Chapter 2: Old Li's Meal Money

Li Tingqian took a deep breath at the conclusion he made. If she were indeed the daughter of the woman Imperial Grandfather had loved, that would make her his Auntie1, right?

'Should I let Auntie cook for me?'

The little boy was a little scared and somewhat confused.

When Jiang Ning rolled her wheelchair back to the main area, she noticed Li Tingqian was staring at her with a strange expression on his little face. She could discern it as a mix of curiosity, surprise, and confusion. But she couldn't understand them.

'Is he hungry?'

Jiang Ning sympathized with the poor boy and handed him a piece of fried pancake she had just made, "Here you go,"

Li Tingqian took the weird-looking, flat food and thought to himself, 'Can I eat this?'

He gingerly took a bite, but his eyes widened the next moment.

'It's so delicious!'

'Is Auntie a professional cook?' 

This ordinary-looking deep-fried pancake was actually better than the meals made in the Imperial Kitchen!

Li Tingqian inhaled the pancake in two to three bites and licked his lips, chasing the traces of its remaining taste. He wanted to eat another piece but didn't dare to ask for more.

It was a meal made with Auntie's hard work. He heard that Auntie was only three years old when her mother died. He couldn't imagine how lonely it must've been. Not only that, but she was also Imperial Grandfather's precious pearl. 

Demanding Auntie to make more of her pancakes right in front of Imperial Grandfather was like asking for punishment. Li Tingqian wouldn't even dare to suggest it.

But, even if Auntie was raised outside the palace, why did she live in such a poor-looking house? 

Maybe this place was full of hidden treasures and was built based on good feng shui2? Li Tingqian secretly glanced around. The house looked old… Was it really the best house?

As Tingqian continued to think, Jiang Ning couldn't get over how fast the little boy gobbled down the piece of fried pancake. It panged her heart at the thought of how hungry the boy must've been.

It only spurred her to cook more food.

Once she situated her wooden wheelchair in the kitchen, she began to busy herself. She steamed the rice, washed a handful of vegetables, and picked a handful of red peppers she had picked from the courtyard. While she waited for the rice to cook, she began to stir-fry the meat, steamed the fish, and make a fresh bowl of mushroom soup.

When she was done, she made three main dishes and a soup, a combination of meat and vegetables, which created a colorful, fragrant, and mouthwatering meal.

The sight left both the grandfather and grandson duo dumbfounded.

'What is this?'

Despite how unusual the dishes looked, they all seemed pretty good and smelled enticingly fragrant.

They had never seen such a cooking method before. The Imperial Kitchen had only ever boiled and steamed their food.

This fish, and this meat...

In comparison, these foods made the Imperial Kitchen's dishes seem like trash!

The old man and the young boy gulped down their saliva in unison.

As she watched the pair drool over the food, it panged Jiang Ning's heart even more. 'They must be really poor. It's like they never ate fried meat in their entire life before!' She thought to herself.

But it does make her wonder where the old man found those ingredients for her. Meat and fish were not cheap after all, and the ones they brought to her were still fresh. 

'Could Old Li have some money?'

"C'mon, let's..." Before Jiang Ning could finish her sentence, she realized the two of them were already busy eating.

Jiang Ning held back her sigh.

Watching the two of them eating so enthusiastically, made her hesitant. Could she really ask Old Li if she could borrow some money? He probably has used up all of his savings to buy these fresh ingredients. And to share them with her too…

But how could she buy medicine without money?

The seed in her womb would not wait for anyone. And once it grew, she could not harvest its fruit.

...

The wind swept away the clouds, giving way for the sun to peek through from its hiding place.

Noon had not ended, yet the grandfather-grandson duo finished the three dishes, cleaning them off its plate.

Jiang Ning only ate half a bowl of rice with the soup.

Old Li burped, looking very satisfied. He reached out for something and fumbled around for quite some time. Then he seemed to find whatever he was looking for and place it on the table. "Here, it's for today's meal." Old Li said with a kind smile.

Jiang Ning glanced at the object. It was a tiny gray teacup.

Every time Old Li came to freeload in the past two months, he would leave one or two things behind after he finished eating. There were all kinds of things he gave her: sometimes it would be a broken bottle, some other time it could be a bowl, a plate, and he even gave her a rag once too.

In short, he gave her a pile of junk.

Even so, this was the plump old man's way of thanking her for the meal. Despite how useless these items were, It warmed her heart at the kind intention. So Jiang Ning still accepted the teacup and placed it in a large wicker basket behind the door.

The basket was already full of old Li's meal money.

Li Tingqian casually followed her to the wicker basket, and his eyebrow suddenly twitched when he saw its contents.

If he wasn't mistaken, the bowl that was poking out of the pile… Wasn't that the priceless masterpiece left by Master3 Xuan Yun?

If he looked closely, weren't those other objects also made by the great master…?

And Auntie just casually threw those antiques into a broken basket?

Li Tingqian felt a little dizzy and decided not to even glance at the pile of valuable antiques. He picked up the cup and drank a lot of water as his thoughts raced at what that meant.

'Of course. I was right!'

This place only looked old on the outside, but in reality, treasures were hidden everywhere!

Now that he knew what he was looking for, he could see so many antiques and rare items left in the corner of the room. Maybe the furniture was also…

'Wait…'

This old-looking wooden chair he was sitting on… Which dynasty was it from?