Starting a new chapter in life

He Zhijun took the basket, took out the ribs, washed them clean, chopped them up, soaked them in water to remove the blood, and also grabbed three handfuls of dried mushrooms to soak in another basin.

Next, wash the pork belly, put it in a pot with cold water, bring it to a boil and blanch it. After blanching, wash the pork belly clean and set it aside to dry.

I refilled the cold water and blanched the ribs. After the ribs were done, I cleaned the pot and the pork belly was cooled to about the right temperature, so I cut it into chunks. Jingyan looked at the large chunks of meat with some surprise: "Isn't this a bit too big for braised pork?"

"We're not making braised pork today. We're making Dongpo pork, which is our local style. Try it when it's done and see if you like it," He Zhijun explained patiently.

Jing Yan nodded: "Okay~"

After He Zhijun caramelized the sugar in a wok, he put the meat pieces in and stir-fried them until they were colored. Then he transferred them to a clay pot that had been lined with seasonings, added soy sauce, rice wine, red dates, rock sugar and other seasonings, added a little boiling water and then put it on a small stove to simmer.

Once the pork belly was stewing, it didn't need much attention. He started making braised pork ribs with green beans, and once that was done, the Dongpo pork could be taken off the heat. Jingyan was busy serving rice and arranging dishes, while He Zhijun took the stew out of the pot. He picked out five or six pieces of Dongpo pork and put them in a bowl. After the two sat down, He Zhijun pointed at the Dongpo pork with his chopsticks: "Try it."

Jing Yan was already craving the aroma, and upon hearing this, she stuck a piece onto the rice, took a bite, and exclaimed, "Wow, delicious! It looks quite fatty, but it's not greasy at all, and it even has a faint aroma of wine. It's so satisfying!"

He Zhijun was satisfied to see her mouth greasy from eating. "If you like it, I'll make it for you often in the future."

Jing Yan nodded repeatedly, then suddenly remembered something: "Isn't this dinner's dish? If we cook it now, it'll get cold by evening."

"It's alright. The taste won't change after heating it up a bit. This isn't even the best flavor yet. When we go back to Yangzhou, we can buy Shaoxing wine there. Dongpo pork made with Shaoxing wine is much more fragrant and mellow than the yellow wine here."

Jing Yan's eyes lit up: "I didn't expect you to be such a good cook. I used to think that my braised pork ribs were already a masterpiece, but this dish is obviously more suitable for the taste of the general public nowadays. People are so lacking in oil and fat these days. If this were to be served in a state-run restaurant, it would definitely be a hot seller."

He Zhijun was amused by her exaggerated praise: "You, you just know how to flatter me. Eat up, and later you can help me pick vegetables in the yard, and I'll take care of cooking."

"no problem."

After dinner, Jingyan asked He Zhijun to take care of preparing dinner, and she would do the dishes. He Zhijun didn't argue with her and started listing the dishes for the evening with paper and pen: "Have you bought the wine?" he suddenly remembered.

"I bought it, Northeast-style liquor, a 10-jin bucket, oh, it's right by the living room door." Jingyan's voice came from the kitchen.

He Zhijun glanced at the door and saw a whole barrel of liquor. He put down his pen and paper, got up, picked it up, and examined it: 60 proof. Sweat beaded on his forehead. "Jingyan, isn't this a bit too strong?"

Jingyan came out of the kitchen, shaking her wet hands after washing the dishes. "Isn't this the normal alcohol content? There's also 65-proof bulk liquor. I was planning to use this bucket to get you some more bulk liquor after you finish this barrel. I'm looking at the 65-proof kind. Don't be fooled by the high alcohol content; it's pure grain liquor and smells amazing."

He Zhijun was a little embarrassed: "Jingyan, although I can drink a little, the baijiu in my hometown is only 40 or 50 degrees. We usually drink huangjiu, which is only about 10 degrees. I really may not be able to handle high-proof liquor."

Jingyan tilted her head in confusion: "But the wine you drank during the New Year was the bulk wine I bought to stew meat. It was about 50 or 60 degrees. I saw you drinking it and you seemed to be having a good time. I really didn't know you couldn't hold your liquor."

He Zhijun scratched his head: "Didn't you notice that I fall asleep after drinking? That means I'm drunk."

Jingyan stuck out her tongue: "I thought you were a good drinker and didn't cause trouble, but who knew you couldn't handle it."

"Now you know?" He Zhijun remained calm and even managed a smile and a joke.

Jingyan nodded: "Then next time I'll still buy you bottled liquor, but it can't be the local liquor. Most of the liquor produced here is at least 50 or 60 degrees, it's all high-proof."

"Compared to the men here, I really can't hold my liquor."

"What's so great about drinking heavily? I hate people who love to drink, especially the kind who start babbling on and on after they've had a few drinks." As Jingyan said this, she was thinking of her husband from her previous life, Yuan Changsheng. He loved to drink and could drink a pound of liquor with every meal. After drinking, he would insist on talking to people. If it were just normal conversation, it would be fine, but he also loved to brag, which was annoying. Because of this trait, the two of them argued a lot, which led to their daughter constantly urging them to get a divorce. Unfortunately, in the end, she disappointed her daughter and didn't take that step.

In this life, she heeded her daughter's advice and made a new choice for herself. She wanted to be a selfish person, no longer thinking only of others, and to live for herself. However, she never expected to meet Zhijun by chance. No matter what the future holds, at least for now, she is happy and no longer suffering. Even if something goes wrong in the future, she will no longer wrong herself. Her only regret is that her daughter from the previous life could not come into the world because of her choice. How wonderful it would be if she could be her child again. She will make up for the neglect she caused her child in the previous life in this life.

He Zhijun saw her frowning, seemingly lost in thought, and assumed she was thinking about her brothers at home. He had never seriously drunk with her brothers, so he didn't know their drinking capacity or behavior when they were drunk. However, judging from her annoyed expression, he guessed she wouldn't be in a good state after drinking. "Then why did you still buy me alcohol and not object to me drinking?"

“Here, when men go out for business dinners or family gatherings, how can they not drink? Women all hope that their men don’t smoke or drink, but if you really don’t drink at a family dinner, the other men in the family won’t think it’s an advantage; they’ll just laugh at you. In my heart, you are the best husband and the most capable person. I don’t want you to be laughed at,” Jing Yan said confidently.

He Zhijun felt his chest swell with emotion and couldn't help but hug Jingyan. Jingyan didn't understand what he was moved by. She looked at the water droplets on his hands through his shoulder, and without hesitation, hugged him back. She wiped the water off her hands on his clothes. Her hands were clean, and she was satisfied!

He Zhijun, unaware that his clothes had been used as a handkerchief, thought it was a reciprocation of their affection and hugged her even tighter. After a while, Jing Yan patted his shoulder and said, "Alright, hurry up and think about what we're going to do tonight. It would be impolite if we didn't finish cooking before Battalion Commander Gao and his family arrived."

He Zhijun reluctantly let go of her hand. "Okay, I'll make the menu first."

He sat back down at the table and took out a pen: "Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cucumber salad, Dongpo pork, braised pork ribs with mushrooms, stir-fried green beans, braised eggplant with soy sauce, tiger-skin green peppers, and green pepper and potato shreds. That's eight dishes in total, enough."

Jingyan looked at the table and said, "Then I'll go pick four tomatoes, three cucumbers, two eggplants, and ten green peppers, that should be enough. There are still some green beans in the kitchen, that should be enough."

He Zhijun nodded: "Then I'll trouble you."

Jingyan turned around, grabbed a basket from the kitchen, and went to the front yard to pick vegetables. It was only a small amount, and she finished in no time. He Zhijun smiled at her and said, "You've finished your work. It's still early, so go take a nap."

Jingyan yawned, nodded, and went to sleep on the bed in the second bedroom. Although it was hot in the summer, the window was open, and a gentle breeze blew in, dispelling the midday heat. Jingyan slept very soundly, so soundly that... she saw her daughter, Yueyue.

"Xiaoyue~ Is that you? Are you alright?" Jingyan's voice choked with sobs. Heaven knows that since her rebirth, the person she missed the most was Xiaoyue. This was also her greatest regret. When she left, her child had just graduated from university and hadn't decided anything about the future. She passed away due to a relapse of her heart disease.

“Mom, I’m doing well. I’m so happy to see your life now. You had such a hard time before. You deserve a better life. Do you remember what I told you? Don’t mistreat yourself for anyone, including me.”

“But, I feel that the person I’ve wronged the most is you. I didn’t give you a good family of origin, and then I left too early to protect you. Your father can’t be relied on for anything. I’m most worried about you. Now I’m living a comfortable life and I’m confident that I can live a good life in the future, but what about you? Will we still have the fate to be mother and daughter in this life?” Jingyan cried uncontrollably.

"Mom, regardless of whether we are destined to be together, I don't want you to live this rare second chance at life with guilt. Don't let guilt affect anything you do or anyone else. You are yourself. Even with your future children, don't spoil them. Too much love is not a good thing for children. How many spoiled children are created by their parents?"

And this guilt? Why should you feel guilty? You've never mistreated me. Materially, you've done your best to give me the best you could. In terms of love, you've given me enough. Even though I lacked fatherly love, I didn't lose myself because of a little care from others. I've always known what I wanted.

As I grew up, I had a stable job, just as you had hoped. Although the salary wasn't high, it was enough to support myself. Later, I got married, and my husband respected me a lot. I reciprocated that respect, and then I had a daughter.

Jingyan was pleasantly surprised: "Your daughter must be very beautiful and well-behaved. What happened next?"

"His mother favored boys over girls and wanted me to have a second child. But you know me, Mom, I'm not the kind of person who would compromise myself. Every time my mother-in-law urged me to have a second child, I asked my husband to mediate. This went on for ten years. Unfortunately, he eventually couldn't resist his mother's brainwashing. In our tenth year of marriage, he also urged me to have another child, saying nice things, even if it's a daughter, so the two children can keep each other company."

However, I am an extreme egoist, and I resolutely filed for divorce. He fought with me for custody of our daughter, thinking that by suppressing the daughter, he could make me give in. Later, I had a serious talk with the child. She had been raised by her grandmother most of the time since she was little, and she wanted to stay with her grandmother. She is very sensible and said that it was hard for me to work and take care of her, but her grandmother could always take care of her at home, pick her up from school, and her father's salary was also high, so raising her could give her more.

After considering all the factors, I stopped arguing, and we divorced amicably. I live a simple and comfortable life on my own, raising three kittens. My daughter comes to stay with me for a while during her holidays. My daughter and I have a good relationship. I've told her I won't remarry, and that if she ever suffers any injustice at her father's hands, she can come to me. I will always be her support, her safety net, and her source of strength. This is my selfish love.

I hope that in the future, Mom, you will also give selfish love to those around you, without compromising yourself or flattering others. I hope you can be happy when you're with others, but also be content when you're alone. This kind of life may not be what others desire, but it's the one that will bring you the most peace of mind. Mom, I hope you can love yourself well.

Jingyan, who had been crying her eyes out, stopped crying when she heard about the divorce. Looking at her expression, she asked, "Divorce? What will people around you think of you?"

“Mom, caring about what others think is just forcing yourself. Why make things difficult for yourself? I can tell others frankly that I haven’t done anything to betray the family. Divorce just means we’re no longer suitable to be together. Rather than appearing as a happy couple in the eyes of outsiders while suffering and shedding tears behind closed doors, it’s better to let go gracefully and leave each other with the last bit of affection. Isn’t that better?” Yueyue’s expression was calm, without any hesitation.

Jingyan couldn't say whether it was good or bad, but as a mother, she naturally stood on her daughter's side. If she didn't consider other people's opinions, she would support her daughter. That's right, her daughter had been strong and daring since she was a child. When they went to her grandmother's house, her grandfather's house had many rules, and the New Year's Eve dinner required men and women to sit at separate tables. This child dared to argue with her grandfather when she was only six years old, and finally managed to get the rule of separate tables abolished. Later, the seat next to her grandfather became her exclusive spot, and she gained a lot more say in her husband's family because of this.

Given her daughter's unwillingness to suffer losses, she will ultimately choose her own path in life.

"Didn't you consider the relationship between you and your husband? The fact that you've been with him for ten years shows that he must have treated you quite well," Jing Yan asked.

"If he doesn't treat me well, why should I marry him? But the kindness he showed me was worn down by his mother's constant pressure. Originally, I didn't care what my mother-in-law said, but his change is the bottom line that cannot be forgiven. Since he can disregard my wishes, feelings, and my mother, is there any need to stay?"

I won't abandon my principles for anyone, Mom. I hope you do too, that you know what your principles are, and clearly tell your husband that if he ever crosses them, the relationship will no longer be worthwhile.