Chapter 301 — Xinxin's Bias

"Ha..." Wei Zhao had long since guessed Guan Xin's motive. Guan Xuewen had praised his granddaughter to Wei Zhao more than once, describing her as a girl of surpassing culinary skill and refined, sensible character, and Wei Zhao naturally understood the old man's intentions.

And since Guan Xuewen had said such things to Wei Zhao, he must have said similar things to Guan Xin at home as well, so her resistance was only natural. Any girl suddenly told that a talented young man would be coming to call and that she should get to know him would be less than pleased.

"You—" Guan Xuewen was beside himself with anger. For the first time, his granddaughter had made him lose face. "Wei Zhao is my guest, no matter how you look at it. How could you do such a thing? It's only because you two already knew each other that this can be smoothed over. If he had been a stranger, he would probably have stormed out by now! What kind of dinner invitation is this? You were practically trying to poison him!"

"I'm sorry, Grandpa..." Guan Xin lowered her head. Only now did she feel she had gone a bit too far. She hadn't thought much of it before—she had simply wanted that talented young man to leave as soon as possible. Only now did it occur to her: if things had really turned out that way, where would Grandpa have put his face?

"Ha ha, it's nothing, Grandpa Guan. Don't blame Guan Xin," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "To be honest, when you kept telling me how wonderful your granddaughter was, I was a little afraid to come calling myself. It's only natural that Guan Xin would feel something similar."

"Is that so? Then you're saying I, old man that I am, was *worrying* too much?" Guan Xuewen thought it over; it did seem he had been a bit hasty about the whole matter. He shook his head. "All right, then. Have Auntie Liu whip up a few simple dishes!"

"Let me do it..." Guan Xin rose from her seat, a little embarrassed...

The dishes on the table were all cleared away. It was a bit of a pity, but they truly were not the sort of thing a normal person could eat. Wei Zhao steered the conversation toward medicine, and Guan Xuewen soon forgot his earlier displeasure, animatedly discussing medicinal formulas with Wei Zhao...

By the time Guan Xin carried several plates of steaming dishes to the table, Guan Xuewen had completely forgotten what had happened before. "Xinxin, come pour Grandpa some wine!"

"Okay..." Guan Xin glanced at Wei Zhao, a flicker of doubt in her heart. This man was remarkable, wasn't he? Not only was he highly skilled in martial arts, but he also understood medicine? To earn such admiration from Grandpa was no easy feat!

The dishes Guan Xin cooked afterward were quite ordinary: scrambled eggs with scallions, a stir-fry of mushrooms, a quick-sautéed tofu, a plate of smashed cucumber salad, and a bowl of hot-and-sour egg soup, all brought to the table steaming hot.

Four perfectly ordinary home-style dishes and one utterly common soup—yet in Guan Xin's hands they had been prepared so that color and aroma alike were complete.

"This time, try them again..." Guan Xin poured her grandfather his wine, then said to Wei Zhao, a little embarrassed.

Wei Zhao nodded and picked up a bite of the mushroom stir-fry—then let out a "Hm?" He thought to himself, *She's actually caught up to my own level?*

"How is it?" Hearing Wei Zhao's "Hm?", Guan Xin could not tell whether it was good or bad. She watched him nervously, waiting for his answer. But for these few home-style dishes, she had already given everything she had, pushing her little kitchen-goddess skills to their absolute limit.

"I never would have thought home-style cooking could taste this good!" Wei Zhao said in praise. Back home, Old Man Wei often praised him in just the same way...

"Then... have some more!" Guan Xin was a little delighted and smiled with pursed lips. "Try the others too..."

"All right." Wei Zhao nodded, took a few more bites from the other dishes and put them in his mouth, nodding repeatedly. "Grandpa Guan, only now do I realize that what you said before was no exaggeration—Guan Xin really is a little kitchen goddess!"

"Isn't she!" Guan Xuewen nodded. "Well? If you want to eat like this in the future, you'll have to come here often as a guest!"

"No problem." Wei Zhao nodded readily.

Guan Xuewen tasted the dishes Guan Xin had just cooked. At the first bite, however, he frowned. "Xinxin, you're showing favoritism, aren't you? I've had these dishes before—why don't they taste as good as they do today? It seems that with Wei Zhao here, the treatment is different. You've gone straight from poisoned dishes to delicacies even your grandfather has never tasted..."

"Grandpa..." Guan Xin was a little embarrassed by Guan Xuewen's words.

"Ha ha, Xiaoyi, it seems you'll have to come often. This old man will be enjoying fine food right along with you!" Guan Xuewen said with a laugh.

"I'll definitely come often..." Wei Zhao nodded. Apart from accepting Guan Xuewen's invitation, his main reason for coming this time was to discuss with Guan Xuewen the matter of starting a pharmaceutical company. If it was truly settled, then in the future he would inevitably be visiting Guan Xuewen often.

Guan Xin, however, felt embarrassed. She glanced at Wei Zhao, both pleasantly surprised and a little bewildered... It seemed she had another chance? If he came to the house often, then surely the relationship between the two of them would advance further. But... was this the right thing to do?

After the meal, Guan Xin went to clear the dishes, while Wei Zhao and Guan Xuewen headed upstairs to the latter's study.

Once the study door was shut, Wei Zhao's expression turned serious again. "Grandpa Guan, the real reason I came this time is that there's an important matter I'd like to discuss with you."

"Oh? What matter?" Guan Xuewen was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Wei Zhao to have something to consult him about; originally, Guan Xuewen had intended to discuss the condition of Liu Tianyi's father, Liu Zhenhu, with Wei Zhao.

Guan Xuewen could only barely keep Liu Zhenhu's angina under control; curing it was out of the question. That was why he had wanted to talk things over with Wei Zhao, to see whether some better approach might be found.

But since Wei Zhao had business of his own, that business should come first.

"Grandpa Guan, I want to found a pharmaceutical company and sell some traditional Chinese patent medicines," Wei Zhao said, coming straight to the point. "I'd like to borrow the name of you and Dr. Guan."

"Oh? You want to start a pharmaceutical company?" Guan Xuewen was startled, though he paid little mind to the latter remark about borrowing his name. "There are plenty of pharmaceutical companies in the country these days. Without some truly remarkable, marketable drug to offer, merely leaning on my reputation won't accomplish much..."

"Divine Doctor Kang built himself into one of the nation's top pharmaceutical companies on the strength of a single Golden Wound Medicine. Why can't we do the same?" Wei Zhao smiled indifferently. "He has his Golden Wound Medicine; we can make a Rejuvenation Pill, a Blood-Staunching Powder—after all, martial arts novels are full of names like that. You can scoop up a whole handful at once."

"Oh?" Guan Xuewen was taken aback. "You have the formula for the Golden Wound Medicine?"

"I still haven't seen what his Golden Wound Medicine actually is, but I do have formulas with similar effects, and they won't be any less effective than his!" Wei Zhao said.