The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Mrs. Fu was suddenly startled: ”... Is this what you had planned all along?”

Mr. Fu’s gaze was calm, looking up at a faint reflection on the ceiling, as if it were the last ray of hope in the darkness: ”I’ve got nothing to hope for in this life, living and dying on this small plot of land. I can’t let our son be trapped here too.”

”Our son is smart, quick-witted; even though he didn’t do well in school as a child, he has a strong determination, can endure hardships, and is daring and adventurous. Now that he’s finally found a stable job in Bei’an, if he could also have a house of his own, he’d be truly settled! What’s he lacking now? Money! Our son is so promising that even if we have to sell everything, we must help him. Even if we can’t pay in full, we should at least help with a down payment so he can settle in Bei’an!”

Mrs. Fu was at a loss for words, gazing into the darkness: ”We do have some savings, but in Bei’an, even the down payment might not be enough, right? Are you thinking of borrowing some from the family?”

Mr. Fu nodded: ”Hmm, I’ll try to figure something out on my end. You, while you’re in Bei’an this time, could you hint at your sister and ask her?”

Mrs. Fu gritted her teeth: ”Alright, but I don’t think they have much money on hand either.”

Her sister and brother-in-law also have to support their child’s college education, and Minghao truly doesn’t make life easy for them.

”Once our son is settled in Bei’an, our lives wouldn’t have been in vain.” Mr. Fu revealed an expression filled with mixed emotions: ”My son is much better than me; he seems indifferent but is genuinely kind-hearted... Anyway, my life is like this already, and my pension is enough... I’m not doing this for myself, but for our son’s future.”

...

Fu Yu had booked the rooms in advance at a chain hotel on a side street, two double rooms and one standard room.

In the evening, one room would be for his parents, another for his aunt and uncle, and he would share a room with Lin Minghao.

Lin Minghao was quite pleased with this arrangement.

”Brother, after dinner tonight, let’s get back to our rooms early; I really don’t want to listen to my mom’s nagging!”

Fu Yu, seeing Lin Minghao like that, felt a bit worried for his aunt.

There’s a saying that grown daughters are hard to keep at home; how come his aunt raised a son, and it turned out like this?

Lin Minghao had no excitement about his parents’ visit, but he was rather more interested in tomorrow’s trip to Sifeng Mountain.

Fu Yu purposely went to the front desk to ask about the hot water supply times and carefully cleaned the kettle in the room, boiling a pot of water in advance to cool.

His parents had always been frugal; getting them to drink store-bought bottled water was impossible.

To avoid having his parents deal with these chores after a long journey, Fu Yu prepared everything he could think of in advance.

It wasn’t long before Lin Minghao received a call from his mom, saying they had just entered Bei’an.

As soon as Fu Yu got the news, he couldn’t sit still and dragged Lin Minghao to the hotel entrance to eagerly wait for their arrival.

Lin Minghao pretended he wasn’t interested in his parents’ visit, but his steps following behind Fu Yu weren’t slow.

After waiting a while, they finally saw a black car coming from afar.

Fu Yu recognized the license plate and took a few steps forward with a smile, waving his hand.

Lin Minghao, awkwardly following behind, waved his hand too.

Sitting in the car, Mrs. Fu saw from afar Fu Yu and Lin Minghao standing together on the roadside, excitedly waving.

”It’s Yu and Minghao!”

Mr. Fu also noticed his son, and his heart filled with joy.

Both parents quickly rolled down the windows, leaning out to call: ”Son!! Minghao!!”

Lin Minghao’s parents were also moved; one quickly honked twice, and the other leaned out to greet them.

Seeing their son grown up so well, tall and handsome, was every parent’s pride.

As soon as the car stopped, the eager parents hurriedly got out.

Fu Yu approached his parents, looking them over carefully.

His father was tall, with tanned skin from years of outdoor work, wearing a new coat Fu Yu had never seen before, and his hair had been recently cut.

His mother, petite, hadn’t changed much with age. It was evident she had dressed up for this trip; her hair was freshly permed, and her outfit looked like something she shopped for with his aunt, as their styles were similar, only differing in color.

Fu Yu resembled his mother in appearance but took after his father in build. Though not as muscular, his time in the kitchen had given him a lean build.

Fu Yu went to the trunk to help his dad carry things.

The trunk was full of all sorts of things for him and Lin Minghao.

Fu Yu, his hands full, said with a laugh, ”Dad, Mom, why did you bring so much stuff?”

Mrs. Fu laughed, ”I still feel like we missed something; the trip was planned too hastily, and we didn’t have enough time to prepare.”

Fu Yu chuckled, ”You two might as well move the whole house here.”

Mr. Fu pulled out the last two bags: ”What do you think? If your uncle’s car had more space, your mom would’ve done just that!”

Their side was a harmonious and joyful family reunion.

On the other side, however, was the tense standoff among Lin Minghao’s family.

Upon their first meeting, even before exchanging warm words, they began arguing again.

Lin Minghao stubbornly argued with his parents, leaving them quite exasperated.

Fu Yu’s family quickly came over to mediate, and it took a while to calm the atmosphere.

After settling the luggage and realizing it was almost time, Fu Yu took the family to Qianlima for dinner.

Just as the first time Fu Yu brought Lin Minghao there, the four elders stood in the dazzling ordering area, almost overwhelmed by all the choices.

Seeing the friendly server warmly greeting Fu Yu, the smiles on his parents’ faces were uncontainable, even if they didn’t say anything.

It happened to be Jiang Mo’s shift; hearing it was Fu Yu’s parents who were visiting, her enthusiasm was like addressing her own family elders.

She did not introduce the restaurant’s dishes as she usually would with customers but instead said, ”We’ll have some of the real specialties of the house, like we’re family.”

Fu Yu, considering his parents’ tastes, ordered two dishes and consulted his aunt’s family, adding two more dishes. Then, on his own accord, he ordered some of the restaurant’s specialties: seafood soup, seafood porridge, and bay fish dumplings, leaving nothing out.