Stay Home Daddy: I Was Reborn After My Daughter Passed Away
Chapter 265: Two hundred sixty-five arrived smoothly_1

Chapter 265: Two hundred sixty-five arrived smoothly_1

"Tea houses offering morning tea are everywhere here, but the standards can vary quite a bit," the driver chuckled.

That made perfect sense, actually.

Even a stir-fry restaurant faces the issue of scale and environment. A place with a nice ambiance, good taste, and attention to plate presentation is naturally going to be more expensive.

Gu Zhi totally understood this and he smiled.

"Let’s go to the best one!"

It was rare to come here, and it would be pointless to worry about spending money at such a time, especially since Gu Zhi wasn’t short on cash.

Since they were out, they might as well enjoy themselves.

After all, the number of trips one takes in a lifetime is limited.

Upon hearing they were going to the best place, Ji Pianran reached out and quietly tugged at his sleeve, blinking hesitantly before she spoke.

"We don’t need to go someplace too fancy. An average place is fine."

Even though Gu Zhi now had money in his pockets, she had developed the habit of being frugal and economical, always feeling there was no need to be wasteful.

Besides, it was just a meal. She wasn’t particular about food, having had both good and bad experiences with it.

Gu Zhi looked at her tenderly and gently patted the back of her hand.

He comforted her, "Don’t worry about it. Eat well, drink well, be happy—that’s all that matters. Leave the rest to me!"

Why else was he working hard?

Wasn’t it all for his wife and child to be happy?

The taxi driver seemed to particularly agree with Gu Zhi’s sentiments.

Glancing through the rearview mirror, he nodded solemnly.

"Your husband is right. It’s rare to come by, so happiness is most important. Look at how pretty you are, with a husband who’s handsome and willing to splurge on you. Give this to any other girl, and she’d die of laughter," he said.

After speaking, he stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped along the asphalt road.

Throughout the journey, Xiao Tangtang pressed her face against the window, looking outside with a face full of wonder.

The little one had grown up in the countryside, and the fanciest place she’d been was the county town. Seeing so many skyscrapers filled her with astonishment and curiosity.

She kept pointing out the window, asking.

"What’s this place?"

"And what’s that place over there?"

Half an hour later, the taxi finally arrived at their destination, an impressive three-story ancient building.

It was said to date back to the Qing Dynasty and was dubbed the "Mooncake Grandmaster."

This illustrated just how delicious their mooncakes must be.

Gu Zhi paid the fare, and the family of three got out of the taxi. The little one stood at the entrance of Tao Tao Residence, eyes wide with excitement, pulling at Gu Zhi’s trouser leg, "Daddy, it’s so tall, and the roof is triangular!"

It was her first time seeing this kind of ancient architecture.

Gu Zhi bent down and scooped up the little one into his arms, smiling at her, "Daddy will take you inside for some tasty food, how about that?"

Upon hearing there was delicious food inside, Xiao Tangtang nodded eagerly without hesitation, "Yes!"

Turning her little head, she then looked at Ji Pianran, "Mommy will eat too, we’ll all eat together!"

Ji Pianran smiled warmly at Xiao Tangtang, "Okay, Mommy will eat too!"

This was also Ji Pianran’s first time in Huacheng, and she was quite curious about everything here.

But after all, she was an adult.

Even though curious, she didn’t wear it all on her face like Xiao Tangtang did.

Gu Zhi held the child with one arm and his wife with the other hand. The family of three entered the tea house, beaming with joy.

As soon as they entered, a server enthusiastically came over, "Please, this way, handsome sir and beautiful lady."

After speaking, she led the way, taking them to a nicer spot.

Once both had taken their seats, she then asked, "What would you like to order?"

Gu Zhi didn’t hesitate, "All the signature dishes!"

Having finished speaking, he lowered his head and affectionately cooed at Xiao Tangtang, "After a little while, when Daddy’s finished with work, I’ll take Tangtang to buy some clothes, okay?"

Huacheng is well-known as a fashion city, with small clothing stores from all over the country getting their stock from here.

Gu Zhi’s intention to take them clothes shopping wasn’t to find a bargain but because the clothes here were trendy and reasonably priced.

The more developed the city, the cheaper the clothing seems to be.

Conversely, in more backward areas, clothes are more expensive—a brand that might cost two or three hundred in a first-tier city could skyrocket to five hundred or even seven or eight hundred in a third-tier city.

This was pretty outrageous, and as for why, well, I can’t explain it either. Economics isn’t my strong suit.

Perhaps large cities focus on development, while small cities use high prices to boost the economy.

In third-tier cities, low wages and high expenses are a common issue, even back in 2000.

Ji Pianran reached out to grab the teapot on the table and poured a cup for herself and Gu Zhi, then filled a cup with purified water for Xiao Tangtang who sat across from them.

Only then did she speak, "What’s the plan next?"

Gu Zhi took a sip from his cup.

"First, report to the police. Then, I plan to check out the internet cafes. Isn’t it true that most scammers nowadays are online?"

In 2000, the internet was on the rise. Haicheng was lagging behind, with few and expensive internet cafes, so not many people were online.

But in big cities like Huacheng, it was different.

With higher wages, internet cafe rates were merely one yuan per hour, and even many students sneaked off to web cafes.

Most scammers performed their cons online, on QQ, on websites—they were truly opportunistic!

So Gu Zhi planned to go to an internet cafe to try and find the shoe polish advert that had scammed Gu Zhigang.

Anyway, it was worth a shot. He would give all the tricks he could think of a try.

Ji Pianran nodded thoughtfully, "Alright, it’s good that you have a direction."

Honestly, she didn’t understand the internet either.

And wasn’t curious about it.

All she needed to do was to take good care of the child and wait obediently for Gu Zhi.

Soon, the dishes arrived—rice noodle rolls, chicken feet, and various dim sum, a feast of delicacies.

Gu Zhi handed a piece of dim sum to Tangtang, "Here, try this and see if it’s tasty."

The little one didn’t hesitate to take a bite. It was flaky and reminiscent of a crispy mooncake, breaking into tiny, sweet crumbs in her mouth, with a yolk inside—delicious.

"Daddy, it’s tasty, so tasty."

Hearing this, he offered a piece to Ji Pianran.

Once she put it in her mouth, he asked curiously, "How is it, is it good?"

Ji Pianran nodded, "It’s very tasty."

Gu Zhi smiled, "If it’s good, eat more. It’s not often we come here, after all."

Gu Zhi had ordered so much food that their table was nearly full, attracting quite a few curious glances. His height and handsome looks paired with Ji Pianran, a natural beauty, drew attention.

And with the child being so adorable.

Prompting many onlookers to start talking.

"Look over there, I’m so envious. They seem like they’ve stepped right out of a TV show."

"Yeah, I think that little kid could do commercials, enter showbiz, and have a limitless future!"

"I think her mom is amazing, too—a superb figure and so pretty!"

...

After the family of three finished eating, Gu Zhi led them on a walk down the streets, picking out a decent-looking hotel.

The environment was nice, with a huge tree in the lobby, lush and green.

Upon entering, they were greeted by an elegant fragrance that seemed to lift their spirits immediately.

Gu Zhi checked into a large double room, and the attendant even gave him two complimentary breakfast vouchers.