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墨書 Inktalez
Before Li Hong was in a relationship, no one valued him when he had nothing, and he didn't want to settle for less. At that time, he had no thoughts of pursuing romance.
After meeting Yuchen, his life became abundant. However, at this point, the responsibilities on his shoulders left no room for nonsense.
The only person he could consider was Yuchen; there was no one else.
Li Hong was scared. He feared that if he fell in love and got married, the life he currently enjoyed would vanish forever.
Marriage was often described as a man's grave, and Li Hong had developed a condition known as marriage anxiety. He dreaded any uncontrollable changes to his current life trajectory and was particularly afraid that the introduction of strangers could cause irreparable harm to Yuchen's growth.
Amidst all these concerns, Li Hong found himself with no other thoughts. His sole focus was on raising Yuchen well, fulfilling the promise he had made to that person long ago.
Since you chose me amidst the vast sea of people, I will take full responsibility for you. This was Li Hong's solemn and sacred vow to Yuchen.
...
With a rice cooker for cooking rice and a gas stove for preparing dishes, Li Hong busied himself for quite some time before finally finishing the last dish.
Carrying the steaming meal to the dining table in the center of the living room, Li Hong casually swatted at Yuchen's hand reaching for the food and sternly scolded, "Yuchen, aren't you going to wash your hands?"
"Oh..." Yuchen hung his head and reluctantly walked to the kitchen to wash his hands.
Just as he sent away Yuchen, who wanted to sneak a bite without washing up, Li Hong quickly noticed another culprit committing the same offense.
Smack!
He tapped Lin Ruxian's pristine fingers with his chopsticks and frowned, saying, "And you too! Go wash your hands!"
"Why are you being so fierce? I haven't even eaten anything yet..." After mumbling a few words, Lin Ruxian had no choice but to yield to Li Hong's authority and obediently followed Yuchen into the kitchen to wash her hands.
With a smile, Li Hong paid no attention to the two fellows.
After adding two spoonfuls of fragrant rice to Yuchen's bowl, Li Hong took out Yuchen's special forgiving-colored chopsticks from the cupboard and placed them on top of the bowl.
This was Li Hong's usual practice; he would only hand over the chopsticks to Yuchen after all the dishes were served. Otherwise, he wouldn't give her the chopsticks.
Children of Yuchen's age typically have a habit of tapping their bowls before meals. They would incessantly knock on their empty bowls with chopsticks, driven by their lively nature and a sense of playfulness.
However, in Li Hong's memory, children who tapped their empty bowls would be scolded by adults.
He remembered that when it was time to eat, he loved to tap his empty bowl with chopsticks, creating a clattering sound to urge his mother to serve the dishes quickly.
But later, after receiving several stern beatings from his father, Li Hong quickly abandoned this bad habit.
His father's reasoning was that tapping an empty bowl would drive away the family's fortune.
Yet, this was a more gentle way for Li Hong's father to express it, aimed at not hurting Li Hong's young pride. In fact, it wasn't until Li Hong grew up that he understood what tapping an empty bowl truly meant.
It happened during one of his outings when he saw a ragged beggar kneeling on the street bridge, pleading for pity.
The beggar's method of begging was to tap on his broken bowl with a chopstick, signaling passersby to spare him a bite to eat.
From that day on, Li Hong remembered one thing: when it's time to eat, just eat—never tap the bowl.
Li Hong's parents passed away early, so these lessons could only be learned through his own experiences. Now that he had Yuchen, it felt as if he had a child in a roundabout way, and he still adhered to these family rules.
As for those who considered such traditions outdated culture, Li Hong only wanted to give them a resounding slap.
"With such a foul mouth, didn't your family teach you anything?"
For Yuchen's education, Li Hong planned to combine both school and home learning.
At school, teachers would impart knowledge and discipline. At home, Li Hong would gradually teach her what rules are and the virtues that have been passed down for five thousand years.
However, Li Hong understood that education cannot be expected to yield immediate results, and he never anticipated that Yuchen would grasp everything he was doing right away.
Thus, he didn't explain to Yuchen why she shouldn't bang her bowl before a meal; instead, he chose to put away her chopsticks and bowl before eating.
Under this subtle influence, perhaps Yuchen wouldn't understand the significance of banging her bowl before a meal, but she would never do such a thing.
When Lin Ruxian returned to the dining table after washing her hands first and saw Li Hong just taking out Yuchen's bowl and chopsticks, she inquired about it. Li Hong replied:
"You are a qualified father; perhaps meeting you is the best decision Yuchen will ever make." Lin Ruxian rarely refrained from arguing with Li Hong and chose to support his decision instead.
Li Hong smiled and said, "I love hearing that; it's rare for you to say something correct."
"Out of consideration for Yuchen, I won't bother arguing with you."
After giving the smug Li Hong a glance, Lin Ruxian picked up her chopsticks and said, "Alright then, let me taste your skills as a dad and see if this so-called dark cuisine is any good."
After taking a bite of the stir-fried shredded carrots with meat that Li Hong made, Lin Ruxian gave a thumbs up in praise: "Not bad at all; you're quite the chef."
"Of course! Ever since Yuchen came along, I've been diligently honing my cooking skills. While I can't claim it's gourmet, it can definitely be called delicious," Li Hong replied with a smile.
Lin Ruxian set down her chopsticks and laughed: "I find it amusing how you're just like my dad; both of you learned to cook only after having kids, but your skills aren't bad at all."
“Your dad?” Li Hong asked curiously.
“Yeah, the breakfast shop where you parked is run by my dad all by himself. You know, before I was born, my dad had never cooked a day in his life. But later on, to make me a delicious meal, he actually followed a master chef around and learned cooking for over half a year,” Lin Ruxian said with a hint of nostalgia.
Li Hong smiled knowingly and said, “Maybe not every father has culinary skills, but they are definitely the most dedicated chefs. Their initial motivation for cooking is simple yet touching: they want to prepare a tasty meal for their children and hear them say it’s delicious.”
“You're right. My dad has been running the breakfast shop for many years now, and it hasn’t exactly become popular, but he still enjoys it. He tells me that running a breakfast shop at least allows me to enjoy meals made by him whenever I want,” Lin Ruxian said with a smile.
Although Li Hong had only seen Lin Ruxian's dad once, he suddenly felt a sense of kinship with him.
They might not be the best chefs, but for their children, they are willing to put on aprons and swap wrenches for knives and cutting boards. For people like Li Hong, moving around in the kitchen might bring more joy than receiving bonuses at work.
This sentiment also infused their food with deep emotions.
Perhaps others cannot taste the feelings within, but their children certainly can. That’s why the food they make tastes exceptionally delicious to their kids.
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