"Little Wan, come and eat."
Soon, Luo Meihui had prepared a table full of dishes, including several specialties from their Yunnan region. Wan Yunting, along with Niu Jinwu, who was leaning on a crutch, came over. Looking at the spread of food, Wan Yunting said, "Auntie, did you make all of this? It looks delicious."
"Hehe, you're too kind," Luo Meihui replied, beaming. She pointed to some dishes, saying, "This braised termite mushroom is a specialty from our region. I brought the termite mushrooms specifically. Try it and see how it is."
"Alright, then I won't be polite," Wan Yunting said. He sat down and, without hesitation, picked up his chopsticks, took a braised termite mushroom, and tasted it. His eyes immediately lit up, and he gave Luo Meihui a thumbs-up. "It's delicious, Auntie! These termite mushrooms are amazing, the texture is completely different from the shiitake and other mushrooms we eat here."
"Of course," Luo Meihui said, smiling happily. "These termite mushrooms are purely wild in our region. I bought them specially from mushroom farmers who dig for them, and then processed them into termite mushroom oil to preserve them for eating."
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled as he ate, "You've put a lot of thought into this, Auntie."
"This Dali clay pot fish is also good, try it quickly..." Luo Meihui said. Seeing that Niu Qiuling was only serving herself, she immediately scolded, "Don't you have any manners? Why aren't you serving Little Wan?"
"He's not handless, can't he serve himself?" Niu Qiuling pouted. Luo Meihui hit her arm and chided her impatiently, "Have some manners! Little Wan is a guest. How can you let him serve himself? Hurry up and serve him."
"Tsk, Mom..." Niu Qiuling called out in frustration, but there was nothing she could do. She reluctantly served Wan Yunting a bowl of rice, packing it down very tightly. She mumbled under her breath, "Stuff yourself to death..."
With that, Niu Qiuling placed a bowl piled high with rice, forming a small mountain, in front of Wan Yunting. "Eat this."
Looking at the bowl of rice, Wan Yunting was stunned. "Are you worshiping a deity? Why is the rice piled so high?"
"Then don't eat it," Niu Qiuling retorted with a glare, secretly amused and thinking she'd outsmarted him.
Wan Yunting gave her a speechless look and began to eat the bowl of rice, as he hadn't eaten lunch and was genuinely hungry.
"Here, Little Wan, have some of this wine," Luo Meihui said, bringing out a jar of wine. Niu Qiuling's eyes widened in surprise. "Mom, why did you bring wine too?"
Luo Meihui gave her a look and patted the wine jar, laughing. "This is the Tiger Head Bee wine your dad brewed himself, with some medicinal herbs. It's very delicious. Here, Little Wan, try it."
"Thank you, Auntie." Wan Yunting accepted the glass of amber liquid poured by Luo Meihui with both hands. He brought it to his nose and smelled it. The scent of medicinal herbs was pungent. "Whoa, Auntie, this wine is quite potent."
"Yes, this wine is good for the body. Drink more." Luo Meihui poured a second cup and handed it to Niu Qiuling. She said to her son, "You haven't recovered yet, so don't drink such strong wine. Qiuling, have a drink with Little Wan."
"I don't want to. I have a case tonight and can't drink," Niu Qiuling refused.
"No, you must have a drink with Little Wan." Luo Meihui's expression turned stern, and she pushed the wine glass towards Niu Qiuling. Wan Yunting tasted the wine and indeed, it was very strong. Seeing Niu Qiuling's refusal, he smirked, "What, you're afraid to drink with me?"
Provoked by the man, Niu Qiuling's eyes widened. She picked up the wine glass. "Who says I'm afraid to drink? If you dare, let's finish this glass together."
"Let's do it," Wan Yunting said, wanting to get the girl drunk and see if she'd dare to be so arrogant. They clinked their glasses and then downed the Tiger Head Bee medicinal wine that filled their disposable cups.
"Ah, it's so spicy, so spicy..." After drinking, Niu Qiuling regretted it and quickly ate some food, complaining, "Mom, why did Dad brew this kind of wine? It's so strong. I hope nothing happens from drinking it."
"Pfft, this is good wine. Drink more," Luo Meihui said, pouring them more wine. Her eyes held a meaningful gaze as she looked at Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling.
Wan Yunting, however, had no idea how potent the wine was, thinking this Tiger Head Bee medicinal wine was just a bit stronger than ordinary medicinal wines. He picked up his glass again and provocatively challenged Niu Qiuling, "Another round?"
Seeing the man's provocative smirk, Niu Qiuling snorted and picked up her glass, "Drinking, drinking, who's afraid of whom."
So they drank another glass. Luo Meihui, sitting beside them, laughed heartily, feeling very pleased. Only Niu Jinwu remained silent, eating his meal, wondering what his mother was up to.
With a glass here and a glass there, Niu Qiuling, after three cups of Tiger Head Bee medicinal wine, already had a flushed face. She waved her hand, "I can't anymore, I can't drink anymore."
"You're already drunk after only three cups?" Seeing Niu Qiuling's face flushed red and her head already slumped on the table, Wan Yunting, holding his wine glass, smiled triumphantly. He took another sip of the wine. "You know, this wine has quite a kick. Auntie, did you add a lot of Chinese medicinal herbs to this?"
"Yes, they're all good things," Luo Meihui said, inwardly delighted to see her daughter had passed out.
"Hmm, give me another glass." Wan Yunting was unfazed and asked for another glass. Luo Meihui poured it for him, chuckling, "If it's delicious, drink more. There's plenty more."
Wan Yunting smiled, "Just one last glass. I have some business to attend to later."
"It's fine, your tolerance is good, it won't delay your plans," Luo Meihui said, chuckling. Watching Wan Yunting drink another glass, she rejoiced inwardly: "Once you two finish the important business, it will have been worth my efforts all afternoon!"
Since they started eating at five o'clock, by six o'clock, everyone had almost finished. Niu Qiuling was already tipsy and had gone to her room to sleep. Wan Yunting's face was also slightly flushed. He now realized that the Tiger Head Bee medicinal wine was exceptionally potent, making his head feel a bit dizzy. After sitting with Niu Jinwu in the living room for a while, he got up to use the restroom.
"Little Wu, let's go, we have to go quickly..." As soon as Wan Yunting went to the restroom, Luo Meihui quickly took off her apron, handed the crutch to Niu Jinwu, and helped him up to leave. Niu Jinwu looked bewildered, "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Oh, don't ask so many questions. It's still early. Let's go visit your Grandpa Ma." Saying this, Luo Meihui helped him, too lazy to explain, and they left the house.
When Wan Yunting emerged from the restroom, he felt his head spinning. He particularly felt a fire burning in his lower abdomen, making him involuntarily tug at his shirt collar and mumble, "How can this wine be so potent? I wish I hadn't had that last glass..."
When he came out to the living room, he found that Niu Jinwu was not there. Wan Yunting's expression faltered, and he called out, "Brother Wu?"
There was no response. Wan Yunting looked towards the kitchen, but Luo Meihui wasn't there either. "Auntie?"
Still no response. Wan Yunting scratched the back of his head in confusion. He opened the door to another room next to Niu Qiuling's room and looked inside, but couldn't find Luo Meihui or Niu Jinwu. Finally, Wan Yunting pushed open Niu Qiuling's door. He saw the girl lying on the bed, her body twisting continuously, but her mother and elder brother were nowhere to be seen.
"What's going on?" Wan Yunting was bewildered. He had only gone to the restroom, and suddenly Luo Meihui and Niu Jinwu were gone. Had they left?
"That's not right, don't they live here?" Wan Yunting was confused. He walked into Niu Qiuling's room and came to her bedside. He saw that the girl's face was flushed red, even her earlobes and neck were red, possibly from the effects of the wine. Niu Qiuling now looked very distressed and uncomfortable, murmuring confusedly, "So hot..."