I Tied Up the Travel Check-In System - Chapter 24

Tang Siqi also knew about Xu Qianning’s relationship with her family. Whenever she and Qianning brought it up, they both sighed.

Every family has its own challenges, and they each had their own.

Uncle Xu, having taken the initiative to ask, must have missed his grandson. Tang Siqi then said, “Junbao’s been so well behaved. He started painting this semester, and the teacher says he’s very talented. By the way, Uncle Xu, Dad, you don’t know, but I got a commission today. The owner of a Shanghai amusement park called and asked me to design a project for their park.”

Tang Ruiqing was taken aback; he’d heard his daughter talk about this park before. “Is that the one you mentioned yesterday that gave you a 2,000 yuan bonus?”

Tang Siqi nodded. “Yes, that’s the one. They value my creativity. They said the designers at their company don’t draw well, so they asked me to draw.”

Tang Ruiqing was delighted, but couldn’t help but remark, “You’re just starting out as an artist. Why would they value your work?”

That was his nature. Even when he was happy, he didn’t feel comfortable directly praising them in front of his old friend.

Xu Xian, envious of Siqi’s ability to go home and see her father, quickly said, “How can you say that? It’s because Siqi’s abilities are being valued.”

Tang Siqi smiled and said, “Uncle Xu, you don’t know this. I originally took Junbao to this park. He tried some of the rides and said they weren’t fun. He told me some ideas for improvements, which I posted online. The owner of the park saw them and gave me a 2,000 yuan reward. And the painting the owner chose this time was also originally Junbao’s. I simply added some design elements to Junbao’s children’s drawing of the Mushroom House. The owner was so impressed that he invited me to his company to help design for him. Uncle Xu, all of this is Junbao’s work.”

Xu Xian was so engrossed in listening that he stopped what he was doing.

“You said it was Junbao’s painting?” He couldn’t help but turn around and ask for confirmation.

He hadn’t seen his grandson for more than half a year, and he didn’t know if he had grown taller or stronger. He didn’t know the interesting things that happened during his grandson’s growth, so when he heard this story, he really wanted to know more about his grandson.

Tang Siqi quickly took out the painting saved in the album on his mobile phone.

“Uncle Xu, look, this is what Junbao drew at the time. It’s so good. I revised it and posted it online.” Tang Siqi handed the phone to Xu Xian. He looked at it again and again, and couldn’t bear to take his eyes off the phone.

Seeing that Old Xu was still holding a kitchen knife in his hand, Tang Ruiqing quickly said, “Siqi, send the photo to your Uncle Xu later.”

“Okay.”

After that, Tang Ruiqing kept praising Junbao for his talent in the kitchen. Xu Xian didn’t say much, but just kept busy in the kitchen.

Tang Siqi secretly took a short video and sent it to Xu Qianning: “I bought king crab. My dad and I don’t know how to cook. I asked your dad to come down and be the chef. How come everyone in your family is so good at cooking!”

Xu Qianning and Luo Junbao were having dinner. When she clicked on the short video and saw it, her eyes instantly turned red.

Luo Junbao put down his chopsticks: “Mom, what’s wrong with you?”

Xu Qianning shook her head: “Nothing, Mom just…”

Missing home.

With Xu Xian as the chef, the three dishes of steamed crab legs with vermicelli in garlic sauce, steamed eggs with crab roe, and spicy king crab were soon ready.

“Oh my, Old Xu, we’re in for a treat today! Look at all three dishes! They all look delicious!”

“That’s right, thank goodness Uncle Xu is here, thank goodness you didn’t go on the Sunset Red Tour with Auntie and Mom. Otherwise, Dad and I wouldn’t be able to handle this king crab tonight.”

Tang Ruiqing glared at her. “You’ve lived with Xu Qianning for so long, and you haven’t learned any cooking skills from anyone?”

Tang Siqi chuckled. “You and Uncle Xu have been friends for decades, haven’t you? Haven’t you learned cooking skills from anyone?”

Tang Ruiqing choked. Never mind. He was afraid his daughter’s culinary talent was just like his, extremely limited.

Tang Siqi picked up a crab leg first. She had had king crab legs at buffets before, but they were not very tasty at all, with little meat and little flavor.

But today, the crab leg was thick, the meat was firm, and the crab meat had a sweet and fresh flavor.

“Wow, the crab legs are delicious!”

“The vermicelli is good too, Siqi, try some.”

Tang Siqi hadn’t been interested in vermicelli at first. With so much crab meat, who would want to eat vermicelli?

She took a chopstick.

“Wow, these vermicelli…so flavorful! And the perfect firmness. The crab meat blends beautifully into the vermicelli, and with the garlic, it’s truly delicious!”

She tried two other dishes. The spicy king crab was undoubtedly Uncle Xu’s specialty, but the most unexpected thing was the crab roe steamed egg.

It was a truly luxurious version of steamed egg!

Uncle Xu used the shell as a container to steam the egg and crab roe together. The unique sauce flavor of the crab roe combined with the delicate aroma of the steamed egg created a delicious blend.

Tang Siqi couldn’t stop eating after just one bite, scooping up several more.

“Hey, save some for me,” Tang Ruiqing said quickly.

Xu Xian watched the father and daughter scramble for food, his eyes brimming with envy.

Although Old Tang complained about his daughter’s work for a long time, and there seemed to be a rift between father and daughter, it seems that the two have reconciled now.

Siqi is not a serious child. Although she is a little introverted, she is still willing to reconcile with her family.

Xu Qianning…

Oh, he felt a headache when he thought of his daughter. He didn’t know when his daughter would be willing to bring her grandson home so that he could enjoy the family happiness.

After the meal, Tang Siqi and Tang Ruiqing were very satisfied. Xu Xian wanted to stay and help clean up, but Tang Ruiqing said proudly: “What’s there to clean up? No need to clean up. Look, after the vegetable scraps are thrown away, the bowls can be put directly into the dishwasher, and the pots can also be put in. We don’t have to wash them at all.”

Oh, yes, Siqi bought a dishwasher for Old Tang when she returned home this time.

Tang Siqi watched her father’s smug look from the sidelines, finding it amusing. He’d previously accused her of wasting money, yet now he’d mastered the art of setting the dishes. It looked like he’d practiced it countless times before, and he was even showing off in front of his old friends, like a schoolboy.

After seeing Uncle Xu off, Tang Siqi returned to her room and sent a message to Xu Qianning.

“Your dad is in good spirits and good health, but he seems to be missing Junbao and has asked about it several times.”

Xu Qianning glanced at the message on her phone, unsure of what to say in reply.

Junbao was standing by, picking up his phone and refreshing his mother’s circle of friends. He asked, “Tang Siqi posted on WeChat Moments. The dish in the photo doesn’t look like something she can cook. Grandpa Tang doesn’t seem to be able to cook it either. I’m afraid it wasn’t made by my grandpa?”

Xu Qianning touched her son’s head. The child was very smart: “Do you miss grandpa?”

Luo Junbao thought about it, nodded, but shook his head: “Yes, but mom always quarrels with them when she goes back, so let’s not go back.”

Children’s eyes are the clearest. What he saw was that the atmosphere at home would be tense every time she went home, so even though he missed grandpa, he didn’t want to go back.

Xu Qianning sighed and decided to wait a while.

Tang Siqi had bought a new computer and a new graphics tablet today. After dinner, she stayed in her room, installing various drawing software. Tang Ruiqing, on the other hand, was pacing the living room, no longer in the mood to watch the news.

“Siqi, come out for a moment,” Tang Ruiqing couldn’t help but call out.

Reluctantly, Tang Siqi left the computer, opened the bedroom door, poked her head out, and asked, “Dad, what’s up?”

“Come out, let’s talk,” Tang Ruiqing couldn’t help but say.

Tang Siqi walked into the living room.

“You said you took a job, so you’ll be back in Shanghai soon?” Tang Ruiqing asked.

He had originally thought that Tang Siqi would stay for at least two weeks this time. After all, Wenzhou still had a lot of delicious food, and she wouldn’t want to leave so soon after not being back for so long. He hadn’t expected her to take the job at the amusement park.

“Well, I should be back tomorrow,” Tang Siqi thought. Indeed, she had already promised Boss Feng, so it would be better to go back early and finish this job sooner.

Tang Ruiqing sighed and pulled five thousand yuan from his bag. “You’d better take this money. You’ve spent quite a bit this trip home. I’ll be relieved if you take it.”

“Dad, I can support myself now,” Tang Siqi

said, still refusing to take it. “This dishwasher is a gift from you. I understand, but it’s also a gift from me. You’re a girl, and life isn’t easy. You should buy yourself some nice clothes when you have time. Go out and see the world, and don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Tang Siqi looked at her father. Frowns had crept onto his forehead, and his back had grown a bit hunched. She even noticed that he would hold his phone farther away and squint his eyes when he looked at it, clearly suffering from presbyopia.

The once handsome man was now retired, living a leisurely life at home tending to his garden.

Tang Siqi realized something: her father had been aging for a long time.

Tang Siqi’s nose felt sore: “Dad, so, you don’t object to my painting?”

Tang Ruiqing sighed: “My opposition has to be useful. Now that you’re older, how long can I still control you? As long as you behave yourself, I won’t object.”

Tang Siqi struck while the iron was hot: “Then don’t arrange blind dates for me on my mom’s side?”

Tang Ruiqing’s face fell: “Your mom will take her time. When you bring a boyfriend home, she won’t arrange one for you.”

Tang Siqi was discouraged. Forget it. She didn’t expect her henpecked father to help her. If she could get her dad on her side this time, her life would be easier in the future.

She still didn’t take his money and said: “Dad, you’d better keep this money. I really don’t lack money to spend now. Besides, it’s not easy for you to save some private money.”

Tang Ruiqing was stunned: “You kid… Hahahaha!”

“Hahahaha!”

The two laughed in tacit understanding.

“No matter where you go, just remember, this is always your home. You can always come back.”

“Take good care of yourself out there.”

“Be careful about adding or removing clothes.”

“There are a lot of scammers out there, don’t trust anyone.”

“Be sure to tell your family about your trips.”

“If you run out of money, just call me. I’ll keep this money for you and transfer it back if you need it.”

“Safety is the most important thing for a girl…”

Tang Siqi: “…Okay, Dad, don’t worry about me. I’m doing pretty well with my training outside now.”

Finally, Tang Siqi escaped her father’s incessant nagging.

Back in her room, Tang Siqi flipped through her diary. Ever since junior high, she’d entered a rebellious phase, constantly fighting against her family.

She hadn’t had a proper chat with her father in years. During

those years, his temper was explosive, and she was introverted and stubborn. They’d always argued after just a few words. Unexpectedly, they could still sit down and talk.

Now, her father is basically settled, and he will not object to her becoming a freelance artist. If she can settle her mother in the future, her life will be much better.

Tang Siqi suddenly had an urge to draw this trip back to Wenzhou in the form of cartoon illustrations.

Pot stickers, fish ball soup, pig offal noodles, glutinous rice balls, lantern cakes…all kinds of delicious things.

She drew them one by one, and also wrote a detailed tasting guide, which she also posted on the review forum.