560 Sharing Secrets
“Mei Mei didn’t mention this incident to me and I’m also not willing to talk about what happened back then. Your grandfather knows what happened previously. If the Liang family asks your family for help or comes to you for help, you don’t have to care about them. I’ve already cut ties with them long ago. Qiao Mei and I have nothing to do with the Liang family.” Qiao Qiang’s attitude was very firm.
“I understand. I’ll listen to grandfather,” Xia Zhe said.
Qiao Mei slowly stuck her head out from under the blanket and stretched. This was the most peaceful sleep she had had in the past few days.
As soon as she opened the door, she could smell the rich fragrance coming from the kitchen. The moment she opened the pot, a nice smell filled her nose. It was a full pot of stewed potatoes with beans and a lot of meat inside. In the other pot was chicken soup for the children and her grandfather. It also smelled very good.
She did not expect Xia Zhe’s culinary skills to have become even better. In a few days, he would be able to surpass her!
“Grandfather, what are the two of you talking about?” Qiao Mei walked out with a smile.
Qiao Qiang said happily, “I’m sharing secrets with Xia Zhe. I’m not telling you.”
Qiao Mei narrowed her eyes and looked at Xia Zhe. Xia Zhe silently shifted his gaze elsewhere. Compared to Qiao Mei being angry, he was more afraid of offending her grandfather. What if grandfather got angry and locked Qiao Mei up and disallowed him to come to their house?
“Why are you looking at Xia Zhe like that! You must treat him well! Don’t throw a tantrum at him!” Qiao Qiang said.
Qiao Mei pouted in dissatisfaction. She was clearly his biological granddaughter, but why did it seem like Xia Zhe was the biological grandchild instead!
As expected! Not only was Xia Zhe a popular man, but he was deeply well-liked by men and women, both young and old.
“Mei Mei is especially good to me and has a good temper,” Xia Zhe said gently.
Qiao Qiang waved his hand in disdain and said, “Forget it, forget it. I won’t get involved in the matters of you young people. When the meal is ready, ask Li Gui and the children at home to come over for dinner. Let’s make it lively.”
“Grandfather, let’s go over there to eat. I’m worried about leaving Zhang Miao home alone,” Qiao Mei said.
Qiao Qiang nodded and took out the two largest basins in the house. He scooped the dishes into them and called out to the two children who were cleaning up the pigsty to go back for dinner.
At the dining table, everyone chatted and laughed. It was rare for all of them to gather together, so Zhang Chao even spoke up more and laughed with them from time to time.
After dinner, the children washed the dishes. Li Gui took some liquid food and slowly fed it to Zhang Miao.
Qiao Mei stood at the door of the courtyard and walked around to aid digestion. She could see Auntie Dong rushing towards her from afar with a basin in her arms.
“Auntie Dong, where are you going!” Qiao Mei shouted.
When Auntie Dong saw Qiao Mei, she quickened her pace and came up saying, “Mei Mei! I’m here to look for you! Can you tell me what’s wrong with my family’s bean sprouts? Are they sick? After we grew these bean sprouts, they said that the bean sprouts did not meet the standard and returned them to us. We’re not earning as much money as before. Quickly help me take a look.”
Qiao Mei was publicly acknowledged to be the best at growing bean sprouts in the village. There had been a strange phenomenon. For a few months in the past, under Qiao Mei’s lead, everyone had done a good job and the quality of the bean sprouts always met the standard of the supply and marketing cooperative. Every family had earned a lot of money then.
Later on, everyone felt that they had already learned Qiao Mei’s skills and tried to do it on their own. From then on, they did not manage to sell as much as before. It seemed that they still had not managed to pick up all of Qiao Mei’s skills.
Otherwise, why was it that her bean sprouts grew well while theirs were not up to standard!
Qiao Mei looked at the bean sprouts in the basin and fell into deep thought. During this period of time, she had not been in the village and there was no one transmitting energy to these bean sprouts. Of course, the quality would not meet the standard.
It seemed that she had to get everyone to come over and learn it again. Only then could she hide the fact that she had superpower. Otherwise, it would make people jealous.
“Auntie, I can tell that there are many factors. There are techniques in growing bean sprouts. You can’t use too much or too little beans. Temperature, humidity and the environment are all very important. Ask everyone to come over tomorrow, I’ll run through the steps with all of you again,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
Auntie Dong was overjoyed and said happily, “I just know that you would know the reason, Mei Mei! I keep wondering why the bean sprouts don’t grow well! You’re still the expert!”
“I also brought back many books on plants and agriculture from the capital. People in the capital sell fruits and flowers. In this beautiful place like ours, the fruits we grow will definitely be better than theirs!” Qiao Mei said.
