Chapter 20 (1/2)

Translated by Kollumceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Old man Yang looked somewhat dispirited and listless even several days after the incident. He called them quite a few times, but nobody answered. It came to the point where he could not even connect to their phone.

Xiao Wan’s Grandma had a short fuse, but her temper always came and went quickly. She thought that Zhao XueMei was just bluffing no matter what she said. After all, even a family would quarrel amongst themselves and Old man Yang was still Yang Xiao’s Grandpa and Yang JianGuo’s father. How could the relation with him be removed just because she didn’t want him? However, she really did not expect that Zhao XueMei would not even pick up Old man Yang’s calls.

Her words were rather offensive as she had been helping Old man Yang vent his anger at that time. Now when she saw Old man Yang like this, it was hard to avoid some self-reproach. She wondered if she had said too much that day, which made Zhao XueMei hold her grudge for such a long time.

Thus, she came more frequently these two days, carrying all sorts of things every time. Sometimes it was cake bought by Xiao Wan and other times it was soup or dishes made by herself.

On this day, just after the XiQin Restaurant closed, Xiao Wan’s Grandma came over with a thermos food jar.

“You’re closed now? I’m just in time then. Come and taste the fried dough balls I just made.”

Old man Yang raised his head only when he heard her talking. He forced a smile on his face, “You don’t really need to trouble yourself to come over every day, we’ve already eaten.”

Xiao Wan’s Grandma put the thermos food jar on the table and waved her hand, “Trouble what trouble ah? My family’s Xiao Wan also comes here to eat often. Not like what I’ve cooked is a rare thing. Xiao Yi, Xiao Fu, come over! Since I often eat what you cook, you should also try Grandma’s food.”

Xiao Wan’s Grandma married early. Based on age, she was actually much younger than Old man Yang, yet her granddaughter was slightly younger than Old man Yang’s grandson. So Shen Fu and Lin ShuYi both called her aunt when they were not familiar with her and after they got closer, she asked them to call her Grandma, saying that they could not address her as part of the wrong generation.

She came almost every day these days. Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu were already used to it. They wiped their hands and walked to the front. The thermos food jar looked small, but the space inside was quite large. They took out the two-tier food boxes, and found that there was a half-filled box of clear but fragrant soup under it.

“You brought so much? We’ve already eaten.” Old man Yang was telling the truth. They really had eaten, but Lin ShuYi was still staring at the thermos. His eyes were shining like some kind of big dog that was waiting to be fed. Shen Fu could not stop smiling upon seeing this.

Xiao Wan’s Grandma also saw Lin ShuYi’s eager look and laughed, “Someone wants to eat it even if you don’t want to. Besides, it’s not much, just enough to fill you up somewhat.”

With that, she took the bowl and ladle from Shen Fu and served the Glazed Fried Dumplings from the food box. Each person had three, and it was just managed to fit into the two-tiered food box.

Like what Xiao Wan’s Grandma had said, though this Glazed Fried Dumplings was not a rare thing in S City, it was one of the specialties in S City. Once out of S City, it was rare to find an authentic Glazed Fried Dumplings. However, as a native of S City, Xiao Wan’s Grandma was an expert in making this dish. The bounciness of the Glazed Fried Dumplings, and the tenderness of the mincemeat meat paired with blanched vegetables was tasty and delicious.

Although many people in S City knew how to make Glazed Fried Dumplings, most preferred the dumplings made in their own family. For example, the ones made by Xiao Wan’s Grandma were more on the sweet and sour side. Coupled with the fragrant and smooth mincemeat, it could be considered as one of her specialties.

Shen Fu ate only one. Seeing that Lin ShuYi had finished eating and was still pursing his lips like he wished to continue eating, Shen Fu smiled and passed his bowl over.

“I have two more. You can eat these too.”

Lin ShuYi did not even care that it was Shen Fu’s leftovers. He ate the bowl clean. Old man Yang and Xiao Wan’s Grandma did not think there was anything wrong with this scene because they always thought the two were cousins.

After eating and drinking some soup, Lin ShuYi finally felt a little stuffed. He rubbed his stomach and said he wanted to go out for a walk. Shen Fu followed him. Xiao Wan’s Grandma stopped cleaning up when saw that both of them had gone and sat opposite Old man Yang. “Old man Yang, what are you planning to do now?”

Old man Yang’s eyelids drooped, “What else can I do? I can only take it one step at a time.”

Xiao Wan’s Grandma slapped her thigh and said with self-recrimination, “Well, I’m actually to blame too. I shouldn’t have spoken such offensive words that day. Now that it’s become like this it is, I feel really apologetic…”

Old man Yang remembered that he had quit smoking a long time ago when he touched his pocket. He laughed at himself and put down his hand, “What can I say? It’s our own problem, you shouldn’t be concerned over it.” He has nothing to say to comfort others because he could not even comfort himself now.