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Chapter 45
"Come on, let's talk as we walk," Liang Zhiwei said, pushing his bicycle to gesture for Zhi Xia to walk ahead. "Young lady, seeing that you have this intention, your teacher Zhao's efforts in speaking well for you last night were not in vain."
In the past few days, Zhi Xia had been going to the literacy classes every day. Although she had never taken the initiative to interact with Zhao Jingyun, she had portrayed a bullied little white rabbit to perfection.
Seeing Liang Zhiwei's manner of speaking, she felt her efforts had not been wasted either.
"It's only right, I don't know much or understand right and wrong. I just feel that whoever is good to me, I should be good to them too. Teacher Zhao is a gentle person. I don't know why, I just really like her, like her soft tone when she speaks to me. I always feel that a mother's demeanor should be like hers..."
These were not Zhi Xia's feelings, but Liang Zhiwei's. She was just borrowing the confession Liang Zhiwei had made in his previous life about Zhao Jingyun.
Liang Zhiwei was also an orphan back then. Having endured the coldness of the world since childhood, he was attracted by Zhao Jingyun's temperament when he met her by chance.
It was fate that brought the two together, but it was an ill-fated bond.
Although the Zhao family had declined after the founding of the People's Republic of China, they still had a good foundation. During the period of public-private partnership, Zhao's father was still a shareholder of the silk shop. Naturally, he looked down on Liang Zhiwei, a mere orphan.
But Zhao Jingyun insisted, and as the only daughter of the family, Zhao's father had no choice but to reluctantly agree to the marriage, with Liang Zhiwei entering the Zhao household in a semi-dependent marital relationship.
Later, the Zhao family was reported for hoarding a large amount of gold, silver, and antiques. Zhao's father was also sent to a labor camp. Zhao Jingyun was forced to sever ties with her father to protect herself. It was during that time that she had a miscarriage that ruined her health, leaving an irremovable heartache.
Meanwhile, Liang Zhiwei managed to reverse his fortunes and climbed up the ideological committee, becoming the prestigious Director Liang after years of hard work.
Zhao's father was the old master who gave Zhi Xia the red jade pendant when he was sent to An Le Village. He had picked up the pendant in the compost pile after being sent away. Zhao's father had an eye for valuables and recognized that the pendant was no ordinary piece, so he hid it away. Later, on his deathbed, he gave it to Zhi Xia. At that time, Zhi Xia had not been detained by the Gao family yet. Zhao's father probably took pity on her.
Unfortunately, she did not know to hide it at the time, and it was snatched away by Gao Erniang.
Zhao's father died without ever knowing that the person who reported him was none other than Liang Zhiwei. He was grateful to have found such a good son-in-law who did not abandon his daughter despite his downfall.
Whenever Zhi Xia thought about that period and heard Old Master Zhao talk about his daughter, her heart ached.
Perhaps ignorance was bliss. At least Old Master Zhao left this world relatively at peace.
Sure enough, Zhi Xia's words struck a chord with Liang Zhiwei.
He still remembered the feeling when he first saw Zhao Jingyun hand him a sesame cake back when he was still begging on the streets.
Initially, he just wanted to look at her. Later, she was so kind to him, and even found him odd jobs at a store after learning of his background, thus giving him a chance to get to know her.
Perhaps reminded of his past wrongdoings, Liang Zhiwei suddenly lost the smile on his face and fell silent.
It was not until they entered the state-run restaurant that he put on his fake face again, smiling so widely that wrinkles appeared. "Old Lin, busy?"
A man wearing a chef's hat and apron came out from the back. "Director Liang! You sure know how to pick your time. It's almost meal time, we're rushed off our feet back there."
"It's on my way, so I brought her over." Liang Zhiwei walked forward a few steps and whispered something to Lin Zheng that Zhi Xia did not hear.
But after he finished speaking, Lin Zheng looked Zhi Xia up and down and called to her, "You're Zhi Xia, right?"
Liang Zhiwei reminded her from the side, "Zhi Xia, this is the head chef of our state-run restaurant, Chef Lin. Go on, greet him."
"Hello Chef." Zhi Xia hurriedly greeted him and bowed.
Lin Zheng nodded, acknowledging her.
Liang Zhiwei patted Lin Zheng's shoulder twice. "I'll leave my niece to you, you'd better teach her well, no slacking!"
"With our relationship, your niece is my niece. We're all family." Lin Zheng thought to himself, if this old fox was sending the girl here in exchange for money, he wouldn't exhort so meticulously.
It seemed he had to pay special attention to this lass.
Zhi Xia's words must have struck a chord with Liang Zhiwei.
He felt not only love for Zhao Jingyun, but also unspoken guilt.
She had saved him and favored him, yet because of some verbal disagreement, he harmed the Zhao family and also...harmed their marriage.
At that time, he did not know she was already pregnant.
Thinking of that unborn child, Liang Zhiwei felt a pang of distress.
It was no wonder Zhao Jingyun was fond of Zhi Xia, after all Zhi Xia's background was pitiful enough, especially for someone who had been a mother before. Zhao Jingyun too, had once had the chance to be a mother.
After Liang Zhiwei left, Lin Zheng called Zhi Xia into the kitchen. "Have you cooked before? Can you chop vegetables?"
Zhi Xia: "I've cooked at home before, I can chop vegetables."
Lin Zheng asked Zhi Xia several more questions, to which she responded.
Suddenly, he asked again, "Lass, now that you've come under me, do you know who I am?"
For a moment, Zhi Xia was stumped, then answered, "The head chef of the state-run restaurant, Chef Lin, and also my new master from now on."
"Not a bad answer, but I have another identity - I'm An Meiyun's father, her biological one." Lin Zheng observed Zhi Xia's expression after he said this. Seeing her bow her head and fall silent after his words,
he laughed and continued, "Still want to learn cooking from me now? It's fine if you're unwilling, I'll have Director Liang arrange another family for you. With his connections, it won't be difficult to do this small favor."
Although he did not know how Zhi Xia became Liang Zhiwei's niece, in his eyes, whether it was Zhi Xia or An Meiyun, it was just childish pettiness.
Even knowing about their relationship, when Liang Zhiwei told him he was sending a special person to be his apprentice, he did not refuse.
Perhaps he had been dissatisfied with Lin Hao's decision to marry An Meiyun from the start, but agreed for some reason.
After a while, Zhi Xia looked up and asked somewhat uneasily, "Master, I just want to properly learn cooking skills. I never went to school, and can't learn much from literacy classes either, so I can't do jobs that need education. But I like cooking, and want to have a skill that can at least support myself. If I stay, will you teach me well?"
"I'm just a cook. One's children have their own fortune. Other matters are none of my concern. But now that you've acknowledged me as your master, there are things I won't go easy on just because of others. You have to be prepared for that. If you can't take the hardship and go complain..."
"I won't, I can endure hardship," Zhi Xia resolutely replied. "As long as Master is willing to teach me well, I will accept any punishment for my mistakes in the future, no matter how much you scold or beat me."
"Good, you have ambition," Lin Zheng looked at Zhi Xia with some more approval.