Chapter 193: An Unhealthy Delicacy

As they spoke, Grandpa took out several red 100-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to Chen Mo.

"This is what your dad sent over this month. He sends us old folks ten thousand yuan a month, but how could we possibly spend it all? You can help us out."

Chen Mo knew that his parents sent money to his grandparents every month, so he accepted the money from his grandpa without a second thought.

This time, Grandpa gave Chen Mo a full 1,000 yuan.

For a high school student, this was a huge sum of money for an allowance.

"I’m giving you this money so you can take Yuqing out for some good food. Don’t you go embezzling it," Grandpa said, reaching out to poke Chen Mo’s forehead.

Chen Mo chuckled. "Don’t worry, I’ll give you back whatever’s left."

Grandpa just smiled casually, not giving the matter a second thought.

He had never worried about money itself; he only controlled the purse strings because he was afraid Chen Mo would develop bad habits.

That’s why he had always been rather stingy with Chen Mo’s spending money since he was a child.

It was mainly to control his spending habits.

But now that the boy was older and had a girlfriend with him, a little bit of money really wouldn’t be enough.

That was why he had given him so much all at once.

"Isn’t Grandma coming?" Su Yuqing asked curiously, seeing that Grandpa was about to leave with just the two of them.

"Your grandmother doesn’t much like crowded places, so she’s not coming," Grandpa replied with a smile, turning his head.

"But won’t it be bad to leave Grandma all alone at home?" Su Yuqing was a little worried about her.

This was because, since childhood, she had deeply felt the sting of what it was like to be lonely.

So when she heard that Grandma would be home alone, the feeling of loneliness she had once experienced inexplicably resurfaced in her heart.

"Don’t worry, it’s fine. She needs to catch up on her sleep this afternoon. She’s probably already asleep by now," Chen Mo said, looking at Su Yuqing with a smile.

Hearing Chen Mo say this, Su Yuqing nodded in understanding.

At that moment, Grandpa couldn’t help but take another look at Su Yuqing. The girl possessed a gentleness and thoughtfulness that had taken him by surprise.

She had noticed Grandma’s absence and was worried about her being lonely.

That wasn’t something just anyone would so easily notice or care about.

Especially at such a self-centered age.

Most people thought of things from their own perspective, rarely considering how others might feel.

Grandpa was finding himself more and more satisfied with this prospective granddaughter-in-law.

He hoped even more that the two of them would end up together.

After leaving the house, the three of them walked for about half a kilometer and arrived near the opera stage.

Before they even got close, Su Yuqing could already feel the lively atmosphere.

Even from a great distance, she could hear a clamor of voices coming from that direction.

At the same time, the sound system on the opera stage was constantly blasting powerful sound into the surroundings.

"Looks like it’s about to start. I’m going to go watch the show. Momo, you take Yuqing and have a good look around the area."

Once they arrived and saw that the opera had already begun on stage, Grandpa gave Chen Mo his instructions and immediately hurried off.

"I don’t understand this kind of opera at all. I have no idea why old folks like it so much," Chen Mo commented with a laugh.

"To be honest, I don’t get it either. When I used to watch operas with my grandma, I’d just sleep in her arms until it was over. It practically became my lullaby," Su Yuqing quipped.

Since neither of them understood the opera, they naturally had little interest in the performance on stage and started wandering around the nearby area instead.

Whether the opera on stage was good or not, or captivating or not, was unimportant.

What was very captivating were the stalls set up around the stage.

There were stalls selling Sun Wukong and Ultraman masks that made many children stop and stare, and stalls selling all sorts of small toys and trinkets that attracted young men and women.

There were also some antiques that drew the attention of the older crowd.

But the liveliest area of all was the one selling delicious food.

You could find basically every kind of snack from Jiang City here.

Chen Mo glanced at Su Yuqing’s stomach, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "How’s your digestion coming along? We’ve got a more important mission ahead of us."

"All digested," Su Yuqing replied with a smile. "It’s rare for me to eat so much. It must have been a lot of work for Grandma to make so many dishes."

"For her, seeing you happy and enjoying the food is the most satisfying thing. It makes all the hard work worthwhile."

Hearing this, Su Yuqing was once again deeply moved by the way Grandma treated her.

Soon, Chen Mo led Su Yuqing to the street food area.

There were so many kinds of snacks here.

Chen Mo pulled Su Yuqing over to a stall selling fried foods.

"Let’s eat some unhealthy food today."

The stall was laden with all kinds of food on skewers: rice cakes, tofu, cauliflower, chicken, pork chops, and more.

After you picked your food and put it in a little tray, the owner would drop it all into a wok of hot oil to fry.

Then, he would place the fried food on a charcoal grill and begin seasoning it with a whole bunch of bottles and jars he had on hand.

Although eating too much fried food wasn’t good for you, you just couldn’t resist how fragrant it was.

This was Chen Mo’s favorite thing to eat when he was a kid.

Every time there was an opera, he would find himself craving this taste.

This fried food, seasoned with a variety of flavorful spices, had a unique and delicious taste all its own.

It was a flavor that Chen Mo could never find at the barbecue stalls in the city.

Su Yuqing had basically never eaten this kind of thing before. Because her grandmother was very health-conscious, she had rarely bought these things for her to eat when they went to see operas.

But now, just by smelling the aroma of deep-frying and the fragrance of the various spices being sprinkled, Su Yuqing could tell that this food had to be delicious.

Before long, the owner finished preparing all the food and put it into a bag.

The area around the opera stage was all roads, and space for stalls was tight, so there was no room to set up tables and chairs for people to sit and eat. Everyone just bought from the stalls and ate on the go.

Carrying the bag, Chen Mo took out a skewer of fried rice cake, sprinkled with all kinds of seasonings and coated with a layer of sweet sauce, and handed it to Su Yuqing.

Su Yuqing looked at the skewer of rice cake, which looked incredibly tempting. Her mouth watered instantly. She took it and bit into it.

Instantly, a soft, chewy, sweet, and savory flavor exploded in her mouth. The aroma of the seasonings filled her nose, elevating the taste of the food to a whole new level.

’How can something from a tiny little street food stall be this delicious?’

It was something Su Yuqing had never expected.

Seeing Su Yuqing’s eyes light up after one bite of the fried rice cake, Chen Mo said with a smile, "How is it? Delicious, right?"

"Mhm." Having tasted the delicious food, Su Yuqing gave a happy smile and nodded.

"If you haven’t had enough, we can walk around for a bit and come back for more later." Seeing Su Yuqing’s blissful smile, Chen Mo’s heart was also filled with joy.

He smiled and continued to walk on with Su Yuqing, exploring the area.