Chapter 346 - 346: Lotus Leaves Stretch Endlessly to Touch the Sky
“Hmm-” Zhou Chao woke up from his deep slumber and stretched lazily.
As he moved, his hand brushed against something soft, and he couldn’t resist pinching it a couple of times. When he raised his head, he saw Jiang Li, who was blushing and looking at him.
“You’re indeed a dirty old man. Your hand can’t even behave itself when you’re asleep.”
“Daring to say that about your husband, it seems today we’ll have to settle both past and present scores!” Zhou Chao immediately stood up from where he was seated on Jiang Li’s lap. He picked her up in a princess carry and headed towards the bedroom.
Two orioles sang in the emerald willows, and a line of white egrets soared in the azure sky.
Time quickly passed, and it was already dark outside.
“Click!” The bedroom door was opened, and Zhou Chao emerged with a smile on his face. By now, he had even changed his clothes.
“Wifey, I’ve arranged for the hotel to send dinner up. You just lie down and rest in bed!”
“1 understand,” came Jiang Li’s weak voice from the bedroom.
Zhou Chao made a call to the front desk, instructing them to arrange dinner.
The hotel’s front desk staff were aware that this was their own boss’s call, so they immediately directed the kitchen to get busy.
In less than half an hour, two dining carts appeared in Zhou Chao’s room. After delivering the sumptuous feast, the hotel staff left.
Looking at the variety of delicious dishes on the table, Zhou Chao couldn’t help but shake his head.
“If I had known, I would have asked them to prepare less. Sigh!”
Entering the bedroom, he found that Jiang Li was already up, leaning on the bed and playing with her phone.
“Get up, it’s time to eat!”
“Give me a hug!” Jiang Li reached out with both hands.
“Alright, you little lazy pig!” Zhou Chao gave her a princess carry again and lifted Jiang Li.
“Why does it feel like you’ve gained some weight compared to before?”
“It’s you who’s gained weight!” Jiang Li hugged Zhou Chao’s neck and playfully tried to bite his ear.
I’ll execute my house rules on you if you continue to be this naughty!”
“You’re the naughty one!”
Zhou Chao gently released Jiang Li, and her bathrobe unintentionally revealed the intimacy underneath.
“Let’s have dinner first. It’s getting late!”
Hungry, Jiang Li immediately started eating as soon as she sat down.
The two of them had dinner, which also served as supper. After the waiter cleared the table, they took a shower and rested.
Over the next two days, Zhou Chao didn’t go to Canghai Technology. Instead, he spent time playing with Jiang Li in Peng City.
Zhou Chao even set aside a whole day to accompany her to Happy Valley, where they had a full day of fun. When they returned to the hotel in the evening, Jiang Li still appeared excited, while Zhou Chao had lost his fighting spirit.
“Brother Chao, did you know that today is the birthday celebration of the Ye family’s old master?”
“Yes, I forgot to tell you earlier. Uncle Ye mentioned it to me before I went back to Jingdu, and he also sent me the address. He said it’s a banquet, and we should go have a look this afternoon. I heard it’s in a village where most of the residents are from the Ye family.”
Jiang Li contemplated for a moment and nodded.
After a brief freshening up, Zhou Chao picked up a long box and held Jiang Li’s hand as they left the hotel.
They got into the Alphard, which had been waiting for them for some time, and headed to the designated location.
It took about an hour to reach their destination from the hotel. Surprisingly, there was a dedicated parking lot outside the village, and it was already filled with many luxury cars. The cheapest ones were worth several million, but Zhou Chao’s current ride was an exception.
“It’s so lively!” They could immediately see that the entire village was adorned with traditional buildings and festive decorations, giving off an air of celebration.
Let’s go inside!” The group followed the road next to the parking lot and walked toward the village.
The road into the village was a single lane with two-way traffic, and at the village entrance, several guards dressed in white shirts had already stationed themselves.
As Zhou Chao and his group approached, the guards stopped them.
“We’re here to attend Old Master Ye’s birthday banquet!”
“Please show your invitation letter!” The guard’s request caught Zhou Chao off guard. After all, Uncle Ye hadn’t given him an invitation letter.
The guard seemed to notice that Zhou Chao didn’t have an invitation letter. He then said, “1 understand. Everyone who came here today wants to attend the banquet, but it’s not open to the public this time. Unless you have an invitation letter, please turn back.”
The guard’s words were polite and lacked any roughness. After all, this was a family with a certain level of decorum, and they didn’t adopt a condescending attitude.
Zhou Chao nodded upon hearing this and took out his phone to call Ye Zhengfeng.
At that moment, at the Ye family mansion, a group of people was chatting, and Ye Zhengfeng was among them. A few children were playing nearby.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!” The vibrating sound of a phone interrupted their conversation.
“You continue chatting; I’ll take this call,” Ye Zhengfeng said, looking at his phone, and then walked away from the group.
Hello, Xiao Chao, what’s going on?”
Uncle Ye, you invited me to attend Old Master Ye’s birthday banquet, but you didn’t give me an invitation letter. If you don’t come out now, I might get turned away!”
Hearing Zhou Chao’s despondent voice on the phone, Ye Zhengfeng, who usually appeared solemn and serious, found his mouth twitching.
“Alright, I got it!” He hung up the phone, took a moment to think, and then returned inside.
“Little Mango, would you like to go to the village entrance to meet your handsome big brother?”
Little Mango, who had been playing around with a few playmates, immediately stopped.
“Daddy, has big brother arrived? I want to go, I want to go!” Little Mango abandoned her playmates and ran towards Ye Zhengfeng.
“Second Brother, has that stinky kid arrived?” The eldest brother, Ye Zhengyun, asked.
“Yeah, I forgot to give him an invitation letter earlier. He got stopped at the entrance, so I’m going to pick him up!”
“Alright, go ahead!” Ye Zhengyun nodded.
Ye Zhengfeng then held Little Mango’s hand and headed towards the village entrance.
Inside the house, everyone looked at Ye Zhengyun, curious about the person whom Ye Zhengfeng went to personally escort back. They started asking Ye Zhengyun questions one after another.
Soon, Ye Zhengfeng arrived at the village entrance, holding hands with Little Mango.
“Uncle Ye, why did you come in person?”
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy that I’m coming in person?”
“Of course not, it’s my great honor!”
“You little rascal, you’re getting better and better at talking!” Ye Zhengfeng chuckled.
“Big brother, can I have a hug?” Little Mango ran to Zhou Chao as soon as she saw him, raising her arms.
“Little Mango, did you miss me?” Zhou Chao handed the item he was holding to Jiang Li and lifted Little Mango into his arms.
“Xiao Chao, aren’t you going to introduce her?” Ye Zhengfeng noticed the curiosity in Jiang Li’s eyes.
“Uncle Ye, this is my wife, Jiang Li, from Jingdu. Wifey, say hello!”
“Hello, Uncle Ye!”
“Alright, alright, are you Jiang Youdao’s daughter? You’ve grown. You were quite mischievous when you were little. Even with your brothers in the compound, no one dared to provoke you!” Ye Zhengfeng heard about Zhou Chao’s wife being from the Jiang family.
Zhou Chao looked at Jiang Li with surprise for a moment, and Jiang Li’s face blushed.
“Haha, let’s go inside!” Ye Zhengfeng looked at the two of them, smiled, and then turned to walk into the village.
Zhou Chao quickly caught up, carrying Little Mango. As they passed by the guards, his expression remained unchanged, indicating that he indeed had real strength.
The four of them strolled along the ancient and picturesque road. Zhou Chao took a few quick steps with Little Mango and joined Ye Zhengfeng.
Uncle Ye, there’s something I want to ask you,” Zhou Chao hesitated.
“Haha, are you going to ask about me and my eldest brother?” Ye Zhengfeng looked at Zhou Chao with a smile.
“Well… Uncle Ye, how did you know?” Zhou Chao didn’t expect Ye Zhengfeng to know what he wanted to ask.
“Before coming out, my eldest brother and I were just talking about you. I didn’t expect you to have such a connection with him and even meet in Jingdu.” Ye Zhengfeng couldn’t help but sigh at how fateful Zhou Chao was with their family.
“Hehe, Uncle Ye, I’m just curious about the age difference between you and Big Uncle Ye!” Zhou Chao finally asked.
“What’s so strange about it? My eldest brother was born first. Originally, at that time, they were only planning to have one child, but later, my eldest brother chose to enter into the business world. There was no other choice, so our father could only have a second child to enter politics. What’s there to be surprised about?”
Then, Ye Zhengfeng began to explain the situation to him. It was only then that Zhou Chao understood that many members of the Ye family had transitioned into business and politics.
He nodded in acknowledgment after listening to Ye Zhengfeng’s explanation.
He realized that as an outsider, it was better not to inquire too deeply into certain matters.
Soon, they arrived at a mansion.
“Do you want to join me for a chat, or would you like to explore on your own?”
“Uncle Ye, I’ll explore on my own. After all, I’m an outsider, and it might not be convenient for me to go in. I’ll just wander around!”
“Alright, take Little Mango with you!” Ye Zhengfeng nodded, as the mansion was now filled with members of the Ye family, and he wasn’t sure how to accommodate Zhou Chao.
“Okay!” Zhou Chao nodded, and Little Mango in his arms happily agreed.
Ye Zhengfeng watched as Little Mango laughed joyfully and then walked toward the mansion.
“Big brother, can I show you a great place? Let’s go quickly, or it’ll be dark, and we won’t see it!”
“Sure, let’s go!” Zhou Chao looked at Little Mango with a doting expression.
Jiang Li, who was on the side, couldn’t help but feel a bit suspicious as she watched Zhou Chao’s behavior.
“Wifey, let’s go!” Zhou Chao said, holding Little Mango in his left hand and holding Jiang Li’s hand with his right.
Seeing this, Jiang Li smiled, and soon, they followed Little Mango’s lead to a place that looked like a park.
“Wow…” When they saw the scene before them, both Jiang Li and Zhou Chao couldn’t help but exclaim.
“This is too beautiful!” What lay before them was a large area filled with blooming lotus flowers.
All the lotus flowers were in full bloom, making the entire park exceptionally beautiful. Zhou Chao also noticed many people who seemed to have a refined taste strolling in the park, presumably guests attending the birthday banquet.
Let’s go in and take a look!”