novelraw Chapter 18 Detours are Inevitable
Chapter 18 Detours are Inevitable
The aroma of pork bone broth filled the hall clearly and vividly. Li Yan came out of the kitchen with a steaming bowl of stir-fried vegetables with pork cracklings in her hands. When she saw her son return, a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face: "Perfect timing, wash your hands and eat."
There were two things that pleased her: she started cooking while she was on the phone, and by the time Chen Che came in, she had just finished cooking, and the dish was at its most flavorful with the aroma of a wok.
Another thing is that I watched him enter the community, and then I called his dad to open the door at exactly the right time, which made my already happy mood even more pleasant.
On the dining table, tonight's dinner consists of winter melon and pork bone soup, stir-fried vegetables with pork cracklings, sweet lotus root with osmanthus, and a dish of sliced beef and tripe in chili sauce.
Chen Cheng, the father, glanced at the table, then at Chen Che, and said, "We're benefiting from our son's success today."
So he received a pair of eye rolls from Li Yan: "It's like I'm abusing you at home."
After saying that, he turned to Chen Che and said:
"Drink some winter melon soup first. Winter melon helps to cool you down in the summer. Eat more of it in the summer. Also, the essence of the bones is stewed into the soup."
"This leafy green was picked by your grandfather himself when we went back to the countryside a few days ago."
"This candied lotus root is a dollar more expensive now. Try it and see if it tastes the same."
"I specifically told the boss not to put any duck parts in this lung slice."
The elderly mother explained the painstaking effort and ingenuity behind each dish, and Chen Che smiled and said, "Mom, which one should I eat first?"
"Hehe, see for yourself."
Chen Che thought for a moment, then scooped up a bowl of bone broth to drink first. He picked out a piece of bone with a bit of fat on it, and the marrow had been cooked into the broth. A few drops of oil floated on the clear soup.
While I was drinking the soup, my mother kept staring at me and smiling.
"What are you looking at?" Chen Che asked.
"I checked to see if you got a tan during military training."
"Oh, so have you figured it out yet?"
"It seems a little bit, but he's still our handsome son," Li Yan said with a smile.
My dad chimed in from the side, "We have good genes in our family, there's nothing we can do about it."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the three of them started talking about life as new college students.
"How many girls are there in your class?" Li Yan asked with a smile, her eyes narrowed.
Five.
"Oh dear, that's so little," Li Yan said regretfully.
"Five girls are quite a lot in the civil engineering major," Chen Cheng commented objectively.
"The total number is still too small, making it even harder to find someone you like."
"Xiao Che, you're a college student now, you can't just bury yourself in books like before."
"You need to socialize more and build relationships, especially with girls you like. You must be bold and communicate with them. Boys should be more proactive." As Li Yan spoke, her face began to look worried.
"It's too early to say that; he's only a freshman in college," the father said, expressing a different opinion.
"What do you mean 'early'? Wait until you're like his sister, over thirty and too lazy to even date, spending all your time at home fiddling with that pile of broken stones for carving seals, and then you'll be worried. Look at your sister, she's too lazy to care about anything now."
"That's normal. Nowadays, many college students go on to graduate school or get a doctorate and are almost thirty. Unlike back in our day, graduating from high school was considered educated," Chen Cheng comforted him, then shifted the blame, adding, "Xiao Che, you agree, right?"
Chen Che had no intention of participating in this fruitless discussion; he was just going to be a silent listener, watching them debate and argue. He never expected his father to be so unfilial and drag him into it.
Chen Che thought for a moment and said with a serious expression:
"Mom, I'm just an innocent male college student who just graduated from high school and came to the university campus."
You know, I've never even held a girl's hand since I was a child; all I ever thought about was studying.
My roommate asked me to go play basketball, but I ignored him.
My classmate asked me to go to an internet cafe, but I repeatedly declined.
In the blink of an eye, an image of a young man studying diligently day and night appeared in everyone's minds, though he didn't quite resemble Chen Che himself.
That's normal, though; the image of yourself in your imagination is always filtered through a lens.
"Really? I seem to remember when you were in middle school, your female classmates would chase you to your doorstep, asking if you could tutor them in math. I was the one who opened the door."
"Who? Don't you remember? Besides, is this my fault?"
......
After finishing the meal, I tossed aside my chopsticks and bowl. It's so nice to have someone feed you.
He sank into the soft sofa and casually turned on the TV to the movie channel. The movie being shown was a dubbed version of "Titanic." Old Li's good looks in his youth were so striking that even Chen Che had to temporarily give way and admit that he was indeed a little bit inferior.
No wonder the female lead turned down a perfectly good rich fiancé and fell for this poor guy.
All love at first sight is lust at first sight.
Chen Che picked up a pomegranate from the table and peeled the seeds into his bowl while watching TV.
When Li Yan finished washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen and came to sit down, Chen Che simply placed the bowl in front of her without saying anything.
Li Yan looked at her son in surprise, wondering if university was really that magical, making her child grow up overnight.
Our house is on the second floor, and there's a large terrace right outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. My father specially bought a coffee table and two rocking chairs. After dinner, he can lie down in the chairs, drink tea, and enjoy the breeze—it's such a wonderful thing.
The moon hangs high in the night sky, accompanied by twinkling stars.
Chen Che applied some floral water to his body, then, wearing only a t-shirt and shorts, swaggered into one of the rocking chairs and comfortably closed his eyes.
Chen Cheng, sitting across from him, looked to the side and was equally surprised. According to usual practice, he should be playing games in his room right now, so engrossed that he wouldn't even have time to come out and get some fruit.
"Why aren't you playing games in your room?" Chen Cheng asked.
"I'm tired of it." Chen Che rested his head on his hands, too lazy to even open his eyes again. The feeling of lying in the rocking chair to cool off couldn't be more comfortable.
"It's nothing, just listen to me ramble on for a bit," Chen Cheng said.
"Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening."
I thought it would be just another set of old advice about studying hard, going to bed early and getting up early, and taking good care of yourself when you're away from home. But to my surprise, my father started telling me his stories over the years.
"Xiao Che, you're all grown up now, you're a college student. Besides not falling behind in your studies, you should also think about how you want to develop your future and how you should plan your life."
When I graduated from high school, your grandfather used his connections to get me a job at the local power supply station. He promised that after a few years of climbing the ranks, I could go back to work in an office.
But when I climbed that pole and looked down, I got scared, and I didn't last long before quitting. I was so angry with your grandpa. My former colleagues are probably all junior managers now, at the very least.
Later, I found a factory to work in. It was an assembly line job, but some of my coworkers got along well with the supervisor, so it wasn't a big deal if I worked a little less.
Back then, I wasn't good with words and didn't know how to interact with people, so I just focused on my work. Later, he became the line leader, but I remained the same, and I left after a short time.
Later, your grandfather took out his savings and had your aunt contribute some money to help me rent a shop, and I started doing some business.
In the end, I still couldn't escape interacting with people. The hardships I didn't want to endure before, I still had to go through. Even if I felt too shy to speak up, I had to force myself to talk and laugh with others. After all these years of hard work, I've barely managed to make ends meet for my family.
"Our family doesn't have any connections or influence, so we can't help you much. You can only rely on your own hard work. This is the only experience we have, and we hope it's outdated, so you can avoid some detours."
"No matter what decision you make, your parents will always be your strongest support and will unconditionally support you."
Seeing that Chen Che didn't speak, Chen Cheng asked, "Xiao Che, you're not asleep, are you?"
"No, are you done?" Chen Che looked around. The night was bright, and the road ahead seemed uncertain.
"Well, I don't know if you listened to me," Chen Cheng sighed.
Xiongguan Mandao is really like iron, and now it has started from scratch.
The arduous journey of life begins once again.
Chen Che yawned and said casually, "It's no big deal. My family can rely on me from now on."
Chen Cheng snorted and shook his head: "Heh, this brat has quite the big mouth. He's never earned money and doesn't know how hard it is to make it. He'll learn his lesson once he's experienced some hardship in the real world."