"Exactly! Grandpa's wine is just too delicious!" The Seven Fairies nodded one after another.
"Do you like drinking it?"
"We do!"
"If you like it, then come over often from now on! Hahaha!" Zhang Yifan laughed heartily.
"Of course we will. Heeheehee." The Seven Fairies beamed. There was no way they would not start living here after this!
"Come on, eat some food."
Zhang Yifan urged everyone to dig in.
"Let me try this." The Third Fairy picked up an egg with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth.
The moment the egg entered her mouth, the Third Fairy's eyes widened, shining brightly.
Then, without the slightest concern for her ladylike image, she began picking up eggs with her chopsticks like a chick pecking at grain, tapping away rapidly. Even when her mouth was too full, she kept stuffing more in.
Seeing Third Sister eating like that, how could the other six fairy princesses possibly wait? They all began fighting over the dishes as well.
"Hey, slow down while you eat!"
Seeing her granddaughters snatching food as if they had not eaten for days, Zhang Yifan urged them to slow down, afraid they might choke.
But how could the group of fairies hear him now?
At that moment, all they could see was the food on the table!
Seeing how unreservedly his daughters were eating, the Jade Emperor's mouth twitched. He immediately picked up his chopsticks and joined the battle.
The Queen Mother was no less enthusiastic. Her chopsticks swished through the dishes like sword shadows, moving as fast as a machine gun. All that could be seen were afterimages.
My goodness!
In the night breeze, Zhang Yifan was a little bewildered.
No way.
What is going on?
Why does everyone look like starving ghosts just because they're eating a meal?
Could it be that they haven't eaten in months?
Why are they all fighting over the food?
Look at this daughter-in-law of his, the Queen Mother. Why was she still licking the plate? She had cleaned it more thoroughly than if it had been washed! This appearance was completely at odds with the bearing she had possessed when he first saw her.
And those seven beautiful granddaughters—why were they all copying their mother? They were licking their plates too, sticking their tongues out so far that they were even licking their sisters' plates.
One obedient granddaughter had actually gone to lick the soup spilled on the table, taking one lick after another with her tiny tongue.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. This scene was simply unbearable to look at.
Still, it was a good thing. He could save some effort washing dishes that night.
Bah!
If he did not wash them thoroughly, would the plates not be covered in the saliva of that mother-and-daughter group?
In less than two minutes, a whole table full of dishes had been snatched clean by the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother, the Seven Fairies, and the others.
Not even a scrap of food was left.
"Ugh." Seeing this scene, Zhang Yifan could not help sighing.
"What's wrong, Father?" The Jade Emperor was still savoring the meal. He believed that after eating two more meals, his cultivation would definitely break through to the late Quasi-Saint stage. He was incredibly excited.
"What's wrong? Stand up."
Zhang Yifan's eyes held anger as he pointed at the Jade Emperor and ordered him to stand.
The Jade Emperor stood up upon hearing him.
The moment he rose, Zhang Yifan kicked him over.
That kick was no joke. It sent the Jade Emperor sprawling face-first into the ground.
The Jade Emperor was somewhat dazed. He thought Zhang Yifan was angry because he had eaten too quickly and had not left him anything.
"I'm sorry, Father. I ate too quickly just now and didn't leave you anything."
"You didn't leave me anything? Is that the reason?"
"Then what's wrong, Father?"
"What do you mean, what's wrong? What kind of husband are you, anyway? And what kind of father are you? Look at what you've reduced your wife and daughters to! You've starved them half to death!"
Zhang Yifan's anger did not lessen. Pointing at the Jade Emperor's nose, he scolded, "Look how hungry they are! They look like starving ghosts who haven't eaten in months. Are you that poor? Can't you even afford to feed them? Huh?"
"Well, this is..."
The Jade Emperor did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had thought the old man was furious over something serious.
It turned out that the Queen Mother and the girls' ravenous eating had made Zhang Yifan believe they usually had nothing to eat.
What a joke!
How could the dignified Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor's daughters possibly go hungry?
They could have anything they wanted!
But no matter how delicious the delicacies of the Heavenly Court were, they still could not compare to the scraps in the old man's bowls!
The Queen Mother and the fairies had been startled at first, but after hearing Zhang Yifan say this, they relaxed. Their hearts also grew warmer.
So Grandpa is worried about us!
Seeing the dignified Heavenly Emperor, Haotian Shangdi, kicked to the ground by Zhang Yifan and scolded while having a finger pointed at his nose, the Seven Fairies could not help covering their mouths and giggling.
This heartwarming scene had never been witnessed in a million years.
"Father, you've misunderstood."
"That's right, Grandpa, you've misunderstood."
The Queen Mother and the fairies also hurried forward to persuade him.
"Grandpa's food is just too delicious, too tasty! We start salivating as soon as we smell it, and once we start eating, we simply can't stop. Our hands and feet just won't listen to us—they keep reaching for more."
The Seven Fairies hurried to help their imperial father, the Jade Emperor, out of trouble.
"That's right, Father. It really is too delicious. Your cooking is amazing, so we couldn't help ourselves and couldn't stop." The Queen Mother echoed them.
"Really?"
"Really!"
"That's good." Only then did Zhang Yifan's anger subside. He pointed at the Jade Emperor and told his granddaughters, "If your father ever fails to let you eat your fill or drink enough, tell your grandfather. I'll tan his backside!"
"All right, Grandpa! Heeheehee!"
The Seven Fairies giggled happily.
Only the Jade Emperor stood in the night breeze, utterly bewildered.
Who am I? Where am I? Am I still the Jade Emperor? Do I have any dignity left as the Heavenly Emperor? The Jade Emperor felt like crying without tears.
Afterward, Zhang Yifan cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, then went to cook a few more small dishes.
This time, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother behaved themselves.
The fairies did not eat any more either. They all knew that those were snacks to go with Grandpa's wine and that they could not snatch them away again.
The Seven Fairy Princesses ran beneath the large tree in the courtyard to play with the birds.
Yes, that was right—they went to tease the birds~
Chapter 8: In the Heavenly Court, Even Saints Must Not Act Recklessly
After dinner, the family chatted for a while.
Then Zhang Yifan went to heat some water.
After so many years, he had long grown accustomed to rising early and going to bed early.
At this hour, it was just about time to bathe, wash his feet, and go to sleep.
Zhang Yifan's courtyard was not small, but it was not large either, and there were not enough rooms.
Looking at his seven granddaughters, as well as his son and daughter-in-law, Zhang Yifan felt troubled.
"The house is a little small. Tonight, the granddaughters will have to squeeze into two beds."
"Don't worry, Grandpa. We usually like sleeping together anyway. Sisters, isn't that right?" The Eldest Fairy, Princess Tianshou, immediately stepped forward to smooth things over.
"That's right, that's right, Grandpa. We've endured all kinds of hardships before. Sleeping together will only strengthen our sisterly bond." Several of the fairy princesses echoed her.
Seeing that his daughters, who were usually the pickiest, were saying this, the Jade Emperor secretly admired them. His father was truly impressive—he had brought those little girls completely under control.
In the past, if there had only been one bed, those seven girls would surely have fought fiercely. Whoever won would get to sleep on the bed.
"Father, don't worry. After a while, I'll bring some people over to build a few more houses. Then there will be enough room for everyone to stay." Seeing his chance, the Jade Emperor also spoke up and took responsibility for expanding the house.
What a joke.
How could he miss such a great opportunity?
If he brought people over to build houses, would they not need to eat?
And eating would increase their cultivation.
The heavenly gods would fight tooth and nail for this job.
"All right. Although I've gotten used to living freely these past few years and don't have much money, take these one hundred taels of gold for now. We can't let our construction-worker brothers suffer." Seeing the Jade Emperor agree, Zhang Yifan did not stand on ceremony. He went into the back room, brought out one hundred taels of gold, and handed it to him.
"Oh, wow, Old Father, you're quite rich."
The Jade Emperor accepted the hundred taels of gold and could not help feeling surprised. Who would have thought? His father lived in a modest rural courtyard and looked like a poor farmer, yet he was unexpectedly wealthy, casually handing over a hundred taels of gold.
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