Chapter 375 - It Couldn’t Be Better (1/2)

Lao Guo was an old man with a dark complexion, not tall, a bit limb while walking, plus a little hunchback. With such physical condition, he could not find any decent job suitable for him except guarding tombs here for the rich. And it paid well, with a handsome earning of 5,000 yuan per month. Where else would he be able to find such an easy job in his case?

Therefore, Lao Guo had always been responsible and diligent for the cleanup work of the whole cemetery, for fear that he might get fired if the Qin Family were not satisfied.

Lao Guo was once a farmer from the nearby village, which had already been exploited earlier. And strictly speaking, Lao Guo actually belonged to the relocation households in Beijing City, and they would probably receive a considerable sum of compensation for resettlements if their old houses were in the suburbs, let alone those in downtown areas. Holding so much money in hand, Lao Guo was supposed to enjoy his old age in peace with children gathering around, but why had he come here to guard tombs? Was he really such a hard-working man that he had been resolved to contribute the rest of his life to the society?

Apparently not. There were quite a few ins and outs, actually. Lao Guo’s sons and daughter were all ungrateful souls, who had deceived their father and taken all his money away and kicked him out at last. As no one had been willing to take care of the old man, Lao Guo had become lonely and helpless. Under this circumstance, he had been introduced to the tomb-guarding job by his fellow villagers when the job had shown up just in time. At that time, Lao Guo would pray for a job that could guarantee that he had enough to eat and wear, for which he would do anything, including excavating someone else’s coffins, if he could—let alone guarding tombs for the rich, with unexpected monthly pay.

As a result, Lao Guo had stuck to the job for quite a few years since then.

Coming back home with nothing else to do, Qin Sheng moved a chair out in the yard, poured two cups of tea he had just made for both of them and said, “Uncle Guo, have a try.”

Keeping all the mumbling to himself, Lao Guo dared not to taunt Qin Sheng to his face, for fear that he might be sacked by his master. Therefore, he took over the teacup with both hands and politely replied, “Xiao Qin, I’m a rough old man, and I’m not used to being called Uncle. Just call me Lao Guo.”

Qin Sheng showed his empathy after hearing what Lao Guo had said and ascribed it to the true quality of an ordinary honest man. He grinned and said, “All right. As I’m about to stay here for a month, I’ll call you Lao Guo, and you can call me Xiao Qin.”

“OK, OK, OK.” Lao Guo nodded with three OK in a row. Then he sipped at the tea that Qin Sheng had poured for him and complimented with admiration, “Great tea! I have never tasted anything refined like this before.”

Apparently, Qin Sheng knew clearly that such small favors were more useful than real money for ordinary people like him who would always fuss about these trivial things. The reason? Real money would foster his voracity, while small favors could last long. Therefore, Qin Sheng said straight after him, “I brought quite a few of it when I came, and I’ll leave it all to you when I’m gone.”

“Hahaha, that would be inappropriate.” Lao Guo turned down his proposal in words, but deep in his heart, he was thrilled.

Qin Sheng didn’t continue with the conversation of which they both had been fully aware. Socializing with different people was such an interesting work that could season his life with all kinds of joy and fun.

It was such a lovely day today. The sun was shining warmly through half the mountain top, and unnamed were birds singing in the forest while the spring water was floating from not far beyond. Qin Sheng read a book over a cup of tea and gradually dozed off in nature’s peace and quiet.

Soon, it was lunch-time. Qin Ran had suggested sending up there a chef to cook, especially for them, but she had been turned down by Qin Sheng, without any hesitation. Then Qin Ran had suggested delivering meals at regular hours every day and had been turned down by Qin Sheng, again, saying that he could not get used to being served by others like this, and would prefer cooking all by himself.

Qin Ran had wanted to say something more but was interrupted by Qin Sheng. “Sis, you really don’t need to keep your eyes on me during this period. I am old enough to take good care of myself, and if I do need help, I will call you.”

Qin Ran had meant well for her younger brother, for fear that he might suffer from the bed conditions here. But now that Qin Sheng had firmly refused several times, she would probably let it go.

Lao Guo had always been preparing meals by himself. With all the daily necessities and pots and pans ready at hands, he only needed to shop in the market nearby and return to cook, which he had gotten quite used to.

While lunch-time was approaching soon today, Lao Guo was not sure about Qin Sheng’s arrangement. Thus, he had to ask him by saying, “Xiao Qin, I will go prepare for our lunch. You can keep reading.”

It was not until now that Qin Sheng came around. He rose quickly from his chair and said, “Lao Guo, I will cook from today on, and I’ll leave the shopping, washing, and cleaning-up all to you. But I’ll be on vegetarian diets during the mourning period, and I will cover all the expenses for your extra meals from the nearby restaurant if you can’t get used to it.”

Lao Guo was caught off guard when he heard that and refused hastily. “I can’t do that.”

“That’s the deal.” Qin Sheng put down his book, followed Lao Guo into the kitchen, and said, “Show me what we’ve got right now, and we will have to make do with that. I will write you a menu later for your reference when you go shopping this afternoon.”

It was both unexpected and uneasy for Lao Guo to accept the extra favor from Qin Sheng. What surprised him more was the fact that the rich young man could even cook. The only thing he wasn’t sure about was how good it tasted.

40 minutes later, Qin Sheng successfully made three dishes and a bowl of soup out of the materials in hand, in which the soup was simply made of tomatoes and eggs. After a taste of it, Lao Guo was astonished by the dishes on the table, and he could not help giving his thumbs-up and praising. “Yummy! Xiao Qin, I have never thought that you were such a good cooker. I’m about to get a great feast today.”

Qin Sheng grinned and said, “Then you shall enjoy your lunch as you wish.”

When the lunch was over, Qin Sheng went to unpack his luggage in his room. He then walked the way up to his mom’s tomb and began talking to her when Lao Guo had gone shopping.