I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 63: Grandpa's Lemon Tree

## Chapter 63: Grandpa's Lemon Tree

"What happened, Sect Master?"

Uncle Liu was helping with composting in the backyard. When he heard Jiang Tingyun's shout, he hurried over.

"It's nothing. Some juice got in my eyes." Jiang Tingyun rubbed her eyes.

"Oh, good. As long as you're fine."

Uncle Liu relaxed and turned his attention to the lush, fruit-laden tree.

He couldn't help sighing, "Oh my, I hadn't even noticed. This tree has grown so many fruits."

Standing by the tree, Uncle Liu gazed at the branches bent low with fruit. A trace of nostalgia slowly crept into his eyes.

"Sect Master, your grandfather planted this tree back when he was still alive," he said, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice.

Jiang Tingyun's eyes stung with tears. Grandpa—the word felt so distant and yet so close.

Uncle Liu gently touched the green leaves, reminiscing. "When he planted this tree, your grandfather was still in pretty good health."

"He used to say, 'I have a little granddaughter who loves eating oranges the most.' So when he went to the market, he bought these two trees and planted them, saying he would grow fruit for his little granddaughter to eat."

Jiang Tingyun felt tears pricking her eyes.

Even though she had no memory of being with her grandfather, she really did love eating oranges as a child.

Back then, life wasn't as good as it is now. Fresh fruit wasn't available all year round. Her favorite was the golden oranges of autumn—sweet and sour, bursting with juice. Even after spring arrived, she would still pester for oranges.

So her grandfather had remembered all along.

But growing up, her parents had never once mentioned her grandfather. Jiang Tingyun had assumed that the elderly in her family had passed away long ago.

She thought of her father's early death. She thought of her mother raising her alone with so much hardship. She thought of how her mother had also fallen seriously ill and passed away right after she started college.

She thought of coming home alone during holiday breaks, staring blankly at the empty spot on the sofa where her mother used to sit.

She thought of New Year's Eve, sitting alone in silence while hearing the clinking of glasses and laughter from next door.

The overwhelming, crushing pain had nearly broken her.

The immense job pressure weighed her down so much she could barely stand it. But Jiang Tingyun knew—she was alone. There was no harbor for her soul to rest.

So she could only swallow everything silently, digest it slowly, and grow an increasingly resilient heart.

But Grandpa—if you remembered that I loved oranges, why didn't you come find me sooner?

She had asked Uncle Liu this question before, but never received an answer.

In the end, it was only after Grandpa passed away that Uncle Liu came forward and left all of Grandpa's inheritance to her.

This small building, these fields, this mountain forest, even these companions in the sect—all of it had been left to her by Grandpa.

Jiang Tingyun struggled to calm herself, swallowing all the bitterness, confusion, and sorrow, holding back her tears as she spoke.

"Uncle Liu, but this tree isn't an orange tree. It's a lemon tree."

"Huh??"

"Didn't you ever notice that its fruit looks nothing like oranges?"

"Well... your grandfather wasn't good at planting. It never bore fruit before you came."

"..."

...

On Qi Cong's birthday, after buying the ingredients from the market, Jiang Tingyun started getting everything ready for the day. Today she would only sell one dish: golden soup lemon fish.

Lemon fish, like pickled fish, is usually made with grass carp or snakehead fish.

Jiang Tingyun thought snakehead had tender flesh and no tiny bones, so she chose snakehead for this lemon fish.

Although the dish had strong seasonings, freshness was still key. She waited until nearly noon to start preparing the snakehead.

She quickly scraped off the scales. The snakehead had so much slime—even after rinsing it with hot water several times, it was still slippery, making her frown in annoyance.

At that moment, she thought again of her eldest disciple's incredible sword skills and wondered if she could get Pei Jingmo to slice the fish.

Not a chance, obviously.

Jiang Tingyun deftly gutted the snakehead, cleaned the innards, then sliced the thick fillets off both sides, cutting them into evenly thin pieces. She chopped the remaining bony parts into sections.

At first, she wasn't very skilled, but gradually her movements became faster. Soon, the pile of fish slices grew higher and higher.

"Not that hard," Jiang Tingyun said, clearly feeling that after cooking for most of the year, her knife skills had improved significantly.

Moreover, the physical transformation from her awakened talent seemed to have improved her coordination. She was quick and efficient at everything.

Zhu Lili held up her phone and came over to continue filming her short video.

"So satisfying, so satisfying! Sect Master, watching your fish-cutting technique is so satisfying to watch!"

Jiang Tingyun's face darkened. "Xiao Zhu, I think you're kind of weird. Why do I never understand the content of your short videos?"

Zhu Lili grinned. "Sect Master, you just don't get it. My video views are way higher now. In modern society, satisfying videos have a future."

As the two were chatting—

"Boss Jiang!! I'm here!! You really are cutting fish!"

Qi Cong had just entered the yard when he spotted Chef Jiang's swift knife skills through the kitchen window.

"Awesome! Boss Jiang, you don't look very old, but your knife skills are no different from someone who's been cutting fish at a supermarket for ten years."

Jiang Tingyun looked out the window. Qi Cong had brought a girl with him today—she had curly hair and a pretty face.

"Happy birthday, birthday boy. Is that your girlfriend?" Jiang Tingyun raised an eyebrow.

Qi Cong's eyes widened instantly. He jumped back in shock. "You scared me! Don't talk nonsense. This is my cousin from my aunt's side, Qi Yue. I'm not close with her. She found out I was coming to Qionghua Eatery today and insisted on tagging along."

The curly-haired girl bit her lip and looked at Jiang Tingyun with a hint of grievance.

Boss Jiang had already forgotten her!

Back when Jiang Tingyun had gone to the Qi family villa to cook, Qi Yue had been upset about Grandpa's favoritism toward Qi Cong's family. She had deliberately made some sarcastic remarks to Jiang Tingyun at the kitchen door.

But honestly, right after she said them, she felt a twinge of regret. She shouldn't have taken out her family issues on an innocent person, and she certainly shouldn't have looked down on a dedicated chef.

Later, after eating Jiang Tingyun's cooking, she found it exceptionally good—which only made her earlier remarks seem even more petty. She felt even worse.

She had wanted to apologize to Jiang Tingyun after the birthday banquet, but before she could, Chef Jiang had disappeared.

Having inherited Old Master Qi's love of good food and a picky palate, Qi Yue had since eaten at several high-end restaurants, but none of them matched the food Chef Jiang had made at the birthday banquet.

So when she saw in the family group chat that Qi Cong was coming to Qionghua Eatery today, she had come along.