99: Chapter 99 First Time Drinking

It was a twenty-minute walk from Jianghai Square to the fruit shop.

Zhou Tianhao and Zhou Yun took two hours.

They were blocked as soon as they left the square.

Reporters, cameramen, and passersby holding up phones for livestreams formed three dense layers around them.

Microphones were shoved into their faces, with questions coming one after another:

"Zhou Yun! May I ask how you managed to survive the beast tide in the City Lord World with an F-rank small city?"

"Mr. Zhou! As the father of the world's number one, how do you feel right now?"

"Zhou Yun! Zhou Yun, look over here! Look over here and smile!"

"Husband, husband~"

...

Zhou Tianhao shielded Zhou Yun and pushed outward, repeating, "Make way, make way, please make way."

Zhou Yun was caught in the middle of the crowd, with a microphone on his left and a camera lens on his right. Unable to answer anything, he could only nod and smile continuously.

After finally squeezing out of the square, he thought he would have some peace, but there were even more people on the street!

The news had spread too quickly.

The fact that "The world's number one is in Jianghai" had exploded, and half the city's population was flooding toward them.

Some held banners, some brought children to "soak up the top scorer's Qi," and others were just there to join the excitement.

Traffic police temporarily closed two streets. Police cars with flashing lights led the way, followed by Zhou Tianhao and Zhou Yun, and behind them was a massive, bustling crowd.

Zhou Tianhao suddenly laughed as they walked.

"What is it, Dad?"

"It's nothing." Zhou Tianhao shook his head. "I just remembered when you were little. On your first day of kindergarten, there were this many people seeing you off, too. Of course, back then, we were seeing off someone else's child, not you. Your mom was taking you on her bicycle when the chain broke, and we spent half an hour crouching on the side of the road fixing it."

Zhou Yun listened intently; this was the first time he had heard his father mention his mother.

"And then?"

"Then we fixed it. Your mom was the type of person who liked to do everything herself." Zhou Tianhao's tone was casual, as if he were talking about something unimportant. "Let's go, let's go, we're almost there."

He quickened his pace.

Zhou Yun looked at his back and swallowed the questions that had reached his lips.

...

The entrance to the fruit shop was also crowded with people.

News traveled faster than them; the nearby neighbors had all come out.

The shop entrance was packed tight. Some stood on tiptoe to peek inside, while others held up their phones to film.

Zhou Tianhao squeezed to the entrance and turned to wave at the crowd: "Neighbors! Friends! Could you all please disperse? My son just got back and has been through a lot on the way, let him rest for a bit!"

Someone in the crowd shouted: "Boss Zhou! You have to let us see the top scorer!"

"What's there to see? He's not a monkey!" Zhou Tianhao scolded with a laugh. "I'll treat everyone to fruit another day; today, let us father and son have some peace!"

Everyone laughed and chatted, and being reasonable, they gradually cleared a path.

Zhou Tianhao took out his keys to open the shop door, looked back at the crowd that hadn't fully dispersed, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Celebrating my son's return today—all fruit is free!"

The crowd was stunned for a moment, then erupted.

"Boss Zhou is generous!"

"The top scorer's dad is truly open-handed!"

"It's free! Come on, hurry!"

...

The crowd swarmed over.

Zhou Tianhao smiled from ear to ear as he moved boxes of fruit out of the shop.

Zhou Yun hurried up to help, and the two of them stood at the shop entrance, passing boxes out one by one.

Apples, oranges, bananas, and kiwis were spread all over the ground.

The crowd began to take them.

But a strange thing happened.

After everyone took their fruit, they would lower their heads and scan the payment code on the counter.

Zhou Tianhao didn't notice at first.

It wasn't until he heard the continuous stream of payment notifications on his phone that he realized—ding, ding, ding, ding-ding-ding—it sounded like his phone had been poisoned, ringing non-stop.

He took out his phone to look, and was dumbfounded.

One transaction, two transactions, three transactions... all were scanned payments.

The amounts ranged from tens to hundreds, with the largest single transfer being two thousand.

"Hey—hey, no—I said it was free! Why are you still paying!" Zhou Tianhao panicked, holding his phone and chasing after them.

An older woman carrying two bags of oranges didn't even turn her head as she said: "Fruit from the top scorer's house brings good luck! How can we not pay?"

"Exactly! I'm taking these apples home for my grandson to eat, let him soak up some of the top scorer's blessings too!"

"Boss Zhou, just accept it! You're not the only one happy today; all of Jianghai is happy!"

...

Zhou Tianhao stood at the shop entrance with his phone, mouth agape, not knowing what to say.

In less than fifteen minutes, all the fruit in the shop had been cleared out.

The total amount received on his phone—Zhou Tianhao snuck a peek—was more than his usual monthly turnover!

He was stunned for a long time, then turned around and slapped Zhou Yun on the shoulder.

"Well, thanks to you, your old man has made a fortune!"

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and threw an arm around Zhou Yun's shoulder as they walked into the shop.

"Let's go! Father and son, let's have a drink!"

...

In the small room behind the shop.

A small square table, two plastic stools.

Two dishes on the table—a plate of peanuts, a plate of smashed cucumbers.

Zhou Tianhao rummaged through the cabinet and found a bottle of white liquor. It was the most ordinary type of unbranded liquor, sitting there for at least two or three years, the label on the bottle already yellowed.

He unscrewed the cap and poured a glass for Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun reached out to pour it himself, but was stopped by him.

"I'll do it." Zhou Tianhao pushed the glass in front of Zhou Yun, then poured one for himself.

Zhou Yun looked at the glass in front of him, feeling a bit dazed.

Growing up, his dad had never let him touch alcohol.

Even when relatives urged him to drink during the New Year, his dad would block them with one sentence: "What are children drinking for? Drinking ruins things."

When he said this, his tone was firm and unquestionable.

Today was the first time.

"Drink." Zhou Tianhao raised his glass and gestured to him. "I'm happy today."

The two glasses clinked together with a light sound.

Zhou Yun took a sip.

Spicy, it burned his throat.

He coughed twice, tears almost coming out.

Zhou Tianhao watched his reaction and laughed: "Weak."

"You never taught me either..." Zhou Yun wiped the corner of his mouth.

"Teach you to drink? Wouldn't that be teaching you bad habits?"

"Then why are you letting me drink today?"

Zhou Tianhao poured himself another glass and sipped it slowly: "Today is different."

As for how it was different, he didn't say.

The small room was quiet for a while.

The bustle outside the shop had mostly dispersed, and through the wall, one could hear sporadic voices on the street and the traffic in the distance.

The freezer hummed—that freezer, which had been broken for more than half a year, was still stubbornly working.

Zhou Yun picked up a peanut, chewed it, and began to speak.

"Dad, let me tell you about these past seven days."

"Mm, go ahead."

Zhou Yun started from the first day.

Assigned to Flower City, F-rank, dilapidated.

There was a captain of the City Guard in the city named Lei Lie, quite loyal.

There was a woman named Wan'er, very capable, who helped him manage internal affairs.

There was an old craftsman named Tie Shan, responsible for construction.

There was also a profiteer named Minister Wang Fugui, who later became his head of the Trade Department.