30: Chapter 30 Family Banquet

Dinner is served.

Aunt brought the dishes out one by one, filling the entire round table.

In the center was a large basin of corn and pork rib soup, the broth thick and white, with a thin layer of oil droplets and bright green scallions floating on top.

Surrounding it was a circle of dishes—braised pork belly, sweet and sour fish, fried spring rolls, broccoli with garlic, century egg and tofu salad, a plate of sour and spicy shredded potatoes, and a plate of oil-poached shrimp.

The presentation of the dishes wasn't particularly refined, but the portions were generous and the colors rich, which was Aunt's consistent style.

Chen Wei opened a bottle of liquor, filled Uncle's glass first, and then poured one for Chen Mo:

"Come on, it's rare that you're back, let's have a good drink today."

Chen Mo didn't actually drink much.

Back when he was in Li City, at company dinners, he would have at most two glasses of beer, and he basically never touched hard liquor.

It wasn't that he couldn't drink; he just didn't like the dizzy feeling of alcohol going to his head.

But today, he took the glass, clinked it with Uncle's, and took a small sip.

The burning sensation as the liquor went down his throat was still there, but it hadn't reached the point where he needed to expend extra physical energy to calm it down, and it dissipated in the blink of an eye.

"That's right."

Chen Wei also filled his own glass, raised it to clink with Uncle's, "Dad, I'd like to propose a toast to you."

The atmosphere at the dinner table quickly warmed up.

Aunt kept adding food to Chen Mo's bowl; as soon as he finished the pork ribs, she added a piece of braised pork belly, and before he could even touch the braised pork, she piled an oil-poached shrimp on top.

Chen Mo didn't refuse; he ate whatever she served him.

His usual food intake was far beyond that of a normal person—with a daily expenditure of 30,000 to 40,000 calories, he could even keep eating non-stop when faced with this table of home-cooked food.

He controlled his speed to be within the range of a normal person with a "good appetite," pausing occasionally to chew and chat with Uncle.

No one noticed that he had quietly eaten nearly half the table of food by himself, and even Aunt just assumed he had a particularly good appetite today.

Chen Ting asked Chen Mo while peeling a shrimp:

"How long do you plan to stay this time you're back?"

"Not sure yet, maybe for a while."

"Then come find your sister to hang out when you're free; my shop has some new styles, I'll give you a manicure."

Chen Ting said with a smile, her tone clearly teasing him.

Chen Mo didn't take the bait and asked instead:

"How is business at the shop?"

"It's alright, enough for my own expenses."

Chen Ting threw the shrimp shells into a dish and wiped her hands with a tissue, "It's just that some customers are too difficult to deal with; one could spend half an hour just picking a solid color."

She suddenly remembered something, turned her head, and said to Chen Wei, "Brother, aren't you hiring at your shop recently? Did you find anyone?"

Chen Wei picked up a piece of braised pork belly and stuffed it into his mouth, saying as he chewed:

"Haven't found anyone yet. Labor is too expensive these days; a waiter asks for four thousand right off the bat, and how much is the monthly turnover of my little shop anyway?"

Jiang Ning added from the side, "Business has actually been pretty good lately, it's just that we're short-handed. Your brother is as busy as a spinning top in the kitchen by himself; he can't even straighten his back when he gets home every night."

The group began to chat about domestic trifles—things at the shops, things in the neighborhood, how Uncle's blood pressure had been a bit high lately, and how Chen Ting had been arranged for another blind date last month.

Chen Mo listened quietly, answering occasionally when asked, and sitting to the side when he wasn't.

He hadn't felt this way in a long time.

He thought about the five days and nights in the Shennong Mountain Range. The Deep Pool, the waterfall, the starry sky, the Black Bear, the albino giant salamander.

Those scenes were magnificent, and also very quiet—so quiet that there was nothing but the roar of the waterfall and the sound of the wind.

That kind of quiet was a luxury, but it was also loneliness.

But now, the sound of bowls and chopsticks on the table, Uncle's voice, Chen Ting's laughter, Chen Wei's complaints—these sounds mixed together to form a completely different atmosphere that he was experiencing again after many days.

It wasn't the focus of training, nor the depth of gazing at the starry sky, but something simpler and more grounded.

"Right," Chen Wei suddenly put down his chopsticks and looked at Chen Mo, "What exactly do you do for work now? Are you still working as a coach?"

"I quit."

"You quit?" Chen Wei was a bit surprised, "Then what are you planning to do now?"

"I saved up some money before, enough to last for a while," Chen Mo said, "I'm planning to go travel around a bit recently."

Uncle nodded from the side, "It's good to go out and see the world; do you have enough money on hand?"

"It's enough." Chen Mo answered very decisively, not making any excessive fuss with his family over the issue of money.

He immediately steered the conversation in another direction and casually remarked, "Oh, by the way, Uncle, if you have time lately, you should go exercise; it's good for your health."

The latter half of the sentence wasn't said with much weight, as if it were just a casual mention, but in reality, he had weighed his words in his mind before speaking.

He knew that even if he were to lay out the facts about Spiritual Qi and the physical changes directly, not only would no one believe him, but it would actually make his family think something was wrong with his mind.

So he only suggested "going to exercise when you have time"—this advice in itself was beneficial for middle-aged and elderly people; even without the enhancement of Spiritual Qi, moderate exercise could improve cardiovascular health and sleep quality.

As for whether Spiritual Qi had any effect? Naturally, it did.

Before entering the mountains, he had already discovered that people with regular daily physical activity had a significantly higher efficiency in passively absorbing Spiritual Qi than those who were sedentary.

Uncle's blood pressure was on the high side; if he could walk around every day and do some simple exercises, combined with the slow but continuous repairing effect of Spiritual Qi, his physical condition would be better than it was now.

But saying this once was enough; there was no need to emphasize it repeatedly.

By the time the meal was finished, it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon. Aunt began to clear the bowls and chopsticks, and Chen Ting helped carry the plates to the kitchen. Chen Mo also pitched in, stacking the empty bowls on the table and carrying them into the kitchen.

When he came out of the kitchen, Uncle was standing in the living room, holding an envelope in his hand.

"Take this." Uncle stuffed the envelope into his hand. Chen Mo squeezed it; it was quite thick, the old-fashioned kraft paper envelope that Uncle usually used.

"No need, Uncle."

"Take it. When a young person is out and about, they need to have some money on them for emergencies."

Chen Mo hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he accepted it.

It wasn't because he lacked this bit of money, but because he was very familiar with Uncle's expression—every year when he left during the Chinese New Year, Uncle always had this same expression.

If he didn't take it, Uncle wouldn't feel at ease.

"Are you still staying in town for the next few days?" Uncle asked.

"Yeah, cleaning things up at the old house."

"Then come over and eat often; it's no fun cooking alone."

Chen Mo nodded.

After saying goodbye to Uncle's family, he walked out of the residential complex.

While waiting for a car, he looked down at the envelope in his hand. He didn't open it, nor did he need to count it—Uncle's pension wasn't high, and he definitely wouldn't agree to having the money given back, so he would just keep it well and return it in another form during holidays later on.

He tucked the envelope into his pocket and got into the car.

The car drove along the main road of the city towards the direction of the small town.

The urban streetscape outside the window retreated rapidly under the afternoon sun, and the ridge line in the distance was faintly visible.

He didn't go straight home, but instead went to the suburban wholesale market to pick up the supplies he had ordered online.