harleyscars Chapter 7 The Taste of Warmth
Chapter 7 The Taste of Warmth
Chen Feng wrapped the solidified candied hawthorn in oil-absorbing paper.
Then he put the two jars of hawthorn jam into the bamboo basket.
"Qiangzi, I'll leave this to you. Mengmeng and I will go over first." Chen Feng untied his apron and washed his hands in the basin of water in the yard.
Zhang Qiang was squatting on the floor of the main room, holding an ink line and gesturing the nameplate to the plasterer Da Zhuang.
Without even looking up, he waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. I told my mom, and she'll probably start washing the vegetables around 5 p.m.
If you're late, she'll definitely come here on her tricycle and drag you back.
Please be lenient with the old man; only you can handle his temper.
Chen Feng smiled but didn't reply. He turned around and took Mengmeng's little hand in his.
"Mengmeng, let's go to 'godfather's' parents' house."
Mengmeng was squatting on the steps, staring intently at a passing ant. Upon hearing this, she immediately patted her bottom and stood up.
She nervously tugged at the hem of her pink hoodie and then tightened her grip on the shed teddy bear in her arms.
"Dad, will Godfather's parents be as good as Grandma Liu?"
Mengmeng tilted her head back, a hint of unease hidden in her big eyes.
Chen Feng squatted down and straightened her crooked braids: "Yes, they are the people who love their fathers the most in the world."
Just treat them like your own grandparents.
The old street is not long. After passing two corners with moss-covered stone slabs, a gate with festive couplets will appear in front of you.
Before even entering the room, Chen Feng could hear the sound of knives being sharpened inside.
He pushed open the slightly ajar door.
Upon entering the hospital, I saw a thin old man sitting on a bench with his legs spread apart.
The old man was wearing a faded blue undershirt and was holding a large kitchen knife, pushing and pulling it back and forth on a whetstone.
"Uncle Zhang, it's all thanks to your sharpened knife." Chen Feng stood inside the door, his voice light and cheerful.
The sound of sharpening the knife stopped abruptly.
Zhang Dahai—Zhang Qiang's father, the retired carpenter known for his stubborn temper on the old street—suddenly raised his head.
He squinted and stared blankly for two seconds, then dropped the cleaver, not even bothering to wipe the black liquid off his hands, and jumped up from the bench.
"Hey! Fengzi! Fengzi's here!"
Zhang Dahai's shout immediately brought Li Xiuzhen out of the house.
Li Xiuzhen still had an apron tied around her waist and a handful of freshly picked scallions in her hand. The moment she saw Chen Feng, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
"You child...you child, you've finally come back!"
Xiuzhen walked over quickly, grabbed Chen Feng's arm, looked him up and down, and kept muttering to herself.
"You seem to have lost weight. Did you not eat well in Beijing?"
I always said the food in those big cities isn't nourishing; it's all just for show..."
Mengmeng shrank back behind Chen Feng somewhat awkwardly, her little hands tugging at Chen Feng's trouser legs, secretly observing the two unfamiliar elderly people through the gap.
In her little mind, the old man looked a bit like Qiangzi's godfather; both had square faces and laughter that sounded like thunder.
The grandmother's hands were warm, and she had a pleasant, faint fragrance.
"This...this must be Mengmeng, right?" Li Xiuzhen finally noticed the "little tail" behind Chen Feng.
He bent over, speaking very softly, as if afraid of scaring away the porcelain doll-like little girl.
"Oh my, this face is exactly like Fengzi's when he was a kid, but those eyes... they look like Meihua's, like your mom's."
Chen Feng gently pulled Mengmeng out from behind him, squatted down and guided her, "Mengmeng, call Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Li."
Mengmeng blinked her big eyes and looked at Li Xiuzhen's kind, wrinkled face. Suddenly, she felt that sense of "strangeness" disappear.
Because this grandmother's eyes were so warm, just like the way her father looked at her.
"Hello Grandpa Zhang, hello Grandma Li."
At this moment, Mengmeng was no longer afraid. She generously loosened Chen Feng's trouser leg and handed him the paper package she was holding.
"These are candied hawthorns that Dad and Mengmeng made together. They're so crispy, and they're a gift for you."
"Oh! What a good child! What a thoughtful and precious little darling!"
Zhang Dahai rubbed his hands vigorously on his clothes, then carefully took the paper package, his demeanor more solemn than receiving an imperial edict.
"Old woman, quick, go get that jar of malted milk powder from my cupboard and make a bowl for the child!"
Mengmeng looked at Zhang Dahai's large hands, which were covered with calluses and dark marks.
She whispered to Chen Feng, "Dad, can Grandpa Zhang's hands do magic tricks?"
Chen Feng chuckled and ruffled her hair: "Yes, Grandpa Zhang can turn into a wooden pony."
Upon entering the house, the furnishings in the main room remained exactly as they had been before Chen Feng left.
The mahogany eight-immortal table against the wall, the old clock on the table, and even the cane that Zhang Dahai used to use in the corner are still the same.
Chen Feng took the hawthorn jam out of the basket and arranged it neatly on the table.
"Uncle, Aunt, I made this jam in the yard this afternoon."
The hawthorns were picked from the old street corner, and they are indeed very good hawthorns.
Qiangzi told me that Uncle's back has been bothering him lately. Hawthorn can improve blood circulation, so you should take a spoonful with warm water every morning.
Zhang Dahai looked at the two simply packaged jars of jam, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't say anything. He gently patted Chen Feng's shoulder.
As soon as he returned to his hometown, the first thing he did was sit in front of the stove and make a bowl of jam for them, which warmed his heart.
Li Xiuzhen held Mengmeng's hand, offering her cookies and candies, wishing she could give the child all the good things in the house.
"Fengzi, your parents sent me a video last week."
They say it's in... Türkiye, and they're following the locals in search of a special cheese that can be stretched two meters long.
Li Xiuzhen sighed, her tone full of helplessness, "Do you think Chen Wenshan can do anything worthwhile in his life besides eating?"
He didn't even come back for his own granddaughter's birthday; he's so carefree.
Chen Feng sat on the bamboo chair, took the hot tea Zhang Dahai handed him, and smiled:
"You don't know my dad's personality. He wants to try all the weird things in the world in his life."
My mom's the same; she's saying she's going to help my dad write something called "A Record of Strange Foods from Around the World," and the two of them are having so much fun with it that they've forgotten all about home.
"They're so happy they don't even want to go home; they're lucky."
Zhang Dahai snorted, but his gaze fell on Chen Feng.
"But Fengzi, are you really planning to open a shop in this dilapidated courtyard this time you've come back?"
It's such a waste to have your skills confined to our small town.
Chen Feng took a sip of tea.
"Uncle, back in the capital, I lived for others."
I'm back now, for Mengmeng's sake, and for my own.
Chen Feng's gaze softened as he looked at Mengmeng, who was sitting in Li Xiuzhen's lap, curiously fiddling with an old-fashioned clock.
"I also want to try and see if my hands can still bear the weight of the 'Human World' plaque that my grandfather left behind."
As we chatted, the light in the courtyard gradually dimmed, the setting sun sank behind the eaves, and the pungent aroma of stir-fried chili peppers from the neighbors' homes began to waft through the air.
Li Xiuzhen glanced at the clock on the wall, then suddenly slapped her thigh:
Oh dear, I've been so busy talking that it's almost six o'clock.
"Old man, hurry up and start the fire! I still need to prepare that grass carp I bought this afternoon!"
As she spoke, she started to walk towards the kitchen.
Seeing this, Chen Feng also stood up and followed Li Xiuzhen to the kitchen.
"Auntie, you rest, I'll take care of dinner tonight..."
"That won't do!" Li Xiuzhen glared at Chen Feng, her tone resolute.
"You just got back, how can I let you cook?"
You spend all day in the capital facing the stove; don't you need to rest when you get home?
"Go sit down!"
Chen Feng did not back down. He casually pulled an apron from behind the door and tied it around his waist.
"Auntie, I'm not the chef, I'll help you."
Chen Feng smiled and rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing his forearms.
"Where is the grass carp you bought? I'll remove the scales for you and also pick out the scallions."
As you know, I feel really uneasy when my hands are idle.
When Li Xiuzhen heard Chen Feng say this, her resolute expression softened.
She knew Chen Feng's temperament; the boy had been diligent since he was little, and he was like a different person when he entered the kitchen.
"Well... then you've agreed that you'll just be an assistant."
The head chef position is still mine.
Li Xiuzhen rubbed her hands together a little shyly, but her eyes revealed a sense of pride.
"Alright, you give the order, and I will carry it out."
Chen Feng was very happy, but he didn't show it.
Mengmeng sat on a small stool in the main room, watching her father walk towards the kitchen, then turned to Zhang Dahai and said earnestly:
Grandpa Zhang, my dad is so careful when he washes vegetables, like he's washing a precious treasure.
Zhang Dahai laughed heartily, stroking his stubble, and looked at the old man and the young man already busy in the kitchen, letting out a long sigh of relief.
This once quiet and cold courtyard was now filled with warmth.