The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 158 Benefactor (900+ monthly tickets)_1

Chapter 158: Chapter 158 Benefactor (900+ monthly tickets)_1

He Tiantian continued, "Grandma, this is Aunt Jiang and Uncle Huo, old family friends of ours."

"Nice to meet you all, it’s the first time we meet, and I didn’t bring any fancy gifts, just some local specialties from home. I’ll sort them out and bring them over for you to taste tomorrow," Third Grandma Qi said with a laugh, her behavior and mannerism reminiscent of someone from a notable household, composed and serene.

Aunt Jiang, delighted, said, "We can’t refuse such kindness from you, ma’am. Zhekun, who was the elder you were talking about just now? You should introduce us."

Huo Zhekun, seeing everyone looking his way, explained, "He was a good friend of my father’s. They fought together in the small RB battles. My father was seriously injured, and it was Uncle Qi who carried him back. Without Uncle Qi, our family wouldn’t be here today. After supporting the Korean War, Uncle Qi resigned from his position and returned to his hometown. I never expected it to be the place where Tiantian lives."

"So it’s the benefactor of the Huo Family!" Jiang Lifang said joyously, "If father knew, he’d be very pleased."

"That’s for sure," Yingjie said excitedly.

"Let’s not hurry to catch up on old times just yet, we have a long vacation ahead, and we can talk more later. The air conditioning is on now, so let’s freshen up a bit and then come back for dinner," He Tiantian said, feeling the urge to use the bathroom herself, not to mention the two elders.

Understanding the situation, He Tiantian led the two elders to freshen up and take care of their needs.

Upon their return, the table was set with steaming beef noodles. In such cold weather, other dishes would cool down too quickly, but with noodles, the warmth stayed with you after you finished eating, both soup and water.

The beef was tender enough for Third Grandma Qi, who had poor teeth, to chew comfortably.

After the meal, everyone was tired. Jiang Lifang and Huo Zhekun took their leave, knowing there would be plenty of opportunities to chat later; there was no rush.

As soon as they had received the telegram, Wang Shuping had started to prepare for the arrival of the two elders, choosing the two east side chambers for them. The rooms were simple but furnished with everything, even a night pot for convenience.

"Grandma, think of this as your own home, just like Qijia Village, and please don’t feel embarrassed," Tiantian said. "It’s cold outside and slippery. If you need to go to the bathroom at night, use the chamber pot there. My room is right by the main hall, on the right; it’s very close to yours. Just call me if you need anything."

Third Grandma Qi’s heart was filled with emotion. She had expected Tiantian’s parents to be courteous, but she had never imagined they would treat her this well!

"Alright, I won’t be polite. You should rest too," Third Grandma Qi said as she loosened her neatly combed hair and lay down.

He Tiantian tucked Third Grandma Qi in and instructed, "Grandma Qi, just pull the rope by the bed, and the electric light will come on."

Click, the light went off.

Click, the light came on.

"I’ve got it," said Third Grandma Qi. The light was so bright, much better than the oil lamps they had at home. Back in the day, when she was a young lady in a landlord’s family, they used electric lights at their city home. But those were memories from a bygone era, many decades past.

"There’s hot water in the kettle here, about half full, it’s not heavy," He Tiantian explained, chattering away.

Third Grandma Qi smiled and said, "Girl Tian, go get some rest. You told me to treat this as my home, so don’t worry about me."

Scratching her head with a sheepish smile, He Tiantian felt maybe she was a bit anxious and said, "Alright then, I’ll be going out."

Tiantian helped close the door behind her as she left.

Passing by Old Man Qi’s room, she noticed the light was off, signaling he had likely gone to sleep.

He Tiantian returned to the main room, where her parents urged her to go get some rest.

She had taken care of the two elders all the way, up and down hills, which had indeed been tiring.

He Tiantian had planned to write a letter to Huo Yingjie, telling him she had come back. But her eyelids were fighting each other, she couldn’t hold on any longer, and decided to write it tomorrow instead.

She woke up the next morning to bright daylight.

He Tiantian changed into a clean blue floral-print jacket and cotton pants and came out.

Third Grandma Qi and Old Man Qi had already gotten up.

The snow in the courtyard had been cleared away, and there was breakfast in the pot. He Tiantian glanced at the clock on the Eight Immortals Table, it was already half-past nine, by this time her parents had gone to work.

"Grandma, Grandpa, have you had breakfast?" He Tiantian, after washing up, sat on the left side and asked, not feeling guilty at all for sleeping in.

"We’ve already eaten, you should hurry up and eat," Third Grandma Qi said. "That pot contains hot soy milk your mother bought, better pour some out and have a drink."

He Tiantian poured herself some soy milk, there were fried dough sticks, eggs, and a dish of vegetables on the table.

The simple breakfast was prepared by her mother, Wang Shuping.

"You may not be used to the breakfast here, I will get up and make breakfast tomorrow," He Tiantian said. "Corn porridge with some pickles, or small pancakes with pickles."

"Then you should make it tomorrow, I’m indeed not used to this," Old Man Qi said bluntly, not at all polite.

"You old man, be grateful that there’s food to eat, and here you are picking and choosing," Third Grandma Qi complained, the barrier between the two old people seemed to have lessened since they left Qijia Village, becoming more relaxed.

Old Man Qi, being teased by Third Grandma Qi, didn’t get angry at all and just laughed it off.

"Alright, that’s a request I can fulfill," He Tiantian replied. "I was a bit tired yesterday and got up late, but I won’t be lazy tomorrow."

He Tiantian chatted with them about the situation in Nan City, and when the weather got better, she planned to take them out for a stroll.

Using her lunch break, He Tiantian wrote a letter to Huo Yingjie, and sent it off along with two dried wild rabbits.

He Tiantian didn’t bring many gifts this time, at most a dozen or so dried wild rabbits, three wild chickens, and a big bag of sundries she picked up in the mountains. Grandma Qi was aware of these, but as for the items in the Barrier Space, He Tiantian had to sell them during the New Year period.

In the evening, He Jingyu, Wang Shuping, Jiang Liping, and Huo Zhekun got off work and hurried home.

They had intended to prepare a nice meal to treat the two elders, but upon getting home, they found that He Tiantian had already prepared the dinner: sweet and sour Chinese cabbage, potato stewed with wild rabbit meat, a plate of dried radishes, fried peanuts, and a bowl of black fungus and egg soup.

"Hurry up and wash your hands, dinner’s ready," He Tiantian had already taken hot water from the stove, poured it into the basin stand, for everyone to wash their hands.

Wang Shuping, seeing the sumptuous dishes and soup on the table, frowned and said, "You girl, how could you let your godmother cook! I get off work early, it wouldn’t have been late if I came back to cook!"

"This wasn’t me, it was all done by Girl Tian, this kid has great cooking skills," Third Grandma Qi explained. "Nobody stand around, let’s eat."

Wang Shuping was startled and felt a tinge of sourness in her heart. Her daughter must have gone through many hardships outside to learn how to cook such good meals.

Jiang Lifang, while feeling sorry for Tiantian, became even more satisfied. Tiantian’s cooking skills were great, wasn’t her son in for a treat in the future?

Everyone sat down for the meal and praised He Tiantian’s cooking skills, making her face turn red and too embarrassed to lift her head.

After dinner, He Jingyu and Huo Zhekun joined Old Man Qi for a game of chess. Wang Shuping, Jiang Lifang, and He Tiantian talked with Third Grandma Qi.