Chapter 164: Birthday Party
"Really?" Grandma Lu's eyes lit up when she heard there was braised pork elbow.
Grandma Lu seemed a little anxious and couldn't help but want to go over to take a look. When she saw the plate of braised pork elbow, her eyes turned slightly red and she was really moved.
That day, Meng Chuyuan asked her what she wanted to eat, and she subconsciously said braised pork elbow. Grandma Lu didn't take it seriously at first, but she didn't expect that Meng Chuyuan actually made braised pork elbow for her.
This dish has a special meaning to Grandma Lu. She followed Grandpa Lu when she was young. At that time, the living conditions were not so good and they were relatively poor. It took her a long time to save enough money to buy an elbow and then make braised elbow for her.
Ever since her husband passed away, Grandma Lu could no longer find the familiar taste, so she hasn't eaten this dish for more than 20 years.
When chatting with Meng Chuyuan that day, Grandma Lu really didn't think too much about it. But now when she saw the plate of braised pork elbow in front of her, she actually recalled the past.
"Grandma, let me pick some for you to try." Lu Qianling took a pair of clean chopsticks, pried out some elbow meat, and slowly handed it to grandma's mouth.
When Lu Qianling was about to bring the elbow meat to her lips, Grandma Lu opened her mouth and put the meat into her mouth. The skin was smooth and soft, and there was no pig hair that would prick her mouth and affect the taste. The soup had completely seeped into the meat, making it soft, glutinous and tasty.
Lu Qianling looked at her grandmother expectantly and asked gently, "How does it taste?"
When Grandma Lu ate the braised pork elbow, she had almost forgotten what it tasted like because she hadn't eaten it for so long. Now the taste awakened her forgotten memories.
Although it was still a little different from the taste she remembered, it was close enough.
Meng Chuyuan has her own unique way of cooking. She pays attention to removing the fishy smell and adds more seasonings like tangerine peel. The stewed pork elbow has a fresh fragrance.
Grandma Lu was so excited that she was speechless. After a while, she nodded and said, "It's delicious."
While the two of them were chatting, Meng Chuyuan had already started cooking the last dish.
"It's time to eat." Meng Chuyuan put the fried snow peas into the plate and washed the pot at the same time.
Lu Qianling first took her grandmother to the restaurant, and then came back to help serve the dishes.
Meng Chuyuan took the cooked yam and pork ribs soup out of the pot and placed it on the dining table.
Seeing that Lu Qianling had not taken her grandmother to wash her hands, Meng Chuyuan put down the soup and specially found a clean wet towel.
"Grandma, let me wipe your hands."
The old lady was not very agile in her movements, and Meng Chuyuan was embarrassed to ask her to get up and wash her hands right after she sat down.
"Okay." Grandma Lu cooperated very well. She turned sideways to face Meng Chuyuan and stretched out her hand.
Meng Chuyuan bent down, took Grandma Lu's hand, placed it on her palm, and then carefully wiped her hand clean.
She soaked the towel in warm water, so it didn't get hot when she wiped her hands and was very comfortable.
After a long while, Meng Chuyuan finally wiped the palms and backs of Grandma Lu's hands thoroughly: "Alright."
Grandma Lu looked up at her and found Meng Chuyuan more and more pleasing and likable.
Although she is young, she is a good cook and treats her elders with care and courtesy.
What touched Grandma Lu the most was that Meng Chuyuan got up early to go to the market to buy vegetables and make braised pork elbows for her.
Mother Lu had a birthday party to attend in the evening, and Grandma Lu happened to be going back home this afternoon, so she just stayed at home.
After lunch, Lu's mother sent a driver to take Grandma Lu home. Lu Qianling had to attend evening self-study today, so she followed them back to the city.
Meng Chuyuan was responsible for sending Grandma Lu to the car and fastening her seat belt.
While waiting for Lu Qianling, Grandma Lu also took Meng Chuyuan to chat in the car for a while.
Lu Qianling took a long time to pack up her textbooks and followed her mother slowly.
"Mom, can you take me with you to your birthday party? I really don't want to go back to school so early."
Lu's mother told her that she would take Meng Chuyuan to a friend's birthday party in the evening. Lu Jinsen had been leaving early and returning late these days, and had not eaten at home, so she asked Lu Qianling to leave now.
Lu Qianling tried to persuade her mother, hoping she would agree to her request.
However, Mother Lu had already persuaded Meng Chuyuan to accompany her, so she showed no mercy to Lu Qianling. "I told you to stay in the school district apartment, not to go back to school right now. If you don't leave now, you won't have any food to eat later, and no one will take you there either."
"Then I'll leave tomorrow?" Lu Qianling raised her eyes and carefully observed Lu's mother's expression.
"No!" Mother Lu glared at her angrily and said, "Can you please stand up for me? No matter how useless your second brother is, he is still a well-known university student. Look at yourself...what do you look like?"
Lu Qianling looks well-behaved and appears particularly obedient in her school uniform, but there is a big contrast between her appearance and personality.
"Then I want to stay at home a little longer..." Lu Qianling pulled her mother's sleeve and started to act coquettishly.
Mother Lu's eyes revealed a hint of disgust. She slapped her hand away and ruthlessly exposed her: "Stay a little longer? I think you want to play a little longer."
“…” Unable to get her mother to agree, Lu Qianling could only go back obediently.
Seeing Lu Qianling was about to get in the car, Meng Chuyuan stopped communicating with Grandma Lu and got out of the back seat.
Meng Chuyuan looked at Lu Qianling's reluctant expression, reached out and touched her head, and said, "Study hard."
Lu Qianling complained dissatisfiedly: "What's so good about going to school..."
Meng Chuyuan narrowed his eyes, looked at her calmly, and said softly, "So you want to be the last one for the other students? They won't be grateful to you, and they might even laugh at you behind your back."
"Don't look down on me like that, okay? My grades are pretty good. There are many students who rank behind me."
Lu Qianling had never been ranked last in an exam, so she naturally disagreed with what Meng Chuyuan said.
"You said there were only a few, but that doesn't mean they're close to the bottom. There should be a grade ranking list after every exam, right? Can you find your name?"
"...If you can't find it, then forget it."
“Don’t make excuses for not trying hard enough.”
Meng Chuyuan lowered his eyes, met her gaze, and said, "You said the teacher is partial and the other students don't like you. Don't you want to surpass them all? When you do well in the exam and rank high, you won't have to work hard to find it. Others will be able to see it when they scan the list. It's like defeating magic with magic. How cool is that?"
Lu Qianling was silent for a few seconds, and she couldn't help but admire him: "You make sense, I can't refute it."
"You're not working hard for others." Meng Chuyuan smoothed her hair, paused, and said lightly: "Studying is your current goal. Don't forget to be kind to yourself and also be a little hard on yourself."
She had also fallen and knew the feeling of being deeply confused, which was suffocating and depressing.
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