TFWYH – Chapter 75 Intention to make friends

Her mood suddenly brightened!

Ling Yue, smiling with her eyes, not only simmered a pot of chicken soup, but also stir-fried a big plate of minced pork, served with white steamed buns—the aroma wafted for miles.

Little Ling Chen ate with oil all over his mouth, holding a big bun in each hand.

The chicken soup was rich and savory—one sip and you felt on top of the world!

Ling Laoda exclaimed,

“I never thought Yue’er had such skill! She’s much more capable than the one in my family!”

Little lady, little lady, little lady!

I am a little lady!

Ling Yue chanted it to herself several times in her heart, smiling as she said,

“Don’t say that, Uncle. Everyone has their own strengths. I can only cook a bit—anything else, I don’t know at all.”

“Hahaha…” Ling Laoda laughed, all the more convinced that Tang Wan was extraordinary.

Just a while ago, this girl had been giving him the cold shoulder, but now—after who knows what Tang Wan said to her inside—her attitude had completely changed.

He knew perfectly well the second branch resented him, but he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.

In his mind, only his wife and son were indispensable—
the former his lifelong partner, to be buried with him even in death,
the latter the heir to his family line.

To him, everyone else was simply “other people.”

Parents would one day pass away.
Brothers would have their own families.
Daughters, once married, belonged to another household.

Since they were “other people,” the only way to maintain ties was through mutual benefit.

This so-called “mutual benefit” could be summed up in one word: profit.

If you want my help, what can you give me in return? If you can’t give anything, why should I help you?

Maybe this view was wrong, but he was simply a practical man.

In truth, he didn’t realize his outlook was rather modern—
but at heart, he was still thoroughly an ancient man, with a bias toward valuing sons over daughters that even modern people sometimes carried, let alone him.

“I heard from Manager Xu that you want to do business at the docks. As it happens, I have a friend who runs a noodle stall there. He has to go back to his hometown for family matters and wants to rent the place out. Do you want to take a look?”

Jiang-shi and Ling Yue froze, staring at him in disbelief, as if meeting him for the first time.

Ling Laoda chuckled,

“What are you looking at me like that for? The docks are crowded with people, with merchants coming and going all the time—there’s never an empty shop. My friend only told me because we’re close. If you want to rent it, I can arrange a meeting.”

Jiang-shi and Ling Yue exchanged glances, then both turned to look at Tang Wan.

Tang Wan studied Ling Laoda for a moment before saying,

“Thank you, Uncle.”

From the memories of the body’s original owner, she knew the place he spoke of—the location was prime, and as he said, sometimes you couldn’t rent a shop there even if you had the money.

“It’s nothing—we’re all family!” Ling Laoda said cheerfully.

The meal ended on a seemingly warm note.
To Jiang-shi and Ling Yue, perhaps it looked like he had suddenly grown a conscience.

To Tang Wan, that was far from certain.

After the meal, Ling Laoda prepared to leave. Tang Wan found an excuse to take over Jiang-shi’s task of seeing him out.

Once outside, she went straight to the point:

“What do you want?”

“Hm?” Ling Laoda didn’t understand at first.

Tang Wan repeated,

“You don’t seem like someone who helps for nothing. What do you want?”

Ling Laoda froze. Her gaze was so calm it felt as though none of his thoughts could be hidden.

This woman… is no ordinary person.

She was definitely not the daughter of some simple butcher.

Still, he had no intention of prying into her secrets.

Since she had asked, he saw no need to beat around the bush:

“I want to know if you know martial arts. If you do, I’d like you to teach my son.”