Chapter 27: Collecting Old Portraits

“Monk? Aren’t monks supposed to eat vegetarian food? How could they be associated with these white cloud pig’s trotters?” Jiang Chengxiao asked with great interest.

Song Xilan replied, “Legend has it that there was a monk who, driven by his craving for meat, secretly managed to get a pig’s trotter and cooked it up on the mountain. Just as he was about to eat it, someone came looking for him. In a panic, the monk threw the trotter into the stream. It got stuck on a rock in the water, and after being washed by the cold mountain spring water for a whole day and night, it didn’t spoil at all. Instead, it became snow-white and smooth, with a crunchy texture, making it taste very unique.”

“Then what about the roast duck? What’s the story behind that?” Jiang Chengxiao asked.

“As for the roast goose, it’s actually related to the northern roast duck. Towards the end of the Southern Song Dynasty…”

Song Xilan’s face lit up as she spoke. She had loved food since she was young, and whenever she went to the library, she would look for books on food legends and anecdotes. Whenever she talked about these topics, she became animated, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Jiang Chengxiao smiled, watching her speak passionately. Occasionally, he would chime in with a few words to encourage her to continue.

He really liked this version of Song Xilan. Right now, she was glowing.

After a while, Song Xilan suddenly realized what her mother had said about her—whenever she started talking about things she loved, she tended to get carried away without noticing whether others were getting bored.

“Sorry, I’ve said too much. You must be getting impatient with me, right?” she said apologetically.

Jiang Chengxiao shook his head. “Not at all. I think it’s really interesting. Listening to you is more valuable than reading ten years’ worth of books.”

Song Xilan’s eyes brightened again. “You really like it? The city library has a few books on these topics, very interesting. I can tell you the titles, and if you’re interested, you can borrow them and have a look.”

Jiang Chengxiao smiled wryly. “I’m the kind of person who gets sleepy the moment I open a book. I think it’s more interesting to listen to you talk. You should tell me more in the future.”

Song Xilan laughed when she heard that. Coincidentally, she wasn’t too fond of reading and studying either. Apart from food-related books, any serious study books would make her feel sleepy the moment she opened them.

In the past, she thought she liked intellectuals with a scholarly air. After she started liking Yang Jingyu, she heard that he liked cultured ladies who could compose poems and verses, so she specifically bought a variety of poetry collections. Before meeting him, she tried hard to force herself to memorize them.

She never knew how difficult that was.

Now, hearing Jiang Chengxiao say that he didn’t like reading books either, she felt a sense of relief. With him, she didn’t have to pretend to be a lady or act cultured. She didn’t have to eat a dumpling in three bites or pretend that she loved reading and studying.

The most important thing was that he didn’t look down on her for being a foodie and spending money recklessly.

The meal ended happily, and Song Xilan didn’t try to pay the bill. However, while she was going to the bathroom, she ran to the dessert counter and bought two boxes of water chestnut cakes to take away.

One box was for Jiang Chengxiao as a thank-you for treating her to the meal. “Thank you for today’s meal. Their water chestnut cakes are very special. Take one back and try it. I got one for my parents too.”

The other box was for her parents, as it was a family tradition. Whenever anyone went out to eat something delicious, they would bring back a little treat to share with everyone else at home.

Jiang Chengxiao smiled and accepted the box, then offered to give Song Xilan a ride home. She didn’t refuse.

However, Jiang Chengxiao was very considerate and stopped the car at the intersection not far from the food factory dormitory.

“Then… I’ll go back now. Goodbye,” Song Xilan murmured, lowering her head and walking towards the entrance.

“Wait a moment,” Jiang Chengxiao suddenly took two steps forward and softly said, “I can recognize you.”

Song Xilan froze for a moment. “What?”

“You mentioned before about having a different person inside. I can recognize it. No matter what you become, I won’t mistake you.”

Song Xilan’s heart raced. “Oh, okay. I’ll go now.” She lowered her head and quickly walked away, unable to stop herself from covering her face with her hand. Ah, it’s so embarrassing!

Jiang Chengxiao silently stood outside the gate, watching her enter before turning and leaving.

“Ding dong!” Before Song Xilan even stepped through the door, the box of water chestnut cakes had already entered. “Look what I brought you all to eat?”

Tan Aizhi asked, “Did you take him to the Lu Ming restaurant?”

“Yeah, he said I could choose.”

“You child, when you have a choice, you can’t just pick something so expensive right away. Didn’t you say he’s staying at a guesthouse, waiting for a job assignment? This meal could cost him a week’s worth of meals. How is that good?”

Song Xilan said, “I don’t think so. From his clothes, he doesn’t seem to be lacking money. And when he paid, he did it very generously, without any hesitation.”

After a pause, she added, “I think we’re on the same wavelength.”

Tan Aizhi laughed at her. “What are you talking about? You’ve only eaten one meal together, and you think you’re on the same wavelength? How do you know he’s not just pretending to cater to you?”

Song Xilan thought for a moment. “That’s true.”

“Take it slow. Don’t jump in too quickly. Wait for the right moment and let your dad and I meet him.”

The couple wanted to meet the young man and see his character, but not in a formal, bring-him-home way—that wasn’t the right time yet!

Since he was an outsider, and they couldn’t inquire as easily about his family background like they could with locals, they had to be extra cautious.

Mother and daughter discussed Song Xilan’s meal with Jiang Chengxiao for a while before Tan Aizhi brought up the latest gossip from the compound

“Today, a person suddenly came and said they were collecting old portraits of great people from people’s homes, the older, the better, preferably those with some years on them. New ones weren’t wanted. Mrs. Wang from next door even took down a portrait that had been hanging in their house for more than ten years and sold it for three yuan! The person even said that if the portrait had a frame, it would be even more valuable.”

Song Xilan didn’t understand: “What’s the use of collecting these?”

These days, who doesn’t have a portrait of a great person hanging in their home? Even if you went to a bookstore like Xinhua to buy a brand new one, it only costs one yuan per piece, and they’re mass-produced prints. They’re not like antiques or anything that gets more valuable with age, so who would be bored enough to collect them?

Tan Aizhi said: “Who knows? Anyway, she sold it for three yuan, then spent one yuan to buy a new one to hang up, and made two yuan to buy oil and salt! I was thinking of finding the old one we replaced last time and see where it went, to trade it for two yuan too, but your dad wouldn’t let me.”

Song Xilan looked at her dad.

Song Baili said: “Did you forget what happened to the Zhao family in the 1960s?”

Back then, Song Xilan was still young, so she definitely wouldn’t remember what had happened. But Tan Aizhi remembered it clearly, and couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear as she patted her chest: “Right, right, right, this kind of thing can’t be casually involved with, or there will be big trouble.”

Seeing the confused look on her daughter’s face, Tan Aizhi explained and also took the opportunity to educate her on being cautious. She said that back then, the Zhao family was preparing to marry a new bride, and when they were renovating the house and walls, they tore down an old portrait of a great person that had been stuck there for many years. They didn’t think much of it at the time and just threw it away casually.

As a result, someone with ulterior motives discovered it and reported it, and then the Zhao family ran into big trouble.