Chapter 360 The Orphanage's Lies: The Handsome Flower Boy (60)
The dining room is right next to the kitchen, and four dishes and a soup have already been laid out on a round table.
The chicken soup was a golden yellow, with a few drops of oil floating on top. It contained chicken and shiitake mushrooms, as well as a plate of shredded pork in sweet bean sauce, which seemed to be homemade as it was neatly chopped and served with tender green scallions.
"Your knife skills are quite good," Mother Shen thought to herself, affirming Li Sao's knife skills.
There's also pan-fried tofu, pan-fried until golden brown on both sides, and the main dish is white rice.
Aunt Li served soup to everyone. After taking a sip, Mother Shen found it so delicious that her eyebrows almost fell off.
She's stewing chicken in the countryside; there's no need to be so particular about it.
They just boiled it in a big pot. More importantly, there weren't many occasions to eat chicken in the village, so I didn't make it that many times.
Good skills take practice to develop. Even if you raise chickens in the village, you still have to find a way to sell them to make money. The chances of eating chicken are still very rare.
"Grandma, please try these bean sprouts. They were just bought from the market this morning, and they're very tender."
Aunt Li stood to the side, showing no intention of joining the table.
Only then did Mother Shen realize what was happening.
"Sister Li, sit down and eat too!"
Aunt Li quickly waved her hand.
"No, ma'am, there's some left for me in the kitchen. I'll eat it later."
Please use it at your leisure.
Mr. Shen's mother has arrived, and I must take good care of the elderly woman. After all, her salary has increased immediately, which makes Aunt Li very happy.
Older women are usually very frugal and reluctant to spend money, so you must perform well and not let them take your job.
Shen Ci gave her mother a wink, and her mother had no choice but to give up.
This meal was so delicious and satisfying; the meat and vegetables were well-balanced, and it tasted just like what you get in a restaurant.
But she also felt uneasy; this feeling of being waited on made her feel like a landlord's wife from the old society.
After dinner, my daughter answered the phone. She spoke and acted with poise and competence, completely unlike the little girl I remembered.
The grandson went to do his homework, and Aunt Li cleared the dishes. With nothing to do, Mother Shen sat on the sofa, her eyes still taking in everything in the house.
Noticing her unease, Aunt Li peeked out from the kitchen.
"Grandma, would you like to watch TV?"
There will be a Peking Opera performance of "The Heroines of the Yang Family" tonight, starting at 7:30.
"A TV, isn't it expensive?"
Mother Shen asked cautiously. She felt like she had entered a palace, unfamiliar with everything and lacking the sense of security she had in Shenjia Village.
"Mr. Shen said he bought it so his family could see it."
Aunt Li wiped her hands and came out, lifted the embroidered cloth on the television, skillfully turned on the switch, and taught her how to turn it on and off as she did so.
After a burst of static, the picture gradually became clear, playing the prelude to the evening news broadcast.
Chen's mother's breathing became lighter. She had never watched television, but she had heard of it, as had everyone in the village, but no one in the entire village could afford a television.
"How much does this cost?"
Subconsciously, she became worried about the price.
"It's over four hundred, and you also need a TV ticket."
Mr. Shen asked someone to buy it for him.
Grandma, please sit and watch. I'll go boil some water for you to soak your feet.
Mr. Shen instructed that your joints are not good, and you need to soak them in hot water every day.
The picture on the TV was clear, and the people in it were even moving, just like everyone had said. The sofa under my bottom was very soft.
It was all so comfortable that Chen Mu felt a sense of unreality.
It's like a dream, but it's just too expensive.
No, the best dream she had was that she could eat dumplings during the Lunar New Year and that her daughter would come home safely.
I've never dreamed of living like this: living in a small house, having someone cook for me, watching TV, being called "old lady" by others, and most importantly, being able to see my daughter whenever I look up.
"Mom, what are you looking at so intently?"
After finishing the phone call, Shen Ci walked over and sat down next to her mother.
Mother Shen turned her head and looked at her daughter's face under the lamplight. This face was clearly her daughter's. Suddenly, she reached out and touched her cheek.
"Girl, tell Mom the truth, did you really earn all of this? You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"
Shen Ci smiled and took her mother's hand.
"Mom, is your daughter that kind of person?"
My food factory produces legitimate food, and all the workers are properly hired and paid all taxes.
I'll take you to the factory in a couple of days, then you can rest assured.
By the way, your eldest grandson usually lives at the factory. If you miss him, go visit him. He also comes over to have dinner with us on weekends.
Shen Guodong's eldest son, who is a few years older than Lu Jinnian, has already dropped out of school. They had originally planned to arrange a marriage for him in the next two years.
Now that I've moved to the city and am working in a food factory, I'm not in a rush to find a spouse.
Chen's mother nodded and looked at the television again. The news was broadcasting about the implementation of the production responsibility system in rural areas, and the scene showed farmers in the fields smiling from ear to ear.
She suddenly remembered the fields of Shenjia Village, the pigs in the pen, and the big iron pot on the stove.
Then she took a deep breath and squeezed her daughter's hand.
Times have changed. My daughter is successful now. We've brought her here to enjoy life. We can't let her hold us back.
What's wrong with the pigs at home? Someone else will feed them even if she leaves. She can't be someone who doesn't enjoy happiness and make her daughter worry.
She's here to help, so she needs to learn to adapt to this new life, stay healthy, and look after her daughter for a few more years.
"Hey, Aunt Li, shall I go grocery shopping with you tomorrow?"
I'll familiarize myself with the area and check out the vegetable prices in Beijing; I can't just become a lazy old lady who does nothing."
"Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow."
But Mom, we agreed that you're here to enjoy yourself, not to do chores.
Cooking a meal occasionally is fine, but don't take away all of Aunt Li's work; she earns her living that way.
Shen Ci comforted her, saying that it's normal for a person to feel out of place when they first arrive in a new environment. She suggested that she should keep an eye on things and find something for her mother to do.
She thought of the future, when many elderly people who moved from the countryside to the city to retire, having left behind their fields, pigs, and cattle, didn't know what to do every day. Being unfamiliar with the place and its people, they could only wander around aimlessly.
I don't have any friends, and the houses usually don't have yards. They're all apartment buildings, and the neighborhoods are pretty much the same, so it's easy to get lost.
I felt physically comfortable, but I was under psychological pressure.
"I know, I know."
While agreeing verbally, Chen's mother was already planning what vegetables to buy and what to cook for her daughter the next day. She needed to make a good impression.
Outside the window, it was completely dark.
The streetlights came on, casting dappled light and shadow on the bare branches of the pomegranate tree.
The room was so warm that you only needed a sweater, and the television was playing soft Peking Opera. Everything was so comfortable.
The nights here are completely different from those in Shenjia Village.
But Shen's mother thought that as long as her daughter and grandson were here, this was home.
My daughter is the most important; my grandson is just an extra part of her.
Her daughter cared about the children just like her. Thinking of this, Mother Shen's gaze towards the upstairs softened a bit.
She leaned back gently on the sofa, and for the first time, she truly relaxed.
So it turns out that you can stay warm in winter wearing only thin clothes, and you can soak your feet in hot water every day without worrying about firewood and water.
It's a pity the old man didn't come; his chronic leg pain would have been so soothing if he soaked his legs in water before bed every day.
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