When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The 1950s Wife of Chaff and Bran (26)

Zhu Yun didn’t say much. Aunt Zhao and Sister-in-law Tan did most of the talking for her.

After what happened on May Day, the young couple was bound together. An engagement and marriage were practically a certainty. Today was just a formality—meeting the parents and discussing the details.

”Xiao Zhu, ordinarily, as the bride-to-be and a guest at their home, you shouldn’t have to be working. But this is the first time Uncle Chu and Aunt Chu are meeting you, isn’t it?”

”So if you could just whip up a few dishes for them to try, it would put our minds at ease. That way, when you two are married and living on your own, we’ll know you’re in good hands.”

Aunt Zhao smiled and patted Zhu Yun’s hand. ”The ingredients are all ready. Just pick a few of your signature dishes that are simple to make.”

Mrs. Chu forced a polite smile. ”That’s not necessary. The girl works hard all week and finally has a day off. We can just have Shen Yu go get us food from the canteen.”

The Chu family were canteen regulars. From Mrs. Chu down to her daughter and youngest daughter-in-law, none of them were skilled in the kitchen, so they had little interest in anyone else’s cooking.

’A girl this young probably just helps out by washing vegetables in the kitchen.’

’She’d never seen a canteen run by such a young woman.’

Mrs. Chu, who had always disliked pointless formalities, still felt it was more convenient to get food from the canteen.

Chu Shenyu stood his ground and gave a low cough. ”Chef Zhu, my parents have jobs, but their lives are a straight line between home and work. They don’t get out much. How about you show them what you can do?”

Zhu Yun raised an eyebrow. ’Everyone’s analysis of the situation was spot-on,’ she thought.

’She was attracted to his looks, and he was attracted to her cooking. A marriage built on mutual needs was the most harmonious and dependable kind.’

She stood up, grinning, and didn’t stand on ceremony. ”Alright. What do you want to eat? Why don’t you come and be my assistant?”

Chu Shenyu immediately reeled off a list, ”Braised Pork Belly, Spicy Diced Chicken, Stir-fried Intestines with Onion, and Potato and Pork Rib Stew!”

Zhu Yun paused. ’Why do those dishes sound so familiar?’

’He’s really fixated on these particular dishes, isn’t he?’

Meeting her wide, questioning eyes, he quickly explained, ”Those dishes are delicious, but you’ve only made them once since you became head chef...”

’That’s true,’ Zhu Yun thought. She had a vast repertoire. The same ingredients, prepared and cooked differently, could create entirely new culinary experiences.

The kitchen was fully stocked, and it was clear the ingredients had been bought specifically for these dishes.

She pressed her lips together to suppress a smile and started directing Chu Shenyu to help wash and chop vegetables.

She had been expecting to see him struggle, but surprisingly, the hands that were used to handling mechanical parts wielded a knife quite well. He was methodical and competent.

”Ahem.” Chu Shenyu’s ears turned red under her gaze. ”Before I transferred out of the military, we had frequent field training exercises. Sometimes we’d spend a month or so deep in the mountains, so I learned how to build a fire and cook. I can manage to cook food until it’s done, but that’s about it. Don’t expect any flavor.”

Zhu Yun nodded. Without another word, she began to cook with brisk efficiency.

Once the ingredients were prepped, Chu Shenyu didn’t leave. ”I’m going south on a business trip tomorrow for a training course,” he said. ”I’ll also be procuring some parts and molds for the factory. I’ll probably be gone for about a month.”

”Is there anything you’d like me to bring back for you?”

Zhu Yun glanced at the back of her hand. With her current skin tone, there wasn’t really anything she could use. It would just be a clumsy, pointless imitation. She shook her head, her interest waning.

Chu Shenyu’s eyes followed her gaze to her hand, and he instantly understood. The hint of a smile flashed in his eyes, and he didn’t press the matter.

The tall man simply stood there in the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed, striking a pose and making his presence felt.

”How long is the train ride?” Zhu Yun couldn’t resist asking, just to fill the silence.

Lately, historical dramas set in this era were all the rage, and she’d occasionally get an earful about them from colleagues who had completed their missions.

’It was mostly about how they couldn’t understand why audiences loved this kind of historical setting and plot. When you had faster-than-light travel, why be nostalgic for slow trains? When you could eat and wear whatever you wanted, why harbor a strange fascination with famines and natural disasters...?’

’Perhaps the audience just enjoyed watching people struggle, seeing them fight their way out of adversity. In a peaceful age, that was its own kind of satisfying drama.’

’Wait a minute.’ Zhu Yun froze. ’I was so focused on how simple my ’retirement’ mission was—all I had to do was live a comfortable life and not die prematurely. How could I have overlooked something so important?!’

’Next year, there’s going to be a massive, nationwide drought, followed by a famine...’

”Two days and one night,” Chu Shenyu replied dutifully.

Zhu Yun answered distractedly, ”Then I’ll go home and prepare some food for you. You can take it with you for the journey tomorrow.”

Chu Shenyu visibly perked up and nodded eagerly. He couldn’t help but say, ”That would be wonderful, but I wouldn’t want to trouble you, Chef Zhu. I travel for work often, and even though they provide boxed meals on the train and sell food at the stations, it’s always the same old stuff.”

”Now, I dread it whenever a business trip is mentioned.”

Zhu Yun smiled. ”In that case, I’ll have to prepare a few different things for you.”

She worked quickly, using two stoves at once, and in about an hour, she had a full table of food ready.

In addition to the four meat dishes Chu Shenyu had requested, she stir-fried two vegetable dishes and made a fish soup.

This was their engagement meal, after all, and her first time cooking for her future parents-in-law, so she even took the time to carve a few radishes into flowers for garnish.

The feast decisively won over Mr. and Mrs. Chu. They now fully understood why their son was so keen on getting married. For a family used to canteen food, nothing was more persuasive than a spectacular home-cooked meal!

As she was leaving, Mrs. Chu took out a palm-sized wooden box, pressed it into Zhu Yun’s hands, and whispered, ”This is something Shen Yu’s grandmother left for his wife. Take it home and keep it somewhere safe. Consider it a family heirloom.”

She then pressed a thick envelope into her hand. ”His uncle and I are busy with work, so we don’t know what you young people like these days. This might be a bit crude, but please, use it to buy whatever you want.”

Zhu Yun glanced at Chu Shenyu.

”Just take it,” he said with a smile, a stark contrast to the cold demeanor he usually wore in public. ”My mom never gets a chance to give me anything. Now that I finally have a wife for her, she has a legitimate reason to spend some of her ever-growing savings.”

He had a touch of the debonair charm people associated with the privileged sons of high-ranking families.

Mrs. Chu shot him a glare. ”You have the nerve to talk. I can never find you. It’s like my son is made of thin air, and you’re still complaining that I care too much?”

Chu Shenyu immediately held up his hands in surrender. ”Not at all! I live by your every word. See? Didn’t I find you a virtuous and capable daughter-in-law?”

The mother and son bantered for a moment before finally saying their goodbyes.

”I’ll walk you home.” Sister-in-law Tan had already found an excuse to leave, so Chu Shenyu stood with his hands in his pockets, his expression once again becoming somewhat detached.

”So you do know how to smile. It looks surprisingly good on you,” Zhu Yun said, repeatedly glancing at him. ”And you’re a smooth talker, too. We were all fooled by you!”

Chu Shenyu turned to look at her. ”I’m a person, too. I come from a happy family where I was never mistreated, and my romantic life has been a blank slate. Is it really that hard to believe I can talk and laugh?”