Chapter 4: Being a Thoughtful Little Cotton Jacket

In the past, because her parents doted on her, she never lifted a finger with household chores. After eating, she would just leave her bowl and chopsticks on the table, waiting for her parents to clean up. Her family never complained, and she took it for granted, only realizing how useless she was after she went to live at school.

After a moment of self-mockery, Zhang Wanyuan got up to wash the thermos, bowls, and chopsticks. She tidied up the room, familiarized herself with everything in the house, mopped the floor, and scrubbed the kitchen stove inside and out. She even washed the clothes her family had changed out of yesterday. Once she finished, she looked up at the clock; it was exactly 11:30.

Her father usually got home around 12:00 to cook lunch, and by the time her mother returned around 12:45, the family of three would eat together. As for her older brother, since starting his second year of high school, he had moved into the school dorms due to late-night study sessions. With the heavy workload of high school and better living conditions at school than at home, her parents didn't make him come back.

Thinking about seeing her father, who was several years younger than she remembered, Zhang Wanyuan couldn't help but feel excited. She returned to her room and opened her textbook, but she couldn't focus. She kept looking up at the clock. At 11:55, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside, and Zhang Wanyuan immediately put down her book and ran out.

As the door opened, Zhang Father saw his daughter leaning against the doorway, breathing heavily. While changing his shoes, he smiled and said, "Hungry, kiddo? Dad will cook for you right away. Is your head still burning? If the fever hasn't gone down, we'll go to the clinic later."

As he spoke, Zhang Father dropped his bag on the floor, walked straight to Zhang Wanyuan, and without a word, placed the back of his hand against her forehead. After testing it, he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Good, the fever is gone. Go play, Dad's going to cook."

Zhang Father turned and headed straight for the dining room. The refrigerator was placed right by the kitchen door; it was an old-fashioned model only as high as his chest, with the freezer on top and the refrigerator compartment below, requiring him to bend over to find anything.

Taking advantage of the time her father was getting ingredients, Zhang Wanyuan went to the kitchen, put the rice she had soaked that morning into the rice cooker, and quickly slipped away.

When Zhang Father carried the groceries into the kitchen, he paused for a moment, stunned by the brand-new look of the kitchen. His eyes landed on the lit-up rice cooker, and he instinctively opened it. He was instantly startled and poked his head out to ask, "Kiddo, did you cook the rice?"

Zhang Wanyuan trotted over, looking like she was begging for praise, and nodded her head cutely.

Zhang Father asked again, "And I suppose you didn't clean the stove, either?"

Zhang Wanyuan nodded again.

"Not bad! My girl has grown up; she can do chores now!" Zhang Father gave her a thumbs up. He picked up some celery and quickly plucked off the leaves, looking every bit like a kitchen veteran.

Zhang Wanyuan tentatively asked, "Dad, teach me how to cook. I'll cook for you guys from now on."

"That won't do!" Zhang Father said without a second thought. "The high school entrance exam is in three months. You should focus on your studies; your mom and I will handle the rest. By the way, if you're feeling better, go do your homework. Tomorrow is the weekend and your mom is off; she said she wants to take you back to our hometown to pay respects to our ancestors and pray for them to bless you with good grades. That's a whole day trip, and you have school the day after, so you don't have much time to finish your homework."

"Mm!" Zhang Wanyuan agreed obediently. Without another word, she returned to her room and opened her practice papers. Because the entrance exam was approaching, their teachers were piling on the work. Just for math, there were two papers a week, plus physics, chemistry, and various others—it added up to eight papers in total.

Zhang Wanyuan took inventory. Three liberal arts papers were already finished, leaving five science papers. She let out a sigh of relief. She preferred science over liberal arts; doing liberal arts papers felt like torture, so she always finished them first whenever homework was assigned to reduce the pressure. The junior high curriculum was limited, and even though so many years had passed, the problem-solving logic remained the same. It was a breeze for her; she could finish a math paper in about the time of one class period.

When Zhang Father came out of the kitchen and saw Zhang Wanyuan focused on her homework, a fatherly smile appeared on his face, and he happily went back to cooking.

By the time Zhang Wanyuan finished one math paper, Zhang Mother had returned.

Hearing the door open, Zhang Wanyuan immediately dropped her black pen and dashed to the entrance, shouting excitedly, "Mom's home!"

Zhang Mother was startled by her enthusiasm. "Don't, don't, don't, Mom is dirty. What's wrong? Are you still running a fever?"

Zhang Wanyuan: "..." Is there no mother-daughter love left?

Zhang Father brought out the dishes and joked, "The fever is gone, she's just acting a bit strange. She cleaned the stove this morning, and she even cooked lunch. Whether it's good or not, you'd better show some appreciation. It's rare for her to be so thoughtful; we shouldn't dampen her spirits, heh heh."

Zhang Mother looked shocked and stared at Zhang Wanyuan in disbelief, exclaiming, "Don't tell me the fever fried your brain! You can cook?"

Zhang Wanyuan: "..." Why is it so hard to be a filial and considerate daughter?

Seeing Zhang Wanyuan looking dejected, Zhang Father stopped teasing her and said in a booming voice, "Alright, wash your hands, let's eat!"

Zhang Mother went to the bathroom to wash up.

The family sat at the dining table.

Zhang Mother took a bite of rice and nodded vigorously. "Not bad, this is cooked well! I didn't know my daughter had such a talent for cooking!"

"I think it's delicious too, softer and stickier than what I make," Zhang Father commented objectively.

Zhang Wanyuan rolled her eyes so hard they almost disappeared. "That's because I soaked the rice first thing this morning!"

Zhang Father wasn't annoyed by his daughter's retort and just chuckled foolishly.

After the meal, Zhang Mother asked Zhang Wanyuan, "Did you do your homework today? Can we still go to our hometown tomorrow?"

Although Zhang Mother thought paying respects to ancestors was important, Zhang Wanyuan's studies were more important. If she couldn't finish her homework, they wouldn't go back tomorrow; at worst, they could go back again before the entrance exam.

"I can. I just finished another math paper, and there are four left. It'll take me four or five hours, so I'll definitely be done by tonight."

Assured by Zhang Wanyuan, Zhang Mother felt relieved. She patted Zhang Wanyuan's bangs with satisfaction and went to wash the dishes.

Zhang Wanyuan wanted to help, but then she thought that her parents would probably prefer to see her sitting at her desk studying hard, so she obediently returned to her room.

In the afternoon, while her parents were out working, Zhang Wanyuan finished the remaining papers in one go and reviewed the key points for each subject. By six o'clock, her parents returned one after the other. Zhang Wanyuan had already cleared her desk of papers and was sitting in the living room with her English textbook, memorizing vocabulary and phrases.

Her parents couldn't have been more pleased. Usually, the couple would chat for a while when they got home, but today they tacitly kept quiet—one went to the kitchen to cook, and the other went to the balcony to prepare the laundry.