Zhaozhao’s mother glared at her and said, "Do you have eight stomachs or what, making so much to eat? Can you finish it all?"
Daddy Zhaozhao hurriedly said, "The kid rarely comes home, let her eat what she wants, and if there’s too much, we can always store it in the fridge, right, baby?"
"Dad loves me the most." Shen Zhaozhao’s smile widened, giving her dad a grand smile.
Daddy Zhaozhao let out a sigh of relief, knowing he had dodged that bullet, his heart finally settling down completely.
"Yes, yes, it’s always your dad who treats you best." Zhaozhao’s mother felt the father and daughter were acting strangely, but for the moment couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was odd about it, so she didn’t press further.
"Exactly." Shen Zhaozhao stuck her tongue out at Zhaozhao’s mother, then took Daddy Zhaozhao by the hand and said, "Come on, Dad, I’ll help you."
"Our sweetheart is really grown up now, even taking the initiative to enter the kitchen." Daddy Zhaozhao boasted, playing along with his daughter.
No choice there, since she had something on him.
Once in the kitchen, Shen Zhaozhao eagerly asked, "Dad, where did you hide that thirty-eight-thousand-yuan fishing rod? Hurry up and show it to me."
Is it inlaid with gold, or sheathed in silver? She wouldn’t dare buy a couch that expensive.
It’s a pity she just searched around the house and didn’t find it.
"Shush," Daddy Zhaozhao immediately covered her mouth as he heard her, glanced outside to make sure Zhaozhao’s mother wasn’t paying attention to them, then he relaxed and instructed Shen Zhaozhao, "Keep it down, your mom must never find out about this."
"Understood!" Shen Zhaozhao mimed zipping her lips shut.
Daddy Zhaozhao then couldn’t help but brag about his treasure, "I was worried your mom might accidentally damage it, so I’ve hidden it in the cabinet. Tomorrow’s a holiday; Dad will take you to see my top-notch fishing rod."
"Cool!" She also wanted to know what was so different about a fishing rod that cost tens of thousands.
"What are you two whispering about in the kitchen?" Zhaozhao’s mother came in, finding the father and daughter with their heads together, seemingly conspiring about something.
"Nothing, I’m teaching the girl how to cook," Daddy Zhaozhao replied in haste, anxious not to arouse his wife’s suspicion.
Looking at Shen Zhaozhao, Zhaozhao’s mother didn’t doubt Daddy Zhaozhao’s words, "That girl should really learn properly. She’s about to get married, and she can’t even cook a meal."
Shen Zhaozhao disagreed outright, "Who says a woman has to cook when she gets married? Yiyi said he’ll take care of all the household chores in the future."
"Listen to yourself, how is that reasonable?" Zhaozhao’s mother scolded with a glance, "So Yiyi marries you and has to treat you like an ancestor or something?"
Shen Zhaozhao argued back indignantly, "How could that be considered treating me like an ancestor? At most, it’s just division of labor. Besides, is it unreasonable not to cook? In our home, it’s always my dad who cooks."
Zhaozhao’s mother: "Now you’re preaching to me?"
Shen Zhaozhao: "How could this be preaching? I’m simply stating the obvious." Her mother was clearly being hypocritical – allowing officials to start fires but not the common people to light lamps.
Daddy Zhaozhao signaled to her with his eyes, "Don’t talk to your mom like that. She’s different from you; your mom can cook, it’s just that I feel sorry for her and don’t want her to."
"But my daughter’s also right. We didn’t raise her for her to be cooking in someone else’s home. Yiyi being considerate of her is our girl’s good fortune." Master Shen Duanshui went online, striving to please both his wife and daughter without offending either.