Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Gu Shenhan was quite wicked. He selected a list of people he could count on who were all single guys except for Yan Que, and all of them were very close friends of his. Then after being scolded all around, he finally felt satisfied by their envy.

Unexpectedly, on this day, besides receiving a greeting card from Rong Yu'an, something else surprising happened at home—someone from the Fei family came.

Since Rong Yu'an went to Fei Wenxi's home to visit Fei Wenxi's wife Chen Min, Rong Yu'an had been keeping in touch with this family.

Although Gu Shenhan was still reluctant in his heart, he no longer sent people to trouble this family. Especially after Rong Yu'an invested money in the Fei family's furniture company, he was even less likely to cause trouble. Instead, he helped the Fei family a lot with transportation matters.

But he just gave orders down the chain for these matters and didn't deliberately tell Rong Yu'an.

He didn't expect the Fei family to come.

The ones who came were Fei Wendong and a boy. The boy was about sixteen or seventeen years old. Neither Rong Yu'an nor Gu Shenhan had seen him before, but they could make a pretty good guess.

Fei Wendong was also visiting Cuixi Garden for the first time, a bit nervous. He introduced: "President Gu, Madam Gu, this is my nephew, Fei Xuan. He and his sister both came back for the holiday. His sister is at home. We came to represent our Fei family and bring you some specialties from my hometown. Hope you don't mind."

Rong Yu'an was also surprised they came. He invited them inside and sat down, asking, "How has Chen Jie been lately? I was planning to have someone send you some things this afternoon, but you came first."

Fei Xuan probably didn't expect the people they were visiting to live in such a big place. He looked around the hall and couldn't settle down. Especially when he saw Gu Shenhan, he felt a sense of pressure in his heart.

Rong Yu'an elbowed Gu Shenhan, signaling him not to keep a straight face. Then he asked Fei Wendong and the boy to sit down.

Gu Shenhan also sat down on the sofa with a dominant air, looking sour.

Fei Wendong said sheepishly: "My sister-in-law is doing well now. She is much more skilled with her prosthetic leg. She handles some financial tasks at the company, so she's quite fulfilled."

Fei Xuan said: "Uncle, I heard from my mother that this matter was thanks to your help. I also apologize to you for what my father did before, on his behalf."

Before Rong Yu'an could speak, Gu Shenhan mulled over the word "uncle" and then asked Fei Xuan: "You call him uncle, so what do you call me?"

Fei Xuan was quick-witted: "Uncle Gu."

Gu Shenhan gave a mental snort, but couldn't bring himself to be harsh anymore. The butler brought tea and snacks. Rong Yu'an asked about the situation of the Fei family's furniture company.

Fei Wendong said: "Thanks to President Gu's care, the business is back on track now. Although sales in Spain have dropped a bit due to the previous incident, overall it's still profitable and showing a slow recovery trend."

Gu Shenhan said: "Have you ever thought about getting into smart furniture?"

Fei Wendong asked: "Do you mean smart furniture, as opposed to smart home?"

"Right. Smart beds, sofas, tables and chairs, and custom smart furniture."

"To be honest with you, I have considered it. In the past two years, the market is skewing younger, and the demand for smart furniture is also rising. But in terms of technology, it's a new field for our Fei family. We've always played it safe and didn't dare to make such a leap."

Introducing new technology requires new investment. At that time, he thought that if the business developed steadily and had enough cash on hand, he could make new moves the following year. But Gu Chengzhi's dirty tricks made this matter much harder than expected.

Fortunately, Rong Yu'an was magnanimous and didn't hold a grudge. Otherwise, his family would never have been able to climb back up under the shadow of the Gu family.

Gu Shenhan said: "You can go back and think it over carefully. If you're interested, after the holiday, have someone send a proposal to me."

Fei Wendong was a bit shocked: "What do you mean?"

Gu Shenhan glanced at Rong Yu'an, his eyes turning tender in an instant: "My wife invested money in your Fei family, so I can't just sit back and do nothing. Come up with a proposal first. I'll guide you on the technical side later. And money is no object."

Fei Wendong just came to send some holiday gifts and express gratitude to Rong Yu'an and Gu Shenhan. He didn't expect such good news. He was so happy he couldn't hide his excitement: "Thank you, President Gu! Thank you! Then I'll go back and prepare. I look forward to your guidance."

Gu Shenhan opened his cigarette case and started to offer it, then quickly pulled it back: "Sorry, I suddenly remembered my wife can't stand the smell of smoke now."

Fei Wendong smiled: "Thank you, President Gu. I don't have the habit of smoking. Enjoy your holiday, you two. We won't disturb you further."

Rong Yu'an said: "Wait a moment. I also prepared some things for you. You can take them back so I won't have to send someone later."

Fei Wendong said: "That's too kind."

Gu Shenhan said: "He's already prepared them, just take them."

Lu Yi brought four gift boxes. Two boxes contained tea and mooncakes, and two boxes contained crabs.

Fei Wendong thanked them many times before leaving. He felt that the more than an hour he and his nephew had wandered outside Cuixi Garden was not wasted.

He had been hesitant about whether to come, but finally mustered the courage. He never expected such an outcome.

And even more unexpected was that when he returned to the company's factory and opened the things to share with his brother's family, they also found greeting cards, and the mooncakes were different from theirs.

That card was definitely not written on the spot, because since they saw Gu Shenhan and Rong Yu'an, those two never left the room nor instructed anyone to write anything. But the card clearly had wishes for the Fei family.

*Tonight is Mid-Autumn Festival, the fragrance of osmanthus fills the building. Wishing the Fei family new wine with each passing day, laughter filling the courtyard.*

Even the mooncakes had the words "Fei Huang Teng Da" (a pun on 'prosperity') printed on them.

Fei Wendong's wife said: "Good thing we listened to your sister-in-law and went to deliver the gifts. If we hadn't given gifts and instead received them, we wouldn't have been able to enjoy the holiday with peace of mind. But we just sent some hometown specialties. Wasn't that too little?"

Chen Min said: "In terms of our sincerity, no matter how much we send, it's not too much. But the Gu family doesn't lack anything. What matters is not the amount but the thought. Madam Gu will probably like what we sent."

After Fei Wendong and the others left, Rong Yu'an went to see what they had sent. There were boxes and baskets, but he didn't know what was inside.

He opened them and saw there were very fragrant smoked meat, dried lily bulbs, and duck eggs? The eggs were too large to be sure at first. There were also dark purple things he had never seen before, each the size of a baby's fist. And there were preserved fruits, which looked a bit like jujube candy and dried peaches.

Rong Yu'an held the dark purple object and asked Gu Shenhan: "Honey, what's this?"

Gu Shenhan said: "Water chestnuts. Also called horses' hooves. It should be a kind of vegetable."

We've never cooked this at home before, and Gu Shenhan didn't usually eat it much.

At this time, Lian Dong said: "Sir, Madam, the duck eggs are all double-yolked, very fresh. Should I pickle them?"

Rong Yu'an said: "Let's pickle them." After saying that, he ate a jujube and his eyes lit up: "Mmm! Delicious!"

Gu Shenhan tasted one and frowned: "So sour. Delicious?!"

Rong Yu'an nodded: "Well, if you don't like them, they're all mine." With that, he took them away.

Gu Shenhan: "..."

In the afternoon, he arranged for people to deliver holiday gifts to each household. The people who delivered gifts also brought back some gifts from each family when they returned.

Gu Shenhan looked around; they were nothing more than cigarettes, alcohol, tea, ginseng, and the like. Nothing unusual, all readily available at any store.

But perhaps because the gifts they had prepared were obviously made with care, the recipients each called him to thank him personally. It must be because they only had his number, not Rong Yu'an's, so they called him.

Gu Shenhan had an indescribable feeling.

He inexplicably grabbed a piece of the Fei family's dried peach and ate it.

How to put it? It's not that I've never eaten this kind of snack before, but the flavor is indeed quite different.

Rong Yuan smiled and shook the sour jujube in his hand: "It's good, right? This peach flavor is really strong, but not in a heavy or artificial way."

Gu Shenhan nodded: "Indeed."

Rong Yuan smiled and shook the sour jujube in his hand: "But this one is still the best."

Gu Shenhan couldn't handle it; just the smell made him pucker. But seeing Rong Yuan enjoy it so much made him feel a sense of comfort.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the kitchen was bustling from early morning.

Chef Cui and Lian Dong prepared according to the menu they had planned in advance, and even hired an extra chef from outside to assist and prep ingredients.

Rong Yuan and Gu Shenhan also woke up early. Thinking of his family in the other world, Rong Yuan opened his phone and pulled up the new desktop wallpaper that Gu Shenhan had set up for him.

The wallpaper originally used on his new computer had also been transferred to his phone. Gu Shenhan had resized it and added a blur effect so it wouldn't attract attention but would still let Rong Yuan see it whenever he wanted.

There was also a clear version, with various outfits and scenes, and Rong Yuan had saved many copies.

Gu Shenhan knew he was thinking about his family. He hugged him, stroking his head and back, and asked, "Do you dream of them at night?"

Rong Yuan sadly rubbed his phone and said, "Very rarely. Only twice in the first few days after I got here."

Gu Shenhan told him, "From now on, before you go to sleep, talk to me more about you and your family members. Maybe you'll dream of them at night. Last time in the bathroom, we mainly talked about your grandparents and your in-laws. This time, let's talk about your younger siblings."

Thinking of his younger siblings, a smile crept onto Rong Yuan's lips. "My second brother and my younger sister are both very talented. My youngest brother is quieter around Mother, but he's actually more mischievous than I am. My second brother is an expert with the spear; he was personally taught by Grandfather and is quite famous in our world. The youngest brother and sister are boy-girl twins."

"Your family has that kind of genes? Then maybe our baby will be twins too?"

"I don't know about that. But on my mother's side, there are indeed many siblings who are twins."

"Then we can't rush to prepare the baby's room."

"Baby's room?"

"Yes, the children need their own room. We definitely need to prepare it in advance."

Rong Yuan hadn't thought about that. He figured if they had a child, he would take care of it himself. But Gu Shenhan had to work during the day, so they couldn't be in the same room. It would be inconvenient if the servants helped. Besides, he might not be at Cuixi Garden for a long time then.

If only the two places could connect. He could go back to his mother's home and ask her for advice on anything.

His mother would be so happy to know he had a baby. When he first married into the Anhou Marquis Manor, he hadn't even seen his former husband's face. His mother burned incense every day, praying that his former husband would return victorious soon and reunite with him.

But it ended like that. Now, though, he wasn't angry. If it hadn't been for that, how could he have met Gu Shenhan?

But you can't have your cake and eat it too. Nothing in life is perfect.

Suddenly, Rong Yuan thought of something: "Honey, when Xiao Tang and the others come today, I want to talk to Xiao Tang about finding a time to go to the place where we took pictures before."

"Falling Gold Beach?"

"Yes, I want to go see it."

The original Rong Yuan never returned. He didn't know if he had gone to his world or if he was truly gone. He wanted to send him some flowers.

That place was about three hours away by car, not too far.

Gu Shenhan said, "That's fine, but no swimming this time."

Rong Yuan thought to himself, Who would swim in October? This isn't the south.

After chatting, they realized over twenty minutes had passed, so they quickly got up and got ready.

Rong Yuan had just finished washing his face when Yan Yu and Lin Xiaotang showed up. Yan Yu texted from downstairs: "Brother Xiao'an, are you up? We're here."

Rong Yuan went downstairs and saw Yan Yu looking like he hadn't gotten any sleep. When he asked, sure enough.

"Last night, the game company had an event and released a new skin. I couldn't help but play until very late," Yan Yu yawned. "I was afraid I'd fall asleep and not be able to wake up for a while, so I came over first."

"Then go take a nap after breakfast," Rong Yuan said. "You can wake up and eat lunch."

"That sounds like I just came to freeload." Yan Yu thought about it and couldn't help laughing. "No, I'll tough it out. I'll go home early and go to bed early tonight."

"You said the same thing yesterday and the day before that," Lin Xiaotang said. "This is the last time I'm believing you."

"Guys, maybe I should just go to sleep right after eating?"

The others were done with him, but of course, they wouldn't stop him.

After the meal, Rong Yuan talked to Lin Xiaotang about going to Falling Gold Beach. Lin Xiaotang was willing, so they decided to go after the holiday to avoid the crowds.

Yan Yu slept all the way into the afternoon, skipping lunch. At two, he was still tired, but Lin Xiaotang woke him up anyway, saying Liang Zheng had invited them out to eat and they had already agreed to go boating on the lake that evening.

Rong Yuan and Gu Shenhan were heading to the Gu family mansion, so they didn't make a point of staying.

The young couple brought the gifts they had prepared. The old lady was the happiest. Especially when she looked at Rong Yuan, her expression was joyful but with a hint of wistfulness.

If what Gu Shenhan said was true, then her friend's grandson was nowhere to be found. She really felt regretful about that.

But this Rong Yuan in front of her was also a good kid. And if, as Gu Shenhan said, he could carry on the family line, that would be a great joy.

Not to mention the issue of bloodline, but for Gu Shenhan himself, it would be the best outcome.

Raising a child well was also a way to heal oneself.

The old lady held Rong Yuan's hand affectionately: "Xiao An, is there anything special you want to eat? Let the chefs prepare it in advance."

Rong Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Grandma. I can eat anything; I'm not picky."

Gu Shenhan chimed in: "Oh? Who was it that doesn't like broccoli, doesn't like cauliflower, doesn't like asparagus, doesn't eat caviar? And doesn't like shiitake mushrooms?"

"But I eat all of that now!" Rong Yuan said. "Grandma, I really am not picky."

"Alright, not picky. This holiday, a friend of your grandfather's sent him two boxes of cave nest bird's nest. Take them with you when you go back. It's just the right season for dryness, so this will be good for our Xiao An."

"Thank you, Grandma."

Rong Yuan was well-behaved, chatting with the old lady about calligraphy, embroidery, and the people and things he saw in Lianshan.

The old lady obviously doted on him, but this made the senior branch of the family even more convinced that the house in Bishuiwan was bought by the old lady.

Wang Shuyi couldn't help saying, "Mom, you're playing favorites. The bird's nest is for Xiao An, the rice paper and ink sticks go to Xiao An, and you even bought them a house. They're all your grandsons. Why is the difference so big?"

The old lady asked, "What house?"

Gu Mingchuan said, "Bishuiwan, two apartments. Don't say you don't know."

The old lady turned to Gu Shenhan. Gu Shenhan said, "I bought those for An An last month, but Aunt and Uncle probably won't believe me."

Wang Shuyi: "Those two properties are worth a total of 150 million RMB. Shenhan, where did you get that much cash? I haven't heard of you selling any stocks."

Gu Shenhan said: "That's not something you need to worry about, Aunt. It's not like I stole it. But you sure are well-informed. It's been less than a month since I bought them, and you already know so clearly. You haven't been having someone keep an eye on me, have you?"

Wang Shuyi said: "No need to keep an eye on you. That place doesn't just have your household—there are other residents. Someone was bound to see it and word would get out. Mom, Shenhan isn't your only grandson."

The old lady said: "Indeed, I do have several grandsons. But not many can be considered really promising. Since you think I'm being biased, then from now on, let Shenhan take the position of chairman of Qianhai Shipping. I'll also transfer my shares in Qianhai to him, and I'll have some peace and quiet."

Wang Shuyi was stunned into silence. Gu Mingchuan said: "That's out of the question!"

The old lady adjusted her glasses: "Oh? Tell me, why not?"