The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 543
Zhang Li, Yanhua, Li Shuang, and Yingzi all invited Lao Tan to their home for the New Year, but Lao Tan didn't go.

For Chinese New Year, the whole family is reunited, so what's the matter with an outsider?Lao Tan thought so.So I spent my thirty years alone.

He cooked four dishes for himself, boiled dumplings and warmed the wine, watched TV while eating and drinking.

But after all, it is Chinese New Year, and the days are different.Especially when you are alone, you will inevitably have to think of many things.

When the wine is slightly drunk, some scenes of the past Chinese New Year can't help but emerge in front of my eyes.

That was the scene when he went out to work and returned home for the New Year in his first year. It was the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, and it was snowing lightly.He first took the train, then the car, and returned home when it was completely dark and the lights were on.

When he entered the room, his mother was sitting on the top of the kang. After Lao Tan called out to his mother, he couldn't help his nose sore, and tears swirled in the circles of his eyes.

I haven't seen my mother for a year, I think.

When the mother saw that the old son had returned, she was taken aback for a moment, and then a kind and happy smile appeared on her face.

My mother said: "Thinking about it, you should be back today. You're already 28—did you come back by Heitian car?"

"Yes." Old Tan said, "Take the train from the provincial capital in the morning, arrive at Beipiao at [-]:[-] in the afternoon, and then take the bus at [-]:[-]."

"Aren't you hungry after driving all day? The noodles I rolled haven't been cooked yet on the floor of the outhouse, so I'll cook them for you."

Mother went to the ground to put on her shoes and was going to cook noodles, but Lao Tan refused to let her go, and went to the outhouse by herself.

The panel is on the pickle jar near the north wall, and the rolled noodles are on it.On the sauerkraut jar is a cutting board, on which are chopped marinated sauerkraut, diced tofu, and chopped green onion.

The water in the pot was hot, and the wood in the stove was red.

Looking at the noodles and the water in the pot that had been boiled several times, Lao Tan couldn't bear it anymore, tears streaming down his face.Mother is waiting for him to come back. Although she doesn't know if he will come back today, she has to wait, prepare, and roll out the noodles in advance——
Oh mother, mom.

Thinking of this old Tan's eyes filled with tears, the wine glass in his hand couldn't be delivered to his mouth for a long time, and finally he had to put down the wine glass, light a cigarette to calm his excitement, and wipe away the tears on his face.

People, it's not that they don't want to go home when they are old, but they dare not go home.

That was the fourth Spring Festival when I went out to work, and Lao Tan didn't go home because of the hotel business.I spent that Spring Festival with Yanhua. Yanhua worked as a waiter in the small restaurant owned by the boss, and did not go home for the New Year.

Speaking of Yanhua, we have to talk about Yaru and Lin Yan. The three of them met Lao Tan at the Rose Hotel on Taishan Road.The first was Yaru, then Lin Yan, and then Yanhua.

In the first part, we know that Yaru is Lao Tan's first love, but for some reason, the two of them only composed a heart-stirring and bitter love song, which is embarrassing.

Then Lin Yan came, the same fate and the same background brought the two together, and they hardly fell in love.But love is still blocked, Lin Yan's mother disagrees with this marriage, so Lao Tan decides not to go home for the New Year in frustration, and sticks to his post in the hotel.

At that time, Yanhua and Lao Tan were colleagues and friends.She likes Lao Tan, but when she thinks of her own experience and the relationship between Lao Tan and Lin Yan, she stops. When she knows that Lao Tan cannot go home for the New Year because of her love, she decides to stay with Lao Tan in the hotel.

Lao Tan clearly remembered the scene of that thirty-year-old.

After drinking, Yanhua told him with a flushed face that if she didn't mind, she could go home with him to see her old mother during the first lunar month.The meaning in the words couldn't be more obvious, but Lao Tan politely declined because he was thinking of Lin Yan.

Why declined, because Lin Yan already has a skin relationship, and there is still a final fantasy before completely despairing.

At that time, he also knew that Yanhua was better than Lin Yan, she was a pure wife and mother, and she could never go wrong when she got married.It's a lie to say that you can't be moved, but if you can't see someone who is attracted to you, just fall in love with him, what's the matter?
When thinking of this, Old Tan couldn't help scolding himself. He was still young and innocent at that time. If he didn't think that way now, it would be strange if he didn't win it on the spot.

That is to say, it’s just a mental activity, if it’s really the same back then—didn’t dare to do it now when I was young?Ghosts believe it.

But this memory is undoubtedly happy, diluting the sadness just now.

Old Tan took a sip of wine, ate a dumpling, and his thoughts continued.

He thought of the first Spring Festival after marriage.

According to rural customs, the new daughter-in-law must spend the first year of marriage at her husband's house. This is a rule.Then on the second day of the first lunar month, the young couple returned to their natal home.But that year, Lin Yan didn't go back to her hometown with Lao Tan, but went back to her mother's house alone.

When Lao Tan saw Lin Yan getting on the bus back to her mother's house with all her bags in her hands when it was useless to say anything, the first thing he thought of at that time was to get a divorce after the New Year, saying that she would not marry her at all. This woman has passed; the second thing that comes to mind is what to say when I go home alone for the New Year, and what to think when the mother sees that her daughter-in-law has not come back——
In fact, divorce would be fine at that time.

He muttered to himself.

But can we get a divorce then?No, because Lin Yan is already pregnant.

Hey, it seems that everything is predestined, people, you can't fight for your life.

Old Tan drank the wine in the glass and poured another glass.

Old Tan thought of the year Zhang Li spent with him, that is, a few years ago.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he had a broken bone, and he vomited blood profusely, which frightened Zhang Li, and led him to the clinic to get a bottle.In the clinic Zhang Li accompanied him to take care of him like a wife.

Zhang Li is the most sorry woman in his life, but what can I do if I am sorry?Let's take a step back and say that if Lao Tan met someone who loved each other like that, then Yanhua should have made Lin Yan his wife first, and it would not be Zhang Li's turn.

On emotional issues, Lao Tan will never do as well as his job. To be honest, he is willing to love and longs to be loved, but he is constrained by the traditional education he received since he was a child, and there are also factors from his family-don't look at his mother as a person. An old lady in the countryside, but she does not allow her children to get divorced, and people will pay attention to that.

Of course, objective factors cannot determine subjective ideas, but they definitely have an impact.That's why Lao Tan filed for divorce after he got cancer. If he didn't get cancer, he probably wouldn't be able to divorce.

This is also the sadness of his being, because of his personality and the way he behaves in the world.

How should I put it, no one is perfect, no gold is enough.We all hope that the protagonist in the novel is the kind of noble and noble, and the ending is perfect.The main reason for this is that our real life is not perfect, and there are always shortcomings and unsatisfactory, so we hope to find hope in novels.

But real life is like this, it's not easy to get rid of.

Lao Tan is no longer a young man, he is 46, the years of burning passion have passed, and what is left is only plain and serious trivialities.

Fortunately, our Zhang Li has found her destination in life, and Lao Huang has cared for and loved her in every possible way, which is fine.

What else do people want in this life?Isn't it just to stay together for a lifetime with the person you love and also love yourself without worrying about food and drink?

This is happiness.

Zhang Li, this glass of wine is toast to you, I wish you and Lao Huang happy every day, good health, and grow old together!
Old Tan drained the wine and filled it up again.

(End of this chapter)