Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me
Chapter 186 - 185: Lovesickness (Part 1)

Chapter 186: Chapter 185: Lovesickness (Part 1)

Xu Qiang fell ill with lovesickness.

The object of his affection was a young lady named "Liuyue Su."

This illness had lasted for five days now, from the time he sent his letter until the present. He’d been sick the whole time, waiting for his little princess to come save him.

Lying listlessly on the living room sofa, he turned over, gazed up at the sky with a look of woe and began talking to himself, "Xiao Su, you heartless woman, when will you come to see me?"

Elder Master Jin returned home and just happened to overhear this remark. Still spry and robust at over eighty years of age, the old man who’d spent his life in the military still had a commanding presence.

Hearing his grandson whining over a woman made him displeased, and he bellowed, "A fine man like you lacking a woman? Moping around for a girl, what kind of behavior is that, losing face for the Jin Family."

His booming voice could shake mountains and rivers and it so startled Xu Qiang that he quickly scrambled up from the sofa. Pipi Qiang didn’t forget to add, "Grandfather, my surname is Xu. If anyone’s losing face, it’s the Xu Family."

Elder Master Jin felt he must properly educate his grandson.

When Jin Ruibing and Jin Xiaoni saw the old master, they tried to escape.

"You two, stop right there," the elder was quick to spot them and even quicker with his hands. He grabbed the collars of the two with one hand each and pulled them back.

The grandson and grandsons sat in a row on the opposite sofa.

The old master sat across from them, his penetrating gaze sweeping across the three individuals.

Instantly, all three sat up straight and puffed out their chests.

Ultimately, Elder Master Jin’s gaze settled on Xu Qiang’s face with a look of disappointed frustration, "Now tell me, what’s going on?"

"Ah? What’s going on?"

Xu Qiang had been preoccupied pining for his delicacy and only knew that the old man was yelling at him. He didn’t catch what the issue was but clearly heard something about bringing shame to the Jin Family.

To the old man’s eyes, his grandson’s baffled expression seemed like evasion.

"Will you talk or not? Who exactly is this Xiao Su?"

Xiao Su?

At first hearing this name, Xu Qiang was trying to figure out who it referred to when the old master began slamming his hand on the coffee table.

And it was making a loud "smack" sound.

"Didn’t I teach you to be decisive as a seven-foot-tall man, to be able to take it or leave it? If you like this Xiao Su, either chase her down and get married, or shut your mouth and forget about her. Don’t mope around the house sighing and whining. How is that the behavior of a man? You should learn from your older cousin and show the resolute nature of a Jin Family man."

After a thorough lecture from the old master, Xu Qiang looked utterly confused. At last, he remembered who "Xiao Su" was and saw the old man seriously trying to educate him, making him swallow hard.

"Grand, Grandfather, Xiao Su isn’t human."

Elder Master Jin’s eyes ferociously fixed on Xu Qiang as if he’d been subjected to a tremendous shock, exploding, "Since when did you develop such proclivities?"

Just at that moment, their pet Lingdang happily ran to Xu Qiang’s feet, and Xu Qiang affectionately rubbed his face against Lingdang’s.

Lingdang was a white, long-haired Great Pyrenees, the apple of Elder Master Jin’s eye because the dog had belonged to Jin Yu’s grandmother.

"Scourge!" the old man roared, startling Xu Qiang. The elder quickly pulled Lingdang back, his face red with fury, "Now, tell me, what breed is the Xiao Su you’re fond of?"

The old man looked as if he might pass out from anger, and Xu Qiang hurriedly tried to explain with a blank yet puzzled expression, "Xiao Su is Liuyue Su, the pastry my sister-in-law makes."

When it came to food, Xu Qiang nearly drooled, "Grandfather, you have no idea how delicious the Liuyue Su my sister-in-law makes is. It’s to die for."

The old man was taken aback; good thing he didn’t have his walking stick, or he might have beaten this idiot to death with it.

Turns out he’d been worked up all this time, and the object of lament was a mere pastry.

Elder Master Jin held back, but ultimately, he couldn’t restrain himself and picked up a smoking pipe from the coffee table to hit Xu Qiang a few times.

Xu Qiang cowered pitifully and innocently on the sofa as he was beaten, "Grandfather, please, please, don’t do this..."

After a good thrashing, Elder Master Jin’s anger was finally assuaged.

Xu Qiang said ingratiatingly, "Grandfather, the treats my sister-in-law makes really are delicious. I’ve already sent her a letter, and when she sends stuff over, I’ll share it with you."

Elder Master Jin wasn’t particularly interested in food; it was the prospective grandson’s wife that intrigued him.

The elderly man was advancing in years, his home filled with children and grandchildren, yet all his old comrades were already doting on great-grandchildren while he hadn’t even seen one.

Unfortunately, his two eldest grandsons were indifferent to marriage, each more stubborn than the other.

He was anxious and impatient.

But now, his elder grandson had finally found a fiancée, and one he had chosen himself no less. How could Elder Master Jin not be pleased?

He had wanted to visit Nancheng as soon as he knew the accurate news, but he didn’t expect that his peculiar grandson wouldn’t agree.

It’d been tough for the grandson to agree to start matchmaking, and Elder Master Jin didn’t dare to oppose him for fear his grandson’s wife would be scared off.

So, hearing Xu Qiang’s words, Elder Master Jin was particularly interested in his future daughter-in-law.

"Have you met your cousin’s wife?" Elder Master Jin asked.

Xu Qiang nodded frantically: "I have."

"And what’s she like, your cousin’s wife?" Elder Master Jin asked again.

Jin Ruibing and Jin Xiaoni, who were busy preparing quails, pricked up their ears to listen.

Both were curious about the cousin’s wife, but every time they asked Xu Qiang, Xu Qiang just fooled them around. They thought that with Elder Master Jin asking, Xu Qiang wouldn’t dare to fool around.

Before they could finish that thought, they saw Xu Qiang with a lovesick look on his face, looking up at the sky with his hands over his heart: "Beautiful, exceptionally beautiful, a heavenly immortal. Just one glance, and I felt like I was in love."

Elder Master Jin, at his age, cared not for superficial things like appearance. He was asking about her character.

Watching his grandson make an exceptionally shady expression, Elder Master Jin picked up the smoking pipe from the coffee table and took a few puffs: "Go stand at attention in the yard."

Xu Qiang didn’t understand why he was suddenly being smacked again, looking pitiful but swiftly running outside to stand at attention under the sun.

Through Xu Qiang’s exaggerations, the grandchildren of the Jin and Xu families all knew one thing: Jin Yu’s wife was as beautiful as a heavenly immortal.

Of course, they all said it jokingly.

Because Xu Qiang’s taste had always been questionable, except for his peak culinary achievements, in all other aspects, he was at the bottom.

For instance, the woman he once called a "Fair Lady" actually had a plain and uninspiring appearance.

Of course, neither Jin Yu nor Xu Niannian knew about this.

Xu Niannian had no clue that she had been, unwittingly, the subject of another round of rumors and gossip.

For instance, it was said that she might be too unattractive to be seen in public.

Or that she was a woman who, though not good-looking, possessed extraordinary culinary skills.

Considering Jin Yu was indifferent to many great beauties and suddenly decided to get engaged to her, people speculated that he must have taken a fancy to someone utterly different.

Having seen too many beauties and pursued by too many, Jin Yu developed a finicky taste, accustomed to beauties, he occasionally needed someone different from beauties to spice up his life.

The cause for people’s speculation that Jin Yu’s fiancée might be plain-looking stemmed from Xu Qiang’s endorsement.

After all, apart from his taste in food, his perceptions were always quite unique.

If everyone found a hairless dog disgusting, he found its ugliness extremely cute, almost dying from its cuteness.

*

Meanwhile, Jin Yu and Xu Niannian arrived at the restaurant, where business was even better than in the previous two days, and they were too busy to spare a moment during peak hours.

All forty tables were fully seated within two hours.

Xu Niannian had put up a help wanted ad yesterday, and several people had asked about it, but Niannian was too busy to tend to them.

She could only ask them to come back around three in the afternoon.

The aroma of the food wafted all over the hall, with the scent of Butter Sauce Noodles being especially enticing.

Xu Niannian had only planned to sell the noodles as a side dish, but unexpectedly they became a hit. People who initially planned to order stir-fried dishes changed their minds after smelling the Butter Sauce Noodles from the neighboring table, and followed suit.

Xu Niannian had made a lot of Butter Sauce, and it was running out quickly.

Moreover, Xu Niannian noticed there were particularly many returning customers.

As she brought out dishes, an old lady smacked her lips and said, "Girl, how do you make these noodles, they’re so delicious. Oh boy, I’m so tempted; I nearly licked my bowl clean."

The old lady wasn’t complimenting Niannian just for the sake of it; she really did lick her bowl clean.

Having eaten at state-owned restaurants many times before, she found this to be several times tastier, incomparable.

With such positive feedback from customers, Xu Niannian’s eyes twinkled joyfully: "I’m glad you like it."

"Hey, girl, could you give me a bowl of soup?" After saying this, the old lady smiled with narrowed eyes, licking her lips again.

She truly craved the soup; it was irresistible.