"Whether it's people or things, no matter how long it's been, they all need a safe place. If we sort and arrange these things now, it will be much easier to retrieve them tomorrow or later."
Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. The more people live and the more knowledge they gain, the more wisdom they accumulate.
Ruan Mingchu had thought that tomorrow's banquet would be incredibly lavish, and after walking around for so long, dinner tonight would be simple, but it turned out to be anything but simple.
Grandpa Ren said, "Tomorrow is tomorrow. Should we suffer today just to have a good meal tomorrow? That's unreasonable."
Ren Meng: "Hehe, I love that about me the most."
Grandpa Ren: "Little glutton."
Four people sat around a large basin, using a special brush to clean the snails inside.
The main ingredient for dinner was this green snail, about half the size of a thumb.
Stir-fried snails, braised snails, spicy snails, snail meat stewed with eggs, snail rice, and snail and winter melon soup.
The meal consisted of four dishes, a soup, and rice. It took nearly three hours from preparing the ingredients to serving it on the table.
The aromas are mixed together, yet each scent has its own distinct characteristics, making people subconsciously seek them out.
The warm yellow light shone on the brightly colored dishes, making them look absolutely beautiful.
Ren Xiaofeng returned just in time; the meal was already prepared, and he could simply wash his hands before eating.
Ren Meng rushed out to greet his father when he heard the noise, showing no sign that the father and son had argued heatedly at breakfast.
"Dad, Dad, Dad, we made your favorite green snails! Come wash your hands and eat!"
Ren Xiaofeng hummed in agreement and placed a bottle of wine on the table as he sat down. The bottle was made of ordinary white transparent glass, a plain bottle without any design, but the yellowish-green liquid inside made it look particularly high-end.
Without him even asking, Ren Meng saw this and took the initiative to fetch five wine cups, filling them all to the brim.
He placed the four wine cups in front of the others, picked up his own cup and gulped it down. After finishing, he stuck out his tongue and made a "sssss" sound, while his hands continued to move as he poured himself another cup.
The next second, Ren Xiaofeng tapped Ren Meng's hand with the bottom of his chopsticks, "At such a young age, you should just have a taste."
Ren Meng snorted, "I've been an adult for three months already!"
Ren Xiaofeng: "If I say you're small, then you are small."
Ren Meng: "Hmph, I'm afraid someone simply doesn't remember my birthday. The birthday present they promised is nowhere to be seen."
Ren Xiaofeng: "I gave it to you, but you didn't want it!"
"Who gets a workbook as a birthday present?!"
The father and son had another argument.
As a father, Ren Xiaofeng's love for his son is unquestionable. But as Grandpa Ren said, he still has room to grow. This is a matter between him and Ren Meng, and Grandpa Ren will not interfere until a certain point is reached.
Grandpa Ren blinked and picked up his wine cup.
Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu exchanged a knowing smile, raised their wine cups, and the three of them silently clinked glasses.
Listening to the two arguing, I would occasionally slurp up a green snail.
It's very pleasant.
The wine has a unique flavor, like a perfume with several notes. It has the fragrance of fruit wine and the spiciness of baijiu, and the taste is also gradual. It is cool on the palate, and becomes mellow after a second or two, with endless sweetness, and there are no aftereffects.
After dinner, the five of them sat together for a drink.
Ruan Mingchu said, "I've never even heard of such delicious wine before."
“Hahaha,” said Grandpa Ren, “that’s because our wine production is low, not enough for the locals to drink, so it doesn’t spread.”
Without Ruan Mingchu asking, Old Master Ren told him everything.
“The green stalks we grow here can produce an average of one or two colorful stalks per acre of green stalk field. This wine is made from the colorful stalks. Experts have studied colorful stalks before, but it is impossible to mass-produce them. In our area, we call colorful stalks a gift from the God of Green.”
Ren Meng even took out a tassel he had treasured and showed it to Ruan Mingchu, saying, "This is my reward for getting first place in the entire Da Sui City entrance exam when I was in junior high. I'm a genius that Qing Shen values."
Ren Xiaofeng clearly looked down on his son's boastful words; in his view, one should be humble and cautious. But seeing how happy his son was, Ren Xiaofeng opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent.
The colorful tassels were vacuum-packed, and even after two years, they still looked full of vitality.
"You can hold it and take a look; it's very sturdy."
Ruan Mingchu carefully took the tassel and focused his mental energy into the genetic level. He seemed to see a colorful world where not a single DNA strand combined for more than a second, and it was always in a state of constant change. No wonder it could not be mass-produced.
He placed the colorful tassel in Mu Yu's hand, inviting Mu Yu to watch this wondrous world with him.
The surprise and joy on their faces greatly pleased Ren Meng. Look, even the elites from outside are amazed by his achievements.
Understanding his son's thoughts, Ren Xiaofeng rolled his eyes. Bullshit, he was clearly amazed by the wonders of nature, he should be proud, Gudexing.
The father and son were very in sync. Ren Meng immediately understood the underlying meaning of Ren Xiaofeng's eye roll, and another round of arguing began.
It was a silent argument, confined to various facial expressions and eye contact, with the mouth and vocal cords temporarily withdrawing from the battle.
After returning the tassel to Ren Meng, Ruan Mingchu said, "You're really amazing."
Ren Meng burst into laughter, his voice remarkably similar to that of his grandfather.
Tonight, Ruan Mingchu was accompanied to sleep by various flavors of green snails and delicious Cai Sui wine, as well as Ren Meng and Grandpa Ren's hearty laughter.
The next morning, the Ren family's courtyard became lively. Ren Meng's classmates and friends who lived nearby all came to find him to help prepare the green feast.
The banquet was for many people, and the dishes were plentiful and plentiful, which would have been very difficult for just one family to prepare.
So, the local custom is that whichever family is hosting a feast, the children go to help. Living nearby, everyone, regardless of age, is very friendly.
There might be some minor conflicts at school, but Da Sui people would never bring those conflicts home, just like family conflicts would never last overnight.
Grandpa Ren sat in his rocking chair directing the children, who had taken over the kitchen and yard, leaving Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu with nowhere to help.
"Let's sit down and have some tea. Let them come first, and we can go when they're tired."
Ruan Mingchu had overheard conversations among his older, married, and childless colleagues in the clerical department. They said that their children were all pampered darlings, and if they greeted someone when they came home, they were considered exceptionally well-behaved.
As for helping with cooking, Ruan Mingchu still remembers the clerk saying, "Absolutely not, we'd be heartbroken if you cut or burned yourself."
Even the rough Alphas in the military still dote on the Omegas at home.
The children were still busy until just before the banquet started, and there was no sign of the "stopping when tired" phenomenon that Grandpa Ren had mentioned.
No wonder every household has a very large yard, with more than a dozen tables set up in the yard, making it packed full when guests arrive.
Everyone spoke quite loudly, and the topic wasn't one person per table, but rather everyone was talking about the same thing, so no matter how far apart we were, we could hear each other clearly.
Sometimes they'd start arguing while chatting, but no one stopped them; they'd just have a drink afterwards and that would be the end of it.
At this moment, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu truly felt how warm and hospitable the residents of Da Sui were. When they heard that the two had come from afar, even the children wanted to come over to toast them and chat for a bit.
A hundred or so people wanted to have a drink with them, but even though they had a high alcohol tolerance and a large capacity for alcohol, their bladders couldn't handle it.
Overall, though, I felt very happy and relaxed.
Over the next few days, Nguyen Minh Thu and Mu Yu participated in the activities of the Thanh Shen Festival, including inviting Thanh Shen, a float parade, a bonfire party, and a wheat harvesting ceremony.
Laughter and cheerful voices seemed to surround you every moment, making you unconsciously immerse yourself in the atmosphere.
If they hadn't suddenly realized they'd been here for over a week while looking at the calendar, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu wouldn't have wanted to leave.
With so many places left to visit and limited time, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu had to say goodbye to the three members of the Ren family.
Both sides were reluctant to part, but all good things must come to an end, and they will meet again someday.
Ren Xiaofeng drove the hovercar to take Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu to the port. Before parting, Ruan Mingchu gave Ren Meng a gift.
Ren Meng happily accepted it, "Oh, I didn't mean to accept a gift, but you're all so kind, I couldn't refuse."
Ren Xiaofeng rolled his eyes, and Old Master Ren tapped Ren Meng on the head, saying one thing but doing another.
Carrying the fermented sauce that Grandpa Ren had just made, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu left Gude Star.
Gude Star truly lives up to its name; it's really good.
On the way back with the family of three, Ren Meng opened the gift box.
"Holy crap! Holy crap!" Ren Meng exclaimed, almost lifting the roof off the car. "Sir, this is way too valuable! Would it be inappropriate for me to accept it?"
Inside the box was a spatial button—a spatial button for a mecha! Even the cheapest mecha starts at eight figures.
Grandpa Ren chuckled and said, "If you like it, then accept it. Since they can give it to you, you can accept it too."
Ren Meng chuckled, "I'll definitely reciprocate in the future."
He picked up the card under the button and read the words on it. "Grandpa, it's a gift for me to start school. They really admire my ambition to defend my country."
Ren Meng laughed so hard his mouth stretched to his ears, and his eyes almost disappeared.
Grandpa Ren said, "Then you must live up to their expectations."
"Of course, I'm destined to be a general."
Every time Ren Xiaofeng tried to interject, the two of them beat him to it. In the end, he gave up in despair.
Although he really didn't approve of Ren Meng accepting such an expensive gift!
"Grandpa! There's still a card for you!"
"Oh, let me take a look." Old Master Ren reached out to take it, but Ren Meng dodged it. "Let me see it first, they praised you."
Grandpa Ren's heart was itching with excitement. "You brat, hurry up and give me the card."
"Hahaha, come and snatch it, sir! This is so cheesy!"
On the starship, Mu Yu came out after taking a shower but couldn't find Ruan Mingchu. He eventually found Ruan Mingchu in the study.
At that moment, he was writing on a notebook. Mu Yu leaned over to take a look. The title was "Many Traditional Features of Da Sui City, Gu De Xing".
"You're really going to write an article?"
Ruan Mingchu didn't even look up. "Of course, I also need to submit articles to the magazine. Once they're published, I'll send a copy to Grandpa Ren."
"Great! Keep writing, I'm going to sleep now."
Mu Yu tried to leave but couldn't because Ruan Mingchu grabbed his wrist.
Ruan Mingchu pointed to the opposite side, where there was a notebook and a pen, "Don't go, sit there and write your travel notes."
Mu Yu was filled with questions, "Why do I have to write a travelogue?"
"Otherwise, the trip will be in vain."
"No, I'll remember."