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Wei Ting helped the ‘seasick’ Su Xiaoxiao onto the boat.
The two of them sat by the window inside a private cabin.
The boat owner came in smiling, serving tea.
He said to Wei Ting, “Sea bass is in season right now, perfectly plump. You two came at just the right time, we got two large ones this morning.”
"Sea bass is their signature dish."
Wei Ting said, placing the filtered tea next to Su Xiaoxiao and taking her cup for himself.
"Steamed is best, though stewed in soup also tastes nice."
The boat owner’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise at Wei Ting’s actions.
Resting her cheeks in her hands, Su Xiaoxiao watched him pour tea.
“Then let’s have a steamed one.”
The man was good-looking, and his hands were beautiful too.
Truly pleasing to the eye.
The boat owner glanced at the young couple, unable to hide the smile in his eyes.
“What are you smiling at?” Wei Ting asked.
The boat owner chuckled.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Young Master Wei so happy.”
Su Xiaoxiao looked at him strangely.
“Happy? Where do you see that he’s happy? He goes around with that stone face all day, like the whole world owes him money.”
Wei Ting: “Hmph.”
The boat owner didn’t disturb them further, leaving with a smile to prepare the food.
With nothing else to do, Su Xiaoxiao wandered around the boat and came across the boat owner’s wife, who was wiping down the railing.
The wife was much more talkative than her husband.
From her, Su Xiaoxiao learned that Wei Ting was a regular here.
Whenever he was in the capital, he would come once or twice a month.
Over time, everyone came to know that this boat was under the protection of the youngest son of the Wei family, and no one dared make trouble anymore.
Su Xiaoxiao gave a small ‘huh?’ and asked, “No one dares make trouble again? So that means, did people cause trouble before?”
“Yes.” The wife said with a smile.
“It happened a few years ago. My husband and I aren’t locals of the capital. We spent all our savings, which we had worked so many years to save up, to buy this boat from someone else.”
They had come with high hopes and dreams.
But doing business was never as simple as it looked on the surface.
With no background and no powerful connections, trying to compete with all those people with connections was nearly impossible.
Especially since their food was genuinely tasty and attracted many repeat customers, which made others even more jealous.
Su Xiaoxiao thought of the days back in town when she had gone head-to-head with Jinji.
It wasn’t hard to imagine the kind of situation they’d been in.
“One time, a group of guests came onto the boat and ordered a large table of expensive dishes. We were overjoyed, thinking that we had finally landed a big business deal. But halfway through the meal, one of them suddenly collapsed. They insisted that our food was contaminated, and could cause death. Then they raised their weapons, threatening to smash our boat to pieces.”
“And what happened next?” Su Xiaoxiao asked.
The boat owner’s wife glanced toward the private cabin.
Wei Ting appeared to be drinking his tea casually, but she had long noticed that his eyes had never once left this plump young lady.
Smiling, the boat owner’s wife said, “Young Master Wei was on the boat that day too. He wasn’t with those people, he was in the next cabin with a friend. He came out and helped us resolve the situation.”
She made it sound light and easy, but the reality of that day hadn't been so simple.
The group of troublemakers was backed by significant influence.
Wei Ting wasn’t afraid of them, but there was no real need for him to offend them for the sake of two ordinary strangers he didn’t know.
Su Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows.
“He’s just… someone with a strong sense of justice!”
Well, fine, just give him some face in public.
Inside the cabin, Wei Ting sipped his tea, the corners of his lips faintly curving upward.
From the boat owner’s wife’s words, Su Xiaoxiao also learned that she was the first girl he had ever brought here.
The boat owner’s wife had never seen any other girl by his side.
Su Xiaoxiao thought to herself:
Well, of course no other women. With three kids already, how could there be other women?