010: Let Wen Qiao Take Shen Jichuan Home
Wen Qiao knew Zhao Lili liked her quite a bit.
But she never expected the child to say something so direct.
Afraid of being misunderstood, Wen Qiao immediately corrected Zhao Lili's thinking.
"Lili, I'm good to you because you're good, and because you're good to me, that's why I'm good to you. I can be good to you even if I'm not your mom."
Zhao Lili chewed the meat in her mouth, swallowed it, and then said:
"Sister Qiao, you don't know, my grandma has always wanted to find me a new mom. Several aunties have come to our house, and I didn't like any of them."
"My dad also said that as long as I don't like them, he won't marry them."
"Now I like you, so wouldn't it be great if my dad married you?"
Before Wen Qiao could explain, she saw a figure walk past the kitchen doorway.
She wasn't sure if it was Shen Jichuan or Zhao Minghan.
The two of them were wearing the same kind of clothes.
Wen Qiao felt inexplicably guilty for a moment.
For some reason, she was actually afraid of being misunderstood by Shen Jichuan.
After finishing her conversation with Zhao Lili, Wen Qiao's preparations for the meal were almost complete.
Stir-fried pork with fresh bamboo shoots, shredded pork with celery, minced pork with tofu, braised pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cold cucumber salad, and peanuts in aged vinegar.
There was also the red sausage bought from the supply and marketing cooperative.
Old Mr. Zhao liked the garlic-flavored kind, while Aunt Wang preferred the original flavor.
So every time Wen Qiao went to buy it, she would get half of each flavor.
Today, she sliced some of each and arranged them on a plate to serve.
Looking at the full table of dishes, Zhao Minghan was pleased.
He stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Wen Qiao with full praise in his eyes.
"Comrade Qiao, not bad at all. These dishes you've made are a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate."
Wen Qiao replied politely, "Brother Zhao, you flatter me. I just made some simple home-cooked dishes. It's because all of you are so kind, always praising my cooking."
Zhao Minghan laughed, "You're being too modest."
As he spoke, he looked at Shen Jichuan, "Jichuan, tell me, are these dishes considered poor?"
Shen Jichuan's gaze swept over Wen Qiao.
"Not bad."
Zhao Minghan chuckled and invited Shen Jichuan to take a seat.
Zhao Laifu, who had just returned from playing outside, washed his hands and enthusiastically insisted on drinking with Shen Jichuan.
"Uncle Zhao, I still have work to do this afternoon, I really can't drink. Next time, I'll bring some wine and come drink with you."
"You kid, you always fool me. I don't believe you. Sit down, let's drink."
The old gentleman was quite authoritative. He personally took out the Moutai liquor from the cabinet, and Shen Jichuan simply couldn't refuse.
Zhao Minghan also chimed in, "Among all my dad's students, you're his favorite. You're here today, and my dad is happy. Jichuan, don't refuse. Drinking won't affect your performance."
Shen Jichuan had no choice but to accept.
Zhao Laifu called for Wen Qiao to bring wine glasses, saying to bring bigger ones.
"With such good food today, wouldn't it be a waste not to drink?"
Wen Qiao smiled, turned around, and went to the kitchen to fetch larger wine glasses.
Usually, when there were no outsiders at home, the Zhao family would invite Wen Qiao to sit and eat with them.
But today, with guests at the Zhao house, Wen Qiao scooped out a bit of two dishes, thinking she would eat in the kitchen later—it was the same anyway.
Being a housekeeper meant working for the family. They paid, and you did the work.
If they were good to you and treated you like family, that was because they were well-mannered and polite, with high standards.
She couldn't really start thinking of herself as part of the Zhao family and sit down to eat with them without any sense of propriety.
Zhao Lili noticed that everyone had sat down to eat, but she didn't see Wen Qiao joining them.
She asked, "Why isn't Sister Xiao Qiao eating with us?"
Wen Qiao quickly explained, "I'll eat in the kitchen—it's all the same."
"Lili, hurry up and eat. I'll take you to school later."
Though puzzled, Zhao Lili was very obedient to Wen Qiao.
"Okay, I'll listen to Sister Xiao Qiao."
Zhao Minghan chuckled and said, "You know, ever since Xiao Qiao came to our house, Lili's personality has improved a lot. She's become more proactive in communicating with others."
Zhao Lili pretended not to hear her father's words.
When she didn't feel like talking, she wouldn't even bother with her own father.
Zhao Laifu and Shen Jichuan kept drinking.
Shen Jichuan couldn't refuse.
The key was that he didn't dare—nor could he—put on airs in front of the old principal, so he had to drink.
The old principal was a seasoned drinker with no sense of restraint.
If Shen Jichuan hadn't been there, Wang Yuezhi would have already started scolding him for drinking.
Zhao Minghan also drank quite a bit, and the three of them ended up flushed and red-faced.
After finishing her meal in the kitchen, Wen Qiao washed the pot, tidied up the kitchen, and sorted out the trash, placing it by the door.
Seeing how diligent Wen Qiao was, Wang Yuezhi quickly said, "Xiao Qiao, sit down and rest for a while."
Wen Qiao smiled and replied, "I'm not tired, Auntie."
Wang Yuezhi then seemed to remember something and added, "Xiao Qiao, could you take Lili to school later? They've all had too much to drink, and Minghan won't be able to take the child to school."
Wen Qiao nodded and said, "Sure."
As a nanny, taking the child to school was normal, and Wen Qiao didn't mind doing these things. Besides, she got along quite well with Zhao Lili.
Taking the child to school wasn't tiring either.
Hearing this, Zhao Minghan looked up at his mother. "Mom, I haven't had that much to drink. I'm fine."
"Jichuan, if you can't handle it, don't force yourself."
Zhao Minghan added a word of advice.
Shen Jichuan had been invited over for a meal on short notice, and his driver hadn't been asked to come along.
Shen Jichuan hadn't expected to end up drinking at the old principal's house.
The main issue was that the bottle of liquor the old principal brought out later was too strong.
"Old Principal, what kind of liquor is this? It doesn't sit well—my stomach feels like it's burning. It's not as good as the liquor we usually drink."
The old principal chuckled and said, "Someone gave this to me. They said it's some kind of fine liquor, foreign stuff."
It was spirits, not wine, and it packed quite a punch.
The key was that the effect hit hard and fast.
They started with baijiu and then moved on to spirits—the old principal was really sparing no expense.
Old Principal: "You're complaining now? If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even offer it to them. What are you afraid of? If you get drunk, just sleep it off here."
Shen Jichuan wore a helpless smile at the corner of his mouth.
There was nothing he could do about this old rascal of a principal.
Just then, Zhao Lili called Wen Qiao over to eat grapes.
After finishing their meal, Wang Yuezhi and Zhao Lili went to the living room coffee table to eat fruit and watch TV, inviting Wen Qiao to join them.
As Wen Qiao walked toward them, she happened to catch Shen Jichuan's light smile.
She quickly averted her gaze.
Shen Jichuan also froze for a moment before picking up his glass and taking another drink.
After several rounds of drinks, the old principal had had too much and was helped back to his room to sleep by Wang Yuezhi and Wen Qiao.
One good thing about the old principal was that when he drank too much, he just fell asleep—he never caused a scene.
Shen Jichuan and Zhao Minghan stayed in the living room talking.
After taking Zhao Lili to school and returning, Wen Qiao saw that Shen Jichuan still hadn't left.
Zhao Minghan was so drunk his legs were weak, unable to stand steady while walking, making it impossible for him to escort Shen Jichuan.
"Old Zhao, don’t bother seeing me off. I can walk on my own."
"You… you’ve had quite a bit to drink too. I wouldn’t feel at ease letting you go alone."
"I… I’ll have Xiao Qiao see you off."
Wen Qiao, who was clearing the leftover dishes from the table, paused for a moment.
She said nothing.
Zhao Minghan called out, "Xiao Qiao. Escort… escort my old comrade. Make sure he gets home safely."
"Don’t worry, my old comrade has a son older than you. He won’t do anything to you."
Zhao Minghan was afraid that Wen Qiao, being a young girl, might feel intimidated by Shen Jichuan’s rough and stern demeanor.
Shen Jichuan was rigid, aloof, and expressionless.
Not only would a young girl find him unappealing, but even the soldiers he had trained before regarded him with a mix of respect and fear.
Wen Qiao was well aware that Shen Jichuan looked down on her.
Therefore, she had no worries that Shen Jichuan would do anything inappropriate to her.
Zhao Minghan even emphasized that Wen Qiao should treat Shen Jichuan as an elder.
With Zhao Minghan putting it that way, Wen Qiao didn’t refuse and promptly agreed to escort Shen Jichuan home.
To be honest, a leader like Shen Jichuan could easily make a phone call from anywhere he drank, and someone would respectfully drive him home.
Wen Qiao couldn’t understand why Shen Jichuan, despite being drunk, wouldn’t allow Zhao Minghan to arrange for a driver to pick him up.
Why insist on having her, a mere housemaid, escort him?
Wen Qiao couldn’t make sense of it.