Chapter 83: Second Update

Chapter 83: Second Update

In the Zhou family's kitchen, Gu Cheng stood at the door with his arms crossed. Though his face was expressionless, he was secretly delighted, suppressing the upward curl of his lips. With a serious demeanor, he commanded, "First, wash the vegetables over there. Later, I'll teach you how to cook. Just follow my instructions."

The women and children were gathered in the yard. Gu Cheng, at Sister Zaohua’s request, had come to the Zhou family's kitchen to teach Political Commissar Zhou how to cook.

When Political Commissar Zhou saw him, he nearly choked on his breath.

A few days earlier, he had quarreled with Zaohua. Sister Zaohua had told him to learn from Captain Gu. Sipping his tea calmly, Political Commissar Zhou had said, "Learn? Someone has to teach me first. If you can get him to teach me, I'll learn. I'll learn properly."

After saying that, Political Commissar Zhou didn’t take it seriously. He had known Gu Cheng for a long time and understood his personality. This was, after all, a pipe dream.

However—

Zaohua told Qin Yao, who then relayed it to Gu Cheng. Not only did Gu Cheng not refuse, but he also eagerly came over to teach, giving instructions in their kitchen. The two families would dine together that evening.

What was this Gu guy thinking?

"Captain Gu, I've known you for a long time, but it feels like today is the first time I'm truly getting to know you," Political Commissar Zhou said with a sly, mocking tone while washing the vegetables.

Gu Cheng stood at the door, peeling a banana. Among all the fruits, bananas were his favorite on the island because they were the least troublesome to eat.

"The real me in life is different from the me at work," Gu Cheng said, flashing a purely innocent smile at Political Commissar Zhou.

"This is persecution!" Political Commissar Zhou thought, feeling like he was about to have a heart attack from anger. In the past, he had given Gu Cheng a lot of trouble at work, but they were, after all, in the same boat, weren’t they? Was it necessary to be so self-destructive?

Gu Cheng said, "Commissar, I've been wanting to give you a lesson for a long time."

Political Commissar Zhou: "..."

Political Commissar Zhou watched as Gu Cheng swiftly changed into a white apron. Cooking wasn’t a big deal, and in the family apartment, many men cooked at home, especially when entertaining guests. Chopping bones and killing chickens and ducks were men’s work.

As for Political Commissar Zhou’s wife, Zaohua, she was known for being capable and hardly needed him to enter the kitchen. Political Commissar Zhou had never even had to kill a chicken.

For years, Political Commissar Zhou had coasted through life, enjoying the luxury of never having to lift a finger in the kitchen. Apart from occasionally regretting not finding a beautiful and cultured wife, he had no complaints about his "ordinary life."

He truly hadn’t expected that one day his peaceful and comfortable life would be thrown off balance.

"This is so embarrassing. Please don't tell anyone else," Political Commissar Zhou said, covering his forehead. In the past, when life was good, he had boasted about never having entered the kitchen and being well taken care of by women.

"Gu Cheng, don't laugh! What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"

Gu Cheng smiled, thinking to himself: I'm happy to see you struggling.

"Women aren't that delicate when they're pregnant. Look at you. What have you become? Your wife tells you what to do, and you just do it. Let me tell you clearly, your thinking is problematic. You've been hit by the enemy's sugar-coated bullets."

Gu Cheng nodded calmly.

"Commissar, self-reliance leads to self-sufficiency," Gu Cheng said with a smirk. "I like cooking my own meals."

Political Commissar Zhou: "..."

"Is that really true?"

Gu Cheng remained unmoved. "Yes, I hope you can experience this kind of happiness too."

Back at home, Gu Cheng found genuine joy in cooking, partly to keep up with Qin Yao's unpredictable cravings during her pregnancy. Qin Yao, who was pregnant, had developed very particular tastes and especially liked drinking milk.

Comrade Gu was especially afraid that one day Qin Yao might start using milk in her cooking, particularly after hearing her say she wanted to make a spicy hotpot in the winter. Gu Cheng asked, "Aren't you afraid it'll be too spicy?"

Qin Yao replied, "Pour milk into it. It turns out creamy with a hint of spice, and it's especially delicious!"

Decades later, making a spicy hotpot at home with a beef fat base, milk, and water became incredibly popular. Qin Yao wanted to try it in this era, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough oil available.

Gu Cheng: "..."

What was terrifying wasn’t that Qin Yao used milk in her cooking; it was that she actually enjoyed it and ate it with great relish.

Sitting there, he was stuck in a dilemma—whether to eat or not. Better to just cook for himself. After all, whoever does the cooking calls the shots.

Gu Cheng was thinking of his "iron stomach."

"Gu Cheng, look at what you've become? You're like a 'silly dad.' I know becoming a father for the first time is exciting, but you don't have to act like this..."

Political Commissar Zhou either stayed quiet or launched into long speeches.

Gu Cheng listened quietly, amused that some actual wisdom was coming out of this guy's mouth for once.

Political Commissar Zhou: "Have you had enough?"

"Not yet, please continue. It's rare to hear something fresh from you."

Political Commissar Zhou: "..."

With a dramatic flair, Political Commissar Zhou whipped up a whole table of dishes. The two families sat down to enjoy them, and Neighbor Sister Zaohua couldn’t stop praising Gu Cheng.

Gu Cheng said confidently, "Sister Zaohua, trust me. The people I've trained all pass the basic courses within a month, without fail."

Political Commissar Zhou was quite frustrated.

...He didn’t expect Gu Cheng to actually be quite good at cooking.

Gu Cheng: "I've tailored a 'Key Learning Plan for the Whole Year' for Political Commissar Zhou."

Neighbor Sister Zaohua was stunned: "?! Is there such a thing?"

Political Commissar Zhou's eyes widened: "!"

Qin Yao turned her head: "What plan? Let me see?"

"Just messing with him."

After they got back from Political Commissar Zhou’s place, Gu Cheng helped his wife, still feeling pretty happy. Qin Yao gave him several strange looks, thinking, "Captain Gu, you’re really letting yourself go now."

From the old items his parents had sent over, it was clear that Gu Cheng had been quite mischievous as a child. After joining the army, he became much steadier, and later, as everyone called him "Captain Gu," he became even more serious and proper.

Well, now... after getting married, there was no need to hide his true self anymore. Neighbors couldn’t be fooled anyway, so let things be as they are.

Gu Cheng bathed with Qin Yao, heating the water for their bath, and then carried her back to the bedroom.

"Why are you so happy?" Qin Yao was a bit disapproving of his smug appearance.

Gu Cheng smiled with his lips pressed together: "In the past, I wasn’t 'that familiar' with Political Commissar Zhou."

Though they had known each other for a while, most of their interactions were work-related, and they rarely crossed paths outside of that.

"He’s really good at acting all high and mighty, like he’s the seasoned vet. Always putting on a show."

"Seeing how clumsy he is makes me happy."

Qin Yao covered her stomach with a blanket and whispered, "My little darlings, don't listen to your father. That's immoral."

Gu Cheng clicked his tongue.

"I'm going to teach our child some 'truth, goodness, and beauty' as prenatal lessons. Don't come and corrupt these innocent little ones."

Gu Cheng pulled open her blanket and whispered against her belly, "When you come out, Dad will teach you about 'deception is a valid strategy' and 'outwitting your opponents'."

Qin Yao said, "I've had enough of you."

"My kids can't just be meek little lambs who always follow the rules. Go be the king of the forest, be a lion, a tiger. Whether you stand up for yourself or help others, just don't be bullied."

Qin Yao gave him a sideways glance but didn't deny his words.

As a mother, of course, she hoped her child would be obedient, but was an obedient, disciplined child necessarily good?

Well, maybe a bit of rough and tough education from Dad was needed too.

Days passed, and all the manuscripts were transcribed. Qin Yao sent out all the drafts, but a month later, they were returned with a note saying they were non-compliant and listing a bunch of issues.

Qin Yao was quite angry. She could make the changes, but wouldn't that be like writing an old-fashioned, rigidly structured essay from the imperial exams?

She was very satisfied with her current revisions. If it didn't meet the "standards" now, maybe it would in a few years, right?

She had noticed that some established authors wrote in a similar style. Yes, those authors were part of the Writers Association, while she had no reputation at the moment.

"The draft was returned? I thought so, writing a book isn't an easy task."

Xiao Pan was getting married, so he put his writing on hold. Seeing Qin Yao's manuscript returned, he was secretly delighted.

"I've read Xiao Qin's writing, and it's very good." Deputy Director Liu liked Qin Yao's stories and felt it was a pity they couldn't be published.

Director Huang nodded, "Xiao Qin, let me see your manuscript. I'll help recommend it to some people."

Qin Yao handed the manuscript to Director Huang.

Director Huang spent two days reading it and asked Qin Yao to revise a few parts. Qin Yao made the changes as he suggested, feeling quite impressed with Director Huang. Some parts were indeed her oversight.

Director Huang had a perfect understanding of the publishing standards.

Qin Yao decided to go back and revise the manuscript. A few days later, Director Huang approached her and said,

"Xiao Qin, I need to tell you something. The other day, a studio executive read your story, and they want to adapt it into a film. Would you be interested?"

If Qin Yao agreed, she would receive 200 yuan for the "licensing fee."

200 yuan? That's really low; her first reaction was that it wasn't worth it, but then she thought, having her work adapted into a film was a big deal, even if she didn't make much money. If that's the offer, I'll take it.

After all that effort, she only got 200 yuan? ...Well, okay.

After all, having her work adapted into a film was a big deal, even if she didn't make much money.