Yun Fan’s story hadn’t been told in vain. The moment he announced the four blind box themes, Wen Zhaofu’s clenched fist relaxed.
For Great-Grandmother, he had prepared “Glorious Years”; Cheng Yu’s large family got “Footprints Around the Globe”; the third branch received “Legends of Light and Shadow”; and for Wen Zhaofu’s own branch the most numerous of all there was the heartwarming “Childhood Memories.”
Just from hearing those names, Wen Zhaofu knew that the hearts of this entire family were about to be won over by Yun Fan.
Soon, everyone gathered around Great-Grandmother. Having stood for a little too long, the old lady had someone bring her a chair.
She placed her hand on the dish cover and looked at Yun Fan with kind eyes. “A surprise, is it?”
“Take a look, Great-Grandmother.” Yun Fan’s bright, sparkling eyes were full of anticipation.
Great-Grandmother raised an eyebrow, pressed upward with her hand, and lifted the cover, letting out a “wow.” In the center of the tray lay a bowl of Taiping Rouyan.
In an instant, Great-Grandmother’s eyes reddened. She steadied herself, then beckoned to Yun Fan. “Child, come here.”
Yun Fan hurried over, and Great-Grandmother took his hand, giving it a gentle shake. In Yun Fan’s memory, Great-Grandmother was always elegant and composed, but today, just a small bowl of Rouyan seemed to have touched something deep within her.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had Rouyan.” Great-Grandmother looked up at everyone. “You all know Zuhua he made a superb Rouyan. But what you don’t know is why an outsider like him could make a delicacy from my hometown.”
“This Rouyan skin is a paper-thin sheet made by repeatedly pounding pork hind leg meat so thin it’s translucent, and it takes tremendous effort.” Great-Grandmother smiled. “When Zuhua was learning from my mother back then, he put in so much work that I felt his two arms must have become uneven in thickness.”
“Later, once he mastered it, he made it for me often. You know, when he was first starting his business, the environment was perilous, and I lived in constant anxiety. Only when he came home each night and cooked me a bowl of this Rouyan did I feel that the day had passed in peace.”
“Seeing them floating on the surface like little swallows, my heart would settle.”
Yun Fan handed Great-Grandmother a spoon, and she took a taste. The filling of the Rouyan was a minced paste of pork and fish, enhanced with shrimp and water chestnuts fresh, not greasy, crisp, and pleasantly chewy.
When Great-Grandmother looked up again, tears glistened in her eyes. She nodded at Yun Fan. “Thank you for letting me taste this Taiping Rouyan once more.”
“I understand Zuhua has always been by my side. I have no other expectations for the Wen family, only that you all remain harmonious, and that every household enjoys peace.”
As Great-Grandmother finished speaking, Liu Erxing, standing at the outermost edge of the crowd, took the initiative to applaud. Yun Fan glanced at him, and he raised an eyebrow with a smile.
After the applause died down, Great-Grandmother patted Yun Fan on the waist. “Let the children open their blind boxes first. I need a moment to compose myself.”
Wen Zhaofu adjusted the direction of his wheelchair and moved to Great-Grandmother’s side. The old and the young sat together, watching Yun Fan push the cart over to the eldest branch’s family.
Earlier, Wen Tingqi had spoken rudely, but seeing how cooperative Great-Grandmother was, he dared not overstep. When Yun Fan gestured for him to open the lid, he did so with some reluctance, lifting the one in the center.
“Wow.” Wen Tingqi and Yun Fan exclaimed simultaneously.
As luck would have it, these two consecutive picks were exactly the ones Yun Fan had most hoped they would open. Before Wen Tingqi lay a scepter crafted from chocolates of different colors.
He lowered his head and looked carefully, reading out the letters: “It’s the school’s name!”
“Professor Wen, why don’t you tell us about your major breakthrough in optical communication technology that took eight years to achieve, and your experience of staying on as a professor upon graduation, becoming the youngest professor in your alma mater’s history?” Yun Fan said, noticing that Wen Tingqi’s eyes were growing brighter and brighter.
In the Wen family, devoting oneself to scholarship was an unconventional pursuit. As the eldest son, Wen Tingqi had been expected to carry great hopes, but he had absolutely no interest in business. Since childhood, he had loved asking why about everything in the world.
This created friction between him and his parents, and he later went abroad alone to study, stubbornly refusing to ask his family for money, working part-time while studying.
In the end, Wen Tingqi achieved his dreams and glory, but when he returned to the Wen family to share the good news, he found that after offering their congratulations, everyone lost interest when he began describing his research.
So in the heart of this 76-year-old man, giving ten thousand lectures outside could never compare to sharing his work with his family just once.
He had waited decades, and who would have thought the opportunity would finally come during an afternoon tea. At that moment, Wen Tingqi looked at the young Yun Fan and felt a flicker of gratitude rise in his heart.
Times had changed, and now there were more scholars in the Wen family, and more people willing to listen patiently to what he had to say.
This time, Wen Tingqi’s animated discourse won everyone’s attention.
“My physics teacher in middle school was a student of Great-Grandfather!” Wen Haochen raised his hand. “When he teaches, I can understand.”
“But your physics grades are pretty bad,” An Liwen chimed in, and the whole room burst into laughter.
Wen Tingqi finally relaxed his expression and gave Yun Fan an approving smile. He then turned to the younger generation and said earnestly, “In this world, it’s true that studying isn’t the only path, but being able to study is something precious. So while you still have the chance to be on campus, please cherish it.”
After he finished speaking, Yun Fan saw that all ten of these little ancestors from the fourth generation of the Wen family had put away their expressions, as obedient as elementary school students on their first day.
Yun Fan turned to look at Wen Zhaofu and saw that even he had lowered his head, as if waiting to receive his report card.
Yun Fan truly hadn’t expected this lecture to have such an effect.
Before Yun Fan could turn to Wen Tingwang, the old man stepped forward on his own and opened the meal covers for his family’s plates one by one.
“Too troublesome just open them all,” Wen Tingwang said with a smack of his lips.
Everyone gasped, but Yun Fan remained quite calm. Through Liu Erxing, he knew that this grandfather had always marched to the beat of his own drum.
At today’s occasion, everyone was dressed rather formally, except Wen Tingwang, who wore a shirt and pants in dopamine color combinations. In Wen Zhaofu’s words, it might be called a riot of color. But in Yun Fan’s view, it was just flashy and gaudy.
All the covers were mercilessly opened, and Liu Erxing walked over to Yun Fan, giving him a reassuring smile. Yun Fan smiled back and nodded.
Wen Zhaofu, who had relaxed his hands, clenched them into fists again. He observed Wen Tingwang’s expression, holding off for the moment.
“Oh no, will Third Grandfather make things difficult for Yun Fan? Bro…” Wen Haochen muttered quietly to Wen Zhaofu.
Wen Zhaofu straightened up slightly and said in a low voice, “Small scene. Xiao Yun can handle it.”
Sure enough, Yun Fan calmly looked at Wen Tingwang. He felt that this grandfather, who had always been quick-tempered, wasn’t so much bothered by the time this was taking as he was unwilling to be like others opening a lid and getting a story thrown in as a bonus.
Wen Tingwang had lived his whole life in a whirlwind, with no wife and no children. In his old age, only a god-grandson kept him company. While others had long since stepped back from the Wen family business, he remained active at the forefront.
He had so many stories he could tell, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Wow, am I the movie theme?” Wen Tingwang looked at the plate in front of him with delight. “Haha, this little airplane must be for Xingxing.”
Yun Fan smiled and explained, “Yes, these are all films you helped produce. They span fifty years—you have many achievements.”
“Not at all, not at all. Compared to everyone here, I’m just a small fry.” Wen Tingwang gazed thoughtfully at the various shaped desserts. “Xingxing, come here. Look, isn’t this a great direction for IP development?”
“Quick, take a photo and send it to the company people. What great creativity!” Wen Tingwang rubbed his hands together. “Young people nowadays love this stuff, what an opportunity!”
These words made Yun Fan’s eyes light up. In the past, he’d spent all his time dealing with money and had never thought he might have potential in cultural creativity.
Although Wen Tingwang’s outburst seemed like he was just causing a stir, his words did wake up the business tycoons around them. Passing up a good money-making project would be foolish.
So Wen Zhaofu saw his second uncle, his younger aunt, his older aunt, and his cousin all pull out their phones. As for his biological father, he and his wife were both covering their mouths and laughing at something they’d seen.
The second branch of the family had eleven people in total, and there were too many childhood memories to count. For a moment, they chattered away noisily, full of liveliness.
The others perked up as well, one after another opening their plates, looking with surprise at a bowl of ginger milk curd or a pineapple bun, sinking into brief thought before recalling a story steeped in time.
The Wen family hadn’t been this lively in a long time. Zuzu smiled so wide his mouth couldn’t close, praising Yun Fan for preparing this event so well.
The two brothers, Wen Zhaofu and Wen Haochen, each opened the one related to the other. Without hesitation, they immediately swapped.
“I love playing soccer the most!” Wen Haochen looked at Yun Fan and raised the soccer-shaped sticky rice cake in his hand. “Even though I get hurt every time, it’s a blast.”
Wen Zhaofu smiled along. “I used to watch Haochen and the others go play soccer and always felt pretty envious. Now I think, youth is really something.”
“You’re not old either.” The surroundings were too noisy, so Yun Fan simply crouched down to speak close to Wen Zhaofu. “Try it is your abacus flower bun good?”
The flower bun in Wen Zhaofu’s hand, with an abacus as its base design, surprised him greatly. Not only had he never imagined that steamed buns could be made this way, he’d never even thought that Yun Fan would notice he knew how to use an abacus.
“I saw a photo of you holding an abacus, looking especially happy.” Yun Fan smiled warmly at Wen Zhaofu. “Zuzu said you’re really skilled with the abacus.”
Wen Zhaofu tilted his head slightly to hear Yun Fan’s words more clearly. Yun Fan didn’t want him to strain, so he leaned against the wheelchair armrest, drawing very close to Wen Zhaofu. When Cheng Yu walked over, he saw the two of them talking intimately.
“Ahem.” Cheng Yu cleared his throat with some effort, drawing the attention of Yun Fan and Wen Zhaofu.
“Oh, Master Cheng, are you satisfied with today’s event?” Yun Fan tried to stand up, but his legs had gone a bit numb.
Wen Zhaofu grabbed Yun Fan’s wrist. Yun Fan smiled at him and, using the support to rise, felt a hand steady his back. He turned around and saw Li Erxing.
Cheng Yu blinked, then turned and picked up a glass of juice, handing it to Yun Fan. “You’ve been on your feet all afternoon have some vitamin C.”
“Yun Fan, can we keep doing blind boxes in the future? I loved this event!” Wen Haocheng was brimming with excitement, his eyes shining. “I could even use this idea at school. Awesome!”
“How’s your thesis coming along?” Cheng Yu spoke coldly, and one sentence was enough to deflate Wen Zhaofu.
Wen Zhaofu seized the moment to rescue Yun Fan: “Let Xiao Yun rest. He’s spent a lot of energy and focus he needs to take it easy.”
The clamor eventually came to an end. After being on the go nonstop for quite a while, Yun Fan, now free of all responsibilities, truly felt exhausted all over.
He took a shower, changed into a loose set of athletic wear, and sat in the courtyard, staring blankly at the flowers.
When Uncle Man passed by, he saw Yun Fan hugging his arms with his head lowered, looking somewhat upset.
Wen Zhaofu was reviewing documents inside the house when he was surprised to see on the screen that it was Uncle Man knocking at the door. He quickly maneuvered his wheelchair, opened the door, and met Uncle Man’s anxious gaze.
“Young Master, I saw Steward Yun he, he…”
Wen Zhaofu unconsciously furrowed his brow, fixing his eyes on Uncle Man. Uncle Man swallowed hard. “He was quietly crying!”
“Why?” Wen Zhaofu had specifically gone around asking for feedback, and everyone had been quite satisfied with the event.
“He said he wants to eat mapo tofu!”