In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 177: The Cool Dad in the Apocalypse (7)

Several days passed, but the relationship between the two remained lukewarm. On the bright side, the continuous heavy snowfall finally began to show signs of stopping.

The people of Qijia Village had been hoping for the snow to end. Some still had family members stranded outside and had already started clearing the snow from the roads in front of their homes.

Qi Sheng and Qi Sen also took tools outside to shovel snow, and for a moment, the entire village came to life with activity.

But compared to the past, when working together was often accompanied by cheerful chatter, people now were noticeably more silent. All that could be heard along the streets was the sound of snow being shoveled and scraped, a scene that felt strangely heavy amidst the white landscape.

Fortunately, the somber mood didn’t last long. Someone nearby, catching sight of the newly-built house at Qi Sheng’s place, couldn’t help but express admiration: “Xiao Sheng really had good timing. Once they move into the new house in a couple of days, they’ll be living comfortably.”

Others shoveling nearby also shared the sentiment, and the conversation quickly opened up.

“Yeah, my house has needed renovating for a while now. I was planning to fix it up after the New Year, but now look—Dajun and the construction crews are all busy fixing up their own homes. It’s impossible to find anyone now!”

“Tell me about it! Ugh, it’s almost impossible to find a builder on short notice these days. Who knows when it’ll be our turn…”

The conversation didn’t linger long on Qi Sheng’s new house. With so many major news stories coming from all over the country—and even next year’s harvest now in question—there were simply too many pressing issues to talk about. The new house only occasionally caught people’s attention.

Qi Sheng quietly kept shoveling snow, not joining in on the conversation. Qi Sen, however, also looked up at the tall, freshly built house and couldn’t hide his envy. “Bro, you really had foresight. Why did I have to copy those city folks and build that little two-story house? Now my parents and my wife all want to live downstairs, but the heating wasn’t installed in either of the downstairs rooms. Sigh.”

“When the weather clears up in a few days, just take some time to fix it. No need to rush,” Qi Sheng replied.

“I have to rush! Meiyi’s worried sick every day that an earthquake’s going to hit us next… she can’t even sleep well!”

Seeing how worried his brother looked, Qi Sheng offered a suggestion: “Then go buy a few slides from the city sometime. Set them up outside your upstairs windows—if there’s an earthquake, just slide down. It’s basically the same as escaping from the first floor.”

Qi Sen’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea, bro! When I head to the city in a couple days, I’m definitely getting a few slides!”

Their conversation was overheard by a few others nearby. Upon hearing Qi Sheng’s idea, some of the families who also lived in two-story homes reacted like Qi Sen, feeling like they had found a new solution.

While the group continued chatting, Qi Lei was inside the new house, cleaning the bedroom. Just by looking, it was obvious that the two master bedrooms on the left belonged to the adults. The two smaller rooms on the right would likely be his and Qi Hang’s in the future.

He didn’t know Qi Hang very well—they had barely spent time together. His only impression of him was a mix of past envy and jealousy.

Thinking of the words Qi Sheng had said that day, Qi Lei frowned slightly. Were they really going to live together from now on?

Qi Sheng had just spoken to Tian Yue on the phone the day before. Once the weather cleared and the roads were passable, he needed to bring her and their child over as soon as possible.

The Tian family was still living in the city. The three people who had once hesitated over spending 200,000 yuan to build a house in their hometown now bitterly regretted it. At this point, they wished they could pool all their money just to build a safe haven back home.

They weren’t the only ones—there were countless others in the same situation. It was likely that the construction industry would be the busiest field for quite some time.

After finishing the snow-clearing outside his door, Qi Sheng went back into the new house to tidy up. The floors and walls had already been cleaned by the elderly couple and Qi Lei. Glancing at the fresh, clean bedroom, Qi Sheng headed out to find people to help move in the furniture.

The furniture he had bought earlier was still sitting in the empty storeroom of the small shop. It had been airing out for a while, and now was the perfect time to move it in.

“Lei Lei, go rest at your uncle’s place. I’ll take care of the kitchen in a bit.”

Qi Lei gave a faint “okay” and turned to go next door to his uncle’s house. Seeing his grandmother and grandaunt busy in the kitchen, he quietly went in to help.

“The house out front is done? You don’t need to help here. Go play instead.”

“There’s nothing fun to do. I’ll help you tend the fire.”

The elderly woman could tell her grandson had something on his mind, so she didn’t have the heart to send him away. She exchanged a look with her sister-in-law, and when it was just the two of them left in the kitchen, she said:

“In a few days, your dad will be bringing Hanghang and his mom here. From then on, the six of us will be living together.”

Qi Lei responded with a bland “mm.” Seeing that, the old lady continued, “Did your dad mention this to you?”

“He did.”

“Did he say anything about how you should get along with Hanghang?” Although she was upset that her son had treated her eldest grandson unfairly, she was still quite happy to be living together as a family. However, she was worried her foolish son might still wrong Qi Lei, so she couldn’t help asking more.

Qi Lei shook his head and replied, “No.”

“Really?”

He shook his head again. The old woman was concerned he might be hiding the truth, so she spoke firmly to show her support: “Don’t worry. If your dad tells you to give in to Hanghang all the time, just ignore him. Hanghang’s not a kid anymore; he doesn’t need to be coddled.”

“Mm, I know.”

Still worried Qi Lei might be quietly suffering behind the scenes, she added, “And if your dad says anything harsh, don’t take it to heart—just tell your grandma, and I’ll go give him a piece of my mind! This is your turf, and he doesn’t get to act out here!”

Qi Lei finally let out a laugh, smiling at the elderly woman in front of him, a warmth rising in his heart. “Grandma, don’t worry. I won’t be wronged.”

The next day, Qi Sheng drove to the city to bring the mother and son back. On the way, he spoke to Tian Yue.

“I’ve wronged Lei in the past. Lately I’ve thought it through. The child is innocent—I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on him. Now that we’ll all be living together, I want to take this chance to mend our relationship.”

Tian Yue glanced at Qi Sheng but didn’t reply immediately. After a long pause, she said hesitantly, “Xiao Lei is a good kid. It’s only right you two get along, but I doubt this is something that can be fixed overnight.”

Back then, even as a stepmother, she had felt that Qi Sheng had gone too far—so how could Qi Lei, the one who was actually hurt, not feel the same? She had genuinely felt sorry for him. Qi Sheng wanting to make amends now showed he wasn’t completely heartless.

Even so, Tian Yue still had a vague sense of unease.

Qi Lei was a good kid—but unfortunately, he wasn’t her own. She wouldn’t mind if Qi Sheng got along well with him, but she worried that in trying to make up for the past, Qi Sheng might go too far and start favoring Qi Lei.

She didn’t want to see her own son left out.

Qi Sheng sensed what she was thinking. He looked at his son, who was happily listening to music in the backseat, and said, “Hanghang, take off your headphones.”

Qi Hang didn’t understand why, but obediently removed them.

“Dad, what’s up?”

“Dad was just talking to Mom about your older brother. I used to have a pretty extreme mindset and wronged him for many years. Now that we’ll all be living together, I want to make it up to him. I hope you’ll also get along well with your brother, okay?”

Qi Hang replied with a nonchalant “oh,” not sensing any major change. But then he curiously asked, “If the two of us argue or fight, whose side would you take?”

Qi Sheng chuckled, “I’ll side with whoever’s right. How’s that for an answer?”

Qi Hang didn’t think it was a great answer, but since he’d never fought with Qi Lei before, he couldn’t imagine such a scenario. He just plugged his headphones back in and leaned lazily against the car seat.

Tian Yue saw her son’s carefree attitude and realized he hadn’t yet grasped the situation. She glanced again at her husband, whose expression remained gentle, and decided not to say anything more for now.

When the family of three arrived home, Tian Yue was wide-eyed as she looked at the new house.

“This house really only cost a bit over 200,000?”

Qi Sheng fell silent under his wife’s skeptical gaze.

The new house still needed to be aired out for a while, so Qi Sheng had no choice but to make a makeshift bed on the floor in their current room. He and his wife would sleep on the floor and let the two boys have the bed.

Qi Lei felt even more uncomfortable this time, but now wasn’t the time to make a fuss. He just continued pretending to be invisible.

Qi Hang, on the other hand, wasn’t the quiet type. Remembering what his dad had said in the car, he decided to try and get along with his new brother.

“Hey, do you play Honor of Kings? Or how about some PUBG?”

Qi Lei actually played both—and was quite good at them—but he wasn’t used to being close with Qi Hang, so he simply decided to turn over and sleep.

Qi Hang felt snubbed. Wrinkling his nose, he glanced at Qi Sheng, then flopped back onto the bed and played on his phone.

Qi Sheng had expected this. In order to bring the family closer together, he got up early the next morning, phone in hand, and started using a cooking app to study how to make egg pancakes.

Of course, the recipe was just a cover—his cooking skills were enough to amaze anyone in minutes!

Sure enough, both his own family and Qi Sen’s family were stunned after the first bite.

“Bro, your cooking is amazing! How long have you been practicing?”

Qi Sheng laughed inwardly—this is only half of what I can do, you poor inexperienced soul.

He replied modestly, “Not that long. I just watched a video on how to make this and followed it step by step. Pretty simple.”

Qi Sen and Lin Meiyi, the long-time purveyors of “dark cuisine,” exchanged skeptical looks. Who are you trying to fool here?

Qi Sheng sat down beside Qi Lei and added another egg pancake to his plate, speaking gently: “Come on, try the breakfast your dad made with his own hands. Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to eat.”

Having taken care of his older son, Qi Sheng also made sure to look after his younger son for the sake of family harmony. Qi Hang had never received this kind of treatment before and was momentarily stunned with joy.

“Dad, you’re amazing!”

“Of course I am.”

Everyone happily ate their breakfast, suspecting that Qi Sheng must have secretly been practicing for a long time. But they didn’t ask further, choosing instead to quietly enjoy the food while their minds were already plotting…

That morning, while Qi Sheng was planning to have a break and enjoy a ready-made lunch, he found that the entire family had already prepped all the ingredients and were waiting for him to cook.

“You all trust me this much?”

The elderly lady chuckled, “Here’s your menu for today: braised pork ribs, stir-fried beef, and dì sān xiān (a stir-fry of potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers). We’ve prepared everything—now let’s see what you can do.”

Qi Sheng, no longer pretending to be modest, theatrically opened the recipe app on his phone. Looking at the ingredients for braised pork ribs, he grinned, “I remember Lei likes braised ribs. Today, I’ll show my son what I’ve got!”

His voice was loud enough that Qi Lei, who happened to be passing by the courtyard, heard every word clearly.

He glanced curiously toward the kitchen, then quickened his pace and returned to the living room.

Qi Sheng had no idea that he’d just scored major goodwill points with his son by accident. Meanwhile, he was in the kitchen brandishing spatulas like a pro, thoroughly stunning the two older women who had been in charge of the kitchen for years.

When the food was done, the old lady tried a bite of the braised pork ribs and stir-fried beef and let out a sigh. “If I’d known this boy had such talent, I’d have made him start cooking years ago!”

That pretty much summed up how everyone felt, because by lunchtime, Qi Sheng’s cooking had earned him legendary status in the family.

The whole family stayed at Second Master Qi’s house until the tenth day of the lunar new year. After checking the calendar, they finally moved into the new house.

Second Master Qi was reluctant to see them go. “Hey, we should still eat together!”

Qi Sen agreed, “Yeah! It saves the trouble of both sides having to cook.”

Lin Meiyi chimed in supportively, “Exactly—division of labor! Qi Sen and I will keep doing the dishes!”

Ever since Qi Sheng revealed his culinary prowess, his status in the household had skyrocketed. With his food, he’d won over the whole extended family. Even Qi Lei, who had originally wanted to keep his distance, had started quietly looking forward to mealtimes.

Following the belief that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” Qi Sheng began using his free time to subtly tempt Qi Lei.

“Lei Lei, I secretly made these fried chicken drumsticks just for you—come eat!”

Qi Lei’s first instinct was to refuse, but the golden, crispy drumsticks on the plate severely tested his willpower. His brain told him to walk away, but his legs stood frozen at the kitchen door.

He felt an instant sense of despair. He hadn’t said no right away. He forced himself to ask, “Don’t you have any for Qi Hang?”

“Him? Yeah, he has some too—but smaller ones. Come on, you eat first!”

Qi Lei didn’t quite believe it, but walked over to look anyway. Sure enough, two bowls sat there with one large and one small drumstick respectively. Before he could react, the big one was shoved into his hand.

“I also fried you some chicken tenders. And your grandma said you like braised beef—I’ll make that for you too.”

Qi Lei gave a flat “mm” in response, thanked him, then used all his willpower to keep his mouth from watering. With great effort to keep a straight face, he carried the bowl back to his room.

Alone, Qi Lei thought about what that man had just said, then took a bite of the drumstick… and couldn’t stop himself from letting out a tiny hum of satisfaction.