Chapter 5009 — Steward Wu
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Not bad, not bad. Uncle Wu, you have turned into quite the connoisseur of hit shows. From now on, I will know exactly who to ask about these things!" Ying Ziyu said approvingly.
"First it is Grandpa Wu, then Uncle Wu—tell me, could you not address me like a normal person? We are of the same generation, after all. Would it kill you to call me Brother Wu?" Wu Chengtian said helplessly.
At that, Ying Ziyu suddenly set down her snacks and sat up straight. She looked him in the eye with a solemn expression and nodded. "It would."
"..." Wu Chengtian was utterly at a loss for words. He could only pinch his nose and accept his fate, then asked instead, "Why are you back today? Is it the weekend again already?"
The school was not far from here, but Ying Ziyu usually still lived in the dormitory and only came back on weekends and holidays. With Wei Zhao gone these days, after all, there was little point in her returning every day.
"Uncle Wu, you must be from Mars. Do you really not know that tomorrow is the first of October?" Ying Ziyu said, her face full of astonishment.
"Ah? Does that not mean today is the end of the month?" Wu Chengtian gave a start. He could think of the television no longer. He rose hastily and headed for the door. "I have to go buy groceries right away. Keep an eye on things upstairs for me, and remember to check every half hour."
"I know, Steward Wu. Just go buy your groceries in peace." Ying Ziyu waved him off impatiently, again and again.
Wu Chengtian had by now become the new generation's Uncle Qing, handling everything here, great and small, to the point that he even did the shopping and cooking himself. He had once gone so far as to enroll in a dedicated cooking class; these days he could turn out quite a fine dish. One could only say his retirement life was bored to a truly extraordinary degree.
By long-standing custom, the end of each month was the day this whole crowd gathered. Apart from Ying Ziyu, Qiu Lingshan, Xu Shilan, Cheng Yiyi, and Sun Jingyan would all come tonight, and Lai the Fatty, Kang Xiaofeng, Yu Bing, Han Xiaohu, Zhao Qilei, and the rest of the core underlings would all be present without a single one missing.
To be sure, on ordinary weekends a portion of them would come as well, but after all everyone was scattered across different places, and none of them had retired early and come running over to serve as a full-time steward the way Wu Chengtian had. Each had his own affairs to attend to, and it was impossible for everyone to gather every weekend. But the end-of-month gathering was immovable as a mountain: even those with other commitments arranged things in advance or simply declined them outright. It was an important gathering, belonging to this crowd of theirs.
Whenever this day came, it was time for Wu Chengtian to get busy. With so many people gathered together, merely arranging food and drink was a major undertaking; every trip to the market he hauled back a whole cartload, and strangers who saw him took him for a little street vendor dealing in groceries. Every time a new security guard joined the residential compound, he would be questioned once, and by now he had grown used to it.
Wu Chengtian swept through the market in one great shopping spree, picking and choosing, haggling over every price, every inch the auntie who had steeped in market life for decades. Given his strength and his family background, one could never have imagined he would turn out like this; yet now he took real delight in it. One could only say that time truly can change everything.
Wu Chengtian was busy and blissful when his phone suddenly rang. Seeing Qiu Lingshan's name on the display, he picked up at once. "Sister-in-law, your timing is perfect. Whatever you want to eat tonight, just order away—I am at the market right now, and once I get back the chance will be gone."