He Dongchuan cooks at noon.

Although Su Ting has a small stomach and is very picky about food, He Dongchuan cannot bear to see her starve to death, so he decides to cook for her himself. At least the rice at home is better than that in the cafeteria.

However, when the little cat learned about this, his first reaction was not joy, but hesitation: "You want to cook?"

After asking, I felt that it was a bit too much, so I quickly explained: "I don't doubt your cooking skills, but you finally got two days off after your mission, so it's not good to let you cook too much."

In fact, she just doubted He Dongchuan's cooking skills.

The reason was very simple. Although her cooking skills were so bad, she still went to the kitchen every day after following the army to the island, and cooked for He Dongchuan in different ways, just to reach his heart from his stomach.

If He Dongchuan could cook, why didn't he cook by himself before?

With her original love brain, Su Ting thought that as long as he cooked and the food he cooked was decent, she would be very touched and would voluntarily give up the opportunity to show off her cooking skills.

But he had never cooked before the mission, and in order to avoid dark cuisine, his only struggle was to eat three meals a day in the camp.

Therefore, Su Ting had to suspect that his cooking skills were not very good.

In that case, they might as well just eat in the cafeteria. Not only is it cheaper and more convenient, but their stomachs won’t suffer after eating.

It's just that some things can't be said too obviously, which hurts feelings, not to mention that there is not much affection between them. Su Ting said tactfully: "Actually, the food in the cafeteria is quite delicious."

But He Dongchuan obviously didn't understand what she meant and said, "I'm also good at cooking."

Since he said so, what else could Su Ting say? Of course she rolled up her sleeves and helped him, while praying in her heart that he would not make any dark dishes!

…

Facts have proved that He Dongchuan was still humble.

His cooking was more than just OK. Su Ting felt that his cooking skills were just as good as the chef in the cafeteria, and his dishes even tasted better.

When it comes to food, Su Ting is always generous with her compliments, hoping that if she can please him, he will be willing to cook a few more meals.

Following her lead, He Yan also praised his father's cooking skills.

God knows how upset he felt when he came home from school and found out that he wouldn’t have to eat in the cafeteria for lunch. He didn’t want to eat the food his mother cooked!

Later he was told that lunch was prepared by his father instead of his mother, and he was not very happy.

Before coming to Pingchuan Island, he thought cooking was a simple thing, because whatever Grandma Wang cooked at home was delicious. It was not until he went to the island and experienced the beating of his mother's cooking skills that he realized that cooking was not something that everyone could do.

He has never heard that his father can cook since he was a child, so he can't help but worry that his father can't do it.

But after taking a bite of the braised fish, He Yan found it really delicious.

However, he didn't know many flattering words. He could only say "delicious" and "Dad, you are so great" over and over again, and occasionally agree with Su Ting's words.

But that was enough. Amidst the compliments from both the big and the small, He Dongchuan finished his meal happily.

So after lunch, when Su Ting said she wanted to eat sweet and sour pork ribs in the evening, and He Yan looked at him expectantly, he couldn't bear to refuse and agreed to go to the butcher shop to see if there were any ribs left.

They were lucky because when they arrived at the butcher shop, there were two ribs left, which was perfect for making sweet and sour spare ribs.

This was a tough time for Jiang Wei, who had been out to sea for half a month and thought he would be able to eat something good when he returned.

In fact, the food on the ship was not bad. There was no shortage of seafood, but Jiang Wei had been a soldier for so many years that he was tired of eating seafood, so he only ate chicken, duck and pork.

He originally thought he could have something delicious to eat when he got home, but when the food was served, he was greatly disappointed.

Wang Lixia also felt regretful in her heart, because she didn't know when he would come back, so when she bought vegetables, she still picked the same things, radish, greens, potatoes and cucumbers. Except for adding a little more shrimp skin to the soup, there was no fishy smell at all.

But it's no use regretting it now, so I can only comfort him by saying, "Just eat it today, I'll go cut some pork belly tomorrow morning and make braised pork."

The two little ones' eyes lit up when they heard this; they finally had meat to eat.

Jiang Wei sighed, picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

As soon as the vegetables entered his mouth, the tempting aroma drifted all over the place on the sea breeze. Jiang Wei moved his ears and heard the slight sizzling sound of pork frying in oil. His throat moved slightly and saliva was secreted, making the vegetables, which were already bland in taste, even more difficult to swallow.

The two children also smelled the fragrance. The eldest, Jiang Rong, was a quiet person and did not dare to say anything. The second child, Jiang Weidong, was not so cautious. He sniffed and said, "It smells so good! They are eating meat again."

Jiang Wei asked: "Who is eating meat?"

In fact, he already had a guess in his mind. His ears and nose were fine, so of course he could smell the fragrance coming from next door. But before he went out to sea, the next door also had barbecued meat, but the smell was not as tempting as today, so he was not sure.

"Who else could it be? The He family next door." Wang Lixia curled her lips and said, "You don't know, Captain He's wife is really not someone who knows how to live. She was fine when Captain He was here, but her true colors showed up when he left. She hangs around all day long and doesn't do any housework. She eats three meals a day from the cafeteria, and she even picks out pickled vegetables for them. She eats fish today and meat tomorrow. Tsk tsk."

It would have been fine if she hadn't said this, but once she said it, Jiang Weiye and the other two couldn't help swallowing their saliva.

They all want to live this kind of "unable to live" life!

Who would like to eat radishes and vegetables every day when you can eat fish and meat?

As Jiang Wei thought about it, he felt the aroma that penetrated his nose become more overbearing, with a hint of sweetness in it. He licked his lips and said, "Is it his wife who is cooking today? She should be a good cook."

He thought it was Su Ting cooking next door.

Wang Lixia thought so too, but she didn't want to admit that Su Ting was a good cook. She snorted and said, "You haven't eaten Xiaoying's cooking. She is a good cook! It's just that Xiaoying is not as extravagant as Captain He's wife. She wants to eat good food every day. Captain He is the same. Now that she has returned, why do you still let her live such an extravagant life?"

Jiang Wei knew that Duan Xiaoying was a good cook, but firstly, he couldn't eat the dishes she cooked, and secondly, the two families were far away from each other and he couldn't smell the fragrance all the time, so he didn't take the first half of Wang Lixia's words to heart.

As for the second half of the sentence, Jiang Wei wanted to keep his mouth shut with food, so what else could He Dongchuan be dissatisfied with?

If his wife had this skill, he would also like to eat delicious food every day.

Alas, I can’t think about it.

The more I thought about it, the more tasteless the food in front of me seemed.

…

The Jiang family had a tasteless meal, but the He family enjoyed it to their heart's content. Before they finished the meal, Su Ting had already decided what to order for tomorrow.

She asked, and learned that He Dongchuan had two days off and would go to the camp the day after tomorrow.

But she didn't dare to speak directly, even though He Dongchuan seemed to have a good temper - after eating two meals cooked by him, Su Ting's impression of him changed greatly.

She felt that if she had met a man like He Dongchuan who was rich, handsome, hardworking and willing to work hard before she traveled through time, she would definitely take the initiative.

Now, she was eager to do it, but she would lose heart every time she thought of the original character in the novel who was unable to get the love he wanted.

She doesn't have the confidence of her original self.

Having said that, although He Dongchuan is easy to talk to, Su Ting can't do something as aggressive as ordering food directly, so she plans to take a roundabout approach.

So the next morning, Su Ting woke up at 6:30 and prepared to go to the seafood supply station with He Dongchuan.

However, after she went out, she didn't see He Dongchuan, only He Yan squatting in the bathroom brushing his teeth.

Su Ting walked in and asked, "Where's your father?"

He Yan was gargling, spitting out the water in his mouth and said, "Dad is out."

"He goes out so early?" Su Ting asked in surprise, squeezing toothpaste onto the toothbrush.

He Yan nodded: "Dad left home early!"

"Okay." Su Ting looked disappointed. Since He Dongchuan was out, there was no chance of her following him to the seafood supply station to pick out delicious food.

I wonder what he will buy today.

Su Ting thought while drinking some water. She rinsed her mouth twice and was about to spit it out and brush her teeth when she heard He Yan ask in a startling tone, "Do you miss your dad?"

The tap water went down her throat, Su Ting covered her chest and started coughing violently. After a while, she finally caught her breath and looked up and said, "When did I miss him? I just asked him out of consideration when I woke up and didn't see him. Do you know what "considering consideration" means?"

He Yan asked uncertainly: "Just asking?"

"That's right!" Su Ting nodded vigorously. "Don't say that suddenly next time. It will scare people to death, you know?"

He Yan: "...Okay."

Having said that, he was still confused in his heart. He didn't understand why asking her if she missed her dad would scare her to death, when other people had asked him the same question so many times and he was still alive and well.

don't know.

…

He Dongchuan did go out before dawn, but he did not go to the seafood supply station, but went to exercise. After returning, he took a simple shower and went to the cafeteria with Su Ting and He Yan to have breakfast.

After dinner, He Yan went to school, while he and Su Ting went to the seafood supply station and the vegetable station. So at noon that day, Su Ting still had the fried shrimps she had been craving for.

After eating and drinking, Su Ting returned to the master bedroom to take a nap.

It was the same for He Yan. The military primary school started classes at 2 p.m., so he could take a nap at home after lunch before going to class.

But he couldn't sleep today. He couldn't help thinking about Su Ting's words. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He turned to the side and stared at his father who was sitting on the bed reading a book.

He Dongchuan originally thought that his son would fall asleep after reading for a while, so he didn't intend to pay attention to him. But after ten minutes, he could still feel his son's gaze, so he had to close the book and turned his head to ask, "Can't sleep?"

He Yan came back to his senses: "Ah?"

"Why are you looking at me all the time?" He Dongchuan asked.

He Yan crawled to his side, propped himself up on his elbows and asked, "Dad, why can't I ask Mom if she misses you?"

He Dongchuan didn't understand, frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

He Yan pursed her lips and looked at him. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes showed "You are so stupid. How come you don't even understand this?"

This is my biological son.

He Dongchuan took a deep breath and said, "You are talking nonsense. How can I know the answer? Tell me the whole story."

"Okay." He Yan sighed, "In the morning, when I was brushing my teeth, my mother came to ask my father if he was not at home. Then I asked her if she missed me. My mother said no, and she just asked for the sake of courtesy. Dad, do you know what "asking for the sake of courtesy" means? It means asking casually..."

He Dongchuan interrupted him: "Get to the point."

"This is the key point." He Yan felt aggrieved.

"…Then continue."

"I answered correctly and it was just for the sake of showing it. Mom told me not to ask this question suddenly in the future because it would scare people to death." He Yan finished the tongue twister and repeated the question just now, "Dad, why is it so scary to ask Mom if she misses you? In the past, when others asked me if I missed you, I was not scared to death."

Listening to He Yan's words, He Dongchuan couldn't help but imagine Su Ting's embarrassed look, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly: "Your mother's description of 'terrifying' is an adjective, not really terrifying."

He Yan didn't understand a word and asked in confusion: "What is that?"

He Dongchuan did not explain, but only said: "...You will learn it in the future. You just need to know that she said that because she was shy and embarrassed."

"oh--"

He Yan suddenly realized and sighed, "Mom is so easily shy."

…

It is said that it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Before He Dongchuan came back, Su Ting felt that the food in the cafeteria tasted good, had a wide variety of dishes, and was clean and hygienic, so she was happy to buy three meals a day.

But after eating He Dongchuan's dishes for a few days, Su Ting became more picky about food. When she ate the food in the cafeteria again, she felt that this was too bland and that there was not enough oil, and everything was unsatisfactory.

It's not unbearable.

Although she is a bit picky about food, most of the time she is picky about the food itself, like she can't eat brown rice, doesn't like noodles, hates green onions, ginger, garlic and coriander, and no matter how she cooks onions, bitter gourds, loofahs, cucumbers and other ingredients, she won't touch them.

But if it is the food she eats, and the chef’s cooking skills are not too bad, and the finished product is not a dark dish, she can basically eat it, at most she will eat less.

However, He Dongchuan was too sensitive and quickly noticed her change. He asked, "Is the food not to your liking?"

"Not bad." Su Ting told the truth.

"You ate less today than you did yesterday."

Su Ting was stunned for a moment and said, "But I eat more than before."

She did eat more than before, but that was because the rice used in the cafeteria was too coarse and she couldn't swallow it. Although they got food from the cafeteria today, the rice was cooked at home. Yesterday she could eat two bowls of rice in one meal, but today it was reduced to one bowl. It was obvious where the problem was.

But He Dongchuan did not argue with her. He just said, "Remember to buy some food tomorrow."

"What's wrong?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ting realized what he meant, and asked with shining eyes: "Are you going to cook tomorrow?"

He Yan's eyes lit up: "Dad, are you going to cook?"

"Um."

"You must have a lot of things to do in the camp, right? Wouldn't it be too tiring to cook when you get home at night? Actually, it's okay for us to eat in the cafeteria."

If her smile wasn't so brilliant, He Dongchuan might have really believed it, but now... he shook his head and said, "It's not hard."

It was common for him to be on alert all day when on a mission, and it was not uncommon for him to only sleep for two or three hours in two or three days. In the camp, he did not have to train all day, nor did he have to stay up late at night. It was a piece of cake for him to cook a meal every day when he came home.

He had never cooked before going on the mission. Firstly, he had taken two consecutive leave before and had a lot of things to do, so he was overwhelmed when he came back; secondly, Su Ting was competing with him to cook, and he was not interested in Su Ting, so he was afraid that she would think too much if he often cooked; thirdly, because at that time, Su Ting and He Yan were not picky about food and enjoyed everything they ate.

In fact, the current Su Ting and the Su Ting he knew before the mission are completely two extremes.

Su Ting, whom he met before the mission, looked at him with fanatical eyes and tried to please him all the time in her words and actions, making him feel like a piece of Tang Monk's meat.

Some people might enjoy this abnormal relationship, but he felt that he was not worthy of it. That was why he wanted to stay in the camp all day long, just to avoid her.

But now, Su Ting's eyes looked at him colder, and the flattery that was inadvertently revealed disappeared, and they were finally able to communicate normally.

He Dongchuan didn't know why Su Ting had changed so much in just half a month, but he didn't want to find out whether she had suddenly come to her senses or her previous behavior was all fake, because her change was not a bad thing for him.

Of course, it would be better if she could maintain her previous eating habits. After all, with her current pickyness, it would only take her a short time to become as thin as a bamboo pole.

But there is no if. In order to prevent his wife from getting sick from hunger, he has to cook the meal no matter how hard it is. Besides, cooking is not hard for him.

Su Ting didn't know what He Dongchuan was thinking, otherwise she would definitely argue with him about what slim beauty is.

Now Su Ting just thinks that He Dongchuan is a really good person!

In order to thank him for his kindness, well, actually it is also for the sake of sustainable development. If you think too much of yourself as a hands-off manager, it is easy to cause the work to be unbalanced and give up the responsibility.

Therefore, she prepared the ingredients early the next afternoon, and when He Dongchuan came back, he could just roll up his sleeves and start cooking.

However, she never expected that the ingredients she spent nearly an hour preparing would be rejected!

Even though her cooking skills aren't that great and her knife skills are average, she still knows the basic rules of cutting vegetables...right?

Well, maybe she wasn't very good at it. After He Dongchuan's reprocessing of the ingredients, they did look better than the ones she had cut before, so much so that the potato sticks that could not be saved were made even more unsightly.

Su Ting felt that this was not her fault. In her previous life, when she needed shredded potatoes, she always used a planer and had never cut them. It was already very good that she could cut the potatoes into sticks of similar thickness.

It took her more than twenty minutes!

Fortunately, although the potato sticks are a bit ugly and can’t have the crispy taste of potato shreds, He Dongchuan’s cooking skills are excellent and he fried them to a red-braised texture and they taste good too.

Maybe the dishes were bought by Su Ting, and they were all her favorites, or maybe it was because she had worked, but Su Ting had a big appetite that night and ate two full bowls of rice!

Su Ting was very angry. She felt that she ate too much.

He Dongchuan complained expressionlessly: "Xiao Yan eats more than you."

Su Ting looked at He Yan who was still eating hard, and argued cunningly: "He is a boy and he is still growing. It is normal for him to eat more than me. Besides, the monthly food supply is only so much, and you two, father and son, are both eaters. If I don't save some food, how are we going to live in the future?" She did all this for this family!

Hearing Su Ting mention him, He Yan raised his head from his bowl and said, "Mom, you don't have to worry about me. I, I can eat less."

"How can that be!" Su Ting said seriously, "You are a child, so of course you will be the first one to take care of the food and drink at home. Mom knows her limits, so don't worry!"

Looking at the loving mother and filial son in front of him, He Dongchuan, who was thinking of finding someone to exchange coarse grains for some refined rice because there was not much refined rice left, said: "..."

Is he a bit redundant?

…

From that day on, the three meals a day for the He family of three were arranged clearly.

They had breakfast and lunch in the camp and the canteen in the family compound respectively. He Dongchuan cooked dinner, and Su Ting was still in charge of preparing the ingredients. It wasn't that she wanted to avenge her past shame, but she was too shameless to let He Dongchuan do the work alone.

Of course, even if she wanted to avenge her past shame, the result would basically be a slap in the face again and again.

He Dongchuan is easy to talk to in some aspects, but he has very high requirements for ingredients in his cooking, so much so that Su Ting always feels that he came from a kitchen team.

How does the saying go? A special forces soldier who can't cook is not a good soldier?

Well, Su Ting actually made this up, but the meaning is correct. In her previous life, she had seen an interview with Wolf Warrior, which said that cooks not only have to cook big spoons, but also cannot fall behind in daily training. Their work is harder than that of ordinary soldiers.

It’s just that Su Ting felt that she wasn’t that familiar with He Dongchuan, so she was embarrassed to ask directly. The above was just her personal guess.

In short, except for the hard roots and rhizomes that were difficult to handle, he could perform secondary processing on the ingredients prepared by Su Ting, no matter whether she cut them into strips or pieces.

It just so happens that the ingredients processed by him look better than those cut by Su Ting.

Being told that she was avenging herself, Su Ting felt like she was being nailed to the pillar of shame and repeatedly whipped.

If she hadn't been a social animal for so many years and hadn't been thick-skinned and able to withstand stress, she would have given up long ago and wouldn't have been able to continue doing this like she is doing now.

Fortunately, her persistence was not in vain. Under someone's high demands, she grew rapidly.

Su Ting is now very confident in herself and feels not afraid to apply for the job of vegetable cutter in a state-owned hotel.

But these days, even if it was just cutting vegetables in a state-owned restaurant, it was a good job that most people couldn't get, so she just grumbled in her heart and couldn't put it into practice.

The only way she can make a living now is drawing comic strips.

As her knife skills gradually improved, Su Ting also completed the preliminary preparations, wrote the story to accompany the comic strip, and began the painting stage.

This is a delicate job. Even though a comic strip picture may not be as big as the palm when printed out, the manuscript she gave cannot be that small. At most two pictures can be drawn on one A4 paper.

Moreover, she draws very delicately and needs to capture the details, so although the piece is not long, it is very energy-consuming.

Therefore, when Su Ting started to devote herself to creation, she stopped going to the amusement park. Firstly, it was too noisy there, and secondly, there were too many people who would come over to watch her paint. After all, she had to submit her work, so it was better to keep it confidential before it was published.

In fact, Su Ting does not spend much time painting every day. She usually wakes up around seven o'clock, goes to the cafeteria to have breakfast, and then buys vegetables. If she buys seafood, she has to prepare it when she comes back. She finishes around half past eight.

I touch the fish and take some simple hygiene. I can start painting around 9 o'clock and stop at 11:30. If I feel tired, I will rest for 10 to 20 minutes.

In the afternoon, I start painting after waking up, usually from 2 to 4 o'clock, and then take a half-hour break to prepare ingredients for dinner.

After dinner, she stopped working. The wattage of the light bulbs used these days is low, and the light in the room is dim. It is too damaging to the eyes to do delicate work. Anyway, she is still supported by someone, so there is no need to push herself so hard.

That afternoon, Su Ting slept until a little after one o'clock as usual. After waking up, she went into the bathroom to wash her face. After coming out, she poured herself a cup of cool tea and drank it before starting to work.

The workbench she used for painting was nothing but the dining table. There was no other way because there was no desk in the master bedroom and the dressing table was too low for her. Her neck would feel uncomfortable after painting for a long time.

The desk in the second bedroom was usable, and the door was not locked, so no one prohibited her from going in and out. But Su Ting felt that since she and He Dongchuan were a fake couple, they had to keep their distance in this regard and not be too vague.

Well, eating is not included. She is just so self-righteous in being double-standard.

In fact, it is not suitable to use the dining table as a workbench. It is a bit too high. Moreover, this table was left by the previous owner. It has been used for many years. Even though it has been wiped again and again, the surface of the table still feels a bit greasy.

Su Ting's current goal is to finish the comic strip as soon as possible and earn the royalties to buy herself a desk for work.

Back to the topic, just as Su Ting sketched out the character, she heard a voice from outside: "Is Comrade Su here?"

When she heard that the person was looking for her, Su Ting quickly put away the drawing and walked out.

The person who came was Yu Xiaofang, a military wife who lived in the building in front. However, Su Ting only knew her and had never dealt with her. So when she came out and saw her, she was quite puzzled, but she still smiled and asked, "Sister Yu, why are you here?"

Yu Xiaofang raised the bowl in her hand and said with a smile, "I made a can of chili sauce a while ago. Today I think it's almost done, so I'll give you some. I hope I don't bother you."

Su Ting was very surprised. Although during the time she was painting at home, military wives she had known before often came to her house to bring her food, she couldn't help but sigh that people of this generation are really enthusiastic towards their friends.

In fact, what they brought were just ordinary food, maybe a bowl of homemade pickled cabbage and peppers like Yu Xiaofang brought, or maybe some fruits picked from the roadside, but it was very comforting, and I felt happy that she had been thinking about me all along.

Although they were not familiar with each other before, Yu Xiaofang was kind enough to send food to Su Ting. Of course, she was embarrassed to refuse. She smiled and said, "How could I? I should thank you for thinking of us."

Then he welcomed the person into the house and poured her a cup of tea.