Chapter 191: Changes

Translator: Lonelytree

In a luxuriously decorated living room, a middle-aged man in his forties and a young man in his twenties were sitting on the sofa. One was watching TV, while the other was playing with his mobile phone.

“Bang!” Chu Mingjiao opened the door with great force and then stormed into the kitchen.

The father and son looked at each other.

Sun Xudong looked at his father, Sun Hai, and said carefully in a low voice, “Dad, who provoked mom this time?”

Sun Hai shook his head and said with a wry smile, “In this neighborhood, who dares to provoke your mom?”

Sun Xudong glanced at the kitchen. There were a lot of loud crashes. He whispered, “Dad, I think Mom is entering menopause. Her temper is raging, and she gets angry so easily. Maybe you should take her to the doctor, or I might need to run away from home.” Sun Xudong was about to adopt schizophrenia living under constant stress and violence.

At that moment, Chu Mingjiao walked out of the kitchen. When she saw the father and son sitting on the sofa, she couldn’t help but get angry.

She said loudly, “Play, play, play. All you know how to do is play. Will you die if you don’t play games?” Then, her eyes moved to the pile of garbage on the coffee table. She shouted, “Eat, eat, eat. All you know how to do is eat. Look at the mess you’ve made on the ground. Clean it up yourself! Or are you waiting for me to serve you? Can’t you see that I still have much housework to do? Or do you think I’m your maid?” She glanced at Sun Xudong, who had his head lowered. “Sun Xudong, you’re already over 20 years old. Can’t you find a proper job? All you do is hold the phone all day long. Are you going to find a job in there?”

Sun Xudong immediately defended himself, “Mom, how many times have I told you? I have a job. I am an online game designer. I play games on the phone to find inspiration. I have a job, okay?”

“Do you think that is a job?” Chu Mingjiao said angrily, “How come I haven’t seen you take a penny home then? Why do you keep asking us for money? Since you’re working, where’s the money?”

Sun Xudong said loudly, “Mom, I’ve told you. I’ve invested in a gaming studio with a few friends. My money is all there. Mom, you have to stop criticizing everything I do. To save you the trouble, I’ll leave so that you won’t get angry anymore.”

Then, Sun Xudong stood up and took his phone, intending to leave.

“Stop!” Chu Wanjiao immediately stopped her son. “If you leave this house, don’t ever come back again.”

“Fine!” Su Xudong got angry too. He was fed up already. He was really considering leaving the house.

At that moment, Sun Hai sniffed and asked, “There is something burning. Honey, what are you cooking?”

Chu Mingjiao immediately reacted. “Goodness, I left the cabbage burning on the stove!” She quickly ran back into the kitchen.

Sun Hai and Sun Xudong immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

Sun Xudong immediately relaxed. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and sincerely suggested, “Dad, I beg you to do something. If Mom continues like this, she will drive me crazy. Oh, I might really be forced to run away from home. Dad, you won’t let your son be homeless, right?” He paused for a moment and asked, “Dad, why does Mom rarely get angry with you, but she treats me like I’m not even her son. Am I adopted?”

“Nonsense!” Sun Hai flicked Sun Xudong’s head and sighed softly, “Your mom is probably going through menopause. You should be considerate of her. After a while, she’ll be back to the loving mother you know.” Sun Hai couldn’t do anything about his wife’s temper either. Maybe this was the state of a menopausal woman.

Sun Xudong said suspiciously, “But Dad, do you really think that version of Mom can return?”

“I don’t know either.” Sun Hai shrugged.

“Hmm, what smells so good?” Sun Xudong suddenly wrinkled his nose and said, “Dad, what is Mom cooking? It smells so delicious.” Then, Sun Xudong frowned. “Did Mom get takeaway? Such a delicious smell hasn’t come from our kitchen in a long time already.”

People say cooking is a reflection of a person’s heart. Since his mother’s temper became irritable, her cooking skills became so-so. They were either too salty or tasteless. They were either overcooked or raw.

This was the first time in months since the father and son smelled something fragrant from the kitchen.

Sun Hai nodded. “It does seem to come from the kitchen.”

Sun Xudong said, “It already smells so good. It must taste greater.”

While the father and son discussed in the living, Chu Mingjiao, in the kitchen, was also puzzled. At first, she was regretful that she bought such an expensive purchase on impulse. However, she couldn’t return it. In that case, she had to cook with it.

She had already made up her mind that if the vegetable weren’t worth the price, she would get the people from the Commerce Bureau to seize the vegetable store.

She poured the burnt cabbage into the trash can. She picked up the leeks, washed them, and pan-fried the eggs with leeks.

After pouring the eggs into the pan, she added the leeks. The moment the leeks touched the pan, the fragrance immediately assailed her nostrils. It cleared up her muddled mind. She felt cleansed by a refreshing spring.

Chu Mingjiao’s mood immediately brightened up as she said in a low voice, “The leeks are really amazing. The dish is not even done, but it’s already so fragrant. No wonder they are so expensive.”

She then realized why the other customers had reacted that way when she accused them of being actors. They told her that she shouldn’t question them when she hadn’t tasted the vegetables. Now that she thought about it, the vegetables were really expensive for a reason. Soon, the fried egg was ready.

Sun Hai and his son couldn’t stand the temptation of the aroma, so they ran into the kitchen.

“Mom, what are you cooking?”

“Honey, why does it smell so good?”

The father and son asked almost at the same time.

Chu Mingjiao smiled and said, “I made fried eggs with leeks! You guys should ready to the dining room. I’ll make the other dishes, and we can eat.”

Sun Xudong saw his mother’s smile, and his mouth opened wide in disbelief. He poked his father’s arm and said, “Dad, am I seeing things? Mom seems to be smiling. How long has it been since mom last smiled?”

Sun Hai was also stunned and said, “You’re not seeing things. Your mom is indeed smiling.” His wife hadn’t smiled in a long time already.

“Why are you two standing here like idiots?” Chu Mingjiao said, “Hurry up and take out the bowls and chopsticks. The food will be ready soon.”

The father and son immediately reacted after being yelled at. One of them quickly went to get the bowls, while the other went to get chopsticks and spoons.

The father and son were in disbelief after they left the kitchen. Sun Xudong said, “Dad, What’s wrong with Mom? Is this a new trick to deal with me? Dad, I’m scared. Is Mom really trying to drive me away from home?”

Sun Hai said very loyally, “Son, don’t worry. If your mom really wants to drive you away, Dad will accompany you.”

Sun Xudong rolled his eyes and said, “Dad, why don’t we both run away from home. Let Mom stew in worry for a while.”

Sun Hai smacked his son’s head. “Your Mom is not feeling well lately. If both of us are gone, we’ll drive her crazy. Son, we need to stay by her side and be understanding of her. She needs somewhere to vent her internal fire. Otherwise, all that heat might cause her to get ill.”

Sun Xudong said in surprise, “Dad, is it that serious?”

“Yes, it is that serious!” Sun Hai said very seriously, “I read a lot of books about women going through menopause. Son, we’ll have to soldier through this. Things will get better.”

Sun Xudong nodded. “Okay. I’ll be her punching bag until she returns to normal.” Well, he was her son, after all.

“What are you two whispering about?” Chu Mingjiao walked out with the rice. She told Sun Xudong, “Go and bring the other dishes from the kitchen.”

“Yes!” Sun Xudong immediately ran into the kitchen and came out later with a dish in each hand. As he walked, he sniffed the plate of eggs with leeks and said, “Mom, this dish is amazing! Your cooking skills have improved again.”

Chu Mingjiao was in a good mood. She smiled. “This has nothing to do with my cooking skills. The ingredients are amazing.”

Seeing her smile again, the father and son looked at each other. They were sure that they weren’t mistaken.

When Chu Mingjiao saw this, she said suspiciously. “What are you two doing? Hurry up and sit down to eat!”

“Okay, okay!” The father and son immediately nodded and then sat down to eat.

Unsurprisingly, the first dish they picked was naturally the fried egg with leeks.

“Wow, the leeks are delicious!”

“Mom, did you prepare the leeks differently? Why are they so delicious?”

“It’s not me. It’s the ingredients.” Chu Mingjiao said, “Do you know how much the leeks cost?”

“Mom, we don’t frequent the market. How would we know?” Sun Xudong said.

“Ten RMB per catty,” Chu Mingjiao said. “The leeks in the market are only sold for three RMB per catty.”

“What?! So expensive!” The father and son said in disbelief.

“But there’s a reason!” Chu Mingjiao was now a fan. She was excited like she had found a new world. “You have no idea how good the business the vegetable store had. Even if the vegetables are ridiculously expensive, many people rush to buy them. I was suspicious of them. I thought the boss hired these people as actors, so I went to challenge the owner. I said I would get the people from the Commerce Bureau to seize the shop for its ridiculous prices.”

Sun Hai and his son were dumbfounded. Why was their mother/wife acting like that? So what if the store’s product was expensive? What did that have to do with her? She could just walk away. Why did she need to find trouble when there was none.

Chu Mingjiao said, “But now, I realize how ridiculous I was. The boss has marked the price of everything, so why should I be indignant and angry? Thinking back, I really can’t tell.”

The father and son were speechless.

The father and son looked at each other again, and the doubt in their eyes grew.

When did their mother/wife change? Or turn back to her previous gentle self?

“No, I have to apologize tomorrow!” Chu Mingjiao said decisively.

Sun Xudong instantly asked in disbelief, “Mom, who are you? Are you still my Mom?”

Chu Mingjiao hit his head with a chopstick and said, “What nonsense are you talking about? If I’m not your Mom, who am I?”