Playing cards?
Gu Chen suddenly remembered.
In his previous life, every time he returned from the city, he would join Wang Lei and Xue Yang to play cards.
To be honest, although he earned money by working in the city,
the cost of living there was high.
Actually, he hardly had any money left in his hands.
Just as he came back, he was dragged by Xue Yang to his home, saying they were one short and had been waiting for him for a long time.
Just as his luck would have it, he lost all the money he had on him in no time.
Gu Chen had planned to go home, but seeing him about to leave, the others started to make fun of him.
They said he couldn't afford to lose.
Gu Chen, caring about his face, wanted to prove he wasn't someone who couldn't afford to lose.
He clenched his teeth and took away the money Ji Pianran had painstakingly saved for the New Year.
That money was originally meant for their daughter, Tang Tang, to buy clothes and milk powder.
Two years old and not yet weaned.
Ji Pianran was frail and had scant breast milk.
Tang Tang was forced to start drinking rice cereal before she was even half a year old, lasting until her last illness.
Carrying Tang Tang, she went to the county clinic.
The doctor said that Tang Tang was already suffering from severe malnutrition.
And that children cannot drink things like rice cereal and flour paste for extended periods because of incomplete intestinal development, which could easily lead to intestinal adhesions.
If she fell ill, it would require surgery.
Ji Pianran was terrified.
She gritted her teeth and sold the only valuable bracelet she had.
And that's how she got those three hundred yuan, planning to wait for Gu Chen to come back, and then they would go to the city together to buy milk powder and new clothes for the child, making it a complete New Year.
But unexpectedly, though he did return, he first went to Xue Yang's house.
What followed was his return home, taking advantage of her being away at Aunt Wang's to do odd jobs, taking all the money she'd gotten from selling her bracelet meant for their child's milk powder and clothes, and lost it all at once.
It was this that drove Ji Pianran to complete despair.
New Year's Day.
A half pound of pork was stir-fried in the house, which Ji Pianran had borrowed from Aunt Wang.
The next day, Ji Pianran left without saying goodbye!
Thinking about this, Gu Chen's breath trembled.
He bit his lip hard, looking at Ji Pianran.
It took a long while before he spoke.
"I'm sorry, this kind of damn thing will never happen again, I'll definitely live a good life!"
Looking at Gu Chen's lips, bleeding from the teeth marks,
a flash of surprise crossed Ji Pianran's eyes.
However, she remained silent throughout.
She picked up Tang Tang and pushed the door to leave.
Gu Chen did not stop them.
He knew better than anyone that apologies are always the most useless thing.
He took a deep breath.
Desperately trying to remember.
Last life's Ji Pianran was probably preparing to leave him around this time.
She had washed all the clothes in the house, even the sheets and quilt covers.
And carefully dried the only two quilts they had, over and over again.
She even bought a few pounds of fine flour to make some steamed buns and pancakes.
It just so happened to be New Year's, so Gu Chen failed to see any sign that Ji Pianran was planning to leave.
Now thinking back, every detail seemed like a silent goodbye.
Having realized all this, he clenched his fists tightly.
Now, the first thing he had to do,
was to keep Ji Pianran here at all costs.
To give Tang Tang a complete and happy family!
Collecting his thoughts, Gu Chen stepped toward the yard.
It was mealtime now.
Smelling the meaty aroma wafting from the Tian Family across the way,
Tang Tang swallowed saliva in Ji Pianran's arms.
"Mommy, smells good, Tang Tang wants meat."
Seeing her daughter's longing eyes, Ji Pian couldn't help but tear up.
Which mother doesn't love her child?
But she really had no other choice.
She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, soothing in a gentle voice.
"Tang Tang is a good girl, how about drinking some porridge, okay?"
Despite being only two years old, Tang Tang was remarkably understanding.
She nodded her head, "Okay, Tang Tang will eat porridge with mommy."
The little girl's voice was tender, but her eyes couldn't hide her craving.
She really craved meat.
Ji Pianran set down the baby, Tangtang, in her arms.
Heading towards the kitchen, she scooped some rice from the rice bin and added some cold water, carefully rinsing it with her hand.
After pondering, she opened a small bag and grabbed the last handful of millet to throw in.
The doctor's words were still vivid in her mind, and Ji Pianran feared the child really had developed intestinal adhesions.
That's why she made a point of buying some millet on the way back.
But now, this was the last handful left—they had eaten this meal without knowing where the next one would come from.
Where to get the next bag of millet was truly a mystery.
At this moment, Gu Chen came out of the house.
Seeing Tangtang squatting alone in the yard playing, he walked over with a smile and scooped his daughter up into his arms.
Glancing around and not finding Ji Pianran, he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.
"Tangtang, where's Mom?" he asked.
"Daddy, Mommy is cooking. I'll take you to find Mommy," replied the child.
Feeling his daughter's small, soft, and sticky body in his arms, Gu Chen suddenly felt an uncanny sense of happiness.
He nodded, "Okay."
He set his daughter down on the ground, and the little girl ran towards the kitchen on her tiny legs.
Gu Chen followed, only to see that in the large pot, apart from a bit of rice porridge, there was nothing else.
He looked at Ji Pianran in surprise, with a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
"Is, is this all you're feeding the child?"
It was reckless to feed such things to Tangtang, who was so young and needed nutrition the most.
Ji Pianran let out a cold laugh, her eyes and eyebrows exuding an indescribable coldness.
She was well aware of the situation.
But after all, wasn't this all thanks to him?
"Even this is now gone," she said.
After speaking, Ji Pianran turned around with her daughter in her arms and walked out.
Thinking back on the past three years, she couldn't help but bitterly smile.
Why had she fallen for such a person in the first place?
He clearly didn't like her, so why did he marry her and ruin her life?
...
Gu Chen gazed at the bubbling clear porridge boiling away in the pot.
He felt extremely distressed.
He had barely moved when a voice echoed in his mind.
"Congratulations, Host, for returning to 1999. The Almighty Dad System has been awakened, and a big gift pack has been issued. Please check it, as it includes God-Level Culinary Skills, one space, a piece of Spirit Field, and one Spiritual Spring."
Gu Chen was shocked!
A system?
In his previous life, Gu Chen, idling away as a waiter in a rental room, had read plenty of novels.
He knew exactly what a system was.
Only, he hadn't expected it to land on him today.
"How do I check?" he asked anxiously.
"Host just needs to mentally enter 'space' to access it. You can check the Spirit Field and Spiritual Spring within the space," the system replied.
"And my God-Level Culinary Skills?" he inquired.
If it was free, he wanted it all!
Not a single one less!
System: "..."
A warm flow entered Gu Chen's brain, containing thousands of recipes for frying, sautéing, simmering, deep-frying, all kinds of cooking methods.
Moments later, Gu Chen shook his head as if everything had become clear to him.
In the yard, Ji Pianran put down Tangtang and began to hang up the laundry.
Gu Chen, head bowed, walked out.
"I'll step out for a bit, I'll be right back," he said.
After speaking, he picked up the bamboo basket by the door and, on second thought, grabbed the tongs that were lying there as well.
The tongs, used for picking up coal, were stained with black marks.
Sticking the tongs into the basket behind him, he opened the yard's large gate.
He was preparing to catch some eels.
Embarrassingly, Gu Chen in his previous life didn't really know how to cook either. He had muddled through until Tangtang fell ill, after which he learned cooking with all his might just to get Tangtang to eat more.
From the discovery of Tangtang's anorexia to the last month of her life, he searched through almost every cookbook.
But unfortunately, Tangtang still passed away.
...
The little girl, holding a small wooden toy in her hands, twisted her face and saw Gu Chen leaving. She burst into tears with a "waah".
Running over to Ji Pianran, she clung to her leg, her small face full of desperate worry.
"Mommy, Daddy's gone again, he's gone!" she cried.
She was too young, often unable to express exactly what she meant.
But Ji Pianran knew that whenever Gu Chen left, he would be away for half a year. The child was afraid that Daddy wouldn't come back again.
But with a person like that, was there any difference between his presence and absence?
With that thought, tears involuntarily spilled from her eyes.