Chapter 335: Going Home

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

When Zhou Chao landed at the airport, it was already 2 o’clock in the afternoon. During the flight, he had a boxed meal.

Besides the airport, Zhou Chao also called for a luxurious private car, um, a Mercedes-Benz E300.

Seeing that it was an elite gentleman, the two of them had a pleasant conversation along the way. Zhou Chao learned that the man worked in the field of design, and his company was quite famous, although Zhou Chao wasn’t familiar with it.

They chatted like this, and time quickly passed. The car arrived at a courtyard by the canal.

“Please stop here. Thank you!” Zhou Chao paid and entered the password while carrying his luggage, then walked inside.

“My goodness, I didn’t expect you to be such a big shot. Why didn’t you give me your business card earlier? At least leave an impression!” The elite man sighed and drove away.

As soon as he entered, Zhou Chao saw Aunt Wang in the courtyard, holding a small net and fishing out floating leaves from the water.

“Mr. Zhou, you’re back!” Aunt Wang was also surprised; it had been almost three months since she last saw Zhou Chao at work.

“Well, Aunt Wang, has everything been okay at home lately?”

“There’s nothing major, except that the Shoufu somehow got involved with a very beautiful little female cat. It often runs outside recently!” Aunt Wang had a smile on her face.

“A beautiful little female cat?” Zhou Chao became interested, not expecting that the Shoufu would try to charm other female cats.

“Its fur is all pure white, and its eyes are of different colors. It looks remarkably good!”

“Heterochromia!” Zhou Chao hadn’t owned other cats, but he had heard of cats having eyes of different colors, which were quite attractive.

“I see.” Zhou Chao nodded and walked inside.

After putting his luggage in the bedroom and tidying up his clothes, he took out the clothes he needed to wash and planned to hand them over to Aunt Wang later.

He looked around and found that the house was still very clean. Then he headed downstairs with the clothes.

“Aunt Wang, these clothes will need to be washed later!”

“Mr. Zhou, wait until 1 finish cleaning outside, and I’ll take care of it!

ii

“No rush!”

Zhou Chao thought of the alcoholic gifts he had received last time. He headed to the wine cellar, looked around, and found the same place where the gifts were stored. Apart from red wine, there was mostly Maotai, with all the varieties available in the market, ranging from six to seven bottles at most, to one or two bottles at least.

Among them, there were multiple varieties from the 80s, including Nine Dragons Ink Treasure and “80s,” which could be considered as collectible quality. There was also a set of “Fifty-Six Ethnic Groups” and an 8o-year-old Maotai.

He spent nearly half an hour in the wine cellar, completely satisfied, and then walked out. Just as he left the wine cellar, Zhou Chao seemed to remember something and went back inside.

In no time, Zhou Chao came out carrying a box containing top-quality Maotai, including Nine Dragons Ink Treasure, “80s,” and an 8o-year-old aged Maotai, among others.

“Aunt Wang, I’m going out for a while. 1’11 probably be back later!”

“Mr. Zhou, are you coming back for dinner tonight?”

“At this moment, I’m not sure. I’ll call you later. Most likely, I will have dinner at home, and I’ll invite some friends over if 1 do!” Zhou Chao contemplated for a moment and decided to let Aunt Wang prepare some dishes just in case.

“Alright, Mr. Zhou!”

Zhou Chao nodded and took the Phantom’s keys, then walked towards the garage.

Zhou Chao placed the wine on the passenger seat and started the car.

May in Beijing’s Shichahai area was still crowded with people. There were many cyclists riding around the lake, and the gentle breeze made it particularly pleasant.

As he reached the familiar entrance of an alley, Zhou Chao parked the car and carried the box into the alley. After several twists and turns, a unique quadrangle courtyard appeared before him.

At the entrance, two handsome security guards were still on duty. One of them was a familiar face, the same person who had stopped Zhou Chao during his first visit. Zhou Chao walked directly towards them with the box in his arms.

“Young Master Zhou, why are you here?”

“I came to see Old Master. Is he at home?” Zhou Chao patted the box in his hands. The young security guard glanced at it and was impressed. It was all liquor!

“Chief is at home. Should 1 help you carry it inside?”

“No need, it’s not heavy. Thanks!” Zhou Chao walked inside with the box, and the other security guard approached.

“Baifei, what’s going on? Who is this, and why did he just enter like that?”

“This is the husband of the Chief’s granddaughter, and he has a good relationship with our leader. So be smart from now on, don’t make any mistakes later!”

“Got it, bro!”

Zhou Chao carried the box through the front courtyard and saw the elderly Mr.

Xiao lying on a rattan chair inside, listening to music and drinking tea.

“Grandpa, you’re living the good life!”

Zhou Chao’s words woke up Old Master Xiao from his comfort.

“I thought who it was. So it’s you, you rascal. What’s that you’re carrying?”

“Hehe, of course, it’s something good!” Zhou Chao said and placed the liquor in front of Xiao Lao.

“Wow, it’s all Maotai’s collectibles, and you even have Nine Dragons Ink Treasure. Is that true? Is the genuine Nine Dragons Ink Treasure still inside this liquor?”

“I haven’t opened it, so I don’t know!” Zhou Chao was also surprised. He had no idea that there were paintings hidden inside these bottles!

Xiao Lao heard this and sat up from the rattan chair, picking up the box of Nine Dragons Ink Treasure. He started to open it and said, “This Nine Dragons Ink Treasure was produced in limited quantity with only 80 bottles. Each set of liquor comes with a 4.5-meter long scroll called ‘Nine Dragons Ink Treasure Authentic,’ and it’s all hand-written by 11 calligraphy masters over four years. That’s why it’s considered very valuable!”

Soon, the packaging was opened, revealing a scroll wrapped around the liquor bottle. Xiao Lao carefully took it down and examined it closely, then burst into laughter.

“Not bad, not bad, indeed Nine Dragons Ink Treasure! You, you little rascal, you did well to think of this old man. I need to hide these bottles properly. If your uncle and Xiao Yang’s brat get wind of this, they’ll drink it all in no time!” Xiao Lao said as he glanced at Zhou Chao.

Zhou Chao shivered and hurriedly picked up the liquor. He followed Xiao Lao to the backyard. Just as Zhou Chao was about to enter the house with Xiao Lao, he saw Xiao Lao stop in his tracks.

“You brat, you won’t secretly snitch on me, will you?”

“Grandpa, how could I dare? Even if I had the courage, I wouldn’t!.”

“That’s true!” They both entered the house. Xiao Lao opened the wardrobe, and unexpectedly, there was a hidden room behind it. It wasn’t very large, about seven or eight square meters in size.

Xiao Lao took the box from Zhou Chao’s hands and carried it inside. After a while, Xiao Lao came out.

“Only you know about this place. If my liquor goes missing, you’ll be in big trouble!” With a fierce look in his eyes, Xiao Lao made Zhou Chao unconsciously swallow hard.

“Ho… How could that happen? 1 would never!”

Xiao Lao led the way back. After lying back on the rattan chair, glanced at Zhou Chao and immediately said, “You lad, you didn’t come here without an apparent reason. What do you want? Just say it!”

Zhou Chao was a bit taken aback by these words. In reality, he didn’t have any specific purpose for coming today; he simply wanted to deliver the wine.

Xiao Lao, upon seeing Zhou Chao’s bewildered expression, quickly grasped the situation.

“You wouldn’t have come all this way just to bring me a bottle of wine, would you?”

Zhou Chao nodded and replied, “Well, I thought I’d drop by to see you since I just returned to Jingdu today.”

Xiao Lao raised an eyebrow, asking, “Why didn’t you go see your father-in-law first? Why bother coming to my place?”

“Jiang Li is only coming back tomorrow, so we’ll visit him then. Besides, 1 just got my hands on some excellent wine, and I thought of you right away.”

“Well, at least you’ve got a bit of a conscience. You’re thinking of an old man like me. Unlike your brother, Xiao Yang, who’s constantly scheming to get his hands on my good liquor. He’s been driving me crazy!” Xiao Lao emphasized his point by tapping the table beside him, causing Zhou Chao to startle.

“Do you want to stay for dinner tonight?”

Hearing Xiao Lao invitation, Zhou Chao contemplated for a moment and then shook his head.

“Grandpa, I may not be able to make it tonight. I have something else to do. I’ll come by another day to have a drink with you.”

Sure, young people should have some energy!”

After chatting with Xiao Lao for another half an hour, Zhou Chao took his leave. Before leaving, he even got five special cigarettes from the old man.

Watching Zhou Chao walk away with a cigarette in his mouth, Xiao Lao couldn’t help but smile.

As Zhou Chao was about to leave, he opened one of the cigarettes, tossed two packs to the guards at the entrance, and disappeared into the alley under their watchful eyes.

“Aunt Wang, please prepare some dishes for dinner tonight. We’ll have it at home, and there will be about four people. Make some dishes suitable for drinking,” Zhou Chao called the housekeeper, Aunt Wang, as soon as he got in the car.

Then he scrolled through his contact list and found a familiar name. He dialed the number.

“Hey, buddy, I’ve returned to Beijing. Do you have some free time today?”

“Yeah, just got back today. I happen to need a favor from you and Ma Wei. Can you guys come over to my place tonight for a drink?”

“Of course, we’ll make time, buddy. Even if we’re busy, we’ll squeeze it in for you!” Upon hearing Zhou Chao’s invitation, Yu Qian couldn’t possibly refuse, even if there were no performances scheduled.

“Great, give Ma Wei a call for me. I won’t call him. I’m still outside, heading home now.”

“No problem, I’ll call him, you don’t worry.” Yu Qian readily took on the task.

“See you tonight!”

“See you tonight!”

Zhou Chao hung up the phone and started driving back home.

By the time Zhou Chao returned home, it was nearly 5 o’clock. Aunt Wang was already busy in the kitchen, preparing the dishes. Zhou Chao walked around and noticed that everything was almost ready. He went out of the kitchen and sat down on the sofa.

Before he could settle into his seat, the doorbell rang..