Everyone agreed. Su Fengfei, Gu Xiali, Ming Yu, Louis joined Ge Chen and Xue Lin. The footmen served the dishes silently. Louis wanted to make a formal toast but Xue Lin already started eating.
"…" Louis stood there like an idiot with a glass of red wine for a moment and then sat down.
The table was filled with Yangchow fried rice, beef fried rice, shrimp spring rolls, steamed vermicelli rolls, orange chicken, roasted asparagus in hoisin sauce, braised pork balls in gravy, Mongolian lamb barbeque, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup, almond crescent cookies, mango pudding and snowflakes cake and so on…
"Umm!" Xue Lin closed her eyes as she tasted beef fried rice. Chunks of fried beef with rice and scallion; it's seasoned with a bold cumin and chili pepper spices mix. The beef was tender and her taste buds were craving for more.
The shrimps of the shrimp prongs rolls were juicy and the melted cheese was stuffed in crunchy wrappers; the taste was magnificent. As for the orange chicken, the chicken was crispy and tasted sweet, tangy, and zesty. Roasted asparagus was tender and it was cast with sweet and savory sticky sauce. Egg drop soup was silky, gingery, and comforting. The egg flakes melted inside the mouth the moment it went inside. Almond crescent cookies were buttery flaky and it is said that it brings good luck.
Mango pudding's texture was smooth and creamy and the flavor was sweet and refreshing. Chinese snowflake cake was made of raspberry and coconut. It is light, refreshing, and served cold. This molded mixture of either raspberries or coconut milk along with gelatin, potato starch, sugar, and cream is a lovely way to end the meal on a hot summer night.
After the meal ended, Su Fengfei and Gu Xiali went back to their room. The young generation stayed up. Around the huge bonfire, they sat down on the giant stones, and Louis opened the bottle of finest quality red wine. He offered the drink to the other three and said, "man, that was a good feast."
Ming Yu relaxed his body and agreed, "I could feel the chef's happiness from the food."
Xue Lin agreed. "He poured his heart into the meal even though he knew that he was being transferred. He is a professional and has a good heart. If I had the ability, I would have bought him an apartment."
Ming Yu and Louis silently gazed at Ge Chen. If she only knew that the living money-bank was right beside her.
Ge Chen calmly said, "I'm happy that you feel this way about the employees. He took care of me since I started living here."
Xue Lin worriedly asked him, "Are you upset that I transferred him without asking you? If that's so, you can always cancel his transfer. However, I'll keep fishing grandpa's chef here as well." Back then, she was only thinking about capturing the Su Family's chef. She didn't think about the people whose lives were going to be affected by her decision. It was bugging her and she felt restless.
"A kingdom doesn't need two kings. I don't mind that he is being transferred. It's his promotion since he is going to the Su Mansion. He should be happy." Ge Chen looked at her and smiled a little. "You don't have to worry about others. And if you think this house is too crowded for your privacy, we have several cottages nearby. You can always move there."
Xue Lin's eyes sparkled. "Wonderful! Why don't I move there now-"
Ge Chen tarnished her fantasy by saying, "I'm afraid that those places haven't been cleaned for a long time since I haven't used them in a while. There could be lots of bugs."
"…" Ming Yu and Louis nearly vomited blood. Could their friend be any less shameless?
Xue Lin shivered in disgust. "Eww! I don't like bugs." She despised bugs and she also thought those who liked bugs were mentally ill.
Ge Chen quietly said, "I thought so."
Xue Lin looked at her glass. "Strange, I never drank such a sweet red wine before."
"Your husband has a winery in the basement of this house. You will find sweet alcohol there." Louis was very informative. He stayed here several times and knew almost everything about this house.
Xue Lin carefully glanced at her husband who was sitting beside her in a relaxed manner. Three upper buttons of the shirt were unbuttoned and his hair was disheveled. He was gazing at the huge bonfire. His grey eyes reflected the fire. Had it not been for his calm disposition, she would've mistaken it as his eyes were burning with passion or maybe with rage. Suddenly, he felt so unreachable to her. She couldn't help but reach out and grab his right arm.
Ge Chen sensed her touch and looked at the hand that was grabbing onto him. After that, he looked at her and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Xue Lin realized what she did and instantly moved her hand away. "Sorry, its nothing." Then she recalled what she wanted to say and said, "I was wondering if I could use your winery and drink some wine?"
Ge Chen looked at his arm that was touched by her only a moment ago. He regretted talking. It was the first time she was openly acting so familiarly. He could still feel her touch on his hand. That place was burning now. He asked in a low tone, "You mean now?"
Xue Lin shook her head. "Not now, but later in the future." She acted as if nothing happened. But her small move was already torturing his soul.
Ge Chen smiled. He saw her hair dancing in the soft breeze. There was a strand of hair that came over her face. He reached out and tugged it behind her left ear. He slowly said, "Everything in here is yours from the moment you married me. You don't have to ask for permission."