After some hesitation, Zhou Tang asked Ming Chao, "Can I come over to your place for lunch today?"
The main goal wasn’t necessarily the meal, but to see the pretty sister.
Zhao Sui, across from them, was also eagerly looking at Ming Chao, the longing in his eyes obvious.
At that moment, the sound of a phone vibrating filled the air.
Ming Chao was half lying on Zhao Sui’s couch, reached for his phone on the small table by his head, and saw a message from his mom in their family WeChat group.
The Ning family’s WeChat family group is called "Happy Little Fish Pond".
[Little Fish Mom: Youyou is going out for lunch with friends, our family meal will be in the evening, what does everyone want to eat for lunch at home? And let me know about dinner too.]
As someone who manages a company with thousands of employees and also part-time as a homemaker, Mrs. Ning never wastes unnecessary brainpower on trivial matters.
So, every time the Ning family has a family day meal.
If they eat out, restaurants are reserved by Dad and the Brother.
If they eat at home, each family member reports a dish they want to eat, to spare the homemaker from having to think of a menu.
The final preparations are handled by Mom and Sister.
Mom is responsible for coordinating with the maid for grocery shopping and cooking, and occasionally she personally cooks a couple of signature dishes to reward the whole family.
Sister is responsible for reviewing the menu proposed by the family.
The scope of this menu review specifically includes, if Sister finds any family member suggesting a dish that might be harmful to the family’s health, she reminds them to change it.
[Little Fish Dad: Anything for lunch, I want cherry meat for dinner.]
Ming Chao chuckled, about to type something on his phone when he saw a new message in the family group.
[Little Fish Sister: @Dad, you can’t eat cherry meat, eat something lighter.]
Last week, Ning Youguang took Dad’s pulse and diagnosed a slight issue with his blood, advising against eating rich foods, especially at night.
[Little Fish Brother: @Dad, Uncle, how about changing to beef ball soup @Mom?]
[Little Fish Sister: @Mom, Aunt, I want three-flavored iced tofu.]
[Little Fish Dad: Crying with laughter jpg, @Steamed Grouper.]
[Little Fish Sister: @Dad, okay.]
[Little Fish Mom: OKjpg, all received.]
Ming Chao’s phone didn’t have a privacy screen protector, so Zhou Tang, sitting beside him, could easily see his chat log.
Seeing all the dish names popping up in the Ning family’s "Happy Little Fish Pond", as a poor wanderer with parents far away, who is struggling alone in Beijing, he shed tears of envy.
Therefore, with an over-the-top performance, he lifted his head, angled his face at forty-five degrees, showcasing a full-on melancholic prince demeanor, and in a tone filled with envy and self-pity, he said, "Cherry meat, steamed grouper, three-flavored iced tofu, beef ball soup, your family dinner is so sumptuous. It’s been a long time since I had a meal with my family."
Zhao Sui, sitting opposite, couldn’t see Ming Chao’s phone information, but it didn’t stop him from feeling a mix of disgust at Zhou Tang’s dramatic act and appetite aroused by the dish names.
"Ming Chao, your family dinner even requires reporting the menu?!"
He too was envious.
The Crown Prince of Yongjia Real Estate, Zhao Sui, had access to all kinds of gourmet food, but he lacked a family dinner filled with such warmth and affection.
Ming Chao’s lips curled slightly upward, "Not every day, only on family days once a week."
[That’s enviable enough.]
Zhao Sui thought.
In his family, even though his parents are still together, they didn’t have this warm, mundane, and lively way of living like Ming Chao’s family.
Zhou Tang also asked beside him, "Your family has family days?"
Ming Chao nodded.
Zhao Sui was very curious, "With everyone so busy, how do you all have time for family days?"
Ming Chao gazed at them for a moment, chuckled lightly, and in a soft yet slightly helpless tone said, "It’s a rule set by Youyou and Mom, as men in the family, we couldn’t refuse."
[I don’t think you want to refuse at all!]
Zhou Tang and Zhao Sui stared at Ming Chao, who seemed to be explaining but was actually showing off.
Their desire to join the Ning family for dinner tonight grew even more.
What kind of person is Ming Chao?
To put it nicely, he’s a workaholic; to put it more bluntly, he’s a cold-hearted capitalist.
Someone like that usually values time more than life itself.
But they never expected he would take such precious time every week for a family day that doesn’t bring any returns, just whiling away the hours.