"That is enough, Xiaoyue."
Seeing Old Lady Hu angrily clutching her chest, Xu Xuemei quickly pulled her daughter back.
Xu Yanxia smiled at them and said, "It is a holiday today, and we bought a lot of things. We wouldn't want you two grandmas to trip over them. Why don't you head back first? It is almost noon, so it is probably time to eat, right?"
The two old ladies' faces immediately dropped, and they muttered, "They are chasing us away!"
"Yeah, they made some money outside and now they look down on people..."
"What are you saying," her grandfather spoke up. "Isn't our Xiao Xia just looking out for you? Our family has a lot going on these next two days. Zhanpeng is getting engaged tomorrow, and there is a lot of work to do."
Her grandmother chimed in, "Yes, we are busy today, so we won't keep you. I will walk you out."
With that, they stood up.
The two old ladies had no choice but to stand up and walk out.
Unexpectedly, just as they reached the door, several people who looked like officials entered the building, carrying various gifts in their hands.
They asked, "Excuse me, is this the home of Mr. Xu Fangshu and Mrs. Yu Meizhen?"
Grandpa Xu was taken aback, quickly nodding, "I am Xu Fangshu. Who might you be?"
"We are from the sub-district office and the neighborhood committee!"
The group immediately stepped forward to shake hands with the elderly couple. "Greetings to you both! Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and we are here to bring you some holiday gifts."
"We apologize. Due to office relocations in previous years, some files were lost, causing the relevant departments to overlook the subsidies for the martyr Xu Yunfeng. We will definitely correct this going forward and keep it in mind at all times."
Saying that, they handed an envelope to the elderly couple and added, "This is the holiday condolence money from the past ten years or so. We are making up for it all today, and we hope you and your family can forgive us."
...
Faced with this scene, let alone Grandpa and Grandma Xu, the rest of the family was also a bit stunned.
The aunt whispered to Xu Zhanpeng and his sister, "It has been so many years since we received any condolence money. Why did they suddenly remember today?"
Indeed.
Xu Yanxia remembered that when her father first passed away, the government had given them a one-time pension. In the following years, during major holidays, relevant departments would also visit them with gifts like grain and oil.
But later, due to department relocations and staff changes, these visits gradually stopped.
Her grandparents were the type who hated to cause trouble for others, so they didn't take it to heart.
She certainly didn't expect that after so long, this condolence money would make a return.
Her brother Xu Zhanpeng looked at her and asked, "Could this have something to do with the Lu family?"
After all, Chairman Lu and his wife had just visited yesterday, and today, this long-unseen condolence money suddenly reappeared.
Xu Yanxia nodded. "Probably. I will ask about it later."
After all, for so many years, apart from chatting with Uncle Shen at the nursing home that day, she hadn't heard anyone mention her father in a long time.
And Uncle Shen's rank didn't seem to be low.
Of course, the condolence money itself wasn't the most important thing. What mattered was the comfort it brought to her grandparents and their whole family.
Just as she finished speaking, the staff members talking to her grandparents turned their attention to her and asked, "This must be Comrade Xiao Xia, right?"
Xu Yanxia quickly nodded. "That is me."
"We just saw the program you participated in on TV a couple of days ago. We didn't expect to meet you in person today!"
The staff members started chatting with her warmly. "Comrade Xiao Xia is the pride of our district. You are truly outstanding!"
"We heard you have many fans online. If you get the chance, please help promote our hometown more."
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "Of course. I am from Qingcheng, and no matter where I go, I will never forget Qingcheng."
...
After chatting for a while, the visiting guests politely said their goodbyes.
Old Lady Pan and Old Lady Hu, who were still sitting by the road soaking up the sun instead of going home, began to mutter again.
"Did she really make a name for herself just by being a chef and cooking? Look at the Xu family, they have one wave of guests today and another tomorrow!"
"Yeah, someone who didn't know better would think some big leader lives in their house!"
The others sunbathing nearby heard them and couldn't help but tease them.
"Cooking depends on who is doing it. With your skills, even if you gave the food away for free, people wouldn't want it."
"Exactly. To tell you the truth, Old Lady Hu, though you might not like hearing it, your grandson isn't a match for the Xu family's girl at all. You had better give up on that idea early on."
...
After 4:00 PM, the preparations for the Xu family's Mid-Autumn reunion dinner began.
Today, the younger generation was mainly in charge of cooking, and the three siblings had already divided the tasks.
Xu Zhanpeng was responsible for making deep-fried oysters, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, four-joy meatballs, and vinegar-glazed cabbage.
Xu Yanxia was going to make scallion-braised sea cucumber, rose soy sauce chicken, sliced pork with garlic sauce, and crab roe tofu.
Yuan Xiaoyue was in charge of taking videos of them, helping out, and observing to learn.
The three siblings were chatting and laughing in the kitchen while cooking when their aunt walked in holding Xu Yanxia's phone. "Xiao Xia, someone is video-calling you."
Xu Yanxia replied with an "Oh," took the phone, and saw that it was Lu Jingxi calling her.
She quickly answered the call. Two smiling faces immediately appeared on the screen: one was her best friend Lu Jingxi, and the other was a beaming Old Master Shen.
"Xiao Xia," Queen Xixi, dressed in loungewear, waved at her happily. "Grandpa and I both want to wish you a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"Thank you!" Xu Yanxia couldn't help but smile, speaking into the phone. "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you, Old Master Shen, and Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you too, Xixi!"
After saying that, she felt a bit puzzled and quickly asked Lu Jingxi, "Aren't you supposed to be singing at the CCTV gala tonight? I just saw your name on the list."
On the other end, Lu Jingxi sighed playfully, "It is pre-recorded. It is the Mid-Autumn Festival; even the donkeys in the production team need a day off!"
"Oh right, let me show you our reunion dinner today!" With that, she turned the camera around.
Xu Yanxia saw a Chinese-style dining room appear on the screen. The decor was very elegant. The large round table in the center was already filled with many dishes, including mirror-box tofu, vegetarian stir-fry, salt-baked goose, dry-braised yellow croaker, and more, mostly in the Huaiyang culinary style.
She could also see Uncle Shen, her aunt-in-law, Chairman Lu, and Mrs. Lu sitting to the side chatting. Next to Mrs. Lu was Lu Jingming.
He was wearing a long-sleeved, off-white crewneck T-shirt. His hair looked natural and clean, giving off a very casual, at-home vibe.
Seeing Lu Jingxi's camera, he asked, "Who are you video-calling?"
Lu Jingxi's voice came from off-screen, "Xiao Xia."
She saw him immediately reach out to Lu Jingxi to grab the phone. "Let me say a few words."
However, Lu Jingxi snorted, "This is our bestie time. Go away, big brother."
And then she turned the camera back to herself.
Then she told Xu Yanxia, "I also want to let you in on a little secret, Xiao Xia. Because our Mid-Autumn food special was received so well after it aired, Qiwei is now interested in producing a dedicated food show, and they want you to join. They will probably contact you after the holidays."
"Think about the compensation first. It will be at least this much for a single season."
As she spoke, she made a hand gesture indicating the number seven.
Seven figures?
Xu Yanxia was a little shocked.
