"Sleep is still necessary,"
Xu Yanxia was amused by Luo Jiajia's words. "You're our chief financial officer, after all. You need to stay healthy. By the way, we should quickly get our social media account verified to prevent impersonators. Also, I expect we'll see an increase in customers soon. Will you be able to handle it? If not, we can hire a few more people to help."
"Your brother already called Liu Lei and Hao Long this morning. They're on day shifts these days and can come help after work. Then, Wang Gang can help your brother with the cooking. He's learned most of it over the past few days and can manage on his own now,"
Luo Jiajia said. "Also, your aunt set off from our hometown this morning. She should arrive this afternoon."
"Auntie is coming too?"
Xu Yanxia was very surprised.
Luo Jiajia explained, "Auntie must have followed my Douyin account at some point. She saw the live stream last night and left me a message saying it was her fault we got bullied, and she couldn't stay at home, insisting on coming. By the time I saw the message, she had already bought her ticket."
"Well, let her come then,"
Xu Yanxia sighed. "Grandpa's health has been relatively stable lately, and Yuan Jincai still hasn't been found. She's been feeling suffocated at home; coming out for a change of scenery might be good for her."
Yuan Jincai was that scoundrel uncle of hers who had run off.
"Anyway, we'll have extra help, so don't worry,"
Luo Jiajia said with a laugh, then asked her, "By the way, so many people online are praising you for being smart, capable, and beautiful. Why don't you start your own account? You might even become an internet celebrity!"
"Not everyone is cut out to be an internet celebrity,"
Xu Yanxia smiled. "I'm just glad you're all okay. I have to go out soon, so I'll talk to you later."
Luo Jiajia on the other end of the line also said goodbye, and Xu Yanxia hung up.
Lu Jingming had arranged to meet her at the company at 10:30 AM before he left this morning. After preparing the ingredients for her colleagues' lunch and seeing that it was almost time, Xu Yanxia went back to her dormitory to change clothes, then took Uncle Li's car to the Lu Corporation.
Back at the Lu Corporation office building, Lu Jingming had just finished a meeting and returned to his CEO office.
Wen Jiajun brought him the profit report for Jiu Shan and asked, "Have you seen today's local Douyin trending list? Little Xu is on it."
"I heard about it at home this morning,"
Lu Jingming said, somewhat exasperated. "My mother still has some shares in Jiu Shan she wants to sell, but now probably isn't a good time."
"That's true,"
Wen Jiajun said. "Jiu Shan is right in the eye of the storm now. Their business hasn't been doing well these past two years anyway, and with this public opinion crisis, selling now would likely mean taking a loss."
Lu Jingming nodded. "Let's look at their profit situation over the last two years first."
As he spoke, he picked up the document Wen Jiajun had brought and started reading.
Then he heard Wen Jiajun ask, "By the way, what did Little Xu study in university?"
"She majored in Food Science at South China Agricultural University,"
Lu Jingming replied. "Why do you ask?"
Wen Jiajun held his phone screen in front of him. "Take a look at this clip."
Lu Jingming looked up and saw the screen playing a scene from after the troublemakers were taken away by the police last night. Xu Yanxia was standing at the night market stall, speaking to the customers eating around her—
"Thank you all for your trust. Our family always uses the freshest ingredients. We post our food preparation process daily on Douyin, and we usually have a live stream in the evening, so everyone can clearly see how our dishes are made. If you're interested, you can follow our Douyin account. You can also get discount coupons in our WeChat group these next few days."
"Although we are a small business, clean ingredients are our top priority. You can absolutely rest assured. For all customers today, we are offering a complimentary cup of our homemade traditional dark plum juice."
...
"This kind of speech, this level of emotional intelligence!"
Wen Jiajun exclaimed with a laugh. "I thought she studied Public Relations or Advertising. If I were the owner of Jiu Shan, I'd hire her with a high salary right now. Her cooking skills are no worse than any other restaurant's. She also seems to understand business management. I heard their little stall has only been set up for about a month and is already this popular. She's quite a talent!"
She really was a talent.
Just as Lu Jingming was about to speak, his phone vibrated twice.
He glanced at the screen, quickly typed a reply, then stood up and said to Wen Jiajun, "Notify the heads of Administration, Logistics, and the Inspection Department to meet me at the sixth-floor cafeteria."
Wen Jiajun was taken aback. "Why the cafeteria all of a sudden?"
Lu Jingming was already walking out. "You can come see if you want to know, but you might lose your appetite for lunch later."
Wen Jiajun, "???"
What did that mean?
Seeing that Lu Jingming had already left the office, he hurriedly followed.
As the two passed by Secretary Xiao Hu's desk, messages in the company's "Gossip Squad No. 1" group chat were updating rapidly—
Onlooker A: [Did you see today's local trending list? Doesn't that girl from Xu's Teppanyaki look like Boss Lu's girlfriend?]
Onlooker B: [The one who came to deliver food that time? I think so too!]
Onlooker C: [It can't really be her, can it? Boss Lu's girlfriend wouldn't go set up a street stall, would she?]
Suddenly, someone named "Mango Coco" chimed in: [What Boss Lu's girlfriend? That's just Boss Lu's family chef. Stop spreading rumors.]
Onlooker A: [She's a chef?!]
Onlooker C: [No way? Would Boss Lu's family have such a young chef???]
Mango Coco: [Why would I lie? I saw her at Boss Lu's house last time. Her surname is Xu, and that teppanyaki stall is her family's.]
Onlooker B: [Oh, Coco, are you that lady from the PR department who often goes out with Mrs. Lu? Then what you say is credible!]
Mango Coco: [I'm not some 'lady.' Anyway, that's just Boss Lu's family chef, not his girlfriend. Stop spreading rumors.]
Right after sending this message, someone happened to walk by her workstation. Wu Huina quickly switched her phone screen from the chat group to her office software.
She had been with Lu Corporation for over two years. Besides accompanying Mrs. Lu to some business events, she also worked in the PR department. Although it sounded a bit demanding at first, it was actually a very coveted position.
—Mrs. Lu was generous. She would often buy Wu Huina an item or two while trying on clothes or bags herself, or casually give her gifts from brand events. Any single one of those things was worth several months of her salary.
But ever since last week when she was on vacation and couldn't return in time, and Mrs. Lu took that little chef to an event, Mrs. Lu hadn't taken her out for several days in a row.
Seeing that Mrs. Lu and the Chairman were going on a business visit to Europe tomorrow, but she still hadn't been notified yet...
Although her visa had been ready for a long time, she felt a bit uneasy.
Would Mrs. Lu take that chef along again this time?
