Chapter 123 Parents' Love In our generation, there was no such thing as freedom…

"Well, Mr. Zhong has finally gotten what he wanted. It's a good thing..." Lin Huijun sighed, put her arm around her husband's shoulder, and comforted him.

Chen Yongliang's eyes were still red, and he couldn't speak. He turned around, hugged his wife's slender waist, and slowly closed his eyes to calm his emotions.

"Alright, you're all grown up now. Don't act like this in front of the two children." Lin Huijun smiled gently, her soothing gestures were exactly the same, as if she had been doing this for decades.

"I'll make you a bowl of dumpling soup later, and you'll feel better after drinking it."

Chen Mian and Ji Yu sat quietly on the sofa watching. They didn't understand the story between their parents, but they felt like they were being shown a sweet moment.

A moment later, Lin Huijun went to the kitchen to prepare ingredients for the hot pot dinner.

Chen Yongliang also got up and went back to his room to wash his face. When he came back, he was holding a slightly worn collection of essays.

The cover and paper colors show the marks of time, but the overall piece has been carefully maintained.

"Northwest Odyssey? Isn't that your favorite book, Dad?" Chen Mian casually flipped through a few pages. "Why did you suddenly bring it out again..."

Chen Yongliang sat down again, took out several large, whole cloves of raw garlic from his pocket, and slowly peeled them.

This is the job he just got from the kitchen: to mash the peeled garlic cloves into garlic paste, which Lin Huijun will use when making hot pot dipping sauce.

With work to do, his mood calmed down a bit. Perhaps it was the nice weather today, or perhaps it was the sudden passing of his favorite author that left him feeling lost and desolate.

It was rare for Chen Yongliang to open up in front of the children, and he talked about his connection with Zhong Qianshu.

When he was very young, many young people from other places suddenly appeared in the village. Everyone was fair-skinned and clumsy when they worked, and they were obviously different from the villagers.

Meanwhile, several thin, middle-aged men with unshaven beards and unkempt appearances appeared next to the pigsty on the back hill.

Back then, Chen Yongliang didn't have this name; he was called Chen Zhuzi.

His family was poor and he couldn't afford to go to school. Every day, he had to go to the back mountain twice a day, morning and evening, to cut pig feed, hoping to occasionally pick up some mountain produce to have a treat.

It was during that time that he met Mr. Zhong. He cooked for Mr. Zhong and others, and Mr. Zhong taught him to write and read. He also gave him his current name, Yongliang, meaning to always be a kind person.

A few years later, Mr. Zhong was picked up by a car and leaders from the county. Before leaving, he arranged for Chen Yongliang to study at the county's middle school.

Mr. Zhong: I hope we will have the opportunity to meet again in the capital in the future.

"Unfortunately, after finishing high school, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to continue my studies and had to return home to farm."

Now, when the past is brought up again, Chen Yongliang's expression is very calm, as if he were telling a story between two strangers.

But only he himself knows how utterly devastated and humiliated he was back then.

Until... the appearance of Lin Huijun.

Lin Huijun didn't know Zhong Qianshu, but she had heard that he liked reading, so she gave him a newly published collection of essays when they went on a blind date.

Chen Yongliang flipped the book with little interest, then stared blankly at the author's name on the inner page: Zhong Qianshu. He shared the same surname as Mr. Zhong.

Lin Huijun offered a unique way of comforting people: "I know something happened in your family and you're feeling bad. I've heard from others that this book tells the author's own story, which is much more difficult than what you're going through right now."

"When you're feeling down, read this book more often, and you won't feel like your life is so hard."

What Lin Huijun didn't say was that the last essay in the collection was about the author's return home from the Northwest. She reunited with a few close friends, and their days were peaceful and stable, which was a rare kind of happiness.

She hoped that Chen Yongliang could pull himself together.

After returning home, Chen Yongliang sat alone on the doorstep and read the book with great absorption.

Zhong Qianshu, so this is Mr. Zhong's full name.

Chen Yongliang then learned that Mr. Zhong had lost his wife and child almost simultaneously when he came to the village, resulting in the deaths of both.

In his book, he wrote: "The underground is cold and lonely. How I wish I could go with Wan Ning and the child. But before Wan Ning left, she made me swear a poisonous oath, forcing me to live well for her and the child..."

That's why Lin Huijun said that when she saw the obituary, "Mr. Zhong has finally gotten his wish, which is a good thing."

Chen Mian raised her hand and asked, "So, you and my mother got together because of this book?"

She had read about Mr. Zhong's story in a book, but this was the first time she had heard the story behind her parents' meeting.

Chen Yongliang put the peeled garlic cloves into the stone mortar, sprinkled salt on them, and then crushed them vigorously.

With a hint of nostalgia in his eyes and a warm voice as if it had drifted from afar, he said, "After we met, we ran into each other a few more times by chance, but my family was poor and I was not good enough for your mother."

It wasn't until a year later, when the village primary school was short of a teacher, that Chen Yongliang, with the recommendation of the village head, got a formal job and finally dared to propose marriage to the Lin family.

"Then you guys came along..." Chen Yongliang was shy, and when his children pressed him about the story between him and his wife, he felt very embarrassed and didn't want to say any more.

"Alright." Chen Mian withdrew her expectant gaze in disappointment, knowing she wouldn't hear anything from her father.

"I'll go to the kitchen to see how Mom's preparations are going."

She had an idea, got up and walked towards the kitchen, her eyes sparkling, her braid swinging back and forth behind her head.

Ji Yu watched his wife's departing figure with doting eyes, then turned and exchanged a silent glance with his father-in-law.

Not knowing what to say, the air grew increasingly awkward. Ji Yu nervously rubbed her hands, wanting to say something.

His eyes darted around, and suddenly he saw the mop behind the door. He immediately had an idea, got up and started mopping the floor.

Ji Yu: If I have something to do, I won't feel awkward anymore.

In the kitchen, Lin Huijun had almost finished preparing everything; the washed vegetables and chopped meats were neatly arranged on plates.

Chen Mian looked around, her gossipy heart eager to ask, "Mom, how exactly did you and Dad get together?"

Lin Huijun looked shy, turned her back, and said vaguely, "We met through a blind date."

"That's it?" Chen Mian asked disappointedly after waiting for a long time without hearing any further news.

"No, in our time, there was no such thing as free love. It was all arranged by family."

Seeing that her daughter wanted to continue asking questions, Lin Huijun quickly changed the subject, "I learned a new hot pot soup base today..."

Worried that her daughter would be unhealthy from eating too much oily and spicy food, she made a very light soup base today.

Chen Mian shook her mother's arm with a worried look and said coquettishly, "Mom~ This is not hot pot, it's too bland and watery."

"This is a soup base I specially made with beef bones. It's very nourishing. You can have a bowl of soup first."

This is a recipe that Lin Huijun saw on TV; that's how people in the South eat.

Thinly sliced ​​beef is cooked in the original beef bone broth, and the vegetables add their own fresh aroma, creating a unique flavor.

Lin Huijun showed her daughter the dipping sauce she had prepared, which included homemade chili sauce and a small amount of 80% sauce in the seafood broth.

She handed her daughter a pair of chopsticks, "Try it? It tastes different from usual."

Chen Mian took a bite with some skepticism, and her eyes lit up instantly. It had a very refreshing taste, like cold noodles eaten in the summer.

Lin Huijun smiled gently, a few fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes. How could she not know her daughter? She was just a little glutton.

As they were talking, the soup in the pot boiled.

Lin Huijun opened the pot lid, and the rich and fragrant aroma of beef soup wafted out. In addition to beef bones, she also added some radish slices and scallion segments.

She took out a bowl with lotus flowers and leaves printed on it from the cupboard and ladled a bowl of soup for the little glutton to try first.

Chen Mian sat on a small stool in front of the stove, blew on the bowl a few times, and then couldn't wait to drink it.

The first sip was scalding hot; the second sip was delicious; after the third sip, she looked at her mother suspiciously.

"Mom, are you lying to me? This tastes just like the beef noodle soup from my hometown."

Chen Mian came to her senses and felt that something was wrong. Beef bones, scallions, and radish slices—the recipe was exactly the same as the soup for beef noodles. The only thing missing was a few slices of beef floating on top.

Lin Huijun hadn't really thought of this; she had just followed the recipe shown on TV.

She took the bowl from her daughter, took a bite, and said, "It does taste pretty much the same."

"Could it be because southerners don't like noodles, so they cook vegetables and meat in this soup?" Lin Huijun boldly guessed.

"That's how it's portrayed on TV. They even cook kueh teow in it. It looks similar to noodles, and it seems to be made from rice flour."

Listening to her mother's description, Chen Mian became interested in the rice noodles she was talking about.

“Since things have come to this, let’s eat first. If it’s delicious, we can try making kueh teow next time,” Chen Mian said.

Lin Huijun nodded and told her to take a wooden plate and bring over the prepared vegetables and meat.

The dumpling soup in the other pot was also ready. It had beaten eggs, chopped spinach, and diced tomatoes in it, and the taste was slightly sweet and sour.

Chen Mian carried a plate with five or six bowls and plates on it, containing lettuce, cabbage, potato slices, enoki mushrooms, and soaked kelp slices.

"Ji Yu, come quickly and help me pull the curtain closed, I don't have any hands."

In winter, to keep out the cold wind, they would hang a thick curtain outside the door, so that they could keep the door open for ventilation without getting too cold.

The only downside is that it's difficult to open if you're carrying something in your hand when you go in or out.

Upon hearing the sound, Ji Yu quickly opened the curtain, shielded it with her body, and took the plate from Chen Mian's hands.

"I'll do it. You go sit down and rest for a while."

"Okay." With someone else helping, Chen Mian was naturally happy to rest. She sat back down on the sofa and turned on the TV.

Once everything was ready, the four people took their seats in turn.

Pre-cut beef slices only need to be dipped in boiling broth for a few seconds before eating.

Chen Mian first ladled a bowl of beef soup for each person, and then put all kinds of vegetables in to cook.

She picked up her soup bowl and suggested they clink glasses. Lin Huijun and Ji Yu also picked up their soup bowls, while Chen Yongliang's bowl contained dumpling soup.

Chen Mian said with a bright smile, "Family members, I have two pieces of good news to announce!"

"What good news? You're not pregnant, are you?" Lin Huijun asked excitedly.

"Mom, what are you saying? We've only been married a short time." Chen Mian's face flushed under her mother's blunt gaze.

"Ji Yu is going to be the section chief! And the boss has even granted him a month's leave. We're planning to drive to Kashgar for a trip."

"Oh, oh," Lin Huijun said with a hint of disappointment, but she quickly cheered up and congratulated Ji Yu on her promotion with a smile.

Ji Yu offered a bowl of soup instead of wine in return, and explained in a low voice, "Mianmian is still young. I couldn't bear to see her suffer, so I thought I'd wait a few years before having another child."

If a man is capable of having children, he will definitely choose to take on this responsibility for his wife.