Chapter 244 - 190: Importance and Tone

"What’s this kid doing up in the middle of the night, making such a racket?"

In the dead of night, someone downstairs was moving things. Hollow metal pipes knocked and bumped against each other, clanging and clattering.

If it had been one quick burst of noise, that would’ve been one thing. But this stopping and starting, like a thief sneaking around, was just infuriating!

Shui Sulan tossed and turned, unable to stand it any longer. Yawning, she sat up, grabbed the alarm clock on her nightstand, and squinted at it. Great, it was only four-thirty!

She was seething.

’That kid is always showing off!’

’I’m going to have to teach him a lesson!’

But just as she reached the door, before she could unleash her fury, the savory aroma of cooking oil wafted up from downstairs.

It was a scent she had smelled quite often lately.

Guessing that her son was most likely frying his Ni Family secret-recipe beef jerky again, Shui Sulan was suddenly wide awake.

That’s when she remembered: her son was going on a date with his girlfriend today.

Right after they made it official, he had immediately started introducing her to his social circle, and he even knew to prepare for their outing with his own hands!

’That’s my boy! He’s got the moves and the mind to back them up~’

She peeked over the railing for another look and saw a small camping wagon in the middle of the living room, already filled with a sun umbrella, a tent, camp stools, and other things.

Shui Sulan’s anger vanished without a trace, all thoughts of settling the score with her son gone.

She lay back down on the bed and was just trying to drift off again when she heard her husband’s groggy voice beside her:

"Hey, cut him some slack. The man’s pushing forty and he’s finally in a relationship. It’s their first date, and they’re going to Baiyun Reservoir for a fishing picnic. You can’t just buy things you’ve forgotten out in the middle of nowhere, so of course he has to be fully prepared, right? It’s not like us. We were childhood sweethearts, we played together since we were kids. Going on dates was nothing special for us..."

Sang Jingwen had only meant to comfort his wife, but a sharp pain in his side jolted him wide awake!

"I’ll give you ’nothing special’! I’ll show you ’nothing special’! Is it special enough for you now?"

Shui Sulan had been doted on her whole life; she couldn’t stand hearing words like that.

"Honey, where do you want to go today? We’re already awake, so why don’t we get ready and go out for some fun, too! And you know what? I love going out with you. I don’t feel right if we don’t go out for a day!"

The lights were off in the room. But because it was hot and Shui Sulan disliked air conditioning, they had slept with the window open, with only the sheer curtains drawn.

Sang Jingwen was lying down while Shui Sulan sat up. In the dim, gray light of dawn, Sang Jingwen could clearly see the dangerous look in his wife’s eyes.

’Oh, crap, why did I have to go and say something so honest!’

He was kicking himself internally, but his words were nothing but sweet talk:

"Su Lan! Don’t be angry. Think about it, from the time we were kids to now, have I ever gone anywhere for fun without you? I’m just a bit of a homebody and don’t particularly like going out, but have I ever once refused when you wanted to go somewhere? Sigh... you’re picking on me again. My waist keeps getting thicker; it’s probably all swollen from you pinching it."

Arguing with his wife never ended well. When Sang Jingwen decided to back down, he had absolutely no regard for his pride.

Shui Sulan let out a chuckle, then lay back down, wrapping her arms around his neck and whispering:

"I heard there’s a farmhouse restaurant near Baiyun Reservoir that makes exceptionally good dishes with fresh river catch. I want to go there today! What do you think?"

The couple were both retired, and with few responsibilities left that required their personal attention, taking a day to go out and have fun was quite easy.

The two were childhood sweethearts and had spent most of their lives together. Aside from when one of them was away on a business trip, they were almost never apart. It was safe to say that Sang Jingwen knew what Shui Sulan was thinking before she even spoke.

"Let’s pick another place. The young couple is trying to have a date. It would be so annoying for them to have their parents hanging around!"

Although she really wanted a front-row seat for their budding romance, Shui Sulan recalled the mother-in-law advice her old Sisters had shared just yesterday. She had to admit he had a point, so she dropped the idea.

"Fine, fine. Let’s go to the temple and offer some incense today instead!"

Sang Jingwen was wide awake by now and didn’t dare make any more ill-timed remarks, like how it’s better to rely on yourself than to pray to Buddha.

’You know, having faith isn’t so bad. If nothing else, at least it gives my wife peace of mind, and my waist gets pinched a little less.’

Having made up their minds and seeing that it wasn’t that early anymore, they decided to just get up and start their day.

The couple quickly changed, washed up, and went downstairs.

Sang Jingwen went to check on his son’s little wagon to see if he had packed everything he needed, while Shui Sulan followed the aroma into the kitchen.

"Whew, that spicy and numbing smell! How many chilis and Sichuan peppercorns did he use? Can you even eat something this spicy in this heat?"

Holding the wok in one hand and a spatula in the other, Sang Yuan was in the middle of scooping the fried, spicy beef jerky into a glass container. He answered without turning his head: