That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1283 Why Do Men Know How to Cook?
Li Ye turned his head in surprise to look at the source of the sound, and saw a woman combing her hair as she came down from the attic, yawning as she walked.

As if by prior arrangement, several women from nearby households also came out one after another, all of them looking like they had just woken up.

Li Ye's keen eyes noticed the calluses on their hands and their strong, unyielding spirit.

It was only then that Li Ye remembered that during the massive layoffs in the 1990s, there were a huge number of textile workers in Shanghai.

Most of them work night shifts, which is very hard work.

Hearing the woman's disdain, a man who was cooking retorted, somewhat annoyed, "It's true that you work the night shift, but we're not doing it for any night shift pay."

"Forget it! If we earned less than you, would you cook for us? Who's the dumber one?"

"."

A woman interrupted her husband's explanation and then asked Li Ye, "Young man, don't you think so?"

So that's how Shanghai men learned to cook?

Li Ye immediately said, "Big sister, what you said makes a lot of sense. My wife is more capable than me, so I'm the best cook at home."

"Hahahaha~"

"You got married so young? Hmm, your wife is very beautiful!"

"So you can cook too! Your wife is really lucky."

A group of female workers burst into laughter, and Wen Leyu laughed along with them.

If we're talking about who's the most capable in the Li family, Wen Leyu might not be number one, but she's also doing her best for the family. As long as you give your all for the family, the men in the family will naturally cherish you.

The reason why men in Shanghai can all cook is not because they are gentle in nature, but because their wives are very capable.

"Dude, you're a really good cook!"

"Of course, I'm very good at cooking Northern Chinese cuisine."

"Northern cuisine is too strongly flavored; it's not like our local specialties."

"Yes, Northern cuisine is heavy on oil and salt, which is suitable for people with large appetites."

"Northerners do have big appetites. The other day I saw a northerner eating three baskets of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) in one go."

"Oh, I need to eat four baskets to feel half full."

"Hahahaha~"

Upon hearing Li Ye's answer, the men who were cooking immediately treated him as one of their own, chatting with him for a while before reluctantly saying goodbye.

"You know, Li Ye, the best dish I've ever eaten in my life was the stew you made when we were at the Second Grain Store. After we moved to Beijing, I never tasted that flavor again."

"Back when it was the Second Grain Store? Wasn't it Jiang Xiaoyan who did all the cooking back then?"

"Jiang Xiaoyan isn't as good as you. She's stingy with oil and doesn't control the heat well, but I was too embarrassed to ask you to be the head chef back then, so I really regret it now."

"Why so many regrets? When we get home, I'll make you another stew, I promise it'll taste just like the original."

"Okay, that works too."

Li Ye held Wen Leyu's hand as they walked through the alleyways, past honeycomb briquette stoves, reminiscing about their cherished past.

Only those who have experienced hardship can understand the difference between these down-to-earth, ordinary home-cooked dishes and the shark fin and abalone banquets in high-end hotels.

However, just as the two were turning a corner, Li Ye suddenly pulled Wen Leyu back two steps, as if he had seen something.

Wen Leyu looked at Li Ye in surprise, then peeked out from behind the corner, but couldn't see anything unusual.

Then she asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? What did you see?"

Li Ye said in a serious voice, "I know that long-haired man."

"."

Wen Leyu followed Li Ye's gaze and saw a man who was "different from others".

The man was over 1.8 meters tall, with messy, flowing medium-length hair. Although he was wearing simple shorts and a vest, he exuded the air of a wandering artist.

It was Tang Zhiyu who had told Li Ye a few days ago that he wanted to travel to every corner of the world with Fu Guiyin.

Wen Leyu asked in a low voice, "Who is that person?"

Li Ye slowly shook his head and said, "The situation might be a bit complicated. I'll tell you later."

At this moment, Tang Zhiyu was cooking with one hand while wearing an apron, and holding a book in the other hand, occasionally flipping through a few pages.

This surprised Li Ye greatly, because a few days ago he saw Tang Zhiyu get out of the BMW 850 with a book in his hand, and at the time he thought he was pretending to be an artist, but now it seemed that he wasn't.

If you're going to act like an artist, you need an audience. Otherwise, who are you trying to impress?

"Is dinner ready?"

A woman walked up to Tang Zhiyu and took the work from his hands.

Tang Zhiyu smiled, turned around and got a lunchbox, helped the woman finish cooking the meal, and then used chopsticks to pack the best meat and vegetables into the lunchbox for her.

"I can't finish all of this, you can have it!"

"I don't work, so why do I need to eat so much? You've even lost weight lately because you bring your own evening snacks."

"..." Li Ye was shocked because he was 100% certain that Tang Zhiyu and this woman were husband and wife. So what was going on between him and Fu Guiyin?
Fu Guiyin herself said she wanted to marry him.

The woman picked up her lunchbox and walked out of the alley. Li Ye quickly pulled Wen Leyu away.

Then Li Ye told Wen Leyu about Tang Zhiyu's situation.

Wen Leyu was also very surprised: "You mean he's your...aunt's husband?"

"What uncle-in-law? I don't recognize that kind of relative, and this guy seems to be a fraud!"

Li Ye really couldn't understand how Tang Zhiyu had managed to deceive Fu Guiyin.

Fu Guiyin was a womanizer who had been wandering the world for decades and had seen countless men of all kinds. How could she not be able to tell the quality of Tang Zhiyu?
How could a househusband living in a lane possibly pretend to be an artist who "likes to travel around"?

Is it all from reading books?

Li Ye then recalled that Tang Zhiyu had been holding a foreign novel, and the one he had just picked up might also be a foreign novel.

If someone can fake being a wandering artist just by reading snippets from a novel, then that guy's skills are just too high, aren't they?
With such high skill, why would someone cook in an alleyway?
Li Ye asked Wen Leyu, but Wen Leyu couldn't figure it out either.

But at that moment, Tang Zhiyu suddenly emerged from the alley.

At this point, Tang Zhiyu had changed his clothes, dressed in a British style from head to toe, and was holding a foreign language book in his hand.

Wen Leyu suddenly realized and said, "Now I know why he was able to fool your aunt."

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Why?"

Wen Leyu said, "When any woman meets a man, she will always pay attention to his appearance first. If his appearance matches her preferences, her vigilance will be greatly reduced."

“You’re right, Fu Guiyin does like his type.”

Li Ye greatly admired Wen Leyu's judgment, because Mr. Ai was the same kind of person as Tang Zhiyu back then. However, Li Ye suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Wen Leyu.

"Xiaoyu, what was it like when you first met me?"

"Hurry, let's follow them and see."

Before Li Ye could finish speaking, Wen Leyu grabbed him and chased after Tang Zhiyu.

But judging from her suddenly flushed cheeks, she was clearly a little embarrassed.

Li Ye, of course, couldn't let it go, and asked mischievously, "No, so you lowered your guard against me, which gave me the opportunity? Then am I just a pretty face with no substance?"

"Oh dear, I let my guard down. My mom won't let her guard down. You're excellent in every way, okay? You're not just a pretty face. Stop asking, or you'll lose me."

"."

Wen Leyu pulled Li Ye along and hurriedly followed Tang Zhiyu, just like in a spy movie, for two streets before finally arriving at a coffee shop.

Seeing Tang Zhiyu walk into the coffee shop and sit by the window, Wen Leyu pulled Li Ye to go inside.

But Li Ye said listlessly, "Don't follow him. That guy knows me, and he's trying to master the thirteen ways of drinking coffee. We don't understand the lives of artists. Let him be!"

But Wen Leyu said, "Isn't he lying? Even if you don't acknowledge your Malaysian relatives, what about that textile worker from earlier?"

Li Ye frowned and hesitated before saying, "Should I tell Fu Guiyin?"

Wen Leyu remained noncommittal, but her gaze toward the coffee shop gradually sharpened.

A woman works hard at the night shift to earn her night shift pay, supporting her artistic husband who doesn't work. But this husband wants to abandon her and travel the world with another woman.

"He deserves to die!"

Wen Leyu gritted her teeth and uttered two words.

Li Ye smiled but did not offer his opinion, as he did not want to get involved in the cause and effect between Fu Guiyin and Tang Zhiyu.

But the next moment, his expression changed.

Because a boy around twenty years old walked into the coffee shop and sat down in front of Tang Zhiyu.

"Xiao Yu, quietly go in and sit next to them, listen to what they're saying."

Wen Leyu asked in confusion, "Why have you changed your mind now?"

Li Ye whispered, "That young man is Fu Guiyin's biological son, and he was also our mother's adopted son."

Wen Leyu exclaimed in surprise, "You mean he's Fu Zhiman?"

Li Ye asked in surprise, "You know him?"

Wen Leyu rambled on, "Of course I know. Xiao Ru told me that our mother raised him for thirteen years, only to raise a heartless wretch."

Li Ye nodded and said, "This Fu Zhiman has a bad character, so I don't think he likes Tang Zhiyu. After all, this stepfather might take away Fu Guiyin's family property."

It is often said that children cannot inherit your property, but your spouse can.

Therefore, if Tang Zhiyu marries Fu Guiyin, Fu Zhiman will not be the first in line to inherit Fu Guiyin's family property.

"Okay, then I'll go in and listen."

Wen Leyu was stunned for a moment, then excitedly walked into the coffee shop. She had never done anything like this before!
After Wen Leyu went in, she easily sat down next to Tang Zhiyu. Even better, Tang Zhiyu and Fu Zhiman were speaking English, so they didn't shy away from their conversation at all.

Wen Leyu, on the other hand, is a graduate of the English Department of Peking University.

(End of this chapter)