B5SB -Chapter 317 Treating Guests to a Meal

Afternoon

Gu Yihan took out the pork belly she had bought yesterday with Auntie Zhang while strolling through the housing compound.

Lu Huailin came back carrying two fish and saw his wife chopping meat in the kitchen.

After washing his hands, he smiled and walked over to her: “Wife, I’ll cook.”

“Alright.”

Gu Yihan made room for him, and Lu Huailin casually took the kitchen knife.

He neatly cut the pork belly into evenly sized cubes, each piece as if measured with a ruler.

Gu Yihan chopped the roast duck into pieces and glanced at the fish in the bowl, puzzled: “Did you buy the fish?”

While caramelizing sugar in the pan, Lu Huailin replied, “I saw some fish at the grocery store on the way. So I bought them.”

Gu Yihan nodded, thinking for a moment: “Roast duck, fish, braised pork, and a stir-fried egg—will four dishes be enough?”

It was the first time she was hosting a meal at home, so she wasn’t sure how many dishes to prepare.

“Add a shredded potato dish. Five dishes sound better than four.”

Gu Yihan considered it and nodded: “Okay.”

The couple busied themselves in the kitchen for over an hour.

Lu Huailin washed his hands, stepped out of the kitchen, and smiled faintly at Haohao, who was playing soccer in the yard.

He walked over, bent down, and picked him up.

“Wife, I’ll go greet them.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Gu Yihan watched the two braised fish in the pot, and when they were done, she turned off the heat.

She wondered if they would bring their wives and children, so she went upstairs and arranged the sunflower seeds and sour jujube cakes they had bought yesterday on a plate.

When Auntie Zhang, Bai Yun, and Liu Yufang entered Gu Yihan’s yard, they hadn’t even reached the living room yet when the delicious aroma from inside reached them.

“Wow, Xiao Yihan’s cooking is this good?” Auntie Zhang sniffed vigorously, amazed.

“Yeah, this smells amazing,” Liu Yufang added, unable to hide her admiration.

Although she hadn’t met Gu Yihan before and didn’t know her character, Liu Yufang genuinely admired her cooking skills.

Hearing the voices, Gu Yihan smiled and came out: “Aunt Zhang, Aunt Bai.”

Then her gaze shifted to Liu Yufang—the sales clerk who had sold them the soccer ball.

She smiled: “It’s you!”

Auntie Zhang looked at Gu Yihan in surprise: “You two know each other?”

Liu Yufang confidently introduced herself: “Sister-in-law, I’m Liu Yufang. You can just call me Xiaofang.”

Gu Yihan paused for a moment, looking at Liu Yufang, who was clearly older than her.

She said helplessly: “Xiaofang.”

Auntie Zhang noticed Gu Yihan’s expression and, stifling a laugh, explained: “Xiaofang’s partner is Director Lin, in charge of logistics.”

Gu Yihan nodded: “Aunt Zhang, Aunt Bai, Xiaofang, you can sit inside for a while. We’ll start eating once they come back.”

Speaking of whom, as if on cue,

Lu Huailin returned carrying Haohao, followed by Zhao Xu, Chief of Staff Gao Guoqiang, and Lin Zhenhua.

“Wife, we’re back.”

Seeing Lu Huailin greet them to sit, Gu Yihan smiled and went to the kitchen to brew tea.

Lu Huailin came in at the same time to help serve the dishes.

Zhao Xu, Gao Guoqiang, and Lin Zhenhua looked at the braised pork and fish on the table and couldn’t help giving Lu Huailin a thumbs-up.

“You’re lucky, Xiao Lu. You married a wife with such cooking skills.”

Lu Huailin proudly replied, “Of course, my wife is the best.”

Bai Yun, Auntie Zhang, and Liu Yufang got up to help carry dishes and serve tea.

“Xiao Yihan, you should teach me how to cook sometime.”

Auntie Zhang’s eyes couldn’t help but wander to the perfectly cooked braised pork on the table.

Gu Yihan laughed: “Aunt Zhang, I’m afraid I’d mislead you.”

Bai Yun looked at Gu Yihan in surprise, thinking she was being modest.

Auntie Zhang shook her head with a smile: “With your skills, you couldn’t mislead me.”

Gu Yihan saw that Auntie Zhang wasn’t joking and was genuinely interested in learning.

She quickly waved her hands and explained: “These were all cooked by my husband. I can only barely manage to make edible meals myself. So, I’m afraid I’d disappoint you, Aunt Zhang.”

Auntie Zhang, Bai Yun, and Liu Yufang froze in astonishment.

“This… it’s unbelievable,” Liu Yufang exclaimed in shock.

Auntie Zhang had lived most of her life without ever seeing her men cook at home.

She envied Lu Huailin and thought, as the saying goes, it’s natural to be envious of others’ luck.

Gu Yihan smiled: “Come on, let’s eat.”

With that, the four of them returned to the table and started eating.

Lu Huailin and the others spent over an hour eating, chatting while enjoying the meal.

Gu Yihan and the aunts finished early and sat on the sofa, sipping tea and snacking on sunflower seeds while chatting.

“Sister-in-law, how did you train Director Lu to cook?”

Liu Yufang couldn’t resist asking.

Auntie Zhang and Bai Yun also looked curiously at Gu Yihan, hoping she could share some tips.

At their homes, their men wouldn’t even hold the oil bottle for themselves, let alone cook.

“No training needed. I’m rather lazy, so he naturally becomes more diligent,” Gu Yihan said with a smile.

Ever since marrying Lu Huailin, she hadn’t once taken the initiative to rush around.

She slept in whenever she could, glanced at Haohao reading comics, and even the child’s care was mostly handled by Lu Huailin.

“Lazy?”

Auntie Zhang, Bai Yun, and Liu Yufang exclaimed in unison.

“Does that really work?”

Seeing their eager expressions, Gu Yihan worried that if they tried it at home and nothing happened, they would blame her.

She quickly clarified: “Everyone’s situation is different, so it’s not universally applicable. In my case, Lu Huailin simply enjoys cooking.”

Auntie Zhang and the others nodded perfunctorily, clearly not taking Gu Yihan’s words to heart.

They planned to try it at home, starting by refusing to wash their men’s big underwear, just to see what would happen.

By now, Lu Huailin and the others had finished eating and called for their wives to leave.

Gu Yihan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got up to see them off with Lu Huailin.

Once back inside, Lu Huailin held her in his arms: “Wife, how do you feel about getting along with them?”

He still hoped his wife would interact more with them.

Beijing wasn’t Kun City, and barring any surprises, the couple would stay here until his retirement.

Gu Yihan pondered for a moment and said, “Pretty good. Their status and positions speak for themselves—they generally won’t do anything to damage their reputation.”

Lu Huailin nodded, trusting her judgment.

The higher the position, the more cautious their spouses, always careful not to slip up and lose face.