Walking the Path of a Workaholic in Cliché Novels (QT) Chapter 140

“Uncle Jiu, I heard that you didn’t have dinner tonight. Are you so naughty?”

Xie Jiu had skipped dinner because of a dull stomachache. He was frowning as he processed documents and looked towards the door in surprise: “Tiantong? Aren’t you…” going out to a party tonight?

“I wanted to have hotpot with Mr. Xie Jiu, who is ‘busy with affairs of state.'” An Yinong, who was standing at the door of the study, reached out and knocked on the open door. “I wonder if I have the honor to do so?”

An Yinong laughed as he spoke: “Did I disturb you? Is it convenient for you to come in?”

“Of course it’s convenient.” Xie Jiu put down his pen. His stomach was still uncomfortable, but he naturally said, “I was busy and forgot about it. I just wanted to eat something.”

An Yinong had no doubts: “Even if you are busy at work, you still have to eat, otherwise your stomach will feel uncomfortable.”

“Got it, little housekeeper.”

In An Yinong’s small villa, the hot pot and ingredients were ready. Xie Jiu was a bit of a clean freak, so he and An Yinong shared one pot, and the others shared another.

At this time, the villa was decorated with red New Year couplets and window stickers, and a string of red lanterns was hung at the door. It looked lively and bustling. Compared with Xie Jiu’s deserted villa, it felt even warmer and more homely.

Xie Jiu was waiting for the cut ingredients to be placed in bowls, while An Yinong was feeding the fish. Before he even sprinkled the fish food in his hand, the fish in the tank had already swam towards him.

“These fish like you so much.”

“Yes, I am likable.” An Yinong said as he scattered fish food. In fact, these fish were not taken care of by him, but as long as he appeared near the fish tank, these fish would swim over.

“I’ll feed some too.” Xie Jiu stood up and walked over, wanting to join the team feeding the fish. Unexpectedly, as soon as he approached, the fish seemed to be afraid of him and retreated.

An Yinong kept laughing: “Uncle Jiu has such a strong aura that even fish are scared.”

Xie Jiu also laughed when he saw this: “Only fish are like this. Maybe I was a fisherman in my previous life and offended them.”

An Yinong remembered that in his previous life, his lover was not liked by fish either. He always thought it was because he was a ghost. Could it be that it was due to his physique? After a while, the ingredients were ready and they sat down one by one.

“I didn’t know what Uncle Jiu would like, so I bought a little bit of everything.”

The golden chicken soup in the pot boiled up and down, and the plump mushrooms and green onions rose and fell with the soup. Next to the hot pot, there were also golden fried crispy bells (bean curd wrapped with stuffing and fried in oil), hand-made beef balls, fish balls, shrimp balls, fried fish skin, bamboo fungus queen, fresh nine-segment shrimps, mantis shrimps, cuttlefish, oysters, egg dumplings…

The gentle aroma of the food eased Xie Jiu’s discomfort, or maybe it was because there was someone around to eat with him, so the ache temporarily went away. In short, Xie Jiu felt very good now. He looked at An Yinong, who was only wearing a turtleneck sweater and was scooping up a bowl of golden chicken soup.

There was a whole chicken in the pot, which had been stewed for so long that the bones were numb. With a gentle pull of chopsticks, the skin and meat came off the bones. The chicken meat, glistening with oil, swayed on the tip of the chopsticks, creating ripples in the soup. The rich and fresh aroma of the stewed chicken wafted in the air.

An Yinong made a bowl of chicken soup, put the stewed chicken in it, and placed it in front of Xie Jiu: “Uncle Jiu, eat first.”

After putting down the bowl, he looked at Xie Jiu with his smiling eyes: “You didn’t eat dinner tonight, why don’t you drink some soup to soothe your stomach?”

“Okay.” Xie Jiu heard himself talking. This bowl of chicken soup was so delicious that he felt full before it even went into his stomach. All the organs in his body became gentle and relaxed.

An Yinong also poured himself a bowl of chicken soup and picked up a large chicken leg. The tender and smooth chicken meat was full of gelatin, and every bite was infused with the aroma of other ingredients. The cartilage at both ends of the chicken leg bones hasd almost melted. With a light sip, the chicken meat and the elastic cartilage will come out. With another suck, the delicious soup would enter your mouth.

Full of food, full of happiness. Now if you give him a bowl of rice, he could eat two bowls with chicken soup.

“This is what eating is like.” An Yinong sighed in his heart. It was so boring to eat cold food alone at a lively banquet.

After drinking the soup and eating a chicken leg, An Yinong did not feel full, but his appetite was piqued and he became even hungrier. He picked up a bamboo tube that had been split in half, on which were eight hand-made meatballs. Beef balls, fish balls, shrimp balls, and cuttlefish balls all came in twos, double portions.

“Uncle Jiu, are you going to eat this? Should I pour it all down?”

Xie Jiu, who was drinking soup, smiled and nodded: “I’m fine with either.”

If the chef at home heard what he said, he would shed tears. Xie Jiu had changed many chefs because of his fussiness and pickiness. A big reason why this chef was able to stay was that he could make delicious honey lemon cake.

After hearing the words, An Yinong poured the eight plump meatballs on the bamboo tube into the chicken soup, and also picked up some fried crispy spring roll-style bells. Fried crispy bells were already fried foods that doid not need to be put into the pan and could be eaten with sweet and sour sauce.

“This crispy bell is filled with purple sweet potatoes, and this one is filled with cheese.” An Yinong tilted his head and thought seriously for a moment, “For Uncle Jiu’s good figure, I’ll bear the pain and eat the cheese flavor.”

He put the fried crispy bells wrapped in purple sweet potato into Xie Jiu’s bowl, and the fried crispy bells with cheese into his own bowl. Exploding cheese crispy bells, the best!

Xie Jiu couldn’t help laughing, and then he thought of the phrase ‘Uncle Jiu’s good figure’. That day at sea, An Yinong pulled him out of the water and took off all his clothes…

Well, he didn’t feel anything at the time, but now recalling it made his face hot. Fortunately, at this time, they were eating hot pot, and the mist covered Xie Jiu’s face.

The first to finish cooking among the hand-made meatballs are the shrimp balls. The pink, crystal clear shrimp balls were mixed with bright red particles that they were not sure whether they were fish roe or crab roe. No dipping sauce was needed. They were fresh, fragrant, elastic and refreshing when bitten. There were also small red seeds with unique flavor that bounced and burst between teeth. An Yinong wanted to eat a second one after eating one.

However, he still reluctantly scooped up the other shrimp ball and put it into Xie Jiu’s spare bowl.

“Uncle Jiu, put it here first. It won’t taste good if it’s overcooked.” After saying that, he went to scoop out the other cooked meatballs. Seeing his eyes shining, he must be enjoying the process of putting in and scooping out the ingredients.

So Xie Jiu didn’t move, and waited patiently for the cooked food to be fished out and placed in his bowl.

In fact, the atmosphere at the other table was more lively, but for some reason, Xie Jiu felt that it was warmer and beautiful for the two of them to eat hotpot together. It was the coldest season in Gangcheng, and it was night time, so most people had returned home to reunite with their families. At this time, the prison in Gangcheng also provided slightly better New Year meals.

However, when Zhang Ming, who had just met someone, came back, his food had already been divided up.

“It doesn’t matter.” He sat on the bed, his face haggard but his eyes shining, “Wen Long is back, I will definitely come out.”

Zhang Ming knew that Wen Long had some misunderstandings about him, but at the same time, he had a different attitude towards Wen Long. He had seen and saved Wen Long when he was at his most destitute. At that time, he was not even Xie Jiu’s adopted son, but just an insignificant orphan in the fortress.

“He said it himself. I was the only warmth he had in the past. He would definitely rescue me, he would.” He clenched his hands, his eyes filled with bloodshot.

So what was Wen Long doing now that he had left prison? He stood on the street of the Walled City. Although the Walled City was seen as a devil’s den by outsiders, most of the people here were just ordinary people. They also wanted to celebrate the New Year. Even if they had no money, they would always put up a pair of red couplets and hang a red lantern, praying for good luck and success in the coming year.

Wen Long, wearing black clothes, walked into an alley. Above the alley was a wire fence with a lot of garbage hanging on it, some of which was still dripping. The ground was also always wet, very slippery and sticky, and one can step on some bugs or be crawled over by arrogant rats from time to time.

This was where he used to live. It was not until he was sixteen that he took his father’s letter to find Xie Jiu and became his adopted son.

“It’s still the same here,” he thought. Nothing has changed.

Wen Long secretly came back, and Xie Jiu didn’t know about it. Because he heard that Zhang Ming was in prison, he wanted to come and take a look no matter what, to give an explanation for his naive past. Unfortunately, Zhang Ming still wanted to deceive him.

Save him? How could he save someone like a clay Buddha crossing the river? Even if he could, why would he do that?

Wen Long’s character was like this, he wanted those he loved to live and those he hated to die: “Everyone must pay the price for what he has done.”

Ever since he found out that He Tiantong was actually the young master of the He family, and that Zhang Ming’s aunt was really having an affair with He Chengjue and wanted to become Mrs. He, he knew that he was being used as a gun. It was a pity that he thought he was so infatuated that he never regretted it, but it turned out that he was just a fool who was played by others.

Yes, Zhang Ming was such a person. Before, he was penniless, and when Zhang Ming saw him, didn’t he pretend not to know him? It was only later that he became Xie Jiu’s adopted son that they got together. Wen Long’s mother was a rich lady, but within two years of eloping with a poor boy, she could not stand the difference in life and went back to remarry. Wen Long went to look for her, but was ruthlessly driven away.

At that time, Wen Long had a lot of hatred in his heart. He vowed to make a name for himself and make his mother cry and beg for forgiveness. He also hid a wish in his heart, he hoped he could find a lover.

That person was just like his mother, born into a rich and upper class family, and had never suffered hardship. But that person would not despise his origin and past, nor would he care about any external conditions, but only his essence. This person cannot be Zhang Ming.

Just now, Zhang Ming wanted to lie to him, saying that He Tiantong had deliberately targeted him and that the He family was powerful, so he had no way to defend himself. In fact, Wen Long had already inquired about the situation before he arrived. Zhang Ming did instigate those three gangsters to sell He Tiantong abroad. Many people also liked handsome boys like him.

“It’s a pity that he didn’t know that He Tiantong was indeed kidnapped that night. I don’t know what the He family paid to rescue him. Zhang Ming was the target of anger, but he was also the one who got caught first.”

It was also that night that Xie Jiu had an accident, but he was fine and seemed to have been rescued by the He family, which was why the two families later collaborated on charity. Wen Long had mixed feelings. He was very grateful to Xie Jiu for supporting him in his studies and life, but…if Xie Jiu died at that time, a portion of his family business would fall into his hands, right?

Xie Jiu had no relatives, no lover, and he did not make a will.

If he died… Wen Long looked up. The sky of the lower class people in the city was always so dark and smelled of garbage. He went outside to see other skies, which were so bright and filled with the fragrance of flowers and fine wine. That was what he wanted.

After his trip abroad, he became even more certain that he wanted more and better things. He wanted a beautiful villa built halfway up the mountain, a luxury car to drive around in, servants who spoke English, and even the people around him could not smell of mud. No matter how nicely Zhang Ming packaged himself, it could not change the inferior and sour smell in his bones.

Wen Long unilaterally believed that Zhang Ming’s inferiority was because he was poor, not because he was bad. He really hated being poor and regarded being poor as the most intolerable thing in the world and the worst thing. So at this time he thought of He Tiantong, a truly pampered young master.

“I want to have the best of everything, so the people around me must also be the best, like a young master who has never been poor since birth, and every strand of his hair exudes the fragrance of luxury from the upper class.”

Wen Long felt that only in this way could he prove that he had completely broken away from his original class. Yes, he needed a piece of precious jewelry that could show his status.

“But what should I do?” According to the agreement between him and Xie Jiu, he would no longer support him after he turned 20. Now he was already 20 years old.

The rats in the hole crawled out from the dark and sunlightless place, crawled across the dirty and muddy road, crawled over Wen Long’s shoes, and squeaked under the barbed wire filled with garbage. Wen Long glanced at the mouse, turned around and left this place. He was determined to have everything he wanted, no matter what.

“Hmm, I feel so full. I ate too much without realizing it.” An Yinong, who felt lazy and didn’t want to move in winter, curled up on the sofa and ate some hawthorn slices to help digestion.

Xie Jiu, who was eight-tenths full, looked at him humming, subconsciously walked over and sat down on the edge of the sofa, put his hand on his soft belly, wanting to rub it for him.

An Yinong was stunned, and Xie Jiu was also stunned. This was a very intimate behavior, but they didn’t seem to be that intimate yet.

“Ah,” An Yinong sat up, “Is Uncle Jiu here to celebrate the New Year?”

Xie Jiu retracted his fingers and replied naturally: “Yes, you want to go back to the He family’s old house?”

“Well, some relatives from abroad are coming back and they want to stay for two days to build relationships. I’ll call Uncle Jiu to wish him a happy new year. Do you have any lucky money?”

“Yes, of course.” Xie Jiu looked into his eyes, “Uncle Jiu will give you whatever you want.”

“Please, Uncle Jiu, don’t act like an elder.”

Xie Jiu thought about his age of nearly 30: “I am more than ten years older than you.”

“But,” An Yinong slowly approached, his eyes sparkling with a smile, “When I first saw Uncle Jiu, I was wondering how someone could wear a Tang suit so elegantly and gracefully? Can’t I call you Brother Yu in stead of uncle?”

“There’s still a lot of chicken left…” Granny Lian came out of the kitchen and passed the hall. She found that her young master was sitting alone in the living room, and he was smiling as if he had encountered something happy.

“Where is Mr. Xie? Has he left?” Granny Lian looked around but there was no one there.

“Yes.” The man fled in panic.