Chapter 41 My dad is a giant leftovers recycling station.

As the heat subsided slightly in the evening, the sky outside the window was ablaze with the glow of sunset.

Pei Yiyan cleaned out several bags of trash and carried them down the street along with the bag of cat litter. On the way, she encountered many apartment building residents returning home from get off work.

As temperatures rise daily, the father and daughter's appetites have decreased significantly. Xixi, who used to be able to eat a large bowl of rice, now usually leaves only a small portion uneaten.

Pei Yiyan's cooking became increasingly simple. Braised and stir-fried dishes almost disappeared after the start of summer, and steamed and cold dishes were the main options, to avoid getting sticky sweaty from the heat.

There's a long food street near the apartment that gets really lively in the evenings. Pei Yiyan usually comes here for a treat when he's too lazy to cook.

After throwing away their trash, the father and daughter smoothly turned into the food street. The street was bustling with people, and the aroma of delicious food filled the air. With the food right in front of them, they didn't even feel the sweltering heat.

"Let's see if there's anything we want to eat." Pei Yiyan led Xixi along at a leisurely pace. Let's have some junk food to whet our appetites today.

At Pei Yiyan's command, Xixi happily dragged him to visit every stall, and before long, the two of them had gathered snacks from all over the country in their hands.

The father and daughter returned home satisfied with their spoils and laid out the fresh, hot snacks one by one.

Two bowls of sweet and refreshing pumpkin porridge, a serving of egg and meat soup that Xixi loves, Peking duck (a specialty of Beijing), plus half a pound of cold dishes that Pei Yiyan brought to accompany his drinks.

The small dining table was completely filled.

The pumpkin porridge was at the perfect temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. Xixi held her beloved dinosaur bowl in both hands and slurped it up little by little, eating with a look of cherished satisfaction on her face.

Pei Yiyan rolled up a slice of roast duck and placed it next to her bowl: "Eat some vegetables, just drinking porridge won't provide any nutrition."

Xixi looked at it with curiosity and couldn't wait to take a bite. She chewed a couple of times, then paused, fiddling with her hands to pick out the white part of the scallion.

"Xi Xi doesn't want this."

Pei Yiyan: "If you're not going to eat it, just leave it."

"Dad, you eat." Xixi pinched the crumpled white part of the scallion. "Teacher said we shouldn't waste food."

"Did the teacher say that you can't treat your dad as a dumping ground for your leftovers? Did the teacher say that children shouldn't be picky eaters?"

Xi Xi silently scooped out a large spoonful of her beloved egg and meat soup and handed it over, smiling generously despite the pain in her eyes: "Dad, you eat it."

Pei Yiyan let out a soft snort, popped open a can of milk beer, gulped it down, and said with a laugh, "Alright, eat it yourself."

"Huh? You really don't want to eat?" Xixi stuffed food into her mouth with a loud slur, making a muffled exclamation. "Okay, then Xixi will eat it for you. Xixi is also Daddy's leftover recycling station."

"You little brat," Pei Yiyan snorted.

I originally wanted to buy chilled beer, but at the last minute I switched to milk beer with low alcohol content, so I wouldn't smell of alcohol on my clothes after drinking it.

Pei Yiyan ate with relish, taking a bite of cold dish and a sip of milk beer.

Xixi sipped her pumpkin porridge, glancing at her father every now and then, making rhythmic smacking sounds.

Pei Yiyan glanced at him indifferently, feigning ignorance as he asked, "Want a drink?"

The little girl's bright eyes flashed with a deep, dark light: "Just one bite, just a tiny bite."

Not even half a bite.

Sigh, she knew her dad was stingy. The little girl's shoulders slumped, and her little pigtails twisted in disappointment.

"One chopstick's worth is fine."

Pei Yiyan dipped some milk beer in his chopsticks and held it to Xixi's lips, gesturing for her to open her mouth.

If you don't let her taste it, she'll always crave it.

Xi Xi's sadness turned to joy in an instant. She happily picked up one of her own children's chopsticks and said anxiously, "Use this."

"What's wrong? Dad's chopsticks aren't good?"

“Dad just ate some vegetables, so he’s drooling.”

Pei Yiyan put on a stern face: "I didn't even complain about your saliva, how dare you complain about me?"

The little girl always tries to stuff food she can't finish into his mouth, and when he complains and doesn't want to eat it, she still gives him a hard time.

Pei Yiyan had gotten used to eating her leftovers and could finish them without any expression. But this heartless little brat started to dislike him, which really broke his old father's heart.

Xi Xi opened her mouth wide, first pointing to the cold dishes on the table, then pointing to herself and saying, "Eating chili peppers will make my tongue feel hot."

Pei Yiyan paused slightly, his gaze falling downwards.

The cold dish was coated with glistening red oil and green cilantro, which happened to be the very things the little girl hated most.

At first, he thought Xixi simply didn't like their taste, but later he found out that she had fought with chili extract and coriander extract on Baicao Mountain before and suffered a crushing defeat.

Pei Yiyan couldn't help but laugh when he recalled her indignant expression as she made her accusations.

"Little Chili and Cilantro are so unsportsmanlike! I was about to win when they suddenly released a foul odor that made my head spin and my beard shrank."

"Then they ambushed me, one tickling my beard and the other tickling my cheeks, making me laugh so hard I had no energy left, hmph."

The three little monsters were pulling each other's hair and pecking at each other like chickens; the scene was nothing short of hilarious.