Knock knock knock—
“Boss Luo, the manager has finished arranging everything. Please come downstairs.”
Luo Qingqing answered and turned toward Gu Jing’an. “I’m going out for a bit first. Once school ends, go pick up the two little ones and bring them here. We’re having a hotpot for lunch.”
“Alright.”
Luo Qingqing followed the old woman to the back mountain behind her home and discovered an enormous field of chili peppers, enough to last for quite a long time. The mountain itself was barren and unwanted, but there was no guarantee others would not grow envious of Drunken River Pavilion’s business in the future. They needed to make plans for this chili field as early as possible.
For now, she purchased roughly a week’s supply first. Once they returned, she would discuss transplanting the peppers with Manager Li.
“Big Brother, why are you here?” Gu Qiran asked in surprise. When the academy gatekeeper came to call him earlier, he had not believed it.
“Did Sister-in-law come too?” Gu Xuanning hurriedly asked.
“She did.”
Gu Jing’an held one child’s hand in each of his. Xuanning practically skipped along in excitement, while even Qiran walked noticeably faster than usual.
By the time they arrived, the hotpot was already boiling, waiting only for them to add the ingredients.
Luo Qingqing had ordered a medium spice level. Since they had been able to handle the spicy chicken from last night, this should be fine too. Truly numbing and spicy flavors might be too much for the two children. Later that afternoon, she planned to draw a design for a yin-yang hotpot so next time she could enjoy a fully spicy side herself.
“Sister-in-law!” Xuanning called sweetly.
“Sister-in-law,” Qiran echoed.
“Good children, come wash your hands quickly.”
“It smells amazing!” Gu Qiran exclaimed.
“Well of course it does. Everything my sister-in-law makes smells good,” Xuanning declared confidently.
“…The chef made this, alright? I only provided the recipe.”
“But that’s amazing too. Not just anyone can create recipes.” The little girl blinked her sparkling eyes innocently.
“…True.”
Luo Qingqing was utterly defeated by her cuteness. The little girl praised her far too much.
“Eat now. You only have half an hour,” Gu Jing’an reminded helplessly. The two little ones were simply too noisy.
The pair immediately sat obediently, making Luo Qingqing burst into laughter.
Gu Jing’an’s ears turned faintly red, though luckily the steam from the hotpot concealed it well enough that nobody noticed.
Watching Luo Qingqing explain how to eat the various dishes while the two children occasionally asked questions, the dining table was filled with warmth and liveliness.
For once, Gu Jing’an ignored all the rules of remaining silent while eating or sleeping.
This kind of warmth made him want to indulge in it, if only for a moment.
After lunch, Gu Jing’an escorted the children back to the academy while Luo Qingqing accompanied Manager Li to the government office to sign official documents.
That afternoon, Luo Qingqing sketched designs for a yin-yang hotpot, a perforated skimmer spoon, and a barbecue grill, instructing the workers downstairs to have them made as quickly as possible.
She also handed Manager Li recipes for sour plum soup, egg fried rice, and pickled vegetables, telling him to purchase all the necessary ingredients first so she could teach the cooks personally afterward.
Everything else had already been arranged, but both of them ran into difficulty over the matter of land for growing chili peppers. At present, there were no suitable farms available for rent, and relying solely on the patch behind the mountain was clearly unsustainable. Eventually, they would run out.
When Gu Jing’an knocked and entered, he saw Luo Qingqing biting the end of her brush with a troubled expression, so absorbed in thought that she did not even notice him coming in.
He reached out and took the brush from her mouth. “You’re already so grown up, yet you still bite your brush?”
Luo Qingqing froze.
That action just now had felt a little too intimate.
“What are you discussing?”
Gu Jing’an’s deep, alluring voice pulled her thoughts back.
Looking up, Luo Qingqing asked, “Do you know anyone who owns farmland? We want to transplant the chili peppers there, but we haven’t found anything suitable.”
Was something like this really worth troubling herself over for so long?
In two days, he would have Ling Yi bring over the deed to the farm north of the city. As long as everything was handled cleanly, the people in the capital should not notice anything.
“My teacher owns a farm. Once he returns, I can take you to see it.”
“Mhm! Then let’s buy some things later and make food for your teacher.”
According to the novel, Yan Mingzhi loved sweets, so Luo Qingqing planned to cater to his tastes by making jam and small pastries for him.
“Manager, Boss, all the ingredients have been bought, but the blacksmith said the barbecue grill won’t be ready until tomorrow.”
The newly hired waiter spoke while secretly glancing at Luo Qingqing with curiosity.
He wondered what kind of person could command such respect from Manager Li.
Beautiful, truly beautiful.
Pure like an immortal fairy from the Ninth Heaven, so pristine that even looking at her felt like blasphemy against the divine.
“I understand! There’s no rush for the grill, tell him to make it carefully.”
Even the fairy’s voice sounded as pleasant as clear spring water flowing over stones.
The waiter wanted to sneak another glance, but suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Beside the fairy stood a handsome young man whose cold gaze swept over him seemingly unintentionally, sharp enough to feel like a thousand cuts.
“Why don’t you go to the bookstore and read for a while first? I’ll come find you after I finish teaching them,” Luo Qingqing suggested, worried about delaying his studies.
“There’s no need. You work, I’ll wait here beside you.”
Gu Jing’an looked at her with shining eyes.
Manager Li wore an expression that clearly screamed, “I ship them.”
“Hahaha, you young couple truly have such a good relationship. You can’t even bear to part for a single moment. Ah, youth really is wonderful.”
Laughing loudly, he left the room with the waiter following behind him.
Luo Qingqing’s face instantly turned bright red. She stammered for quite a while, though Gu Jing’an could not make out a single word.
He bent slightly closer to her, smiling lazily as he asked, “What did you say?”
Her face grew even redder than before.
She was weak against good voices.
Gu Jing’an’s voice was low and smooth, exactly the type she loved most. Whenever he spoke, it felt like feathers brushing lightly across her heart, a tingling numbness spreading upward from the soles of her feet until her entire body froze in place.
The young girl before him had a face flushed crimson like she was drunk on wine, her eyes shimmering brightly.
Under the warm sunlight, her delicate skin seemed wrapped in a hazy glow, soft and breathtakingly beautiful.
Gu Jing’an’s gaze darkened slightly as his Adam’s apple bobbed gently. Slowly, he straightened back up.
Luo Qingqing was surrounded entirely by the cool bamboo scent lingering on his body. Only after stepping a small distance away did she finally dare breathe normally again.
Watching her reaction, the smile in Gu Jing’an’s eyes became impossible to suppress.
“Come on.”