“Maybe it was just a coincidence.”
Lu Jingming asked his mother, Mrs. Shen, “How was your chat with Mrs. He today?”
“Don’t even mention it,”
Mrs. Shen was about to vent to her son. “Mrs. He is very refined, so our conversation went well. But that Qu Xiangdong’s wife kept acting all snide and weird—I don’t know what her problem is.”
“We landed a 200 million order from them in Southeast Asia in the first half of the year. Recently, their new project fell through, and I heard Qu Xiangdong was caught going back to a hotel with a young woman.”
Lu Jingming picked up a slice of braised beef, chewing as he said, “The Qu family’s been having a lot of trouble lately.”
Mmm, the beef was rich with savory sauce, perfectly seasoned—delicious.
“No wonder,”
Mrs. Shen chuckled. “That Qu Xiangdong has never been faithful since he was young. If his wife really cared, she would have divorced him long ago. Now she’s so bitter she looks sour and snaps at everyone. It’s only because I’m magnanimous that I don’t bother with her. If it weren’t for Mrs. He hosting today, I would have given her a piece of my mind.”
“But that’s all small stuff. We’ve been trying to find an opportunity to cooperate with Zhongrun. Mrs. He kindly invited us this time, maybe it’s the chance we’ve been waiting for. She likes Chinese-style settings, so she booked the club at Donghu for the event. It’s scheduled for the Wednesday after next. You absolutely have to come—it shows we value them.”
“All right.”
Lu Jingming nodded and helped himself to some pickled vegetables.
Tangy, spicy, and crisp—they really whetted the appetite.
“Make sure to get Xiao Xu to show off her skills,”
Mrs. Shen was already making plans for the banquet two weeks from now. “Find out what the He family likes, and have Xiao Xu draft the menu. That girl is a real talent!”
Mrs. Shen excitedly shared a highlight from the day with her son. “You wouldn’t believe it—she can just sniff a dish and tell exactly how it was made and what ingredients went into it. It’s like she’s got superpowers!”
“If it weren’t for her, I’d have had a miserable day. Tell finance to give Xiao Xu a raise. And don’t let anyone poach her. Oh, and your father said he’ll give her a bonus too—make sure you remember that. We have to keep our word.”
“Got it.”
Lu Jingming finished the rest of his noodles in one go.
By 8:30 p.m., Chairman Lu returned from his evening drinks, while the third Lu son, Lu Jingyao, went straight back to school. There was no one left in the mansion who needed dinner, so Xu Yanxia cleaned up the kitchen and clocked out.
After spending the whole day accompanying Mrs. Lu at social events, she was honestly quite exhausted. After showering, she lay down on the bed, planning to scroll through her phone.
Unlocking the screen, she found two new messages.
One was from Lu Corporation, informing her that her salary grade had been upgraded from B7 to B4.
—To facilitate payroll and social security, the Lu family’s staff all sign contracts with the group. So any salary changes are notified via the group’s official system.
The other message was from the bank, notifying her of a recent transfer, the payer also being Lu Corporation.
Xu Yanxia stared at the amount—three followed by four zeros. After confirming she wasn’t mistaken, she sent a WeChat message to President Lu.
[Sorry to bother you, President Lu. Are you asleep?]
She quickly received a reply from the other party: "No, is something wrong?"
Xu Yanxia responded, "Well, I just received a transfer from the company, and I’m not sure if it was sent by mistake? Also, the company system just upgraded my salary grade."
She knew it was only the beginning of the month. Salaries were always paid at the end of the month, and she had only been here a few days. Even if it was salary, it couldn’t possibly be this much.
The salary grade upgrade was even more ridiculous. She was originally at B7, with a monthly salary already over ten thousand yuan. How could it suddenly jump three levels? That would mean a huge raise.
It had to be a system bug.
But soon enough, she received a reply from President Lu: "No mistake. That’s your bonus. The salary grade adjustment is normal."
Xu Yanxia was stunned.
Thirty thousand yuan — was that really her bonus?!
She had only been here a few days and already got a bonus?
Wow, the wealthy elite really were generous. So the salary on the contract was just the base pay...
She made a mental note to thank Uncle Li properly when she had time.
After recovering from her shock, she quickly sent a message back to her benefactor: "Okay, thank you, President Lu. Sorry to bother you."
He replied promptly: "You’re welcome."
Less than two minutes later, another message popped up: "What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?"
Xu Yanxia blinked in confusion.
Wait, they just had dinner not long ago — was he hungry again already?
She could only send him the menu she had prepared.
After a while, the reply came: "Make extra char siu buns and beef patties."
Xu Yanxia: "Got it."
Looks like those two were his favorites.
...
The next morning, Xu Yanxia got up early as usual and started working, ensuring that the Lu family of three were greeted with freshly made breakfast as they got up and came downstairs.
Since the youngest Lu, Lu Jingyao, had returned to school, only Chairman Lu, Mrs. Lu, and Lu Jingming were having breakfast today.
Xu Yanxia took care to prepare each person’s favorite dishes: beef and spicy pepper soup for Chairman Lu, crispy scallion pancakes; five-grain nourishing soy milk and mashed potato vegetable salad for Mrs. Lu; crab roe pan-fried buns; and the char siu buns and beef patties that the chairman had specifically requested extra of yesterday.
After finishing a bowl of the spicy beef soup, Chairman Lu sighed in satisfaction, "After drinking, nothing beats this. It makes you sweat it out and feel completely refreshed!"
Mrs. Lu looked at him helplessly, "The doctor told you to cut back on drinking at your last check-up. Don’t you remember?"
Chairman Lu chuckled sheepishly, "Old Zhou and the others insisted I join them. I couldn’t exactly say no. I only had two drinks."
Trying to change the subject, he praised Xu Yanxia, "Xiao Xu, these scallion pancakes are really good. Teacher Shen, you should try some too."
Mrs. Lu ignored him and turned her attention to their eldest son, "Since you have time this morning, Jingming, eat a little more."
"I’m good, Mom. You and Dad take your time," Lu Jingming said as he put down his chopsticks. Then he turned to Xu Yanxia, "Could you please pack a few char siu buns and beef patties for me? I want to take them to the office."
"Sure," Xu Yanxia replied, hurrying to the kitchen to get some packaging bags.
She overheard Mrs. Lu ask Lu Jingming, "Don’t they provide lunch at your company today? Why are you bringing food from home?"
“This is for Wen Jiajun.”
Lu Jingming said, “Last night he asked me what we were having for breakfast this morning. When he heard there was something he liked, he told me to bring extra for him.”
Xu Yanxia was speechless.
So the menu last night was actually chosen for someone else.
President Lu is quite thoughtful towards his colleagues.
