Chapter 83 - The Rutes’ Request for Assistance
He quickly brought in Xiao Bai, the smart butler, and then he personally set up Ruan Yu’s room. The child’s condition had improved a lot, and in about a month, he could already be discharged from the hospital. Ruan Tang gave him a variety of delicious food every day.
Because of how close their houses were, after finishing his work every evening, He Yun Chen would come to the hospital to see Ruan Yu and then he would take Ruan Tang home to eat dinner.
Yes, that’s right. They ate together. Although the reason He Yun Chen gave was that Ruan Tang would feel lonely eating all by himself at home; it was better to eat at their house. Anyway, he liked Ruan Tang’s craftsmanship best. However, as his mother, Ran Jing saw something was up. Her son was running over to someone’s house almost every day. With a hint from her eldest son, she quickly understood her second son’s intentions.
She was also very fond of Ruan Tang, so she was very much willing to help her second son to pursue his sweetheart. In any case, they were friends and neighbors, it was only right that they had frequent contact.
Ruan Tang also liked the feeling of having dinner with other people. Living in such a large house by himself did get lonely. Being able to eat with friends always made people feel happier. Although the He family mother and father didn’t say a lot, they were both very kind to him, especially Ran Jing. Every day, the two of them would study cooking in the kitchen. One would teach and the other would learn, both were extremely satisfied.
Shrimp cooked in Broth, Chicken Braised with Brown Sauce, Charcoal Pot Fish ... Ran Jing loved this kind of special delicacies very much, and she was very happy to learn how to make them. Ruan Tang made some barbecue a few days ago, which she praised profusely.
Without the harassment and hostility from those who bore him ill-will, Ruan Tang’s life was finally calm and comfortable. He would do a live broadcast every morning and noon. If he was in a good mood, he may do another live broadcast for afternoon break. He gave them various delicious dishes and the number of viewers who came to bow down before him kept growing more and more. His number of fans has climbed to a shocking ten digits. It can be seen that the people of the interstellar world were very eager for good food.
In the interest of profit, those high-end restaurants finally lowered their proud heads and got in touch with Ruan Tang through the Chefs’ Association. After donating a certain amount of money to the designated public welfare organizations, they were finally authorized to start selling various “Ruan-type” cuisines.
When money reaches a certain level, it becomes just a string of numbers. Although Ruan Tang’s assets weren’t much compared to those immensely rich or noble families, for him, he already has so much money that he wouldn’t be able to spend it all even after several lifetimes. Therefore, Ruan Tang didn’t not care whether these dishes introduced by these restaurants would impact his live broadcast career. He just wanted the audience to have a chance to taste the dishes he made during the live broadcasts. After all, there were so many viewers, the lottery alone wouldn’t be able to meet the needs of the audience.
Before long, He Yun Yi brought him more good news.
Ruan Tang once told him about quick meal. This kind of thing was not difficult to handle. It was just that, in order to offer it for sale to everyone in the empire, they would need to create a lot of factories in every sector. One after another, unmanned ready-to-eat meal factories were established on various planets within the Blue Star Empire, allowing more and more people to taste the deliciousness of natural ingredients, while also bringing unlimited business opportunities.
However, with the emergence of new industries, old industries would decline. Whether it was due to policy reasons or market choices, it meant that the era of nutrition solutions, which had enjoyed market monopoly in the empire for more than a thousand years, was finally drawing to a close..
These companies were out to make him laugh! He had no deep hatred for these nutritional solution companies. These companies were once the pillar of the Empire and one of the main channels for providing jobs. If they went bankrupt and closed their doors, who knew how many people would be out of a job. So, Ruan Tang, waved his hand and said, “If they can guarantee the quality and safety, then just let them have it.”
He Yun Yi said: “No problem!”
This kind of life is so easy and comfortable, Ruan Tang felt that he was going to degenerate into a homebody. Aside from going to deliver Ruan Yu’s meals every day, he only ever went to his or the He Family’s house. His daily route comprised of less than 800 meters. Ruan Yu’s treatment was still twice a day, so after Ruan Yu has breakfast, Ruan Tang would return home to prepare for the noon live broadcast. When Ruan Yu’s treatment was completed, he would send him lunch. The same was true at night.
Without the abnormal gravity of the 19th planet, although Ruan Yu’s constitution was still much worse than that of an ordinary person’s, he was no longer so fragile. Under the careful treatment of the doctor and the nourishment of Ruan Tang’s three nutritious meals a day, his appearance has completely returned to the appearance of a normal child’s. That is, except for his height, which was slowly improving. His face was chubby with baby fat. When he smiled, his eyes would curve into lovely crescents and two shallow dimples would appear on his cheeks. As before, he quickly became one of the Central Hospital’s most popular patients.
Ruan Yu also liked to eat sweets, but he couldn’t eat a lot. Because it was June 1st, Children’s Day on the Earth, Ruan Tang specially made dumplings in sweet rice wine for him to eat.
“Brother!” As soon as Ruan Yu saw Ruan Tang, he immediately got up and stretched out his arms towards his brother.
Ruan Tang immediately took the cute child into his arms. Now that the child had put on more meat on his bones, he was heavier than before, but he was still small as a mite. He was already twelve years old but he still looked like he was seven or eight. The doctor said that it was because he had suffered from nutrient deficiencies before. Though his muscles could easily recover, his bones and skeletal frame weren’t so easy to nurture back to health.
Fortunately, in the future with the highly developed medical technology, though this problem was difficult, it wasn’t hopeless.
Ruan Tang smiled and kissed Ruan Yu’s chubby little face. He raised the preservation box in his hand and said, “Do you want to see what delicious food your brother brought you?”
Ruan Yu had already been eyeing the box in Ruan Tang’s hands for a long time. He immediately cheered, “It’s dessert!”
“That’s right.” Ruan Tang opened the lid to reveal the dish underneath. The white glutinous rice dumplings floated in the sweet wine-brewed soup. Red wolfberries were dotted around the soup, creating a beautiful and exquisite scene, like red plums on a fresh blanket of snow.
“Wow! It’s so pretty!” Ruan Yu’s eyes widened in delight, and the childish face looked even cuter.
Ruan Tang sat down by the bed and fed the child spoonful by spoonful. The wine was strong and sweet, the small round rice dumplings were fragrant and sweet. The child liked it very much. He ate happily, his small mouth was bulging and when he chewed, he looked like a little hamster. Ruan Tang couldn’t help kissing the child’s cheek, eliciting a small laugh like the tinkling of a silver bell.
“What’s everyone so happy about?” A deep male voice came from behind. He Yun Chen had arrived.
“Ah... Brother He!” Ruan Yu quickly swallowed the dumpling in his mouth. He looked towards He Yun Chen with twinkling eyes and he once again extended his two small arms.
He Yun Chen’s lips were slightly raised. He reached out and took the child out from Ruan Tang’s arms. He lifted him up and let him ride on his shoulder as they took a stroll around the hospital.
He had been hugged by his brother and now he got a ride on Brother He’s shoulders. Ruan Yu was immensely delighted. His laughter wouldn’t stop.
Ruan Tang shook his head helplessly. He took the child back and continued to feed him the remaining dumplings.
After coaxing Ruan Yu to sleep, Ruan Tang and He Yun Chen returned to the He family home. As soon as they entered the house, they smelled the faint aroma of something cooking. Ran Jing had already cooked the rice and chicken soup. She was in the middle of cooking some other dishes. Ruan Tang already felt very much at home and he entered the kitchen very casually. He washed his hands and added two more stir-fried dishes.
He Yun Yi and He Wei Ye also came home soon after. Five people sat in the dining room and ate this steaming hot and delicious meal. Even their hearts felt warm.
However, this seemingly ordinary night was destined to be extraordinary. He Wei Ye and He Yun Chen’s light brains rang out. The two turned to look at their screens and suddenly the expressions on their faces changed. They couldn’t even finish their meals. The simply stood up, put on their coats and ran out the door, leaving with a simple, “Emergency situation”.
The three left behind could only look at each other with worried expressions.
An urgent military situation that could alarm the supreme commander and a marshal of the empire, definitely had something to do with the safety and security of the Empire. The Empire had just emerged from a long and bloody war less than 20 years ago. They were finally just transitioning to a period of peace and prosperity, could it be that war was starting up again?
The military held an emergency meeting that night and all the military leaders and the imperial family were in attendance. The content of the meeting was about the request for reinforcements sent by the Rutes.
During a patrol by the Rute cruisers, they found traces of scattered Zergs, which caused them to be on guard.
The Zerg were the most notorious alien race in the universe. They were bloodthirsty, violent, and highly aggressive. They could easily adapt to any harsh environment, and they reproduced very quickly. Within three months, they could devour empty an entire planet. All life would vanish from the planet and it would become a barren wasteland.
It’s just that the Zergs have never appeared within the range of their star systems before. They had only heard news of the Zergs from their wars with other extraterrestrial beings.
The Rutes suspected that the Zergs might have started eyeing their star systems and that these scattered Zergs may ahve been a scouting party. Once the Zergs attacked, no race in the entire star system would be spared. Therefore, after finding traces of their presence, the Rutes quickly got in touch with the Blue Star Empire to discuss strategy.
Everyone in the military wore grave expressions. They knew that this might be the beginning of a war once again.
It meant blood, war, and death.