That's right, this plum juice was once the signature drink of their family's shop, brewed by Xu Yanxia using an ancient imperial recipe, completely different from the beverages commonly found on the market today.
"You brewed this yourself?"
Lu Jingyao looked at her with admiration. "That's incredible! The taste is really good—just the right amount of sweetness, not too sour, and it has a special aroma. Is there any more?"
Xu Yanxia nodded. "Yes, there's more. It's all in the fridge."
The summers in Rong City were long, and cooling drinks were a daily necessity. She had just brewed this batch that very morning.
"Then pack some for me later; I'll take it to play ball."
"Okay."
Housekeeper Zhang fetched Lu Jingyao's sports water bottle. Xu Yanxia returned to the kitchen to fill it with the plum juice. By the time she came out again, the young master Lu had finished his meal.
The plates were almost empty; he had quite an appetite.
Lu Jingyao was passionate about all sorts of sports. After resting for a short while, he headed out with the plum juice to play ball.
Xu Yanxia and her colleagues also finished their dinner as night had already fallen.
The bustling city below the mountain glittered with neon lights, and the evening breeze blew in from the nearby sea.
At this time yesterday, she would have already been off work, lying in bed scrolling through her phone. But Housekeeper Zhang had mentioned yesterday that Lu Jingyao was the only one in the Lu family who enjoyed late-night snacks, so Xu Yanxia didn't go to rest. After tidying the kitchen, she took a stroll in the courtyard and even fed the few little cats living there.
About two hours later, a commotion arose in the courtyard.
Three luxury cars drove in one after another. Once parked, five or six young men, around Lu Jingyao's age and all dressed like scions of wealthy families, got out.
"Auntie,"
Lu Jingyao, still in his basketball jersey, led the way, laughing as he tattled, "They stole my plum juice, and now they're here for supper too!"
The others burst out laughing. "Auntie Zhang, we're here to raid the kitchen!"
"Auntie Zhang, we heard you have a new chef! We want some good food too!"
...
These were all Lu Jingyao's childhood friends, whom Housekeeper Zhang had watched grow up.
Housekeeper Zhang welcomed everyone with a smile and then instructed Xu Yanxia, "Sorry for the trouble, Xiao Xu. Please prepare some supper."
"Of course."
Xu Yanxia had been prepared. She took ingredients from the fridge, seasoned them, and got them on the grill. In less than half an hour, sizzling teppanyaki dishes were served one by one onto the dining table.
Chicken pieces, eel, sea snails, beef cubes, along with squid and stuffed tofu.
Each sizzling plate emitted a rich and tantalizing aroma, luring the young men who had been gaming in the living room to drop their phones simultaneously and rush to the table.
"Wow, this looks absolutely professional!!!"
A boy with permed hair was the first to exclaim in admiration, while another wearing a baseball jacket had already picked up his chopsticks for a taste.
"Whoa, coming today was the right call!!! This eel is amazing!"
"The beef is superb too! So tender and flavorful! And the chicken pieces, wow, they're absolutely delicious!"
...
Lu Jingyao, who had already eaten a full meal earlier, had been stubbornly holding on to his game. Hearing everyone's praise, he finally tossed his phone aside and squeezed into the crowd. "Hey, save some for me!"
Just then, Xu Yanxia brought the freshly made teppanyaki mantis shrimp to the table. Lu Jingyao quickly gave her a thumbs-up. "This beef tastes completely different from what I had earlier. Sister Xia, you're awesome!"
The tall boy with permed hair joined in with flattery, "This sister is not only beautiful but also such a skilled cook. That's truly impressive!"
Xu Yanxia smiled, "I'm glad everyone likes it."
As soon as the words left her mouth, a red-haired boy said, "This flavor tastes quite similar to that really popular street stall teppanyaki lately?"
Xu Yanxia asked, "Are you talking about the Xu Family Teppanyaki at the intersection of Xiahe Street?"
"Yes, that's the one!"
The red-haired boy asked her, "Have you tried it too, sis?"
Xu Yanxia gave a gentle smile, "More than just tried it. That stall is run by my family."
Even the secret sauce recipe came from her own hands.
With two lifetimes' worth of cooking experience, every dish in her family's restaurant over the years—how to prepare it, what seasonings to use—had been decided by her. Her brother had admired her culinary skills since childhood and was good at heeding her advice, which was why they had maintained their excellent reputation.
Even if the family restaurant back home couldn't operate for now, setting up a street stall in Rong City could still attract plenty of customers.
Currently, they had been running the stall for less than a month and had already started building a reputation.
"So it's your family's business!"
The red-haired guy's eyes lit up, "That's great! Every time I go, I have to queue for ages. Now that I know someone, sis, next time please ask the boss to save me a spot!"
"Lu Tong, are you an idiot?"
Lu Jingyao said, "The authentic teppanyaki is right here in front of you, why queue? Didn't you just say the taste is the same?"
"Yeah, dummy!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Brother Yao is right!"
Realizing his mistake, Lu Tong quickly took out his phone to take pictures, "What a find today, gotta post this on my feed!"
...
The dining room was filled with lively chatter until a moment when Lu Jingming, dressed in a shirt and suit pants, stepped into the living room.
Xu Yanxia glanced over and immediately greeted him, "Mr. Lu, you're back."
"Big brother!"
The others also looked over, following Lu Jingyao's lead in calling him brother.
"There's late-night snacks, big brother, would you like to join us?"
"Yeah, this teppanyaki is absolutely amazing."
Lu Jingming, who had just flown back from Shencheng, glanced at the table. Although the food on the several griddles was already more than half eaten, a rich aroma still wafted to his nose.
"No need, you all enjoy."
He started walking upstairs, adding casually, "Try to eat less takeout."
Takeout?
Lu Jingyao hurriedly explained, "This isn't takeout. Sister Xia made it. It's really delicious."
Sister Xia?
Lu Jingming didn't know who that referred to. He scanned the dining table, seeing a group of young men, with only one tall, fair-skinned young woman in their house uniform standing to the side, who seemed to have brought him a sandwich that morning.
"That's good then."
He nodded and continued upstairs.
Behind him, the lively conversation in the dining room resumed—
"This is so good, can we come over for another round next week?"
"Hey, Chu Hao, are you just going to keep mooching forever?"
"I-I'll bring my own ingredients, how about that? The main thing is the queue at Xu Family's is just too long!"
"I'll bring drinks!"
"I'll bring snacks!"
...
An hour later, the young, stylish guys finished their feast and gradually left the Lu residence, agreeing before departing to come back for late-night snacks again next week.
Xu Yanxia had no objections to this. Cooking was her job, and people enjoying her food meant her work had value.
That was something to be happy about.
The cleaners, Sister Wang and Sister Sun, tidied up the dining room, while she was responsible for cleaning the kitchen.
Just as she was busy, a voice suddenly sounded from behind, "Is there anything else to eat?"
She quickly turned around and saw President Lu, who had just declined the late-night snack invitation, standing at the kitchen doorway.
