The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Aunt Ma and the other kitchen helpers were all eagerly waiting to see if the old lady had eaten the food Shen Cao had prepared.

Aunt Ma, in particular, is in a dilemma. She wants the old lady to eat, but she also doesn't want her to eat.

She wanted the old lady to eat because, as the cook, she was very familiar with the old lady's condition over the past month.

If a person can't eat, then they're doomed.

She hoped the old lady would get better.

She didn't want the old lady to eat it because she was worried that if the old lady ate it, she might lose her job.

But she didn't want the old lady to only have a little bit of food.

Only a tiny bit.

The old lady was a kind and good person, and good people should be rewarded.

After a while, a noise suddenly came from outside the kitchen.

The little girl from the front yard ran around excitedly, shouting, "Grandma's having her meal! Grandma's having her meal!!"

She ran all the way to deliver the message to the kitchen, and because she was running so fast, she was panting heavily as she leaned against the kitchen door.

It took her a while to adjust, and then the aunties in the kitchen surrounded her, asking her a barrage of questions.

"Did the old lady really eat it?" a woman in a light blue dress asked with concern.

The others also waited with concern for the little girl's reply.

This shows that the old lady treated the servants of the Zhou family very well, and they all genuinely cared about her health.

Although Aunt Ma didn't join in the fun, she stood there listening intently.

The little girl put her hand on her chest, caught her breath, and said happily, "The old lady didn't eat at first, probably because she was afraid that not eating would hurt the little girl's feelings."

But after Miss Shen left, Granny Zhang showed the two dishes to the old lady.

"After reading it, the old lady was very excited and asked Zhang Mama to quickly serve her a bowl."

"After taking one bite, the old lady burst into tears, and no one knew why."

"I ate two more bowls after that, and not only did I not throw up, I even wanted to eat more!"

"After the old lady finished eating, the old man also went to eat. He ate more than half of it by himself. I heard that he was so full that he had to use his hands to support himself!"

"Alright, I've brought the message over. I need to hurry back and serve you."

After saying that, she turned and left again, but unlike when she came, she walked back slowly.

The women in the kitchen were overjoyed when they heard the news. The old lady could eat again, that was good, that meant there was hope.

But their joy didn't last long before they turned around and looked at Aunt Ma with some worry.

Aunt Ma noticed that they were all looking at her and knew they were worried about her.

She forced a smile, "Why are you all looking at me? It's a good thing that the old lady is willing to eat."

"The old lady's meal is ready, but the other residents' meals aren't ready yet. What are you all doing here? Go get to work!"

When Shen Cao returned to the kitchen, Aunt Ma and the others had already prepared the meals for each courtyard and sent them away.

They had just finished tidying up and were getting ready to eat.

Everyone was taken aback when they saw Shen Cao. "Miss Shen, you're back. Would you like to have dinner with us?" Aunt Ma invited Shen Cao with a strange expression.

Shen Cao waved her hand, "No, I'll go back to eat later."

"By the way, Aunt Ma, there's something I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Aunt Ma put down her chopsticks, looking puzzled. "What is it?"

“I can see that Grandma Zhou really likes those two dishes, but I can’t stay at the Zhou’s house all the time. You just saw me cooking, so I’ll teach you how to make them again. In the future, if Grandma wants to eat them, you can just make them for her.”

"What? What did you say?!" Aunt Ma was even more incredulous. Wasn't the young girl going to stay at the Zhou residence as a cook?

She actually didn't stay at the Zhou residence as a cook!

Hahaha! Aunt Ma laughed as she stood up. When she tried to walk out, she didn't see where she was going and stumbled.

"Hehe, look at me, I lost my balance."

"Miss Shen, do you mean you want to teach me how to make pickled bamboo shoots and yellow croaker noodles again?" She tried her best to keep her emotions in check and not let others see her joy.

But she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

Shen Cao was amused by Aunt Ma. She had just seen Aunt Ma looking at her with a dark face and her expression was not friendly at all.

Why did you change your attitude so quickly?

She nodded, "Mhm!"

Aunt Ma ran up to Shen Cao with a smile, then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned back to the table and picked up a meat bun.

"Miss Shen, you've been busy all morning, and you probably haven't eaten much. Have a steamed bun to tide you over."

Shen Cao was indeed a little hungry, so she took the meat bun and started eating.

These meat buns aren't as good as the ones she makes.

After finishing the meat buns, Aunt Ma lost her appetite. "Let's start now!" she said, "I'd rather learn it as soon as possible."

Seeing that she had no appetite, Shen Cao first explained to her in detail how to make pickled bamboo shoots and yellow croaker noodles, and then had her make them.

Aunt Ma had spent half her life working in the kitchen, and after just two tries, she mastered the recipes for braised pork belly with bamboo shoots and yellow croaker noodles.

"I'll teach you how to pickle the snow cabbage when it gets colder this year and the snow cabbage is available."

"If you finish this pickled mustard greens, just have Butler Zhou come and ask me for some. I still have some pickled last year."

"You can also have Butler Zhou come to me with these bamboo shoots, and I'll tell him where to buy them."

"If you have any questions, you can come to Shen's Restaurant to find me."

Aunt Ma looked at Shen Cao with some guilt. She shouldn't have had such thoughts before.

Shen Cao was so generous at such a young age. She taught me in detail what others considered top secret food without even thinking about it.

In the room of the old lady of the Zhou family...

Grandma Zhou looked at her son in disbelief and then burst into tears.