Chapter 278 - 212: Bewitching Soup Master

Shui Sulan slept for a while at the hotel to recover her energy, then left her son behind and returned to Beijing.

When Ni Guangli found out, he was quite regretful.

"The last time I went to Beijing, your parents were such gracious hosts. This time, your mother came all this way but left without even stepping foot in our home. I feel terrible about it!"

Ni Guangli had been through a terrifying ordeal. Coupled with not eating or sleeping well and having to sleep on a bare, hard plank bed at the police station, his body was already worn down. After his release, he heard about the plane crash. He already had a cold, and the accumulated stress caused him to develop a high fever.

He was put on an IV drip at the hospital, and his fever subsided shortly after. However, it returned that night, which meant he couldn’t be discharged and had to continue his treatment.

"It’s okay. Once you’re better, we’ll invite Uncle Sang and Aunt Shui to visit."

While Sang Yuan was in the bathroom getting water for him to wash his face, Ni Guangli pulled his daughter close and whispered:

"There will be plenty of opportunities for them to visit after you have a baby! If you come home for your postpartum confinement, they’ll definitely come to see their grandchild. Hehehe~ And your senior apprentice-brothers all know how to make postpartum recovery meals. They can take turns making you delicious food!"

Caught off guard by his sudden comment, Ni Bingyan was stunned for a moment before replying speechlessly:

"It’s way too early for that! Dad, what are you thinking? My career is taking off right now; I don’t have time for that!"

’Having a baby isn’t as simple as a hen laying an egg. It’s not that easy.’

Ni Guangli sighed. "I almost died this time. It suddenly made me realize the importance of carrying on the family line. You don’t know, but when I was released and saw you waiting for me outside, I almost burst into tears. And knowing I had survived such a huge disaster, I just wanted to hold you and never let go. My dear daughter, I just kept thinking, what if I had really died? I wouldn’t have seen you get married or have children. I wouldn’t know if he’ll treat you well in the future. I wouldn’t know if you’d miss your dad. Once you’re dead, you can’t see anything. My heart... it felt like it had been chopped into a million salty pieces..."

His words made Ni Bingyan start to cry too.

"Hearing you say things like that makes my heart ache, too. It feels like one of your braised pork knuckles—it looks all perfect and glistening on the outside, but it falls apart at the slightest touch. It’s just so fragile!"

The father and daughter hugged and wept, their speech peppered with food metaphors. Sang Yuan stood at the door holding a basin of water, sighing helplessly.

’Considering what they’ve been through, the size of their psychological trauma is probably big enough to build a mansion on,’ Sang Yuan thought. He didn’t laugh at them. Instead, he set down the basin, wrung out a washcloth, and began to wash his father-in-law’s face.

"Hey, I can get it myself."

’You see a person’s true colors in a crisis. This son-in-law is definitely a keeper!’

’If his daughter hadn’t been against it, he would have wanted them to get married right away.’

The three of them stayed in the hospital for another day. Several of Ni Guangli’s senior apprentices and their wives took turns bringing them delicious and healthy meals. Since it was a private room with an extra bed for a guest, the stay wasn’t too difficult to endure.

During his hospital stay, Lawyer Gao visited twice. By the time Ni Guangli was discharged, the charity foundation was mostly established.

Ni Guangli didn’t plan to solicit donations. He put up five hundred million of his own money, ensuring he would have the final say in all the foundation’s affairs.

With Lawyer Gao at his side to cover all the bases and help him navigate legal risks, the process moved forward quickly and smoothly.

Making money isn’t easy, but spending it is.

Ni Guangli didn’t know how to run a foundation, so he hired a reliable manager, which made spending money even easier.

But the value of a professional manager was that the money wouldn’t just be depleted. They would find ways to earn some back, aiming to break even or even turn a profit.

The work on the charity foundation went smoothly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eve of Lu Xun’s wedding.

Ni Guangli was now terrified at the mere mention of flying and insisted on taking the high-speed train, a wish Ni Bingyan readily granted.

At this point, you had to admit that Shui Sulan was a brilliant strategist.

By leaving, she had arranged for her son to stay in Rongcheng City to look after his father-in-law. He did so for several days, so when the time came for the father and daughter to visit relatives for the wedding, it was only natural for them to bring him along.

Once he was formally introduced to the relatives, his status as the son-in-law would be set in stone.

To look their best, the family even made appointments to get their hair styled and went shopping for new clothes.

Eager to make a good impression on Ni Bingyan’s maternal family, Sang Yuan proactively offered to buy gifts for everyone.

Ni Guangli thought his son-in-law had a grand perspective, was very capable, and even had a touch of his own style from back in the day. He praised him highly for the gesture, then casually opened his safe and took out two ancient painting scrolls for him.

"Here, a meeting gift for you. Take good care of them. When you die, leave them to my grandson."

Seeing Sang Yuan’s dumbfounded expression, he rolled his eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that? That’s exactly what my grandpa said when he passed them down to my dad, and what my dad said when he passed them to me!"

Sang Yuan untied the string, carefully unrolled one of the scrolls for a peek, and couldn’t help but gasp.

"Dad! Oh, no, Uncle! I have no idea how to preserve something like this! If they’re ruined under my care, I’ll be a criminal to history!"

Ni Guangli shot him a sideways glance and snorted. "Just make sure you treat my daughter well from now on. The Ni family has plenty of heirlooms; we aren’t some family without a deep heritage. I’m giving them to you, so just take them. Don’t worry about their monetary value. See the fatherly affection and blessings I’ve entrusted to them."

Hearing him refer to himself as "father," even the thick-skinned Sang Yuan felt a little embarrassed.

’He’d just gotten excited for a moment; it was a slip of the tongue.’

’After all, he had called him "Dad" for over a decade in his past life, so it was easy to make a mistake if he wasn’t paying attention.’

"Why don’t I leave them at your house for now? When I want to see them, you can just take them out for me."

"I’m not in the business of storing other people’s valuables. After you attend the wedding, take them home with you. If you don’t know how to preserve them, hire an expert to teach you. Besides, your own father is very knowledgeable in this area."

Sang Yuan realized his claim of not knowing how to care for them was just an excuse; he was simply too embarrassed to accept such a valuable gift. Seeing how sincere Ni Guangli was, he figured this was likely in response to his own mother giving Bingbing that watch.

’Sigh, this father and daughter were cut from the same cloth.’

Having figured this out, he proactively asked for Ni Guangli’s opinion on the gifts he had chosen for Bingyan’s grandmother and her side of the family, to see if they were suitable.

Ni Guangli did indeed examine them seriously, as if terrified one of the gifts might be unsuitable.

Seeing them get along so well, to the point where an accidental "Dad" was uttered, Ni Bingyan sighed. She felt a little helpless, but also a little happy.

"Hey, Dad hasn’t given you the traditional gift for calling him that yet. Don’t let him off so easy!"

As she poked him in the waist, Sang Yuan patted her head and said indulgently, "Stop messing around." Her father, however, acted as if he hadn’t seen her at all. His eyes were only for his wonderful son-in-law and—the pile of gifts filling the living room.

’The "veteran" son-in-law was about to bring his own "brand-new" son-in-law-to-be to visit his own in-laws. The new son-in-law would be accompanying his father-in-law to see his father-in-law’s father-in-law. This was a momentous occasion!’

’The gifts had to be chosen with the utmost care!’

When Ni Guangli found a gift he deemed unsuitable, he even paid out of his own pocket for a replacement. Seeing Sang Yuan’s deeply grateful expression, he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.

’A father still has to look out for these things to make sure the young couple’s life goes smoothly!’

Ni Bingyan finally saw with her own eyes just how this Sang fellow was bewitching her dad.

’Honestly, if she were the father-in-law and some handsome, talented young man was trying this hard to become her son-in-law, she’d probably be even more dramatic than her dad.’

’Sigh, this is exhausting. Things have already come to this, so I’ll just let it be.’