He Teng thought, well, as long as she doesn't make a fuss, as long as she doesn't mess with his father and sister anymore, if she doesn't want a divorce, then there won't be one. Even if she doesn't like him, he's in the army all year round, and there's not much chance to see her.
On this day when cooking dinner, He Zhilan volunteered to help He Zhongguo. She claimed to be helping, but He Zhongguo had never let her into the kitchen since she was little. So, she didn't really know how to cook. All she could do was wash and prepare the vegetables. Still, even this much was enough to make He Zhongguo extremely happy.
During dinner, He Zhongguo kept smiling, constantly urging He Zhilan to eat more.
Because of He Zhilan's habits, no one in the He family would serve her food. It wasn't an act of neglect, but rather because she never ate what other people served her using their chopsticks since she was a kid.
"Dad, let me learn cooking with you tomorrow!" He Zhilan suddenly proposed.
He Zhongguo paused, "Why? Your time as a student should be spent on studying, the rest is for rest. Dad is not so old that he can't cook."
"Dad, I can't be incapable of cooking forever. I'm already married, and if possible, I'll follow him into the army in the future. I can not let my brother cook for me when he comes home, right? And if we have children in the future, am I going to have to wait for them to cook for me?" He Zhilan stirred the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks.
He Dongxue choked on her food; He Teng was also stunned, looking at He Zhilan with a surprised expression.
Only He Zhongguo remained somewhat calm, but the smile on his face gradually deepened.
"That's true. It makes sense, after getting married, if you could join the army, then you could cook for Ateng. When you have a child, you must cook for them too! Alright, tomorrow Dad will teach you!" He Zhongguo kept nodding his head, really happy at heart. That He Zhilan could say such things meant that she had understood and she wanted to live a good life with He Teng in the future.
Following the army, having children – these were all brought up by He Zhilan herself. He Teng started to wonder if his hearing had got bad from all the shouting that he did at the army.
He really thought it was unbelievable. Wasn't He Zhilan supposed to detest him? Yet, she was thinking about following him into the army? And having his child?
Although He Zhilan meant what she said sincerely, she felt somewhat embarrassed when He Teng stared at her incessantly.
Only after a struggle, He Dongxue caught her breath. After swallowing a large bowl of soup, she said, "That's great! Brother is already 27. In our village, men his age already have children running all over the streets! Dad, I want to learn too!"
"You are still studying. Don't complicate things," He Zhongguo said.
"Dad, you're being biased! Learning to cook won't take much time. Our teacher also says we can't just study all the time, otherwise we'll turn into bookworms!" protested He Dongxue. "Anyway, whatever you say, if you're teaching her, I need to be there learning too!"
"Well, that's true, you will get married eventually, and then you will need to cook for your husband!" He Zhongguo teased He Dongxue.
"Dad, am I the kind of person who has no conscience? If I'm learning to cook, I'm obviously going to cook for you first!" Once He Dongxue received the approval, she felt a lot happier. Looking at He Zhilan, she felt slightly more comfortable with her presence.
When He Dongxue was washing the dishes that night, she didn't refuse when He Zhilan offered to help.