Lucky Fish 70

 Chapter 70: Entertaining Guests 

"Ah Sheng, who are they?" Yu Jin Li couldn't help but asked curiously as he listened to the excited voice outside.

The members of the Sacred Beast Team heard a soft and sweet voice, especially coming out from the boss's room. They were very surprised, and wanted to see who it was but didn't dare to stretch their necks out and look in front of the boss.

However, something even more surprising happened. The coldness on their boss’s frosty face immediately melted, and there was even a faint smile on the corner of his mouth as he turned and said to the person inside: “It is just the soldiers I raised from before."

“Soldiers?" Yu Jin Li repeated, stretching his neck out, looking very curious.

Jiang Mo Sheng moved aside from blocking the door, and then motioned for those people to come in.

Bright light shines through the French windows and falls on the young boy sitting cross-legged on the carpet. The delicate little face is extremely lovely and delicate under the halo of light, making people unable to look away.

This was the first time that members of the Sacred Beasts team saw Yu Jin Li in the Jiang’s house, and it was the first time they saw a second person inside their boss’s room, especially someone who was sitting in such a casual posture and not been scolded by the boss.

You must know, Jiang Mo Sheng was affected by his father's demeanors ever since he was a child. He stood and sat in an upright manner. No matter the occasion, he abides by all the behaviors of a soldier. He has the same requirements for all of his subordinates, and even when it comes to ordinary friends. When meeting him, one must follow the proper protocols of a soldier.

The Sacred Beast team, who has long been accustomed to Jiang Mo Sheng's cold and hard style, for the first time, saw someone who could behave so casually in front of the boss without being scold, and immediately felt very curious.

While the Sacred Beast Team was looking at Yu Jin Li, Yu Jin Li was also looking at them.

The seven people in front of him are all wearing straight military uniforms with heroic figures. They all carry a faint golden light of merit, which shows that these seven are all people who have accumulated achievements from saving many lives.

For such people, Yu Jin Li have always been very fond towards, and naturally he is not stingy with his smile.

“What are you doing standing there? Come sit quickly.” Yu Jin Li said to the seven with a smile, following the way his mother usually receiving guests.

The seven members of the Sacred Beasts team turned their eyes to their boss, asking for his opinion. At the same time, they were worried that the boss would get angry. After all, there has never been a person who can order around in front of the boss.

However, to their continued astonishment, the boss not only didn't get angry from Yu Jin Li's self-assertion, but instead looked at the other party with a deep gentle look.

Bai Hu couldn't help but pinch himself secretly. It hurts. That showed that he was not dreaming, and all this was real.

Then he wonders if he was in the wrong place. Maybe this wasn’t actually the boss's room, but the room of a person that looks very similar to the boss.

Their boss could not be so gentle.

When Jiang Mo Sheng faced Yu Jin Li, he was naturally gentle, but when returning to face his subordinates, he recovered to his usual facial paralysis.

"Sit down." Jiang Mo Sheng said coldly.

Bai Hu breathed a sigh of relief. This is their boss alright. He must have been confused just now.

"Introduce yourself."

Jiang Mo Sheng had seen the curious gaze from Yu Jin Li. Although he wanted to drive these people out and not let them appear in the sight of the little guy, he was reluctant to refuse the little guy’s inquiries. Sweeping away his unhappiness and suppressing his inner discomfort, he coldly gave out an order.

The seven quickly reacted this time and introduced themselves.

"My name is Bai Hu." Bai Hu introduced himself concisely.

After Yu Jin Li heard the first person's self-introduction, his eyes lit up and he asked excitedly: "White Tiger? Are you the White Tiger among the four great beasts?"

"Yes." Bai Hu didn't understand what Yu Jin Li meant. What's so exciting? But he nodded honestly.

At this moment, Yu Jin Li became even more excited.

OMG, to think that he would actually meet White Tiger here. That is a legendary existence. Yu Jin Li was so excited, if it weren't for Jiang Mo Sheng watching, he would like to come forward and talk to Bai Hu.

Bai Hu couldn’t help shivering when he was stared at by Yu Jin Li’s burning gaze. Immediately after, the boss’s freezing gaze also looked over, giving him a feeling of being tormented by a dual hell of both fire and ice.

All he did was just introduced his name, and the boss even asked him to do it. He didn't do anything wrong. Why is the boss's eyes so terrifying? And the boss's aura is a lot fiercer than before, which made him instinctively want to run for the door.

Fortunately, it was the others’ turns to introduce themselves next, and this somewhat relieve the poor white tiger who was trapped in the dual hell.

"My name is Qing Long, yes..." Before Qing Long finished speaking, he felt the same, if not even more terrifying, treatment as Bai Hu.

This time, Yu Jin Li jumped up excitedly, walked directly in front of Qing Long, and looked at the other party with fiery eyes.

"Qing Long? Are you the Qing Long?" Yu Jin Li confirmed.

He thought he was lucky to have met Bai Hu, but he didn't expect to be able to meet Qing Long too.

That's Qing Long! *

As a koi spirit, he has always yearned for dragons. After all, he can only turn into a dragon when he soars. ** That is his ultimate goal, and Qing Long is the boss of the dragon. If he can hold Qing Long's thigh, with a little pointer from the other, will he be able to soar soon?

Yu Jin Li felt excited just thinking about it, and wished to discuss his cultivation experience with the other party immediately.

Jiang Mo Sheng's face was completely black. Although he usually has on a straight face, but now his whole body became cold, and the members of the Sacred Beast Team felt like crying, especially Qing Long, who was frozen by such coldness but still doesn't know where he went wrong.

Bai Hu give Qing Long a sympathetic glance, and then let him hanged to dry on his own without any love from his teammates.

What a joke. Under the freezing air of the boss, who would dare to stand up? Unless that person was tired of living.

"Ah Sheng, these friends of yours are so amazing, the White Tiger, the Azure Dragon, each of them is a legendary beast. Alas, if they can teach us to practice, we will definitely become even more powerful." Yu Jin Li did not feel the cold air radiating from Jiang Mo Sheng at all, and took the other's arm, sharing his findings excitedly.

From the soft little hand resting on his arm, a warm feeling to starts to spread from the place their body were connected, gradually dissipating the cold air radiating from Jiang Mo Sheng's body.

And he finally knew why the little guy was so excited to see these two people.

"They are all ordinary people and don't know how to cultivate. [Bai Hu] and [Qing Long] are just their code names." Jiang Mo Sheng explained to Yu Jin Li in a low voice, for fear that he would really treat each of them as some legendary beasts.

In the first place, the existence of such heaven-defying cultivation technique like that of the little guy’s is extremely rare with a lot to grasp.

"Huh?" When Yu Jin Li heard this, his entire small face collapsed. He had thought that he had met the real Qing Long and Bai Hu, but it turned out to be just a code name.

What a pity.

"Go on." Jiang Mo Sheng saw that the little guy was no longer looking at the two people with fiery eyes. Although his mood was a little disheartened, he was still quite satisfied.

Whenever he saw the little guy looking at other men with those fiery eyes, even if this person is his subordinate, he will suddenly have the urge to kill.

Fortunately, everything is just a misunderstanding.

"My name is Phoenix."

"I am Suzaku."

…

Everyone in the Sacred Beast Team introduced their code names one after another. Since they used their code names on missions and in the army, and rarely mentioned their real names, when they introduce themselves, they would habitually use their code name instead of their real name.

Some people who have been in the army for a long time may not even remember their real names.

“Okay, my name is Yu Jin Li." After listening to all seven self-introductions, Yu Jin Li was a little disappointed, but still cheered up and introduced himself.

“Little Chestnut is my fiancé, and seeing Little Chestnut in the future will be like seeing me." Jiang Mo Sheng dropped a heavy bomb again, and the members of the Sacred Beast Team were stupefied for the ‘nth’ time.

Since the formation of the Sacred Beasts team, the total number of times they are stunned is estimated to be not as much as today. After hearing Jiang Mo Sheng’s claim, the faces and expressions of the seven people, all of whom can withstand even the sights of the most horrendous Zergs, suddenly changed. 

They couldn't believe it and looked at Yu Jin Li. This thin and small boy in front of them turned out to be their boss's fiancé. They heard it right!

Isn’t the boss’s fiancé the one named Yu Jin Sheng? Why did he suddenly change his name? 

In fairness, the members of the Sacred Beasts Team had never regarded Yu Jin Sheng as their boss's fiancé. After all, the boss had never admitted it and their impression of that arrogant and high-profile boy was not very good.

Compared with Yu Jin Sheng, Yu Jin Li is much cuter, especially when he was confirmed by the boss as their sister-in-law. The seven immediately gave a standard military salute and shouted in a loud and respectful voice.

Their boss finally had someone, and they finally have a sister-in-law. They were so excited.

Yu Jin Li was startled by everyone's sudden shout, and his little heart thumped.

“Hey.” Yu Jin Li raised his head and smiled at everyone. Jiang Mo Sheng saw that Yu Jin Li was frightened so he glared at the seven people dissatisfiedly, before smoothly stretching out his hand and patted the scared little guy. With a gentle and careful appearance, he looked at the seven people again.

It was incredible.

The boss unexpectedly has such a side, and sister-in-law is really amazing.

The seven people looked at Yu Jin Li's eyes in admiration.

 

"Boss, is your injury...really healed?" Phoenix asked hesitantly, for fear that she would get an answer she didn't want.

Hearing Phoenix's question, the other immediately returned their eyes to Jiang Mo Sheng, put away their joking attitude, and became serious.

Jiang Mo Sheng's injury is what they are most concerned about.

"It's almost healed." Jiang Mo Sheng replied lightly

When the members of the Sacred Beast Team heard these words, an expression of joy immediately floated across their faces, and their hearts which had been hanging for so long were finally able to fall back into their chest.

It is truly like their boss, who can recover even after suffering such a serious injury. As expected, no one can take away the boss, not even Hades.

No, there is one person who can steal away the boss, and that is their new sister-in-law.

Tsk tsk tsk... They didn't expect to see that one day the boss would introduce a sister-in-law to them, it was incredible.

A few of them had discussed it in private before, thinking that the boss would definitely ends up as an old bachelor. Yet, as it turned out, he has gotten out of being single before any of them.

"Boss, when are you going back to the army?" Qing Long asked

Whenever the boss was not there (in the army), they would feel uncomfortable. They liked the days when the boss took them on missions, which was exciting and refreshing.

“Ah Sheng, are you going to the army?" Yu Jin Li listened obediently and couldn't help asking when he heard those words.

Yu Jin Li still knows what the army was, after all, Jiang Zhen Tao goes to the army every day.

If his golden thigh also went to the army, leaving early and coming back late everyday like Dad does, it would definitely affect his cultivation. He also wouldn’t be able to see his golden thigh, who possessed the golden light of merit, at any time.

Then…he will also go to the army with Ah Sheng!

"I won't go back for now."

The facts are that his body has not completely recovered, and the toxins have not been completely removed. Going back now will only put himself into dangers that may happens at any time. Furthermore, he’s afraid that there are many people who do not want him to return to the army!

Jiang Mo Sheng's eyes became sharp when he thought of those who were likely plotting little schemes behind his back.

"What have you uncovered during this period of time?" Jiang Mo Sheng asked straightforwardly.

The moment when the seven members of the Sacred Beast Team met the Zerg King on their mission, all of them tacitly understood the strangeness of this matter, and, especially after their boss was injured, it made them went on alert. Although they could not come to visit during Jiang Mo Sheng’s recovery period, they were not idle. They were all actively investigating the cause of the Zerg King’s sudden appearance, and, as a result, they really did found some clues.

Bai Hu glanced at Yu Jin Li, hesitating to speak. Although Yu Jin Li is the fiancé recognized by the boss, but this information was still related to the military’s secrets and the boss's safety. Just in case, they did not want an outsider to be there.

However, Jiang Mo Sheng obviously trusted Yu Jin Li, and said clearly: "Just say it directly."

Since the boss of the Sacred Beast Team was so calm and trusting toward Yu Jin Li, Bai Hu no longer concealed it and stated everything he found out through his investigation.

"The sudden appearance of the Zerg King on MB77 was not accidental, and the people behind it are very cunning. When we started to investigate, the other party immediately erased all clues, making the investigation very difficult." Qing Long reported.

"But we are certain that someone in the military wants to get rid of the marshal (JZT) and Boss. They should be aiming directly at the Jiang family." Bai Hu added.

There are many who would wish the for downfall of the Jiang family, and everyone in the Jiang family knows this. Jiang Zhen Tao's health has begun deteriorating a few years ago, and if he dies, then the Jiang family will be finished.

The more power people have in their hands, the greater their ambitions and greed, and the less satisfied they are with their current place. Whether they are aiming at Jiang Zhen Tao or Jiang Mo Sheng, they all want to replace the Jiang family as the First Family.

Therefore, as the only heir of the Jiang family, Jiang Mo Sheng must carry the honor of the Jiang family and prevent the Jiang family from disappearing from Capital Star.

This time he carelessly went to MB77 for the mission, but he didn't expect that the enemy would make such a big move, even using the Zerg King to deal with him. 

If he had died in this war, then that would have been that. But since the heavens had sent Little Chestnut to save him, then he would definitely not let any of those who dare to plot against the Jiang family off.

“Return to the army and continue to investigate in secret. I will be returning after a while." Jiang Mo Sheng ordered.

He hasn't completely repaired his power core, and the toxins have not been removed. He must wait until he has fully recovered before returning.

The members of the Sacred Beast team immediately let out a "Yes" and saluted, accepting the order. There was no discomfort in their eyes, but joy instead.

Their boss is finally all right, and their boss will finally be coming back. The mood of the seven has finally become much easier.

"Do you want to stay here for lunch this afternoon?" Yu Jin Li asked suddenly.

He remembered that whenever guests had come to the house before, his mother would invite them to eat before leaving, so Yu Jin Li also asked.

When Jiang Mo Sheng heard the words, his body paused imperceptibly, and then he glanced indifferently at the seven members of the Sacred Beast Team with an implicit warning.

However, the seven people seemed to be too excited because of the previous news. They did not receive the warning from the boss at all, and wanted to stay here for a little while longer, so they happily accepted the lunch invitation.

In fact, when they came to the Jiang's house before, they would enthusiastically stayed with Aunt Qiao for dinner, so there was no pressure on them.

Only after they nodded their heads, did the seven of them clearly felt that the surrounding temperature had dropped, and a cold wind slowly passed by, causing them shiver involuntarily.

"Okay, then I'll go to the kitchen to see what’s cooking."

It was the first time that Yu Jin Li had invited guests to an at-home lunch, and he was very excited. He got up happily and went down to the kitchen, ready to cook a lot of dishes. After all, there were a lot of guests over for lunch today.

After Yu Jin Li left, Jiang Mo Sheng's freezing aura was on full blast, directed unceremonious at the seven people in front of him. Won’t his little chestnut get tired from cooking for so many people?

These people really don't have any observation skills. After returning, he would increase their training by five times, Jiang Mo Sheng silently decided in his heart.

These poor seven people didn't know it at all. They just had a meal at the Jiang's house, and their training was increased five times for no reason.

On the other side, Yu Jin Li came down the stairs with an obvious smile on his face.

"What are you so happy about, Little Chestnut?" Qiao Mu Lan asked with a smile.

Recently, she had been feeling pretty comfortable. The son that has always worried her the most has finally recovered, and, after the military briefing, the disadvantaged situation of the Jiang family has also been changed. At least, there is no need to worry about the upcoming election. Also, she does not need to be busy like before, being so carefree that her whole person looks ten years younger.

“Mom, Ah Sheng’s subordinates want to stay for lunch, I’m going to the kitchen to see if we have enough ingredients." Yu Jin Li replied with a smile.

“Okay, if it's not enough, tell Sister Li to buy more. You don't have to work too hard. Just let Chef Zheng and them all help you cook, and you can just be there to guide them." Qiao Mu Lan instructed carefully.

There will be the seven members of the Sacred Beast Team, plus her and her son, and Little Chestnut, a total of ten people eating. The amount of cooking was not small, and she doesn't want to make her daughter-in-law exhausted.

"Ok, I got it, mom." Yu Jin Li responded cheerfully, and then went straight into the kitchen.

The Zheng Pei Qi trio were still preparing the ingredients for lunch when they saw Yu Jin Li walked in, their eyes lit up and greeted him in surprise. They were completely conquered by Yu Jin Li's cooking skills, and were looking forward to seeing Yu Jin Li.

One must know that Yu Jin Li usually only enters the kitchen at night, specifically whenever he needs to do a live broadcast, but rarely comes by during the morning or afternoon.

Of course, Yu Jin Li likes cooking, but Jiang Mo Sheng and Qiao Mu Lan both dotes on him too much, so except for the nightly live broadcast, they don't let him enter the kitchen much anymore.

“I’m not live-broadcasting today; today belongs to Ah Sheng’s subordinates who wants to stay here for lunch. So, I came over to see what ingredients can be use." Yu Jin Li said while inspecting the ingredients in the kitchen, before deciding which dishes to cook.     

In regard to the members of the Sacred Beast Team, the Zheng Pei Qi trio were actually quite familiar with them. Hearing that they are going to be staying for lunch, the three skillfully ordered the other servants to bring in more ingredients.     

"Young Mistress***, what do you plan on making for lunch today?" The Zheng Pei Qi trio followed Yu Jin Li around like three little tails.     

When cooking, Yu Jin Li had never hidden his skills from these three people, and sometimes even help guides them, so the three have learned quite a lot of dishes.     

"Um... I think we’ll make (1) Squirrel Mandarin Fish****, (1) Braised Prawns, and (1) Braised Bamboo Shoots... The staple food can be steamed buns and rice." Yu Jin Li named some dishes directly as they came to mind.

Fortunately, this time, the necessary seasonings required for most of these dishes are basically the same, so the dishes he had learned from before can be made. Even if there are some Earth ingredients that were not available here, there were plenty of substitutes, so Yu Jin Li was still very satisfied.     

"I can help make some of the home-styled dishes, Young Mistress, won’t you leave this part to me?" Zheng Pei Qi offered. After all, as Madam (QML) have ordered, the Young Mistress must not be worn out.     

"I can help make the steamed buns and rice, so Young Mistress can just leave that to me." Zhao Fei also hurriedly expressed.     

Now that the other two chefs have claimed their tasks, Qian Lai Duo is naturally not to be outdone.     

This time there were a lot of dishes to be cooked, and Yu Jin Li couldn’t do it all alone. Since there was people enthusiastically asking to share in the burden, he happily nodded.

And so, the Zheng Pei Qi trio rolled up their sleeves and prepared to perform well in front of their Young Mistress. Maybe if the Young Mistress were happy with their performance, he might even teach them some new dishes.

They really didn’t know how the Young Mistress’s food knowledge had come to be, nor could they fathom that there can be so many different kinds of dishes. Even if you let them think about it, it’s doubtful that they can even think up one.

Sure enough, the Young Mistress is truly worthy of being their Young Mistress, they can’t even compare.

============================================

The Sacred Beast Team is named after all the legendary mythical beasts in Chinese mythology:

        1) Bai Hu (White Tiger)

2.     2) Qing Long (Azure Dragon)

3.     3) Feng Huang (Phoenix)

4.     4) Suzaku (Vermillion Bird)

5.     5) Xuan Wu (Black Tortoise)

6.     6) Qilin (Kirin)

7.     7) Qingniao (The three-legged bird; messenger of the gods)

In this magical universe, with demons and gods, presumably all these creatures were real, so our poor baby YJL is confused and thought he had met the real thing.

 

** Koi turning into Dragon: “An ancient tale tells of a huge school of golden Koi swimming upstream the Yellow River in China. Gaining strength by fighting against the current, the school glimmered as they swam together through the river. When they reached a waterfall at the end of the river, many of the Koi turned back, letting the flow of the river carry them away.

The remaining Koi refused to give up. Leaping from the depths of the river, they attempted to reach the top of the waterfall to no avail. Their efforts caught the attention of local demons, who mocked their efforts and heightened the waterfall out of malice.

After a hundred years of jumping, one Koi finally reached the top of the waterfall. The gods recognized the Koi for its perseverance and determination and turned it into a golden dragon, the image of power and strength.”  Pattist, Karen. How a Koi became a Dragon - the Waterfall Legend. 10 May 2015. <https://koiorganisationinternational.org/blog-entry/how-koi-became-dragon-waterfall-legend>.

TLDR: Supposedly a koi can transform into a dragon if it work hard enough (the ole' Magikarp metaphor.) So be like a koi. 

***少夫人, lit. means “Little Madam”: the wife of the Young Master. It’s a bit awkward to address a man as mistress, but it’s the correct terminology. Thankfully, most people just called our cute MC “little chestnut,” so we won’t be seeing much of this later on.

****Squirrel Mandarin Fish: a well-known dish in Jiangsu cuisine, originally from Suzhou. It is prepared by deboning and carving a mandarin fish (also known as Chinese perch) into an ornamental shape similar to a squirrel, and then deep-frying it in batter before dousing it in sweet and sour sauce.

Idk about you, but calling it a squirrel… (^_^;)

Lyrus: Alright! This chapter was quite long, and I had originally thought about dividing this into two parts, but later decided otherwise. I hope this tide you over well until the next update. Thanks for reading. 

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