289: The Eimer Family

The end of May was a season that was both cool and a little hot. The strong sunlight penetrated the white clouds, gradually clearing the fog below. Under the saturated blue sky and clouds, the streets were full of people who had already begun wearing t-shirts and shorts, bright smiles on their faces.

The rumbling whirr of a plane sounded from overhead, cutting the white clouds apart as if dividing the sky into two. The plane then finally landed at the airport in Italy. There were already people waiting to pick up Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng at the airport, while Xie Wenzhi had already arrived a day earlier than them.

Different countries had different cultures.The sight of a lobby almost full of blond foreigners was quite novel to Wang cheng.

The one who was picking them up was none other than David. Since Wang Cheng didn’t notice him at first, David jumped and waved at them excitedly, yelling their names as if worried that they wouldn’t see him.

David was still thinking about going back to China on business someday, and then eating the lady boss’* dishes. However, before his wish could come true, the boss and his wife came in person! He was very excited when he heard the news.

[T/N: *title for boss’ wife]

The three got into the car. It was David who was driving, and they listened to his chatter the whole ride.

Wang Cheng heard of his intentions and said with a smile: "When I'm free, I'll invite you to a personally cooked dinner."

"Okay, then, it’s a deal." This was exactly what David wanted. After he came back from China, he told his friends that Chinese cuisine was actually really delicious. However, only one or two trusted him because most of them didn't have a good impression of Chinese cuisine, they thought it was too spicy and couldn’t adapt. They assumed all Chinese dishes tasted similarly, and didn’t dare to eat Chinese food afterwards.

Wang Cheng looked at the scenery outside the window. The two peculiar styles of Italian architecture, Gothic and Baroque, were completely different from the familiar architecture Wang Cheng knew in China. As it was his first time seeing all this, Wang Cheng’s eyes were simply full of amazement.

"Where are we going?"

Chu Yifeng replied: "We’re going to the main house of the Eimer family. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the foreign branch of the Zhou Group."

"Are you saying that we’ll be staying in your family’s house from now on?" They hadn’t even met his grandfather yet, was it really okay for them to move in like this?

"Is this not good?" Chu Yifeng asked in reply.

Wang Cheng hesitated: "Shouldn’t we greet your grandfather first? Didn't you say that he didn't agree to us being together? If we move in like this, I'm worried that I'll leave a bad impression on your grandfather."

"Don't worry, my grandfather isn’t home today, though he should be back the day after tomorrow. Even if you did want to meet him, you wouldn’t be able to."

David, who was sitting in the front, looked into the rearview mirror and said, "Lady boss, you don't have to worry about it, the chairman is actually quite nice. I've met him many times, and he is rarely stern."

Wang Cheng: "...What did you just say?"

"Ah? I said the chairman is very nice." David didn't understand what he meant, and thought he didn't hear his words clearly.

"Not that, the first part."

David recalled, "Lady boss?"

Wang Cheng narrowed his eyes, "When did I become the lady boss, don’t you know what lady means?"

"Haven’t you always been lady boss?" David was stunned, then said, "I’m not sure..."

Wang Cheng explained to him in a serious manner: "Lady means girl. You’re using ‘girl’ to describe me, a man. Does that sound right to you?"

David was stunned into silence by him. He didn't realize the logic behind the title, and was blinded by Wang Cheng’s rhetoric. He really thought he was in the wrong, and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, la... er, I don't get what it means, but if I don’t call you lady boss, then what should I call you?"

"You are a few months younger than me, so just call me Cheng Ge."

"Cheng Ge, then I'll call you Cheng Ge in the future," David affirmed. He suddenly found that this title was not bad, it seemed even closer than lady boss.

Chu Yifeng wrapped one hand around Wang Cheng's neck, and Wang Cheng leaned against him.

They arrived at the main house of the Eimer family. Chu Yifeng did not lie to Wang Cheng, his grandfather had gone to a presidential palace the day before yesterday. Although Italy was a republic now, the members of the past royal families were still nobles. They sat on the wealth of the country and could not be ignored.

As soon as Wang Cheng got out of the car, he was shocked by the luxury and enormity of the main house. The house and its surroundings look like a behemoth standing on empty ground. Although the whole area, including the front yard, was not as big as the Forbidden City, it was at least half its size. Even the royal palaces most likely did not exhibit such luxury.

Row of servants stood neatly at the gate to greet them.

These servants were all trained. Under the leadership of a man who looked like the butler of this large house, the servants welcomed their master back in unison, without a fidget. They looked professional and respectable at first glance.

The distance from the main gate to the main entrance looked like it would be a ten minute walk, or perhaps more than that. Wang Cheng thought they were going to walk there, when the butler called Zander arranged a golf cart for them. It was similar to a sightseeing car that could seat four people.

"Has the Madam returned?" Chu Yifeng asked Zander, who was walking towards them. By now, they’d reached the main entrance of the residence.

Zander immediately replied: "In response to the young master’s question, the Madam hasn't yet returned."

"Did she say when she is coming back?"

"No, sir."

They were speaking Italian. Although Wang Cheng had never studied it, Chu Yifeng had taught him a few basic terms, so he could vaguely understand that this was related to Chu Yifeng's mother, Emily.

"Butler Zander, this is my partner, Zhou Cheng. He’ll be staying here from now on, so we’ll have to trouble you." Chu Yifeng introduced Wang Cheng in English.

A hint of surprise flashed on Butler Zander’s face, before he quickly regained his composure. He calmly bowed to Wang Cheng and said, "Hello, Mr. Zhou, I'm Zander, the butler of the Eimer family. You can directly come to me if you need anything."

"Okay, thank you very much." Wang Cheng didn't know much about foreign etiquette.

Zander continued, "Young master, would you like a guest room prepared for Mr. Zhou?"

"No, he’ll sleep in my bedroom."

"I see."

David had been here many times, and what he always missed the most was the food cooked by the chef of the Eimer family. So, as soon as he entered the door, he went straight to the kitchen. By the time they’d finished talking, he was walking out of the kitchen with a plate of dim sum. After he’d taken a dozen steps, the plate of dim sum was already half eaten.

Chu Yifeng gave Zander the luggage before going to the living room with Wang Cheng to sit for a while. Lunch was soon ready.

The top chef of the Eimer kitchen was called Rein. He was in his fifties this year and had been working in the Eimer family for nearly 20 years. Besides butler Zander, he was the one who had worked longest for the Eimer family, forever offering his very kind smiles. The aroma of the food he made wafted throughout the house before he was done cooking, tempting many. Every time David shamelessly stayed in the Eimer house, it was mainly for the food made by Chef Rein.

An Italian lunch was the most abundant.

When the time came, the servants brought pasta, meat, fish, different vegetables, wine, fruit, coffee, and more, to the table in an orderly manner.

Wang Cheng watched all this without blinking. In his home, dinner was the main meal out of the three meals a day. However, after arriving at the imperial capital, he learned that some families regarded lunch as the main meal, while their dinner was relatively simple. He was able to get used to this after spending a while at the Zhou house.

"Cheng Ge, eat quickly. It won't taste as good when it's cold. Chef Rein’s food is best eaten hot." David's mouth was stuffed with pieces of meat, and he had to pause for a second before he could speak.

Wang Cheng was not used to drinking coffee with his lunch, so Chu Yifeng asked a servant to bring him a glass of water.

The meat dishes were steak and lamb chops. Lamb chops usually had a gamey scent, but Chef Rein had very high level cooking skills. The lamb chops were very juicy and tender, with no gamey flavor at all. Even David, who had a smaller appetite than them, finished his portion of lamb chops and asked for another. They’d already been there for an hour by the time they finished eating.

"I've never eaten so well." David sat on the sofa in the living room with no regard for his image, and put one hand on his round belly, causing him to hiccup. Cheekily following them inside the house had been a great idea.

Wang Cheng's image was not as bad, he laid on the sofa with his head resting on Chu Yifeng's thigh. His stomach also bulged, and he felt a little uncomfortable. When he heard David’s words, he said, "Didn’t you come here before? Weren’t you satisfied then?"

When he was reminded of this, David immediately gave Chu Yifeng a resentful look. "I did eat here before, but every time, I was only able to eat a little before I was kicked out. Yet here I am, still loyal to my boss ... Uh, since with Cheng Ge here, I’m able to eat meat, I’ve decided that if you ever need me to do anything for you in the future, just tell me to do it, and I will... I remember there is an idiom in Chinese that goes ten thousand something, what was it?"

"Don’t quit even after dying 10,000 times."

"That's right, that's it."

Wang Cheng laughed.

At eleven o'clock in the morning in the imperial capital, Wang Ning'an welcomed two unexpected guests.

Before Wang Cheng went abroad, he left the jade pendant with Wang Ning’an. In order to ensure that the jade pendant would not be stolen, Wang Ning’an locked it in a safe in the bank, so that no one could take it except for himself. On the day Wang Cheng left, Papa and Mama Wang suddenly came to the imperial capital. Wang Ning'an only learned about it when he received their call. The two elders hadn’t known that Wang Cheng had left the country, so they attempted to call him. However, they couldn't get through to him, so they had to call their eldest son.

Wang Ning'an didn't have time to plan things. After talking to his assistant Peng Yang, he took the afternoon off work and left earlier than usual to drive to the airport and pick up the two elders and take them to his apartment.

***

Back    ToC    Next