Ning Xin pretended not to care and asked, “Grandma, I remember Dad once mentioned that he had a family recipe book. Do you know what it was like? I’ve never seen it.”
To her surprise, Old Madam Ning let out a scoff. “That was just something your father made up to tease you when you were little. I can’t believe you still remember it after all this time. It’s because you were always pestering him to cook something delicious, so he joked that he had some ancestral recipe book and said that when he had time, he’d make you every single dish in it, one by one.”
At the memory, the old woman’s eyes grew much softer.
“Your father was a clever one from a young age. When he was twelve, he insisted on going to the city to become an apprentice. I couldn’t talk him out of it, so I had no choice but to let him go with Big Liu from our village to work as a helper at a restaurant in the county town. Who would have thought that Big Liu would quit after just a few days, but your father, young as he was, caught the head chef’s eye? Not only did the chef take him as an apprentice, but he also brought him to the provincial capital. Your father opened a restaurant right here in Xinnan City with his master, and only then did he buy a house and settle down.”
She sighed. “Our Ning family has been farmers for generations. Apart from tending the fields, we know nothing. Your father was the only one who ever learned to cook. How could there really be some ancestral recipe book?”
Ning Xin didn’t expect that after all her questioning, this would be the answer.
Seeing her grandmother growing upset again at the mention of her long-departed son, she didn’t dare press further.
Fortunately, just then, Ning Yi and Chen Zhigang returned.
Ning Yi had an embarrassed look on his face, clearly feeling sheepish about almost having wrongfully blamed his grandmother just now.
Old Madam Ning didn’t hold it against him. Instead, she turned to her son-in-law. “Zhigang, you go back. Pick up Xiu’er and head home early.”
“Mother, what about you?” Chen Zhigang clearly didn’t expect his mother-in-law to intend to stay here. He was startled.
“Mother, I promised Big Brother I would bring you back safely,” he said, a bit anxious.
The old woman was clearly still angry at her eldest son. Hearing this, she said defiantly, “What promise? Since when does he get to tell me what to do? You go tell him, I’m staying to take care of my eldest granddaughter. Have him bring my food rations and a change of clothes!”
“Mother…”
Chen Zhigang tried to persuade her further, but the old woman had already grown impatient and started shooing him away. “Go on now! It’ll be dark soon. Take a look at the food Xiao Yi made. If I don’t stay and keep an eye on things, do you want Xiao Xin to go hungry every day?”
As she spoke, she poked at the barely-touched walnut-shaped buns with her finger in disgust.
Chen Zhigang looked at those massive, shriveled walnut-like buns and fell silent.
He instinctively glanced at Ning Yi and saw the young man’s face flushed bright red.
The corners of Chen Zhigang’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch slightly. Then he said, “Alright, I’ll go back and tell Big Brother. Mother, how about I have Xiu’er come stay for a few days? Her cooking is decent. With the weather so hot, you shouldn’t be exhausting yourself.”
“What’s the point of dragging her into this? The summer harvest is almost here. If she’s not at home, won’t your mother start complaining? Enough now. Go on, get back early.”
Once the conversation turned to his own mother, Chen Zhigang didn’t feel he could say much more. He said a few more words of comfort to Ning Xin and then left the hospital.
Old Madam Ning was indeed a much better cook than Ning Yi.
However, she had the common flaw of elderly people from that era, she was reluctant to use oil or seasonings.
Even when she bought meat specifically for her granddaughter, she could make it taste bland and unappetizing, completely lacking in flavor.
After two more days of eating these thin, tasteless “patient meals,” Ning Xin was finally discharged from the hospital.
The moment she stepped out of the clinic, standing under the scorching July sun, she tilted her head back and took a deep breath.
Ning Xin thought that once she got home, she could start cooking for herself.
But what she didn’t expect was that now that Old Madam Ning had taken over the kitchen, she had no intention of giving it up.
No matter what Ning Xin said, the old woman’s only reply was, “You go back to your room and rest.”
And that was that.
That said, Ning Xin really didn’t look well at the moment. Although the swelling from where Zhu Chunhong had hit her had gone down, the bruising had left her face covered in purple and blue marks, making her look even more frightening than she had at first.
No wonder the old woman looked at her with nothing but pity in her eyes.
Unable to get into the kitchen, Ning Xin could only wander around the yard.
This was the first time she had really taken a good look at the courtyard, and she realized it was quite spacious.
Its layout was somewhat similar to the siheyuan (courtyard houses) Ning Xin had seen before.
On either side of the entrance gate were three rooms resembling gatehouses. To the left of the gate was a single room, and to the right were two small adjoining rooms.
Once through the gate, there was a brick-carved screen wall. Walking around it led to a small courtyard.
The courtyard wasn’t very large, but it was arranged simply and comfortably. There were flowers, trees, and a grape arbor.
On either side of the courtyard stood the east and west wing rooms, each with three rooms in a row.
On the east side, Ning Xin and her brother each occupied one room, with one left vacant.
On the west side, one room had been converted into a kitchen, one was used as a storage room, and one had been turned into a bathroom.
Directly facing the screen wall were the main rooms, also three in a row. The middle room was now used for dining and receiving guests. One room was empty, and the other had been Ning Xin’s father’s bedroom, which was also currently unoccupied.
With a layout like this, not only could one more old woman move in, but several more people could live here comfortably.
After walking around the courtyard, Ning Xin couldn’t help but click her tongue in amazement.
She now truly believed what her grandmother had said before, her father had indeed been a capable man.
Otherwise, he couldn’t have built up such a property on his own at such a young age.
And that wasn’t all. The most important thing was that when the critical moment came, he had been able to make the decision to let it all go.
Over the past few days, through various conversations, Ning Xin had managed to piece together most of the family situation from her grandmother and her brother.
Ning Chengwen had come to Xinnan City with his master before the liberation. After working for someone else for a while, the two of them opened a small restaurant together.
Although the restaurant was small, their excellent cooking made it incredibly popular, and both of them made a good deal of money.
Later, when the master grew old and wanted to return to the countryside, he transferred the restaurant to Ning Chengwen.
Ning Chengwen managed it just as successfully on his own.
That was when the liberation came.
Later, the government encouraged small business owners to participate in the public-private partnership.
While most people were still hesitating and waiting to see what would happen, Ning Chengwen decisively donated the restaurant to the state, without asking for anything in return.
He gave up shares, money, and even the title of private manager. He donated it completely.
In the end, he made only one request, that his employment be arranged.
He wanted to work in a factory.
Compared to a thriving restaurant, what was that request?
So, not only did the government readily agree to Ning Chengwen’s request, but he was also recognized as a model of advanced thinking and commended for his actions.
That commendation became a protective talisman for Ning Chengwen’s family, allowing them to largely avoid suffering during the subsequent movements.
After the movements ended, they were also among the first to have their originally owned small courtyard returned to them in its entirety.
Standing in the courtyard, Ning Xin didn’t know whether to marvel at this father’s foresight or his sheer luck.
He had managed to take the most appropriate step at every major turning point in his life.
But then again, perhaps it was precisely because this father was so clever that both of his children turned out to be a bit foolish.
His daughter was so naive that she would listen to anyone who egged her on, and in the end, it cost her her life.
His son, without a moment’s hesitation, gave away the wealth their father had accumulated through a lifetime of hard work, and in the end, he too came to no good.
Thinking of this, Ning Xin couldn’t quite articulate the feeling in her heart.
She walked to the east side of the courtyard and stood beside the flower bed that Ning Chengwen had built.
The flowers and plants in the bed were growing vigorously, but none of them were rare or precious varieties. They were just the kinds commonly grown in ordinary households: cockscomb, sage, touch-me-not, evening primrose, and the like.
It was the height of summer, and the flower bed was bursting with blooms. The sight was a riot of vibrant colors, fragrant and splendid.
She stood there for a while, and only then did she feel the melancholy in her chest begin to dissipate.
Ning Chengwen had once been a chef, so even his approach to gardening was a little different from most.
For example, in an inconspicuous corner of the flower bed, he had set aside a small plot specifically for herbs like mint, catnip, and perilla, plants that could be used for seasoning.
He had also planted some chili peppers and transplanted two small Sichuan pepper trees.
The chili peppers had already borne fruit, while the Sichuan pepper trees were still young and hadn’t yet reached the age of producing seeds, but they were growing lush and full of life.
Around the edge of the flower bed were more than a dozen flower pots, each containing blooming plants like jasmine, gardenia, and chrysanthemum.
At that moment, the jasmine and gardenias were in full bloom, their fragrance wafting through the air.
What a man who understood life, who loved life!
Ning Xin silently marveled. At the same time, she felt a deeper respect for this father she had never met.
She plucked a few mint leaves and picked a few blooming jasmine flowers, washed them at the outdoor spigot in the yard, and brought them into the kitchen.
Old Madam Ning was crouched on the kitchen floor, pulling out flour. Seeing Ning Xin come in, she waved her away repeatedly. “Go on, get out. It’s terribly hot in here.”
“I’m just getting some water to drink.”
As she spoke, Ning Xin placed the washed leaves and flowers into an oversized enamel mug.
Then she poured in the warm water her grandmother had boiled and set aside.
As the warm water was slowly poured in, the pure white petals and emerald green leaves danced in the mug, swirling up and down.
At the same time, a fragrance emerged from the mug, a cool, refreshing scent mixed with the aroma of flowers, wafting around the grandmother and granddaughter.
Old Madam Ning sniffed the air. “What’s that smell? So fragrant.”
“I picked these flowers and leaves from the flower bed. Grandma, you should have some too. Back when I was weak and frail, Dad went to an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor for this recipe. He said it could clear heat and supplement qi. That’s why Dad planted these herbs and flowers specifically.”
As she spoke, she positioned her body between the mug and the old woman.
At an angle where her grandmother couldn’t see, she extended the index finger of her right hand over the top of the mug and held her breath.
Soon, a tiny droplet of water formed on her fingertip.
Slowly, the droplet grew larger, until it finally swelled to the size of a mung bean and fell into the mug below.
Seeing that her ability hadn’t abandoned her, Ning Xin smiled with satisfaction.
She swirled the mug, which now held the droplet, then took two glass cups from the cupboard. She poured one cup and handed it to her grandmother.
Hearing that it was a recipe her son had specifically sought from an old traditional chinese medicine doctor, the old woman didn’t refuse.
She brought the cup to her lips. Before she even drank, a delicate fragrance, even more intense than before, filled her senses.
She took a deep breath, then took a small sip.
Although her granddaughter hadn’t added any sugar, Old Madam Ning still tasted a hint of sweetness in the water.
The liquid slid down her throat, sweet and refreshing, with a coolness from the mint. After just one sip, the summer heat seemed to vanish.
“This water is delicious! And the doctor’s recipe is wonderful too. I feel as if my heart has already lightened a bit.” The old woman downed the cup in one go, then rubbed her chest and couldn’t help but praise it.
Hearing this, Ning Xin curved her lips slightly.
Of course it was delicious. What she had added was the spiritual spring.
That spring was the only special perk she had gained from her two lifetimes. Not only did it taste good, but it also had the effect of strengthening the body.
She could only condense one tiny droplet like this per day.
If it weren’t for the fact that the old woman had treated her with genuine kindness, and that Ning Xin had noticed her grandmother suffered from heart palpitations and was afraid she might have an episode from the heat and exhaustion, she would never have used an entire day’s droplet all at once.