Chapter 617: Steeping Medicinal Wine

“Alright, if you say I should eat less, then I’ll eat less!” Wen Yuan said miserably. “Bin, just half a bowl is fine.” His expression was so pitiful, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

‘Sigh, marriage really is terrifying. You can’t even eat as much as you want of your favorite food. Looks like I should wait a couple more years before I think about dating.’ Seeing Wen Yuan’s pathetic state, Shen Yibin couldn’t help but have this thought.

After the medicated porridge from the clay pot was served, everyone happily began to eat. Usually, after a meal at Shen Yibin’s place, Wen Yuan would stay for tea and a chat. Today, however, he left the moment he put his bowl down, not even offering to help clear the table. “Bin, I’ll be heading back. Tomorrow night…”

“Tomorrow night you have dinner with Chairman Zhang, did you forget? Bin, sorry about this, but he won’t be here to bother you tomorrow.” Wen Yuan’s wife interrupted him. “We’ll be going now. I’ll bring you some specialties from my hometown tomorrow; my parents just mailed them to us today.” After saying this, she took Wen Yuan’s arm and left, leaving Shen Yibin completely bewildered.

‘Those two seem a bit different from usual today. But I just can’t figure out why. It couldn’t be because my food was bad today, could it? I thought it was pretty good. Hah’Er and Xiaoliu enjoyed it too. What on earth is going on? Forget it. I’ll just clear the table first!’

Shen Yibin shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside. He quickly cleared the table and prepared to take Hah’Er and the others out for more exercise. “Hah’Er, let’s go! Time for a run by the river!”

“Mhm!” Hah’Er nodded, automatically placing Maphario into his chest pocket and hoisting the Turtle Immortal onto his back. ‘When I go to the store tomorrow,’ Shen Yibin mused, ‘maybe I should have Gao Shu and Li Shiqing modify Hah’Er’s clothes. They could add a few straps to his back so the Turtle Immortal can be secured, instead of Hah’Er having to hold him up with his paws. This training looks like it’ll continue for a while, so I should let Hah’Er save some energy.’

“Here, let me carry him today. You can do it again tomorrow!” In the end, Shen Yibin couldn’t bear to see Hah’Er get too tired. He took the Turtle Immortal from him and placed him on his own back, then started jogging along the Yunshui Riverfront with his little gang. ‘Sigh, it looks like I’ve become a disciple of the Turtle Immortal Style now. Should I get a yellow martial arts uniform to wear tomorrow?’

After three kilometers, Hah’Er would normally be whining to go back, but today he was still full of energy. Shen Yibin, despite carrying an extra few dozen pounds, didn’t feel any more tired than yesterday. It seemed the medicated porridge was truly working. On the way back, Shen Yibin passed Wen Yuan’s villa and faintly heard certain tantalizing sounds coming from inside. Only then did he start to understand why the couple had been acting so strangely today.

Back in the courtyard, Shen Yibin felt like he still hadn’t exercised enough. This time, without waiting for Xiaoliu’s signal, he picked up two bamboo sticks, tossed one to Xiaoliu, and kept the other. Taking his stance, he resumed his Swordsmanship practice with him. The two of them went at it for another half an hour, their sticks CLACKING away. Finally satisfied, they put the bamboo sticks away. Shen Yibin went back to his bedroom, washed up, and quickly fell into a deep sleep the moment he got into bed.

A dreamless night passed. After waking up and having a quick breakfast, Shen Yibin took the Turtle Immortal back into the woods behind the estate. He carried a small shovel and a cloth bag and stood by as the Turtle Immortal searched all around for useful roots, leaves, fruits, and mushrooms. Whenever it found something, the Turtle Immortal would give a slight indication, and Shen Yibin would rush over with Hah’Er and Xiaoliu to collect the plant it had pointed out.

‘The ingredients it’s choosing today seem different from yesterday’s. Maybe these materials all have their own specific uses and need to be combined to be effective?’ Shen Yibin mused as he gathered the plants.

After they had collected half a bag, the Turtle Immortal stopped searching. It slowly crawled onto Shen Yibin’s foot, as if asking to be carried back.

“Alrighty, let’s go back and wash our hands, then we’ll head to the store. We’ll have lunch and dinner there today!” Shen Yibin picked up the Turtle Immortal and ambled back to the villa. A short while later, he got in the car with them, drove to a market downtown to buy some vegetables and meat, and then arrived at the pet store.

“You can go play in the pool. I’m going to cook. I’ll call you when it’s ready!” After placing the Turtle Immortal in the pool, Hah’Er and Maphario went to busy themselves in the orchard, while Xiaoliu scurried up a tree with a SWOOSH. Shen Yibin greeted Xia Shixuan and the others, then went into the kitchen to get started.

“Time to eat! Come help me bring out the dishes!” Around twelve o’clock, Shen Yibin called out from the second floor, and a group of girls immediately flooded in.

“Oh, there’s porridge today too? I’m definitely having a lot!” Yesterday she had been indifferent to the medicated porridge, but today her attitude had completely changed. Xia Shixuan’s eyes immediately locked onto the pot of medicated porridge.

“Me too, me too! I feel like after drinking this porridge, I don’t even need to wear such a thick coat.” ‘And then you can show off your great figure, right?’

“I’ve been working overtime until midnight these past two days and felt like my energy couldn’t keep up, but that didn’t happen at all yesterday. Bin, is this because of the medicated porridge?” Sun Qian asked.

“If you think it’s good, have some more.” ‘Huh? How come they didn’t have the same… ‘problem’ as Wen Yuan after eating it?’

“CHIRP! CHIRP!” When he reached the dining table, Shen Yibin saw Xiaoliu already sitting there like he owned the place. In front of him was a wine jug, wafting a fragrant aroma.

“Oh? Is the store’s Monkey Wine ready too? Let me have a taste!” Shen Yibin immediately took the jug and poured everyone a cup. After a moment’s thought, he poured one for the Turtle Immortal too. ‘I wonder if it’ll like this,’ he thought.

The Turtle Immortal extended its neck from its shell, sniffed at the cup’s rim, and then licked it with its tongue. It paused for a moment, stunned, then started crawling toward the edge of the table as if it wanted to get down.

‘What’s it trying to do?’ Before Shen Yibin could react, Hah’Er helped the Turtle Immortal down to the floor. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the Turtle Immortal slowly made its way to the kitchen. A moment later, it came back out, carrying a few dried fruits in its mouth.

Looking closely, he saw they were the same kind they had gathered in the forest that morning. Reaching Hah’Er, the Turtle Immortal nodded its head, and Hah’Er helped it back onto the table.

The Turtle Immortal then moved its head over the wine cup and gently opened its mouth, dropping the dried fruits inside.

‘Is it trying to make medicated wine? I wonder what the effects will be.’