Chapter 351: Chapter 140: Family Background
It was almost dark by the time the group got home.
The three of them weren’t the least bit surprised to see Chen Song in the small courtyard.
Now that Mr. Cheng had left, Chen Song was no longer on official business and had moved in with them directly.
But he seemed distracted. The rice in the pot had burned, yet he didn’t seem to have even smelled it. He just kept holding the fire poker, listlessly prodding the firewood.
De’an started chirping, "Dad, are you trying to murder us? The rice is burnt! I can’t eat this."
Chen Wanqing, however, hurried forward and took a jar of white sugar from the cabinet. She scooped out three spoonfuls, dissolved it in water, and was about to pour the sugar water evenly into the pot.
But when she lifted the lid, Chen Wanqing couldn’t help but laugh. "Dad, were you trying to make porridge or steamed rice?"
When their family made steamed rice, they would first boil the rice for a short while until only a hard core remained, then scoop it out into a basin. They’d place a rack in the pot and set the basin of rice on top.
This way, they could have steamed rice, and the rice water underneath could be saved to drink.
Her dad, on the other hand... If you said he was making porridge, he had added so much rice that a chopstick would probably stand straight up in it without falling over. On top of that, the bottom was completely burnt. The moment the lid was lifted, a scorched smell wafted out.
And if you said he was trying to steam rice, well, he never took the rice out from start to finish.
Chen Wanqing quickly tried to salvage it, but in the end, she barely managed to scoop out three bowls of rice. The rice was still edible, but it definitely wasn’t enough. At the very most, three bowls weren’t even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth for the four of them.
Chen Song snapped back to his senses, saw the foolish mess he’d made, and couldn’t help but slap his forehead.
"I was so busy thinking about something that I completely forgot about cooking."
As he spoke, he fumbled for his purse, untied it, and handed it directly to his daughter. "I’ll eat these three bowls of rice. The three of you go out and eat at a restaurant."
"We’ve been eating out constantly these past few days. I’m sick of all the rich food. Let’s not eat out today. It’s not too late now. Sister, how about we knead some dough and have egg noodles?"
"Alright."
Chen Wanqing went to knead the dough, and Zhao Jing picked up the water ladle to help her add water.
De’an, meanwhile, crouched in front of his old man and waved a hand before his face. "What happened? Tell us. I’m really curious what could possibly have you so worried." ’So worried that you’d get distracted and burn the rice.’
Chen Song glanced at his son, then at his daughter and son-in-law. He didn’t want to say anything.
But this matter was rather serious, and bottling it up was making him even more miserable.
After some deliberation, Chen Song began in a low voice, "Do you know who I went to see today?"
"Who?" De’an asked curiously. "Your colleagues all went back today. Besides them, you shouldn’t know anyone else in the Prefecture. Was it the constables from the Prefecture?"
Chen Song shook his head. "No."
Chen Wanqing looked at Zhao Jing. Their eyes met, and they both had the same thought. "Dad, did you go see Zhang Lanshan?"
Chen Song slapped his thigh. "That’s right, I went to see Zhang Lanshan."
While investigating the crimes of Cui Wei and his father, Chen Song had personally made a trip to Guyuan County.
From the words of the people in Guyuan County, he had painstakingly pieced together clues about a suspicious beggar.
Coincidentally, while he was trying to get information out of the top scholar in Guyuan County, he noticed just such a beggar acting furtively, seemingly also staking out the scholar. He had put two and two together.
Because of the case in Guyuan County, Chen Song had struck up a friendship with Zhang Lanshan. Now that the case had come to a close for the time being, Zhang Lanshan was being kept at the government office as a key witness.
But he was a witness, not a suspect, so he was free to move about.
Thinking that they would be returning to Qingshui County soon, Chen Song went to bid Zhang Lanshan farewell.
But thinking of Zhang Lanshan brought other things to mind.
Chen Wanqing remembered De’an and Zhao Jing telling her that when the Scholar came to the Prefecture, he had hitched a ride in a wealthy family’s carriage. The steward of that family had been sent out to look for someone...
The words "looking for someone" popped into her head, and Chen Wanqing’s hands tightened. The ball of dough in her hands happened to have a dry spot in the middle, and with a POOF, a cloud of white flour sprayed out, spattering right onto her chin.
"Sister, be careful. It’ll be a problem if that gets in your eyes."
Chen Wanqing had no time to worry about that. She wiped the flour from her face and looked at her father with a frown. "What did you two talk about?"
Zhao Jing said, "Sister, don’t be anxious. No matter who this ’mother’ they’re looking for is, they’ve already left. We can’t rush this."
De’an was still in a fog. "What ’looking for someone’? What ’our mother’? Sister, what are you all talking about? I don’t get it."
Chen Song gave his son a speechless look. "Even Jing figured it out, and you still haven’t? Your mother raised you for nothing."
