he is enjoying the landscape?
Fu Zhengzheng walks a few steps with her mother, and then she can’t help turning around to glance at Lin Yongcheng, feeling there is something wrong with him.
Chen Yuying doesn’t notice it. She points to the way ahead and says, “Honey, go straight and turn left, we’ll see the food market.”
“Oh.” Fu Zhengzheng stops thinking about Lin Yongcheng and follows her mother’s steps.
After they buy groceries, Fu Zhengzheng helps her mother trim and wash vegetables. Fu Xing comes to help, asking questions one after another and amusing Fu Zhengzheng and her mother.
When Fu Zhengzheng helps her mother, she casts several glances at the sitting room worriedly.
In the sitting room, there are only Zhen Mingzhi and Han Siqi who are sitting face to face. Han Siqi replenishes tea for Zhen Mingzhi once in a while, and they seem to be in a harmony.
This makes Fu Zhengzheng slightly relieved.
When it’s near noon, Fu Xing can’t resist the temptation of dishes on the table. He runs to the sitting room to call them for lunch.
Han Siqi helps Zhen Mingzhi to walk to the table. Fu Xing has moved the chair, pats it and says, “Grandfather, I have wiped the chair for you.”
Zhen Mingzhi grins from ear to ear. He moves the nearby chair and smiles, “My good grandson, come on. Sit beside me.”
Fu Xing climbs onto it quickly, stands on it and points to the dishes on the table, shouting, “I eat this one; grandfather eats that one; grandmother eats this one; mummy eats this one…”
Fu Zhengzheng brings a dish and comes in. Seeing that, she scolds him immediately, “Xingxing, you are standing on the chair again. You dirty it.”
Zhen Mingzhi defends him at once, “He is only a kid. Don’t restrict him.”
Fu Zhengzheng responds, “Dad, we can’t pamper him just because he is young. If you allow him to do anything at his will, maybe he will dare to pluck your beard.”
Hearing that, Fu Xing looks at Zhen Mingzhi and says in a crisp voice, “Grandfather, I won’t pluck your beard. I will pluck gray hair for you. My eyes are sharp and can see gray hair easily. Grandpa’s gray hair was all plucked by me.”
Zhen Mingzhi hugs Fu Xing and laughs again, “OK. Xingxing is so good.”
Chen Yuying brings a bowl of soup and smiles, “Honey, don’t criticize your dad. Weren’t you doted on in this way in your childhood?”
“Then if your beard is plucked, don’t sue him in front of me.”
While talking and laughing, Fu Zhengzheng takes out bowls and chopsticks from the disinfection cabinet. She is about to scoop rice but is stopped by Zhen Mingzhi.
“Honey, do you forget the rule in our family? The housework should be borne by all of us. Your mom cooks and I scoop rice.”
Fu Zhengzheng disapproves, “But your foot is hurt.”
Understanding Zhen Mingzhi’s meaning, Han Siqi rises quickly to take over the bowl in Fu Zhengzheng’s hand.
“Zhengzheng, I have done nothing. Let me scoop rice.”
Lin Yongcheng goes up at once, “Mr. Han, let me do it.”
Zhen Mingzhi waves and says, “Well, Lin, you are a guest. Take your seat and let Siqi do it.”
Zhen Mingzhi’s words sound as if he doesn’t take Han Siqi as an outsider. Han Siqi feels excited and scoops rice for each of them.
Zhen Mingzhi and Chen Yuying take over the bowls at ease, but Fu Zhengzheng can’t help laughing when she takes over the bowl. Lin Yongcheng stands aside and reaches out early to take over the bowl.
Zhen Mingzhi looks at Han Siqi who is eating in silence and asks suddenly, “Siqi, do you know what dish Zhengzheng likes best?”
Han Siqi is astonished. He turns around to look at Fu Zhengzheng and can’t reply.
He is not a picky eater usually. He eats whatever is cooked at home. In his impression, Fu Zhengzheng is the same.
“I know! I know!” Fu Xing raises his hand right away, “Mummy likes to eat green vegetables, tofu and nori soup.”
Chen Yuying and Zhen Mingzhi are surprised, because their daughter never ate such kinds of food before.
Fu Zhengzheng says embarrassedly, “I couldn’t cook at the beginning, so I chose the simplest ones to learn. Later, I had to look after Xingxing, study and work, so I had to cook the simplest dishes to save time.”
Chen Yuying’s eyes gush out and she begins to complain Zhen Mingzhi, “Old guy, when I told you to put down your face and fetch our daughter back, you quarreled with me. It’s your fault that our daughter suffered so much outside these years. Look, she is skinny now.”
Zhen Mingzhi chokes too. He puts chopsticks down heavily and glares, “I refused to fetch her. Couldn’t you go to fetch her?”
Seeing her parents quarreling for her, Fu Zhengzheng stands up immediately and persuades them with a forced smile, “Dad, mom, I’m healthy now, right? Besides, I have found Siqi. He will take care of me. Don’t worry.”
Han Siqi also stands up and echoes, “Dad, mom, don’t worry. I will take good care of Zhengzheng!”
Zhen Mingzhi scowls at him ruthlessly, “You even don’t know what she likes to eat and do, and how can we be relieved?”
Han Siqi looks at Fu Zhengzheng and feels ashamed.
Indeed, he has never thought of these things.
Fu Zhengzheng rescues him from the embarrassment right away, “Dad, mom, I like to eat anything now. I’m not a picky eater anymore.”
Fu Xing states seriously too, “Grandfather, I am a man too. I will take care of mummy with daddy.”
Zhen Mingzhi touches Fu Xing’s head and feels a little relieved.
After lunch, Fu Zhengzheng picks up bowls and chopsticks actively. Fu Xing is inspired by his mummy and drags Chen Yuying to watch TV with him in the sitting room. Han Siqi helps Zhen Mingzhi to sit in the sitting room and then offers to help Fu Zhengzheng.
When Fu Zhengzheng takes bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen and wants to wipe the table, Han Siqi has walked over to take the rag in her hand and offers to wipe the table.
Han Siqi’s action makes her feel warm, but she knows he has never done such housework, so she says quietly, “It’s dirty. Let me do it.”
But Han Siqi doesn’t obey her. He wipes the table carefully and then walks into the kitchen.
Fu Zhengzheng nudges him out, “It’s enough to wipe the table. You can’t do the kitchen housework.”
“Darling, let me do it and experience your suffering before.” Han Siqi snatches the bowl from her hand and washes it clumsily.
Fu Zhengzheng knows what her parents said today touches him. She feels moved. Then she stands aside and looks at him grabbing the bowl like a loach, which amuses her.
“Give it to me. The bowl is almost scratched by you.”
Fu Zhengzheng wants to take the bowl from his hand, but it slips from her hand.
“Splash!”
“Gosh!”
The bowl drops into the water that is full of cleanser essence and their faces are spattered with bubbles.
Looking at the bubbles on each other’s face, they can’t help laughing.
Han Siqi reaches out to wipe the bubbles for Fu Zhengzheng, but there are more bubbles on his hand, so he makes the situation worse.
“Let me wipe the bubbles for you.”
Fu Zhengzheng pushes him away, grabs bubbles from the water mischievously and applies them on Han Siqi’s face. Looking at his face that is covered with bubbles, she laughs until her belly hurts.
Han Siqi doesn’t show his white feather. He learns from her and applies bubbles on her face too.
When they are playing happily, a heavy cough comes to their ears suddenly…