Siheyuan: Cooking journey

"I haven't thought about anything else, like asking you to marry me, buy me a house, or support me."

"I just want to hug you, is that not even possible?" She said in a coquettish tone.

He Yuzhu sighed helplessly, letting her hold him, and continued to read the newspaper. He knew that his hearing was very good, and he could hear any movement in the bedroom. For the time being, he didn't have to worry about Zhou Xiaobai suddenly rushing in and seeing them. He just had to think about how to explain to her why Lin Qingqing was in the kitchen.

The kitchen was silent except for the occasional sound of bubbles boiling in the casserole, accompanied by an increasingly strong smell of medicine.

Seeing that he didn't object or refuse, Lin Qingqing felt very happy and hugged him tightly. She still felt a little regretful that she should have gone back to the room to change into nice clothes before coming to see him.

"So what kind of medicine are you making?"

The smell was too strong. Although I didn't like it, I was still curious. His voice was very soft and gentle, "Could it be a tonic?"

Thinking back on the time they had spent together over the past few days, Lin Qingqing was a little worried that she and Zhou Xiaobai needed to replenish their bodies.

A perfect tonic?

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the other party had misunderstood what he meant. His face suddenly became unhappy, and he raised his eyebrows and said coldly: "No..."

"Isn't it?"

Lin Qingqing said slowly, her tone was gentle and full of temptation, and the unique fragrance emanating from her body covered the smell of medicinal herbs. "If not, what are you doing..."

When I woke up, I was almost late.

The smell of medicine lingered in the kitchen for a long time.

It's obvious that what's being cooked is not some tonic.

When Lin Qingqing arrived at school with weak legs, both classes had already begun.

She first asked for two days off for Zhou Xiaobai.

I also took two days off.

After taking leave,

Lin Qingqing did not go home, but took a taxi and went back directly.

She knew that after returning home, she could do nothing but watch He Yuzhu and Zhou Xiaobai show their affection with a sad heart.

If you can't see it, you will feel better and won't suffer.

If you want to go back, you have to wait until night.

She planned to dress up nicely to attract the man's attention.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Zhou Xiaobai also needed to go to sleep, and then there would be an opportunity to take action.

Lin Qingqing was thinking in her mind.

The taxi stopped at the corner of the street. After getting off the taxi, Lin Qingqing thought about her plan and couldn't help blushing and her heartbeat. It took her a while to calm down and she slowly walked to an old building.

In Hong Kong, such tenement buildings are very common and many people live here. They are usually four stories high. The first floor is a shop and the upper floors are divided into small rooms with very narrow corridors.

Lin Qingqing has lived here since she was a child.

She had already gotten used to this kind of environment, and even though the corridor was dark and narrow, she did not find it inconvenient, and quickly reached the second floor.

There are more than a dozen families living here, one of which is the home where she grew up.

Although it is called home, this house is actually rented.

The entire tenement building is usually divided into multiple rooms for rent. This investment has a high return rate, so few people will sell the entire building. Ordinary people cannot afford it, and wealthy people will not consider this investment method.

Unless they hear that there are demolition plans nearby, smart investors will rush to buy these old buildings to earn generous compensation.

Because it is close to the street, the second floor is noisy, so the rent is relatively cheap.

Even so, with the increase in foreign population in Hong Kong and the shortage of housing, rents are still rising year by year.

To solve this problem, the local government developed a lot of public housing.

Although those coffin-like buildings are depressing and noisy to live in, they are much better than tenement buildings.

According to government policy, all Hong Kong residents can apply for admission and obtain permanent residency by paying very low rent.

But the demand for housing in Hong Kong is so great that many people have been waiting in line for several years but still failed to apply. Before that, her biggest wish was to get a better living environment for her mother.

Now, things have changed.

Looking at the old corridor,

Lin Qingqing became more resolute in her decision. She pushed the door open and was immediately greeted by a middle-aged woman.

"Qingqing, why are you back? Have you dealt with the matter?"

The woman looked somewhat similar to Lin Qingqing, but her face was pale and she looked particularly weak.

This small room is only about 30 to 40 square meters, but it has a small kitchen, a bathroom and two rooms. The living room is very small and you can see at a glance that it is full of scattered objects. Because of the rapid economic development of Hong Kong Island, many handicrafts are exported, and many citizens make a living from this.

Lin Qingqing glanced at the parts and frowned slightly.

"Mom, didn't I tell you that you just came back from the hospital and should have a good rest? Why are you still doing these things?"

"Idleness is also idleness."

After hearing what her daughter said, Mother Lin responded in a low voice, a little embarrassed: "The doctor also said that proper exercise is good for the body."

Mother Lin has a gentle personality, which is in sharp contrast to Lin Qingqing's dominance.

"That's true, but is what you are doing appropriate?"

Lin Qingqing's tone was a little cold.

Mother Lin was even more embarrassed, but she didn't care about her daughter's attitude, because she knew that her daughter was doing it for her own good. I remember that when she was young, Lin Qingqing was still a very well-behaved child, but in order not to be bullied, she gradually became tough in the process of struggling to survive at the bottom.

"Qingqing, have you had breakfast? Mommy will go make you something to eat."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Mother Lin tried to change the subject and expressed concern.

“I’ve already eaten…”

Lin Qingqing's tone softened a little. "Mom, I'm not against you doing some manual work, but you need to rest now and it's not suitable for you to do this. I mentioned to you before that we found a new house and we're going to move soon. Why are you still busy with these?"

Mother Lin lowered her head, feeling mixed emotions.

In fact, she knew very well how high the medical expenses were, and this amount of money was simply not something their family could afford. She originally thought that even if she was sick, she would just have to endure it, and she didn't want her daughter who was studying away to know and make her worry about it.

What I didn’t expect was that my daughter not only returned home, but also took out such a large sum of money.

He said he earned it while studying abroad.

Decades of experience living at the bottom of society told her that it was impossible to believe such a statement.

How she hoped that her daughter could really make money by her own ability, and make it cleanly and legitimately. But she also knew very well that if that were the case, Lin Qingqing would definitely improve the family situation as soon as possible and would not keep such a large sum of money.

So she had a rough idea of ​​where the money came from.

I feel sad and afraid that I guessed wrong. I hope it could be some other reason, but I am not sure for the time being.

She really wanted to ask her daughter the truth about what happened, but she was afraid to hear the answer.

If this is true, it would be a devastating blow, not only harming herself but also her only child.

Such thoughts are like a thorn, which suffocates you every time it is touched.

After being discharged from the hospital, Lin Qingqing stayed in the country and did not return to the United States. Instead, she was often busy going out.

In addition, he mentioned that he had found a new residence and planned to move, which deepened Mother Lin's suspicion.

Otherwise, what are you doing going out every day?

Why don't you go back to study?

With such high medical expenses, where would we get the money to find a new house?

Every problem leaves a bloody scar in my heart.

When she mentioned this again, Mother Lin was shaking all over and asked in a voice that was almost about to cry: "Qingqing, tell me the truth, where did you get the money for the treatment?"

Looking at her mother's expression, Lin Qingqing could only give the same reason again.

"Didn't I say this a long time ago? I studied economics abroad. Stock trading is as popular there as it is in Hong Kong. I made all this money from stock trading."

"Although mom is not well educated, she is not a three-year-old child."

Mother Lin's eyes were filled with sadness and helplessness. She trembled and said, "Tell me, did you go to see Boss Zhu?"

When the words "Boss Zhu" were mentioned, Lin Qingqing hesitated for a moment, and quickly pretended to be puzzled: "Mom, what are you talking about? Who is Boss Zhu? Why would you go to see him?"

"If you didn't look for him, how did you get so much money?"

All these speculations cannot be resolved in a few words.

Seeing her mother's tears welling up in her eyes and thinking that her daughter's life might be ruined because of this, Mother Lin's heart was filled with guilt and pain.

Seeing her like this.

Lin Qingqing was very conflicted.

That Boss Zhu used to pursue my mother when he was young.

But my mother didn't like him at all.

Who would have thought that after so many years, Boss Zhu actually became rich.

Many years later, they met again unexpectedly. At this time, Mom was no longer as attractive as before because of the difficult life after Dad's death.

Unexpectedly, because of some similarities with her mother when she was young, she attracted the attention of Boss Zhu.

Boss Zhu has hinted at it many times, sent many expensive gifts, and even directly expressed his desire to make up for the regrets of his youth and is willing to spend a lot of money for it.

Faced with all this, Lin Qingqing refused without hesitation. Although life was difficult, she was very determined and believed that she could get everything she wanted through hard work.

Later, with her excellent grades, she went to study abroad and had long forgotten about Boss Zhu.

But when my mother was sick,

The first person I thought of was Boss Zhu.

Regarding my mother's thoughts,

Lin Qingqing could understand.

My mother is not stupid, so how could she not see what Boss Zhu is thinking?

If it weren't for He Yuzhu, going to Boss Zhu and becoming his plaything might be the only option.

But now everything is different.

Recall that time and think about what happened recently.

Lin Qingqing's eyes were soft. She gently wiped away her mother's tears and deliberately said in a disappointed tone: "Mom, why do you think so? Do you think I am that kind of person?"

"How can I possibly go find that Boss Zhu!"

"Since you want to know where the money comes from, I'll tell you."

"I admit that I didn't want you to worry too much, so I lied before."

"I didn't earn this money myself. I borrowed it from my boyfriend..."