Chapter 19: The Scent of Home, The Flavor of Happiness

After a whole afternoon of hard work, she had finally finished tidying up the house.

Li Xia looked around at her new home. Though the furnishings were simple, everything suited her aesthetic perfectly, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

A home—her own home, at last.

…

In her past life, after her father and mother divorced, she had always lived alone, renting places to stay. She had dreamed of saving enough money to buy a small courtyard in the countryside. Now, that dream had come true.

The windows were open, and floral-patterned curtains swayed gently in the breeze. On the table, a vase held wildflowers that An An had picked from outside.

She had even bought a small bookshelf. At the moment, it didn’t hold many books, but she planned to get more for An An once he finished the ones he had.

As An An grew older, the bookshelf would gradually fill up. In this era without the internet, there were both advantages and disadvantages. The good part was that children weren’t glued to electronic devices, but the downside was that their access to knowledge was limited. Books were one of the few ways for them to learn.

The kitchen was also neatly organized. The oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar she had bought were neatly arranged on the stove counter. Yesterday, when she first arrived, the kitchen had been cold and lifeless, lacking any signs of use. But now, with everything arranged, it finally felt like a proper home. 

…

Sister-in-law Tao was a warm and enthusiastic person. Though she spoke bluntly, she had no ill intentions. 

When she learned that Li Xia had bought fabric to make bedsheets and duvet covers, she immediately offered to help, saying that she had a sewing machine at home and could sew them for her. She also told Li Xia that anytime she needed to use the sewing machine, she should feel free to ask. 

Gu Weicheng remarked, “Sister-in-law Tao may have a sharp tongue, but she has a good heart. She’s also very friendly. When I chose this family housing unit, I picked this one partly because there were fewer people around and partly because I knew Sister-in-law Tao was a decent person.” 

Li Xia nodded. “After spending the past couple of days with her, I’ve come to see that too.”

She may be straightforward, but she’s not the kind of person who schemes behind others’ backs. She’s much better than those who speak sweetly but hide knives in their words. 

As the saying goes, ‘A close neighbor is better than a distant relative.’ A good neighbor is truly invaluable. Living next to someone like Sister-in-law Tao, who says what she means, saves a lot of trouble and effort.” 

Gu Weicheng listened to her words, watching her carefully. 

She understood things so clearly now. 

She had truly changed. 

“As long as you’re happy with it.” Gu Weicheng replied. He had heard what Sister-in-law Tao said earlier today and was worried that Li Xia might not be pleased. “Are we eating at the cafeteria today? I can go get the food.” 

“Let’s eat at home,” Li Xia suggested. “It’s our first day in the new house. Let’s heat up the stove—so our home will always be lively and prosperous.” 

Lively and prosperous. 

Gu Weicheng was moved by those words. 

For the past five years, despite being married, his life had been no different from that of a bachelor. But deep down, he also longed for a real home. 

He smiled at Li Xia. “Alright, I’ll go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy some groceries.” 

Hearing that his father was heading to the cooperative, An An immediately ran over and said, “Daddy, I want to go too! I’ll carry the basket for you.” 

“Okay.” Gu Weicheng scooped up An An in one swift motion, and father and son headed out together. 

Meat was a scarce commodity at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. If one wanted to buy it, they had to go early in the morning; otherwise, it would already be sold out. 

Even though Gu Weicheng was an officer, he was no exception to this rule. Since there was no meat left, he bought some eggs and Chinese chives instead. He also got some tofu. As for rice, they had already bought a large sack while they were in town, which would last them for a while. 

 Li Xia had already started the fire at home and was cooking. She had managed to light the stove by recalling how the original host used to do it—after all, in her own time, she had long been using a gas stove. 

“We couldn’t get any meat, but I bought some eggs,” Gu Weicheng said as he returned with An An. 

Just as he had promised, An An was carrying the basket. However, fearing that the child might accidentally break the eggs, Gu Weicheng carried them separately himself. 

“No problem. We can make stir-fried eggs with Chinese chives and Mapo tofu,” Li Xia replied. 

She knew how to cook, and she was quite good at it. After all, she had been living on her own since the age of eighteen, and over time, her culinary skills had naturally improved. 

Without needing any instructions, Gu Weicheng instinctively began helping with washing and preparing the ingredients. 

As the oil heated in the pan, the kitchen filled with the rich aroma of cooking. In no time, the delicious scent wafted through the air. 

“That smells amazing,” An An said, sniffing eagerly. 

“You can have a taste now, but just one bite, okay? The rest will have to wait until mealtime,” Li Xia told him.

Li Xia smiled as she picked up a pair of chopsticks, grasping a piece of stir-fried eggs with Chinese chives. She waved it in the air a couple of times to cool it down before gently feeding it into An An’s mouth. 

Some parents strongly disapproved of children tasting the food before a meal—like Li Xia’s mother. When she was little, no matter how enticing the aroma was, she was never allowed to sneak a bite before everyone sat down to eat. 

But Li Xia didn’t see the harm in it. What was wrong with tasting just one bite? It wasn’t like they were eating everything before the meal even started. Did that really mean someone lacked manners? 

“It’s delicious!” An An praised sincerely. 

Li Xia chuckled, then picked up another bite with her chopsticks and lifted it toward Gu Weicheng’s mouth. 

Gu Weicheng froze, his gaze locking onto hers. 

She smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, and urged him, “Come on, open up. One bite per person. Are you not going to eat?” 

At her urging, Gu Weicheng instinctively opened his mouth, allowing the fragrant stir-fried eggs with chives to enter. 

At that moment, he was certain—this was the best stir-fried eggs with chives he had ever tasted.

…

Even after a long, long time, he still couldn’t forget that single bite. 

Li Xia returned to the stove and began preparing Mapo Tofu. She didn’t notice that Gu Weicheng was watching her, his gaze fixed on her for a very long time. 

Since An An was still young, Li Xia only added a tiny bit of chili powder to the dish—just enough to bring out the fragrance of the peppers without making it too spicy. She then made a pot of tomato soup, and with that, the meal was complete. 

Before they sat down to eat, Li Xia scooped out a portion of the stir-fried eggs with Chinese chives and placed it into an aluminum lunchbox. Handing it to An An, she said, “An An, can you do Mommy a favor and take this over to Aunt Tao next door?” 

“Okay!” Children loved helping adults, and An An happily accepted the task. 

Seeing Gu Weicheng watching her, Li Xia explained, 

“Sister-in-law Tao is making bedsheets for me. I wasn’t sure what I could do to return the favor, so I figured I’d give her some food I made. It’s only right to return kindness with kindness.” 

“You did the right thing,” Gu Weicheng nodded, his eyes filled with approval. 

An An took the lunchbox and ran next door, knocking on the courtyard gate. “Grandma Tao, are you home?” 

It wasn’t Sister-in-law Tao who answered the door, but her eldest son, Ma Aiguo. Ma Aiguo was ten years old this year. Since he had started school a bit late, he was currently in third grade. 

Seeing An An, Ma Aiguo asked, “Are you Uncle Gu’s son from next door? How old are you? Where’s your hometown? When did you move here? Why are you looking for my mom?” 

An An quickly handed over the lunchbox. “My mom asked me to bring this to Grandma Tao.” 

With that, he turned around and ran straight home. 

That older brother seemed a bit serious, and he asked too many questions—it made An An a little scared. 

Back home, Li Xia saw An An running at full speed, as if something was chasing him. She asked, “An An, what’s wrong? What happened?” 

An An hesitated before answering shyly, “The brother next door kept asking me a bunch of questions, so I just ran back.”

Gu Weicheng said, “He’s probably Commander Ma’s son. They have three boys—the eldest, Ma Aiguo, and the second, Ma Aidang, are both in elementary school. The youngest, Ma Aimin, is the same age as An An and is attending the preschool for military families.” 

“An An is four years old now. That’s a bit too young for elementary school, but when the time comes, we can send him to the preschool too.” 

“Mm, we’ll decide when the time comes,” Li Xia replied. “For now, let’s eat.”

…

Meanwhile, at Commander Ma’s house. 

Ma Aiguo watched An An dash away faster than a rabbit. He scratched his head, puzzled about why he had run off like that. 

Carrying the lunchbox into the house, he said, “Mom, Uncle Gu’s son just came by. He handed me a lunchbox and then took off—ran faster than a rabbit, like there was a dog chasing him.”

They say no one knows a child better than their mother. Without hesitation, Sister-in-law Tao smacked Ma Aiguo on the head. “You must’ve scared him off, interrogating him like you were checking household registrations! 

“Being a little group leader at school doesn’t make you an official! Stop bombarding people with questions! An An is still young and timid, not like you three wild ones. You better watch yourself next time—if you scare him again, I’ll make sure you regret it!” 

Ma Aiguo protested, “Last time, thanks to me questioning people like that, I actually caught a thief! Even our principal praised me! 

“And besides, Mom, if you keep smacking my head, don’t blame me when my grades are bad! If I don’t do well, it’s because you hit me too much!” 

“What do you mean it’s my fault? You’re bad at studying because you take after your father! He was just like that when he was a kid—couldn’t learn a thing. Why do you think he ended up joining the army?” Sister-in-law Tao shot a glance at Commander Ma. 

Commander Ma huffed, “What does this have to do with me? And you talk like you were some top scholar—weren’t you the one who had to take literacy classes?” 

As the couple bickered, Ma Aidang and Ma Aimin rushed over, snatching the lunchbox from Ma Aiguo’s hands. “Let’s see what’s inside!” 

The lid popped open, and at once, the rich aroma of eggs and chives filled the air.

“Wow, it smells amazing!” 

“I want some! I want some!” 

“Ma Aidang, Ma Aimin, leave some for me! I was the one who brought it!” 

The three brothers huddled together, devouring the chive scrambled eggs like it was a competition, their mouths glistening with oil. 

Even as they ate, they didn’t forget to throw comments at Sister-in-law Tao. 

“Mom, you really need to learn from Auntie Li! I’m telling you, this chive scrambled egg is incredible!” 

“Yeah, compared to this, the food you cook is fit for pigs!” 

“Exactly, exactly!” Ma Aimin, the youngest, dutifully nodded in agreement with his brothers. 

Sister-in-law Tao rolled her eyes. “Food for pigs, huh? Yet you three never seem to eat any less! If you have complaints, don’t eat at all!” 

Commander Ma, hearing all three of his sons rave about Li Xia’s cooking, couldn’t resist taking a bite himself. 

After swallowing, he turned to Sister-in-law Tao and said, “Hey, I have to admit, Li really has some skills—this is delicious!”