Chapter 59: Wine and Dishes

When Shen Siyuan returned to the residential compound after work, he saw Zhu Guangfa's family of three standing at the entrance.

Upon seeing Shen Siyuan, they immediately came forward to greet him.

"How did you know I live here?" Shen Siyuan asked, somewhat surprised.

"Because I am a courier; I can look up the address," Zhu Guangfa said.

It turned out that not all of the items Shen Siyuan had purchased were sent to the company.

"With so many people coming and going at the company, I was afraid it might cause a bad impression, so I came here to wait for you," Zhu Guangfa said.

As he spoke, he lifted the items in his hands.

"They aren't anything special; I hope you won't dislike them," Zhu Guangfa said.

While Zhu Guangfa was speaking, Du Xiuzhi had been standing behind him with a constant smile, behaving quite virtuously and giving Zhu Guangfa ample face.

Shen Siyuan looked at the vegetables hanging on the front of his car; he had bought them on his way home from work after passing the market, originally planning to cook himself a lavish dinner tonight.

He then looked at the two bottles of wine Zhu Guangfa was carrying; the packaging boxes were somewhat dry and curled up, suggesting they were quite old.

"The wine is good," Shen Siyuan said.

"It's not too great, but I bought it more than ten years ago," Zhu Guangfa said.

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan looked up and asked, "Can you cook?"

Before Zhu Guangfa could speak, Du Xiuzhi stepped forward from the side and said, "Yes, my husband used to work as a chef for a while. Although he was in charge of the prep work, the taste of his cooking was quite good."

"In that case, you have wine, I have vegetables; shall we have a few drinks tonight?" Shen Siyuan said with a smile.

"Sure, then we'll disturb you," Zhu Guangfa said, realizing the situation now and hurrying to reply.

So Shen Siyuan led the group to his home.

"It's not very big; please make yourselves at home," Shen Siyuan said, inviting everyone inside.

Everyone curiously inspected the furnishings inside the room.

Then a thought arose in their minds: "Such a capable master lives in a place like this?"

However, having just met, he didn't feel comfortable speaking up.

Zhu Tingting curiously inspected the room, but she kept holding Du Xiuzhi's hand, appearing somewhat reserved.

Du Xiuzhi, on the other hand, was open and generous; she pulled her onto the sofa to sit. Shen Siyuan handed her an apple, which she held in her hand without eating.

After entering the house, Zhu Guangfa immediately started busy work, and Du Xiuzhi went over to help.

Meanwhile, Shen Siyuan had no intention of helping at all; he dragged over a computer chair and started chatting with Zhu Tingting.

"How old are you?"

"What grade are you in?"

"Do you have a lot of homework?"

Zhu Tingting first answered Shen Siyuan mechanically, but gradually she talked more and became more relaxed.

"Brother, thank you for letting me see Mom," she said to Shen Siyuan, clutching the apple tightly.

"No need to be polite; besides, aren't your father and the others here to thank me?" Shen Siyuan pointed at Zhu Guangfa, who was busy cooking.

The stove in Shen Siyuan's place was very simple: one electric rice cooker, one induction cooker, and besides that, a microwave oven.

So Zhu Guangfa could only stir-fry on the induction cooker, which made him somewhat unaccustomed because it was harder for him to control the heat.

But since he was only cooking two simple dishes, he would just have to make do.

Hearing this, Zhu Tingting said again, "Brother, Mom said you are very amazing."

"It's okay; I'm not as amazing as you imagine."

"Brother, can you let Mom stay with us forever?"

Shen Siyuan turned his head to look at Zhu Guangfa; this must have been taught by him.

The couple had been listening with their ears perked up; when they saw Shen Siyuan turn around, Zhu Guangfa's body stiffened slightly.

After Du Xiuzhi glared at him, she frowned tightly, carrying a faint sense of loss.

Shen Siyuan turned back and replied, "Even without me, your Mom has always been with you."

"But... but I want to be able to see Mom forever," Zhu Tingting pleaded in a small voice.

"Tingting."

Du Xiuzhi looked at her daughter with an displeased expression.

"Mom~" Zhu Tingting called out, full of grievance.

Du Xiuzhi looked at Shen Siyuan and said, "Mr. Shen, I'm sorry; children don't understand things. We absolutely did not teach her to say that."

Shen Siyuan waved his hand and said, "It's understandable for her to think that, but humans and ghosts are on different paths, so it's not possible."

Shen Siyuan directly refused her.

Zhu Tingting lowered her head and said in a small voice, somewhat sad, "I'm sorry."

Zhu Guangfa, who was stir-frying, paused his movements for a moment, but quickly recovered and brought up a plate of cooked food.

"The food is here; you eat first. There are still a few dishes, they'll be ready soon," Zhu Guangfa said.

Because he was eating alone, Shen Siyuan hadn't bought many vegetables to begin with, so cooking was very fast.

Although Zhu Guangfa said this, neither Shen Siyuan nor Zhu Tingting picked up their chopsticks.

Just at that moment, Zhu Tingting suddenly looked up and asked Shen Siyuan, "I heard that after people die, they are all reborn as children again. Will Mom be reborn too?"

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan was stunned and turned to look at Du Xiuzhi.

Du Xiuzhi stroked her daughter's head and said, "Of course she will."

Zhu Tingting said nothing; she just looked at Shen Siyuan, waiting for him to nod, and only then did she look slightly happier.

Then she turned to Du Xiuzhi and said, "Mom, then can you not rush to be reborn as someone else's child?"

"Oh, why?"

"When I grow up, you can be reborn as my baby, and I will love you just as you love me," Zhu Tingting said innocently.

Hearing this, Du Xiuzhi pulled her into her embrace, her eyes slightly teary as she said, "Good, Mom will wait for you."

One tomato, one braised pork ribs, one braised pork, and one stir-fried pork with chili.

Except for the tomato, the rest were meat dishes.

Shen Siyuan rarely prepared to cook a meal himself.

Naturally, it was not to eat vegetarian food, so he bought quite a lot of meat dishes.

"Sit down."

Shen Siyuan invited Zhu Guangfa to sit, then without any ceremony, opened a bottle of wine he had brought.

"Xifeng."

Shen Siyuan glanced at the bottle; he had heard of this wine but had never drunk it.

Shen Siyuan first poured a cup for Zhu Guangfa, who hurriedly stood up, repeatedly saying he dared not, showing immense respect.

Du Xiuzhi also stood up and said, "You drink; I will pour the wine for you."

Shen Siyuan did not stand on ceremony with her and handed her the wine bottle directly.

During the meal, Zhu Guangfa seemed very constrained, daring not to pick up food too frequently, whereas his daughter Zhu Tingting was far more open and natural.

However, after two cups of wine went down, he gradually relaxed and began to talk more.

"Mr. Shen, with your abilities, why do you live confined in such a small house, and why do you still work so hard every day?"

"What else could I do?" Shen Siyuan asked back with a smile.

He continued, "With such meager abilities, could I possibly claim to be a king or a tyrant? It is merely to earn some money, and then what? Start enjoying life? But I am already enjoying life now, am I not?"

Zhu Guangfa wanted to say more, but Du Xiuzhi quietly pulled him aside from the side, gave him a look, and stopped him.