He Yuhan's cooking skills were undoubtedly excellent. The meal was completely finished, with nothing left, and even a lot of the noodle soup was drunk.
After eating and drinking his fill, He Zhenhua leaned back in his chair and said contentedly, "Finally, I've had a full meal."
He Yuhan laughed and said, "Big brother, you must have had a tough time lately, right? You should learn to cook gradually, otherwise you'll be neglecting your own stomach."
"Or you could find me a sister-in-law. With a sister-in-law, you'll have someone to take care of you, right?"
Upon hearing this, He Zhenhua waved his hand and said, "Then I'd rather learn to cook myself. Besides, cooking isn't that difficult."
He Yuhan said, "Big brother, are you really not going to consider marriage anymore? Are you planning to stay single for the rest of your life?"
He Zhenhua said, "Being single isn't so bad, at least it's more comfortable. Marriage involves two families, and I can't stand it if I encounter another family that's weird. I've seen too many of my colleagues' and friends' families, and they're constantly bothered by this and that from the woman's family. It's better to be single."
Some say marriage is like a walled city; those outside want to get in, and those inside want to get out. I've been inside, and now that I'm out, I never want to go back in.
Besides, I already have a son, Haobo. I'll be content raising him, and I don't want to get married again.
Gu Qishen laughed and said, "Zhenhua, what you said is quite accurate. I also left Kyoto to avoid my family's pressure to get married. There's really no point in getting married without someone you love. It's better to be alone than to live together as a couple."
We already have children, and if I were to remarry, I'd have to consider their feelings and situation. It's because of Huayang that I don't want to remarry. Huayang is much more lively and cheerful than before, and I'm content with the status quo. I don't want to give Huayang a stepmother who could ruin his mood. I think things are fine as they are now, and I'm very satisfied.”
Han Yi shook his head and said, "It seems you two have formed an alliance. But I can understand you two. If I hadn't met Yuhan, I would have preferred to stay single for the rest of my life."
Gu Qishen and He Zhenhua rolled their eyes at Han Yixian, who was suddenly fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), for getting the benefit while acting innocent.
He Zhenhua said, "You're not from our side. You've married our family's darling, you should be secretly happy. If I met a girl like Yuhan, I would be happy to marry her too. The problem is, girls like Yuhan and families like ours are hard to find even with a lantern. You've got all the good things in the world."
Han Yixian chuckled and said, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just lucky. Yuhan and I are a match made in heaven. It's already pretty good that you can be Yuhan's older brother."
He Yuhan curled her lip as she listened to the two people's boastful words.
Gu Qishen chuckled beside him. He wholeheartedly agreed with He Zhenhua's words; if he had met He Yuhan first, he would have married her at all costs. Who wouldn't want a happier life?
But he was destined to miss out on He Yuhan in this life. He was already very content that they could be friends and occasionally have meals and chat together.
He had no desire to remarry, and was even quite averse to it. Now that He Zhenhua was with him, he felt much more at ease.
After lunch, Gu Qishen and He Zhenhua rested for a while before going to work, while He Yuhan and Han Yixian stayed at home.
He Yuhan tidied up her brother's house, and then she and Han Yixian went into the space to cook for her brother and Gu Qishen.
Having learned about her older brother and Gu Qishen's living conditions, He Yuhan knew that they lived a rather frugal life. Therefore, He Yuhan decided to cook more food for her older brother so that they could have enough to eat for a few days after she left.
He Yuhan was worried that the strong fragrance would attract others if she made it outside, so she decided to make it in her private space.
She had Han Yi chop the meat filling first, and then steamed several batches of meat buns—pure meat. The buns could be eaten as soon as they were heated in the pot, and the aroma wouldn't escape, making them very safe.
While steaming the buns, He Yuhan fried a few more jars of meat sauce and chili sauce. This meat sauce and chili sauce are usually spread on steamed buns or mixed directly with noodles. The meat sauce doesn't have much aroma when it's cold, making it convenient to eat.
He Yuhan also prepared a lot of the jerky she had made before for her older brother and Gu Qishen. They can chew on a piece whenever they have nothing to do; it tastes great.
Besides dried meat, He Yuhan also took out several bags of milk powder and her own homemade nutritional powder. The nutritional powder contains peanuts, walnuts, yams, black sesame seeds, black beans, etc., all of which are dried, roasted, and ground into powder. When you want to eat it, just add boiling water, which is convenient and nutritious.
There was a cabinet in He Zhenhua's second bedroom, which He Yuhan had almost filled to the brim with milk powder, nutritional powder, dates, dried meat, pastries with a longer shelf life, tea, roasted peanuts, dried sweet potatoes, various dried fruits, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts and other nuts. In short, the cabinet was crammed full.
There were also a lot of things in the kitchen, including quite a lot of cured meat.
After packing her things, He Yuhan started stewing meat, cooking pheasant and rabbit together.
He Yuhan stewed the meat directly in the space to avoid the aroma spreading everywhere and causing unnecessary trouble.
He Yuhan only took the meat out when it was cooked and warm, and the aroma wasn't so strong anymore. The rice had also been steamed in the space beforehand, and then put into a rice bowl.
He Yuhan also stir-fried shredded pork with garlic sauce and shredded pork with shredded vegetables. Dinner was ready.
In the evening, Gu Qishen and He Zhenhua each returned carrying a sack.
Once inside, Gu Qishen placed the sack on the ground and said, "Yuhan, these are textbooks for grades one through three. They include math and Chinese. I think these are all you need for now. I'll gradually collect some extra reading materials for you later. I'll get you textbooks for the other grades as well."
He Yuhan said happily, "This is already very good. Most of the children in Beili Village have never been to school, so we will definitely have to start teaching them from first grade. These books are more than enough. I will find a way to provide them with other extracurricular reading materials myself. You are all so busy with work, so you don't need to worry about it."
Dinner is ready, just waiting for you all. Wash your hands, let's eat!
He Yuhan lifted the lid of the large pot of stewed pheasant and rabbit meat that was covered by a basin in the middle of the dining table, and the aroma immediately wafted out.
He Zhenhua beamed when he saw the large bowl of meat on the table. This was truly a treat; having his younger sister around was wonderful. He even envied Han Yixian; with his little sister by his side, Han Yixian must be eating delicious food every day.
Han Yixian said, "To prevent the aroma from escaping, we kept the kitchen doors and windows tightly closed while cooking. We kept the meat covered after it came out of the pot. Now the meat is warm, and the aroma isn't as strong anymore, so eat up."
Everyone feels helpless about having to be so careful when eating meat. These days, anyone eating meat is a hot topic. They don't want to be gossiped about, and they certainly don't want to be targeted or cause unnecessary trouble.
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