Chapter 4 - 003: Arrived home
Hot noodle soup is just noodles in hot soup, with a poached egg added by Mr. Ye through a waiter. It also had cabbage, and to Ye Ling, the taste was just average. In her past life, although she didn’t have any other special skills, she was quite good at cooking. She never deliberately learned it, just like some people are born to cook delicious food. Her timing and seasoning were always spot on, even with the same method.
Ye Ling was a food lover. She would try making any dish she came across at home, and gradually honed her cooking skills this way.
After freezing for a whole morning in the cold wind, Ye Ling finally warmed up after the hot noodle soup. She moved the egg from her bowl to Grandma Ye’s bowl, "Grandma, I can’t finish it, you eat it."
The family was poor, but Grandma Ye had always fed Ye Ling eggs since she was little. As soon as the chickens started laying, Ye Ling would have one boiled egg every day. Ye Ling said she didn’t want to eat, and Grandma Ye understood, so she ate the egg without saying much.
Ye He Ping only drank some porridge for breakfast, and seeing his mother and daughter eating with such enjoyment, he too felt a bit hungry. But, reluctant to spend more money, he didn’t order another bowl. After the meal, the three of them carried their bags onto the bus and headed towards the military compound.
Ye He Ping lived in a two-bedroom, one-living room space less than fifty square meters. At that time, houses were often calculated by net area. The over-fifty-square meters back then equate to more than seventy square meters now. The two-bedroom was quite large, and living on the first floor made it convenient to come and go.
Returning to the compound again, Ye Ling felt that these two lifetime experiences were like yesterday and today. So, at the moment she stepped into the compound, she didn’t feel anything special. Everything was just like in her memory. She and her grandma were dressed poorly, and naturally got excluded by the same-aged children in the compound. The only thing different from the past life was she no longer had that petty demeanor, and she didn’t walk on eggshells this time.
In her past life, upon entering the compound, Ye Ling felt like she stepped into a new world, looking around recklessly as if she’d never seen the world, which made her look down upon by the kids in the family compound.
Living afresh, it’s not about others looking down on her but about earning some dignity for herself. Ye Ling didn’t look around this time; she calmly assisted her grandma and followed her father home.
Just like the last life, Ye Ma came out from the building, smiling, and called Grandma more affectionately, "Mom, I’m really sorry, you know how Ye Qian is busy with her dance lessons, so she couldn’t come to pick you up. But she’s already passed her third level in dancing, and she even won an award at the last competition. You’ll have to see her certificate when you’re inside."