Chapter 28 Dealing with the Scumbag
After hearing his grandson's words, Old Master Ding was half-convinced:
"Grandpa has also eaten the porridge cooked by Madam Sheng, but he didn't feel the warmth you described."
Ding Tianci shook his head and offered his guess: "Grandpa, you are in good health, so it probably has no effect on you, which is why you haven't noticed it."
Master Ding seemed to be deep in thought.
Ding Tianci continued, "Medicine and food share the same origin. It must be that Madam Sheng's culinary skills have reached the pinnacle that make her dishes have such effects."
Master Ding's expression shifted several times. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "What you say makes a lot of sense. If that's true, once word gets out, I'm afraid countless people will come begging to Madam Sheng for help."
Having built such a large fortune, Master Ding was certainly not a short-sighted person.
Although all of this was Ding Tianci's speculation, it was a fact that his health gradually improved within a few days after eating the porridge made by Sheng An.
Whether this change was accidental or not is no longer important.
Ding Tianci glanced in the direction of the door and voiced his even greater doubt:
"Madam Sheng comes from a poor farming family and shouldn't have had the opportunity to learn cooking skills. I wonder how she acquired this skill."
As the heir carefully cultivated by Master Ding since childhood, Ding Tianci could not possibly be a good-for-nothing.
The stupidest thing he ever did in his life was probably that two years ago, because of something a woman who didn't love him said, he ended up bedridden and almost lost his life.
Therefore, based on Sheng An's upbringing, Ding Tianci had long been curious about her excellent cooking skills.
"Tianci may not know this, but Madam Sheng has been cooking since she was a child. She has an extremely high talent for cooking, which is common knowledge in her village. As the saying goes, once you understand one thing, you understand everything; once you understand one thing, you understand a thousand. It's not surprising that she can make delicious food that others can't make with good ingredients."
Compared to Ding Tianci's curiosity, Old Master Ding seemed very calm: "She never hides anything when she cooks porridge for you, but no matter how many cooks there are, they can't make it exactly the same."
"In that case, Madam Sheng is indeed extraordinary."
Ding Tianci was convinced, shook his head with amusement, and realized that he had been overthinking things.
Throughout history, the world has never lacked talented and extraordinary people.
Now that a capable person has appeared before him, he has started to doubt this and that.
This is probably the inferiority complex of ordinary people, who dare not admit the huge gap between themselves and capable people.
Sheng An walked in carrying a bowl of shrimp soup, unaware that the Ding family grandfather and grandson had just been talking about her.
She placed the tray on the table, opened the lid, and said to Ding Tianci:
"Today's dish is shrimp congee. Young Master Ding, please try it first. If you don't feel nauseous, you can eat it normally."
Ding Tianci hadn't tasted meat in a long time, and when he heard that fresh shrimp was being used, his first reaction was that it was fishy. His expression changed, and he hesitated to try it.
Seeing his hesitation, Sheng An smiled and said to Master Ding, "I made two servings of shrimp soup. Master Ding, you can try it."
Master Ding had long been impressed by Sheng An's culinary skills, and would come here to have a few bowls of porridge whenever he had free time in the past few days. Naturally, he wouldn't refuse now, and said with a smile, "Okay, I'm not picky."
Changfu immediately stepped forward and opened the lid of the casserole.
The next moment, a rich aroma spread out, and Sheng An clearly heard several sounds of swallowing saliva, including Ding Tianci.
Noticing Sheng An's gaze, Ding Tianci's pale face regained some color, and he turned his head slightly away, embarrassed to meet Sheng An's eyes.
I was just rejecting someone else's shrimp soup, but now I'm craving it so much, it's embarrassing!
Sheng An pretended not to notice Ding Tianci's unease, watching as Master Ding happily took the bowl of porridge from Changfu's hand, picked up the spoon, and eagerly began to eat.
Fresh, fragrant, and smooth, without a trace of fishiness, it's as if all the essence has been blended into this soup, leaving a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth, as if your whole being is enveloped in this delicious flavor.
"Delicious! Absolutely exquisite!"
Master Ding ate more than half a bowl in one go before reluctantly raising his head and giving it a very high evaluation.
He looked at Sheng An, his face, which resembled that of Maitreya Buddha, full of amazement: "Madam Sheng, if you opened a shop selling shrimp porridge, even if you priced it at one tael of silver per bowl, people would still line up to buy it."
After tasting An's cooking, Master Ding felt that what he used to eat was no different from pig swill.
"Master Ding, you flatter me. If I really sold it for one tael of silver a bowl, people would smash my shop to pieces."
Sheng An smiled and made a joke, feeling extremely proud of his cooking skills.
After hearing his grandfather's high praise, Ding Tianci no longer hesitated and urged Jianying to serve him a bowl of fresh shrimp soup.
With one bite of the soup, just like Master Ding, Ding Tianci was instantly amazed. His mind was completely occupied by eating, and he had no mind to think about anything else.
After finishing a bowl of fresh shrimp soup, Ding Tianci was still somewhat unsatisfied, but he dared not eat a second bowl.
After waiting for a while, Ding Tianci was fine, without any nausea or vomiting, which made everyone in the room very happy.
What does this mean? It means that Ding Tianci can eat meat from now on!
On this day, two carriages again took Sheng'an home, the latter carriage filled with gifts of gratitude from Master Ding.
Just like last time, it's all things you can use for everyday life.
This time, the tea was replaced with fine wine, the dried fruit and snacks were replaced with rare dried mushrooms, and there was also an extra box of dried seafood, with a whole box full of dried shrimp alone.
Regardless of how envious the neighbors were, Grandma Sheng felt the Ding family had spent too much money, and said somewhat uneasily to her granddaughter:
"We haven't even finished eating the last batch of food you sent us. It's too conspicuous to have so much stuff piled up at home. It'll take forever to finish it."
Sheng An waved his hand: "There's no need for leftovers. If Grandma is worried about them spoiling, we'll just give them away. We'll send some to Auntie's place and bring some back for Grandpa."
Thinking that his grandmother hadn't returned to the village since moving to the city, Sheng An immediately suggested:
"Grandma, let's go back to the village. Grandpa must miss us."
Grandma Sheng was indeed worried about her husband at home, and she agreed without much hesitation when she heard her granddaughter's words: "I'm free this afternoon, let's go back this afternoon."
Sheng An wanted to go back now so he could have lunch with Grandpa Sheng.
But Grandma Sheng disagreed, so she had to give up.
Sheng An went to the Zhang family to get pork bones, and brought some dried shrimp and dried mushrooms with him.
Upon seeing it, Xu Cuilian immediately guessed it was a gift from the Ding family and sincerely admired Sheng An's abilities.
"Master Ding is really generous. If word got out that you go there to cook a meal every day and receive so many gifts in return, who knows how many people would be jealous."
Sheng An said playfully, "Then let's keep our mouths shut and not give them a chance to get jealous."
Xu Cuilian also felt that we should keep a low profile: "You're right, it won't hurt us to tell anyone."
When Sheng An got the pork bones, he saw a perfect piece of pork belly with five layers of fat and lean meat in the basket next to him, and immediately picked it up and put it in his own basket without hesitation.
"Auntie, my grandma and I are going back to the village to visit grandpa this afternoon. I'll take this piece of meat with me."
Xu Cuilian waved her hand: "Just take it, don't be shy."
Now, looking at her niece-in-law, she is satisfied with everything about her.
It's just a piece of pork belly. What's wrong with showing filial piety to your own grandfather?
After lunch, Sheng An packed a bunch of things and prepared to go back to the village with Grandma Sheng.
Xu Jinnian had to go to his teacher's house for class in the afternoon, so Sheng An didn't call him at all.
Before they could even pick up their things, Xu Jinnian took them without a word, saying he would take them back to the Sheng family and then come back.
Fortunately, they lived nearby and had enough time, so Sheng An didn't refuse, and the three of them returned to Huai Shu Village together.
When I was almost home, I met someone I never expected.
"Xiao An, why are you back again? What kind of behavior is it for a married woman to keep running back to her parents' home? People will laugh at you if word gets out!"
At the corner, a dark-skinned, thin, and slightly hunched middle-aged man glared at Sheng An with displeasure, his words filled with dissatisfaction at her decision to return to her parents' home.
Upon seeing that the three men were carrying all sorts of valuable items, a glint of greed flashed across the middle-aged man's face, and his indignation grew even stronger.
"You came back and didn't even visit your own father. If I had known you were such an unfilial child, I should have strangled you the moment you were born!"
Sheng An was initially stunned, but after recognizing the man, an inexplicable surge of anger welled up inside her.
"Who do you think you are, what right do you have to question me! I have a home in Huai Shu Village, I can go back whenever I want, you live by the sea and you're so nosy!"
The middle-aged man seemed surprised that Sheng An would start cursing so directly. After the initial shock, he became enraged and charged forward, raising his hand to slap her.
"You unfilial and disobedient wretch! I am your father, how dare you speak to me like that? Today, I will teach you a lesson for your long-dead mother!"
The middle-aged man's name is Kong Dazhuang, and he is the biological father of Sheng An's body.
Kong Dazhuang was an orphan from the next village, and he grew up eating food from many families.
Later, when the Sheng family was looking for a son-in-law, he heard about it and took the initiative to go to their house to ask to marry into the family.
Before marriage, he was fine, but after marriage, he became lazy and didn't do any housework. He also argued with his wife frequently.
The reason why Sheng An's biological mother had a difficult childbirth was due to excessive fatigue during pregnancy and suppressed anger.
Not long after his birth mother died in childbirth, Kong Dazhuang became involved with Widow Liu from the village.
He abandoned his infant daughter and, disregarding the advice of his grandparents, married into the Liu family again, becoming Liu Huazhi's stepfather.
Over the years, he has turned a blind eye to his biological daughter, completely ignoring her, while showering his stepdaughter Liu Huazhi with affection.
Liu Huazhi used this incident to mock and manipulate Sheng An quite a bit.
How could Sheng An tolerate such an unrighteous and wicked bastard who dared to lecture him?
Seeing Kong Dazhuang rushing over, a hint of ferocity flashed in Sheng An's eyes. Without thinking, he picked up a large rock from the ground and was about to smash it heavily on Kong Dazhuang's head.
"An'an!"
Xu Jinnian noticed that Sheng An's mood was off, and quickly stopped her, easily snatching the large stone from her hand. Then he kicked Kong Dazhuang, who was rushing towards him.
Without any visible effort from him, Kong Dazhuang, a man weighing over 130 pounds, was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the muddy ground three meters away.
"ah--"
Kong Dazhuang let out a piercing wail, clutching his stomach and sprawling on the ground like a dead dog. His eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Xu Jinnian, while he cursed filthy things under his breath:
"You, you dare to lay a hand on your father-in-law? You and this wretched girl are both beasts born of a mother but raised without one!"
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