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Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Who Are You Looking For?
As people increase in age, sometimes they revert to being like a child. Hence, older people often get referred to as the "old children", a moniker that specifically refers to this type of elderly.
From the circumstances, it seems like the old man yearned for Pickles Pork Dumplings, yet his son and daughter-in-law couldn’t get the taste right. As a result, the old man threw a childish tantrum and refused to eat.
When people reach a certain age and end up in a hospital ward, the saying "each day lived is a day lost" is no exaggeration. The helpless and heartbroken expressions on the faces of the man and the woman by the bed show no signs of impatience, suggesting they might be dutiful children.
Remembering the pickles in her lunchbox, which were homemade authentic farm pickles prepared by Lin Fengying herself, Tong Yao took the initiative to knock on the door of the ward.
"Who are you looking for?" The man by the bed looked up at Tong Yao. Seeing a stranger at the door, he was understandably confused. Considering it was a private ward, and his father was the only patient, he wondered why the young girl was there.
Tong Yao courteously nodded at the man, then softly said: "Hello, I just overheard this elderly gentleman say that he wanted to eat Pickles Pork Dumplings. My lunchbox happens to contain the same dish. It’s filled with homemade pickles crafted by my mother. Would you like to let him try some?"
In her past life, Tong Yao was raised in an orphanage, and the kindest to her there was the old dean. Regrettably, before she graduated from college, the dean passed away from cancer. Toward the very end, he too especially craved dumplings.
However, what he yearned for were the Pickles Dumplings made by his mother. His mother, however, had passed away many years ago. Thus, right until the dean closed his eyes for the last time, he never tasted his mother’s dumplings again.
Having overheard the old man’s wish for dumplings, it reminded Tong Yao of the old dean, prompting her to take a closer look and ask if he would like to eat dumplings.
At this point, the elderly man who was previously throwing a tantrum at the sight of Pickles Pork Dumplings, suddenly turned his attention to Tong Yao.
"This..." The man hesitated. He was unsure who the girl at the entrance was, so he felt a bit reluctant to accept her dumplings.
Observing the man’s indecision, Tong Yao managed to guess what he might be worrying about and quickly reassured, "Don’t worry, the dumplings are clean. My husband is a doctor in the hospital. He’s making his rounds right now. I came to deliver lunch and overheard the elderly gentleman’s longing for Pickle Dumplings. I just so happen to have some, so I thought of letting him try. If you don’t mind, let him taste one first."
Despite her reassurances, she didn’t step into the room without the man’s approval. She regarded the old man and thought about the old dean. If this man was really against his father trying her dumplings, she wouldn’t insist. After all, the dumplings were initially intended for Si Chen.
Upon hearing that Tong Yao was a doctor’s wife, the man visibly relaxed. Looking at his father’s eager gaze at Tong Yao’s lunchbox, he resignedly said, "Thank you."
Finishing his sentence, he turned to the woman beside him and said, "Wenqing, quickly find an empty lunch box for the dumplings."
Seeing their consent to feed the elderly man her dumplings, Tong Yao was delighted. She walked into the room, opened her lunchbox, and immediately the aroma of Pickles Dumplings wafted out. The old man’s eyes sparkled with joy, his excitement resembling that of a child’s.
The man and his wife broke into smiles upon witnessing this scene. Regardless of whether the dumplings suit the old man’s tastes, the brief moment of joy he experienced was indeed real.
Wenqing, with a pair of clean chopsticks in hand, took a dumpling out of Tong Yao’s lunchbox and whispered: "Miss, let me first take this one over. These chopsticks are clean and unused. If the elderly gentleman doesn’t like it, you can still give it to your loved one to eat, so there’s no waste."
"That’s fine." Tong Yao responded sweetly: "If the elderly gentleman likes it, he can have some more. I have more pickles at home. I can make more when I get back. It’s very quick."
"Thank you." Wenqing nodded with a smile. Seeing the old man eagerly waiting for his dumpling, she couldn’t afford to delay any longer and quickly placed a dumpling near his mouth.
Tong Yao stole a glance at Wenqing. She was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt embroidered with lotus flowers. She had fair skin and spoke calmly and unrushed. From the way she spoke, one could tell that these people were well-educated.
In this era, educated people typically come from affluent backgrounds. Considering that this family was occupying a private ward, they surely were no ordinary family. 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
While Tong Yao was making observations, and her attention was focused on Wenqing, the elderly man tasted his first bite of the dumpling. The 78-year-old man slowly chewed with the few teeth he had left. His eyes welled up with tears as he nodded and said, "It’s delicious. This is the taste, this is it, this is it."
He repeated "this is it" three times as his eyes turned red and filled with tears. No one knew what particular taste he was referring to.
"Dad, why are you crying if it’s delicious?" Wenqing was flustered seeing the old man’s tears.
The man also quickly took out a tissue to wipe his father’s tears, coaxing him gently as one would with a child: "Dad, let’s eat more if it’s delicious. Don’t cry!"
"It’s this taste, it’s this taste." The old man muffled a sob and quickly finished his first dumpling. With age catching up to him, and his life nearing its end, he longed even more for the dumplings his mother used to make when he was a child, and he longed for his mother.
Seeing this, Tong Yao promptly dumped the remaining dumplings from her lunch box into Wenqing’s lunchbox, "If the elderly gentleman enjoys them, let him eat more. I’ll just make more when I get home."
She had a lot more pickles at home. Making pickles dumplings for Si Chen at night wouldn’t be a problem. Considering that the old man only has a limited number of meals left, it is better to avail him more first!
"Dumplings, dumplings." The old man seemed to find Wenqing’s pace a tad slow. He was muttering "dumplings" under his breath impatiently.
"The dumplings are here." Wenqing wanted to thank Tong Yao, but due to the old man’s urgency, she had to prioritise feeding him the dumplings instead.
The man watched his father thoroughly enjoying his meal, his eyes also welled up with tears. However, he quickly adjusted his emotions and sincerely expressed his gratitude to Tong Yao: "My father hasn’t eaten anything for a day. He mentioned the dumplings for a few days. He wasn’t satisfied despite our multiple attempts at making them. Thank you so much."
"As long as the elderly gentleman relishes them. I’ll not disturb you any longer. Goodbye."
Tong Yao bid them farewell and was about to leave when she heard the man’s voice behind her ringing out, "Could I ask which doctor in the hospital is your husband? My father just had his lunch. I will buy him a meal from the canteen to replace it."
Earlier, the man was so worried about his father that he did not pay close attention to Tong Yao’s appearance. Upon closer inspection now, he realised that Tong Yao appeared to be a high school student due to her youth. If Tong Yao hadn’t mentioned that she was married, no one would’ve linked her with the identity of a doctor’s wife.
His father has been hospitalised for some time and he has almost met half the doctors in the hospital. He was not sure which doctor’s wife she was.
"No, it’s not necessary." Tong Yao waved her hands in refusal: "As long as the elderly gentleman likes it, it’s fine. The dumplings are not precious. I can make more when I get home. You better go back and take care of the old man!"
With those words, Tong Yao clutching her lunchbox sprinted down the corridor as if afraid that the man would chase after her to inquire further.
