Chapter 36 p1
Cha Bao quietly finished a small portion of omurice and was licking the plate clean.
He Wangzhong was overjoyed, “Baby eats so well!”
Bai Xiaocha held his spoon, “Chef Grandpa, Baby can eat more!”
Can eat more… He Wangzhong hesitated, took another portion of omurice from his wife’s bag – it was the one he made, it didn’t look as good, the egg wasn’t fried well, unevenly thick and thin, like scrambled eggs.
He originally left it for He Renyuan to eat before leaving. As for why before leaving, because then he wouldn’t see his son’s disgusted expression.
He opened it nervously and placed it in front of Cha Bao, “Grandpa has another one.”
Bai Xiaocha’s enthusiasm for food was never affected by its appearance. He scooped a spoonful, stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s, chewed, swallowed, and nodded, “Grandpa’s cooking is so delicious!”
His tone and appetite were exactly the same as when he ate the first omurice.
He Wangzhong laughed heartily. He was indeed his golden grandson! And his culinary soulmate!
“Cha Bao, wait for Grandpa, Grandpa will go back and conquer the catering industry. When I succeed, I’ll leave all the shares to you, not a single share for the middleman.” He Wangzhong’s entrepreneurial spirit was ignited, a plan quickly forming in his mind, “Wife, do you want to work with me again?”
Shu Mei, “Sure.”
The middleman, He Renyuan: “…”
Cha Bao figured out what made Chef Grandpa laugh. After finishing the second omurice, he said with a smile, “Grandpa, Baby can eat more!”
He Wangzhong was so happy that he was a little flustered. Firstly, he didn’t have a third portion, and secondly, he was worried that he would make his grandson throw up on their first meeting.
“He Renyuan, are you starving Cha Bao?”
He Renyuan quickly picked up Cha Bao, “Stop flattering Grandpa, Uncle will take you to kindergarten.”
He Wangzhong, “A working uncle like you sending him to kindergarten? Of course, it’s the retired grandparents who should do it. Cha Bao, will Grandpa send you? Your uncle has to go to work.”
Bai Xiaocha, “Okay.”
He Renyuan, whose child was snatched away: “…” Retired? Wasn’t he going to return to the catering industry?
He Wangzhong, “You go to work, send me Cha Bao’s kindergarten address.”
“Wait, what kindergarten is this? Cha Bao isn’t attending an elite private kindergarten, nor a public one in a good school district, nor our company’s own kindergarten?”
He Renyuan, “As long as Cha Bao likes it.”
He Wangzhong, “Then can he eat well for lunch? Or should we deliver food ourselves in the future?”
He Renyuan, “He eats quite well.” If the food was bad, he would have a reason to persuade Bai Qingyu to transfer schools.
“Don’t pick him up in the afternoon, Cha Bao’s dad will pick him up himself.”
There was no traffic when Cha Bao finished school. Bai Qingyu liked to take the city bus, so he would let him take Cha Bao. There would be a day when he got tired of it.
As soon as the old and the young left, the office became quiet. He Renyuan opened the bottle cap and took a sip of Da Hong Pao.
It looked like he was drinking a five-yuan bottled drink, no one knew this was a gift from the tea deity.
Drinking tea didn’t cause He Renyuan insomnia, not seeing the tea deity did.
In the morning, after finishing his work, he took a nap in the lounge.
Bai Qingyu hadn’t been in this room before. It was actually as comfortable as the bed at home, but it would be better to change to a bigger bed. If Bai Qingyu came to deliver supper at night and the weather was bad, he wouldn’t have to go back.
He Renyuan had all sorts of random thoughts and fell into a deep sleep.
In his dream, when he was struggling at the bottom of the cliff, a deity appeared, two cold fingers pressed against his forehead, stopping the rapid loss of body heat.
Perhaps because he had consumed tea, he saw the other party’s face clearly this time. It was Bai Qingyu.
There was confusion in the other party’s eyes, the clear tea color making him want to kiss devoutly. If there was Meng Po soup, could it be this tea color? Dying wouldn’t be so bad.
Bai Qingyu gently picked him up, his slightly cool hair brushing against his cheek, a strand sprouting and turning into a slender willow branch.
Then, a thick fog rolled in, and He Renyuan couldn’t see anything anymore.
He Renyuan abruptly sat up in bed and pressed his forehead.
This time, the dream was clear and continuous, without any breaks before the fog rolled in. It was his complete memory.
He could now say with certainty that Bai Qingyu saved him.
He just didn’t know why Bai Qingyu had forgotten.
Did anything else happen after the fog? He Renyuan had a premonition that it was a truth that couldn’t be reached by drinking tea. For the first time, he felt helpless, but he couldn’t be foolish and seek help from some Taoist priest.
The phone on the bedside table vibrated. The housekeeper was calling.
He Renyuan had someone measure the size of the large living room at home and ordered an inflatable castle. It was just delivered today. The housekeeper was calling now, it must have been set up, and Cha Bao could play with it after school.
“Uncle Qi.”
“Young master, Bai Qingyu went to pick up Cha Bao, and they haven’t come back yet!” The housekeeper was so anxious as if the sky was falling, “His phone is also off.”
The housekeeper didn’t dare to say that he had already asked everywhere along the route if there had been any car accidents.
He Renyuan got out of bed, almost staggering, “What about the kindergarten?”
The housekeeper, “The kindergarten surveillance showed that Cha Bao was picked up by Bai Qingyu on time. A familiar parent also said they saw Bai Qingyu get on the bus.”
He Renyuan forced himself to stay calm, “Maybe his phone ran out of battery. Check the parks, fountains, hills, or any free open spaces along the bus route. He and Cha Bao like to go to those places, send more people.”
He Renyuan directly called the security company, hiring as many people as possible.
He Renyuan opened the map and went to the nearest hill himself.
There weren’t many hills near the city center. The government had developed trails, and many people hiked there every night.
He Renyuan held his phone, paying attention as he walked, afraid that the father and son had transformed into tea trees and didn’t dare to transform back in public.
“Cha Bao.”
“Cha Bao.”
“Are you looking for a dog? I just saw a golden retriever run that way.” A kind-hearted citizen offered a clue.
“No, I’m looking for a father with a child.” He Renyuan opened his phone and showed the photo, “Have you seen them?”
The kind citizen shook his head after looking, “No, this child is so cute, I would definitely remember if I had seen him.”
He asked a few more people, including those who had been here for hours, but none of them had seen them.
The probability of them being on this mountain was very low.
He Renyuan wiped his face, feeling a sense of emptiness as he walked down the steps.
The tea deity and Cha Bao, logically, wouldn’t be bound by human society. Perhaps, Bai Qingyu, after being discovered by him, disappeared with Cha Bao.
Would a tea deity completely trust a human? Probably not.
Where did they disappear to? He didn’t know. Immortals had their own places to go. If he couldn’t find Bai Qingyu today, he would go to Wuyi Mountain tomorrow.
Money couldn’t keep the tea deity, because neither Bai Qingyu nor Cha Bao cared about material things.
Then what could?
Three hours ago, Bai Qingyu had just gotten on the bus with the little one when a few aunties came up, carrying plastic buckets and shovels, their faces full of excitement.
“The tide is out, the clams are exposed! My friend has already picked half a bucket.”
“My grandson loves stir-fried clams and clam noodles.”
Bai Qingyu immediately perked up his ears. He and Cha Bao had always lived in the mountains, living off the land, eating mostly mushrooms. They had never been to the seaside.
So there was also free food by the sea.
“Baby, do you want to eat free clams?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s go to the seaside and pick clams, but we don’t have a plastic bucket.”
Bai Xiaocha patted his empty backpack, “Dad, use Baby’s backpack.”
Bai Qingyu, “You’re so smart!”
Five minutes later, the aunties got off the bus. Bai Qingyu immediately followed. The aunties walked briskly, and he also walked quickly with the child in his arms. Then they reached another bus stop and took the bus to the beach.
“Dad! It’s Uncle Ocean!” The little one said excitedly.
The clams were on the tidal flats after the tide receded. Neither Bai Qingyu nor Cha Bao were wearing boots. With a splash, half of their pant legs were dirty.
It didn’t matter, the tea deity was rooted in the earth, sinking his feet into the sand was like a massage.
Bai Qingyu and Bai Xiaocha stared at the puddles, and when they saw clams spraying water, they immediately reached out to dig.
Bai Xiaocha found a clam and held it up excitedly, “Dad, look.”
Bai Qingyu opened the backpack zipper, “Put it in.”
