Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 48: Father-Son Relationship (Part 2)
"The food is ready. I heard you were coming back, so I made some of your favorite dishes."
Tan Jingkang wiped his hands and went into the house first.
There was a small round table in the room, on which were placed several plates of steaming dishes, including the multi-flavored fish and steamed shrimps that Tan Renhao had loved to eat since he was a child.
"Your kitchen here is too far away and inconvenient, otherwise I would cook a few more dishes and try them first to see how they taste."
Tan Jingkang brought two sets of bowls and chopsticks and brought a chair over to Tan Renhao.
"Dad, when did you come?"
Tan Renhao was confused and had no idea what to say to his father, with whom he hadn't communicated for more than three years.
"A few days ago, I heard that you were promoted beyond your level, so your mother asked me to bring some local specialties to visit you and greet your colleagues, so that others would not say that we were rude. This time, I brought a lot of local specialties. I'll show them to you and choose a few to send to your superiors. Although they are a little ordinary, they can still express my thoughts!"
As Tan Jingkang spoke, he was about to take out the local specialties from the sackcloth bags piled in the corner.
"Dad, leave it there, I'll make the arrangements."
Tan Renhao let out a long sigh, "How is Mom's old illness?"
Tan Jingkang smiled awkwardly and then sat back.
"It's much better now. I went to see an old Chinese doctor last year, who prescribed a secret recipe for me, and I haven't had it again this year."
Tan Renhao nodded. His mother suffered from severe gout due to overwork when she was young and had been tormented by this disease for decades.
"Your mother asked me to tell you not to worry about her illness and to work hard in the army. Actually..."
"Dad, how is Xiao Lian now? Is she in love?"
Tan Renhao interrupted his father.
"She's still young. Several matchmakers came to our house last year, but we've already told your mom that Xiao Lian's affairs should be decided by her and we won't interfere."
Tan Renhao looked at his father with a little surprise. Obviously, his father had changed. If it was more than three years ago, his father would definitely decide on his sister's marriage.
"Why!"
Tan Jingkang sighed, "In fact, I have figured it out in the past few years. When it comes to children's affairs, let the children make their own decisions. At the beginning..."
"Dad, the food is getting cold."
Tan Renhao picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of hairtail, his father's favorite food, put it in his father's bowl, and then picked up a shrimp for himself.
"Well, not bad, it still tastes the same as before. It seems that your cooking skills have not deteriorated in the past few years!"
Tan Jingkang laughed. He didn't rush to pick up his chopsticks, but stared at his son intently.
"Dad, why don't you eat?"
Tan Renhao felt a little embarrassed. When he was a child, every time when the family had an improved meal, his parents would always let him and his sister eat first and then they would eat.
"Eat it quickly, or it will get cold and taste bad."
"well!"
Tan Jingkang picked up the bowl. Just like before, he liked to carry a big porcelain bowl outside to eat and chat with a few neighbors. However, there were no neighbors around now, and the big porcelain bowl had become a small one.
"If you like it, eat more. Eat more."
Tan Renhao stuffed the food into his mouth with all his strength. Suddenly, two lines of tears rolled down his face and fell into the bowl.
He didn't want to cry. When he was a child, he would never cry no matter how his father beat him. But now he couldn't help but let the tears roll down.
Tan Renhao bit the salt tightly, trying not to make a sound of the bitterness, but the familiar taste in his mouth made tears fall like beads from a broken string.
Tan Jingkang turned his head away and quietly wiped his tears.
The cold war between father and son that lasted for more than three years ended at this moment.
Although Tan Jingkang also blamed his son, thinking that his son's running away from home brought shame to the Tan family and made it impossible for him to hold his head up in front of his neighbors and family friends.
Tan Renhao also once complained about his father, thinking that his father was too arbitrary and overbearing, and that he was willing to ruin his son's future just because of a joke.
However, at this moment, both the father and the son silently forgave each other. The affection between father and son can never be touched and will never disappear.
The ice will eventually melt, and what will come is the warmth between loved ones.
"dad!"
Tan Renhao put down his chopsticks and quickly wiped away the tears on his face. "Actually, I was too willful at the beginning. Actually, I have always wanted to contact you. Actually..."
"Child, don't say anything. Dad can understand. Dad is also wrong!"
Tan Jingkang smiled and patted his son's shoulder. "Eat, eat quickly. I bought the shrimp at the market outside. It took me a whole day to cook them. Eat quickly and don't waste them."
This meal was the most delicious meal Tan Renhao had eaten in more than three years. It was not because the food was so delicious, but because the knot that had existed in his heart for three years was finally untied.
After dinner, Tan Renhao took the initiative to wash the dishes, and then the father and son moved the chairs outside the door and watched the sunset that was about to set above the sea and sky.
Tan Jingkang still smoked the kind of steady local cigarettes, while Tan Renhao smoked the high-end cigarettes provided by the navy to officers.
The two chatted about family matters and the atmosphere was no longer so awkward.
Tan Renhao's sister Tan Qinglian has been at home helping their father take care of the business since she graduated from a girls' school. She is now basically able to handle business matters on her own, so her father doesn't need to worry too much.
This was something Tan Renhao had not expected.
When she was a child, my sister was often bullied by wild kids outside, and she would always come back to complain to her brother.
For a long time, in Tan Renhao 's impression, his sister has always been a very delicate girl.
However, in these three years, Tan Qinglian has undergone tremendous changes. Without her brother's protection, she has not only learned to be independent, but also shouldered the burden of the family.
However, what worries Tan Renhao is his mother's health.
When she was young, my mother suffered a lot, especially after she married my father. In order to run the family business and take care of two children, my mother was busy almost day and night and suffered from a lot of illnesses.
Although the family's financial situation had improved greatly when Tan Renhao was old enough to understand, and the family had hired servants, his mother still did everything herself.
Over the past three years, she has been worrying about and missing her son, which has made her physical condition worse.
While chatting, Tan Renhao saw someone walking towards them.
He was slightly startled, and after looking carefully, he found that it was Liao Yingyu.
Tan Jingkang also saw Liao Yingyu walking over.
When Tan Renhao saw his father's expression, he felt a little headache.
