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nQiao Qiang heaved a sigh of relief. Xia Zhe agreeing to marry his granddaughter would fulfill one of his wishes. The Xia family was of good moral standing and would not go back on their words.

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nQiao Mei nodded and said, “Grandfather, please sit here for a while. I’ll go cook now. We’ll be able to eat soon!”

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nHesitation flashed across Qiao Qiang’s eyes. At this point in time, there was not much food left at home. Usually they would have to reduce their food intake during this time of the month. He had to eat less to ensure that there was enough to last his granddaughter until next month.

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nAs if Qiao Mei can cook? Isn’t it just wasting food?

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nHe was unable to say these words out loud though. After all, this was the first time Qiao Mei volunteered to do the cooking.

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n“Okay, you go then.” Qiao Qiang sighed and forced the words out. “I’m not too hungry yet. You can just make some for yourself.”

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n“Okay!” Qiao Mei immediately nodded and went to the kitchen to cook.

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nXia Zhe was standing outside the door when he heard this and his eyes flashed with understanding.

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nSo that is how it is…

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nHe was halfway through his journey when he felt that something was wrong. When he touched his neck, he realized that the pendant he had been wearing since young was gone. Hence, he immediately came back to look for it.

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nThe pendant was a family heirloom passed through the generations, so it was a very important thing.

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nWhen he came back and got to the door, he heard someone from the Qiao family talking so he stopped to listen.

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nHe did not expect to hear the whole story. So this was the truth of the matter.

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nGrandpa Qiao’s health was failing and he might pass away very soon, leaving Qiao Mei alone in the world and being targeted by greedy relatives. This was why he came up with this awful plan!

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nIn the end, Qiao Mei actually changed her mind and did not want to drag him down…

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nIt seems that this woman still has some kindness in her.

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nBy now, most of the indignation and resentment in Xia Zhe’s heart had dissipated.

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nNever mind, let her keep this pendant!

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nBack when his grandmother gave him the pendant, she said that it was for her future granddaughter-in-law. In any case, he would have to give it over sooner or later, so he would not take it back now.

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nWith this thought, Xia Zhe turned around and left immediately.

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nQiao Mei walked out of her grandfather’s room and went to the kitchen located in the middle. The big rice jar came into sight once she pushed the door open. She walked up and looked inside, only to find that there was not much rice left.

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nThe remaining rice in the jar was only half a palm deep. Beside the rice jar, there were two heads of shriveled white cabbages and a single carrot with mud on it.

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nThis was all the food left in the kitchen.

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nQiao Mei recalled her past memories. Most of her memories were about eating, and on the 15th day of every month, she would feast most happily. At that time, there would always be an abundance of meat and vegetables.

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nThe middle of every month was when Qiao Qiang received his retirement salary and on that day, he would go to the city to buy food and vegetables.

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nActually, both of them would receive food distributed by the village as well as get a share of vegetables. However, given Qiao Mei’s appetite, what they received was far from enough for her to eat.

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nIt was also because of Qiao Qiang’s indulgence towards his granddaughter that he would go to the city every month to spend money on vegetables and meat.

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nThere were still a few days to go until the 15th of the month and there was already insufficient food and vegetables at home. As usual, Qiao Qiang had been going hungry for the past few days so that the original owner of the body had enough to eat.

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nQiao Mei squatted down to start the fire and sighed. “Grandfather is really too nice!”

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nShe actually ran into such a good grandfather!

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nLighting a fire, washing the pot, washing the rice, washing the vegetables. Qiao Mei was good at all these chores. After all, she used to live alone.

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nShe had always been very interested in the countryside. Every weekend, she would go camping in the wilderness, so she was quite good at lighting fires and cooking over it.

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nQiao Qiang was a little worried. He slowly made his way out with his walking stick and saw his granddaughter busying herself in front of him. She actually seemed to be doing well, she just went about her work quietly without any complaints.

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nHe held back his emotions and quickly wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes.

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nHis Mei Mei had finally grown up and become sensible!

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nIn a rural kitchen, there were usually two stoves. One was used for cooking while the other was used for preparing animal feed.

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nIn the countryside, almost every household would raise livestock and poultry like pigs, chickens, ducks, and so on. It was only this year that they did not have any due to Qiao Qiang’s poor health.

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nQiao Mei washed the two pots until they were spotlessly clean, not caring what the pots were previously used for. She took one pot and cooked porridge with it over a small fire. The other pot was used to make the other dishes.

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nFirst, she cut the carrot and washed the cabbages clean. Then, she fried the carrot in oil, stewed the cabbages and put in a few slices of pork belly.. Instantly, a delicious aroma filled the air.

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