Everyone knew that Wang Hunv disliked cooking and housework. Tan You said, "Farming is already hard work. We can’t expect you to handle everything inside and outside the house. That’s too exhausting."

"That goes for Grandpa, too. When I go off to school, you need to take good care of Grandma. Don’t you see how hard she works in the fields every day? You can’t do heavy labor, so just sweep the floor and cook. It won’t take much time." As Tan You spoke, she glanced at Tan Deming, who nodded in resignation.

"I’ve learned quite a bit recently. I can handle a few simple stir-fries. From now on, the old lady can just watch how I do." As he spoke, he picked up another piece of stuffed green pepper and placed it in Wang Hunv’s bowl. Wang Hunv paused for a moment, then her face suddenly broke into a wide smile.

Tan You was exasperated. ’Sure enough, Grandma has no resistance to Grandpa at all.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Wang Hunv said, "This work isn’t that heavy. I can manage on my own..."

"Don’t you dare say you can manage on your own," Tan You interrupted. "Just think about it. Won’t you be in a good mood if you come home and dinner is already made? You’re not the only one living here. Everyone has to share the load."

"If you can’t do the heavy work, then do the light work. You can’t just push everything onto others, or you’ll work them to death."

Tan Deming chuckled. "Yes, yes, I’ll take care of all these chores from now on. Well, I don’t do laundry, but anything else is fine."

"Whatever Tan You does when she’s home, I’ll do."

He was, in a way, making a promise to Tan You. After all, his eldest granddaughter was clearly the type to worry. If he did a little more, she wouldn’t have to be concerned about home while she was away at school.

As the three of them ate at the table, there was a budding sense of domestic bliss.

While clearing the table, Tan You unconsciously glanced at the wall calendar. She froze for a second. "Grandma, is your birthday the day after tomorrow?"

Wang Hunv froze as well. "Huh? The day after tomorrow? I forgot."

Tan You thought for a moment. "It’s fine as long as I remember. The day after tomorrow, I’ll make you a proper feast."

Wang Hunv was both happy and hesitant. "Will that cost a lot of money?"

Tan Deming said, "A birthday only comes once a year, so you should definitely eat something nice. Just let Tan You handle it. But keep it under a hundred yuan. I can’t bear to spend more than that."

Tan You shook her head. "We don’t need that much. Half of that will be enough. I’ll just buy a little bit of each ingredient to make a wider variety of dishes."

Prices really weren’t that high at the time. Besides, Tan You only planned to buy some meat and bean products. They had vegetables at home, and with only three people, there was no need to make too many dishes.

Besides, it wasn’t a big, formal birthday celebration like some people had. A small celebration at home wouldn’t cost much.

As soon as she heard it wouldn’t cost much, Wang Hunv immediately agreed. "Alright, I’ll be waiting for you to cook me a feast. You know how to do that? No one else in our family does."

Tan You replied, "I used to follow Grandpa around, eating at all the different households. I just have to think a little about the dishes people made, and I can figure out how to cook them. But I won’t be buying things like eel or soft-shelled turtle. They’re too expensive."

Wang Hunv said one thing but meant another. "I don’t like that stuff anyway."

Tan You just smiled. "We’ll see when I start making money in the future."

She had earned a few hundred yuan, but she couldn’t exactly declare the source of the money. ’And in her heart, Tan You felt it wasn’t worth spending this money on such expensive ingredients.’

Although her grandmother seemed fine now, it didn’t mean Tan You could just shrug off her past harsh treatment. The only reason she was being nice to Wang Hunv was in the hope that if her grandmother’s life was better, she would take better care of Tan Deming.

After lunch, Wang Hunv went off for her afternoon nap. Tan Deming spoke quietly with Tan You. "Do you really not need that much money?"

Tan You said, "Mhm, we’ll just have a small feast. Something simple is fine. I’ll only buy chicken, duck, and fish, plus some bean products. Beef and mutton are too expensive."

"We have vegetables in the garden at home. I’ll do my best not to go over budget."

Tan Deming narrowed his eyes. "Alright. What do you need me to do?"

Tan You thought for a moment. "The day after tomorrow, could you help me by going to the pork stall..."

On the morning of Wang Hunv’s birthday, Tan You and Tan Deming left home early. One went to the pork stall, while the other went to the supermarket. Tan You, naturally, chose the supermarket. Although she didn’t need vegetables, she still bought a bundle of enoki mushrooms, some jellyfish, and a few bean products.

By the time she got home, Tan Deming was already back. On the small kitchen table sat half a chicken, half a duck, and a fish, along with other ingredients like pork, pork liver, and pork lung.

Tan You glanced over. "You only bought half, and they actually sold it to you?"

Tan Deming was perfectly calm. "I waited there for a bit until someone else wanted to buy half, so we split it."

Tan You gave Tan Deming a thumbs-up and quickly got busy in the kitchen. As for Tan Deming, he stood to the side and watched. Like Tan You, he enjoyed quietly observing others at work.

Perhaps because she was thinking about the feast Tan You had promised, Wang Hunv was rather distracted all morning. Seeing that it was almost time for lunch, she didn’t linger in the fields and jogged all the way home.

After washing her hands at the well and entering the kitchen, she saw over a dozen plates already laid out on the table. There were cold dishes, stir-fries, soups, and more—a complete spread. For a moment, Wang Hunv was dazzled.

Tan You introduced the dishes to Wang Hunv. "Chilled Jellyfish Salad, Chilled Enoki Mushroom Salad, Chilled Three-Shred Salad, Candied Dates, Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce, and White-Cut Chicken."

"Stir-fried Pork Liver, Fried Stuffed Eggplant, Fish with Spicy Bean Paste, and Spicy Pork Lungs. These are vegetables from the garden: Stir-fried Cowpeas, Stir-fried Pork with Chili Peppers, and Scrambled Eggs with Tomato."

"And last is an Old Duck Soup."

Tan You filled a bowl with rice for Wang Hunv and pressed the chopsticks into her hand. "Try it. If I’m home for your birthday next time, I’ll cook for you again."

Wang Hunv’s face lit up. "It looks delicious."

She said no more and began to devour her food. Tan You and Tan Deming exchanged a glance, and they both picked at the lighter dishes. Since it was Wang Hunv’s birthday, everything was made to her taste.

Wang Hunv was thoroughly satisfied with her birthday meal. To be honest, she had never really eaten anything this good in her life. In the past, when Tan Deming took Tan You around to eat at various households, Wang Hunv was never included. After all, Tan Deming was there to help people with work, and bringing a child along wasn’t out of line.

But if he had brought Wang Hunv along, the hosts would certainly have had something to say about it.

Wang Hunv had thought the spread at lunch was the peak of the celebration, but to her surprise, when she returned that evening, she was presented with a bowl of hand-pulled longevity noodles.

Tan You held out the small noodle bowl. "Grandpa and I don’t really like noodles, so I only made a bowl for you. There’s only one single noodle in here. Don’t bite it in the middle—you have to eat it all in one go."

"These are longevity noodles. They symbolize a long and endless life."

Tan Deming smiled. "It really wasn’t easy for Tan You to roll out that single noodle. She spent a long time in the kitchen getting it just right."