The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Sow a Good Cause, Reap a Good Fruit

Granny Cai’s memory was sharper. She immediately took two steps forward and asked, ”Pardon me, are you Mrs. Xu? A good friend of Mrs. Chen Shuhua?”

The moment she heard Granny Cai mention the name ”Chen Shuhua,” Old Madam Xu’s eyes lit up with surprise. ”Yes... Yes, I’ve met you before. Shuhua often praised you, saying her family had a charming and well-spoken young cook with wonderful skills.”

”Once, you made my favorite dish, shrimp pockets, and I complimented your skill. You were just a young girl of about ten back then. To think that we’d both be old by the time we met again.”

Granny Cai nodded repeatedly. She would shell the large prawns, leaving the tails on, stuff them with a sauce, coat them in a secret batter, wrap them in ”golden silk and silver thread,” and then deep-fry them.

Other people’s shrimp pockets had to be eaten with a dipping sauce, but she was the only one who could fry the sauce together with the shrimp. The secret was in the batter. If it was coated properly, the sauce wouldn’t leak out in the hot oil. If it wasn’t, the dish would turn bitter.

Mrs. Xu had eaten quite a few at the time, and they were delicious.

”Yes, yes, and I must thank you for the five silver coins you tipped me back then, Mrs. Xu.” Granny Cai brought it up herself, her face full of gratitude.

To be honest, a lady of good breeding wasn’t the type to beat or curse at her servants.

Before the Liberation, when she cooked for Mrs. Chen, the Mrs. Xu she met was always very cultured and often gave tips.

Old Madam Xu smiled. Seeing the other woman’s dignified and poised demeanor, she felt comfortable enough to continue. ”Your skill was worth it.”

After returning this time, Old Madam Xu could clearly feel that the spirit of the Hua Country people was different.

The concept of equality was very strong among everyone. They had a greater sense of ownership over their country than people abroad who were always shouting about democracy and freedom.

Han Xiaorui and Liang Xiaoyu were also surprised that Granny Cai actually knew Old Madam Xu.

Granny Cai was getting engrossed in the conversation. ”Mrs. Xu, are you still in contact with Mrs. Chen?”

Old Madam Xu replied, ”I am, but her family is in Germany, not the United States. We met in the United States last year, though. She said her son was preparing to come back and invest.”

”But given what happened back then... she was devastated by the loss of her youngest son and holds a lot of resentment toward the country. She even said she would never come back in her lifetime. I expect we’ll see each other less in the future.”

Granny Cai became extremely agitated upon hearing this. ”Then you must tell her to come back quickly! Her son didn’t die back then. I rescued him.”

”What?” Old Madam Xu and Mr. Xu were both stunned. ”Is... is that true?”

Granny Cai nodded vigorously. ”It’s true, of course it’s true. Back then, Mrs. Chen was jostled and went into premature labor, giving birth in the hospital. I was working as a kitchen helper at the hospital, delivering meals to patients.”

”I happened to hear that Mrs. Chen had given birth, but the baby wasn’t breathing. Mr. Chen had already arranged for a boat and there was no time for anything else. Mrs. Chen tearfully begged me to handle the baby’s burial.”

”I carried the swaddled baby back to my village overnight to find a nice place to bury him. But halfway there, the baby suddenly started crying. He was alive! I rushed to the docks, but the ship had already departed. At that time, having overseas connections was troublesome, so I didn’t dare make a scene.”

”So I took the baby to the hospital and said I’d found him on the side of the road. After the doctors treated him, the baby survived. I didn’t dare say a word about his parentage. I thought it might be better for him to have the status of an orphan.”

”He was in the hospital for half a month before being sent to an orphanage. My father and I pulled some strings to get me transferred to work as a cook at the orphanage, and I looked after that boy until he was twelve, when I retired. His surname is Chen. I suggested it to the director, and I was the only one who knew it was his real family name. He did well in school, and I always encouraged him to study hard. Even after I retired, I still visited him often.”

Liang Xiaoyu was dumbfounded. She quickly asked, ”Mom, is that person Chen Wenxuan?”

The young man was very handsome, and he would always come over to visit during the holidays.

”Yes, that’s him,” Granny Cai replied, extremely excited. ”He’s so successful now. He got into Fudan University right here in our city!”

”That boy, Wenxuan, is so handsome. He looks like both Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen. As soon as you see him, you’ll know for sure he’s a child of the Chen family.”

Old Madam Xu couldn’t be bothered to eat now. She quickly grasped Granny Cai’s hand. ”My dear, my good friend has never stopped thinking about the child she lost. Every time she mentions him, she cries.”

”I’ve invited her back to the country several times, but she doesn’t dare to come. She can’t bear to face the memory of that child. My dear, please, could you take me to find him?”

Granny Cai glanced at the table full of food. It was dinnertime, after all. They should certainly eat before going anywhere.

Han Xiaorui tried to persuade her, ”Grandma, there’s no rush. Let’s finish our meal, and then we can all go to the university together.”

Mr. Xu also nodded, worried his wife was getting too agitated.

”Your heart isn’t strong to begin with, don’t get so worked up! This is a wonderful thing. Quick, take a few deep breaths and calm down.”

Ye Feng nodded. ”I’ll bring Xiao Rui’s camera later. I can take a few pictures of the young man.”

”We can send the photos and a letter by international air express!”

Hearing her husband and grandson’s words, Old Madam Xu nodded. ”There’s an 18-year age gap between Shuhua and me, but we’re truly the dearest of friends, despite our age difference.”

”Her pregnancy back then was quite unexpected. She wasn’t young, so it was already difficult. She was devastated when she lost the baby. Because she lost her child, even though she’s so much younger than me, she has just as many white hairs.”

Xu Yingying advised, ”Mom, this is a wonderful thing, you mustn’t cry! We should be celebrating that Aunt Chen has found her biological son.”

”Later, you should toast Auntie Cai on Aunt Chen’s behalf. If it weren’t for a kind person like Auntie Cai, that child wouldn’t have survived.”

Old Madam Xu nodded repeatedly and squeezed Granny Cai’s hand again. ”My dear, I really can’t thank you enough!”

Granny Cai smiled humbly. ”They say that good deeds are rewarded with good results! Back when I was still working for the Chen family, my father fell gravely ill.”

”He could only be treated at a hospital run by foreigners, and it cost 100 silver coins. My family was so poor, we had no money for the treatment.”

”I was crying by myself in the Chen family’s garden when Mrs. Chen saw me during her walk. She asked me what was wrong, and then she not only paid the 100 silver coins for the medical fees but also gave me another 10 silver coins to buy my father nutritious food to help him recover.”

”If it weren’t for Mrs. Chen’s kindness, my father would have died long ago! How could he possibly still be alive today? We have never forgotten the Chen family’s kindness!”

”At the time, my father found out the baby was Mrs. Chen’s, but we couldn’t contact her. We wanted to raise him ourselves, but we didn’t have any children of our own. Even with the money Mrs. Chen had left, we couldn’t buy milk powder without the ration tickets, and we had no fine grains either.”

”In an orphanage, on the other hand, it was full of children, and they would have a corresponding supply of milk powder based on the children’s ages. That’s why my father figured out a way to get me a job as a cook in the orphanage.”

”With the country’s help, we managed to raise the child! But I never told Wenxuan about his background; I was afraid he’d let it slip when he was little. I was planning to tell him the truth after he graduated from university and give him the money Mrs. Chen left back then. But by sheer coincidence, I ran into you, Mrs. Xu.”

Old Madam Xu gripped Granny Cai’s hand tightly, so moved that her nose tingled. ”My dear, you and your family are such wonderfully thoughtful people!”