Chapter 245 - 190: Importance and Keynote (Part 2)

"She’s taking half a month off! She’s not worried about breaking out. Besides, she grew up eating spicy food, unlike us. We can’t handle it."

After packing away the spicy beef jerky, Sang Yuan pointed to a large platter on the island counter:

"Mom, here’s the five-spice kind. I made it especially for you and Dad. You can snack on it whenever."

Their son had always been filial. Even after getting a girlfriend, he hadn’t forgotten his parents, which pleased the old couple.

Sang Jingwen took the initiative to ask him, "Did you bring mosquito coils? There are tons of mosquitoes out in the wild this time of year. Aren’t you guys going fishing? If the repellent spray gets on the bait, the fish won’t bite. The coils are much better."

"Yep, I brought them."

As he loaded the beef jerky into a small utility wagon, Sang Yuan suddenly remembered something:

"Dad, now that you mention it, I just realized I forgot to bring any medicated oil. It’ll be miserable if we get bitten by mosquitoes!"

"Go grab it! It’s in the tall chest of drawers in the living room. I’ll finish up here for you."

He casually grabbed a container of toothpicks from the island counter and put it in the wagon, then went to rummage through the tall chest of drawers for his medicated oil.

Shui Sulan popped into the kitchen for a look.

Well now!

Besides the freshly fried spicy beef jerky, there was so much marinated meat!

There were beef slices, chicken wings, drumsticks, lamb skewers...

Counting carefully, there were at least seven or eight different kinds.

He’d also prepared a lot of fruit. The watermelon and muskmelon were whole, their rinds washed and already packed in plastic bags. The washed grapes, peaches, pears, apples, and cherry tomatoes were all sitting on the draining rack.

"Son! Did you pack any water? You need those big jugs of spring water—they’re useful for washing pots, cooking rice, and things like that. You also need to bring more to drink. It’s so hot today, and with so many people coming... You should get some beer and other drinks, too. Didn’t you invite Dongzi and the others?"

Hearing her husband and son talking in the living room, Shui Sulan shook her head. ’He really is inexperienced,’ she thought. ’So thoughtless.’

Not to mention that everyone was bringing their partners, and the girls would want to watch their figures. Plus, if you only eat meat, anyone would get tired of it!

’This calls for my famous Northeast "tiger salad"! Mommy will whip up a huge bowl for you all. It’s just divine with grilled meat, mmm...’

Her son wasn’t the only one who was excited today. She was quite excited herself.

She found green, red, and yellow bell peppers, along with an onion, scallions, and cilantro. Shui Sulan deftly chopped and mixed them all together.

She figured the tiger salad was strongly flavored and worried that some of the others might bring kids who couldn’t handle spicy food. So, she also found a head of endive, sliced half a head of purple cabbage, and cooked a bag of corn kernels from the freezer. Then, she grabbed a handful of cherry tomatoes from the draining rack and cut them in half.

’Oh, my dear grandbabies, Grandma loves you so much! You all have to be on your best behavior today and make your Aunt Ni so envious when she sees you!’

Shui Sulan prayed to herself as she mixed the salad.

By the time she had everything ready, the father and son had finished packing up as well.

Sang Yuan had always been busy with work and rarely went on outings. Even for company team-building events, someone else always handled the preparations. Having to arrange things himself, he was bound to make a few mistakes and overlook some details.

Fortunately, Sang Jingwen often took his wife on trips and was very experienced. Their home was also well-stocked with supplies, so he helped his son get everything ready in no time.

"With all this stuff, which car are you taking? Why not have Old Chen drive the RV over?"

Old Chen was the Sang Family’s chauffeur and had worked for them for over a decade. He was a very reliable man.

"We’re not taking the RV. We’ll be back this afternoon. I’m going to ride in Bingbing’s car."

Ni Bingyan was the type of person who felt uncomfortable if you didn’t let her do anything. Letting her drive would give her a sense of control and make her feel more secure.

"Besides, we’re fishing today. She has all the gear, and I don’t. If I drove a fancy car, she’d get on my case for messing it up and would refuse to get in."

Ni Bingyan had loved fishing even in her past life. She had once told Sang Yuan she bought such an ordinary car for a few reasons. First, it was spacious and convenient for carrying things. Second, she could toss all her fishing gear inside without worrying about getting it dirty. And third, she liked to keep a low profile. If she drove a luxury car, the paparazzi would spot her in traffic immediately, and she’d never feel at ease going anywhere.

Shui Sulan didn’t know what he was truly thinking, but she thought she had his little scheme all figured out.

’Ni Bingyan’s car has a big trunk that can hold a lot,’ she reasoned. ’With all this food and gear, they can just pile it on the back seat to keep other people from squeezing into their car.’

’A young couple on an outing should have some time alone, after all!’

’Even though his best friends all come from well-off families and have their own cars, some of them are pretty rowdy. What if one of them insists on messing around and piling in with him? What would he do then?’