Chapter 160 The Magic of It All

They walked into the clearing and everyone gasped, including the bodyguards and madame Qin.

It looked like a mystical forest from the fairytales. There were beautiful vibrant flowers of every color and shade you could imagine blues, reds, yellows, purples, orange. They even appeared to have glittering petals. Butterflies gently rested on some of the flowers and fluttered their wings.

There were different shapes and colored glass ornaments hanging from branches. When the sun's rays shone on them it created a live-action art piece on the forest floor. There were even large fake mushrooms with red caps scattered around the trees, giving the whole space a fantasy vibe.

There were ribbons elegantly hanging from tree branches. Rustic birdhouses could be seen in some of the trees, with little birds flying into them and twittering happily.

At one side there were two sets of tables and chairs. One large and the other small. Both sets of furniture were made from intricately carved wood that appeared as if they had grown from the ground. On the tables there was decorative crockery, each had an individual design. The cutlery all had elegant carvings of them of mythical beasts.

Rui Rui gasped: "There's a castle!!!"

At the far end, there was what looked like a large grey castle. Li Xiuying had actually hired a lifelike bouncy castle for the kids to play on. It was hard finding an agency that had something that was realistic enough to fit in with the scenery.

Lee HuiQing: "Rabbits."

Lastly, there was an area that had an uneven log fence. Inside that area, there were rabbits, chicks, ducklings, lambs and even 2 crias.

Madame Qin was astounded at the amount of work Li Xiuying had put in. Even as an adult she couldn't help but be taken in by the magic of it all.

Little 4th's eyes darted around in wonder.

He walked over to Li Xiuying put his forehead against her thighs and with all the feelings he could muster said: "Thank you, big sister YingYing."

Li Xiuying had changed back to her silk gloves, gently patted little 4th's head.

Li Xiuying: "Eat First?"

Qin Jie: "Finally, I'm starving."

The children reluctantly nodded as their eyes still looked longingly at the castle and the animals.

Madame Qin: "Everyone, wash your hands."

Caretaker: "There is water for washing up in one of the stumps by the stable a drinks in the other. I will take my leave back to the cars now. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you require anything else. Remember children, you have to believe in order to fully see everything."

Li Xiuying started taking out the items from the picnic baskets. She took out multiple storage containers, thermoses, and boxes.

She then handed some of the thermoses, containers, and boxes to He Bo: "Other table."

He Bo placed everything on the table and came back.

Li Xiuying frowned: "Your table."

Madame Qin: "Let's all eat together. He Bo you and the others can all relax at the other table and eat in peace. There isn't too much for you to worry about for the time being."

The guards were taken aback, they had never eaten with the family before. When they regained their senses they went and sat down at their designated table.

Li Xiuying started opening the containers just as a light breeze wafted over. The smell of the food instantly made everyone salivate.

Gou Sheng's stomach even rumbled.

Li Xiuying finished displaying everything and stated the names of each dish as she pointed at them: " Boiled mutton soup, buddha jumps over the wall, sweet and sour soup, fung Jeow, fried beef Cheung Fun, Jiaozi, vegetable spring rolls, stuffed aubergine, salt and pepper squid, qīngzhēng lúyú, chili garlic noodles, stir-fried tofu and rice, plain rice, cucumber salad, green beans. Deserts later."

Li Xiuying: "Madame Qin, elders first."

Madame Qin woke for her stupor and began to reach over for the general cutlery to spoon things on to her plate. Soon the others followed suit. Everyone's hands moved in a blur as they reach for every dish they could. No one at the table even dreamed about being picky. For example, even the highly selective Qin Jie who hated seafood was eating squid with a look of ecstasy or even Jun Wen who refused to eat vegetables on any other day was eating a vegetable spring roll whilst guarding another two on his plate.

The bodyguards at the table were worse, they had chopsticks in one hand and forks of food in the other wishing that they had 2 mouths, four stomachs and 8 arms.

Li Xiuying was the only one eating slowly and calmly, there was joy in her eyes as she watched the antics of the people around her.

The food was finished in no time and everyone reclined in their chairs.

Madame Qin: "Everything was so delicious. Which restaurant did you go to? Why haven't I heard of it before?"

Li Xiuying: "No restaurant."

Madame Qin: "What do you mean?"

Qin Jie: "You actually cooked all of this?!"

The bodyguards all looked over and felt even more grateful towards Li Xiuying for having gone to so much effort for them. They all secretly prayed that when Li Xiuying took little 4th out they would be the one to go with him and have a chance to eat Li Xiuying's cooking again. One of the guards went as far as to wish the others caught a cold on the next outing.

Li Xiuying nodded expressionlessly. 'I didn't do anything special. I watched a video and then copied the video.' She didn't realize that it wasn't as easy for others to simply watch and achieve the wanted dish with one or two attempts.

Little 4th gloated to the side 'Why do you all look so shocked? Whose big sister do you think she is? There's nothing that she can't do hmph.'

Li Xiuying: "Desert later. 10 minutes rest then Go play." All the children had small protruding bellies and looked like little piglets.

Li Xiuying sipped some sweet and sour soup from a bowl as she watched the children, behave and play like children.

....

Zhou FengMian was on the phone: "Are you sure that's the best one? I'm not questioning you at all, I just want to be clear on the plan."

Male voice: "Yes, if you doubt me you can find someone else."

Zhou FengMian: "I'm just being cautious. I've recieved a message with their exact location apparently the area is even tapped off with guards."

Male Voice: "People can be very flexible and money will usually make them into gymnasts."

Zhou FengMian: "I'm heading over there now with my niece."

Male voice: "I'll do my job. You do whatever you want." He hung up.

Zhou FengMian spoke to her niece: "Lee HuiQing will be there at this little party."

Zhou Suyin's eyes glittered: "Really?"

Zhou FengMian: "He He isn't auntie great. See I knew you wanted to see him and managed to arrange a little date."

Zhou Suyin asked shyly: "Do you think he'll be happy to see me?"

Zhou FengMian: "Of course he will. Who wouldn't be happy to see our family's beautiful Suyin'er."

Zhou Suyin: "But he didn't talk much to me at the big ball."

Zhou FengMian: "Suyin'er auntie will give you some good advice. Sometimes boys are shy and scared of their feelings so they pretend to be cold and detached. When they see that their little love gives them time and attention they slowly melt and tell you how they really feel. So you have to be persistent."

Zhou Suyin nodded: "Uhn."

Zhou FengMian: "Look at me and your future uncle. He pretends to be cold but he is still giving auntie everything. He messages me every night. He makes time for me every day. He gets me anything I ask for and doesn't even look at the price."

Zhou Suyin: "Uncle treats you really well, even though daddy says he loves me the most he always puts a limit to how many toys I can have and how much I can spend. I want Lee HuiQing to treat me the same as uncle Qin treats you."

Zhou FengMian: "You always have to remember that you are the best, there isn't anyone who can compare to our little Suyin'er so how can someone not like you?"

Zhou Suyin nodded: "Yes auntie."

Zhou FengMian continued to impart her words of questionable wisdom to her impressionable niece as they drove to the national park.  baby alpaca'sshark fin soupchicken feetBeef wrapped in rice noodlesDumplingswith shrimp pasteBroth steamed bass