Chapter 330 Living Bodhisattva

Hearing Jiang Hongying's words, Song Chunxue smiled.

Chen Feng still wants to cause trouble?

If she dares to come, she dares to break the boss's leg.

About half an hour later, a sumptuous breakfast was served.

When the children learned that there were three kinds of fillings in the buns, they ate one of each kind and were extremely satisfied, praising Song Chunxue's cooking skills.

"Grandma's steamed buns are the best."

“My mother said that if I follow Grandma, I’ll get to eat meat.”

"Grandma is amazing."

The child's sweet, innocent voice made Song Chunxue smile from ear to ear.

The Taoist priest ate four steamed buns, and the ground lily ate one extra.

"Junior brother, do you know why I asked you to pack three items?"

"You want to eat it?"

Song Chunxue had a great appetite and accidentally ate four fist-sized buns, and couldn't even finish the soup.

“I do love to eat, but I have an old friend who hasn’t eaten his own steamed buns in many years. He told me that if I could make these three kinds of steamed buns, he would buy this courtyard for one hundred taels of silver.”

The Taoist priest picked up a piece of wild onion with his chopsticks and chewed it with relish. Hearing this sound, the children couldn't help but pick up a couple of bites as well.

Sesame oil mixed with shallots, with just a little salt, makes for a delicious treat.

Song Chunxue took a couple of bites before she realized what it meant.

"What? One hundred taels of silver? That means we made forty taels!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Which of your senior brother's old friends is so generous?"

“My old friend is very wealthy,” the Taoist priest said, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. “I’ll pack some steamed buns and go see him. Give me the property deed.”

"I'll go right away."

Such a good thing exists in the world, and it was even arranged by her senior brother. Without even thinking about it, Song Chunxue handed him the house deed.

He Chuan quietly looked after the child, and only after the Taoist priest left the kitchen did he unable to help but ask, "Could it be that the Taoist priest said that to comfort us?"

"No, don't overthink it. Since you've decided to come to Zhuanglang County with me, let's prepare in the next few days. We'll have to leave tomorrow or the day after."

"Yes, Mother, I understand. I plan to talk to the people on the estate this afternoon."

Although he was going to live elsewhere, and his older brother and parents treated him the same way, he still wanted to keep in touch with the people in the village. There was a neighbor he often interacted with who was the only person he wanted to say goodbye to properly.

...

After lunch, remembering that the Taoist priest had said there would be distinguished guests at noon, Song Chunxue went to the market and bought a chicken, two fish, some spare ribs, and some vegetables.

Jiang Hongying followed behind her. She bought some cotton cloth and needles and thread for the children, thinking that she would sew clothes for them when she had time.

The journey back to her parents' home was quite long, so she could sew on the train.

It was almost noon, and Song Chunxue's meal was almost ready.

The children had never eaten fish before, and when they saw two golden-brown fried fish coming out of the pan and hanging by the stove, they stared at them longingly.

The chicken was stewed until tender, and Jiang Hongying made chicken blood noodles.

Although there are plenty of dishes today, the farmers are used to eating soup noodles. Even if there are plenty of meat and vegetables, they feel that it is not respectful enough to their honored guests if they don't have a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce.

Song Chunxue prepared some minced meat soup, thinking that after the meal, she could let the distinguished guests try their chicken blood noodles.

"Please come in, sir. This is the place."

"Please, Taoist priest."

The voices coming from the courtyard gate startled Song Chunxue, and she quickly put down the spatula and ran to the kitchen door.

It really is Lord Xie!

More than two years have passed, but Lord Xie still retains his charm.

Time had not harmed him; his beard was clean-shaven, and the gold-plated satin of Mu Yunzi made him shine brightly in the sunlight.

His black official boots were still as handsome as ever.

"Lord Xie, it really is you."

Song Chunxue suppressed her excitement and looked at her senior brother with dissatisfaction.

"Our distinguished guest is Lord Xie. You should have said so earlier. Why were you being so secretive?"

"I was afraid you'd burn the food because you were nervous," the Taoist priest said with a smile, raising his hand. "Thank you, sir. Please come inside and sit down. I can smell that lunch is ready to be served."

“Yes, yes, yes,” Song Chunxue said with a smile, touching her apron. “Lord Xie, please come inside and sit down. We’ll bring the dishes right away. After you finish the meat dishes, would you like a bowl of chicken blood noodles?”

Lord Xie's gaze was gentle, and the faint smile at the corner of his mouth was like a spring breeze.

"I'd like to have a bowl of chicken blood noodles first. I haven't had it for the past two years, and I really miss it."

Song Chunxue's heart stirred, and she couldn't help but sigh, "Yes, two years have passed. Time flies."

Jiang Hongying was a little excited; it was Lord Xie, the one who had saved her mother.

She led the children to the kitchen to help, saying, "Let the Taoist priest and Lord Xie go to the main room to eat first. We'll eat after they've finished. That lord is an official."

He Chuan was also a little nervous, "Is that Lord Xie who told us common people to pay less grain?"

“That’s him, he looks so young.” Jiang Hongying squatted down to tend the fire. “Why don’t you go check out the main house?”

Just as He Chuan was about to refuse, the Taoist priest entered from the doorway.

“Let’s go, let the children eat together. Lord Xie is not arrogant and we’re practically acquaintances, so please make yourselves at home.” The Taoist priest looked at He Chuan, “Bring the children along to eat.”

He Chuan was startled. Lord Xie was truly approachable, even though he held a very high official position.

"Okay, let's all go upstairs then."

Several children rushed to step over the threshold.

"My lord, I want to see you, my lord!" Xiujuan asked with a grin. "Father, are officials very powerful?"

"Yes, very impressive." He Chuan nodded with a smile. "Lord Xie is especially impressive."

Jiang Hongying stayed behind to help Song Chunxue, and soon, six main dishes were served, four of which contained meat.

Then, a bowl of chicken blood noodles was served to each person.

Lord Xie insisted on waiting until everyone was seated before starting to eat.

Song Chunxue took off her apron and sat down next to Xiao Xu and Lord Xie.

They specially reserved a spot for her.

"Don't just stand there and eat quickly, the noodles won't taste good if they clump together." Song Chunxue urged with a smile, "Lord Xie, try the chicken blood noodles quickly, and let me know if there's not enough salt."

Xie Zheng took a sip of soup. "Perfect timing, you guys eat too."

Without further ado, everyone slurped down a bowl of chicken blood noodles before starting to eat the meat and vegetables on the table.

There were two fish, and the one in front of the child was the one he ate the fastest.

It had been a long time since it had been this lively. Song Chunxue looked at Xie Zheng, who was still thin, and had many questions she wanted to ask, but she didn't know where to begin.

“Junior brother, why are you staring blankly at Lord Xie? Just ask him what you want to say. I ran into Lord Xie the day before yesterday, but I didn’t mention it to you because you were busy dealing with your in-laws’ affairs.” The Taoist priest picked up his wine cup. “Come on, have a drink.”

Xie Zheng smiled and said, "It's been two years since I last saw you, but your face shows no signs of aging, and you even look more radiant than before. It's clear that what the Daoist said was true; you've been diligently cultivating these past two years, and the results are remarkable. Congratulations!"

Song Chunxue was flattered and raised her glass with both hands.

"Thank you for your affirmation, sir. It has been almost three years since I met you, and I am indeed very different from what I was three years ago. I owe it all to you, sir and the Taoist priest. You are both my benefactors."

As she spoke, her nose started to sting, and she bit her cheek to keep her eyes from getting wet.

“If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and I wouldn’t have been able to travel thousands of miles to rescue my daughter from dire straits.”

As she spoke, Song Chunxue turned to greet them, "Hongying and He Chuan, you two should also toast them. I've become richer and richer, all thanks to these two living bodhisattvas."

The Taoist priest laughed and scolded, "Come on, I'm not a living bodhisattva, but Lord Xie is an upright and just official."