"Hurry, hurry, stop eating. You'll get diarrhea if you eat too much."
"If you're hungry, Uncle will cook for you. What do you like to eat? I'll make it for you right away!"
Dad Zhong was wearing a dark gray old-fashioned overcoat. Although old, it was neat and tidy.
His hair was streaked with white. He was tall, and his features bore a slight resemblance to Ah Zhong.
He was a bit old, but his youthful spirit was still evident.
Zhou Jinbei liked him a lot.
"Uncle, you don't have to be so polite. I'll just eat something simple. Ah Zhong doesn't know where he went, haven't you seen him?"
"This little brat, leaving you home alone. I'll scold him when he gets back."
"Sit down quickly, are you cold? Our conditions are poor, and we don't have air conditioning, but we have a fire."
"Move a stool and sit here. It's quite warm by the fire."
Saying this, he busied himself with moving the pressure cooker under the stove, then turned to move a stool for Zhou Jinbei.
Zhou Jinbei could see his joy and enthusiasm and didn't stand on ceremony.
She sat down and watched him release the pressure from the pot.
"It smells so good. What did Uncle stew?"
Dad Zhong squatted on the ground, a smile on his face.
"Beef. It's from our own cow. I've been stewing it on the fire for several hours, just so you can taste it."
"It should be cooked. I'll add some more ingredients to cut the grease. What do you like?"
"Radishes? Potatoes? Or mushrooms?"
Sitting by the fire, looking at the steaming food, she felt warm all over. This scene reminded her of something she had seen in a documentary.
She was very happy. "Can you add a little of everything? I want to try them all."
"Of course. Of course, you can."
It's not that guests eat too much, but that they don't eat at all.
Such an accommodating girl made her feel no distance.
Dad Zhong liked Zhou Jinbei even more instantly.
"Then you sit here for a while. I'll go dig up some radishes outside."
Huh?
She still had to go to the ground to dig for radishes?
Zhou Jinbei had never seen this before and immediately stood up with him.
"I'll go with you."
"No, girl, it's cold outside. Your clothes and shoes are clean, don't get them dirty."
Zhou Jinbei was wearing a white down jacket from a luxury brand, worth over twenty thousand yuan.
Her shoes were also white and pink, costing over ten thousand yuan a pair.
Fearing that Dad Zhong wouldn't let her go, she zipped up her jacket. "Then I'll take off my coat and go."
"Ah! How cold that will be! Don't catch a cold!"
"It's okay..." she had already taken it off.
Dad Zhong hurried back into the room.
"Then I'll find some clothes for you to change into. Ah Zhong used to wear these when he was studying, and I couldn't bear to throw them away. You can put them on over your clothes."
After putting on Ah Zhong's big coat, Dad Zhong found two plastic bags for her shoes, and then they went out.
The yard was paved with cement. The thin layer of snow on the ground had already been swept clean by Dad.
In the upper left corner, a small pile of sand held a bunch of green onions and garlic. It turned out the radishes were here too.
This was Zhou Jinbei's first time seeing such a way of storing food, and she immediately became interested and wanted to dig with Dad Zhong.
But her hands, fair and tender with beautiful manicures, how could they go into the sand?
Dad Zhong quickly stopped her. "Don't. Just look. How can you do this kind of work? Eat more later, and Uncle will be happy."
They went to the faucet to wash the vegetables together. Although Zhou Jinbei only watched, Dad Zhong was still very happy.
"How old is the girl this year? How long have you known Ah Zhong?"
The reason Zhou Jinbei came to their house at this time was, selfishly, just to fulfill a small wish of hers.
She knew she couldn't have anything with Ah Zhong, so she wouldn't give them false hope.
Just as she was about to tell him that she only regarded Ah Zhong as a brother and would leave tomorrow after staying for the day,
Ah Zhong returned.
Not finding his father, he had gone to the convenience store on the way.
Seeing a strange person squatting in front of his father, he walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
Zhou Jinbei looked up and saw her wearing his clothes, and he smiled.
"Why are you wearing my clothes? Are you cold?"
Even after staying up all night, his skin was still so good.
He hadn't applied anything to his face, it was clean.
His nose bridge was so high, and he looked exceptionally good when he smiled.
Zhou Jinbei couldn't help but stare at him dreamily. "Uncle insisted I wear them, afraid my clothes would get dirty. What did you buy?"
"I bought you a toothbrush and hand sanitizer. Go wash your face and brush your teeth quickly, then it will be time to eat."
"Oh. Leave them there. I've already brushed my teeth."
Ah Zhong looked playfully at his father, raising his eyebrows. "Hmm? My dad bought you a toothbrush?"
He was about to say, when did this old straight man learn to pay attention to details?
Zhou Jinbei: "No. I used yours."
"..."
"What? You dislike me? Afraid I have bad breath?"
Ah Zhong suddenly remembered a small incident from when he was with his ex-girlfriend.
They had only been living together for a short time. One night, as Ah Zhong was brushing his teeth, he accidentally broke the handle of his toothbrush.
Too lazy to get a new one, he used his girlfriend's toothbrush. The next day, his girlfriend bought a new one.
He always remembered this incident because it made him realize how important hygiene was to girls.
He never expected that the pampered Zhou Jinbei would actually...
"If I have bad breath, it's mine. As long as you don't dislike me, that's fine."
With mixed feelings, Ah Zhong carried the bag and went back into the house first.
Soon, his father and Zhou Jinbei returned, chatting and laughing.
The food was chopped, put into the pressure cooker, and stewed on the fire. His father said he would stir-fry a few more side dishes, but Zhou Jinbei stopped him.
"Can we eat dumplings? I saw you had prepared dumpling filling."
"Sure. Then let's have dumplings, and I'll stir-fry a few dishes."
"Don't stir-fry too much, it'll be wasted if we can't finish it. Besides, I don't want to gain weight."
Zhou Jinbei's cooing softened his politeness.
"I've never made dumplings before. I'll make them with you. You don't mind if I'm clumsy, do you?"
Dad added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove. He closed the door, and the small room was warm.
He was making dough and rolling wrappers on the table in the living room, while Zhou Jinbei sat beside him, watching.
She kept asking naive questions, making his father laugh heartily.
Ah Zhong came out after washing up and sat next to Zhou Jinbei, skillfully picking up a wrapper and beginning to fold it.
Zhou Jinbei gasped. "You know how to make dumplings?"
Ah Zhong said confidently.
"Not only that, but I can also stir-fry twenty different home-style dishes for you."
"Wow."
Dad Zhong: "This child lost his mother when he was young. I was often away working then, and he took care of himself. Speaking of which..."
"Dad, it's the New Year. Let's say something happy."
Dad Zhong had no choice but to change the subject. "Your Uncle Zhang's grapes didn't sell well this year, so he gave me two baskets. I've made wine with them."
"Can the girl have some? It's been half a year, so the taste should be good. Would you like to try some later?"
Homemade wine?
Zhou Jinbei definitely couldn't miss it. "Okay, I'll try some."
Ah Zhong smiled and said, "Don't drink too much."
"This wine doesn't look special, and it has enough rock sugar. It tastes sweet, but it's quite strong."
"I got so drunk I threw up last year."