167 A Wish
The old master, who was mentally prepared, was surprised at the first bite. He ate a few more spoons of the soup. The warmth it provided spread from his stomach to his limbs, making the old master sigh.
“Xiao Yue, your medicinal cuisine tastes excellent. You must have put your heart into it!” The old master said to Qiao Yue with a smile.
Qiao Yue’s eyes were bright as she repeated what she had said to Qiao Xuan. “Grandpa, I only provided the recipe. The chef was the one who made everything tasty.”
The old master nodded and asked the butler to double the salary of the chef who prepared the meal. The two members from the third family were shocked by the old master’s jaw-dropping gesture.
The Qiao family always paid their help well. Their servants’ monthly salaries were easily six times of the benchmark salary. Doubling it for the chef would mean an entire year’s pay for an ordinary person. Who would have thought that making a meal of medicinal cuisine would make the old master so happy?
“Xiao Yue, although you didn’t cook this meal, Grandpa is very happy for your thoughtfulness. Let me know if you want anything. I’ll give it to you as long it’s within my means.” The old master said to Qiao Yue with a smile.
Qiao Yue was stunned. She didn’t expect the old master to turn his attention to her in the blink of an eye.
As soon as the old master said this, people at the dining table all looked at Qiao Yue.
“Grandpa, I don’t have anything that I want.” Qiao Yue said helplessly.
Actually, the old master wanted to reward her but tried to distract everyone by raising the chef’s salary first. It looked like his distraction tactic didn’t work.
The old master laughed. “Then, I shall leave this offer open. You let Grandpa know when you think of something.”
Qiao Yue’s eyes lit up as she said, “Grandpa, I can ask for anything?”
The old master nodded and asked in return, “What, you little brat? You’ve already thought of something so quickly?”
“No, I’m just asking out of curiosity.” Qiao Yue revealed a polite smile.
Seeing Qiao Yue smiling happily, Qiao Xuan also smiled quietly, while Qiao Jing’s eyes that were staring at Qiao Yue dimmed for a moment. Qiao Ze still looked sleepy; it’s obvious that he had stayed up late last night. As for Qiao Yu, he just ate with his head down.
In fact, the old master’s words were not just recognition; he granted a wish to Qiao Yue as a form of support. No one would dare to question her status as a member of the Qiao family if she had the old master’s support.
In less than two days after the old master’s return to the Qiao residence, the surficial balance of power at home had been disrupted. In addition to the third family, there was also Qiao Yue. It’s still unknown who would be the one in power at the Qiao residence in future.
After breakfast, the first madam called Qiao Xuan and Qiao Jing away. Before the first madam spoke, Qiao Yue saw Qiao Jing wanting to say something to his mother but held back. Qiao Xin and Qiao Ying were also taken away by the third madam, leaving Qiao Yue, Qiao Ze, and Qiao Yu in the large living room.
Because of the old master’s return to the country, Qiao Ze had pushed back his schedule for the next few days so he could be home to accompany the old master. As for Qiao Yu, it’s his rest day so he didn’t have to go to school.
Qiao Ze yawned, told his brothers that he was going to catch up on his sleep and went upstairs.
As residents at the Qiao residence kept different schedules, the mealtime rules were not as strict. However, since the old master was back, they could not be late for breakfast the very next day, right? Qiao Ze resisted the urge to stay in bed and got up. He really couldn’t take it anymore, so he went back upstairs to sleep.
Qiao Yue and Qiao Yu looked at each other and suddenly didn’t know what to do. Qiao Yu stared at Qiao Yue for a few seconds before he said, “You even know about medicinal cuisine? Then why didn’t you make some for me when I was injured?”
Qiao Yue raised her eyebrows. “I was also injured, and I still haven’t recovered.”
Qiao Yu tsked unhappily. “Didn’t you say that you didn’t lift a finger and only provided the recipe?”
“Um… Uh…” Qiao Yue couldn’t think of a reason despite a long pause. Her eyes darted around guiltily. Could she say that she was lazy? Although she didn’t have to cook the dishes, she had to supervise the chef. She wouldn’t have done this if not for the old master.
Qiao Yu was even more unhappy when he saw Qiao Yue’s expression. He could guess what this brat was thinking. Didn’t he just feel that it was too much trouble? To think that he treated him so well, what a heartless boy!
After arriving at this conclusion, Qiao Yu pestered Qiao Yue to agree to make him a meal of medicinal cuisine. He also wanted to try the herbal dish that made his grandfather sigh.