Chapter 4

With Chef Zhang's excellent skills, all the apprentices he'd trained had gone off to different places to work as head chefs. His daughter and son-in-law both worked for the government, so they weren't suddenly going to come back and inherit the family trade. That meant Chef Zhang was currently more than capable of taking on and personally training one or two new apprentices. In her previous life, Du Wenyuan had simply continued working as a waitress, sitting on a treasure mountain without realizing what she had. She'd thought she had an iron rice bowl, and with a regimental commander for a husband, his military allowance was more than enough to support the family. All she had to do was coast through life. Who could have known that things would change so drastically later on? She would lose her job in middle age and have to support two children entirely on her own. By then, it was already too late for regrets. She'd had no choice but to grit her teeth, shoulder the responsibility, and start from zero, slowly figuring out how to make a living with a small food stall. But now, she'd been reborn. Everything could still be changed. If you rely on a mountain, the mountain may crumble. If you rely on people, they may leave. Although Du Wenyuan was willing to marry Zhang Haochen again, she'd already made up her mind that from now on, she would make a good impression on Chef Zhang and build a good relationship with him. If she got the chance, she'd try to become his apprentice directly. And if that didn't work, she could at least learn a couple of his signature dishes and give herself another skill to rely on. Du Wenyuan ate her cucumbers while turning these thoughts over in her mind. Ding Yunjie poked his head out of the kitchen and called, “The fish-head tofu soup is ready! Can someone come and take it out?” Du Wenyuan was just about to get up when Zhang Haochen stood up before her. “I'll go,” he said quietly. Du Wenyuan only had time to watch his long legs carry him toward the kitchen. Years of standing at attention had trained his back to remain perfectly straight, giving him a firm and dependable air. His belt accentuated his waist, making the lines of his muscles even more distinct and inviting all sorts of thoughts about the explosive strength hidden in that body. Du Wenyuan devoted herself entirely to appreciating the view from behind, her eyes following him the whole way. Noticing where Du Wenyuan was looking, Auntie Lin quietly reminded her, “This young man is good in every way, but how could he have never been married and already have two children? “Don't you dare jump into a fire pit. If you really agree to marry him, you'll become someone else's stepmother! “That is no easy job! You might work yourself to the bone raising those children, only for them to turn around and go looking for their real mother! “When you go home, apologize to your mother for me. I didn't know the full situation when I introduced him to you. Just pretend I never brought this up.” She looked genuinely apologetic. She truly felt that she owed Du Wenyuan's mother an apology. Du Wenyuan smiled. “Those two children wouldn't do that.” In her previous life, raising the two children alone after Zhang Haochen was gone hadn't been easy. But the boys were genuinely hardworking and well-behaved. They were much easier to raise than other people's children. When she was hospitalized with cancer, the two of them had also stayed faithfully by her bedside and taken care of her. Forget adopted sons—even plenty of biological sons couldn't have done as much. Auntie Lin gave Du Wenyuan a disapproving look. “You're still young. What do you know? I've seen plenty in my time. I'm speaking from experience.” Auntie Lin didn't know the real story behind Damao and Xiaomao. She assumed that Zhang Haochen had previously lived in his hometown and had been in a de facto marriage with another woman, with whom he'd had two children. So when people said he'd never been married, she figured that simply meant he had since separated from the children's mother. Du Wenyuan explained on Zhang Haochen's behalf, “Auntie Lin, those two children aren't his biological children. He adopted them. “And because he wanted his fallen comrade's family line to continue, he didn't even change the boys' surnames. They still have their biological father's surname.” Zhang Haochen had always believed in speaking less and doing more. Even when people misunderstood him, he rarely bothered to explain. But could he really afford not to explain something like being a single man raising two children? People's words could be frightening. In her previous life, Du Wenyuan had lost her temper with him more than once over situations like this. After all, when a husband got blamed for something, his wife didn't exactly get to walk away with her dignity untouched either. Back then, Du Wenyuan had complained that Zhang Haochen was a man with his mouth sewn shut. She couldn't understand the trouble he'd gone to on her behalf. In reality, Zhang Haochen was simply being considerate of the two children's sensitive feelings. He was afraid that if people found out they weren't his biological children, the boys might once again be called things like “jinx,” “father-killer,” or “mother-killer,” just as they had been back in their hometown. That was why he rarely mentioned the fact that the children weren't his own. The boys had told him about what they'd gone through back home, so Zhang Haochen understood exactly how they felt. But the Du Wenyuan of her previous life had a habit of sulking. Whenever Zhang Haochen asked if she was unhappy, she'd stubbornly answer, “No.” And since she'd said she wasn't upset, Zhang Haochen genuinely believed her. He wasn't a talkative man to begin with. If nothing was apparently wrong, there was even less chance he'd take the initiative to coax her. And so, through countless trivial moments of everyday life, the two of them gradually wore away a good deal of their affection for each other. Thinking of this, Du Wenyuan pulled herself back to the present and said to Auntie Lin, “It's all right. You were only trying to help by introducing someone to me. I'll explain it to my mother when I get home. Our family has already looked into Zhang Haochen and the two children's situation, so don't worry.” Qian Cuihua, who had been pretending to wipe down the table nearby, couldn't resist butting in. “So that's what happened! You knew all this and never told me? I ended up giving Auntie Lin the wrong information!” Auntie Lin's opinion of Zhang Haochen changed somewhat, too. “Well, he is a regimental commander after all. He's certainly willing to take responsibility. Adopting the children of a fallen soldier—that's a good deed.” The kitchen wasn't far from the dining area, and Zhang Haochen had already come out carrying the fish-head tofu soup. In fact, he'd been standing just a short distance behind Auntie Lin and had heard everything. He looked at Du Wenyuan in surprise. She actually took the trouble to find out about my situation… and even explained things to other people on my behalf. She's so kind. Finding out the truth about the two children's background hadn't been easy. Zhang Haochen had hardly told anyone that they weren't his biological children. This showed that the Du family was taking the matter of their daughter's marriage seriously. More importantly, they must have been at least somewhat interested in him as a potential son-in-law. Otherwise, why would they have bothered investigating him? Zhang Haochen kept reassuring himself. He still had a chance of marrying Du Wenyuan. No matter how nervous he was inside, however, his expression remained as calm as ever. His poker face was almost suspiciously convincing. “The soup is here.” Zhang Haochen carefully set the bowl on the table. He deliberately placed it where it would be, first, closest to Du Wenyuan and, second, closest to Auntie Lin. So that's why Auntie Lin had been glaring at him earlier. She'd thought he'd hidden a previous marriage and had two children with another woman. Zhang Haochen suddenly understood. At the same time, he began reconsidering how he should explain the children's background to outsiders. If he said nothing and simply let everyone misunderstand, it didn't seem fair to his future wife either. He needed to find a solution that would satisfy everyone. This time, Auntie Lin didn't rush to eat. She drank a few mouthfuls of soup to settle her stomach, then focused intently on waiting for the final dish—the star of Chef Zhang's menu and his absolute specialty: Braised pork. She had to save room for it. She couldn't possibly fill herself up with soup! Although Auntie Lin worked in an office at the labor union, supplies were scarce in those days, and meat coupons weren't easy to come by. She also had a lot of children at home, so they hardly got to eat meat more than a few times a year. And this wasn't just any meat. This was braised pork made by the chef at a state-owned restaurant! She absolutely had to eat a few extra bites today and savor every mouthful. Auntie Lin gave Zhang Haochen a shove. “Who arranges blind dates like you do?! You didn't tell me you'd already gone on a blind date with Wenyuan, and you didn't tell me the truth about the two children either! “If you keep doing things like this, who is going to dare arrange a match for you in the future?” Zhang Haochen lowered his head apologetically. “I'm sorry.” That was it. Three words. Nothing else. He really did seem like a man who hadn't been born with a mouth. Du Wenyuan sighed inwardly. His advantages were obvious enough. That face of his, that job of his—both were top-notch. But his biggest flaw was a serious problem. The man simply had no idea how to talk!