The people in the house were still talking. Their voices could be heard, but not what they were saying.
The sun was setting very quickly. In just half an hour, there was only the last bit of sunlight left.
The red glow in the sky dyed Cheng Ling’s face pink. Her eyes reflected the red light like a raging fire.
Mi Duo stood up first. She waved the chicken in her hand. “I have to do cook now.”
Cheng Ling smiled at her and nodded.
Cheng Ling was sitting there, thinking about something until Xie Ying came out to look for her.
“Ling Ling, why are you sitting outside? It’s almost time to eat. Come in.”
Cheng Ling stood up and patted the dust off her pants, then walked toward Xie Ying.
She stuck her head out and looked into the living room. Qi Min was still sitting there.
“Grandma, is Grandma Qi going to eat at our house?”
Xie Ying nodded.
“Her granddaughter called her just now and said that she was going to stay at the Cheng family’s house for dinner. So I asked her to stay for dinner here. It so happened that I bought a chicken when I went to the market this morning.”
Cheng Ling responded and put down her sleeves that she rolled up when going to work just now.
When she walked into the living room, she greeted Qi Min and then went to the kitchen to see if she could help up.
Mi Duo could cook very fast. Cheng Ling asked her why. Mi Duo said that she had been living alone since she was young. Thus she had learned how to cook.
“And I like to cook very much. I think only when the lights in the kitchen are on will I have a sense of belonging.”
These were Mi Duo’s exact words.
Cheng Ling didn’t know how to cook well. She also didn’t have the opportunity to cook.
Every time she wanted to enter the kitchen, Xie Ying would stop her.
Mi Duo boiled a pot of thick soup with the chicken. There were also some medicinal herbs in it, and the fragrance was assailing nostrils.
Cheng Ling took a look. There were at least five dishes tonight. Other than the chicken, the others were all taken from the fields.
Cheng Ling was thinking that since the yard was so big, should she raise a few more chickens, ducks, and geese?
All kinds of dishes would be available then.
Before she could conclude her thoughts, Xie Ying called out to her.
“What’s the matter, Grandma?”
Xie Ying waved at Cheng Ling and gestured for Cheng Ling to sit next to her.
“Ling Ling, did you see Xiao Xiao interact with the young master of the Ding family in school?”
Cheng Ling was surprised by Xie Ying’s question.
“Grandma, why did you suddenly talk about this?”
“It was your Grandma Qi who said that the young master of the Ding family didn’t get along well with anyone in school except Xiao Xiao.”
Cheng Ling never commented on other people’s matters easily. However, at least from what she knew, it was not so.
She had never seen Ding Yu and Cheng Xiao interact.
They were from different classes, so it was hard to meet each other.
Nevertheless, Cheng Ling and Cheng Xiao always bumped into each other.
Thinking from this angle, maybe the two of them did have a relationship, but she didn’t know about it.
Cheng Ling shook her head. “I didn’t pay much attention to these things in school.”
Qi Min spoke again. “But I think it’s true. I heard that they are going to ask Cheng Xiao to invite the young master of the Ding family to attend Old Master Cheng’s birthday.”
Cheng Ling listened as she was filling up their drinking cups.
She was thinking to herself that when these old ladies gathered together, they could indeed spread the news all over the world.
“But I heard that the Ding family is very proud. No one will be attending.”
Qi Min wrinkled her nose as she said this as if she despised them for being so proud.
“Dinner is ready. It’s time to eat.”
Mi Duo took out the dishes.
Qi Min stood at the dining table and was very satisfied when she saw all the dishes on the table looked delicious.
“Oh my, you guys changed chef? What about the previous one? These dishes look pretty good.”
Qi Min knew about Wang Ma’s existence.
“The previous one didn’t work. So, now she’s no longer allowed to work.”
When Xie Ying said this, Wang Ma happened to come down from the second floor. She had been going to the Cheng family’s house frequently recently, but Cheng Ling didn’t care. As long as she didn’t cause trouble, it was fine.
Wang Ma didn’t greet anyone and walked straight to the door.
“This person’s temper is even worse than master’s.”
Qi Min ridiculed and sat down to eat.
Qi Min had eaten quite a lot during this meal. As she ate, she nodded her head in satisfaction.
“This carrot is refreshing and sweet. So is this okra.”
“Hey, that’s not right. Why is there okra in this season?”
Cheng Ling blinked her eyes, not knowing how to explain.
It was Xie Ying who answered, “My girl likes to play with these things. She’s good at it.”
Xie Ying was full of pride when she said this, but Qi Min only smiled and did not continue. It was as if the things that Xie Ying was proud of were nothing in Qi Min’s eyes.
Cheng Ling lowered her head and quietly drank the soup.