Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "Delicacies are fine, but home-cooked meals are just as nourishing. Since my brother and I are back, we'll cook a big table of food another day and invite all you grandpas and grandmas to have a taste."
These words warmed the hearts of the elderly folks. Grandma Huang sighed, "From childhood to adulthood, no matter when she comes home, she always helps out with the chores. Just like her brother Zhanpeng, she has never had any spoiled habits. This is all because her grandparents raised her well!"
"Yes, indeed!"
The others also chimed in to Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu, "You've taught them so well."
Grandpa and Grandma Xu beamed with pride and smiled, "You flatter us."
"You all go ahead and chat, we'll head back first."
Saying that, they led her back home.
Upon entering the door, Xu Yanxia quickly opened her suitcase and took out the things she had bought in Macau. She said to her grandparents, "These are the pastries and ginseng slices I bought in Macau yesterday, along with that good medicinal plaster you've used before."
But her grandma said, "Set those aside for now. Your grandpa has something to say to you."
Xu Yanxia agreed and put the things down.
She then took the initiative to apologize, "I'm sorry, Grandpa and Grandma. I shouldn't have lied to you back then. I really did take a job as a chef at that time."
"At first, I also thought about finding an office job, but it's hard for fresh graduates to find work right now, and the salary is low. It just so happened that the place where Uncle Li works was short of a chef. He recommended me, so I went."
As she finished speaking, her grandma asked, "Is it the family that your Uncle Li works for as a driver?"
"Yes."
Xu Yanxia nodded.
Her grandma asked again, "Are the family members nice? Is the pay good?"
"It's definitely more than working in an office."
Xu Yanxia smiled, "The family is very nice and highly respectful. Besides, don't you trust Uncle Li's character? If it were a bad place, he wouldn't have recommended me."
"That's true."
Her grandma nodded.
Right after, Grandpa sighed, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have so easily trusted that..."
He originally wanted to say Yuan Jincai's name, but considering his granddaughter Xiaoyue was right there, the old man held his tongue and only said, "I dragged you down. If it weren't for me, a proper girl and a college graduate like you wouldn't have to do that kind of work serving others."
"That's where you're wrong, Grandpa!"
Yuan Xiaoyue immediately said, "What job isn't about serving people nowadays? Even civil servants and teachers are afraid of being complained about! You're a chef yourself, how can you look down on chefs?"
"Grandpa isn't looking down on it."
Xu Yanxia spoke up for her grandpa, "Grandpa is just afraid that I'm suffering. But actually, I'm really not having a hard time at all."
She smiled and explained to her grandpa, "First of all, the Lu family is very busy. The number of times they eat at home in a month can be counted on one hand, so my time there is actually very relaxed. Furthermore, they are excellent bosses. After realizing my abilities, they offered me a director position at their family restaurant, took me on a TV show, and even invested in our food stall."
"When I go back after the holidays, I probably won't need to be their private chef anymore and will focus professionally on the restaurant business. Plus, our own restaurant is almost ready to open. You don't know this, but our culinary skills are very popular even in the big city."
"Yeah!"
Her cousin quickly chimed in, "Even at school, I scrolled past videos of my brother and sister's teppanyaki stall. Late at night, the line of people waiting to eat stretches for over ten meters! They say even waiting for half an hour doesn't guarantee you'll get any. Everyone who has tried it praises how delicious their food is!"
"Yes."
Xu Yanxia nodded, "We have a lot of repeat customers. Some even drive dozens of kilometers just to eat our food."
"Really?"
Grandpa still seemed a bit in disbelief.
"Of course it's true! If you don't believe it, I'll find the video for you!"
As Yuan Xiaoyue spoke, she immediately took out her phone, searched for the teppanyaki stall's TikTok account, tapped a random video, and held it up to her grandpa. "Look, Sister Jiajia posted all of these. There are this many people eating their teppanyaki every single night!"
"Look at the comments down here, a lot of people are complaining that they can't even get a taste!"
"Oh..."
Grandpa Xu hurriedly put on his reading glasses and started watching. After a while, he frowned and said, "If so many customers want to eat but can't get any, you need to find a way to solve this!"
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "That's exactly why we want to open a restaurant and expand the business. On one hand, we can make money, and on the other, the customers can taste our flavors."
"Most importantly, we use genuine, high-quality ingredients. Unlike a lot of the low-quality fast food out there that uses additives, ours is healthy for the customers."
"Exactly."
Yuan Xiaoyue agreed, "My brother and sister are making money through their own skills, carrying forward your culinary legacy, and building a prosperous life. Aren't you happy?"
"I'm happy, I'm happy."
Grandpa Xu nodded repeatedly, then looked at his wife, Grandma Xu, and said, "I knew it. Our Xiao Xia is not that kind of child."
Huh?
Xu Yanxia immediately asked, "Did you hear some other rumors?"
Grandpa paused for a moment and said, "Those people are saying that you're dating a rich boyfriend..."
Xu Yanxia let out a soft scoff. "Their mouths probably wouldn't be that polite. Did they just straight up say I'm a gold digger?"
"Uh..."
Grandpa Xu murmured in agreement.
He saw his granddaughter looking at him with a smile. "Do you believe them?"
Grandpa Xu puffed out his chest and said, "Of course I don't believe it! How could a child we raised ourselves be like that?"
"There you go."
Xu Yanxia nodded.
However, Grandma sighed and said, "We raised you, so of course we know you're a good girl. But the outside world is a bit more complicated. No matter what, there is still some truth to the idea of families being well-matched in social status. When it comes to marriage, you need to be realistic."
Xu Yanxia paused.
Before she could say anything else to her grandmother, the phone in her pocket suddenly rang.
She hurriedly took it out to look and saw that Mrs. Lu was calling her.
She quickly answered and greeted her, only to hear Mrs. Lu ask from the other end, "Xiao Xia, you've already gone home today, right?"
"Yes,"
she quickly replied. "I haven't been home for long."
Mrs. Lu then said, "What a coincidence, we are also in Qingcheng. It might be a bit presumptuous, but Lao Lu and I would like to come visit your grandparents. I wonder if it would be convenient?"
What?
Xu Yanxia was immediately taken aback. "You two are also in Qingcheng?"
"Yes,"
Mrs. Lu said with a smile. "We spent the past few days looking around Hangcheng, then went to Shencheng and Jingbei. We just arrived at our hometown in Qicheng yesterday. Today, we finished having a meal with our relatives back home and were preparing to head to the airport, which happens to pass right by your place."
Chairman Lu's hometown, Qicheng, was indeed right next door to Qingcheng.
And there were two airports around Qicheng.
One was closer to Qicheng, while the other was further away but happened to pass right through Qingcheng.
Xu Yanxia knew then that Chairman Lu and his wife must have intentionally taken a detour to come see them.
Xu Yanxia quickly said, "You two are so busy, yet you're taking the time to come see us. I really feel bad about it."
"It's the least we could do, as long as we're not bothering you."
Mrs. Lu smiled and said, "If it's convenient, send me your address, and we'll come over for a bit."
"Alright."
Xu Yanxia hung up the phone and sent the address over.
About an hour later, Xu Yanxia and her brother Xu Zhanpeng, who had just returned home from work, received Mrs. Lu and Chairman Lu at the entrance of their residential compound.
They stepped out of a luxury car, followed by two staff members carrying numerous gifts.
Their clothing and aura were both extraordinary. As the siblings invited them into their home, they attracted quite a few stares along the way.
This included Grandma Pan, who had just been gossiping about Xu Yanxia working as a chef despite being a prestigious university graduate.
Once they entered the house, Grandpa and Grandma Xu, along with her aunt Xu Xuemei who had just come home from work, warmly welcomed them.
Grandpa Xu shook hands with the Lu couple and said, "You two distinguished guests came from so far away to see us. We really feel bad about troubling you!"
"Yes,"
Grandma Xu also added, "We heard that you two have been taking great care of our two children. We should be the ones thanking you."
It should be known that although the Lu family's businesses were primarily in the south, they were among the top entrepreneurs in the country, and their hometown was nearby. Furthermore, Mrs. Lu used to be an incredibly popular singer back in the day.
Grandpa Xu, Grandma Xu, and Aunt Xu had all heard of these two prominent figures.
As for her cousin Yuan Xiaoyue, she was already too shocked to speak.
Famous, incredibly wealthy tycoons were right inside their home!!!
If she didn't know she had to be polite, she would have whipped out her phone for a selfie right then and there!!!
Chairman Lu spoke very amiably, "Xiao Xia is an exceptionally outstanding and capable employee in our group. She has helped us out tremendously! You two are our elders, and since we rarely pass by here, it is only right that we come to visit."
Mrs. Lu also smiled and said, "To be honest, I feel a bit ashamed. I was chatting with my brother a few days ago and only then found out that Xiao Xia is the child of a martyr. You two are truly great elders and have raised such wonderful children. Coming to see your family is the least we could do."
As soon as her words fell, the two elderly folks were stunned.
Grandpa Xu tentatively asked, "May I ask who your brother is?"
Mrs. Lu replied, "My brother is Shen Huaidong. He used to be a cadre here."
"We remember, we remember,"
Grandpa Xu immediately nodded and said, "Back then, he was the one who helped apply for Yunfeng's martyr honors. That was many years ago."
Mrs. Lu nodded and said, "My brother and my father specifically asked us to send their regards to you both."
"Good, good."
Grandma Xu's eyes grew a little moist. "To think that after so many years, there are still people who remember him. It really means a lot."
