Chapter 328: Chapter 327: Poetry and the Distant Place

Liu Xia, the owner of Xinfeng Restaurant, looked at Yan Feifan with a beaming smile, but her words carried a hint of complaint.

"Mr. Yan, coming in all quiet like this... Don’t you consider me a friend?"

Before Yan Feifan could think of an explanation, Yan Ziruo stood up with a chuckle and said, "Mrs. Xia, you can’t blame my brother."

"I was the one who decided to eat here. He was just told to come at the last minute."

Yan Ziruo gestured to Shu Lei beside her and introduced him, "Mrs. Xia, this is our maternal uncle, Shu Lei."

"He’s a seaman who just got off an ocean freighter. He said he wanted some fiery food to drive out the dampness from his system."

"So, I brought my uncle here."

Hearing this, Shu Lei straightened his back and stood up as well.

"Mrs. Xia, besides driving out the dampness, I’m also a big fan of spicy food. The spicier it is, the more I enjoy it."

Liu Xia’s eyes sparkled as she sized up Shu Lei, her smile growing even wider.

"Mr. Shu, if you like spicy food, you’ve certainly come to the right place."

"We serve authentic Hunan cuisine here, and all our chili peppers are sourced directly from their native regions."

Hearing his uncle spout such blatant lies, Yan Feifan knew he was instantly smitten with Mrs. Xia.

’So, the first step of the plan is off to a smooth start,’ he thought.

Thinking of his stomach, Yan Feifan quickly asked, "Mrs. Xia, surely there are some non-spicy dishes in Hunan cuisine?"

"Besides my uncle, the three of us can’t really handle spicy food."

Liu Xia’s gaze shifted from Shu Lei’s face to Yan Feifan’s. She chuckled. "Of course, Mr. Yan. We have plenty of dishes without chili peppers."

"In fact, don’t worry about ordering. I’ll arrange everything personally so you can sample some classic Hunan dishes..."

Shu Lei didn’t tear his eyes away until Mrs. Xia’s silhouette vanished through the doorway. Then, he turned his gaze to Yan Ziruo.

"Ruoruo, what’s the story with this Mrs. Xia?"

Yan Ziruo explained in a low voice, "Feifan has operated on her, one of her friends, and an employee from her hometown—that young woman from just now."

After a pause, Yan Ziruo addressed the question she knew was foremost on her uncle’s mind.

"As far as I know, she’s currently single."

"Uncle, the main reason I brought you here for dinner was so you could meet Mrs. Xia."

Shu Lei’s face lit up with a delighted surprise. "Ruoruo, you truly are my favorite niece..."

But Yan Ziruo’s expression instantly turned cold. "Uncle," she warned, "don’t celebrate just yet."

"You’re almost forty years old, and you’ve spent years drifting at sea all by yourself. Feifan and I can’t bear to see you like this."

"The question is, have you really changed?"

"What happens if those shady friends of yours come looking for you again?"

Shu Lei looked at Yan Feifan, then glanced at Yu Suye. He let out a long sigh. "Ruoruo, Feifan, these past few years at sea, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on my past actions."

"To think I destroyed everything I once had."

"Sigh..."

Shu Lei heaved a long sigh and continued, "My life was always smooth sailing. Everything came to me so easily that I took it all for granted."

"Ruoruo, Feifan, I promise you, I’m not the same naive and easily tempted man I used to be."

"The life of a deep-sea sailor might seem simple and monotonous, but it’s a much crueler world."

"Your uncle, me..."

Shu Lei’s voice filled with confidence. "All these years, I started as the lowest-ranking deckhand, worked my way up step-by-step to boatswain, and then got promoted to third mate. What haven’t I experienced?"

He met Yan Ziruo’s gaze and said, enunciating each word, "Ruoruo, if I ever fall back into my old, bad habits..."

"You won’t have to do a thing. I’ll go jump into the Yangtze River myself..."

Yan Ziruo broke into a radiant smile. "Uncle, listen to yourself. We’re family. There’s no need to say something so drastic."

Noticing her uncle’s expression relax, Yan Ziruo added menacingly, "You know, Feifan is currently a student of several bigwigs at the hospital."

"One of them happens to be the director of the plastic surgery department."

"Uncle, if you really do fall back into your old habits, we’ll just have Feifan take a scalpel to you and turn our dear uncle into our new aunt."

"How about that?"

Shu Lei felt a chill run down his spine. He declared with impassioned fervor, "Ruoruo, Feifan! A man can be killed, but not humiliated! If it comes to that, I’d rather jump in the river!"

Yan Ziruo snorted loudly and threatened, "By then, Uncle, it won’t be up to you..."

Yu Suye sat to one side, watching the back-and-forth between Shu Lei and Yan Ziruo, finding it all quite amusing.

She had heard a little from Yan Feifan about this uncle’s past, how he had squandered the family fortune.

Such things were not exactly uncommon.

Yu Suye knew there were plenty of families in Jingcheng who had received massive payouts for demolition and redevelopment, only to squander their newfound fortunes within a few short years.

She was somewhat surprised to discover that this strong, able-bodied uncle seemed to be faintly afraid of Yan Ziruo.

This made her very curious.

This sister, who always seemed to rely on her younger brother, clearly had another side to her that Yu Suye had never seen.

Before long, a server began bringing out the dishes.

Steamed Fish Head with Diced Hot Peppers, Fried Pork with Chili Peppers, Stir-fried Beef, Hand-shredded Duck, and, of course, a variety of cured meats.

There were also plenty of non-spicy dishes, such as the classic Braised Pork Belly, Farewell My Concubine, Pork Stomach Pouch, and Crossing-the-Bridge Tofu.

A dazzling array of more than twenty dishes completely covered the large, round table.

Yu Suye only took a few tentative bites of the spicy dishes before the heat made her tongue ache.

In fact, aside from the searing heat, she couldn’t taste any other flavors.

After that, her curiosity was sated. She wisely stuck to the non-spicy dishes with Yan Feifan.

Shu Lei, on the other hand, was sweating profusely and panting from the heat, but he never stopped attacking the spicy dishes with his chopsticks.

Halfway through the meal, Liu Xia returned to the private room.

This time, she sat down and asked with a faint smile, "Everyone, is the food to your liking?"

"Amazing! It really hits the spot!"

Shu Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead and scalp, booming, "I haven’t had anything this satisfyingly spicy in ages!"

"I feel like my whole body has been cleansed."

Liu Xia said happily, "If you like it, please, have some more."

With that, she stood up and placed a piece of cured pork onto Shu Lei’s plate with her chopsticks.

"Mr. Shu, how long will you be on shore this time?"

"Thank you!"

After thanking her, Shu Lei deftly ate the cured pork and continued, "Mrs. Xia, calling me Mr. Shu is too formal."

"I’m thirty-nine this year, so I must be at least ten years older than you. If we’re not being formal, just call me Mr. Lei." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Liu Xia let out a small "Oh!" and said rather coyly, "Mr. Lei, I’m not *that* young. I’m well into my thirties."

Shu Lei feigned surprise. "You don’t look it at all! I’d say you look about the same age as my niece here."

After the compliment, he continued slowly, "I love the great sea and enjoy traveling, so I chose a life of ’poetry and distant shores’ and became a sailor."

Hearing this, Yan Feifan almost burst out laughing.

He then heard Shu Lei continue in a regretful tone, "But after all these years, I’ve realized just how much I’ve missed."

"I selfishly missed out on watching Ruoruo and Feifan grow up."

"Now that Ruoruo and Feifan are at the age where they’re starting their own families and careers, as their elder, I can’t just keep drifting around out there. I ought to be here to look out for them."

"And at the same time..."

Shu Lei met Liu Xia’s gaze and said in a world-weary voice, "I’m a bit tired... weary of it all. I’m thinking... it’s time to find someone and settle down."

Just then, a server rushed into the private room.

"Mrs. Xia, that group of troublemakers... they’re back again..."