Chapter 5

Du Wenyuan ladled herself a bowl of fish soup. She blew on it to cool it down before taking her time to savor it. The soup was unbelievably fresh. The fish had been caught alive from the nearby river, while the tofu had been freshly made that very day at the village tofu workshop. Every ingredient was as fresh as could be. But fresh ingredients alone weren’t enough. Fish had its fishy smell, and tofu had its own beany aroma. It took real skill to turn those flavors into something delicious. The seasoning, the cooking technique, the control of the heat—every single part mattered. In her previous life, Du Wenyuan had followed all kinds of recipes and made fish-head tofu soup several times, but not once had it ever tasted this fresh. Without Du Wenyuan there to keep the conversation going, Auntie Lin and Zhang Haochen could only exchange a few short sentences whenever either of them spoke. They simply couldn’t find anything to talk about. So, in the end, they stopped trying to chat and focused on drinking their fish soup instead. The next thing to break the silence was a steaming plate of braised pork. This time, Qian Cuihua brought it over. While carrying the dish out, she took the opportunity to give Chef Zhang and the others an update on what had happened. The braised pork was glossy and richly red. The fatty meat was soft and springy, while the lean meat was tender enough to fall apart. The moment it hit the table, the entire restaurant seemed to fill with its mouthwatering aroma. Du Wenyuan and Auntie Lin immediately picked up a piece and popped it into their mouths. The meat was rich and fragrant, tender and melt-in-your-mouth. One gentle bite was all it took to make it fall apart. It was seriously delicious! Du Wenyuan picked up her empty bowl and was about to serve herself more rice. The rice basin was sitting closer to Zhang Haochen. Just as she reached her bowl over, her fingers bumped into the hand he had already stretched out. Their fingertips touched. Du Wenyuan barely reacted, but Zhang Haochen’s ears immediately started turning red. With those bright-red ears on full display, he said, “I’ll get it for you.” Du Wenyuan nodded. “Thank you.” Zhang Haochen took her bowl, filled it to the brim, then scooped on another spoonful and pressed the rice down firmly before handing it back to her. Du Wenyuan couldn’t help laughing. The way he had served her rice, you’d think he was trying to build her a little mountain. Had he even looked at her tiny frame? Could she possibly eat that much? Well, the food really was too good today. She poured some of the rich braising sauce over her white rice, ate it with the braised pork and the remaining fish-head tofu soup, and somehow— she actually finished the entire bowl. Zhang Haochen was used to military life, so he naturally ate much faster than ordinary people. He was the first one to finish his meal. But instead of putting his bowl down, he simply held onto the empty bowl and used it as cover, sneaking an occasional glance at Du Wenyuan. Only after Auntie Lin had finished eating did Zhang Haochen finally clean up the rest of the fish soup, a few pieces of cucumber, and the remaining rice in the rice basin. All in all, he had eaten a full four bowls of rice. Auntie Lin praised him. “Young man, you sure have a good appetite! No wonder you’re so sturdy and tall!” At a full 186 centimeters, Zhang Haochen was an exceptionally tall man for this era. Du Wenyuan glanced at the amount of food he had eaten. Unlike in her previous life, this time, at their blind date, he must have really let himself eat his fill. After they got married in her previous life, Du Wenyuan initially had no idea how much Zhang Haochen could eat. When she cooked, she estimated portions based on how much her father and older brother usually ate. Zhang Haochen was never full whenever he came home. But he simply didn’t know how to talk. Even when he was hungry, he never said a word. When he got unbearably hungry, he would sneak off to the mess hall for an extra meal. Once, Du Wenyuan happened to catch him doing it. She mistakenly thought he disliked her cooking, which was why he was secretly going out to eat. Naturally, she went home and sulked. Meanwhile, Zhang Haochen had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong. After carefully thinking it over, he concluded that Du Wenyuan was probably worried about money. So he stopped going to the mess hall for extra meals, too. A dignified regiment commander ended up going hungry every single day. It wasn’t until later, when the compound’s water supply was cut off, that Du Wenyuan went to the well to fetch water and wash the rice. Some of the other military wives happened to see how much rice she cooked for each meal. One particularly outspoken military wife said it straight to her face. She called Du Wenyuan stingy and accused her of mistreating her own husband. “How could a soldier possibly get full eating this little rice at every meal?” And that wasn’t even counting the two boys they had at home. She had never seen anyone be a wife and mother like this! Only then did Du Wenyuan realize that she had simply been making too little rice. After being needled like that for no reason, she went home even angrier at Zhang Haochen. It was all his fault for not saying anything sooner! He’d made her embarrass herself in front of everyone! Thinking back on it now, Du Wenyuan couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed. Her cheeks took on a faint blush. Honestly, the two of them really had no right to criticize each other. They had both been ridiculously childish. Wasn’t this something that could have been cleared up with just a single sentence? Auntie Lin noticed Du Wenyuan’s rosy cheeks, and a knowing gleam appeared in her eyes. She had seen the two of them reach for the rice just now. She had also caught them sneaking glances at each other several times while they were eating. In her opinion, although this was only their third blind date, the two of them seemed surprisingly compatible. They even seemed to have a certain unspoken understanding. Auntie Lin decided there was definitely something between them. After all, Zhang Haochen had asked her to act as his matchmaker. She had previously misunderstood and thought he had two illegitimate children, but now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up—and after enjoying such a good meal—she was more than willing to put in a few good words for him. “Wenyuan, now that we know the two children aren’t his biological sons but adopted orphans of a fallen soldier, I don’t think you need to rush to reject him. “Comrade Zhang has quite a lot going for him. He’s kind, responsible, and dependable. Sure, he’s a little older, but men who are older know how to take care of their wives. “And the military post is so close to where you work. If you eventually move there to join him, it won’t interfere with your job. And it’ll still be convenient for you to go back to your parents’ home. When you look at everything together, the two of you really are quite well matched. “Wenyuan, I think you should give it some serious thought. Why don’t you two spend some time getting to know each other first? “He’s already asked three different matchmakers to arrange blind dates with you. That clearly means he’s very interested in you and really has his heart set on you. What do you think?” After all, other men might not come with two children in tow, but that didn’t necessarily mean they would have Zhang Haochen’s good conditions or sense of responsibility. When choosing a husband, you had to look at the whole picture and weigh everything together. Zhang Haochen gave Auntie Lin a grateful look. Thank goodness she was willing to speak for him. If he had to say all of this himself, he might still be standing there with his mouth shut until next year. Zhang Haochen decided that whether this blind date worked out or not, he would have to give Auntie Lin plenty of gifts as thanks. Zhang Haochen looked eagerly at Du Wenyuan, waiting expectantly for her answer. To Du Wenyuan, he looked just like a well-behaved puppy sitting up straight, while its tail couldn’t stop wagging as it waited for its owner to hand over a meaty bone. She found the sight rather amusing. But there was still one thing she needed to hear from Zhang Haochen himself. “Zhang Haochen, why did you ask three different matchmakers to come arrange blind dates with me?” The moment she finished speaking, a strange ripple suddenly passed through her mind. Then, in an instant, more than half the energy in her body seemed to be drained away. She had just eaten a whole bowl of densely packed white rice, along with plenty of braised pork, fish soup, and chilled cucumber salad. Yet at that very moment, she suddenly felt ravenously hungry. What’s going on? Did I just eat all that food for nothing? But in the very next moment, something unbelievable happened. Zhang Haochen—the man who could never seem to open his mouth, who wouldn’t even answer when his emotions were stirred—actually opened his mouth and answered her honestly. “When Deputy Regiment Commander Sun treated everyone to a meal at your restaurant, that was the first time I saw you. I fell for you the moment I saw you. “After that, I came back several more times. Every time, I liked you even more than I had the time before. “That day, I happened to overhear you talking with your coworkers and learned that your family was preparing to arrange a blind date for you. So I immediately asked someone to act as a matchmaker for us. “I wanted to go on a blind date with you. I wanted to marry you. “I didn’t want you to marry someone else!” There was more than one unmarried officer stationed at the base, and Zhang Haochen wasn’t the only man who had taken an interest in Du Wenyuan. He had simply been the fastest to react—and the fastest to make his move. The moment those words came out, Auntie Lin froze. Du Wenyuan froze, too. Even Zhang Haochen himself froze. Good heavens! He had actually managed to say what he truly felt! And he had said it all the way through!