"These are all things from the past. My mother kept them there and didn't put them away. They're all dusty," Mo Zhu said humbly.
Mo Zhu had a flair for logical thinking since she was young. She had won many awards in the country, not only in the Mathematical Olympiad, but also in other compet.i.tions. She had always topped the compet.i.tion.
Her original plan was to go overseas to study for a few years and then return to the university to educate the future generations. In the end, she had to change her plans because Liu Shu was in poor health for a period of time. However, Mo Zhu was a very outstanding person and she would always be the center of attention wherever she went.
Her only regret was that she did not become an educator like her family members. This was also one of the things that Mo Chou had always been dissatisfied with about Mo Zhu. However, Mo Zhu was an individual and Liu Shu and Mo Chou also respected her wishes. No matter how indignant they felt, it should not affect Mo Zhu's path in life.
Their child had her own life to live. It was not good for them to interfere too much.
Xia Wen was mindful enough to go to the kitchen to help Mo Chou with the cooking. Mo Chou did not say anything and just observed him silently. Xia Wen was good with the knife and able to plate the food skilfully. By the time the dishes were ready, his admiration for Xia Wen had increased again.
"At what age did you learn how to cook? It doesn't look like you only picked it up recently," Mo Chou asked.
"Probably about 13 years old. At that time, I had to stay at home to take care of my younger siblings. When I had nothing to do after school, I would cook for them," Xia Wen said as he chopped the vegetables.
Whenever Xia Wen recalled that period of time, he still felt very warm inside. When he first learned how to cook, he would cook noodles every day. At that time, the family was still not doing very well and they could not afford seasonings like salt. He could only cook the noodles plainly in hot water.
Both Xia He and Xia Zhe were very sensible. The two of them ate the food obediently for a week. They were worried that Xia Wen would feel sad, so they even put on an act of fighting over food in front of Xia Wen. Xia Wen thought that the noodles he made were very delicious! In the end, Xia Zhe ate so much that he had diarrhea. That was when Xia Wen started to learn how to cook other dishes.
"It's not easy being the eldest brother. It must have been hard on you over the years," Mo Chou said with a sigh. This was because he was also the eldest son in the family and knew very well how helpless and tiring it was to be the oldest brother. However, it was also a blissful thing. He felt incomparably gratified when he saw his younger siblings starting their own families and becoming accomplished in their careers.
"Xia He and Xia Zhe are very obedient, especially Xia Zhe. He doesn't make me worry too much, so it's not hard on me," Xia Wen said sincerely as he looked into Mo Chou's eyes.
Mo Chou stared at Xia Wen and thought for a moment before saying, "The Xia family must have gone through quite an experience yesterday. If your family encounters such a thing again, will you be able to protect Mo Zhu?"
Xia Wen quickly wiped the water off his hands and said, "Yes I will. I will protect her. Even if I get injured, I will not let anyone harm Mo Zhu."
"I heard that Qiao Mei's children and mother were kidnapped recently. How can you guarantee to me that Mo Zhu will be safe? I only have this one precious daughter and nothing can happen to her," Mo Chou said sternly.
Xia Wen was actually unable to give Mo Chou such a guarantee. In life, it was easy to dodge an open attack but difficult to escape from a clandestine one. The Xia family was out in the open, but there were countless vicious eyes staring at them from the dark. They could not predict when the next crisis would come.
"Uncle, I can't give you any guarantee, but I can promise that I will protect her with my life," Xia Wen said.
Mo Chou looked at Xia Wen quietly for a long time before he said, "I hope you will treat Mo Zhu well."
"Definitely," Xia Wen said firmly as he looked into Mo Chou's eyes.
Mo Chou smiled happily and walked out of the kitchen with a plate of food. As he walked, he said, "I'm already old~ So old~ I'll leave it to you to protect her in the future ~"
Xia Wen was so excited that he almost jumped up and clapped. He had finally obtained Mo Chou's approval. He could marry Mo Zhu!
They finished the meal happily. After that, Qiao Mei walked around the bamboo forest alone. The mountain was beautiful and the water was clear here, but for some reason, there was not enough spiritual energy in this mountain. She did not know what the problem was.
Qiao Mei conversed with the plants around here for a long time but still could not find the root of the problem. Could it be that the land was not suitable? However, the bamboo was growing well, so how could that be the problem?
For a while, Qiao Mei had no idea what it was. Suddenly, she saw a small stream at the side. There seemed to be some foul air floating above the water. Its color was so faint that one would not notice it unless one looked very carefully.
Qiao Mei slowly walked upwards alongside the foul air. Before long, she arrived outside a small cave where the foul air was being emitted.