To satisfy the little girl Conna's desire to eat large chunks of meat, Shi Xiaolei separated a few pieces from the prepared lamb chops, not cutting them all into diced meat at once.
"Xiaolei, is it like this?"
"Yes, just like that, spread it evenly, then gently massage it…"
Not wanting the little girl to be poked by the skewers, he didn't let her help with skewering the meat, but he couldn't resist her enthusiasm to lend a hand, so Shi Xiaolei had to find her another task.
Watching Conna clumsily open her small hands, carefully pinching the lamb chops, her little face, stained with a few olive oil spots, was full of seriousness and concentration, and her mouth kept cheering herself on with 'hiss-hiss'… Not only did Shi Xiaolei show a fatherly smile, but Old Liu, who was beside him, also had a kind face: "Your daughter is so adorable, I'm almost jealous. Brother Shi, how did you raise her? Teach me."
"The key is that Conna herself is sensible." Shi Xiaolei shook his head with a smile: "I really didn't teach her much, she learned it all herself."
Just then, 2B came over with a handkerchief and wiped the oil stains off Conna's face.
Seeing the gentle and elegant 2B, and then looking at Conna, Old Liu again sighed with emotion: "You're really lucky, kid, to find such a good girl as Sylvia. Not only did you find a good partner, but you also gained such an adorable younger sister, sigh… When I first came to the US, why didn't I encounter such good fortune?"
"Saying that… Old Liu, aren't you afraid your wife will make things difficult for you?"
"Am I that kind of person? In our house, I'm the one who calls the shots. Whatever I say, she can only listen… Dare to make things difficult for me? Hmph~."
"Tsk~, that's only because your wife went back home. In front of her, I don't believe you'd dare to say that."
"I'd say the same thing in front of her."
"Then call your wife?"
"…" Unexpectedly, Shi Xiaolei would say that. After a moment of stunned, Old Liu found an excuse: "Forget the phone call, it's already the middle of the night in China, I don't want to get yelled at."
"See, see, you're exposed~."
"Uh."
While the two were bickering, Conna was still diligently massaging her lamb chops.
She had never cooked before and didn't know how long to massage. Worried that massaging for too long would make the lamb taste bad, the little girl looked up at Shi Xiaolei with an adorable gaze, interrupting his conversation with Old Liu: "Xiaolei, Xiaolei, help me see, is it ready now?"
"Hmm~." He glanced at the iron plate in front of Conna, confirming that the little girl had evenly spread the marinade. Shi Xiaolei unreservedly gave a big thumbs up: "Conna did a really good job, this is perfect."
"Really?"
"Hmm, put it in the refrigerator to marinate for another two hours. Emm, let me see, around five o'clock, we can start grilling."
"Oh~." Smiling happily, Conna jumped off the chair, stood on her tiptoes, and tried to pick up the iron plate with the lamb chops.
"Conna~." Seeing this, 2B put down what she was doing and quickly came over to help: "Be careful."
With 2B's help, she carried the iron plate into the kitchen and placed it in the refrigerator. Although it was just an insignificant small task, Conna's little face was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
After washing her hands, she pattered back, climbed onto the chair again, and rested her chin in her hands, watching Shi Xiaolei, who was still busy.
Her pair of bright, big eyes blinked, full of anticipation, almost as if she had written 'praise me quickly' on her face.
After waiting for a moment, she didn't receive any praise. Conna was a little disappointed, and also a little unwilling.
When she lowered her gaze, she saw that there were still many pieces of meat in the plate that hadn't been skewered. The little girl's eyes rolled, and she came up with an idea: "Xiaolei, Xiaolei, I want to help skewer the meat too~."
It was the same concern as before, worried that the little girl would be poked by the skewers.
Shi Xiaolei hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "This is quite difficult, Conna is still small…"
"But, but… I want to help~."
"Uh~." Because of the little girl's disappointment, Shi Xiaolei felt a bit choked up. After thinking for a moment, he had to assign another task to the little girl: "Then how about this. Conna, help me call Stark and tell him that we have delicious meat at home, and ask him if he wants to eat with us, okay?"
He hadn't been polite with Stark when borrowing his yacht before, and now that he had obtained natural, high-quality lamb, he naturally wouldn't forget to share it with him… Since Stark started coming to the store frequently a while ago, Shi Xiaolei had already become friends with him.
And after collaborating to establish a company that produces weakened versions of potions, the two were not only friends but also partners. Although he had never founded a company or been a shareholder, Shi Xiaolei still knew the common sense that 'one must maintain good relations with partners.'
"Hmm~." Having been given a task, the little girl's mood immediately brightened, and she became lively again.
She jumped off the chair, went to Shi Xiaolei's side, pulled out his phone from his pants pocket, and, under Shi Xiaolei's guidance, found Stark's private number. She looked up and inquired with her eyes, confirming that she hadn't made a mistake, then the little girl extended her chubby finger and tapped the dial button.
"Hey, Locke, what's up?" With Jarvis, the call was quickly connected.
"Uncle Stark, it's me, Conna~."
"Conna?" Stark's slightly frivolous tone immediately became serious, with a hint of doting: "Hello, sweetie. What do you need Uncle Stark for? Did you finish the chocolates I gave you last time? Wait, Uncle Stark will order some more boxes for you right away."
"No." Holding the phone with both hands, the little girl said seriously and adorably: "We have delicious meat at home, Uncle Stark, do you like to eat meat? Do you want to come to my house to eat together?"
"Meat?"
"Yes, lots and lots, it looks very delicious."
She was a child, and hadn't learned to multitask yet. Preoccupied with talking to Stark, the little girl completely failed to notice the change in Old Liu's expression.
At this moment, Old Liu's face was full of surprise and astonishment.
Looking at Shi Xiaolei, Old Liu couldn't help but ask: "Stark? Is it the Stark I know?"
"Hmm, it's him." Shi Xiaolei nodded, then asked back with some surprise: "He used to come to my store to eat all the time a while ago, seven or eight times in total. Didn't you notice?"
"…How would I know?" Old Liu rolled his eyes irritably: "The month before last, I went to England with your sister-in-law. It wasn't until a couple of days ago, when your sister-in-law took Xiaoqian back to China to see her grandparents, that I came back alone. Did you forget?"
"Uh~." Shi Xiaolei then remembered: "That's right, my memory is bad."
"…You, not only is your memory bad, but you're also sloppy in your work." Shaking his head, Old Liu pointed out with some frustration: "It's not easy for us Chinese to get by here in the US. It's rare to make friends with a big shot like Stark, you should at least pay some attention. How can you be like this, just making a casual phone call with an attitude of 'come if you want, don't if you don't'? Wouldn't it be better to be more polite and flattering when inviting him?"
"…Old Liu, you're overthinking it, it's not that serious."