Chapter 17: An Unexpected Invitation

  The next day, Xiao Ping took the ginseng out with him. In order to sell it for a good price, Xiao Ping carefully washed the three pieces of ginseng and put each one in a box. Now, no matter what, packaging is important, and even if he can sell it for a few hundred yuan more, it's worth the effort.

  Xiao Ping had just left the door for a short while when someone called him. Recently, many people have been calling Xiao Ping to book vegetables, so he didn't pay much attention and answered the phone casually: "Hello, I'm Xiao Ping, what's up?"

  A soft and sweet voice came from the other end of the phone: "Uncle Xiao, it's Momo!"

  Xiao Ping hadn't reacted at first, but he quickly remembered the delicate little girl and hurriedly smiled: "Oh, it's you, Momo! Has your grandfather's illness improved?"

  "Grandpa ate your medicine and is all better now." The little girl seemed very happy when she said this, but soon became sullen and said: "Uncle, you lied to me. You promised to come see Momo, why haven't you come?"

  The little girl's complaint made Xiao Ping sweat profusely. He remembered that at the time, he indeed told Zhang Jiaman that he would go see her later, but it was just to make the little girl happy and he didn't think she would take it seriously. Xiao Ping awkwardly laughed a few times and finally found an excuse: "Hehe, Uncle has been too busy with work recently, really no time to visit you, sorry!"

  "It's okay, mom is always busy with work and doesn't have much time to spend with me." The little girl's casual words made Xiao Ping's heart ache, but she quickly filled with hope again and asked: "But today is Saturday, do you have time, uncle? Come visit my home!"

  Xiao Ping felt somewhat embarrassed.

  To be honest, he had a good impression of Zhang Jiaman, that sensible and lovely little girl, but her mother, who thought everyone had ulterior motives, was really unbearable. Xiao Ping had already made it clear to Zhang Yuxin that he wouldn't go disturb her and her family, so wasn't going over as a guest just a few days later equivalent to slapping himself in the face?

  Just as Xiao Ping was hesitating, a gentle yet authoritative voice came from the other end of the phone: "Is this Xiao Ping? Hello, I'm Zhang Guoquan. Last time, I owe you one for saving me, thank you so much!"

  Knowing that the other party was the old man he had saved, Xiao Ping humbly said: "You don't have to be polite, I just happened to lend a hand, it's nothing big."

  "Haha, it may be so for you, but for me, it's a matter of life and death." Zhang Guoquan laughed loudly: "Actually, I've been wanting to come and thank you in person, but I didn't know your address, so I took the liberty of calling you to invite you over. If you feel inconvenient, just give me an address and I'll come visit instead."

  Zhang Guoquan's sincere tone made Xiao Ping feel embarrassed to refuse again. Xiao Ping was a person who would return respect with even more respect, and after a moment of contemplation, he said: "You're older now, so I'll go visit you instead, and also take a look at Little Mengmeng, or else she'll say I'm cheating her."

  "Haha, it's settled then. My home address is 98 Xinhui Road, you can come over now and have lunch." Zhang Guoquan casually gave out his own address and chatted with Xiao Ping for a few more sentences before hanging up the phone.

  Xin Hui Road is a quiet alley in the city center, where only the rich and powerful can live. However, thinking that Zhang Yuxin could find the director of the municipal bureau to help him out, Xiao Ping felt that it was normal for Zhang Guoquan to live there too. He wasn't someone who paid much attention to politics, and even now he didn't know that the old man he had saved was a vice provincial governor.

  Xiao Ping was more concerned about how much money the three ginseng in the bag could sell for, but after glancing at the time on his phone, he had to change his schedule and head to Zhang Guoquan's house first before going to the Chinese medicine store in the afternoon.

  More than half an hour later, Xiao Ping arrived at No. 98 Xinhui Road. This is a three-story small villa with an independent garden, obviously built by foreigners before liberation. At present, such a house located in the city center is worth at least several million yuan, making Xiao Ping very envious and wondering when he can afford to buy such a house.

  Xiao Ping rang the doorbell for a while, and then the nanny came to open the door. Zhang Jiameng followed behind the nanny, smiling and running towards Xiao Ping. The little girl was very affectionate towards Uncle Xiao who had saved her grandfather, opening her arms to be hugged. As soon as Xiao Ping picked up the little girl, he saw Zhang Guoquan also walking out in big strides to greet him.

  Zhang Guoquan's spirit is now vigorous and radiant, completely different from his weak and feeble appearance last time. He walked quickly to Xiao Ping's front, laughing loudly: "Little Xiao has arrived, you are my lifesaver, welcome, welcome!"

  Xiao Ping hastily humbled himself and said: "Uncle Zhang, you're too polite, I don't dare to be considered a lifesaver."

  Zhang Guoquan heard Xiao Ping's address to himself and raised an eyebrow, unexpectedly asking: "What did you call me?"

  "Uncle Zhang, what's wrong?" Xiao Ping asked back with some confusion. Actually, he was originally going to call him Mr. Zhang, but seeing how enthusiastic Zhang Guoquan was, he felt that calling him "Mr." seemed too formal. Since Zhang Guoquan and Liu Jianguo were about the same age, he simply called him "Uncle".

  Zhang Guoquan stared at Xiao Ping for half a second, finding him calm and composed, so he also smiled and nodded: "Call me uncle, it's more intimate, come on, sit inside!"

  The decorations and furniture in the foreign-style house were not as luxurious as Xiao Ping had imagined, but rather seemed somewhat outdated. Zhang Guoquan was warm and natural, and Xiao Ping quickly put aside his awkwardness, chatting and laughing with him about family matters. Zhang Guoquan didn't ask Xiao Ping about his work, nor did Xiao Ping care what he did, the two of them got along quite well.

  It wasn't long before the housekeeper said it was time to eat, and several people came to the dining room together. The dishes were all made very delicately, and the meat and vegetarian dishes were matched with balanced nutrition.

  Zhang Guoquan smiled and greeted Xiao Ping: "Sit down, don't be polite. I didn't know you were coming beforehand, so they're all just home-cooked dishes, don't mind."

  "Uncle Zhang, you're too polite, it's already very sumptuous." Xiao Ping said as he sat down, just about to pick up his chopsticks when he saw Zhang Yuxin hurry in.

  Maybe it was because she was at home, but today Zhang Yuxin wore a relatively casual dress. The fitted dress showed off Zhang Yuxin's curvy figure perfectly and made her look several years younger. Her originally tied-up hair was now loose on her shoulders, adding to her feminine charm. In short, in Xiao Ping's eyes, the current Zhang Yuxin looked much more pleasing than she did that day at the police station.

  "I'm starving, Dad, is dinner ready?" Zhang Yuxin had no idea there was a guest at home and walked into the dining room while talking, still rubbing her flat stomach in an unflattering manner. However, she soon saw Xiao Ping and after a slight pause, frowned in dissatisfaction.

  Xiao Ping took in Zhang Yu Xin's expression, knowing she must have thought he came to her on his own initiative, which is why she looked so unhappy. But Xiao Ping didn't care what Zhang Yu Xin thought, and simply ignored her angry expression.

  "Yu Xin, this is Xiao Ping. He's the one who saved me that day." Zhang Guoquan didn't notice his daughter's expression and smiled as he introduced them: "Xiao Xiao, this is my daughter Zhang Yu Xin."

  "Hello, thank you for saving my father." Zhang Yuxin greeted Xiao Ping calmly, then sat down beside her daughter.

  Seeing Zhang Yuxin pretending not to recognize him, Xiao Ping knew she hadn't told Zhang Guoquan about what happened at the police station. So he also pretended it was their first meeting and said: "Miss Zhang, hello."

  Zhang Yuxin also secretly let out a breath of relief because Xiao Ping didn't expose her, and she glanced at him with a thought in her mind: "Hmph, good for you that you know what's good for you!"

  Because of Zhang Yuxin's presence, Xiao Ping spoke much less during dinner. After the meal, Zhang Guoquan wanted to keep Xiao Ping for a while longer, but he excused himself citing an afternoon engagement.

  Xiao Ping's attitude was firm, and Zhang Guoquan didn't insist on keeping him. He only reminded him: "Remember the phone number I gave you earlier, call me when you have time to chat, and it would be even better if you can come visit Momo often."

  Zhang Jiaman also reminded Xiao Ping with anticipation: "Yes, Uncle Xiao, remember to visit me often!"

  "I will." Xiao Ping smiled and agreed, suddenly slapping his forehead and exclaiming, "Ah, I almost forgot about this!"

  Zhang Yuxin had always suspected that Xiao Ping was up to something, and seeing this, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart: "Hmph, the fox's tail has finally been exposed, let's see what kind of tricks you can come up with!"

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  "Thanks to readers "I am Xiaobai 555", ""Grey dusk"" for the reward. Your support is my motivation, thank you. PS: Brother Xiaobai, the pressure of updating 12,000 words is really unbearable... The hippocampus can only watch and drool."