Chapter 70

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Li Huairou’s father, Li Deshan, ran a small shop near the most famous university in England—Cambridge University. It sold Chinese food. In fact, this was also fate. At first, Li Deshan had opened a store in Beiping. Finally, after one year, a customer came to his store. He was a regular customer in the past, but he just hadn’t come for a long time.

During their chat, Li Deshan found out that the guest had gone to study abroad in England. That guest was not used to the food in England, and he missed the taste of his hometown.

The two chatted for a long time, and before leaving, the guest sighed; it would be great if he could also have the taste of his hometown in England.

Li Deshan was moved and then chased after him, saying to the guest, “What would you think if I opened a Chinese restaurant in England?”

Then, Li Deshan dragged his family and went with the guest to England.

With the help of this guest, this Chinese restaurant opened near Cambridge University.

In the beginning, there was no appearance of a shop—just a few tables and benches. Later, all the Chinese people who studied in Cambridge knew about this Chinese restaurant. Gradually, more people came, and business increased.

In the end, Li Deshan bought a shop nearby, invited people, and put up a signboard with a local flavor.

It’s just that the person who’d led Li Deshan to England had long since returned to his country.

On this day, early in the morning, Li Deshan stood at the door, looking forward to it.

Until he saw two girls gradually approaching.

“Dad!” From far away, Li Huairou waved excitedly.

Li Deshan smiled and nodded a little. Yes, she’s not thin, and she seems to have gained some weight. His gaze fell on the girl next to her, and his eyes suddenly reddened.

“You’re Xianglan, right? I saw you once when you were three years old, and you’ve grown so big in a blink of an eye!” As soon as Li Deshan opened his mouth, Mei Xianglan’s eyes turned red.

“Uncle!”

“Hey, don’t cry, don’t cry. Come with your uncle in the future and don’t worry!” Li Deshan took his niece into his arms, feeling extremely sad because there was no one in her direct family, and so she’d been bullied like this. If only he’d been there, or his sister and brother-in-law had been there. How could it have gotten into such a mess!

“Don’t cry. Go in quickly. I’m hungry—is there anything to eat?” Li Huairou said with a smile.

“Look at me, I’ve completely forgotten. Xianglan, are you hungry? Uncle will cook a bowl of noodles for you. How about trying your uncle’s craftsmanship?” Li Deshan said with a smile.

Li Huairou took Mei Xianglan’s hand and went in, putting her luggage behind her. “The store isn’t big. There’s a restaurant in the front and two bedrooms in the back, one for my dad and one for me. I can only trouble you to live with me. Hey, the bed has been changed to a bunk, which is more convenient,” Li Huairou said with a smile.

“No complaints here!” Mei Xianglan’s eyes were shining brightly. Although this room was much smaller than the one in the Su family from before, it somehow made Mei Xianglan feel at ease.

“The noodles are ready—come out and eat!” Li Deshan said with a smile.

Li Huairou pulled Mei Xianglan out.

“Try your uncle’s craftsmanship!” Li Deshan said.

During the conversation, two Chinese people came in. “Smells so good! Boss must be hiding something good!”

“It’s just a simple chicken noodle soup, but it’s our old family recipe. My niece is here today, so I made a bowl of chicken noodle soup to keep her warm.” Li Deshan quickly greeted them.

“Give us two bowls and keep us warm too.”

“Alright, it’ll be ready soon!” Li Deshan hurriedly went to work and did not forget to signal Mei Xianglan to eat while it was hot.

Li Huairou was already eating with her head down.

Mei Xianglan also hurriedly lowered her head to eat the noodles. After only one bite, she wanted to cry. This was the taste of her mother’s cooking from her memories. She’d thought that she would never taste it again in this lifetime. Unexpectedly, in this foreign country, she’d gotten to taste it again.

“What’s wrong? Is it too hot? Blow on it before you eat it!” Li Huairou glanced at her and gave her a pickle. “This is also my dad’s work. It’s delicious with noodles and porridge. You can try it.”

Mei Xianglan nodded. “Well, I see.”

Maybe it was because Li Huairou and Mei Xianglan were eating with so much relish, but diners were constantly attracted over, and all of them wanted the same dish that the two girls were having.

Seventy to eighty bowls of noodles were sold in the morning.

Li Huairou pondered this—so were eating and broadcasting popular in this time? It seemed that this was the way out.

Li Deshan urged Li Huairou to take Mei Xianglan to rest or go around.

But Mei Xianglan was too embarrassed to rest. She didn’t rest, and naturally, Li Huairou felt bad being so lazy, so she had to come out and help.

Mei Xianglan memorized the menu and collected money along the way, and Li Huairou helped to serve the dishes. Occasionally, when Li Deshan was too busy, she also rolled up her sleeves and helped with the cooking. Yes, although the original owner had lived near Cambridge University, she still couldn’t change the fact that she was a chronic procrastinator, but her cooking skills were not bad.

When the busiest period passed, Li Deshan sat down and rested, while Mei Xianglan was lost in thought.

“It was your first day coming here today, and you haven’t had a good rest. Instead, I asked you to help,” Li Deshan said with a smile, lighting a cigarette.

“Uncle, I think the location and the business here is very good. Have you considered expanding the business? If it’s because of money, I have it here,” Mei Xianglan asked.

Li Deshan was stunned for a while, then he smiled. “It’s not because of money. I’m getting older, and Huairou is lazy. Besides, if you expand the store, there will be insufficient manpower. The cost will increase, and the price will inevitably increase as well. As for my shop, most of the people who come are Chinese, and all are fellow townsmen. How embarrassing would that be!”

Mei Xianglan didn’t expect this to be the reason, and she smiled. “Uncle is right.”

“There’s nothing to do this afternoon. If you don’t want to rest, let your cousin take you to walk around. There’s Cambridge University next door; you can go and have a look. If you’re interested, you can also go and listen,” Li Deshan said with a smile.

Mei Xianglan’s eyes lit up. “Is it alright?” Cambridge University? The school where Su Zhe had studied seemed to be Cambridge University!

“Of course you can. Your sister used to go to attend as a visitor quite often, but she has no brain and can’t listen,” Li Deshan said.

“No way. Huairou is very smart!” Mei Xianglan said with a smile.

Li Huairou was used to her father’s complaints. “Let’s go, cousin. Change your clothes, and I’ll take you to visit Cambridge.” Li Huairou could already see her thoughts from Mei Xianglan’s expression, but was okay, After all, Mei Xianglan had accepted the idea of the woman’s three obediences and four virtues since she was a child, and it was normal for her to have unrealistic fantasies about Su Zhe as husband.

It was okay. Time could change everything.

Li Huairou took Mei Xianglan to change her clothes, and then they walked to the nearby school.

For Mei Xianglan, it was like entering a new world. She was full of curiosity about everything, looked at everything curiously, and asked curiously.

Li Huairou patiently explained everything to her.

Then they met a gray-haired lady who kindly greeted and hugged Li Huairou, gave her a cheek-kiss, and then asked who the young lady next to her was?

Li Huairou replied that this was her cousin, who had just bravely ended a marriage bound by feudalism. She was smart and curious about western culture.

After listening to Li Huairou’s words, the lady looked at Mei Xianglan with sympathy. Then she invited Li Huairou and the others to her dormitory, and she handed Mei Xianglan a book.

Mei Xianglan could recognize the words, and the cover of the book read Introduction to English.

“Mrs. White is a very kind person. Her husband was also a professor at Cambridge University, but he died a few years ago. They had no children, and Mrs. White lived alone. A few years ago, Mrs. White fell ill, and I discovered and sent her to the hospital. Since then, Mrs. White often orders food from our restaurant, and I deliver it to her. So, we have a good relationship. Mrs. White was the one who taught me English; she said that she’d like to teach you English too.” Li Huairou said. This was her true purpose.

To let Mei Xianglan slowly get in touch with new knowledge and a new world, slowly stripping Su Zhe from her world.

“Me? I can’t!” Mei Xianglan immediately waved her hands nervously. Learn English? How could she do it?

“It’s okay, everyone learns from square one until they can do it. My dad is so old, but now he’s learned a few words of English! It’s not difficult!” Li Huairou said with a smile.

Mei Xianglan had originally wanted to refuse, but along the way, she’d met many people, including foreigners with yellow hair and white skin, as well as Chinese people with black hair and yellow skin like her, men, and also women. It turned out that girls could also go to school here?

“Huairou, do you really think I can learn?” Mei Xianglan asked hesitantly.

Li Huairou nodded affirmatively. “Of course! You can definitely do it! ”

Mei Xianglan’s hand, which was holding the book, gradually tightened. “Alright! I shall learn!”

Li Huairou smiled with satisfaction.

From then on, Mei Xianglan would take the book with her wherever she went, learning the alphabet and practicing pronunciation, even practicing her pronunciation silently between the bills in restaurants.

Chinese people who came to eat at the restaurant learned about Mei Xianglan. They were very sympathetic to her experience, and they admired her hard work very much, often giving her pointers.

Nowadays, Mei Xianglan had a very fulfilling life; even when she slept at night, she’d dream about the ABCs, to say nothing of her crying in the middle of the night. She’d almost forgotten what Su Zhe looked like.

Yes, in the days before she left Qingxi, Mei Xianglan would cry secretly every night. She thought Li Huairou didn’t know, but Li Huairou had heard it—she just pretended not to know.

It took two months for Mei Xianglan to finally finish the introductory English book, successfully pass Mrs. White’s assessment, receive the next book—Daily English Conversations—and start a new period of learning.

Therefore, when Su Zhe saw Mei Xianglan’s talking to people in stumbling English on the Cambridge campus, he couldn’t believe it. He thought he was seeing the wrong person, and it wasn’t until he’d rubbed his eyes again and again that he confirmed that it was really Mei Xianglan.

“Qingwen, the teacher’s looking for you again. What are you looking at? Hey, do you know Miss Mei?” Su Zhe’s friend, Qin Hao, asked as he came over.

“Miss Mei?” Su Zhe asked.

“Yeah, Miss Mei really is an admirable person. She bravely broke through the shackles of feudal marriage, and instead of giving up on herself, she’s conscientious and studious. She has the courage to break through herself! She has a charm that traditional Chinese women do not have!” Qin Hao said eloquently.

Su Zhe almost wondered—was the Mei Xianglan in front of him the same Mei Xianglan he knew?

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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

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