After dinner, the three girls huddled together, chatting away.
"Lu Ping, let me tell you, Chu's father's mutton stew is so delicious."
"Oh, Yueyue, this mutton stew is the kind of food that Lu Ping and her friends eat. I'm sure every family knows how to make it."
"Wenhui, you're really wrong about that. It's true that people in our area like to eat this, but most of them don't know how to make it at home."
"Huh? Why?" Wenhui was stunned. If she likes to eat it, why doesn't she cook it herself?
"It's too much trouble. If we want to eat out, we go to restaurants. We're lucky if we can treat ourselves occasionally. Who would dare to eat out often? It's too expensive."
Wenhui was surprised by this answer. She didn't hear what Lu Ping said afterward, only remembering the sentence "It's too troublesome."
She always tells her dad what she wants to eat without ever thinking about whether it's troublesome to make it. Today, Lu Ping's words enlightened her.
This made Wenhui feel that she might be being a little too selfish. Turning her head and looking through the window, she saw the figure busy in the kitchen.
After dinner, Dad said to start preparing the food for tomorrow. She had never thought about why we had to start preparing the night before. Now she knows.
Suddenly, she saw her mother come out of the living room, skip and hop into the kitchen like a little girl, and then stand on tiptoe to kiss her father's cheek.
Dad's face was beaming with a happy smile. Although Wenhui couldn't see Mom's expression, she could imagine that Mom must be filled with happiness.
"Wenhui, what are you looking at?"
Seeing that she had been silent for a long time and was staring straight out the window, Lu Ping asked.
Wenhui raised her chin in a gesture.
Lu Ping and Wang Yueyue followed her gaze.
In the kitchen, Ding Qiunan stood to the side saying something, while Li Chu responded from time to time, his hands never stopping washing the mutton, and his smile never fading.
"Wenhui, your uncle and aunt are so happy. I'm so envious of you and Wenxuan."
"Don't even mention you, I'm envious too," Wang Yueyue added.
Upon hearing this, Wen Hui glanced at Wang Yueyue with disdain.
"Yueyue, what are you envious of? It's not like they're your parents."
"Ah...oh, right, hehehehehe"
Looking at the simple-minded Wang Yueyue, Wen Hui and Lu Ping burst out laughing.
"Ugh, why are you laughing at me?"
"Ha ha ha ha……"
"Ah... still laughing!"
The three girls laughed and joked for a while before stopping and lying haphazardly on the bed.
"Wenhui, do your parents argue?"
"Arguing? I've never seen it in my life. Occasionally my mom is in a bad mood, but it never takes more than two minutes before my dad makes her laugh."
"Ah! That's so nice. Why isn't my family like that? Even though my parents don't argue, I always feel there's something strange between them, um... it just feels like..."
Lu Ping hesitated for a while without saying anything, so Wang Yueyue said, "You mean to say 'treat each other with respect'?"
"Yes, that's roughly the idea, but isn't it a bit strange for a husband and wife to be so polite to each other?"
Wenhui, who was lying on the bed, suddenly sat up.
"But I read in books that couples should live in harmony and treat each other with respect."
"No, no," Wang Yueyue also sat up. "Sister Hui, think about it. If you say 'thank you for your hard work' to Father Chu and Mother Qiu Nan, and they reply 'you're welcome,' and then you say 'thank you' to them, wouldn't that be awkward?"
The First Evolution
The scene Yueyue described quickly appeared in Wenhui's mind, making her shiver involuntarily. If her home were like that, she would be miserable.
"Ugh~ I don't want to do that, just thinking about it gives me the creeps."
"See, I told you so!" Wang Yueyue spread her two little hands.
Then she turned to look at Lu Ping and asked, "Sister Ping, is your family like that?"
"It's not as exaggerated as you say, it's just very polite. Besides, I always feel that my home is very oppressive, unlike your home, where there is joy every day."
Lu Ping always felt that her father wasn't a high-ranking official, but he had a lot of airs. Even at home, he still put on airs. Her two older brothers were both married with children, and they were all very subservient to him.
Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Wenhui and asked, "Wenhui, what do your parents do for a living?"
"My dad is a doctor, and my mom works in the hospital pharmacy, don't you know that?"
"Then why do they never work the night shift? And they even have cars to ride in, and drivers too."
"Oh, you mean this? My dad is now the vice president of their hospital. He doesn't see patients anymore, so he doesn't work night shifts. My mom is the director of the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy."
...
Lu Ping knew that Wen Hui's family was not ordinary. Although she didn't know their level, Lu Ping knew that Wen Hui's father must be of a high level since her father didn't even have a car.
She then looked at Wang Yueyue and asked, "Yueyue, where are your parents?"
"They went to the southwest."
Lu Ping looked at Wang Yueyue with some confusion, still unaware of what going to the Southwest meant.
Wenhui noticed her confusion and explained, "Yueyue's parents have gone to the front lines."
"Going to the front lines? They're in the military too."
"Yes, Yueyue and her whole family are in the military."
That's going to the front lines, fighting a war, so why didn't they have any special reaction?
"Yueyue, aren't you worried about them?"
"What's there to worry about? That's their responsibility."
Looking at Wang Yueyue's nonchalant attitude, Lu Ping didn't know what to say.
However, Wenhui knew that Wang Yueyue's heart was not as calm and collected as it appeared on the surface.
Two days ago, she heard her mother say that in the days immediately after Uncle Wang Jun and Aunt Qiaoyun left, Yueyue cried herself to sleep every night.
Yes, that's going to the front lines. One wrong move and it could be death. Who wouldn't worry? But as Yueyue just said, it's their responsibility.
Then she thought of her father, and of the summer of 1976, that earth-shattering night when her father rushed into the house and carried her and Wenxuan out separately before running to the hospital without hesitation.
Then for a long time afterward, she never saw her father again, and her mother was constantly worried, her face no longer showing her former smile.
When she saw her father again, it was a month later. He was unshaven, unkempt, and dressed in dirty clothes. This was a father she had never seen before.
It was then that she learned that during the time her father was away, he had led a team to the earthquake-stricken area. At that moment, her father seemed incredibly tall and imposing in her eyes.
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