"Dad, Mom, you're here!"
Jiang Ning led Mengmeng into the living room, where they immediately spotted Su Yunlong and Liu Mengyan chatting on the sofa. A smile lit up his face as he greeted them warmly.
"Mm, Mengmeng, come here quickly. To your grandpa—let him hold you."
Su Yunlong glanced at Jiang Ning, nodded slightly, then turned to Mengmeng with a kindly smile, opening his arms.
"Hello, Grandpa, Grandma!" Mengmeng chirped in perfect English, greeting Su Yunlong and Liu Mengyan.
Like Tang Xiaojie and the old butler Zhang Haichen before them, Su Yunlong and Liu Mengyan were initially stunned.
They hadn't expected Mengmeng's English to be so flawless. Anyone would have been astonished.
Quickly recovering, they responded in English, "Hello, my precious granddaughter!"
Mengmeng's eyes crinkled into crescents as she grinned, thrilled.
After all, none of the previous Grandpas Tang or Zhang, nor her current grandparents, could speak English as well as she could.
Mengmeng felt immensely proud at that moment, convinced that apart from her father, she was the most skilled English speaker in the world.
Seeing Mengmeng standing there, giggling uncontrollably, Su Yunlong felt a bit puzzled. "What's wrong, Mengmeng? Did Grandpa mispronounce something in English?"
"Hehe, Grandpa's English doesn't sound very good," Mengmeng said, growing even more pleased, her little face beaming with pride.
At Mengmeng's words, Su Yunlong's old face flushed red.
It was true. Apart from a slight childish lisp, Mengmeng's English pronunciation was so good that if you hadn't seen her, you would have thought a foreign child was speaking.
"Okay, okay, my clever granddaughter is the best! Come here, let Grandma hug you," Liu Mengyan said, smiling and opening her arms.
When Mengmeng saw her grandmother's doting expression, she immediately rushed over, excited. "Grandma, Grandma, I missed you so much!"
She then snuggled into Liu Mengyan's arms, acting spoiled.
This sensible display only made Liu Mengyan love Mengmeng even more.
"Mengmeng, let Grandpa hug you too," Su Yunlong said, opening his arms with a hint of jealousy.
"Go, go, go! Let Jiang Ning teach you how to prepare those fancy ingredients you've been nagging about. You've been talking about them for days!" Liu Mengyan said, waving her hand dismissively while hugging Mengmeng tighter, keeping Su Yunlong at bay.
Jiang Ning smiled, placed the ebony case of his Erhu on the table, and sat down.
"Dad, what fancy ingredients have you prepared for today?" Jiang Ning asked curiously.
"Hmm, I've got Arborio rice for Italian truffle risotto, chicken of the woods mushrooms, Madagascar vanilla beans, French black truffles, and Wagyu beef..." Su Yunlong proudly listed the premium ingredients he'd brought.
"Wow, from the rice to the dishes, the meat, and even the soup—you've really gone all out, Dad!"
Jiang Ning was a bit surprised. He'd expected his father-in-law to prepare only three or four high-end ingredients, not such a comprehensive spread.
*It seems he's still very passionate about cooking and loves it dearly.*
"Jiang Ning, ever since your father-in-law found out you're a 'young dad,' he's been buying these fancy ingredients. He keeps talking about moving in for a while. He says it's because he misses Mengmeng, but the truth is, he just wants to learn your cooking skills."
Liu Mengyan didn't hold back, completely exposing Su Yunlong's ulterior motives.
"Honey, how can you say that? I really do miss Mengmeng!" Su Yunlong's face darkened as his wife's words caught him red-handed.
"Mom, it's okay. If Dad wants to learn, that's wonderful! Besides, he'll be learning to cook for you, won't he?" Seeing his father-in-law's embarrassment, Jiang Ning quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Jiang Ning is right," Liu Mengyan said, rolling her eyes at Su Yunlong. "I can't stand your father-in-law. He wants to learn cooking but won't let go of his pride, making excuses and constantly complaining to me about how much he misses Mengmeng."
"Huh? Is that an erhu?" Su Yunlong's eyes widened as he saw Mengmeng opening a large sandalwood box and curiously looking at the erhu inside.
Mengmeng had long wanted to examine the erhu. When they visited Tang Xiaojie's house, she had to sit quietly as a guest.
Now that the erhu belonged to her father, she couldn't wait to open it. "Dad, Grandpa Tang's erhu is so much prettier than Grandpa Zhang's!"
Mengmeng gently stroked the erhu, reluctant to let go, afraid she might damage it. She meticulously examined every detail, not missing a single spot.
Watching Mengmeng so intently focused on the erhu, Jiang Ning couldn't help but wonder if she was particularly interested in it. Perhaps she even had a natural talent.
It seemed he should try teaching her the erhu in the future. She hadn't shown this much enthusiasm for the piano upstairs.
Back home, Mengmeng had always liked her grandfather's erhu hanging on the wall. Now, seeing this precious instrument, she was even more captivated. Could it be the erhu's unique design?
Mengmeng examined the Erhu inch by inch, her serious expression making her look quite professional.
"Dad, this Erhu was given to me by Tang Xiaojie. He said it's an ancestral heirloom of the Hong family, a renowned musical instrument clan. I just came back from his place," Jiang Ning explained.
Su Yunlong looked at Jiang Ning and asked with a hint of scrutiny, "Tang Xiaojie? The one who founded the Tang Group in Kyoto? He lives in our neighborhood?"
"Yeah, that's right. I signed a contract with him to participate in next year's Culinary God Competition, so he bought three villas in our neighborhood. One is for me, and the other two are being renovated into a base for testing and researching competition dishes. The kitchen was just finished yesterday, and he asked me to come over and check if it was suitable," Jiang Ning explained in detail.
"Ah, then... Jiang Ning, could you introduce me to Old Master Tang? Also, your mom and I plan to stay here for a while now," Su Yunlong said, rubbing his hands together with a fawning smile.
"Honey, stop putting on airs in front of Jiang Ning. Just tell him you want to stay and learn cooking from him. He's family, why be so formal?" Liu Mengyan said, unable to stand Su Yunlong's awkwardness about wanting to learn cooking.
Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Dad, don't worry about it. You and Mom can stay as long as you like. If you want to learn to cook, I'd be happy to teach you.
As it happens, Old Master Tang has been collecting premium ingredients lately. When I'm cooking, you can watch me and I'll teach you step-by-step."
"Really? That's wonderful! It's settled then!" Su Yunlong's smile stretched wide enough to split his face.
"Wait a minute, I'll call Old Master Tang and invite him over. Dad, since you brought so many premium ingredients, I might as well show off my skills and let you taste them."
*Ding*
Suddenly, a mechanical system voice sounded in Jiang Ning's mind: "Congratulations, Host! You have acquired the Beginner Appraisal skill level."
Hearing the system notification, Jiang Ning glanced at Mengmeng, who was still intently examining the Erhu, and a smile involuntarily curved his lips.
Then, a flood of knowledge about appraisal skills poured into his mind.
Now, when he looked at the Erhu, Jiang Ning could clearly discern its extraordinary qualities.
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)