Seeing Grandpa and Grandma Xu's eyes redden with emotion, Xu Yanxia's aunt, Xu Xuemei, quickly said to her nephew, "Zhanpeng, it's rare for such distinguished guests to visit. Hurry and prepare something, let Chairman Lu and his wife taste your cooking."
"Will do."
Xu Zhanpeng hurriedly said to Mr. and Mrs. Lu, as well as the two staff members who came with them, "Please have a seat, everyone. I'll go to the kitchen to make a few home-cooked dishes. It'll be ready in a moment."
However, Chairman Lu said, "Don't trouble yourself, young man. We are tight on time today and have to catch a flight to my father-in-law's house. I'll taste your cooking next time we have the chance."
He then added with a smile, "I've long heard that you are also a master chef."
"You flatter me."
Xu Zhanpeng quickly smiled and replied modestly, "Compared to my sister, my skills are still a bit lacking."
"What an honest young man."
Mrs. Lu also praised him with a smile, then stood up with Chairman Lu to say goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma Xu. "Time is indeed tight today. When there's a chance, we'll invite you two to Rong City, and we can have a proper gathering."
"Good, good."
"Have a safe trip, you two."
The two elders led the younger generation to see the group to the door, exchanging more polite pleasantries.
Xu Yanxia then escorted Chairman Lu and his wife all the way to their car outside the residential community.
Before parting, Mrs. Lu said to her, "Xiaoxia, Jingming has already told me. Don't feel burdened about the chef position. We all know your abilities, and a capable person should do work that matches their skills to fully realize their potential."
"In this life, you must never let insignificant things hold you back."
Xu Yanxia froze for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Thank you, ma'am. I... I really feel a bit embarrassed."
Lu Jingming had only discussed this with her during dinner in Macau last night. She hadn't expected him to tell his parents so quickly.
"What's there to be embarrassed about? Just because you aren't our family chef anymore, does it mean we don't know each other?"
Mrs. Lu smiled, then told her earnestly, "To be honest, even though we haven't known each other for long, you are like family to us. Old Lu and I have always treated you like our own child."
Saying that, she reached out and hugged her, smiling. "Alright, we're leaving now. See you in Rong City after the holiday."
With that, she got into the car.
The car started moving.
Chairman Lu said to his wife, "Should we find another chef as soon as possible in the next few days?"
Mrs. Lu replied, "Can't we just call Lao Wang back? I heard from Ah Qing that he has fully recovered after resting for a while, and he's been asking around, wanting to come back."
"Alright, he's an old friend, after all."
"It's just that the taste..."
Chairman Lu sighed, then gave a somewhat self-deprecating smile. "This is what they mean by 'it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go from extravagance to frugality'!"
Of course, for their son and for the Lu family, these were trivial matters.
Mrs. Lu smiled instead and said, "This day had to come eventually. Earlier is always better than later."
Such a capable young girl—wouldn't it be a sin if she spent her whole life cooking in their house?
...
After watching Chairman Lu and Mrs. Lu's car drive away, Xu Yanxia also planned to head home.
She hadn't taken two steps when the phone in her pocket vibrated.
Taking it out, she saw it was a message from Lu Jingming: [Are you home yet?]
Xu Yanxia replied: [I arrived a while ago. What about you?]
Lu Jingming quickly texted back: [I just got here.]
With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, the relevant business departments in Rong City had several events. He had just finished his social engagements at noon, so he arrived home later than she did.
Xu Yanxia sent an OK emoji and soon received a picture from him.
Opening it, she saw a close-up of his tie—
Clipped to it was a tie clip, exactly the one she had gifted him yesterday.
Xu Yanxia smiled and sent him a smug emoji.
Immediately after, she received a voice message from him.
"Wishing you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival tomorrow."
He seemed to have spoken with the phone right next to his lips. His voice sounded very close and warm.
Xu Yanxia then also brought the phone to her lips and replied with a voice message, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."
Her voice was brimming with a smile.
Then she put her phone away and continued walking home.
The sun was already setting in the west, casting a golden glow across the evening clouds on the horizon.
She was very happy.
She had finally let go of something in her heart, and simultaneously opened up to something new.
In short, she felt incredibly relaxed.
...
The next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Her aunt, who worked at a nearby factory, also had the day off, making the house lively and bustling.
After breakfast, Xu Yanxia went out with her cousin Yuan Xiaoyue and her brother Xu Zhanpeng to buy ingredients for the evening's reunion dinner.
Since they also stopped along the way to purchase some small thank-you gifts for relatives and friends for Xu Zhanpeng's engagement banquet the next day, it inevitably took a bit longer. By the time they returned home, it was almost noon.
Just as they reached the door, they heard voices coming from inside the house.
It was Grandma saying, "That was our Xiaoxia's boss. They happened to be back in their hometown and dropped by to see us. They sat for a bit and then left."
Immediately following that was Old Mrs. Pan from yesterday, saying, "A boss from so far away came specifically to see you? What kind of massive contribution did your Xiaoxia make?"
...
Yuan Xiaoyue glanced at Xu Yanxia and whispered, "The gossiper is at it again."
Xu Yanxia didn't mind. She first placed the groceries she was holding at the door, asked Yuan Xiaoyue to carry them inside, and went back to help her brother unload the rest of the things from the car.
However, the clever little Yuan Xiaoyue didn't go in right away; she stayed outside to eavesdrop.
She heard her grandfather chuckling and telling the other person, "She's just a young kid, what kind of massive contribution could she make? It's just that her boss is a good person."
Who knew that right after he finished speaking, another old woman chimed in, "You should be careful. I hear that down south nowadays, some rich people look for young girls—the kind who have been to college, too—specifically to have babies for them..."
What?
Yuan Xiaoyue frowned instantly, then heard her mother coming out from inside to confront the old woman who just spoke. "Auntie Hu, what you're saying is completely out of line. Do you think our Xiaoxia is that kind of person?"
"I wasn't talking about her."
The old woman surnamed Hu continued to make excuses.
Just then, all the purchased items had been brought over, and Xu Zhanpeng opened the door. Unable to tolerate it any longer, Yuan Xiaoyue rushed inside and yelled at Auntie Hu, "If you weren't talking about my sister, who were you talking about? Yourself?"
"This child startled me."
Auntie Hu patted her chest and muttered, "Why is she so impolite? She must take after the Yuan family..."
Saying this, she looked at her mother, Xu Xuemei, and said, "Xuemei, you've spoiled her too much. This child has no respect for her elders..."
"You're the one who is impolite!"
Yuan Xiaoyue immediately retorted, "Aren't you just jealous because our family is doing well now? You're unhappy because my sister didn't date your grandson! Gossiping all day in front of my grandparents! Let me tell you, your grandson isn't even worthy of my sister!!!"
"He isn't even fit to carry her shoes!!!"
