Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!

It’s really not easy, not everyone can do it.

Doing it once or twice is fine, but doing it consistently is very difficult.

All I can say is, the effort and the reward are equivalent.

"If there was something ready-made, it would be great," said Li Xiaoyun.

"Even if you have evidence, it’s not suitable for you to handle it personally," said Zhao Dingli. "Even if this matter is Zheng Xuelin’s fault, if you handle it personally, some of the responsibility may fall on you."

"It would be like investigating him just to snatch Zheng Xuelin’s contract," Zhao Dingli said.

Zhao Dingli’s concern was not unfounded.

Even if Li Xiaoyun had investigated it herself, so what?

The responsibility doesn’t lie with Li Xiaoyun.

But spectators would still drag Li Xiaoyun into it.

"Can you leave this to me?" Zhao Dingli said. "Tomorrow, the photos will appear in the inboxes of your company’s employees."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Dingli was the one handling everything.

"Okay." This time, Li Xiaoyun didn’t hesitate and readily agreed.

She trusted him completely with the task, without saying any polite words or worrying about troubling him.

This attitude finally pleased Zhao Dingli.

His mood improved significantly.

The hot pot restaurant was near Li Xiaoyun’s home.

About a 15 to 20-minute walk away.

But at this time, the parking spots in front of the hot pot restaurant were insufficient.

Zhao Dingli drove around the restaurant but couldn’t find a suitable parking spot.

Li Xiaoyun suggested, "Why not park the car in my residential area, it’s close to the hot pot restaurant, we can just walk there."

Zhao Dingli was more than happy with that.

This gave him another opportunity to visit Li Xiaoyun’s home, doesn’t it?

Think about it, after eating hot pot, they’d need to pick up the car from downstairs at Li Xiaoyun’s place, right?

But once they were downstairs at Li Xiaoyun’s place, could she really not invite him in?

After eating hot pot, feeling greasy, they’d need to go inside for some tea or something, right?

Zhao Dingli had everything planned out clearly.

So he nodded and said, "That works."

Then they drove to Li Xiaoyun’s home first.

They parked the car downstairs at Li Xiaoyun’s place.

They both got out of the car, and Zhao Dingli noticed Li Xiaoyun was still wearing high heels.

Although the heels weren’t high, about three or four centimeters, walking for fifteen to twenty minutes like that wouldn’t be very comfortable.

He said, "Since we’re already downstairs, do you want to go back and change into more comfortable shoes? Walking to the hot pot restaurant in high heels might be uncomfortable."

Li Xiaoyun hadn’t thought of that at all.

Reminded by Zhao Dingli, she realized immediately.

Li Xiaoyun quickly said, "Luckily you reminded me, I’d better go change my shoes."

It wasn’t appropriate to have Zhao Dingli wait downstairs, so they both went inside her home.

Li Xiaoyun just took out a pair of flat shoes from the shoe cabinet to change into and quickly headed out with Zhao Dingli.

They walked to the hot pot restaurant. Because it was just a branch, although it was under Zhao Dingli’s name, everyone still assumed it belonged to Changping.

This time, Zhao Dingli was only using the excuse of inspecting the hot pot restaurant; he wasn’t really going to check each and every one.

So, the staff in the store didn’t recognize Zhao Dingli.

When Zhao Dingli and Li Xiaoyun entered, Zhao Dingli said, "I booked a table under the name Zhao."

The staff quickly confirmed and said, "Mr. Zhao, please follow me."

The hot pot restaurant didn’t have private rooms, only a large dining area.

The difference was just the size of the tables.

Eating hot pot is more fun amidst the hustle and bustle.

Inside the restaurant, chatter echoed as everyone indulged in hot pot, drank beer, and chatted, too busy to care about what others were discussing at different tables.

The store reserved a small table for two for them, and when they sat down.

Zhao Dingli used an iPad to order and said, "How much spice can you usually handle?"

Li Xiaoyun thought that Zhao Dingli was already conducting a customer taste survey as soon as they sat down.

"I can handle spice well. I’ve been here before and ordered the authentic spice level of Sichuan and Chongqing," Li Xiaoyun said. "I figure, since I’m eating here, it has to be authentic."

"How about you?" Li Xiaoyun worried that Zhao Dingli might compromise for her taste.

"What a coincidence, right?" Zhao Dingli laughed and said, "I can handle spicy food too. The reason I insisted on this heavy spice level is because I like it. Although I can’t be as bold as Yan Beicheng with only a single spicy setting on the menu, I still want to satisfy customers who seek authentic flavors."

"Shall I order it extra spicy then?" Zhao Dingli asked for Li Xiaoyun’s opinion.

Li Xiaoyun nodded and said, "But let’s order a combination pot; I’ll cook the vegetables in the non-spicy broth."

Vegetables absorb oil and spice.

She wasn’t yet ready to dip vegetables into the spicy pot.

Previously, she and Ye Fei took Xiao Mo to Sichuan and Chongqing for a trip, where they both tried authentic hot pot for the first time, and they were a bit reckless like young bulls unafraid of tigers.

Even though they ordered a combination pot, they cooked all the vegetables in the spicy broth.

Lettuce, romaine, mushrooms, cabbage, cucumbers, all went into the spicy pot.

Leafy greens and cucumbers really absorb flavors.

It made Li Xiaoyun and Ye Fei question their life choices because of the spiciness.

Eventually, the spiciness overwhelmed them to the point they couldn’t even put beef and tripe into the spicy pot.

Because they couldn’t handle the heat anymore.

Li Xiaoyun decided to learn from that experience. From then on, she’d cook leafy greens and any vegetables that absorbed spicy broth flavors in the non-spicy pot.

Zhao Dingli then smiled and ordered a bone broth chrysanthemum pot.

The dual hot pot at the restaurant was different from the common Tai Chi-style dual hot pot; it was a pot within a pot.

The outer circle was all spicy broth.

The small round pot in the center was non-spicy broth.

"Have you tried this bone broth chrysanthemum pot?" Zhao Dingli asked her when the base came out.

"No, I’ve only tried bone broth, river delicacies, and occasionally tomato broth before," Li Xiaoyun replied.

"Then give it a try, it’s bone broth with chrysanthemum added. Chrysanthemum can cleanse the intestines and reduce heat, perfect for when the spicy pot becomes too overwhelming," Zhao Dingli explained.

Zhao Dingli ordered based on Li Xiaoyun’s preferences.

"Don’t just order what I like," Li Xiaoyun said, "What do you like to eat?"

She remembered that Zhao Dingli mentioned using this meal as an opportunity to learn his preferences so she could decide on a little gift for him later.

"What a coincidence, isn’t it? The things you like are all the must-order items for me when it comes to hot pot," Zhao Dingli said with a smile.