The casual life of the flat space

"Oh? How do you know I'm the eldest lady?"

"You are the most noble and elegant person I have ever seen in this house, so Tieying did not think much about it. Please forgive me if I have offended you!"

"Haha, good boy, come with me quickly, it's all thanks to you cherry... Oh, you are really, how come you dug up the tree!"

Mrs. Zhou walked forward and took Bai Tieying's hand and was about to walk in. As a result, she was shocked when she saw the cherry tree held by the servant behind her. She thought: This child is quite good, why did he dig up the whole tree? No wonder Mrs. Zhou had a protective tone in her words just now.

"To answer your question, madam, I did overthink it a little. If I did something wrong, just blame me."

"Silly child, you are so honest, how can I blame you for thinking too much? Come on, follow me in to meet the ancestor."

The two maids lifted the curtain again, and Bai Tieying thanked them before going in as she passed by. This made Madam Zhou, who had originally been holding her hand, put her arm around her shoulders after they passed the door.

After entering the main hall, Madam Zhou took Bai Tieying to the east room. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, Madam Zhou said loudly: "Grandfather, look, I brought you a sincere person!"

After walking around the small hall and past the screen, Bai Tieying saw an old woman lying on the bed. She was covered with a thick quilt in the hot summer, with a large fur coat on top. She was wearing a headband and looking at him with half-open eyes.

"Bai Tieying greets the ancestor. May the ancestor be blessed with good health and happiness!" Bai Tieying saluted.

"Hmm..." The old ancestor responded weakly.

"Good boy, get up quickly! The old ancestor hasn't eaten for a few days and is a little weak. Don't think too much! Come and sit closer so that the old ancestor can see you more clearly."

"Thank you, madam." Bai Tieying stood up steadily, sat where Madam Zhou asked her to sit, and looked at the old ancestor with a smile.

"My dear, the honest person I want to introduce to you is someone that Mrs. Zhou met today when she went out to look for cherries. Mrs. Zhou just said that she wanted to buy some cherries from her, so guess what?"

Without waiting for the old ancestor to respond, Madam Zhou continued, "In the end, she brought her entire cherry tree here. Tell me, is she a sincere person?"

After hearing this, the old ancestor opened his eyes wider and a smile appeared on the corners of his mouth, as if he agreed with what Madam Zhou said.

"Grandfather, I'll have someone bring the cherry tree here for you to see if it's what you want, okay?"

"Um……"

Madam Zhou looked up and signaled to the maid to let someone in. Soon, four old women and four maids came in with a pile of things, filling the ground next to the screen.

"Um……"

"Hey, old ancestor, please don't move. I'll have someone carry you closer." Madam Zhou said hurriedly when she saw that the old ancestor was about to sit up.

The four maids carried the cherry tree to the old ancestor's bed. When the old ancestor saw the red and green cherry trees, he pulled his hand out from under the quilt and slowly raised his hand, as if he wanted to pick one.

Madam Zhou quickly bent the branches in front of her to make it easier for the old man to reach. The old man slowly but steadily put his hand on the branch, but before he could pick the fruit, tears started to flow. Everyone was so scared that some handed him handkerchiefs, some stroked their chests, and some consoled him. It was so lively. Bai Tieying looked at him from the side and wanted to say, "Stay away, you guys are running out of oxygen!"

The noise lasted for a while before the old man signaled to help her up. Seeing that she insisted, Madam Zhou stopped trying to persuade her and signaled the maid beside her to help her up.

The old ancestor first pulled the branch to within a foot of her eyes, looked at it for a long time without moving, and suddenly stuffed the cherries on the branch into her mouth. Two little maids couldn't help but gasp, and even Madam Zhou was so scared that she dared not move, and didn't notice the little maid's disrespect for a while.

After a long time, the old ancestor seemed to be very satisfied with the taste of the cherries. She smiled, and juice flowed from her toothless lips. She signaled to the old woman next to her that she was going to spit out the seeds. Only then did everyone "thaw". Bai Tieying saw that Madam Zhou also secretly took a long breath.

"Let's eat. Together." After the old ancestor said these two words, she seemed to be unable to sit still. Her body became limp and she was about to fall backwards. The old woman beside her hurriedly helped her to lie down again.

Mrs. Zhou understood the meaning of these two words, and hurriedly asked the maid to set up the meal, and she and Bai Tieying also ate together at another table. Bai Tieying did not refuse, and insisted on doing whatever she was asked to do, which made Mrs. Zhou's favor towards her increase a little.

As soon as the order was given, the people came up to set the table and the dishes. This gave Bai Tieying a new understanding of the Zhou family. When the ancestors started to eat, Mrs. Zhou said:

"Good boy, when you come here, just treat yourself as if you were at home. Don't be polite. This meal has always been prepared for our ancestors, so it can be served so quickly. If you want to eat anything, just tell me and I'll have someone prepare it quickly."

"Madam, you don't have to be polite. I am already very grateful for the hospitality of our ancestors and you. Please don't worry about me anymore. Besides, I think these dishes are delicious and not much worse than those in Zhiyin Restaurant. It's more than enough."

"Then I won't persuade you anymore, let's eat quickly!" Mrs. Zhou didn't say anything else. She picked up the serving chopsticks first, picked up a shrimp and put it on Bai Tieying's plate.

After thanking him, Bai Tieying also picked up his chopsticks and started eating. For a while, the only sounds in the room were the aroma of food and the occasional sound of chopsticks hitting the bowls and plates.

The old ancestor finished eating first, and Madam Zhou quickly put down her chopsticks. Bai Tieying naturally also quickly put the last bite of rice into her mouth, signaling to the maid who was serving the food next to her that she had finished eating.

After rinsing her mouth, Mrs. Zhou pulled Bai Tieying to sit in front of the ancestor, but this time the stool was moved forward a little.

It seemed that the meal had given the old ancestor strength. She was now half-sitting again, with a stool beside her for her to lean on. She looked at Bai Tieying without saying a word, and Bai Tieying also smiled at her without saying a word. After a long while, she said, "Good child, tell me how you got the cherry tree."

"To answer your question, this cherry tree was planted by my grandfather to celebrate my birth. I have no idea where it came from because my grandfather passed away before the tree bore fruit."

"Hey! I'm sorry to make you laugh. These days, I've been thinking about the cherries I ate when I went up the mountain with my father when I was a child. You made my wish come true." The old ancestor was out of breath and spoke incoherently.

"Grandfather, you are the same as me! I look forward to cherries from spring to summer and from summer to spring every year! Every time I eat cherries, I will think of grandpa. If it weren't for his kindness, how could I miss him for such a long time?"