Chapter 31
The Influence of a Bowl of Noodles
“Son, try it. Try these noodles!” The old lady’s voice quivered.
The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment before looking at his mother’s bowl of noodles.
“Try it!” The old lady’s eyes were red as she picked up the noodles in the bowl and placed them in the middle-aged man’s bowl.
Without hesitation, the middle-aged man picked it up and ate it.
After tasting the noodles on the tip of his tongue, the middle-aged man was also stunned.
Then, the middle-aged man looked at his untouched bowl and started eating.
As he ate, the middle-aged man’s eyes gradually turned red.
“Mother, it’s Father’s taste! It’s Father’s taste! Although the noodles are different, the taste is the taste of Father’s cooking in my memory!”
The old woman nodded, her eyes red.
“That’s right. It’s your father’s taste! I haven’t tasted this in years!”
The conversation between the mother and son stunned Li Shun and Zhao Xiu. Even Li Xiaoqing couldn’t help but look at her sister and the two customers in front of her.
Why did the noodles cooked by her sister taste the same as the noodles cooked by someone else?
Li Xiaoran was not surprised. The reason why she could make something with the same taste was because she empathized with their emotions.
For some reason, when she saw the old lady and the middle-aged man, she had a visualization.
She saw the scene of a man cooking noodles, including how he seasoned it.
Coincidentally, she had all these condiments here, so Li Xiaoran subconsciously followed the man’s instructions and seasoned it accordingly.
This was why the bowl of noodles had a familiar taste.
At this moment, the old lady and the middle-aged man were focused on eating their noodles.
With every bite, their faces lit up with happiness.
By the time they finished the bowl of noodles, the two of them had already calmed down. The sorrowful looks on their faces had also faded.
After turning around, the old lady waved at Li Xiaoran.
“Little girl, come here!”
Li Xiaoran wiped the water on her hands with a handkerchief and walked towards the old lady.
The old lady grabbed Li Xiaoran’s hand and sized her up. Then, she let go of Li Xiaoran’s hand and smiled.
“You’re a blessed little girl! And you brought this blessing to us! Thank you for finally making me understand something.”
With that, the old lady sat on the bamboo bench and looked at the beautiful scenery in the distance.
“In the past, I was always worried that the old man would be lonely. I always thought that at my old age, I have nothing left going for me. I should go see the old man earlier and accompany him! Unexpectedly, I experienced a familiar taste today. I was suddenly enlightened!”
With that, the old woman looked lovingly at her son, who was sitting on the other side.
“Son! I’ve thought it through! When we get to the city, bring me to that very capable doctor! The old man is still with us. I have to see more of this world for him and my little grandson so that I can face him!”
When the middle-aged man heard his mother’s words, he immediately cried tears of joy. He squatted on the ground excitedly and held his mother’s hand.
“Alright. As long as you’re willing to go for treatment, I’ll cure your body even if I have to sell everything. You still have to live for Father for many years and watch your grandson grow up and marry a granddaughter-in-law!”
“The old man used to say that he would like to see his children and grandchildren surrounding him! He left early and didn’t see it. I will see it for him so that when I die, I can tell him that I fulfilled his dream!” The old lady smiled.
“It’s up to you!” The middle-aged man nodded with tears in his eyes, then stood up.
Looking up at the happy Li family members, the middle-aged man gratefully cupped his hands and said, “Thank you! This bowl of noodles has enlightened my mother and made her willing to see a doctor for treatment! My name is Liu Zhongyi, and I run an escort agency in White Foothill City. If you need my help in the future, feel free to ask!”
“It’s just two bowls of noodles. It’s a good thing that the old lady wants to go for treatment! There’s no need to thank me! I just hope that the old lady can live happily in the future!” Li Xiaoran didn’t think that it was her credit and quickly explained.
Liu Zhongyi just smiled and said nothing more. He took the copper coin out of his pocket and paid for the two bowls of noodles.
After helping his mother with the ox cart, Liu Zhongyi sat on it and cupped his hands to bid farewell to Li Xiaoran’s family.
“Thank you so much! We’ll meet again in the future!”
“See you again!” the Li family replied in unison, then waved away the first batch of customers.
With them gone, everyone got busy again.
Li Xiaoqing walked forward and cleaned up the dishes that she had used before.
As soon as she picked up the bowl of noodles that Liu Zhongyi had eaten, a silver ingot appeared in front of Li Xiaoqing.
Li Xiaoqing quickly put down the bowl and chopsticks. As she picked up the silver, she looked anxiously in the direction of the ox cart and shouted, “Sister, look, there’s a tael of silver beside that customer’s bowl! He must have left it behind!”
Li Xiaoran looked over and then looked at the ox cart that had long disappeared. She thought for a moment and said, “I’m afraid he left it there himself! He hid it so well because he was afraid that we wouldn’t accept it. So, he left it there!”
When the others heard this, they were instantly confused.
“Then what should we do with the silver?” Li Xiaoqing didn’t know what to do.
Li Xiaoran thought for a moment and said, “Let Mother keep it! Didn’t he say that he runs an escort agency in White Foothill City? In the future, the people from the escort agency might pass through our pipeline. When you encounter them, just take care of them! Isn’t this how relationships work?”
Li Shun and Zhao Xiu were deep in thought when they heard their daughter’s words.
Li Xiaoqing also felt that her sister’s idea was not bad, so she took the silver and placed it in Zhao Xiu’s hand.
“Mother, you have to keep the silver. Don’t drop it!”
Zhao Xiu couldn’t help but laugh when she heard her youngest daughter’s words.
“Don’t worry, even if I lose myself, I won’t lose the silver! To be honest, this is the first time I’ve personally obtained so much silver!”
The whole family laughed at that.
“I’ll take it too and rub off on this silver to get some luck!” Li Shun teased.
“Here, take it. You can earn more money to support your family in the future!” Zhao Xiu immediately placed the money in Li Shun’s hand.
Seeing how happy her family was, Li Xiaoran also laughed.
This was a good start! And a good sign!