Free Web NovelChapter 297: Chapter 215: Grandma’s Aspiration
On the way back, Yao Yao once again claimed the prime spot. Her arms and legs "lengthened," wrapping around Li Xiang’s torso several times. She giggled and said, "See? Isn’t this great? Nice and tight, so I won’t fall off."
The position was quite intimate, and Zhao Xueqing and Lei Xiaohui were naturally not happy about it. But there was nothing they could do. They weren’t as bold as Yao Yao, ’even though they secretly wanted to be.’
Fortunately, it only lasted a few seconds.
Li Xiang took off, and in the blink of an eye, before they could even react, all they felt was a fierce, biting wind as they quickly arrived at the scenic area’s parking lot.
If they were ordinary girls, they definitely wouldn’t have been able to withstand such an ordeal, and Li Xiang would have had to protect them with his Spiritual Power. But since they were Tier One Transcendents, they could handle it just fine.
By now, the sky was beginning to brighten. The three girls didn’t go home; instead, they practiced their Martial Arts in an open area of the scenic spot.
Having a Spiritual Power Vortex in their bodies was like having an "engine," so their strength, speed, and various other Attributes far surpassed those of ordinary people. Even simple moves could unleash immense power in their hands.
But by practicing Martial Arts, mastering various moves, and learning different Force Manipulation techniques, their combat prowess grew even stronger.
Li Xiang, on the other hand, had a full seven "engines," and the "thrust" of each one far surpassed theirs. His mastery of Martial Arts was also vastly superior. When the three of them ganged up on him, it was like a walk in the park for Li Xiang.
During the spar, Li Xiang also pointed out their weaknesses. He trained with them for over half an hour before heading home.
He returned home to let out the chickens, ducks, and geese, feed them grain, hold a morning meeting with his little Spirit Pets to guide their Cultivation, and then sweep the courtyard. After that, he made breakfast, fed the cats and dogs, chopped firewood, and tended to the vegetable garden. Though there were many chores, he tackled them one by one at a leisurely, contented pace.
Although these cute little pets wouldn’t reach a very high Tier in the future, they were still excellent for guarding the house. Even in the Apocalypse, many Low Tier Extraordinary Beings of the Human Race couldn’t compare to them as home guards. Besides, not everyone in the Human Race even had the chance to become an Extraordinary Being—the odds were one in a hundred.
In a population of 100,000, even if you excluded the elderly and provided an abundance of resources and open access to various Cultivation Techniques, you would likely only get four or five hundred Extraordinary Beings. And most of them, limited by their aptitude, would stop at the First and Second Tiers.
Li Xiang didn’t know how far Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui could go. He wasn’t even sure about Jiang Cai’Er. The only one he was certain of was Luo Feifei, who would definitely reach the Saint Tier.
As for Li Xiang himself, being the "Chosen One," he felt he was destined for heights far beyond the Saint Tier.
Li Xiang drove his pickup truck into town to buy liquor, heading to the same pure grain distillery as before. He bought a full ten jars of aged liquor with 58% alcohol content, gave two to Jiang Jianguo, and took the rest home to brew Spirit Wine, which he stored in the kitchen cellar.
There were still five jars from the previous batch in the cellar. He opened one and took a sniff; a rich, medicinal fragrance wafted out. It was ready to drink. After filling his wine gourd, about three and a half jars remained, so he stored them in his system inventory to carry with him. He could just refill the gourd when it ran low.
The gourd flowers in the courtyard were still blooming, and some of the female flowers that had withered earlier had already produced tiny gourds. They were still miniature and had yet to grow. He estimated it would take a few more months for them to mature, and he planned to make several more wine gourds once they were ripe.
The next morning, Jiang Cai’Er was on break from school, so Li Xiang drove to pick her up.
Although the robot dog could run, its top speed was only 20 kilometers per hour. It would have taken her forty to fifty minutes to ride it home, and the experience of riding it for such a long distance would be pretty bad. Besides, picking up his girlfriend was the right thing to do anyway.
He used to feel a little awkward about it, but now he could do it openly.
He put the robot dog and her luggage in the back, and Jiang Cai’Er hopped into the passenger seat, immediately starting to chatter away. Having not seen each other in a month, they naturally had a lot to talk about.
Jiang Cai’Er told him some amusing stories from school, described how curious all the students and teachers were about her robot dog, and shared her progress in Cultivation.
Li Xiang, in turn, told her about the "big things" he’d been up to lately. He had nothing to hide from Jiang Cai’Er; he trusted her completely.
"Wow, Brother! Can you take me with you next time?" Jiang Cai’Er asked, her bright eyes blinking with excitement.
"Wait until after your college entrance exams," Li Xiang said. "If you start running wild now, you won’t be able to focus."
"I’m so looking forward to it. I can’t wait."
As they talked, Jiang Cai’Er’s beautiful eyes kept darting toward Li Xiang. If he hadn’t been driving, she would have pounced on him for a few kisses to soothe the ache of having missed him.
After dropping Jiang Cai’Er off at her home, Li Xiang returned to his own and began preparing a feast.
A short while later, Jiang Cai’Er, having changed into a pretty outfit, came over to visit with her robot dog in tow.
Back at her house, Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang sighed with emotion. ’A daughter won’t stay home forever. She spends all day running over to her future husband’s house.’
On her way, the villagers all teased her. It was good-natured joking, so Jiang Cai’Er didn’t mind at all, simply offering a sweet greeting to every elder she passed.
It had to be said, her sweet way of talking was a real advantage; there was hardly anyone in the entire village who didn’t like her.
Because she had the robot dog with her, the village dogs started chasing it. Jiang Cai’Er steered the robot dog to play along with the mutts, but as they approached Li Xiang’s house, all the dogs backed off, not daring to get any closer.
Because a few cats were lounging under the large tree.
The village dogs didn’t dare provoke Li Xiang’s cats. Any dog that tried it even once would find itself being chased all over the village by his Spirit Pets.
"Grandma!" Jiang Cai’Er called out sweetly the moment she saw her.
"My dear Cai’Er, you’re back! Here, have some candy!"
Grandma took out some chocolate candies and offered them to Jiang Cai’Er.
"Thank you, Grandma. Where’s Brother?"
"He’s in the kitchen making you something delicious!"
"Then I’ll go find him!" Jiang Cai’Er chirped, skipping off toward the backyard.
In the backyard, Li Xiang had already laid out a large table piled high with exotic fruits—Musang King durian, Malaysian papaya, and more—filling the air with their unique tropical fragrance. Seeing Jiang Cai’Er arrive, Li Xiang smiled and said, "Have some fruit first. I’m going to get lunch ready." frёewebηovel.cѳm
"You want me to eat papaya? Just what are you thinking?" Jiang Cai’Er said, rolling her eyes at Li Xiang as she eyed the huge papaya.
Li Xiang: "..."
"Feed me."
"It wouldn’t be good if someone saw."
"We’re already a couple, so who cares?" Jiang Cai’Er pouted. ’This is the one thing about Brother I don’t like. He’s too thin-skinned, always worrying about what other people think.’
Helpless, Li Xiang speared a piece of cut fruit with a fork and fed it to the little minx.
"It tastes sweeter when Brother feeds it to me!"
"You’re giving me goosebumps." Li Xiang fled to the kitchen to cook.
"Haha," came Jiang Cai’Er’s cheerful laughter from behind him.
Li Xiang prepared a host of delicacies: steamed egg with sea urchin, steamed grouper, spicy giant lobster, stewed muntjac deer... all ingredients he had caught himself, either in the sea or deep in the ancient forests.
The muntjac meat was particularly special. He had chosen a small one, a type of barking deer, that weighed around thirty pounds. Its meat was tender yet satisfyingly chewy, with an exceptionally delicious flavor.
Of course, there were also fresh vegetables, picked from his garden and stir-fried right away.
Once the meal was ready, the little "family of three"—Li Xiang, Grandma, and Jiang Cai’Er—gathered around the table, talking and laughing in perfect harmony.
Li Xiang also brought out a few bottles of soda he’d bought in Singapore, along with some cocktails. Grandma drank the soda, while Li Xiang and Jiang Cai’Er enjoyed the cocktails.
Grandma gazed at Jiang Cai’Er, with her bright eyes and pearly teeth, feeling more and more pleased the longer she looked. ’I really hope they have children soon,’ she thought. ’That way, I can hold my great-grandchild while I’m still alive. But Cai’Er is still so young... I wonder when they’ll start a family.’
Although the atmosphere at this family meal was lovely, there were still only three of them. ’If only there were a dozen or so people, all gathered around a big table,’ she thought, ’how much livelier it would be!’
Grandma’s eyes crinkled as she lost herself in that fantasy.
"Grandma, what are you thinking about?" Jiang Cai’Er asked.
So, Grandma shared her little dream.
"Huh?" Jiang Cai’Er instantly felt she’d been too impulsive. ’I shouldn’t have asked. This is so awkward!’ After all, she was still a young, unmarried woman. She could be carefree around Li Xiang, but hearing an elder bring up such a topic made her feel a little shy, and she shrank back slightly. "Grandma, I definitely couldn’t have a dozen or more children. Even eight or nine would be extremely difficult. I think two or three would be wonderful."
The thought of eight, nine, or even more than a dozen children all swarming around her made Jiang Cai’Er’s head ache. ’I’m still just a kid myself,’ she thought.
’More than ten kids? How is that even possible?’
Her ideal number of children was actually two—a son and a daughter. But with the Apocalypse on its way, she knew she should have more, though three or four would be her absolute maximum. ’Eight or nine? How long would that even take? And having that many would mean spending at least a decade doing nothing but being pregnant and giving birth.’
Li Xiang chuckled. "Cai’Er is a top student. She’s going to do research and become a great scientist one day. Her time is far too precious for that."
Li Xiang had never even thought about asking Jiang Cai’Er to have so many children. ’What a waste that would be,’ he thought. ’Cai’Er wouldn’t agree to it anyway; she’s not a baby-making machine.’
Jiang Cai’Er nodded emphatically. ’Scientific research is way more interesting than having babies,’ she thought.
Grandma chuckled. "Oh, I was just talking, just dreaming a little. I know young people these days don’t have so many children."
Only then did Jiang Cai’Er breathe a sigh of relief.
After the meal, Jiang Cai’Er tied on an apron, offering to help with the dishes, but Li Xiang quickly stopped her. "If Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang saw you, they’d kill me. You don’t even wash dishes at your own home, yet you’re going to do them at mine?"
Grandma chimed in as well, "Such delicate little hands, they’ve never seen a day of rough work. How could we let you do chores like this? It doesn’t matter if you’re married in yet or not, you shouldn’t be doing it. Let Xiang’Er do it. He’s sturdy enough."
Of course, Li Xiang wouldn’t let his grandma do the dishes, either. Whenever he was home, he was the one who handled chores like that.
With no other choice, Jiang Cai’Er went to the backyard to play with the cats and dogs and pet the Little Fox. She was pleasantly surprised to see a little hedgehog had joined the group. She picked it up and examined it for a long while.
The little hedgehog seemed to know that this was its future mistress, so it was extremely cooperative, doing whatever Jiang Cai’Er wanted.
