Cultivation Daddy

Chapter 198: Chapter 197: A Relative Came to Visit (2)

Li Meirong rushed through the exit of the courtyard. Her chest was heaving with rage: "Stingy, arrogant fool," she muttered to herself: "Just wait until I tell my parents about this. We’ll see how long your precious tavern lasts when the rest of the family turns their backs on you!"

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. Was it not just one dish? Why was he acting like giving one portion would kill him?

And that child Li Yujian, having no manners, actually dared to talk to her like that.

Li Meirong walked down the path with a dark expression, but before she could reach the carriage waiting outside, she nearly bumped into someone.

"Watch where you’re..." Li Meirong began to snap, but stopped instantly when she saw the woman’s face: "Mother?"

A well-dressed woman stood before her, wearing a dark green robe embroidered with gold cloud patterns. Her hair was styled neatly, and although she had a smile on her face, her eyes were so sharp that Li Meirong’s anger instantly shrink by half.

The woman, name Xu Manqing looked at her daughter’s flushed, angry face with immediate suspicion: "Meirong? What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay at home."

"Mother, you won’t believe what just happened!" Li Meirong immediately whined, grabbing her mother’s arm and putting on a victimized expression: "I went to visit Cousin Li Jain. I thought I would be nice and congratulate him on his tavern. I even asked him about the Instant Breakthrough dish, thinking he would gladly help his family. But he was so rude! He refused to give me one, and his brat of a son even insulted me to my face! Li Jain is so selfish, Mother. He has no respect for the North Branch at all!"

Xu Manqing listened, but instead of the sympathetic anger Li Meirong expected, her mother’s face grew progressively darker, her eyes narrowing coldly.

"You foolish girl. You went to demand a free dish from Li Jain?" Xu Manqing asked,

"Well... yes! We are family, aren’t we?" Li Meirong said, slightly taken aback by her mother’s tone: "He should be honored to support us!"

Smack!

Before Li Meirong could finish her sentence, Xu Manqing slapped the back of her head.

"Ow! Mother, why did you do that?!" Li Meirong cried out, covering her head in shocked.

"You brainless spoiled girl!" Xu Manqing hissed, her voice trembling with frustration: "Do you have any idea what you have just done? Li Jain’s tavern is currently the most influential establishment in South River City! Cultivators from powerful families are fighting tooth and nail just to get a single bite of his food, and you went there to throw a tantrum and demand free handouts like a common thief!"

"But... but we are the Li family!" Li Meirong protested, tears of anger pricking her eyes: "Surely we deserve special treatment!"

"Special treatment is earned, you foolish girl, not demanded!" Xu Manqing scolded fiercely, stepping closer: "Even if we are family, we have no right to assume he will hand over his hard work for nothing. If I didn’t come after you, were you planning to ruin this chance completely? !"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her raging temper: "Do you know why I was coming here tonight? I was coming to request a portion of the Instant Breakthrough dish for your brother, Li Chenglei! How great it will be if Li Jain is willing to sell us a portion."

Li Meirong’s expression turns sour instantly at the mention of her brother: "Chenglei again... it’s always about him."

"Of course it is about him!" Xu Manqing snapped: "Your brother has recently advanced to the late stage of the Spiritual Sea Realm. He has a solid foundation, but the bottleneck to the Soul Palace Realm is very difficult. If he can get his hands on the Instant Breakthrough dish, his success is already guaranteed! His strength will elevate our entire North Branch’s standing!"

She glared at Meirong with deep disappointment: "And what about you? You are still stuck in the middle-stage of the Spiritual Sea Realm! Even if Li Jain gave you the dish for free, it would be a complete waste on you! Yet you went and ruined our chances out of greed and jealousy!"

Li Meirong bit her lip, looking away in silence, with resentment in her eyes. What about me? Li Meirong thought angrily. You always think about him. I am also your child. She hated how her mother always prioritized her brother, but she couldn’t deny the truth of her words.

"Come with me," Xu Manqing said, grabbing Meirong firmly by the wrist and dragging her back toward the inner courtyard.

"Mother, no! Where are we going?" Meirong struggled, but her mother’s grip was too strong, she couldn’t break free.

"We are going back to apologize to Li Jain and fix the mess you just made," Xu Manqing said coldly: "If we lose this chance because of your stupidity, I will personally see to it that your monthly resources are cut in half."

Hearing the threat to her cultivation resources, Li Meirong finally shut her mouth, but her face remained twisted, she was furious.

They walked back into Li Jain’s courtyard. Li Jain was still sitting by the stone table, finishing the board game with his eldest son.

Xu Manqing immediately let go of Li Meirong’s wrist when they arrived, she bowed politely to Li Jain: "Li Jain, please forgive my daughter’s outrageous behavior. She is young, foolish, and has been spoiled by her elders. I have already scolded her for her disrespect."

Li Jain looked at them, his expression was neutral. He stood up, returning the bow: "Aunt Manqing, there is no need to worry. I do not hold a grudge against family."

Xu Manqing let out a small breath of relief. She quickly got straight to the point: "Thank you, Jain. The truth is, I came tonight to inquire about the Instant Breakthrough dish. My son, Chenglei, is currently at the late-stage of the Spiritual Sea and is desperately looking for an opportunity to advance. I wish to purchase a portion of the dish for him. I will pay the full price in high-grade spirit stones, of course."

She braced herself, expecting some difficulty or hesitation from Li Jain after Meirong’s behavior. But to her surprise, Li Jain only nodded calmly:

"I see. If it is for Chenglei, I am happy to help. He is indeed talented, and the dish will be highly beneficial for his breakthrough."

Li Jain doesn’t know much about these relatives, he was just being polite.

Xu Manqing’s eyes brightened: "Really? You... you are not going to make things difficult for us?"

"Of course not," Li Jain said with a gentle smile: "But as you know, the dishes are limited. If you wish to secure a portion, you must pay the spirit stones now. And tomorrow, whoever is going to eat it or collect it must come to our courtyard before six in the morning. Otherwise, the dish will be prepared for the tavern, and you will have to wait and come back in the evening when we return home."

"Six in the morning? We can certainly do that!" Xu Manqing said excitedly, she immediately turned her head to glare at Meirong, who was standing sullenly in the background: "Meirong will be waiting at your gate by five in the morning to collect it and ensure everything is ready for her brother!"

Meirong’s eyes went wide with horror: "What?! Mother, why me?! Why do I have to wake up that early and wait at the gate like a servant?!"

Smack!

Another slap was placed on Meirong’s head.

"Because you are the one who caused this mess!" Xu Manqing sneered: "This is your punishment! You will stand at the gate, and you will wait patiently. If you are even a minute late, I will lock you in the reflection cave for a month!"

Li Meirong rubbed the back of her head. Invisible tears of frustration were streaming down her cheeks. Why was she so unlucky?!

Xu Manqing turned back to Li Jain, her smile returned instantly: "It is settled then, Li Jain. Here are the spirit stones." She placed a small pouch of spirit stones onto the stone table: "Meirong will see you at five tomorrow morning."

"Very well. I will see her then," Li Jain responded.

Xu Manqing bowed once more, then grabbed her daughter’s arm again, dragging her out of the courtyard. As they walked away, their voices carried back through the wind.

"Mother, you’re being completely unfair! Chenglei never has to do anything. Even if you have favorites, you don’t have to be so loud about it."

"Shut up! If you had half your brother’s talent and a tenth of his manners, I wouldn’t have to beat some sense into you!"

"I hate this! I hate him, and I hate that stupid tavern!"

"Keep quiet, or I’ll make you stand there at four in the morning!"

As the bickering voices finally faded into the distance, the courtyard returned to its peaceful silence.

Li Jain looked down at the board and said: "Xiao Jian, let’s finish this match tomorrow."

Li Yujian was also tired, so he agreed: "Ok, goodnight, father."

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