Chapter 41

Qing Mengzhu disliked the bitterness of lotus seeds, so she deliberately removed them, making it take longer to eat them.

Therefore, when Qing Mengzhu saw the old man's expression change, she assumed he was upset by the bitterness. "My lotus seeds are indeed very bitter, please have some tea to soothe them."

The old man didn't drink the tea, only saying, "A little bitterness is good; it means the quality is good. Mengzhu, your lotus seeds smell very fragrant. What variety are they?"

Qing Mengzhu used the same phrase. "I don't know the specific variety, it's an old variety left in the cupboard at home."

The old man said, "Old varieties are good; they taste good and are easy to use."

Qing Mengzhu looked up at the old man, somewhat surprised. "Use?"

The old man moved closer. "Mengzhu, do you sell your lotus pods? I'd like to buy some."

Qing Mengzhu didn't immediately give a definitive answer, "What would you do with it? You know me, I didn't plant many lotuses this year, and with the ones grown from lotus seeds, the lotus pods are few in number. We usually only eat them ourselves."

The old man said, "I'd like to get some lotus seed tea. I don't know if my third son is going through menopause, but he's been getting blisters one after another lately, and he's been very irritable. I'll take some lotus seed tea back with me to help him calm down."

Qing Mengzhu reminded, "If you're not feeling well, you should still go to the hospital. Lotus seed tea is only a health supplement."

The old man shook his head. "He went. The doctor at the hospital prescribed lotus seed tea for him, and also gave him a whole bunch of Chinese and Western medicine, but I don't think it's been effective. Maybe the medicine isn't good enough. I'll bring him some lotus seeds to try."

Qing Mengzhu held out her palm, showing the old man the lotus seeds she had just picked. "If you mean lotus pods, I don't have many here, but I collected some lotus seeds when I was eating lotus seeds before. They've all been dried. If you want them, I'll bring them to you later."

Qing Mengzhu doesn't eat lotus seeds. When he made lotus seed paste to feed shrimp, he also took out the lotus seeds, so his family has quite a lot of dried lotus seeds.

The old man nodded repeatedly, saying happily, "That's good, I'll go back with you to get it."

Qing Mengzhu: "Alright, I'll get you some more dried vegetables. I dried a lot of vegetables while you were traveling, like eggplant, cowpeas, tomatoes, and pumpkins. They taste pretty good."

The old man was even happier. "Now that you mention it, I really am craving this. Everything else is good, but none of the food here tastes as good as yours."

Chapter 41

After lunch, Qing Mengzhu packed two large bags of vegetables and a small handful of lotus seeds for Grandpa Qing Guozhi.

The old man was overjoyed and insisted on giving Qing Mengzhu two bottles of fine wine, telling him to keep them for himself.

When Qing Mengzhu said he didn't drink, the old man asked him to cook, emphasizing that his family's food was good and that using some good wine would make it taste even better. Qing Mengzhu couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing that the old man was in a hurry to go back, Qing Mengzhu called a car to take him.

As soon as the old man got in the car, he called his third son, "Third son, come over for dinner tonight? I just picked up some vegetables and lotus seed tea from Mengzhu's family in the village. Come over for dinner tonight, and take the lotus seed tea back with you."

Hearing his father's words, Qing Xun felt a warmth in his heart. "Dad, you even specially ordered lotus seed tea for me?"

"Yes," the old man complained, "Your lip blisters keep coming back, and I've been telling you to rest and eat something light, but you won't listen. So I had to bring you some lotus seeds."

Qing Xun: "We're busy acquiring companies, we don't have time to rest."

The old man said, "You can't earn all the money in the world. Besides, you're not the only chairman of the company. What's wrong with putting it off for a little while?"

Qing Xun: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; I can't let it slip away. It concerns the livelihoods of so many people, so it's not easy for me to give it up either."

The old man glared at him. "I can't argue with you. Alright, come over for dinner tonight. I'm in the car, that's all."

The old man got busy as soon as he got home, and the nanny couldn't dissuade him, so she had to help him out.

When Qing Xun arrived in the evening, the old man had prepared three dishes and a soup, which were all placed on the table.

As soon as Qing Xun entered, without even washing his hands, he strolled over to the table to look at the dishes—minced pork with winter melon, stir-fried bitter melon, shrimp with chives, and pork rib soup with wolfberry leaves. Well, all of them were dishes that could clear heat and reduce internal fire.

Qing Xun: "Dad, my face looks green after eating this."

The old man glanced back at him and said, "It's better than your eyes turning yellow. Hurry up and wash your hands and eat."

Qing Xun smiled, washed his hands, dried them, and sat down to eat. "Putting everything else aside, the food at Mengzhu's house is really delicious. I don't know how Qing Yan raised her child. Mengzhu grew up and actually went back to her hometown to farm, and she's doing it so well."

Qing Yan is Qing Mengzhu's father. Qing Xun a few years older than Qing Yan, but they are of the same generation and clan. They played together when they were young and can be considered playmates.

Hearing this, the old man sighed, "It's a pity about Qing Yan. Otherwise, how wonderful her life would be now?"

Afraid that the old man would become sad, Qing Xun quickly changed the subject. "Dad, the bitter melon you stir-fried today is really delicious. I didn't like bitter melon before, but now I crave it even if I don't eat it every few days."

The old man said, "That's right. How can a person's tastes remain unchanged throughout their life?"

After the father and son finished their meal, the old man specially brought out a pot of brewed lotus seed tea. "Mengzhu, this lotus seed tea is really good, you should try it."

Qing Xun: "Wow, I can smell the bitterness from far away."

The old man urged him, "I specially added a few extra lotus seeds. Hurry up, there's only lotus seeds in the tea, nothing else. Don't worry about not being able to sleep after drinking it."

Qing Xun picked up the cup, took a sip, and said, "Hmm, it's bitter as it is, but it smells strangely good."

The old man suddenly became smug. "That's why I said it's a good thing!"

Qing Xun finished the entire pot of lotus seed tea, and at the old man's insistence, he swallowed the lotus seeds along with the tea. Only then did he bid farewell to the old man and return home with a belly full of water.

Lotus seed tea is indeed a good thing, but Qing Xun wouldn't believe it if he were to drink it as medicine.

His recent outburst of anger is mainly due to work-related stress; drinking tea won't help.

That's what he thought, Qing Xun didn't say it aloud.

At this age, having a father who cares about you, even if he's worried about other things, warms your heart.

Unexpectedly, when Qing Xun woke up the next morning, he felt incredibly refreshed.

He didn't realize what had happened; he just felt incredibly light, as if the tightness in his chest had disappeared. Perhaps because he had slept so well, he felt refreshed.

Qing Xun came out after washing up, his wife was already sitting up on the bed, looking at him. "Honey, you seem different today?"

"What's different?" Qing Xun took out clothes from the dressing room. "It's the same as before."

"Your blisters seem to have gone down quite a bit?" His wife nodded slightly and beckoned to him, "Come here, let me see. I think the blisters are much smaller."

Qing Xun then realized that opening his mouth didn't hurt at all today.

He touched the corner of his mouth and found that the skin there was much smoother than before, unlike the bumpy texture, and it didn't hurt as much when he opened his mouth.

"It really is." Qing Xun didn't even bother to change his clothes, and hurriedly went to the mirror, leaning close to examine himself carefully. "You're done so quickly."

His wife came over too. "What did Dad give you to eat when you came home yesterday? It worked so well!"

Qing Xun: "He specially asked someone for lotus seed tea to brew for me. I also brought back some leftover lotus seed tea yesterday, so I'll brew some more later."

His wife said, "It seems the things in your village are quite useful."

"It's not that the village produce is good, it's that my nephew's vegetables are excellent," Qing Xun said cheerfully. "Didn't you say the vegetables my dad brought back were delicious? Lianxin is also from my nephew; his produce is always good."

"Okay, I'll buy more next time and support your business."

"Go ahead and buy it, but I doubt they're short of buyers. Good stuff is always appreciated." Qing Xun hummed a song. "Later, have Sister Zhao pack some tonic gift boxes or something, I'll take them to my dad's and have him bring one back for someone."

Qing Xun's condition improved significantly, and within two days, Qing Mengzhu received a gift box from his family.