Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1030 - 501: Scammer (Part 9)
After Gong Liang tidied up at home, he took the snacks given to him by Mrs. Gong to pick up Guo Mingzhu from the theater. As for Mrs. Gong, she had already hurried Mr. Gong downstairs, not forgetting to take two coconuts with her, making it seem like she was truly going to the State-owned Restaurant to give Zheng Da the coconuts while also enjoying the scene.
If given the choice, Qin Huai would quite like to go along with Mrs. Gong. Previously, due to some family upheaval, Mrs. Gong was like a walking corpse, devoid of personality and not seeming like a living person.
Now that the Gong family is thriving, Mrs. Gong has returned to her lively self—a chatterbox who loves a good spectacle.
Qin Huai thought that following Mrs. Gong would mean there's always something interesting to see every day.
Following Gong Liang, however, was not the same. In his younger days, Gong Liang was nowhere near as eloquent and carefree as he was after achieving success. Watching the newlywed couple being lovey-dovey all the way was just not interesting enough for Qin Huai.
Honestly, it's not interesting, let's skip it.
After the newlyweds returned home at night, they continued being sweet, flirting with each other. Gong Liang shared some amusing stories from his trip, while Guo Mingzhu dished out forbidden gossip from the theater. They then imagined their future, discussing whether they should have a daughter or a son first, and what names they should choose.
The conversation, although mostly dull, had a hint of amusement and was filled with much lovey-dovey content.
Qin Huai, tired of watching the lovey-dovey couple, simply phased through the wall to see what was happening next door.
Next to the Gong family were two neighbors: the Xia family and Master Jing. The Xia family had many children, and life was tight, with all sorts of trivial, chaotic things happening every day. That day, two of the Xia family's sons had gone to the train station to pick up Gong Liang, and they had a quarrel that night over the coconuts Gong Liang brought back from Qiong Province.
The argument was petty, with the sister thinking the brother drank more coconut water than her, and the brother feeling that since he carried the coconuts, he deserved to drink more.
As for Master Jing's home…
Master Jing hadn't returned yet.
The State-owned Restaurant had late hours; if there were leaders or foreign guests dining, the kitchen sometimes wouldn't finish until nine or ten o'clock. From previous memories, Qin Huai knew that Zheng Da and Huang Shengli lived at Master Jing's place when they were young, sharing a room and a bed.
Later, as they grew up, sharing a room became inconvenient, so Master Jing partitioned a room from the living room. After staying like this for a while, Zheng Da felt it was not appropriate, as it troubled the master, so he moved back home.
Later on, when Huang Shengli was made permanent and got a single dormitory, he also moved out. Upon seeing Huang Shengli move out, Zheng Da moved back in. In the evening, Mrs. Gong and Mr. Gong mentioned this during their chat, noting that now Zheng Da also has permanent status, but given Zheng Da's nature, he's unlikely to apply for a dormitory.
Which is also good, as when Master Jing retires and lives alone, it puts the neighbors at ease, and having an apprentice living with him means he has some care.
When the clock on the Gong family wall showed 9 o'clock, Master Jing and Zheng Da finally came home from work.
Qin Huai was at the Xia family, listening to the Xia siblings' argument when he heard footsteps, and immediately passed through the wall to see Master Jing, now more inconvenienced in his movement than before.
Master Jing already had a lame leg, and not many years had passed since Qin Huai's previous memory, yet Master Jing had noticeably aged, with graying hair and more inconvenience in his legs. His walking was slower, and his overall vitality was not as it once was.
Sometimes, aging seems instant. If previously Qin Huai didn't think of Master Jing as very old and still considered him as a middle-aged person nearing old age, now Master Jing was truly an old man.
No wonder Zheng Da and Huang Shengli advised him to retire early; given his current state, heavy kitchen work was really challenging for him.
Zheng Da was animatedly discussing tomorrow's Mid-Autumn Festival feast with Master Jing: "Master, can I handle the difficult snacks tomorrow? At these feasts, the meat dishes are the main focus, so leave the snacks to me, and Brother will assist you." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Master, don't you think that since I became permanent, my skills have improved dramatically? Sure, everyone mutters behind my back that my Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns isn't good, but I feel that I've made significant improvements recently! Give me a few more months, and no one will complain about my Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns."
"Mm-hmm." Master Jing nodded with a perfunctory smile, and as he reached Gong Liang's house, he purposely glanced at the window and saw the kerosene lamp was on, indicating the Gong family hadn't retired for the night, and he stopped at the entrance.
Master Jing gently knocked on the door twice.
"Hey, Master, you're looking for Gong Liang?" Zheng Da also stopped.
Master Jing nodded slightly, speaking slowly: "You and Shengli mentioned Gong Liang brought back a lot of coconuts from Qiong Province; I wanted to see what kind they are."
"There are different kinds of coconuts? Master, have you seen coconuts before?"
"I saw them when I was young at home."
"There are coconuts in the North? By the way, Master, where are you from? In all these years, I've never heard you mention it, and you're officially retiring tomorrow. Do you want my brother and I to take a long leave and accompany you back to your hometown?"
Hearing this, Master Jing paused momentarily, then fell into a prolonged silence without answering, only knocking on the door once more.
