Xu Yanxia was momentarily taken aback, then smiled and nodded, “Hello, Assistant Wen.”
“Are you here to browse the night market?” Wen Jiajun asked her.
“No,” Xu Yanxia pointed to a nearby stall, “That’s my family’s booth. I just came to help out for a bit, but I have to get back to work soon.”
“Work? That’s perfect,” Wen Jiajun glanced at the driver beside him. “Let Mr. Lu give you a ride back.”
Only then did Xu Yanxia notice the driver was Lu Jingming, dressed in a white shirt and a British-style vest, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
It had only been a day, but he still looked just as handsome.
“Ah, no, that’s not necessary...” she waved her hand, intending to politely refuse.
But before she could say more, Wen Jiajun got out of the car and opened the rear door for her. “There’s no need to be so formal. Mr. Lu is heading back too, so why waste money on a taxi? Besides, it’s hard to get a ride at this hour.”
Lu Jingming inside the car looked at her and said, “Come with us. We’ll drop Jiajun off first; it’s not far.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lu,” she said, reluctantly getting into the back seat and quickly canceling the ride she had just ordered.
As the car started moving, Xu Yanxia asked, “How come both Mr. Lu and Assistant Wen are here?”
“We just finished dinner with a client nearby. When we saw a beautiful woman standing by the roadside who looked like you, we weren’t expecting it to actually be you,” Wen Jiajun said, then asked, “By the way, which stall was your brother’s? Was it Xu’s Teppanyaki?”
Xu Yanxia nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Really!” Wen Jiajun exclaimed. “That’s such a coincidence. I’ve been hearing from my colleagues that your family’s food is excellent. I’ve been wanting to try it. I’ll definitely drop by sometime!”
“You’re welcome anytime,” Xu Yanxia smiled. “If you decide to come, just let me know in advance. I’ll ask my brother to save you a seat.”
“No problem,” Wen Jiajun agreed immediately.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lu, who was driving, asked, “I remember your family owns a restaurant, right? Why are you setting up a stall at the night market now?”
“Our old restaurant was recently demolished,” Xu Yanxia explained. “There are some family matters to handle, so my brother and the others started the stall for the time being.”
Wen Jiajun chimed in, “The real estate market has been sluggish these past few years. You still had demolition there?”
“It’s a municipal project,” Xu Yanxia continued, “They’re building a highway and a hospital, and our place got taken for that.”
Wen Jiajun responded with an “Oh,” then asked, “How’s the compensation from the demolition?”
Xu Yanxia smiled, “It’s definitely less than what it would be here, but it’s still okay.”
Lu Jingming then asked, “By the way, was there an incident at the night market earlier? I saw police cars leaving from there.”
Xu Yanxia hurried to explain, “Just a misunderstanding. It’s been resolved.”
Wen Jiajun said, “Maybe your success stirred up some jealousy? Honestly, with your skills, you should consider opening a proper restaurant. It would be more stable in every way.”
Xu Yanxia nodded, “Yes, but we just started here, and we want to get a feel for the local tastes first. Also, there are elderly family members back home who need care, and many uncertainties to deal with.”
From what she said, she still plans to go back in the future?
Wen Jiajun immediately offered her some advice, “You’re so young, your parents probably aren’t that old either, right? You could try making a start here in Rong City first. The market here is definitely bigger than your hometown.”
“My dad passed away a long time ago,”
Xu Yanxia smiled softly, “My mom left home early too. The elders I’m talking about are our grandparents—they’re already in their seventies, almost eighty.”
“I see…”
Wen Jiajun was surprised but quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know your situation.”
“It’s okay,”
Xu Yanxia replied lightly, “That’s just the truth, and it’s been that way for many years. It’s nothing to worry about. You don’t need to keep it in your mind.”
Wen Jiajun nodded, feeling a bit emotional as he said, “You and your brother have really had a tough time.”
“Everyone’s the same,”
Xu Yanxia smiled again, unaware that Lu Jingming in the driver’s seat had glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
After chatting for a while, they soon arrived at Wen Jiajun’s place. The car pulled over and stopped. Wen Jiajun got out, and Xu Yanxia politely moved from the back seat to the front—
To avoid making Lu Jingming look like her driver.
After exchanging farewells, Wen Jiajun entered his residential complex, and Lu Jingming turned the car around, heading toward the Lu family mansion.
Without the talkative Wen Jiajun, the car suddenly felt a bit quiet.
Suddenly, the girl beside him asked, “By the way, Mr. Lu, do you usually eat in the company cafeteria?”
“Hm?”
Lu Jingming replied, “I eat there occasionally. Why do you ask?”
Xu Yanxia said, “I went to the company cafeteria yesterday and noticed some issues.”
“What kind of issues?”
He asked quickly.
Xu Yanxia spoke tactfully, “Some of the ingredients… aren’t very good.”
“Oh?”
Lu Jingming frowned slightly, “Can you be more specific?”
Xu Yanxia then explained in detail, “First of all, most of it is pre-made food. There’s nothing inherently wrong with pre-made dishes, especially in large cafeterias where they’re quite common. But even pre-made food has standards.”
“Take the chicken popcorn in the fast-food section, for example. Higher quality ones use chicken breast as the base, but the cafeteria uses minced meat pressed together, which is on the lower end among pre-made dishes.”
“Then there’s the pan-fried chicken cutlet. It’s normal to use water-retaining agents to keep the texture moist, but when overused, you can see protein separation. Not only does it taste bad, it’s also unhealthy. If the ingredients came from a reputable supplier, this usually wouldn’t happen.”
“Also, some dishes in the Chinese food section—like the tomato shrimp balls. They look convincing on the surface, but once you taste them, you can tell the shrimp balls are actually made from fish paste. To mimic the color and texture of shrimp, they add a lot of gelatin and coloring. Beef rolls and lamb rolls are even worse; after cooking, their shape doesn’t shrink at all, which clearly shows they’re made from other types of meat pieced together.”
“And then there’s the Western dessert section. Although they label their products as handmade with butter and fresh cream, the aroma is way too strong. It’s obvious they’ve added palm oil flavoring and diacetyl.”
"Although these food additives are all approved by the government, they must be kept within the prescribed limits. Once those limits are exceeded, not only does the food become unpalatable, but over time it can also harm your health—causing issues like osteoporosis, putting extra strain on your kidneys, and increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. In the short term, it can make you feel uncomfortable—dry mouth, drowsiness, sudden weight gain, and so on."
She finished speaking in one breath, and the car fell silent for two seconds.
Then Lu Jingming let out a deep sigh. "No wonder I’ve been so thirsty all morning."
