Zhou Zhenglong always had a stern face while eating; you couldn’t tell if he enjoyed the food or not.
Anyway, he could gulp down any food in big bites.
It was a habit he had developed during his time in the military; as long as it wasn’t poison, he could adapt.
Long Fei served him a piece of something black and unrecognizable, and called out to him, "Brother Zhou, these past few days you’ve worked hard protecting Yingying, eat more."
Lin Yingying ate her rice in small bites, shooting Long Fei a glare.
A plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and he had given it all to Zhou Zhenglong.
The jerk was clearly disdainful of her cooking skills.
Zhou Zhenglong’s brows furrowed and he took a sip of water before correcting Long Fei, "Master, call me Zhenglong."
"Alright, Little Zheng, eat more."
Long Fei gave him another chopstick’s worth.
His face was about to turn black. Although he wasn’t picky, he didn’t want to endure this torment!
He quickly finished eating with a few bites, wiped his mouth, and said, "Master, Mistress, Elder Long, I’ve finished eating. I’m going to step out for a smoke!"
He bowed and then ran for it.
Lin Yingying ground her teeth, thinking how she had slaved away all afternoon, and they didn’t even give her a word of praise.
Long Santai, as if reading her mind, added a chopstick of the red-braised pork, likely with too much soy sauce added, to his mouth and exclaimed with approval, "Hmm, not bad, better than what Long Fei’s grandma makes."
Long Fei broke into a sweat, thinking to himself, could his grandpa stop lying?
Although he had never met this grandma, no one could be that bad at cooking, surely!
"Thank you for the praise, Grandpa, have some more!"
Lin Yingying smiled happily and heaped two more chopsticks of the soy sauce simmered meat onto the old man’s plate.
Long Santai cleared his throat, took a couple of bites, and then also excused himself to go smoke.
Lin Yingying could tell, he didn’t really like it either.
Pouting, she turned to Long Fei and asked with a frown, "Is it really that bad?"
"It’s alright!" Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒·𝗇𝗲𝘁
Long Fei chewed on the meat, which was probably undercooked as he couldn’t chew it properly after a long time.
Finally finding some comfort, Lin Yingying dumped the entire plate of meat onto his bowl, and with big, blinking eyes said, "Husband, I’ve always felt you understood me best."
Long Fei almost choked on his rice and stuffed his mouth full, swallowing it all without chewing.
He took a sip of water and said, appreciatively, "Delicious."
"As long as it’s delicious. I’ll make it for you again next time!"
Lin Yingying leaned over to give him a kiss and contentedly began to clean and wash the dishes.
She was dieting, not eating anything.
After she left, Long Fei hurried outside and squatted down to retch a few times.
The taste was really too much to bear!
He took a sip of water from his cup, rinsed his mouth, and went to sit beside his grandfather.
Long Santai said with a smile, "What, can’t take it?"
Long Fei forced a smile.
Long Santai said, "Actually, your grandma was the same when she first came into the Long Family. She used to be a young lady from a wealthy family, not well-regarded, kind of like the local landowners around here. No one dared to marry her for miles, but your grandpa did. She didn’t know how to cook at first; the steamed buns she made were tough, a bite could break your teeth, and the dishes she cooked could salt a man to death. Your grandpa was young then, and he gritted his teeth through it for two years. Gradually, he got used to it. If there wasn’t enough salt in the food, your grandpa would find it hard to swallow!"
This was the first time Long Fei had heard these stories, and he never imagined his grandma had such a background.
Long Santai reminisced about the past and sighed deeply, "It’s a pity your grandmother had a short life and couldn’t make it to see this day. Otherwise, she would have certainly adored this granddaughter-in-law very much."
Long Fei patted his shoulder, comforting him.
He cautioned, "Xiao Fei, Grandpa is old now and might leave you any day. Grandpa’s greatest wish is to see someone taking care of you by your side. That way, even if Grandpa passes away, I’ll rest in peace. Yingying is a good girl, her family is so wealthy, yet she doesn’t despise our poor valley at all. Grandpa can tell she really cares about you. Otherwise, she wouldn’t do all this for you. Grandpa hopes you will treasure your days together and never let her down."
Lin Yingying stood behind them with a plate of fruit in her hands, her eyes turning red as she listened.
Long Fei turned around to look at her, feeling a mix of emotions in his heart.
This period of time, she indeed had been wronged.
Despite being in a relationship with her, he was so entangled with another woman.
He was guilty, having let down the love of two women.
But then again, the public relations skills of this CEO were simply too strong.
His grandfather, such a character, was utterly convinced by her, heaping nothing but praise on her.
As soon as she arrived, the old man immediately made room, inviting her to sit down next to Long Fei.
He walked away with his hands behind his back, chatting with the village wives.
Lin Yingying watched him go, laughing, "Grandpa is really beyond my expectations. I thought he didn’t take things seriously, but he’s actually so considerate."
Long Fei smugly said, "That’s right, the men of the Old Long Family are all like that. It’s a tradition passed down from generation to generation!"
Lin Yingying gave him a sideways glance and said, "Right, you’re considerate too. You’re not only considerate towards me, but you want to be considerate to women all over the world!"
Long Fei coughed twice and quickly changed the subject, "How many more days will you stay here?"
Lin Yingying thought for a moment and said, "Probably two more days. Tomorrow, Mayor Geng Liang will come down, and I have to report to him. I should be able to leave the day after tomorrow."
"Then let Brother Zhou accompany you tomorrow. I still have some matters to take care of."
Long Fei had thrown down a gauntlet; naturally, he had to make his move tomorrow.
Besides, he didn’t want to see Geng Liang. He had sent the man’s son to the hospital, so face-to-face would be awkward.
Lin Yingying glared at him, asking, "Are you going to fight again?"
Long Fei said, "It’s Tang Fengnian and his master stirring up trouble behind the scenes. If I don’t go find them, they will continue to trouble us."
Lin Yingying looked at him worriedly, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder, "Actually, I’m really worried every time you go out. When can we have a carefree life?"
She knew some things were unavoidable and didn’t persuade Long Fei further.
But thinking about these troublesome matters made her feel quite annoyed.
To have everything but still live such a tiring life.
Long Fei smiled, stroked her head, and gazed at the night sky, lost in thought for a moment.
Maybe only when he stood at the highest point, would he truly be carefree.
He whispered in Lin Yingying’s ear, "How about we take a dip in the hot spring?"
Lin Yingying’s face turned red at once, her heart fluttering at the memory of last time.
She bashfully nodded, inexplicably agreeing to his proposition.
The two of them said goodbye to Zhou Zhenglong, telling him to go to bed early.
They took advantage of the night to climb up the mountain and arrived at the hot spring that Long Fei had opened.
Having been away for a while, the villagers had turned it into a communal bath, digging out a large hot spring pool, which was completely lined with stones.
Straw screens were erected all around, which looked rather professional.
By then, everyone else had already gone to sleep.
Only Long Fei and Lin Yingying, having taken off their clothes, entered the spring. Amidst the steaming mist, they embraced and soon became one.