Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1182 - 566: My Dearest Little Brother_2

Now Qin Huai has perfected the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns to the level of Master Jing from back in the day. This time, visiting Mr. Xu, he should let him taste the original flavor.

As for the fruit basket and two cases of pure milk, one case was bought by Shi Dadan, and the other two items by An Youyou. In An Youyou’s words, although Little Ninth might not give him three gold bars, as the boss, he treats all little brothers the same. Whatever Little Seven has, Little Ninth must also have.

The boss is fair like that.

The fair boss carrying the luxurious two-piece set to visit the elderly at the nursing home, where Mr. Xu resides, is in the urban area, more precisely the old city district. Not remote, the environment is relatively quiet, the buildings are somewhat old, yet the facilities are excellent, the landscaping is nice, and the air is fresh.

Because Gong Liang had given notice in advance, Mr. Xu was waiting for the four in the room, according to the caregiver, at this point, Mr. Xu usually is in the activity room playing chess.

Mr. Xu is a renowned chess king in this nursing home; no other old man can beat him at chess. Often chess masters from other nursing homes come to challenge him by reputation. Several nursing homes frequently host chess matches, making it very lively.

Mr. Xu’s room is on the 2nd floor.

Room 209, it’s a single room.

The room is larger than Lin Qi’s room; even the TV is bigger, and the curtains are automatic. The windows aren’t barred, and the room faces south, providing good lighting.

When Qin Huai and the others entered, Mr. Xu was sitting at the table brewing tea, with sunlight streaming through the windows onto half of his face. His originally somewhat brittle white hair glowed, and he appeared quite energetic.

Mr. Xu, being older now, has gray hair, his eyes weren’t bright but somewhat cloudy, with obvious age spots on his face, and his skin is comparatively loose, entirely different from how Qin Huai remembers seeing Mr. Xu in Shi Dadan’s memories.

But one thing remained the same.

His back was especially straight, his posture upright, making him look spirited.

"You’ve arrived." Mr. Xu smiled at the crowd with a benevolent smile, first casting his gaze toward An Youyou, then looking at Gong Liang. "Take a seat, I specifically asked the caregiver to bring a few more chairs; usually, there’s only one chair in my room."

"Xiao Gong, you still need to introduce everyone."

"Naturally," Gong Liang gestured for everyone to sit down first, then started to introduce one by one, "This is Youyou... the granddaughter of... the old lady boss."

An Youyou cautiously nodded toward Mr. Xu, observing him: "Hello."

"This is Qin Huai, Master Qin, whom I mentioned to you yesterday, the remarkable pastry and snack master," Gong Liang continued.

Mr. Xu looked at Qin Huai, smiling kindly: "Yesterday Xiao Gong talked to me for more than half an hour about you, Master Qin. Even while living in the nursing home, I’ve heard of your name, Master Qin. Last year during New Year’s, my two grandsons specifically went to Huang Ji to queue for your Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns before visiting me here. I never expected to meet you in person today." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Qin Huai swiftly replied: "What a coincidence, I brought a bag of freshly made Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns embryos for you today and just handed it to the caregiver."

"Looks like I have a treat waiting for lunch today."

Mr. Xu shifted his gaze to Shi Dadan.

"This is Shi Dadan, a friend of Youyou and Master Qin, specifically accompany Youyou here," said Gong Liang.

"Mr. Xu, hello," Shi Dadan firmly adhered to Qin Huai’s advice for him to speak less, to remain reserved, and avoid impulsiveness.

Mr. Xu nodded: "It’s a hassle for you."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all."

After the simple pleasantries, Mr. Xu did not waste much time, directly looking toward An Youyou, with no suspicion in his eyes, he sighed: "I didn’t expect the boss still has a granddaughter. Xiao Gong told me Xiao An, you found Little Seven in Shanghai a few days ago, which must have been hard for you. It’s very thoughtful."

"I had no idea about Little Seven’s whereabouts, otherwise, I would’ve visited him back when I was in Shanghai years ago."

An Youyou started telling prepped nonsense: "My dad told me that my grandma fell in love with my grandpa when collecting debts in Qi Province. My grandpa wanted to marry, but my grandma found it too troublesome and refused. After birthing my dad, tired of raising a child that’s both troublesome and expensive, she left my dad with my grandpa and left."

"Later, my grandpa passed away, my dad wanted to turn to my grandma, trying to find out her whereabouts, only to learn my grandma had already died of illness many years ago in Guangdong Province. In the process of inquiring about my grandma, he also gathered information about you several, but at the time, due to inconvenient travel and lack of funds, my dad didn’t consider visiting."

"I’m my dad’s daughter born in his later years. A couple of years ago, my dad suffered a huge loss in business, urgently needing money to repay debts. That’s the reason he pushed me to visit you, hoping to see if it’s possible to borrow some money for turnover."

Qin Huai: ??? Was that last part even in the original script?

Impromptu An Youyou, full of sincerity, looked at Xu Chenggang, feeling no burden inventing an old flame story, nor dissing her dad as worthless. She only showed pure acting skills with genuine emotion in her eyes.

Xu Chenggang was slightly shocked by this brief story, but accepted it: "Oh... That’s quite like the old boss."

Qin Huai: ...Exactly how clear-headed was An Youyou in her days as the boss, for her little brothers to so willingly accept such absurd things.

One willingly accepts the boss could reincarnate with memory, another willingly accepts the boss refuses to marry, having the child then ditching the partner.

Who claims the older generation is thinking in traditional ways; their minds are far too open.

Xu Chenggang slowed his speech: "Youyou, do you know... about your grandma’s situation back in the day?"

An Youyou replied: "I know a bit; a few days ago when visiting Grandpa Lin in Shanghai, Grandpa Lin told me quite a lot, though with his dementia, his memory was somewhat mixed up."

"I know my grandma was a boss among beggars, named simply Boss."

"Your grandma was indeed impressive," Xu Chenggang spoke with pride, "Even though she was a beggar, she never tricked or stole."

"She was smart, with a photographic memory; she could remember idioms she overheard and articulate them though she never attended school."

"She was literate, capable of writing, using an abacus, even fighting, back then could take on five grown men alone while begging."

"And she was kind-hearted, unlike other beggars who only took in strong and healthy followers. She specifically took care of those who couldn’t survive, freezing in the streets during winter, or lying ill waiting to die."

"She never got mad or punished us when we couldn’t beg food, even spent all her savings to cure us when ill."

"Even after giving up begging, when she went to Jinling as an accountant, she was also exceptional. When I initially received news of her death, I couldn’t believe it, only when seeing the body in Guangdong Province, I understood it was true."

"Your grandma always aspired to save enough money to return to Shanghai to reunite us followers, she lived so frugally that she ate unclean food in Guangdong Province, leading to her death."

"When she died, she saved a considerable amount, over 500 Da yang which was a fortune in those days."

"She was an outstanding, kind, capable, great, selfless woman."

An Youyou was utterly dumbfounded listening to Xu Chenggang’s words; she nearly blurted out to ask: Is the person you’re talking about me?

An Youyou never anticipated she held such a glorious image among her little brothers, even dying from dysentery due to frugality, a humiliating cause of death, sounding so moving from Little Ninth’s mouth.

As if shrouded in a layer of holy light.

"Yesterday Xiao Gong said you made a special trip to Gusu to find me, guessing there might be family trouble."

"Back when the boss passed away, buying the coffin, carving the tombstone, and hosting the funeral cost over 100 Da yang. Little Seven... Lin Qi probably doesn’t know the exact figures, he was the youngest, and the incident was sudden, we didn’t really consult him during the money division."

"The leftover inheritance - Chen Shun took the majority, I took 60 Da yang, Brother Thirteen took 80 Da yang."

"I retired early, now just an elderly man with not much savings left, only 400,000 or so."

"But I possess a good item; it’s something my youngest son found during his venture years. An early genuine piece of Zhang Daqian, measuring two square feet, which should relieve urgent needs if exchanged for money."

Saying this, Xu Chenggang got up to retrieve the painting for An Youyou.

Qin Huai and the others were already dumbfounded.

An Youyou looked a bit bewildered toward Qin Huai, quietly asking: "Who is Zhang Daqian?"

"What does two square feet mean?"

Qin Huai: ...Even though An Youyou awakened with more culture compared to earlier, there’s more to learn.

"More valuable than what Lin Qi offered," Qin Huai summed up concisely.

An Youyou: !!!

She just knew, Little Ninth is indeed her most beloved little brother!