Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1145 - 551: The Taste of Memories (3)

If this were a women's novel, Wang Gen Sheng would certainly be the foolishly filial man being drained by his family. All his salary would be used to support the family, leaving him stretched thin, and his wife and children would also certainly be bullied.

But reality is not a novel. In reality, Wang Gen Sheng's family lived in hardship.

Wang Gen Sheng's father died at only 47 due to chronic overwork from heavy labor and a leg injury.

His eldest brother also died at 55 from overwork. His sister-in-law contracted tuberculosis from a coworker while working at the state cotton factory and died at 58.

His second brother and elder sister, unable to find jobs after returning to the city, chose to stay in the Northwest, engaging in arduous labor for years, suffering malnutrition, and died at 49 and 51, respectively.

And Wang Gen Sheng's mother died the second year after their home was demolished.

It can be said that the Wang family received a large sum from the demolition, but none of Wang Gen Sheng's relatives of his generation, except himself, enjoyed the benefits of this fortune.

Back then, news of families torn apart, brothers fighting, and parents and children falling out over demolition compensation and property disputes was so common it barely captured attention. Only when brothers fought over compensation and property, even digging up their father's grave, did it become newsworthy.

The land and property from the Wang family demolition were all under Wang Gen Sheng's name, and his older siblings had all passed away. Many people both lamented Wang Gen Sheng's good fortune and secretly anticipated his nephews and nieces causing a commotion, making his household chaotic.

But without Wang Gen Sheng, none of his many nephews and nieces, whether in Shan City or in the Northwest, came to fight for the property and demolition money.

His eldest nephew (the eldest brother's first son) even declared at the time that his uncle was like a second father to him, as he was mostly raised on his uncle's salary. When the family was poor, his uncle shared their hardships, and now wealthy, if he fought for property, he wouldn't have the face to meet his parents in the afterlife.

The demolition concluded with Wang Gen Sheng giving each nephew, niece, and grandnephew a house, splitting the demolition money equally, and keeping the remaining houses himself, a fairness that was sensational at the time and even made the newspapers.

Over the years, whenever New Year came, Wang Gen Sheng's nephews, nieces, grandnephews, and grandnieces, regardless of where they were, would come with their families to Shan City to pay respects to their uncle.

This is why the elderly men and women jogging in the morning didn't know about Wang Gen Sheng's accounting skills, but everyone firmly believed he hadn't falsified accounts in 40 years.

After hearing the stories gathered by Gong Liang and Cheng Gong, Qin Huai seemed to understand why Wang Gen Sheng's sub-quest was completed.

He even slightly understood why Uncle Wang, despite not having dementia, was forgetful and couldn't remember past events.

For Wang Gen Sheng, life before and after the demolition were two different worlds. The pre-demolition Wang family was poor, struggling, life was in black and white, even facing relatives passing away one after another. But the poorer times were warmer, as there were relatives, close friends, and the overly salty pickles his mother made.

Post-demolition, the Wang family was affluent, warm, and friendly, life was colorful. The past poverty seemed like a dream, all those who experienced poverty stayed in the past, only Wang Gen Sheng stayed in the present.

Qin Huai thought, perhaps Uncle Wang's task was completed because of those salty pickles, because Uncle Wang really couldn't remember.

He perhaps really forgot that the dumplings were made with leftover ingredients by Xu Nuo during their first Spring Festival in Gusu, so he couldn't describe the taste or what he wanted to eat.

He was simply reminiscing about past times and people.

He couldn't recall the dumplings, but his mother's pickle taste was vividly remembered. Those pickles might not have tasted like his mother's that day, but they were horrible.

Uncle Wang was also sentimental, when emotions surged, he could complete any task.