Chapter 318 - 315: Little New Year’s Eve Reunion

Chapter 318: Chapter 315: Little New Year’s Eve Reunion

"Spicy boiled fish is here~"

Li Weiya emerged from the kitchen carrying a basin of spicy boiled fish, its surface shimmering with red chili oil, chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns. Seeing the two in the living room still studying storyboards, she said with a smile, "You’re on vacation, so take a break. Go wash your hands. It’s time to eat."

Just then, Lin Yanwan’s voice drifted from the kitchen. "Godmother, do we have any sweet bean sauce?"

"Yes, yes, I put it in the fridge." Li Weiya opened the refrigerator, took out a jar of sweet bean sauce, and walked into the kitchen to hand it to her goddaughter.

Lin Yanwan was stir-frying twice-cooked pork. The pork belly in the wok was seared to a light golden brown. She poured out the excess fat, added a spoonful of broad bean paste and sweet bean sauce, and stir-fried them until the oil turned red. Then, she tossed in chopped garlic sprouts and fermented black beans, blasting them over high heat to release their aroma. A little more seasoning, and it would be ready to be plated.

"You’re a really good cook." Seeing her practiced movements and skillful wok-tossing, Li Weiya couldn’t help but praise her.

"Yanwan, do you two often cook for yourselves?"

Lin Yanwan shook her head slightly. "Only occasionally. It’s all things I learned from my mother back then."

Usually, they either ate at the school cafeteria or ordered takeout at the company. They rarely cooked for real. It was just that in her past life, she had cooked for Jiang Xia for eight years. In a way, that made her something of a housewife now.

"Girls who know how to cook are rare these days. I never would have guessed. You’ll definitely be a virtuous wife and mother someday," Li Weiya teased.

Especially in the Sichuan and Chongqing region, the men basically do all the cooking and grocery shopping. The wives are just responsible for eating and playing mahjong.

Lin Yanwan’s cheeks reddened slightly. She had indeed been very virtuous in her past life. Ever since she married Jiang Xia, she had insisted that a painter’s hands weren’t meant for washing dishes and doing housework. But she herself was a piano teacher.

Later on, she also had to take care of her disheartened husband and both sets of parents. And that good-for-nothing out there now, feeling guilty, was trying every trick in the book to pick fights with her and force her to divorce him.

"I think so too." Jiang Xia popped up from somewhere. "But from now on, I’ll handle the cooking. You can be in charge of the kids. We can’t let such a beautiful pair of hands go to waste."

Li Weiya’s eyes widened. She instinctively glanced at Lin Yanwan’s flat stomach and asked in surprise, "You two have a child already?"

"No way! Godmother, don’t listen to his nonsense!" Lin Yanwan shot him an embarrassed and annoyed glare. ’If you don’t know how to talk, then don’t talk at all! I’m still a virgin, for goodness’ sake.’

Jiang Xia said awkwardly, "I meant in the future."

"Who wants to have your babies? Get lost!"

Watching the young couple bicker, Li Weiya couldn’t help but smile knowingly. "Ah Xia, you can cook too?"

"Nope," Jiang Xia replied matter-of-factly. "But I can learn."

’The guilt I feel toward my wife hasn’t lessened one bit. This lifetime, we’ll be husband and wife again, and I’ll take care of all the housework!’

"Is your cooking even edible?" Lin Yanwan couldn’t help but pout. As she recalled, the few times he had tried to cook, he either burned the pot or undercooked the food. Even when it was cooked through, the taste was incredibly strange, and she’d have to remake the entire meal.

’Thinking back on it now, it was a stroke of sheer luck that he didn’t blow up the kitchen.’

"Ahem..."

Jiang Xia was also reminded of his own dark history. His tone became inexplicably defensive. "Well, you can’t blame me. I followed the recipe exactly, but how am I supposed to know how much ’a moderate amount’ or ’a dash’ is?"

Lin Yanwan and Li Weiya: "..."

"But I can learn from scratch!" Jiang Xia said earnestly.

’This lifetime, I will be the one to protect my wife’s soft, delicate hands!’

’After all, my wife’s little hands are meant for gripping a joystick, not a spatula.’

Lin Yanwan chuckled softly. "You’re the one who said it, and Godmother heard you too. Don’t even think about backing out later."

Jiang Xia puffed out his chest. "I’m a man of my word. Househusband, starting today."

"In that case... househusband, carry the plate~" Lin Yanwan said with a smile in her eyes, handing him the freshly made twice-cooked pork.

After washing their hands, the family sat down at the table to eat. On this Little New Year’s Eve, it was a reunion of sorts.

The spread on the table was sumptuous: spicy boiled fish, twice-cooked pork, spicy fried chicken, braised pork belly, hot and sour shredded potatoes, salted braised pork belly, and stir-fried cabbage. They were all common, home-style dishes beloved by the people of Yu Du.

"I never thought I’d get to eat Godmother’s home cooking in the Imperial Capital." Jiang Xia took a deep breath, inhaling the aromas. "Everything smells so good."

"I have very, very little time to cook these days. If you want to eat my cooking, just come over with Yanwan every day. No matter how busy I am, I’ll whip up a full table for you."

Li Weiya smiled faintly. "Take a guess. Besides the twice-cooked pork, which other dishes did Yanwan make?"

"The hot and sour shredded potatoes, the stir-fried cabbage, and the braised pork belly," Jiang Xia said without a moment’s hesitation.

"How did you know?" Li Weiya asked, curious.

Jiang Xia just smiled without answering. ’Does this even need guessing? I ate these dishes for eight years in my past life. They’re all my favorites. I could tell just by the smell.’

The couple exchanged a look of perfect understanding. Blushing, Lin Yanwan gently lifted her small, stockinged foot and softly pressed it on top of his.

This was a secret that belonged only to the two of them.

Eight years of marriage had filled them with so many sweet memories of each other. Thankfully, there was a next life.

Placing a piece of fish fillet in his wife’s bowl, Jiang Xia asked, "Godmother, when are you planning to go back?"

"I probably won’t be able to go back until the end of the year. You, the hands-off boss, don’t manage anything. In the next couple of days, I still have to sign the broadcast contracts for season four of Cat and Mouse with the major TV stations," Li Weiya said.

Jiang Xia nodded as well. "True. If we want the ratings to be good, it’s best to air it before the New Year. During the holiday itself, everyone’s busy visiting relatives, so they barely have time to watch TV."

"Thank you for your hard work, Godmother," he said.

Li Weiya gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shook her head faintly. Her career and her life were now deeply intertwined with Qitian Animation Company. She was swamped with work on a daily basis; taking it easy wasn’t even a remote possibility.

"What about you two?"

"Yanwan and I want to explore the Imperial Capital a bit more. We’ve been busy almost nonstop since the semester started. I’ve only managed to watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square with her on New Year’s Eve. We haven’t been to places like the Forbidden City or the Great Wall yet. Since we have time now, we might as well visit them all."

Under the table, Jiang Xia gently took his wife’s hand.

"I bet you two are just afraid you won’t be able to have your private world together like this once you go back, aren’t you?" Li Weiya couldn’t help but tease, seeing right through their little scheme.

After all, she was someone with experience. Young boys and girls in love were all like that, always wanting to stick to their sweethearts 24/7. Not to mention, the two of them were even living together now, inseparable as glue. Going back would mean a temporary separation.

How could the young couple bear the pain of longing for each other?

Lin Yanwan blushed slightly, which was as good as an admission.

"Mom, I want to go back earlier," Wang Ming said suddenly, pursing his lips.