Yang Chen carried the hairy crabs, while Ye Xin brought the drunken shrimp.
"Here we go! The dishes are all ready, let’s eat!" Yang Chen called out.
Hearing this, everyone stood up and moved to the dining table.
Yang Chen saw that the table was full of dishes, with no space left for the hairy crabs and drunken shrimp.
"Uncle Zhuo, you’ve prepared a full Han banquet! Why such a lavish treat?" Yang Chen said with a wry smile.
Elder Zhuo, puzzled, said, "Is it too much? I thought it was too little, and I just instructed the cook to prepare more dishes, but they didn’t listen."
Yang Chen quickly said, "No need, no need, this is more than enough, totally enough!"
We couldn’t finish any more even if we tried.
Elder Zhuo took a wine bottle full of historical charm from a nearby shelf and said, "Come, come, try this, it’s a white wine I’ve treasured for over twenty years and never had the heart to drink!"
As soon as the wine bottle was opened, Yang Chen couldn’t help but stand up.
The aroma filled the room, even Ye Xin couldn’t help but glance twice.
"What a fragrant wine!" Yang Chen exclaimed.
Elder Zhuo handed over the wine, "Here, taste it first!"
Yang Chen took the wine, sniffed it, and was captivated by the aroma.
He poured out a glass, and the wine had a rich yellow hue.
Yang Chen drank it in one go, the warmth rising up from within.
"Good wine!" Yang Chen exclaimed, smiling widely as he looked at Qin Zhiyuan, "Director, this visit was worth it."
The director, who also enjoyed drinking, said cheerfully, "Come, come, pour me a glass, let me try it."
Yang Chen poured wine for everyone, and each person tried a glass, all praising it.
Pouring another round, they found the wine almost gone.
Yang Chen laughed and said, "Come, everyone, try my drunken shrimp and Xinxin’s hairy crabs."
"Alright, alright, I’ll try the drunken shrimp first." Elder Zhuo was the first to move his chopsticks.
"I’ll try too." Qin Zhiyuan also picked up his chopsticks.
Both of them ate Yang Chen’s drunken shrimp.
Li Muyang saw this and quickly went for the hairy crabs.
Yang Chen also smiled, took two hairy crabs, and gave one to Ye Xin.
"I’ll crack it for you, eat something else first." Ye Xin said, taking both crabs.
Yang Chen watched Ye Xin with a smile, enjoying this moment.
"Mmm! Delicious, especially the sauce which perfectly covers the fishy smell of the live shrimp, very tasty!" Elder Zhuo praised.
Qin Zhiyuan nodded repeatedly.
Yang Chen laughed, "It’s because of the liquor, I soaked the shrimp in it, so the impurities are mostly purged, and it also disinfects. As for the sauce, it’s my unique recipe, you can only taste it here; whenever you want to eat, come find me, I’ll make it for you."
"Haha! This is good! This is good!" Elder Zhuo laughed heartily.
Yang Chen was in high spirits today, and together with the two seniors, he drank several cups, making them both very happy.
Qin Zhiyuan, holding onto Yang Chen, said, "Xiaochen, I have to say, Yanyan’s matter was all thanks to you. If you hadn’t returned in time, I probably would’ve struggled with the medical fees."
"Hey!" Yang Chen raised a cup to Qin Zhiyuan and said, "Director, you raised Yanyan and me like your own children; you mentioned earlier how Uncle Zhuo is competing with you for sons. You raising us is like being our father, what’s wrong with me paying for my sister’s treatment? You’re thanking me, but that’s really a mistake."
Qin Zhiyuan laughed, clinked his glass with Yang Chen, and said, "Right, I misspoke, cheers."
After drinking, Qin Zhiyuan said, "What you told Yanyan before was very right, we help others not for the return, so we don’t expect anything from those kids who left either."
Yang Chen fell silent.
Since starting the orphanage, Qin Zhiyuan had raised about hundreds of children.
But very few of them came back to visit.
As far as Yang Chen knew, it was only him and Chen Siyan who stayed with Qin Zhiyuan.
Talking about this inevitably brought a tinge of sadness.
Elder Zhuo said, "Old Squad Leader, this isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned this, we’re all in Ningchuan, just a few steps, a word away, and you don’t tell me. If I had known back then, I absolutely wouldn’t have let the orphanage be demolished!"
Qin Zhiyuan waved his hand, "You’ve got your own matters, why should I trouble you?"
The demolition happened not long after Zhuo Jingyu passed away.
After chatting for a bit, they had finished two bottles of the twenty-year-old wine.
With the third bottle opened, Elder Zhuo said to Yang Chen, "Xiaochen, tell me about Jingyu, how was he when he was an instructor in the Guard? He was the first batch of instructors for your Wolf Fang; it took me by surprise at first, I asked if you were splitting off to become independent, and he told me it was a top-tier department, he was quite boastful about it!"
As Elder Zhuo spoke, his eyes betrayed an undeniable sadness.
Yang Chen’s expression darkened.
He poured himself a glass, downed it, and felt slightly better.
Yang Chen forced a difficult smile and said, "My instructor... your son... Zhuo Jingyu, he... was a truly great man!"
Yang Chen recalled when he was selected from the Guard to enter the Wolf Fang training camp.
Zhuo Jingyu was the only one to welcome them, smiling broadly, exclaiming, "Comrades, job well done, you’ve braved a bumpy journey, get some rest in the dorms, the kitchen’s prepared food for you, eat after you’re settled in, you won’t go hungry here!"
Back then, Yang Chen naively thought he had arrived at a paradise with a kind and easy-going leader.
But who knew, after they were all full, especially since the kitchen had prepared beef and chicken legs for them, everyone gobbled it down.
Just after they finished eating and had barely rested, the assembly whistle blew.
The once amiable Zhuo Jingyu transformed into a stern instructor, shouting, "Ten-kilometer cross-country!"
The group started running, watching helplessly as the good stuff they’d eaten came back up, pale-faced and weak-legged.
Upon returning, Zhuo Jingyu said only one thing to the new guards who were half-dead from running: "Remember! After you’ve eaten your fill, you’re like a pig fattened up, always ready to be slaughtered by the enemy!"
From then on, during training meals, Yang Chen only dared to eat until 70-80% full, some even only 60%. But the good thing about Wolf Fang was that whenever training ended and they returned, there was always food in the mess hall, and the meals were the best.
Yang Chen recounted this story to Elder Zhuo.
Elder Zhuo looked vexed and said, "That brat, using my tactics to teach you all a lesson!"
Yang Chen, equally vexed, looked at Elder Zhuo and asked, "What’s going on, Uncle Zhuo?"
Elder Zhuo bitterly smiled and said, "That kid, when he was twelve, came back from a sports meet ravenous, and gorging himself, I took him out for cross-country, he ended up vomiting uncontrollably, and I told him: Remember! After you’ve eaten your fill, you’re like a pig fattened up, always ready to be slaughtered by the enemy!"
Yang Chen’s eyes widened in surprise.