Cao Yuan’s dark face flushed with an uncomfortable redness, but since it was dark, he guessed no one could see it.
His tone carried a hint of helplessness, "Mom, how many times has your grandson even eaten your cooking? And back when my dad was alive, it was always him who cooked,"
The words blurted out brought silence to both mother and son, as Gong Mingxia clearly saw the tears suddenly brimming in the old lady’s eyes.
If you thought carefully about their conversation, you would realize this was a loving family.
Granny Wang seemed to have fallen into her own memories, "Xiao Xia, before I married your uncle, I told him I couldn’t cook. He didn’t mind at all and said, ’I’ll cook for you from here on.’ True to his word, he secretly used the weekends to learn cooking. He cooked for me his entire life. How could he just leave so suddenly? I haven’t had my fill of his cooking yet. That old fool, leaving me here all alone, does he know how hard it’s been for me?"
Aunt Wang teared up uncontrollably as she spoke, and Cao Yuan heaved a heavy sigh, his voice full of helplessness.
"Mom, what are you doing again? Didn’t I come back? I’ll eat, alright?"
For the old lady, who usually kept her composure, to get so many words out of her usually reserved son was no small feat. She knew exactly where his tender spot was, so when she acted coquettishly, it was quite endearing. Truth be told, at her age, she really needed the care the most. But with her son and grandson not around, it was quite pitiful. Now that her son had returned, shouldn’t she seize the chance to assert her presence?
Old Lady broke into a smile, looking at Mingxia, "Alright, considering how hard you’ve worked, we’ll trouble Xiao Xia then, to make some noodles for him. His dad was from the north, so he had a special fondness for noodles, you know, the oil-poured noodles, can you make that?"
Mingxia nodded, "Yes, it’s simple!"
"Oh, that’s great. The kid’s just craving for it. Thanks, Xiao Xia. I’ll help you pick and wash green vegetables in return!"
Mingxia laughed at Aunt Wang’s comment, "Auntie, what are you talking about? I can’t have you doing work for me, I’ve got Xiao Xiao to help out."
"That won’t do, Xiao Xiao is still a child. I’m idle anyway, and I feel comfortable with you. Oh, right, don’t we both have a small garden on the first floor? When your uncle was here, we grew some green vegetables, but since he’s gone, I just can’t seem to grow them right. Do you know how to garden? Maybe we could make use of our gardens together, grow some green vegetables and such, could save us from buying some, right?"
To be honest, Mingxia felt a bit guilty because, although Tangyuan retained the original owner’s memories, she couldn’t guarantee her gardening skills, so she answered a bit sheepishly.
"How about I give it a try? It’s been many years since I last handled a hoe."
Although she had planted before while working at the construction site, it was always with the help of coworkers; she mostly just watered the plants or planted seedlings. She had no experience with tasks like tilling or leveling the ground, and had no idea what vegetables to plant in which season.
"That’s settled then, but you need to be prepared. Our garden plots at the front aren’t fertile, so the quality of the vegetables isn’t that great,"
Even the vegetables grown by that diligent old man couldn’t compare with those at the market—seeing Mingxia , it was difficult to say. Fresh chapters posted on novel※fire.net
The two women chatted happily, leaving Cao Yuan with no chance to interject. He looked down and saw Xiao Xiao trying to remove a stone that had gotten into her sandal, struggling by herself. Waiting for her to catch up, he noticed that although she got the stone out, her foot seemed to have been scraped, making her walk uncomfortably. Cao Yuan went over and bent down to ask her, "How about I carry you home?"
Xiao Xiao had been without a father since she was young. Now seeing the tall Cao Yuan standing before her, offering to carry her home, she had to admit her heart was moved...