Chapter 407

That day, Ji Wanmei and Lei Tingjun returned to their home in Pingquan County.

It was almost six o'clock, and Ji Xingguo was still at the factory.

After Ji Wanmei converted the factory into a garment manufacturing plant this year, Ji Xingguo, the factory manager of the 'new factory,' seems to have experienced a second spring in his career.

He devoted himself entirely to the construction and management of the factory, keeping himself extremely busy.

That passion made Ji Wanmei feel as if the old man had become twenty years younger.

But this is a good thing, allowing him to maintain such enthusiasm and dedication to his career even in his fifties.

So, in order to ease her father's worries about daily life and encourage him to pay more attention to healthy eating, Ji Wanmei hired a part-time housekeeper to help with housework.

She comes over every day to do housework and clean, and prepares three meals a day for Ji Xingguo so that he doesn't just eat whatever he wants when he's alone.

The main reason is that Ji Wanmei no longer lives with her father, and he doesn't want to move to Pingdong City with them. He also has high blood pressure, so Ji Wanmei is worried about his health and hired a housekeeper to take care of his daily life.

When Ji Wanmei decided to hire a part-time housekeeper, Ji Xingguo disagreed.

To put her father's mind at ease, Ji Wanmei specially arranged for someone to find the wife of an old worker who had previously quit the factory due to injury.

The country folk were very honest and hardworking. They wanted to earn more money for their son and daughter's education, and they were diligent and capable. Ji Xingguo knew them well, so he reluctantly agreed.

When Ji Wanmei and the others arrived home, Ji Xingguo was not there. Only the aunt was washing clothes in the yard, and the clothes were splashing water on the washboard.

"Aunt Wang, my dad hasn't come back yet."

Ji Wanmei pushed open the door and went in.

Aunt Wang was so engrossed in washing the clothes that she didn't notice the courtyard gate had opened and Ji Wanmei and Lei Tingjun had returned. Upon hearing the voices, she turned around and, seeing them, exclaimed with delight, "Oh, it's Miss and Master back! Factory Director Ji hasn't returned yet; he's probably busy at the factory today and will be back later."

Aunt Wang wiped the water off her hands and saw Lei Tingjun carrying several things. She quickly went over and said, "Sir, let me carry these. Have you and Miss eaten yet? I've already steamed the rice. I didn't know you would be back today, so I'll go and add a few more dishes right away."

Ji Wanmei called out to Aunt Wang, "No need for that, Aunt Wang, let's wait for my dad to come back and eat together."

"Alright, just call me if you need anything. I'll wash these clothes first," Aunt Wang said simply.

Lei Tingjun said, "Hiring a nanny to take care of Dad's daily life was a wise decision. Otherwise, he might come home from work at seven or eight o'clock, eat something quickly, and then rest. His body can't take that."

Ji Wanmei glanced at him: "You have the nerve to talk about my dad like that? Aren't you the same? When I'm not home, have you ever cooked yourself a proper meal?"

When Ji Wanmei wasn't around, Lei Tingjun would either eat with the workers in the construction site canteen or just grab a bowl of noodles or a boxed lunch outside, making do with whatever he could find.

It was only this month, when the two of them were staying at home, that Lei Tingjun finally had the patience to cook three dishes and a soup for her every meal.

The two of them ate decent home-cooked meals for a month.

Lei Tingjun didn't argue: "Since you're not here, I'm eating alone, so there's no need to make a special three-dish-and-one-soup meal."

Eating alone is meaningless; as long as you fill your stomach, that's enough.

Ji Wanmei gently slapped him: "That's why I said you and Comrade Ji Xingguo are the same. You mustn't be like him. Even when I'm not home, you must eat properly."

Lei Tingjun took her hand. "Okay, let's go see what's in the fridge. I'll cook a couple more dishes and wait for Dad to come back."

"Then you go ahead, I'll have Aunt Wang go back first after she finishes washing the clothes."

Aunt Wang usually prepares dinner before Director Ji gets off work, then waits for him to come home to eat dinner, cleans up, and then goes home.

Ji Wanmei walked outside the yard and said to Aunt Wang, "Aunt Wang, Lei Tingjun will cook dinner tonight. After you finish cleaning up here, go home early."

Aunt Wang glanced towards the kitchen and saw a tall man's figure peeking out through the window. She smiled and said, "Sir, you can cook too."

Ji Wanmei nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, we're training him to cook."

Aunt Wang finished hanging up the clothes, said goodbye to them, and left shortly after.

Ji Wanmei returned to the house and leaned against the entrance between the living room and the kitchen, watching the man roll up his sleeves to wash and chop vegetables.

He lowered his head slightly, his straight nose and tightly pursed lips revealing a focused and serious expression.

When he returned from Pingdong City, he was wearing a black wool coat. After entering the kitchen, he took off the coat and was only wearing a black turtleneck sweater.

His sweater sleeves were rolled up, revealing his strong arms. He held a cleaver in his right hand and a potato in his left and right hands, carefully slicing it into thin strips.

A white incandescent light was on in the kitchen ceiling, casting a deep shadow on his profile.

The scene and setting are somewhat psychedelic.

Lei Tingjun noticed Ji Wanmei looking at him, paused his chopping, and turned around: "What's wrong?"

Ji Wanmei smiled and shook her head: "It's nothing. You do your thing, I'll just stay here and watch you."

Lei Tingjun carefully observed the emotion in her eyes, which was very gentle, and then lowered his head to continue chopping vegetables. "Besides this hot and sour shredded potatoes, what else would you like to eat? I saw there's a piece of lean meat in the fridge, as well as eggs and tomatoes. Don't you like tomato and egg stir-fry? How about I make that too?"

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!