Free Web NovelChapter 133: Chapter 107: There’s Too Much Suffering in the World, You Can’t Help Everyone
One hour and ten minutes!
Su Chen’s private jet slowly landed on the business apron at the Imperial Capital’s airport.
The medical personnel, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately transferred the young boy to the ambulance.
"Mr. Su, thank you so, so much!"
Gelie said, once again trying to kneel before Su Chen, but Chen Fei, who was standing to the side, quickly pulled him up.
"Don’t thank me anymore. You’ve said it I don’t know how many times on the way here. Hurry and take your brother to the hospital. Don’t waste any more time!"
While on the plane, Su Chen had also learned a bit about the little boy’s and Gelie’s family situation. Their parents were old herders who raised over a thousand cattle and sheep, so the family was quite well-off.
He didn’t play the part of a bleeding heart, saying things like he could help further or find top experts in the Imperial Capital. This didn’t mean Su Chen was cold-blooded; after all, they were complete strangers. The fact that he had lent a hand to bring them to the Imperial Capital was already more than enough.
Did he really need to see it through to the very end?
Su Chen was no great saint. There was too much suffering in the world; he couldn’t help everyone. He could only say that when he happened to encounter it, he could offer a bit of appropriate assistance.
Hearing this, Gelie nodded, got into the ambulance with the middle-aged paramedic, and as Su Chen and the other two watched, the ambulance departed from the business airport with a WEE-WOO WEE-WOO.
"Let’s head back," Su Chen said before getting on the airport shuttle.
The airport shuttle would take them to the main entrance of the airport.
Since he didn’t have any of his own people here in the Imperial Capital, Su Chen hadn’t arranged for a car to pick him up. He would have to take a taxi back himself.
When he returned to the courtyard house, he saw Aunt Tang sweeping the accumulated snow in the courtyard.
The weather in the Imperial Capital had been unpredictable recently. The days were bright and sunny, but as soon as night fell, the snow would start and not let up.
"Sir, you’re back!" Aunt Tang exclaimed, quickly putting down her broom when she saw Su Chen and the others.
"Mhm. Aunt Tang, for lunch today, make something with strong flavors. Sichuan cuisine would be best. Even better if you could do a hot pot. My taste buds have gone numb from all the time in Inner Mongolia!" As he spoke, Su Chen thought of the taste of a red-oil hot pot and naturally swallowed his saliva.
Aunt Tang said with a smile, "I can make hot pot. I just so happened to have bought some hot pot base earlier. I’ll go out and buy some side ingredients, and we can have hot pot for lunch!"
"Okay, you and Old Jiang can figure it out." Su Chen didn’t need to worry about these things. Who bought the groceries, who prepared the soup base—Jiang Hui and the others had their own arrangements. All he had to do was wait to eat.
"Meow~ Meow~"
Just as he stepped back into the house, a slightly plump orange cat ran over, meowing nonstop at his feet.
"Whoa, Yuanbao, how long has it been? How did you get so big! If you keep this up, you’re going to turn into a big pig-cat!" Su Chen scooped Yuanbao up from the floor and gave him a few good pets.
Yuanbao looked quite clean and didn’t have any strange smells, so it seemed Aunt Tang often took him to the pet shop for baths.
"Meow meow meow~" As if it understood Su Chen was talking about it, it meowed a few times at him and nudged its little head against Su Chen’s chin a few times, as if rebutting his words.
"Hahahaha~" Su Chen was also amused by Yuanbao.
Su Chen carried Yuanbao to the pavilion in the central courtyard. A lounge chair, tea, and fruit pastries had already been laid out by Jiang Hui.
Lying on the chair, he placed Yuanbao on his stomach. With the gentle rocking of the chair, the moment was utterly comfortable.
Good times are always fleeting. Su Chen had only just begun to enjoy a moment of leisure when Jiang Hui hurried over with his phone.
"Sir, Young Master Sicong is calling!"
Su Chen, his eyes half-closed, reached out and took the phone.
"Hey, Sicong, what’s up? Why are you calling?"
"Old Su, where are you now? Are you still in Inner Mongolia?" Sicong’s urgent voice came from the other end of the line.
Su Chen could hear the anxiety in Sicong’s voice and asked quizzically, "What’s wrong? You sound rushed. Did something happen?"
"What could happen to me? I just heard from Hou Ting that you ran into some trouble over there. Which family did you clash with?" Sicong seemed to be avoiding something, not even daring to mention their name.
"It’s nothing, it’s already been resolved," Su Chen said with a faint smile.
"Resolved? It’s resolved that quickly? You have to know, they’re..." Sicong could hardly believe his ears. He had only found out about this today himself. He had called Hou Ting to talk about wine, and Hou Ting had accidentally let it slip, which is how Sicong learned that Su Chen had hit an iron plate in Inner Mongolia.
"Relax, relax, it was a small matter. It’s been several days. By the way, I happen to have something I need to talk to you guys about. Let’s see when we can get together. Bring Chen He and Deng Chao along too. There’s something I want to discuss with you all."
Su Chen still planned to give Zong Xinyao some help. According to his previous plan, he would get Sicong, Chen He, and the others involved, using their celebrity effect to quickly open up the restaurant market.
As for how to cooperate, Su Chen planned to use a franchise model, which was borrowing Chen He’s original idea of opening a franchise hot pot restaurant, only Su Chen’s version was much more stable.
"Alright, in a few days then. Everyone’s pretty busy lately. We’ll come to the Imperial Capital after we’re done!" Although Sicong didn’t know what it was about, based on his experience, it was definitely something good.
Su Chen didn’t say much more to him, just ending with "Call me before you come to the Imperial Capital" and hanging up.
Sicong’s call also served as a reminder for Su Chen. He had promised Xiao Chen that he would treat him to a meal once he returned to the Imperial Capital. He wondered if Xiao Chen was free these days.
’Thinking about it is useless. The most practical thing is to just call and ask.’
He dialed Xiao Chen’s number. This time, Su Chen didn’t have to wait long; the call connected after about four or five rings.
BANG! BANG! BANG! As soon as the call connected, the sound of a few shotgun blasts came from the other end.
"Brother Cheen, are you... busy?" Su Chen was also a bit surprised. ’If he was really busy with something important, my call probably wouldn’t have gone through.’
"Nope, just hanging out with some friends at the training base. What’s up? You back in the Imperial Capital?!" Xiao Chen boomed, as if afraid Su Chen couldn’t hear him.
Su Chen understood; the banging sounds nearby were quite loud.
"Mhm, just got home. Didn’t I say I’d call you once I was back in the Imperial Capital? When are you free? I can make arrangements on my end."
Xiao Chen didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he said a few words to someone over there. Su Chen couldn’t hear clearly what was said, only faintly catching his own name.
After about ten seconds, Xiao Chen’s voice came through the phone again. "How about tonight? I’ll bring a couple of friends over."
"Alright! I’ll be waiting for you and your esteemed guests, Brother Cheen!"
"Get outta here, you’re not serious at all. I’m not talking to you anymore. See you tonight!" With that, Xiao Chen hung up.
Su Chen placed his phone on the nearby table, picked up a cup of tea, and took a couple of sips, thinking about the two friends Xiao Chen had just mentioned.
’If it were Jiangyang and Chen Yao, Xiao Chen would have definitely used their names instead of just saying ’friends.’ They must be people I haven’t met before.’
After thinking it through, Su Chen called Jiang Hui over. "I have a few friends coming over for dinner tonight. Go and hire a few master chefs to cook here. I’ll leave the specific arrangements up to you."
Jiang Hui was an expert in this area. Naturally, Su Chen didn’t need to say much for him to know what to do.
"Understood, Sir!" As soon as Jiang Hui heard this, he knew they were hosting guests of distinguished status. This was the first time it was this formal; previous dinners had all been handled by Aunt Tang.
Although Aunt Tang’s cooking was excellent, it was a little lacking for such a formal occasion.
"Sir! The hot pot is ready. We can eat now!" Chen Fei came jogging from the front courtyard to the side of the pavilion.
Hearing this, Su Chen nodded slightly. He carefully placed the sleeping Yuanbao on the lounge chair and even thoughtfully covered it with a small blanket before heading towards the dining room.
Before he even reached the dining room, Su Chen could smell the aroma of hot pot wafting through the air, making him swallow his saliva uncontrollably.
"I haven’t had hot pot in so long. Just smelling this is enough to give me a huge appetite!"
On the table, besides the bubbling hot pot, there was an array of various dishes, especially hot pot staples like tripe and goose intestines, all in large portions.
"Huh? Aunt Tang, you even prepared sesame oil!" Su Chen was surprised to find sesame oil on the table instead of the sesame paste that was characteristic of the Imperial Capital.
"Aren’t you from Wudu, Sir? I figured you’d prefer sesame oil with your hot pot, so I bought some when I went shopping for groceries," Aunt Tang explained from the side.
Su Chen nodded in satisfaction. He took a small can of sesame oil, poured some for himself, added some green onions and garlic, and his sesame oil dipping sauce was complete!
"Don’t just stand there, everyone sit down and eat!" Hot pot was always more fun with more people. Besides, Su Chen wasn’t the type to put on airs.
Chen Fei, who had long been driven crazy by the tantalizing aroma of the hot pot, immediately fixed himself a sesame oil dip. Seeing this, Jiang Hui and Aunt Tang also prepared their own.
"Mmm, that’s the taste. So satisfying!" A piece of tripe went down, and Su Chen was utterly content.
Seeing Su Chen pick up his chopsticks, the others also started to eat.
Jiang Hui and Aunt Tang, who couldn’t handle spicy food, wavered painfully between the delicious meal and the discomfort. Not eating was unbearable with the aroma in the air, but eating made their mouths burn and sweat.
In the end, on Su Chen’s suggestion, they each got two bowls of plain boiled water to rinse the food in before they could eat it.
They all ate until they were sweating profusely, yet they felt exceptionally comfortable.
After eating for nearly an hour, Su Chen finally put down his chopsticks, his face a picture of pure bliss and satisfaction.
Patting his stomach, Su Chen slowly stood up. "Old Jiang, don’t forget about tonight. Get it done as soon as possible, and make sure there are no screw-ups."
"Got it, Sir... HIC!" Jiang Hui was also quite full and unexpectedly let out a hiccup as he spoke.
Seeing this, Su Chen just smiled and walked towards the back courtyard under the gazes of the three.
After Su Chen left, Chen Fei looked at Jiang Hui curiously and asked, "Uncle Jiang, is there something important happening tonight?"
Hearing this, Aunt Tang also put down her chopsticks and looked at him.
"Mhm. There are important guests coming tonight, so you two need to be mindful. Also, I’ll be hiring a five-star chef to prepare the banquet. Aunt Tang, you can just prepare some fruits, pastries, and things like that."
"Okay!" Aunt Tang didn’t say anything like "I can handle it myself." She knew she was only suited for making home-cooked meals. She definitely couldn’t handle a proper banquet, especially since Jiang Hui had specified they were the Sir’s important guests. She understood the weight of that.
Jiang Hui gave a few more instructions before getting up and leaving as well. He would be the busiest one this afternoon.
