Qi Chu

Mr. Mengfei drove Su Ziyang and Fairy Li to a relatively upscale residential area.

The three of them then arrived at an apartment building on the third floor. Before Mr. Mengfei could even knock, a middle-aged man pushed the door open and came out.

The man was taken aback when he saw Mr. Mengfei, then his face lit up with joy. "Mengfei!!! Oh my! No wonder the magpies were chirping so early in the morning! You've come! Quick, quick, come inside, come inside."

While this person was being polite to Mr. Mengfei, Su Ziyang carefully sized up this middle-aged man who was about the same age as his master.

He was about 1.75 meters tall, with a parted hairstyle typical of the 80s and 90s, and wore clothes made of linen.

The person has very large eyes, but what's really unusual about their eyes is that one eyelid is single and the other is double.

Su Ziyang, due to his professional habits, was naturally quite observant of people. This person's eyes were large, dark, and bright, with one eyelid being single and the other double, making him even more noticeable.

The man, noticing Su Ziyang scrutinizing him, Su Ziyang and asked, "Mengfei, who is this young man?"

"Let me introduce you. This is my apprentice, Su Ziyang, and that girl is my apprentice's fiancée, Li Zijun."

"Zijun, Ziyang. This is my good friend, Qi Chu. You can respect him and just call him Brother Chu!"

Mr. Mengfei introduced that Su Ziyang and Fairy Li quickly greeted Qi Chu.

"Quickly, sit down and talk. I just made some rock sugar pear soup, everyone have some! I'll go get some!"

Su Ziyang couldn't see anything different about Qi Chu; in fact, Su Ziyang thought Qi Chu was just an ordinary person. But Su Ziyang knew that no one who was with Mr. Mengfei was an ordinary person.

The most terrifying people are those who appear no different from ordinary people, yet possess an inner radiance.

This is the best explanation of the phrase "blending in with the world".

Qi Chu brought over a bowl of rock sugar pear water, gave one bowl to each person, and then stopped talking, simply drinking the pear water in his hand.

"Brother Chu, you know why I brought my little apprentice with me this time, right? Hahaha!"

Seeing that Qi Chu remained silent, Mr. Mengfei lowered his head, took a couple of sips of pear juice, and then chuckled.

"Okay. Let's have a meal at home and then leave?"

Qi Chu nodded.

Su Ziyang was a busybody and couldn't keep things to himself. He was about to ask what the two were talking about when Fairy Li gently tugged at his sleeve and stopped him.

Qi Chu's house is very large, about 200 square meters, but only Qi Chu lives there.

"I'm so glad you're here! Let's have hot pot for lunch! I'll order a few pounds of lamb and have it delivered. Then we'll finish all the vegetables in the fridge."

After opening Qi Chu's large four-door refrigerator, various kinds of food were revealed.

All four of them got to work, washing and preparing the vegetables.

Soon, all sorts of dishes were laid out on the table. Qi Chu's dining table was very large, and the table was filled with food.

The mutton arrived just then. Qi Chu ordered six jin of mutton rolls, along with some lungs and tripe...

I'll make a hot pot base!

When people eat hot pot at home, they usually buy ready-made hot pot base. This is the first time Su Ziyang has ever made his own hot pot base.

Qi Chu's hot pot base is also very simple: two sections of scallion whites, five cloves of garlic, five slices of ginger, and a little soybean oil.

Heat the pan with cold oil, and soon the aroma of scallions, ginger, and garlic fills the air. Then Qi Chu adds bay leaves, cardamom, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, nutmeg...

Su Ziyang ate the Qi Chu brand clear broth hot pot base in one go.

It smells wonderful...

Qi Chu didn't say much, he just kept his head down, kept putting in the mutton, and then ate his meal.

After taking a couple of bites of mutton, Mr. Mengfei looked at Qi Chu with a smile and said, "Brother Chu, I brought my little apprentice with me this time. What do you think about the arrangements?"

"Alright, let's go to the mine first. Yunqi and broaden the horizons of the younger generation."

Qi Chu made himself a bowl of mutton and took a couple of sips of wine. "But no matter what, we have to eat our fill before we go."

"You two little ones, don't be shy. Eat as much as you want. I'll only be happy if you finish everything on this table."

Qi Chu spoke, he took a bowl of enoki mushrooms mixed with lamb rolls and poured it into the pot.

"Don't worry about not having enough to eat, I have two plates of black-boned chicken in the fridge. We'll take them out and eat them in a bit! Eat up!"

Su Ziyang has developed a very large appetite due to his physical conditioning over the past two years.

Fairy Li is a complete foodie, and she keeps swinging her chopsticks around wildly.

Qi Chu was even more ferocious, always finishing a large bowl of mutton slices in two bites.

Mr. Mengfei, on the other hand, ate a little of each dish and then put down his chopsticks.

Seeing that Mr. Mengfei had put down his chopsticks, Qi Chu didn't say anything, but simply lowered his head and continued eating.

Su Ziyang had initially thought that the table was overflowing with food and that the group of people wouldn't be able to finish it all.

The food was completely devoured, including the two plates of black-boned chicken in Qi Chu's refrigerator.

After a satisfying meal, Su Ziyang and Fairy Li helped Qi Chu tidy up a bit, and then the group started drinking tea to aid digestion.

"Mengfei, how Yunqi you're so lucky? You've really struck gold with this young man."

Qi Chu began praising Su Ziyang Su Ziyang in front of him.

This made Su Ziyang feel quite embarrassed.

"Hey, I was Yunqi. It's all thanks to these old friends guiding me; I couldn't possibly teach them all that comprehensively on my own."

Mr. Mengfei took a sip of tea and spoke softly, but he couldn't hide the pride on his face.

"Tch, you're getting all worked up just because I said you're fat!"

Qi Chu rolled her eyes at Mr. Mengfei, then put down her teacup.

"Brother Chu never praises people, but since you've praised me, I have to accept it. I recently learned a saying: if someone gives you face, you have to accept it. Especially since it's Brother Chu."

After Mr. Mengfei finished speaking, his expression became even more smug.

Su Ziyang sat quietly to the side, drinking tea. He couldn't get a word in edgewise as the two talked.

Qi Chu is the person Su Ziyang has found most unfathomable since he began studying under Mr. Mengfei.

Having encountered various experts before, Su Ziyang could discern some clues about them to varying degrees. However, he had not discovered anything about Qi Chu, the Su Ziyang in front of him, from the moment he entered the room until now.

Su Ziyang took a sip of tea, glanced at Fairy Li, hoping to glean some useful information from Fairy Li.

Finding no trace of Fairy Li, who was simply drinking her tea with her head down and making no eye contact with him, Su Ziyang was quite surprised.

Mr. Mengfei and Qi Chu chatted casually.

"Mengfei, let me make this clear first: it's good to broaden your horizons, but whether you'll truly gain any is another matter. After all, some things depend on Yunqi!"

"Hahaha. I don't believe the word 'Yunqi' even exists with you, Brother Chu. If it were Yunqi, I wouldn't have come to you!"

Their conversation left Su Ziyang, who was already somewhat confused, even more bewildered.