"By the way, big sister, why isn't Brother Guo here yet?"

As Yang Chao caught up with the others, he suddenly remembered something and asked curiously.

Cai Zhengyan, leading Mu Jinyu, headed straight to the private room she reserved, and said without turning back, "I just called Little Guo. He said he has something to do, so he might be late. Let's start eating first."

After all, this dinner gathering is mainly to welcome Mu Jinyu and help resolve past minor grievances. It's okay for Guo Songlin to be a bit late. We can order more later; we can't keep Mu Jinyu and the others starving.

Soon, the group arrived at the private room they booked. Cai Zhengyan took the initiative and ordered several dishes at once.

They were: braised red sturgeon with local noodles, pan-fried pig liver, poached mantis shrimp, steamed Estuary grouper, lychee pork, stir-fried crunchy duo…

"Let's get these first, and three bottles of beer, one bottle of Sprite. We'll order more if needed later."

Cai Zhengyan handed the menu to the waiter standing by.

"Okay."

The waiter took the menu and left.

Although Cai Zhengyan and Mu Jinyu sat facing each other, Mu Jinyu couldn't see the menu when Cai Zhengyan was ordering, but Mu Jinyu possessed a divine sense, so he knew exactly what dishes Cai Zhengyan ordered and how much it cost in total.

Almost five hundred bucks.

If these dishes were from a regular small shop, of course, they wouldn't cost so much, but Fragrant Pavilion's location is good, so naturally, it's pricier.

"Wow, big sister has been generous today!"

Yang Chao, sitting beside Cai Zhengyan, clearly saw what she ordered. After the waiter left, he exclaimed in an exaggerated tone.

"Of course, it's rare for us to gather like this today, so big sister has to be generous."

He Jingting also said with a smile.

"Hehe..." Cai Zhengyan said with a smile, "I'm generous because I'm the host today, and you two are footing the bill, so why wouldn't I be generous?"

"Huh?!"

"Big sister, what did you say?"

The two were dumbfounded, asking incredulously yet with a heavy heart after hearing Cai Zhengyan's words.

Cai Zhengyan chuckled, saying, "How many meals do you owe me over the years? You haven't treated me even once from a few years ago until now. Perfect opportunity today, finally caught you. Today, I'll bleed you guys dry to cool Little Mu's temper!"

Mu Jinyu was a bit stunned hearing this, thinking that maybe Cai Zhengyan was indeed planning to bleed them dry?

Yang Chao's expression changed. He suddenly clutched his stomach, wailing, "Oh, I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts. Maybe I ate something bad. I'll head to the restroom first, you guys eat first…"

With that, he hurriedly stood up, hunching over to leave the private room.

"Hey, Old Yang, are you okay? Don't get into trouble. I'll come with you to check it out."

He Jingting quickly stood up as well, his face full of urgency as he spoke.

Saying this, he prepared to support Yang Chao to head out.

Cai Zhengyan, seeing this, rolled her eyes, saying, "Alright, alright, just kidding. Would I really bleed you dry? Who doesn't know you owe a huge debt. Just sit down and get ready to eat."

"Wow, big sister, as soon as you said that, my stomach doesn't seem to hurt anymore..."

As soon as Cai Zhengyan finished speaking, Yang Chao, who was hunched over in pain, immediately stood up straight, moved his hand away from his stomach, and scratched his head, with a face full of innocence and confusion.

"Ah? It's good if you're fine, sit down, sit down, let's get ready to eat… haha…"

He Jingting, seemingly unaffected, sat back down with a hearty laugh.

Mu Jinyu looked at their dramatic change of expressions with surprise, and suddenly felt a bit envious of their bond.

"Aren't you afraid Little Mu will laugh at you guys."

After they settled, Cai Zhengyan rolled her eyes again, saying with mock annoyance.

"Hahaha, this is nothing, it shows our siblingly good relationship, right?"

Yang Chao and He Jingting said with smirks.

Soon, the dishes were gradually served.

"Tss."

Three bottles of beer were also brought. Yang Chao promptly used his chopsticks to poke open a bottle, then poured himself a glass.

"Little Mu, come, brother will toast to you for what happened back then…"

Yang Chao gestured with his glass towards Mu Jinyu, saying a few words, then motioned to his stomach and chugged down the beer.

Seeing this, Mu Jinyu also picked up a beer bottle, filled his glass, then raised it to Yang Chao and downed it in one go.

He Jingting, noticing Mu Jinyu's quite good drinking capacity, his eyes lit up and he also raised a toast to Mu Jinyu.

"Come on, are you guys trying to get Little Mu drunk? Let's eat first, drink later…"

Cai Zhengyan saw them intending to continue drinking and exhaled lightly, saying with displeasure.

"Mmm, okay, let's fill our stomachs first, then drink after…"

Hearing this, Yang Chao shrank his neck a little, seemingly afraid of Cai Zhengyan getting mad, reluctantly put down the glass, and realizing he was indeed hungry, picked up his chopsticks to peel and eat a poached shrimp.

He Jingting did the same, putting down the glass, picking up his chopsticks, and digging into braised local noodles, devouring hungrily.

Cai Zhengyan, looking helplessly at their starving ghosts reborn eating style, subsequently took the communal chopsticks and spoon, serving Mu Jinyu some dishes and braised local noodles.

"Thanks, sis…"

"I can help myself…"

Seeing this, Mu Jinyu stood up, holding his bowl to receive the shrimp and noodles handed over by Cai Zhengyan, saying somewhat embarrassedly.

Cai Zhengyan giggled, "No need to be polite. These are Rong City's specialty dishes. When we were kids, we were too poor to afford this. Now… we're still poor, but we can occasionally indulge. Not sure if you came back to Rong City to eat any of these after you left, try the flavors…"

Watching his porcelain bowl being filled with food by Cai Zhengyan, Mu Jinyu softly replied, "Um… if you mean coming back, I visited a town in Rong City last year, but I had business and didn't stay long…"

"As for the food… I've had these dishes in Jiangnan and Capital City. I'm not sure if they're authentic, but I quite liked them, they suited my taste..."

"Alright, that's enough, sis, it's spilling over…"

Near the end, Mu Jinyu noticed his small bowl nearly overflowing with braised red sturgeon noodles, quickly reminded her.

Cai Zhengyan finally stopped, then served herself some noodles, saying, "Come, try it out. The braised red sturgeon noodles here at Fragrant Pavilion are absolutely authentic. See if they're any different from those in the Capital City?"

"Okay, sure."

Mu Jinyu responded, picking up a section of local noodles with his chopsticks, and started eating slowly.

Local noodles made from sweet potato starch appeared crystal clear, very appetizing, coated with seafood sauce. One bite and they were fresh and smooth, wonderfully bouncy, with the red sturgeon's flavor thoroughly absorbed by the noodles, quickly igniting his taste buds.

"Mm, delicious…"

Mu Jinyu's eyes lit up, taking big bites of the braised noodles, while finding time to compliment Cai Zhengyan.

"Hehe, eat more if you like it…" Cai Zhengyan grinned with satisfaction, also starting to pick up dishes for herself with her chopsticks.

"Come, a toast!"

A few minutes later, feeling rather full, Yang Chao picked up his glass again, filled it with beer, and called out to Mu Jinyu.

"Alright." Mu Jinyu was picking up a piece of silky smooth pig liver, and upon hearing Yang Chao's words, unhurriedly tossed the liver into his mouth, swallowed it, then filled his glass and clinked glasses with Yang Chao.

"Hold on, let's toast together…"

Seeing this, He Jingting quickly put down his bowl, motioning for them to wait, filled his glass, and joined them to clink glasses.

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