"Nephew!" Old Master Zhuang stepped forward and grasped Liao Qingshan's hand. "How many years has it been since we, uncle and nephew, last met? How have you been?"
Liao Qingshan hugged him tightly. "Uncle-Master, it's been forty years. We haven't seen each other for forty years. I'm doing well. How about you?"
"I'm doing well too." Old Zhuang patted Liao Qingshan on the back. "Not bad, you're very healthy!"
Liao Qingshan, however, felt that he was not very healthy. He pulled him under the lamp and looked at his face, then frowned. "Uncle-Master, what's wrong with you?"
Old Master Zhuang shook his head, gesturing for him to be quiet. "Aren't you going to show your uncle your home?"
"Alright, Uncle-Master, this way please."
While they reminisced, Li Xiyue went to the kitchen to add more dishes.
The chicken stew with mushrooms and braised pork, plus the two dishes and soup prepared by Liao Qingshan, were enough for four people.
They sat down around the table, poured themselves some good wine, and drank happily.
"Uncle-Master, it's been so many years. I'd like to offer you a toast." Liao Qingshan was genuinely happy, never expecting to see this long-lost relative again in his lifetime.
Old Zhuang was also very happy, "One cup is not enough! Tonight, we uncle and nephew will drink until we're drunk."
"Alright, let's drink until we're drunk!" Liao Qingshan clinked glasses with him and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhuang Le and Li Xiyue were also drinking and chatting, making it a lively scene.
Little White crawled at Li Xiyue's feet, occasionally wagging its tail, as if it too was joining in their fun.
After a few rounds of drinks, the two old men were both a little drunk, reminiscing about the past with deep emotion.
“Uncle-Master, we’ve been separated for many years, and it’s not easy for us to reunite this time. You must stay with me for a while longer. The west wing is empty; you and Lele can stay here. This will be your home,” Liao Qingshan said.
Old Zhuang put his arm around his shoulder and said, “I have wandered for half my life. Now that I am old, I should stop and rest. My apprentice grew up in the countryside and has a rough personality. He should learn some manners in the big city and find a good husband to settle down.”
"Not an apprentice, but a granddaughter." Zhuang Le, who had also drunk quite a bit and whose face was flushed, did not forget to correct her.
Old Master Zhuang glanced at her sideways and continued, "Nephew, your granddaughter is so well-mannered and dignified. Her demeanor is just like that of a well-bred lady from a scholarly family. Please teach this wild disciple of mine properly in the future."
A wild apprentice?
Little White raised its head; finally, it had found someone of its kind.
"No way!" Liao Qingshan said modestly, but his expression was quite smug. "My girl just pretends to be well-behaved in front of others, but she's incredibly wild behind the scenes."
Zhuang Le and Li Xiyue exchanged a glance and smiled helplessly.
"Uncle-Master, where have you been all these years?" Liao Qingshan poured him a full glass of wine and put several pieces of meat on his plate before continuing to ask.
Holding his wine glass, Old Zhuang recalled, "After my master passed away, I left the Liao family and spent the first ten years or so wandering around. If I met someone I was destined to meet, I would treat their illness, and if I found a place I liked, I would stay there for a while."
More than twenty years ago, I visited Beijing and met this girl. Later, I took her to Yunnan Province, where we lived for many years.
Li Xiyue asked, "Is Sister Zhuang Le from the capital?"
“Exactly.” Old Zhuang took a sip of wine. “When I met her, she was still an infant. Her heartless family abandoned her on the street, and a sick, rascal found her…”
"Old man, why are you saying all this?" Zhuang Le interrupted him. "I don't have any other family members. My family is you, isn't it? Oh no, now there are two more."
Old Zhuang sighed, "If I can see you find your family before I die, I can rest in peace."
"Old man!" Zhuang Le's face darkened. "If you keep talking nonsense, I won't take care of you in your old age, and I'll make you a lonely old man!"
Old Master Zhuang wasn't afraid of her threats, "I have my own nephew, I don't need you!"
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