Free Web NovelChapter 447: Chapter 447: Let Her Watch
"Don’t worry, I’m being careful." Tan Lin waved his hand, feeling a bit awkward. It was like he wasn’t raising a daughter, but a father. But then he considered that his own father had never spent as much money on him as Tan You did, and his awkwardness faded.
Recalling what Tan Lin had just said, Tan You ventured a guess. "Is something going on at home? Or did Tan Zhen come back?"
Tan Lin glanced at her. "How do you know everything? I went back today and ran into her. She was practically drooling over the beef your grandpa bought. I deliberately didn’t cook it for lunch and waited until the afternoon to start the stew."
The story between Tan Lin and Tan Zhen was a messy one. The Tan family had always been poor, so Tan Zhen had never eaten much good food growing up. While Wang Hunv favored sons over daughters, she ultimately loved herself more. Even when there was a little something nice, she and Tan Deming always got first priority.
When Tan You was little, Wang Hunv would often say, "I have to work in the fields all the time, and I won’t have any strength if I don’t eat my fill. So if there’s anything good to eat, we have to get first dibs. You kids just need to stay alive and not starve."
What she said was completely different from most other elders. As far as Tan You knew, when families had something good to eat or drink, the elders would always let the younger generation have it first. But in the Tan family, it was the complete opposite.
For example, back in the days of the agricultural collectives, when the collective distributed two catties of meat at the end of the year, Tan Zhen and Tan Lin would only get a tiny portion. Most of it went into Wang Hunv’s stomach. That’s why everyone from that era craved meat—it was a result of abject poverty.
After Tan Zhen got married, Wang Hunv once sent Tan Lin to deliver some peaches from their tree to her. Tan Lin was only fifteen at the time, and he had never had a chance to properly sink his teeth into a good piece of meat.
As it happened, Tan Zhen was stewing meat at home that day. But even seeing Tan Lin arrive, standing right there by the stove, she managed not to ask him to stay for the meal. She didn’t even offer him a single bite of meat. Tan You had heard this story her whole life, and to be honest, it always left her feeling emotional.
A lot of conflicts arise from a lack of money. But even now that Tan Zhen’s family was well-off, she never thought of Tan Lin. You could say that there was basically no such thing as familial affection between the siblings.
’Oh well, he’s my dad. He was wronged in the past, so I have to be on his side.’
Tan You knew Tan Lin held a grudge about the past. "As long as you’re happy."
"Of course I’m happy! I thought you were going to say I was wrong, that I was being petty." Tan Lin chuckled. "Seeing that we’d replaced the roof tiles, that I had a new electric scooter, and that we’d moved to town, she started asking how much money we have. I shut her down."
A smile appeared on Tan You’s face. "She was the petty one first. It’s your house, you can do whatever you want. It’s not like you depend on her to get by. Honestly, if Grandma didn’t think of her sometimes, I wouldn’t even want to see Tan Zhen. Did she ask Grandpa and Grandma?"
Tan Lin laughed, though it was unclear what he was thinking of. "Your grandma was acting strange today, too. Usually, when I come back, she barely says a word to me. But today, she followed me wherever I went. Tan Zhen couldn’t even find a chance to talk to her alone."
"As for your grandpa, he’s a man of few words to begin with. And since I was there, Tan Zhen just assumed your mom and I were the ones who struck it rich. She was trying to ask us for the secret to getting wealthy."
Tan You had already pieced together the general picture. "I thought she went back on the day of my military training."
"She did go back," Tan Lin said with a laugh. "Your grandma went to the fields that morning, and didn’t your grandpa take you to school? She didn’t run into anyone when she went back. The main gate was locked tight, so she couldn’t get in. A neighbor told your grandpa about it after he got home."
Tan You now knew that Tan Lin hadn’t let her secret slip, and that her grandparents, Tan Deming and his wife, were doing well. As for Tan Zhen, she couldn’t care less.
When she was in a good mood, she liked to give people money. "Good job. I’ll give you a bonus at the end of the month."
Tan Lin’s face immediately lit up with joy. "A real bonus? How much?"
Tan You pretended to ponder it. "Hmm, I’m treating my classmates to a meal the day after tomorrow. If you help me host them well, I’ll give you 200 yuan."
Tan Lin said, "Don’t you worry, I’ll definitely take great care of them and make sure you look good. Just the students from your dorm? You’re not inviting any other classmates? Not even Tan Ying?"
"Why would I invite her?" Tan You raised an eyebrow. "Don’t you know I’m not on speaking terms with her anymore?"
"Good, that’s good." Tan Lin was already starting to plan the menu. "Tan Yue and I will head back first. I’ll prepare enough for ten people..."
Tan You waved goodbye and went into the dorm with the other girls who were waiting.
In front of outsiders, Tan Lin always maintained a positive demeanor. As soon as Tan You left, he resumed his cheerful chat with Li Fugui. He was mainly asking about the dormitory, wanting to get everything settled before Tan You’s classes officially started.
The beef Tan Lin brought was a unanimous hit with everyone in Dorm 201. Tan You had thought the girls wouldn’t be keen on eating rice, since nearly all of them would leave half a bowl behind whenever they ate together.
But now, each of them was holding her small bowl, mixing the braised beef’s sauce with their rice. There wasn’t the slightest sign of a picky eater among them.
"Let’s finish it all. It’s hot out, so it’ll go bad by tomorrow."
Yin Xiu said, "My mom stews beef at home too, but I don’t think it ever tastes this good. Tan You, your dad is a really amazing cook."
Tan You smiled. "Yeah, he just loves to work on his culinary skills."
Especially now that he no longer had the pressure of providing for the family, Tan Lin had more time to refine these things. Tan You didn’t think there was anything wrong with his hobby. ’Life is like that, you need to have a hobby. It’s a sign of someone who loves life.’
Gu Qiuxia shoveled a mouthful of rice. "I only have one question. Tan You, you said you’d invite us over to your place sometime. Will your dad be cooking then too?"
Tan You replied, "If you’d like, sure. I can cook too."
"Let’s see, military training ends the morning after tomorrow. How about you all come to my place for lunch? After we eat, everyone can head home."
"I’m in!" Cao Haiyan was the first to raise her hand. "I want to see what your home is like, Tan You."
Tan You found it funny. "That’s my parents’ house. I usually live in the countryside, so there aren’t many traces of my life there. They just bought the house not long ago."
Seeing the girls still had questions, Tan You changed the subject. The food containers were empty, so she was about to take them to the sink to wash, but another girl stopped her. "We’ll wash them. It’s just a few containers, it’s no trouble at all."
"Exactly! You treated us to a meal, we can’t let you wash the containers yourself. That wouldn’t be right," Gu Qiuxia chimed in. She understood the principle that you can’t be tough on someone who’s just fed you.
Tan You pulled her hand back, knowing they just wanted to do something for her in return, so she didn’t argue. She held up the container of fruit. "Then you’d better be quick. The fruit just came out of the fridge and it’s still nice and cold. It won’t be as refreshing in a little while."
