Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“I’m fine, stop pushing the food to me. You need to eat as well,” Lu Yun pulled his son’s hand to stop the incoming food.
The first to arrive was the plain white rice of the 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine and the Jin’ling Grass. The rice grains in the bowl were sparkling and translucent, looking like a pile of lovable white jades. On top of the rice, steam was rising without a stop.
The Jin’ling Grass served on a plate and looked glossy and green like jade. When one looked at it, one’s appetite would be stimulated.
“A white rice like this costs 98RMB?” Lu Yun whispered to his son.
“Try it. I heard this rice used to be a tribute to the palace. You can’t eat it everywhere,” Lu Cheng said.
“Isn’t it just some plain white rice? And look at that grass something dish. There is not even garlic added. Is it even edible with how bland it will be?” Lu Yun mumbled resentfully.
“Dad, you will know after trying it. It is really quite nice,” Lu Cheng then picked up some Jin’ling Grass with his chopsticks and placed it before his father.
“You should be the one to eat more. I am always eating vegetables back home. Come, eat more.” Lu Yun started filling Lu Cheng’s bowl with Jin’ling Grass instead.
“I’m a regular customer here. Don’t worry. You should eat more.” Lu Cheng dodged his father’s chopsticks and continued filling food into his father’s bowl.
“Your Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork is here. Enjoy your meal,” just as the two were busy giving each other food, Zhou Jia arrived with the Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork.
“Thank you.” Lu Cheng placed his chopsticks down and accepted the new dish.
“You are welcome. Please take your time and enjoy the meal,” Zhou Jia nodded and gently said.
“Dad, this tofu is not bad as well. Give it a try.” As usual, Lu Cheng placed the new dish near his father.
“Ok. Ok. Let’s eat. It won’t be nice if the food gets cold,” Lu Yun said.
“I will definitely start eating after you eat.” Lu Cheng was still insisting that his father ate first.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry. I will finish the food,” Lu Yun said before stuffing his mouth with rice.
“It’s nice, right?” Lu Cheng anxiously asked.
“Yeah. It is much better than the white rice back home.” Lu Yun nodded repeatedly.
“Since it’s nice, you should eat more.” Lu Cheng nimbly gave half of the rice served to his father.
“Why are you still doing the same thing like when you were a kid?” Lu Yun said with a laugh.
When he was young, he would always fill the rice he couldn’t finish into his father’s bowl while his father would silently eat it.
Most fathers weren’t good at expressing themselves, and Lu Yun was one of them. When Lu Cheng was young, he was very strict and would discipline him whenever he did anything wrong. One had to admit that it was thanks to Lu Yun’s strict teachings that Lu Cheng could pass the entrance examinations of a good university.
Oddly, whenever he gave his father unfinished rice, his father would not rebuke him. Because of that, they developed an odd habit, yet in a way, it brought them closer to each other as well.
Therefore, even if Lu Cheng could finish his rice, he would still do the same. This was already a representative of his good relationship with his father.
“I need to watch my weight. I can’t allow my muscles to turn into fat. Otherwise, you won’t get a daughter in law,” Lu Cheng said with a smile.
“I see. Make sure you get one when you come back from the next Chinese New Year. You don’t need to find a beautiful girl. As long as she is nice to you, it’s fine,” Lu Yun said.
Seeing their child getting married was the hope of all parents. When Lu Yun heard of this topic, he immediately reminded his son.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry, dad,” Lu Cheng was still able to talk while eating.
“Don’t keep taking food for me. Eat more,” Lu Yun said.
Just like that, the father and son pair chatted away. Occasionally, Lu Yun would still grumble here and there.
Sometimes, Lu Yun would talk about Lu Cheng’s mother.
“Your mom is living very comfortably now. She eats and sleeps a lot. Each month she would go to the hospital on time. The doctor is also saying that she is recovering nicely. I even made her some meat porridge earlier. She must have heated it to eat by now. She’s doing very well and is feeling very good. Just today we got into a debate whether Huang Haibo and Huang Haibin are biological siblings. Don’t worry about us. We are doing well,” Lu Yun said while eating.
“Um. It’s good that mom is fine,” Lu Cheng said with a nod. He had no idea what relationship did Huang Haibo and Huang Haibin had apart from their similar names. He then continued, “I will be going back on the next Chinese New Year.”
“It’s fine if you’re too busy. When working outside, don’t keep thinking of coming back home. We are doing good,” Lu Yun repeated.
Lu Cheng started eating silent and only spoke after a while, “I have time during the next Chinese New Year.”
“This meatball is so weird. It’s both sweet and sour, yet it’s very tasty,” Lu Yun said in astonishment after trying the Swedish Meatball.
“I heard this is a renowned dish of a foreign country,” Lu Cheng said.
“Isn’t it just some tomatoes stuffed in meatballs? How is this a renowned dish?” Lu Yun said while smacking his lips.
“When Boss Yuan releases a good porridge dish, bring mom here as well. Let her try Boss Yuan’s cooking skills,” Lu Cheng said with a serious expression.
“No way. This place is way too expensive,” Lu Yun immediately rejected, “We are better off buying some ingredients back home and I can cook for you.”
“I told you, your son is making big money. Don’t worry,” Lu Cheng once again used his salary as an argument.
“Even if you are making big money, you can’t squander it off like this. The price of houses is so expensive nowadays. Apart from salary, everything is increasing in price. Since you are making a lot, you should save them up,” Lu Yun insisted.
“Ok, let’s not talk about this. Come, continue eating,” Lu Cheng gave up and switched the topic back to the food instead.
Lu Cheng was sure that his father would be able to finish the dishes ordered. After all, the prices were not cheap. They wouldn’t be able to bear wasting such expensive food.
As the two were busy eating, two young men entered the restaurant. They were talking to each other and their voices were quite loud.
“This is the place that KFC kid mentioned?” asked a short-haired male after scanning the restaurant.
“Yeah. This is Yuan Zhou’s restaurant,” a man wearing glasses who looked scholarly answered with a nod.
“I wonder how it would feel to eat here,” the short-haired male nodded and said after taking a seat.
The two started ordering, while Lu Cheng and his father had just finished their meal.
“Are you full, dad? If not, we can order more,” Lu Cheng asked after looking at the perfectly clean plates and bowls on the table.
“Yeah, I’m full. After sending me to the bus station, get back to work,” Lu Yun immediately stopped his son from ordering more.
“I’m taking the afternoon off. Why don’t I bring you around Chengdu?” Lu Cheng asked while they were leaving the restaurant.
“It’s fine. It’s not easy for you to get a chance to rest. Go back home and take a nap,” Lu Yun shook his head and rejected.
“I know you are worried about leaving mom alone at home. Let me send you to the bus station then,” Lu Cheng nodded and immediately called for a taxi after arriving at the intersection.
The bus station wasn’t very far from Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. The taxi fare was only about 30RMB.
Before getting onto the bus, Lu Yun was still nagging at his son and kept reminding him about many things. He was getting quite long-winded.
Lu Cheng kept giving the same replies, “Don’t worry. I’m living a fulfilling life here.”
Only then did Lu Yun felt less worried and got on the bus.
Looking at the slowly departing bus, Lu Cheng turned around to leave. At the same time, he took his phone out and made a call.
“Sorry, Supervisor Luo. I did not notice your call earlier. What can I do for you?” Lu Cheng said modestly and cordially.
It was unknown what was being said to him, but Lu Cheng kept explaining without a stop, “Don’t worry. I’m coming over immediately.”
Then, he hung up the call and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He made another call while heading towards the public bus stop.
After getting on the bus, Lu Cheng finally had some free time for himself. Thus, he took out his phone and checked the balance of his account.
“Luckily, I had stocked up on instant noodles earlier. It will last me for about 10 days. I will have enough to survive the remaining few days.” Lu Cheng’s heart soured when he saw the less than 300RMB he had in his account.
Lu Cheng was in fact a salesman. He sold medicine and each month, he got a salary of about 5,000RMB. This was in fact a decent salary. After all, he was only a fresh graduate.
Out of the 5,000RMB he made, he sent 4,000RMB back home. This left only 1,000RMB for himself. In the meal earlier, he spent about 1,300RMB. This had already surpassed his budget.
“Hiss. Boss Yuan’s restaurant is really expensive. No matter how good the food there is, it will be hard for me to be able to go there again,” Lu Cheng muttered when he calculated the price of the food there. At the same time, a longing look appeared on his face.
Unfortunately, the price was truly so expensive his heart ached when eating there. However, it was good that he could treat his father to a decent meal. It was worth it to make his father worry less about him.
