In early August, Zheng Long returned to his home in Chongqing, having been away for a month. If you were to ask Zheng Kai what his greatest gain was, it would be the significantly improved relationship with his little sister.
Now, he could take care of his sister’s clothing, food, accommodation, and transportation impeccably, doing everything no worse than Zheng Long.
In contrast, Zheng Xuan hadn’t seen Zheng Long for a month. At first, she cried and fussed, but now she stared blankly, taking a good while to recognize her own father. When she hesitantly stepped towards Zheng Long, the grown man couldn’t control his emotions; his nose turned sour, and his eyes reddened.
"Daddy, Daddy~" When Zheng Xuan threw herself into Zheng Long’s arms, he picked up his little cotton-padded jacket and twirled her around several times before stopping, which made Niuniu giggle with laughter.
"Are you two doing all right?" Zheng Kai nodded fervently, "Dad, you must be tired from your journey. Go wash up; I’ll cook for you."
Zheng Long stopped him, "No hurry, no hurry, see what good things I’ve brought for you."
Zheng Long first took out candies, desserts, malted...milk...powder, tangerine canned goods, and other snacks that children like from his bag. Then, he brought out a Hero brand fountain pen and ink for Zheng Kai, along with a waterproof digital watch—an 80s-style high-powered watch. However, the one he bought for Zheng Kai was a hundreds of yuan digital watch from Space Supermarket, with several batteries included.
In addition, he had also bought cassette tapes and a Walkman corresponding to the university English course.
Seeing these things, Zheng Kai was astonished, "Dad, you actually managed to get a Walkman and tapes?"
"Learning English, you should listen and practice more, otherwise, it’s of no use. Here, I found these after scouring malls all across H province. Take a look and see if they are the textbooks you use." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire·net
"How could they not be? Just one look at the cover, and I can tell. Dad, you are incredible, my classmates have been looking for so long and haven’t found them!"
"Indeed, they’re hard to come by, and it was lucky I was at the post office looking for Monkey Stamps and happened to enter every bookstore I passed by, where I actually found these. Here’s how to insert the batteries, go try it out, see if it works well."
The gifts Zheng Long brought for Zheng Kai were all study-related, and judging from Zheng Kai’s reaction, he must have been delighted with the presents, which somewhat relieved Zheng Long.
Ultimately, the meal was made by Zheng Long. In the evenings, they had become accustomed to rolling out noodles and eating soup noodles, as they were easily digestible.
It was the season for eggplants, green beans, tomatoes, and green vegetables, which were all readily available. Even without meat, the noodles they boiled were still very tasty.
During his absence, the two kids probably hadn’t had much meat. Now that he was back, bringing home a quality piece of pork belly was a must.
Thus, although they had plain noodles for dinner, he also stewed a pot of braised pork. The braised pork was served separately from the noodles, fearing it might be too oily, so it was plated separately, allowing a more satisfying meat-eating experience. The leftover broth and such could be saved for simmering vegetables at noon the next day.
Little Niuniu could now eat anything. The sticky braised pork was her favorite. She’d grab a piece in her hand and munch away, her mouth glistening with oil.
Their domestic life didn’t fall short of any bourgeois family. When the night grew silent, Zheng Kai would often feel overwhelmed by gratitude.
Had it not been for that meal snatched in the past, might he have missed the chance to meet his father? He might have also been unable to attend the military academy due to his "class status" issues.
But now, not only did he attend the military academy, he also had such a kind father to adopt him, allowing him to live a life where meals were ample—truly a blessing from the heavens.
For this reason alone, he vowed to work like an ox or horse his entire life to repay him properly.