Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!

This level of detail isn’t necessary.

"Xiao Yun is so straightforward that when I lead her into my plans, she feels grateful," Zhao Dingli said.

He could say this without a twinge of conscience.

The third grandpa snorted and remarked with a hint of disdain, "You’re so good at playing games, you can lure people home, so why haven’t you made her your girlfriend yet?"

Zhao Dingli: "..."

Early in the morning, Zhao Gushen already ruined his perfectly good mood.

Then the third grandpa scolded him like a dog.

And now, the third grandpa is piercing his heart until it’s bleeding.

They’re doing this on purpose, aren’t they?

"Almost there, almost there," Zhao Dingli said, "I have my pace and rhythm; I need to take it slow. If I move too fast, I might scare her and end up chasing her away instead."

"Dad, you wouldn’t want me to finally meet a girl I like only to scare her off before anything starts, right?"

"I’ve set my mind on her. If I scare her away, I’d have to think of ways to win her back. It’s simpler to slowly coax her into being my girlfriend than to scare her off and then try to win her back," Zhao Dingli explained.

The third grandpa: "..."

"You don’t have a girlfriend, yet you have tons of excuses," the third grandpa said irritably.

Zhao Dingli: "..."

What’s with this comment?

"One girlfriend is enough. Why do I need so many? I’m not a scumbag!" Zhao Dingli retorted.

The third grandpa was fuming!

"Who’s asking you to be a scumbag!" the third grandpa shouted, "Am I that kind of person? Don’t deliberately misinterpret what I mean."

"Dad, don’t be so impatient. Give me some time and patience," Zhao Dingli said, "I think it’s close. I can tell that Xiao Yun has a good impression of me right now. I’ve laid a good foundation."

The third grandpa grudgingly accepted Zhao Dingli’s explanation.

"Alright then," the third grandpa said reluctantly, "I’ll tentatively accept what you’re saying and give you a bit of time."

Tomorrow, he’ll ask again.

He can’t say that he didn’t give Zhao Dingli time.

Didn’t he give him a whole day?

If there’s nothing by tomorrow, he’ll ask again the day after.

I have to say, Zhao Gushen truly has a thorough understanding of the third grandpa’s character.

Knowing that by saying a bit, the third grandpa will definitely check in on Zhao Dingli every day.

Zhao Dingli finally managed to temporarily appease the third grandpa, hung up the phone, and felt utterly exhausted.

Talking with the third grandpa was even more mentally draining than attending a morning meeting.

Zhao Dingli pinched the corners of his eyes and rubbed his temples, his gaze falling on the thermos flask on his desk.

Li Xiaoyun had prepared soup for him to nourish his body.

Now that the third grandpa and Zhao Gushen have left him mentally drained, drinking some soup to replenish his energy and boost his spirit seems reasonable, right?

Zhao Dingli gulped and decided to drink a bit.

So, he opened the thermos flask and poured himself a small cup.

Afraid the soup would get cold, he quickly sealed the flask tightly.

This flask has excellent heat retention, keeping the temperature steady for about six or seven hours.

No matter the initial temperature of the soup, it maintains that temperature for six or seven hours.

Only after this period will the temperature gradually decrease.

When Li Xiaoyun filled it in the morning, the soup was boiling hot.

The lid of the thermos flask conveniently served as a small bowl.

Zhao Dingli poured out half a bowl; the soup was still piping hot, emitting white steam.

Even before reaching the bowl’s edge, the steam already rose to his face.

Zhao Dingli quickly blew on it a few times, and once it was about right, he cautiously took a small sip.

Because it was too hot, he drank too little to truly taste it.

So, after blowing on it a few more times, he took a larger sip.

This time, he could discern some flavor.

The soup was a light pale yellow, with no trace of oil on the surface.

Running a restaurant chain, Zhao Dingli couldn’t just ignore the culinary aspects and focus solely on marketing for profit.

So, even though he couldn’t cook, he still needed to know what he should.

To make the soup this clear and free of residue, yet still flavorful, required attentively removing the oil residue from the surface throughout the simmering process.

Moreover, it wasn’t just a one-time task.

The oil would continue to surface, so it required patient skimming, little by little, removing it all.

Especially a soup with no visible traces of oil, it was indeed laborious and meticulous work.

It was clear how much effort Li Xiaoyun put into making the soup for him.

Li Xiaoyun even told him that it wasn’t a lot of work; she just tossed the ingredients into the pot, letting it simmer on low heat while she didn’t have to worry about it.

But now, seeing the soup, Zhao Dingli understood everything.

Probably due to Ye Fei’s recipe, even with Li Xiaoyun being inexperienced in the kitchen, following the directions with care resulted in an unexpectedly great taste.

The soup was savory with a hint of subtle sweetness.

This subtle sweetness lingered as an aftertaste.

This refreshing sweet flavor didn’t come from added sugar but from the ingredients themselves.

Zhao Dingli savored a few sips, discovering the taste of chicken soup.

It had the unique savory flavor of chicken but with no trace of gaminess.

Besides the chicken, the savory taste in the soup also came from mushrooms.

However, Li Xiaoyun had strained it all, only pouring him the soup.

Because the essence was already in the broth, adding the mushrooms and chicken back wouldn’t taste as good.

But since he couldn’t see it, Zhao Dingli didn’t know what types of mushrooms Li Xiaoyun used.

With half the bowl left, Zhao Dingli was reluctant to finish it and started rummaging through the cabinet.

Unable to find a glass bowl, he only found a small glass teacup.

Zhao Dingli poured some of the soup into the glass cup.

The soup looked even clearer in the glass cup.

Zhao Dingli captured several angles and finally selected the most appealing one to post in the Zhao Family group chat.

The old lady, with some spare time on her hands since the little one went to kindergarten, would occasionally scroll through WeChat and whatnot.

She saw the picture Zhao Dingli sent right away.

She opened the picture, zoomed in for a closer look, and said to the old man, "What’s Ding Li up to? This doesn’t look like tea water."

The old man asked, "What is it? What are you talking about?"

"Look at our family group chat; Ding Li posted a photo. I can’t tell what it is," the old lady explained.

The old man took out his phone, opened the family group chat, and saw the picture Zhao Dingli had posted.