The most beautiful space

5. Parents

Su Tong's resignation and return home was truly unexpected. More than half a month ago, no one, including herself, expected that Su Tong would give up this well-paid job, in which she had just been promoted to HR manager. Su Tong hadn't even figured out how to tell her parents before she went home.

When Su Tong arrived at her doorstep, she took out her keys, feeling a bit apprehensive about returning home. What should she say when her parents asked her why she had suddenly quit her job and come home, and why her appearance had changed so much? She didn't want to lie to her parents, but the truth was too bizarre for the two elderly people who were nearly 50 years old. It was a really difficult situation.

Taking a deep breath and forcing a bright smile, she was about to open the door when it opened from the inside. It was Su Tong's father, Su Zhengdong, wearing the dark plaid jacket that Su Tong had just sent back this year. He opened the door with one hand while changing his shoes, and called into the house, "Deng Yadan, you watch the vegetables. I'm going to buy a jar of fermented bean paste. Although it's not as good as yours, it won't taste right without it."

From inside, Su Tong's mother, Deng Yadan, replied impatiently, "I know, you go ahead and do it, you're such a busybody."

Su Tong swallowed back the perfect smile she had prepared and the words "Mom and Dad, I'm home" that were on the tip of her tongue. She stood frozen outside the door and called out blankly, "Dad."

Su's father was still squatting down, tying his shoelaces. When he heard Su Tong's voice, he immediately looked up and stared at Su Tong in disbelief for a few moments, until Su's mother came out of the kitchen and said to him, "Old Su, what are you standing there for? You talk about it every day. If your daughter really came back, wouldn't you recognize her?"

Su's father then got up, put on his shoes, and said with a smile, "Tongtong, why did you suddenly come back? You didn't even tell us, so your mother and I could have picked you up."

Su Tong's small suitcase was immediately snatched away by her father. She felt like a complete idiot. She had indeed obviously become fairer and more beautiful, but she was born from her mother's womb, raised by her parents. How could they not recognize her? She was worrying too much. Su Tong smelled the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen and took her father's arm. "Dad, I just suddenly decided to come back. I decided yesterday and came back today, so I didn't tell you. It was a surprise!"

"Surprised? You came back without saying a word. It's more like a shock," Su's mother said with a laugh, scolding Su Tong. "You came back at just the right time. Your father and I were just about to have dinner."

Su Tong smiled smugly at her mother and was about to pull her father inside for dinner when he pushed her hand away and started to walk out, saying as he went, "The food in Shanghai is both sweet and salty. I've never been used to it before. Today, Tongtong is back, and I was planning to go out to buy some fermented bean paste and some vegetables to cook something nice for my daughter."

Although Su Tong's mother is a chef and her father is a high school teacher, it is Su Tong's father who does most of the cooking at home. Su Tong's mother, Deng Yadan, only cooks during holidays and festivals, and she makes all kinds of fermented bean paste, meat sauce, chili sauce, fermented bean curd, pickled cabbage and pickled mustard greens. When Su Tong went to university, she would bring several large jars with her every semester, and they would be swept up by her classmates and friends who came to visit her.

As soon as she got home, Su Tong didn't want her dad to do anything for her, so she quickly pulled him aside, "No, it's late, and it's not good to eat too much. Let's just eat like this today, and you can make me something nicer tomorrow."

On the surface, Su's mother scolded her father, "If you're going, then hurry up and go! What are you dawdling for?" But in reality, she pulled Su Tong back, saying, "Tongtong, let him go. He hasn't left the house since he came back from class this morning. He's been cooped up at home all day. If he doesn't go out for a walk, his bones will start to rust."

In short, the two of them actually agreed to add more dishes for Su Tong. They figured that when she wasn't around, the two of them would eat simple meals, and it would be a good opportunity for them to try more different dishes together. So Su Tong didn't insist and said with a grin, "Okay then. But I'll go with Dad too. I've been on a plane and a car, and my butt is practically flat from sitting so long. I can go with him to pick out some good ingredients and cook them with Dad when we get back, so Mom can enjoy some too."

Su's mother laughed immediately and scolded, "I was just about to praise you for looking even more beautiful this time, but you've already shown your true colors. A girl shouldn't talk about butts like that!"

Su Tong quickly sought comfort from her father, "Dad, look! I just got back and Mom is already yelling at me!"

"Deng Yadan, it's one thing for you to oppress me at home, but why are you bullying my daughter too?" Su's father acted as if it were real, pulling Su Tong out of the house. "Let's just ignore her and go out and have some fun."

Su's mother was laughing so hard she almost choked, "Buying groceries is fine, but why are you calling it 'carefree'? What's so carefree about it?"

Su's father said smugly, "Then you just don't understand."

Actually, Su's mother understood perfectly well that praising a person's child was more effective than praising their own. Su's father felt incredibly dashing walking out with his increasingly beautiful daughter.

Su Tong's family lives in a small city in H province. They usually live in a four-story private house in an alley connecting two main streets. It was an old house that Su Tong bought when she was in the first year of junior high school. It was demolished and rebuilt. It is quite spacious and is basically in the city center of this small city. Over the years, many people have wanted to buy it. Although Su Tong's parents bought a small villa in a community on Binjiang Road with a one-time payment when Su Tong went to college, they never thought of selling this house.

Although the family wasn't wealthy, they were still quite well-off. Su's father used to be a key teacher of Chinese language at the city's No. 1 Middle School. In his middle age, he was promoted to vice principal. He didn't teach many classes, but his income was still considerable. Su's mother used to work as a chef in a hotel. When Su Tong grew up, she opened a restaurant in the storefront left by her grandfather, not far from the pedestrian overpass in the city. It was a small, casual restaurant that could only serve a few dozen tables at a time. In recent years, Su's mother started to pay attention to health and felt that being exposed to oil fumes in the kitchen all the time was bad for her. So she basically left it to the staff. She would take stock of the accounts a few times a month and only cook when important customers came. Otherwise, she would just check on things every few days.

The father and daughter didn't drive. They walked out of the alley hand in hand. Once outside, there was a small shopping mall. It was the time when people were getting off work and school, and there were many pedestrians coming and going. More or less, they would glance at Su Tong—especially young men. Su Tong herself didn't seem to notice, but her father seemed quite happy.

The two went straight to the fresh food section on the basement floor. They bought a lot of things, from the shrimp and dried tofu that Su Tong liked to eat, to the half-duck and vermicelli that Su's mother loved to eat, as well as various vegetables that Su's father carefully selected. Su Tong also took a bottle of wine and a large bottle of juice, which filled two large shopping bags. They could be said to have returned home with a full load.

This is where the problem arose. Su Tong knew her own strength; she figured she could probably only carry the bag without drinks without much trouble. However, after the cashier put the bag in the bag, Su Tong didn't try to pay with her dad. Instead, she took the heavy bag and carried it herself, making it look effortless so her dad wouldn't notice she was struggling. After walking a few minutes to get home, Su Tong smiled and put the bag next to the refrigerator in the kitchen. Only then did she realize that her right palm, where she had been carrying the bag, had a deep red mark from the pressure, with some purple bruising around it.

"Damn it!" Su Tong cursed inwardly, then casually tied on her apron and began assisting her father, the family's head chef.

By the time it was finally finished, Su's mother's favorite prime-time TV drama had already started airing.

Once Su's father decided to cook a proper meal, he didn't hold back. He made three main dishes: braised pork with vermicelli, fried shrimp, and konjac duck, along with various stir-fried dishes of meat and vegetables. Su Tong looked at the table full of food and exclaimed, "Wow! You made so much. Even if the three of us stuffed ourselves to death, we still couldn't finish it all."

Su's mother smacked him on the head with a chopstick, saying, "What are you talking about dying for? The older you get, the more you need to be taught a lesson."

The family of three watched Su's mother's favorite family drama and enjoyed Su Tong's first meal back home in a lively atmosphere.