The person who cooks actually dislikes cleaning the dining table;

Just like how you enjoy feeding small animals and the satisfaction and happiness it brings, but don't want to clean their nests.

Fortunately, Karen doesn't have to clean the plates. Aunty Winnie and Aunt Mary will help clean up.

Karen poured himself a glass of water on the second floor, added two ice cubes from the fridge, and carried the water back to the third floor.

He wanted to take a nap, but unfortunately, when he pushed open the bedroom door, he found Mina, Sarah, and Rent were sitting at his desk doing homework.

His nap was ruined.

After all, as an adult, he couldn't kick the kids out just so he could sleep.

Not only did he not get to take a nap, but Karen also helped Mina and Sarah with their physics homework at Minas's request.

It can be felt that Mina's academic performance is very good. No wonder Aunt Mary doesn't want Mina to take over her business. From a purely "financial" perspective, if Mina could inherit Aunt Mary's embalming skills, she would have a bright future. However, in life, under the conditions permitted, one should strive for more opportunities.

Sarah's grades were relatively average, and her ability to comprehend was also average.

Karen also noticed Sarah's clothes, which were new but didn't fit her well.

This detail reminded Karen of his childhood when his family was of average means. He also had special clothes that he only wore when visiting relatives.

At the same time, Sarah's stationery could also be seen to be much worse than what Mina and Rent were using.

In addition, every time Karen spoke, Sarah would immediately move her body to face him.

In theory, this shy girl shouldn't suddenly become so cheerful and want to make eye contact with him. Later, when Karen was teaching the topic, he found that Sarah may have some hearing problems in her right ear. If you speak softly towards her right ear, she may not be able to hear it clearly, so every time she realized that Karen was speaking, she had to turn her head.

After the tutoring ended, Karen stretched and leaned on the bed.

"Are you tired, big brother?" Mina asked.

"Not really."

Mina got up, walked over, and helped Karen massage his shoulders.

At first, Sarah was a little shy, but she also walked over and helped Karen massage his legs.

Rent saw this scene from the side, just smiled, even though he was slapped by his cousin not long ago, he couldn't hate Karen, nor could he be jealous of him.

Just like his father's feelings, he didn't think Karen was his brother, but more like an elder uncle.

"Um, no..."Karun didn't want to enjoy the comfort of being a "landlord". If his younger siblings were younger, he wouldn't mind using some change and candy to trick them into running errands or tapping their legs, as most people have done similar things.

But now his younger sister is already grown up, and there is also a strange female classmate.

However, what surprised Karun was that Sarah's leg rubbing movements were very professional and powerful. For a moment, Karun didn't want to stop her.

But in the end, reason overcame everything, and Karun sat up again and said, "Mina and Sarah, you have grown up and are now young ladies. Remember to keep your distance from the opposite sex."

"But you're not a stranger, brother," Mina said naturally.

Even Sarah nodded in agreement.

"But it's not appropriate," Karun reached out and touched Mina's head. "Brother doesn't like it."

Sarah looked at Mina, who was being touched on the head, with an envious look.

Karun also reached out and touched her head.

Just as men have no resistance to beautiful women, women actually have no resistance to handsome men.

That kind of attraction to the opposite sex that comes from everywhere is like hitting the jackpot for normal people, but for a few people, it's like picking cabbage on the side of the road, readily available.

It's just that most people can't have similar feelings.

"Does Sarah usually help her family massage their legs at home?" Karun curiously asked.

"Well, I help my dad massage his legs every day."

"Really filial."

Karun walked out of the bedroom and stood by the bay window. He opened the window, and Puerh, who was napping there, moved her body a few times in dissatisfaction.

Karun took out a cigarette and lit it. The wind outside was chilly, so he turned his body to reduce the area exposed to the wind.

At this time, Dis walked out of the study, and Karun smiled.

"The hot water bottle is empty," Dis said.

Karun immediately shouted to the bedroom, "Mina, help grandpa fill the hot water bottle."

"Okay."

Mina obediently walked out and took the hot water bottle from her grandfather to go downstairs to the kitchen to fill it with hot water.

Dis didn't have any objections to Karun's "lazy" behavior, but asked, "It's the 15th today."

"Yes, they have booked for the 17th, there are still two days left, actually, there is only one day left," Karun said. Because the 17th is the deadline, the other party must send the deceased by the 16th, tomorrow at the latest, otherwise there is no time to do the makeup.

And if the other party sends it on the 17th, even in the morning, the mourning ceremony will be difficult to carry out smoothly, unless the other party really just wants to go through the motions, but the problem is, the other party has given too much.For such a generous customer, they certainly wouldn't want the funeral to be done sloppily.

"Uncle Mason has already taken on a welfare order and plans to do it on the 18th."

This was to prevent the other party from coming on the 17th or 18th. The operability of the welfare order would be much higher. Just like Jeff's three photo shoots last time, it was arranged for the other party to bargain after the "deadline" passed.

Of course, if the other party was really late for a day or two, they would still help to do it out of the face of the deposit, but they could be more relaxed in terms of requirements and details.

"Okay." Dis nodded and took the hot water bottle from Mina's hand before returning to the study.

At this time, Karun noticed that it was raining outside and extinguished his cigarette butt on the windowsill.

Puerh stared at the small black spot burned by the place where she usually slept, and dissatisfiedly pointed at it with her paw:

"Meow! Meow! Meow!"

Karun reached out and really touched Puerh as a cat.

"Brother, I'm going home." Sarah, carrying her school bag, came out and said goodbye to Karun.

"Who is picking you up?" Karun asked.

"I'm taking the tram back." Sarah replied.

The tram station was outside Mingke Street, and it required a certain distance to walk.

"I'll accompany Sarah to the station." Mina said with an umbrella.

"Well, where do you live, Sarah?"

"On Mine Street in the East District."

The East District was the industrial area of Roja City. Apart from factories, there were rows of old-style worker dormitory buildings. Those who could live in the dormitories were considered lucky. Many workers, including the later population that gathered, could only build rows of shanty houses around the dormitories, forming a shantytown.

A few years ago, the old mayor implemented an improvement plan for the living conditions of shantytown residents in the East District. Of course, he could not and did not have the ability to do any "shantytown reconstruction project", but he did connect water and electricity to all the houses, which was considered as completing the basic guarantee for the lives of shantytown residents.

Mine Street was a famous block composed of shantytowns in the East District. There were many small shops there, and it gave rise to a flea market that was famous in Roja City.

"Okay, I'll drive you back. Mina, go find your dad for the car keys."

"Okay, thanks, brother."

Soon, Mina brought Uncle Mason's car keys:

"Dad also asked if you can drive, brother. Mom said you're good at driving."

Aunt Mary was talking about the time when she and Mrs. Xius got drunk and Karun drove them home.

"Get in the car."New hearse, this was Karun's first time sitting in one. Not only was the driver's seat spacious, but there was also a rectangular indentation at the back for the coffin, and seats similar to those on a bus on either side.

As the car started, Karun began driving towards Mine Street.

Because the previous "Karun" had liked to go to the flea market to buy second-hand comics and novels, Karun knew the location of that place.

"Hehe, Sarah, isn't our car spacious?" Mina asked.

"Uh-huh!" Sarah nodded. "You can even lie down and sleep in it."

Karun, who was driving, laughed at this and said, "Haha, you can't lie down in this car."

Halfway through the journey, they encountered roadworks on a street, causing Karun to have to exit and take a detour. The process of exiting took quite some time, after all, the new hearse was quite large and not very manoeuvrable.

By the time they arrived at Mine Street, it was already five in the afternoon.

"Mom." Sarah saw her mother's figure.

Karun found an empty space next to him and parked the car.

Mina and Sarah got out of the car.

After a while, Mina and Sarah came to the driver's window.

"Brother, Sarah's mother invited us over for a visit."

"Uh-huh, brother, my mother makes really good milk tea!"

Karun originally wanted to refuse, he was more inclined to just drive straight home. But seeing Sarah's expectant eyes and the somewhat restrained and nervous woman standing not far away, Karun nodded and said, "Okay."

...

Sarah's home was deep in Mine Street. Because it had just rained, there were many puddles on the road, some of which were filled with bricks and could only be crossed by stepping on them.

The eaves were very low and required bending over to enter. Inside were two rooms, one belonging to Sarah's parents and the other to Sarah and her grandmother.

The cooking area was outside, with a small stove made of bricks and half-covered with iron.

Inside the house, it was very clean, with a few bouquets of wildflowers.

"Grandma, I brought my classmates and their older brother to play at home."

"Okay, good."

The old grandmother was old, but her hair was meticulously groomed. She sat there, smiling as she watched Mina and Karun.

"Oh, Sarah brought her classmates home to play?"

A man's voice came from outside. He came in leaning on a crutch, with a cigarette that was half-burned in his hand, but when he saw Mina and Karun, he threw the cigarette outside.

"Hello, Uncle." Mina spoke up.

"Hello, young man, hello."

"Hello, I'm Mina's brother, Karun."Karun reached out his hand to the man, a habit he couldn't change. He had never seen himself as a child, and his family had gotten used to it, so he didn't need to pretend at home.

The man hesitated for a moment, but still shook hands with Karun. "Hello, you can call me Lote. My neighbors call me Lame Lote."

Lote's hand was rough and calloused, and the other leg under his crutch was empty.

When they entered, Karun noticed that there were many tires and cut tire skins in the yard. Lote made "slippers" from old tires and sold them for income.

Sarah's mother worked at a nearby cotton textile factory, but it was currently the off-season and she didn't need to work many days.

"Please sit down."

Sarah brought over a few stools, and Karun and Mina sat down.

"Dear, I smell something delicious. Are you making milk tea?" Lote yelled exaggeratedly outside.

"Yes, it's ready."

Soon, Sarah's mother came in with several cups of white milk tea. The cups in front of Karun and Mina were full, the cups in front of the old lady and Mina were half full, and the cup in front of Lote was just a small layer.

"I'm going to prepare dinner. Sarah just told me that she was treated to a very rich meal at your house today. Thank you," Sarah's mother said with a smile.

"Yes, my brother Karun is really good at cooking. I've never eaten food like that before, but I think my mother's cooking is just as good as Karun's," Sarah said.

Sarah's mother kissed Sarah's forehead and said, "Don't worry, Mom won't let you down."

Then, Sarah's mother was afraid that Karun would refuse to stay for dinner and said, "Please stay for dinner as a return for treating Sarah."

Lote also spoke up, "Of course, classmates and friends. Today, you come to my house and there's hot food to eat. Tomorrow, I'll go to your house and there will be hot food to eat, right, Mr. Karun?"

Although Lote thought the young man in front of him looked young, he had a lot of style, just like a government official sitting in an office. He instinctively added "Mr." to his address.

"Then I look forward to it."

Mina picked up her cup and took a sip of milk tea.

"How is it, Mina?" Sarah asked.

"It's delicious," Mina said.Karun took a sip and instinctively controlled the urge to frown. The milk tea tasted like the powdered milk he had when he was a child, with extra sugar added, making it sickly sweet.

Karun took two more big sips and put down his cup, saying with a smile, "It's delicious."

"Hahaha, I know, right?" Rote looked very happy, finishing his own cup and lingering for a while. When he put down his cup, his lips were white, and he licked them with his tongue.

"Uncle smokes." Karun took out his own cigarette case.

Actually, he didn't have a strong addiction to cigarettes now, only smoking two or three a day. He also carried them with him because sometimes his work duties overlapped with his uncle's, and he needed them for social occasions.

Morfo gold frames cost 70 Lu coins per pack, which is more expensive than the Soft China that he smoked in his previous life.

Karun took out a cigarette and handed it to Rote, who took it with both hands.

Just as Karun was about to light it for him, Rote looked at his mother sitting there.

The old lady smiled and said, "Go ahead and smoke, keep Mr. Karun company."

Karun understood and took the initiative to say, "Let's go outside and smoke."

"Okay, okay." Rote grabbed his cane before Karun could help him and supported himself. "Please come this way."

The two of them went outside, and Rote took out a match from his pocket, lit it, and held it in his left hand to block the wind while leaning towards Karun.

This couldn't be refused, because the match would go out quickly. Karun could only smile awkwardly, take out a cigarette, bite it in his mouth, and lean over to light it for him. After lighting his own cigarette, Rote immediately threw away the matchstick and made a "sizzle" sound in his mouth.

"Mr. Karun, does your family run a funeral home business?" Rote added, "I heard it from Mina."

"Yes, Uncle Rote." Karun took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Rote. "I'll have to trouble you to introduce our business in the future."

"Hmph, if someone dies here, they're taken straight to the crematorium. Who would bother with a funeral?" Rote said, but he still carefully put the business card in his breast pocket.

"Is business good now?" Rote asked.

It seemed that no matter what the background or environment, or even the level of status, when two men lit cigarettes for each other, the topic of conversation was always the same: "Is business good lately?"After all, the customer who paid a deposit of 100,000 Lu coins still hasn't shown up, and there are no other jobs for the family to take on recently, so they are quite idle.

"Well, me too," Rote nodded and agreed.

In fact, the tire slippers made in the summer sold quite well, as there was a group of people who liked this extremely cheap type of slipper. But now that winter has arrived, there are naturally fewer people buying slippers.

"It will get better," Karun said, "in business, there will always be ups and downs."

Rote agreed deeply, "Yes, yes, Mr. Karun is right, everything will get better."

Rote really enjoyed the feeling of chatting with Karun, even though he only sold tire slippers for 2 Lu coins per pair during the peak season, and he was also aware that the income from one order for Karun's family business could be equivalent to his annual sales of slippers... or even more.

But he really enjoyed the atmosphere of standing with Karun and chatting about "ups and downs".

Look, we are all businessmen.

Karun was smoking halfway through, and subconsciously wanted to throw it on the ground, but hesitated and kept it in his hand.

Rote didn't throw his cigarette butt until it was about to reach the filter, and took another puff before throwing it on the ground. Karun followed suit.

Rote was an old smoker, he would hit his mouth to find his cigarette, but when he took out the box, he hesitated for a moment. However, he still took out a pack of "Wild Wolf" cigarettes that cost 2 Lu coins per pack.

He took one out and handed it to Karun, who took it and lit it for him with a lighter. Rote smiled.

After smoking his own cigarette, he seemed to have lost the restraint he had when smoking Marlboro Gold.

Rote spoke up, "I lost this leg in an accident when I was working in a factory before. At the time, the factory only compensated me a little money, not even enough to cover my medical expenses. I had to seek help from Mr. Saxen, do you know him?"

"I think I've heard of him, he's..." Karun recalled from the newspaper, "the mayor, right?"

"Yes, the mayor. He was a representative from our East District who made it big. He's our pride and one of our own people." Rote gave many compliments to the old mayor, especially "one of our own."

"Mr. Saxen helped me to find the factory owner, and the factory owner compensated me again, although it wasn't much, it was enough to cover my medical expenses and leave a little left over.

Sigh...

A few days ago, some other sick colleagues of mine lost their lawsuit against the city government, and the union organized a protest march to inform me, and I participated too. Although I don't work in the factory anymore, I am still a member of the union.

Mr. Karun, sometimes you have to show these factory owners the power of our unity, otherwise they... they really won't treat us like human beings.""Yes, you're right."

"I was also selected as one of the representatives for the parade. I walked in the front row with those injured, disabled, and sick colleagues. I thought this parade was to show our strength to the factory owners in the East District, but what surprised me was that the banners and flags brought out by the union were calling for accountability from Mr. Sichsen.

Many workers were not happy about it.

To be honest, Mr. Sichsen was the one who provided us with water and electricity for our mining street a few years ago. It seems that he will also be doing the sewage project next year, so we won't have to 'dance' in the rain anymore.

Then Mr. Sichsen came out to appease us. As soon as he appeared, we stopped making trouble. The union guys still wanted to lead us in chanting slogans, but we ignored them.

Mr. Sichsen promised us that from now on, a portion of the tax revenue from the East District would be specially allocated to provide subsidies to disabled and permanently ill workers. Although the amount would not be much, we were already satisfied.

That means I will receive a monthly subsidy of 200 lu coins starting next month.

Then we all shouted Mr. Sichsen's name together."

As Rote spoke, his eyes were full of light:

"Mr. Sichsen will always be one of us in the East District, our mayor, haha."

Karun nodded.

"Does Mr. Karun have a preferred candidate for mayor?"

"No, I don't. I'm not very interested in politics."

"I'm not very interested either. If the factory owners could treat us workers a little better."

Rote took a deep breath and exhaled a smoke ring:

"Who wants to drag their tired body to listen to some election after working all day?"

"Yeah." Karun agreed.

"Dinner is ready, Dad, Karun brother." Sarah came to call.

"Okay, let's see what your dear mother has prepared for us tonight."

Dinner was sumptuous.

There was a plate of noodles in front of each person, like braised noodles, with various vegetables and sauce. Karun and Mina had visible diced meat in their plates, while others did not.

In addition, there was a piece of bread in front of each person. Karun and Mina had bread with butter, while others had black bread.

In addition, there was a small plate of smoked meat, a small plate of sausages, and a large bowl of pickles in front of everyone.

The plates of smoked meat and sausages were placed in front of Karun and Mina, while the pickles were placed in front of Rote's family.

"Mom, where is the fried chicken?" Sarah asked curiously.

She wanted to treat her good friend and her brother to fried chicken.

Sarah's mother smiled and said, "Sorry, Sarah, I didn't buy any today."Sarah looked disappointedly at Mina and said, "What a shame, the meat was so delicious. I'll invite you over to my house next time."

"Okay." Mina nodded with a smile.

In Karun's previous memory, he had seen several fried chicken shops at the flea market and was curious, so he bought some and tried them. They tasted good. However, he later found out that the meat was made from various leftover meats picked up from restaurants and garbage dumps, and then fried in oil. After returning home, Karun vomited for half a night and had a fever the next day.

Therefore, the "fried chicken" that Sarah mentioned should be that kind of meat, like the tire slippers made by Rot, only popular and circulating in the mining street in the east district.

Sarah's mother lied to her that she couldn't buy it because she didn't want to serve guests with something not fresh.

Everyone started to have dinner.

The noodle dish, similar to braised noodles, tasted really good. The sauce was well seasoned, and the noodles were chewy and satisfying. They were perfect with garlic.

Without garlic...pickled cucumbers?

Karun stood up slightly and took a pickled cucumber, taking a bite.

Hoo...this sourness was refreshing. He quickly ate a bite of noodles to dissolve it, and a special sense of satisfaction and pleasure formed.

"Does Mr. Karun drink?" Rot asked.

"No, I came here by car," Karun replied.

Rot was a bit puzzled, "Can't you drink if you drive?"

But seeing that Karun really didn't drink, he didn't open the wine and put the cucumber in front of Karun instead.

After finishing the noodles, Karun picked up the bread and dipped it in the soup to eat.

Actually, this creamy taste was much worse. In Karun's recipe, the presence of fruits and cream in the main course was a destroyer of the dining experience.

After the meal was over, Karun refused Sarah's mother's offer to add smoked meat and sausages to his plate, patting his stomach and saying, "I'm really full."

The old lady smiled and said, "You must eat until you're full. Don't be polite."

"No, it was really delicious." Karun wasn't just being polite.

In fact, the chef's true level was reflected in making exquisite flavors with simple ingredients, and Sarah's mother's cooking skills were indeed impressive.

Mina also finished her meal and patted her stomach, saying to Sarah, "Your mother's cooking is as delicious as your brother's."

"Hehe, right?" Sarah was very happy, looking at her mother.

After dinner, it was completely dark outside.

Karun bid farewell to Mina and the Rot family.

The old lady stood up and said, "Come, let me see you off. You also brought Sarah back."The old lady had difficulty moving and needed Sarah's support, while Rote was leaning on a cane, but the family still took Karun to the parking spot.

"Thank you for having me."

Karun thanked Rote's family and also said to Sarah, "Come to my house to play with Mina often."

"You're welcome." The old lady smiled.

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Karun sat in the driver's seat. Just as he started the car, he saw Sarah's mother handing a plastic jar from the window. Karun turned his head and saw that it was full of pickles.

"It seems to suit your taste. Take it home and share it with your family."

"Thank you, ma'am." Karun accepted the jar without refusing.

Standing next to him, Rote imitated Karun's tone and lightly bumped his wife with his elbow.

"Thank you, ma'am. Hey, ma'am, did you hear that? He called you ma'am."

Sarah's mother blushed and ignored her husband.

"Goodbye, everyone!" Mina shouted through the car window.

"Goodbye."

Karun started the hearse and drove towards the street corner.

Behind the car, Rote's family still stood there watching.

Karun took a glance through the rearview mirror, and under the dim and sparse streetlights of Kujou Street, the Rote family standing there was like a still old photograph, gradually turning yellow.