Chapter 8: Can a neat division of labor put food on the table?
The person next to Zhang Chenghai winked at him, "Don't ask, why would you ask?"
Some people arrived early and saw Qin Yizhou wearing an apron while cooking. Zhang Chenghai arrived late, and by the time he got there, Qin Yizhou had already put the food on the table.
The two comrades who came were named Cheng Rong, who was already married, and Yue Hongwei, who was not yet married.
Previously, Qin Yizhou and Yue Hongwei shared a dormitory. Yue Hongwei, being single, went back to change clothes and came over. When he arrived, he saw Qin Yizhou busy in the kitchen.
When Qin Yizhou saw Yue Hongwei arrive, he asked Yue Hongwei to sit down first, as he still had to cook. Song Fenglan went to make the bed; the bed frame and planks, which had been washed that morning, were already dry. After Qin Yizhou set up the bed, Song Fenglan laid out the straw mat and other mats.
The sheets and bed sheet cover have been washed; we'll just use the straw mat and blanket we slept on tonight.
When Yue Hongwei saw this, he was puzzled. Shouldn't Song Fenglan be the one to cook? But he didn't ask.
Now that everyone was seated at the dinner table, Zhang Chenghai asked the question.
“I didn’t make it. I’m not a good cook,” Song Fenglan said directly. “My cooking is so bad that I’m afraid none of you would be able to put your chopsticks down.”
"Don't you cook when you're at home?" Zhang Chenghai asked again.
Then, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and everyone froze. Cheng Rong, who was standing next to Zhang Chenghai, quickly tugged at his sleeve. Why should we care who cooks for the couple? They don't eat here every day.
“We divide the work at home,” Qin Yizhou explained. “Fenglan went to high school and can also sew. A home belongs to both husband and wife, so we can’t let her do everything by herself. I’m often not home, so everything at home still depends on her.”
Qin Yizhou didn't want these people to look down on Song Fenglan. It was just that she wasn't a good cook and did less housework, which was no big deal. He wasn't helpless; he wasn't someone who needed his wife to cook for him and call him to eat.
"You don't have any wine yet..."
“A family can’t rely on just one person to make it work.” Cheng Rong tugged at Zhang Chenghai’s clothes again, wondering what he was thinking.
Zhang Chenghai hardly had to do any chores at home; his wife, Pang, took care of everything perfectly. When Zhang Chenghai heard the child cry, Pang would comfort the child without him saying a word. There was hot water for him to shower at home, and Pang would even bring him water to wash his feet. He only had to do those things as a wife. If wives didn't do those things, what was the point of men getting married?
"Drink less." Qin Yizhou knew that those people who treated others to meals loved to drink, and once they drank, the smell of alcohol would be everywhere. Qin Yizhou himself never drank when he went to other people's homes for meals, and besides, with little Qin Zihang still here, Qin Yizhou didn't want the smell of alcohol to affect his wife and child. "You don't have a day off tomorrow, you still have to train."
Zhang Chenghai's clothes were tugged twice by Cheng Rong, and he didn't say anything more. Even if he was slow-witted, he could sense that these people didn't want him to continue.
"What is training?" Qin Zihang asked curiously.
"To strengthen the body," Song Fenglan explained.
"Me too, me too!" Qin Zihang immediately said.
"..." Song Fenglan's lips twitched slightly. Her son really wanted to try everything.
"You're so small, let your dad carry you to training," Cheng Rong joked. "In this heat, your fair and tender little face will turn into a charcoal briquette."
“If I turn completely black, Mom won’t be able to see me anymore. No, no.” Qin Zihang shook his head.
In the courtyard where Qin Zihang and her son lived, there was a black cat. When the black cat lay in a corner with its eyes closed, no one could often see it. So much so that if someone stepped on the black cat, the cat would yelp and its fur would stand on end.
Qin Zihang didn't want to become a black kitten, and didn't want to be stepped on.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense, it’s not that dark,” Yue Hongwei said. “Look at your father, he didn’t turn into a black charcoal head.”
Song Fenglan looked at Qin Yizhou. Qin Yizhou's skin was yellowish-brown, clearly the result of frequent sun exposure. Qin Yizhou possessed a masculine air, unlike those delicate, pale-faced young men; he had a different kind of charm that made people feel safer. Song Fenglan hadn't seen him in a long time...
Upon seeing Qin Yizhou, Song Fenglan, who had previously failed to recognize her own father, still recognized her husband. Qin Yizhou was no different from before, only more imposing.
"Eat your food." Song Fenglan turned around and put some food on her son's plate. "Didn't you say you wanted to eat meat? Eat quickly, chew slowly, and don't choke."
After a simple meal, everyone went their separate ways.
When Zhang Chenghai returned home, he couldn't help but say, "There's no wine, and even if there's meat, it's just so-so, tasteless. What kind of invitation is this? Qin Tuan's wife and child are sitting there eating, and they don't even cook."
"She doesn't cook?" the plump woman asked in surprise. "Is she tired from the train journey? They eat lunch at the canteen."
“It wasn’t her who did it, it was Commander Qin who did it,” Zhang Chenghai said. “Commander Qin works so hard, he doesn’t even have a hot meal when he gets home, he still has to cook for his wife and children.”
"Really?" the plump woman said. "Perhaps the child is still young, and she's already very tired from taking care of the child..."
“We have two kids in our family, and I’ve never seen you not cook,” Zhang Chenghai said. “But Qin Tuan’s wife is really beautiful; I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful.”
"Can being pretty put food on the table?" The plump woman held a piece of yarn, knitting a sweater. She was knitting a sweater for the child, so she had to make the body of the sweater a little bigger, and the sleeves didn't have to be too long. She would add more sleeve length next year. "You still have to know how to manage a household. If it's not Qin Tuan's wife who cooks, who will? Qin Tuan has to go to training and work. How can he cook for them at home every day? He works so hard outside, and when he comes back, he still has to cook for her... During the day, it's Qin Tuan who does all the cleaning and washing."
"Beautiful...a feast for the eyes, isn't it?" Zhang Chenghai took off his shoes and soaked his feet in the foot bath.
Summer is already hot, and people sweat easily. They were wearing canvas shoes with their feet covered, so their feet were going to stink. Zhang Chenghai didn't soak his feet every day. He would soak them when he remembered, and if he didn't remember, he was too lazy to soak them and would just go to sleep like that.
The plump woman was quite tolerant; she thought that men inevitably had body odor, and this body odor was much better than the stench of the cowshed in the countryside.
After the guests left, Qin Yizhou cleared the dishes and tidied everything up. He also boiled some water so the family could take a bath. Qin Yizhou was efficient and decisive; he didn't say he had cooked and then expect Song Fenglan to wash the dishes.
Song Fenglan didn't like washing greasy dishes, so she went to pour some hot water to prepare a bath for Qin Zihang. Qin Yizhou spoke up again, "I'll wash it for him. He's grown up now, and we need to teach him to wash himself gradually. I can't let you keep washing for him."
“He needs to learn to wash himself.” Song Fenglan had no objection. “Now, you help him wash his clothes, and I’ll wash his clothes first. All the clothes in his bag need to be washed again; they’ve all developed an odor after being on the train for so long.”
"Leave it there, I'll wash it," Qin Yizhou said. "All these years, you've been the one taking care of the children. I go back, but leave again after a few days. I haven't done anything."
"Then you wash it." Hearing Qin Yizhou say this, Song Fenglan did not rub her son's clothes.
While Qin Yizhou was helping Qin Zihang take a bath, Qin Zihang was still laughing and joking.
"It's itchy." Qin Yizhou helped his son scrub his back, and Qin Zihang wasn't quite used to it.
Last night, Qin Yizhou helped Qin Zihang take a bath, but he didn't scrub him much. Now, if he scrubs him a little, a layer of dirt comes off.
Song Fenglan didn't spend much time looking at her son; she needed to freshen up and take a shower later. She hadn't had a proper shower at the guesthouse yesterday, just a quick rinse. The clothes she was wearing were taken directly from her bag; she felt they smelled a bit and weren't very comfortable. Luckily, the clothes she'd hung out to dry were dry today, so she could change into something clean.
By evening, the whole family had changed their clothes, and Qin Zihang went to bed early to listen to his mother tell stories.
Song Fenglan tells Qin Zihang stories from "Journey to the West," one of the Four Great Classical Novels, which she believes will benefit her son's future studies. She also tells him shorter fairy tales like Snow White, alternating between different stories each day, which he enjoys listening to.
"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!" Qin Zihang exclaimed excitedly.
Song Fenglan didn't tell Qin Zihang the story of "Investiture of the Gods." The story of Nezha is good, but the child is too young to distinguish right from wrong, and he might easily imitate Nezha by playing in the water. Song Fenglan only tells excerpts from the stories; some parts can be told, and some parts cannot.
"That's amazing," Qin Zihang said. "Why doesn't the Great Sage kick his master out? His master only knows how to chant the Tightening-Headband Mantra and begs the Great Sage to save him. What use is he?"
"Respect your teachers." Song Fenglan was already used to her son saying all sorts of things. "Master is a teacher. A teacher can teach you a lot of things. Fighting can't solve everything. You still have to reason with people. When Dasheng was a little naughty, his teacher would discipline him."
"If I go to school, will the teachers also put a tight headband on me?" Qin Zihang reached up and touched his head. "Will the teacher give me a tight headband?"
"No, we won't send it." Song Fenglan patted her son's head. "Buying the headband costs money, and we can't let the teacher spend money for nothing. There are many children going to school together, and if each child gets one, it will cost a lot of money. If we spend so much money, we won't be able to buy meat to eat."
"But...only the Great Sage has the golden headband." Qin Zihang didn't understand. "Isn't it enough for a little kid to have the golden headband?"
"..." Song Fenglan looked at her son, whose way of thinking really left her at a loss for words. "All children are the same, but Tang Sanzang's disciples are different species: monkeys, pigs, and even a Curtain-Raising General. They are all different."
"Isn't it the same?" Qin Zihang frowned slightly.
“It’s different. Your mother says it’s different, and it’s different.” Qin Yizhou packed his things and went back to his room. Hearing his son’s words, he felt that his son was very stubborn. “Close your eyes and go to sleep quickly. Your mother has been with you on the train for so long. It must have been very tiring for her.”
“Mom, then tell me a story next time,” Qin Zihang said. He closed his eyes, and after a while, he opened them again. He looked at his father and said, “Dad, you must call me when you go out tomorrow. If you don’t call me, I won’t call you Dad.”
Qin Zihang also knew how to threaten his father, since he barely remembered who his father was anyway, so it didn't matter whether he called him "Dad" or not. Qin Zihang also remembered other children saying that he didn't have a father, even though he clearly had one. Those people still said he didn't have a father. Qin Zihang didn't think his mother was wrong, he just thought his father wasn't very good.
"Okay, okay, okay, I'll call you tomorrow," Qin Yizhou said. "My little ancestor, how could I dare not call you?"
“I’m not an ancestor, I’m just a kid,” Qin Zihang said.
"Yes, you're young, you're young," Qin Yizhou replied dismissively. His son was so talkative.
Qin Zihang closed his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. Seeing this, Song Fenglan knew her son wasn't asleep. She handed a fan to Qin Yizhou, asking him to fan Qin Zihang.
Song Fenglan didn't care whether Qin Yizhou was working hard or not; she herself was working very hard taking care of the child. At this time, she wanted Qin Yizhou to help the child with some tasks, so he would understand how difficult it was to raise a child.
"Be gentle, don't fan too fast, and don't use too much force," Song Fenglan whispered. "Don't fan her head."
Song Fenglan straightened the blanket for her son, making sure to cover his belly button. Don't think that just because it's summer you don't need to cover him with a blanket; if you don't cover his tummy, the child can easily get sick.
"Okay." Qin Yizhou gently fanned Qin Zihang.
Hearing his parents' words, Qin Zihang couldn't help but smile. He thought about covering his mouth with his hand, afraid his parents would find out he wasn't asleep, but he stopped halfway through, pursed his lips, and pouted. He was asleep.
"So many little tricks," Song Fenglan chuckled.
After a while, Qin Zihang fell asleep, sleeping between Qin Yizhou and Song Fenglan. Qin Yizhou looked at his son, then at his wife.
"Turn off the lights," Song Fenglan said.
"..." Qin Yizhou thought he should turn off the lights. His wife and son had just arrived, and he couldn't take his son to the next room. However, the next room was already tidied up, and Qin Zihang could go there to sleep anytime. Qin Yizhou wanted to hold his wife's hand and hug her, but his son was here.
That night, Qin Zihang kept shifting his position in bed, sometimes curling up on one side and sometimes on the other. Song Fenglan woke up several times, then remembered that with Qin Zihang there, her son wouldn't easily fall off the bed while sleeping in the middle.
Back in the capital, the beds had railings on one side and not on the other. Song Fenglan slept on the outside without railings, so she didn't have to worry about her son falling off the bed.
Early in the morning, Qin Zihang woke up to find Song Fenglan still fast asleep. Qin Zihang wanted to call for his mother, but Qin Yizhou stopped him.
"Let your mom sleep for a while," Qin Yizhou said softly. "Dad will take you to buy breakfast. After we get breakfast, we'll wake your mom up."
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