The bustling scene at Xu's Teppanyaki tonight was truly unexpected.
Xu Yanxia originally planned to have Lu Jingming drive the car to the designated parking lot of the night market. Who knew that after driving around inside, they couldn't find a single parking spot. The two had no choice but to park the car in Jiushen's parking lot across the street.
After parking the car, the two of them bumped into Wen Jiajun, who had just gotten out of a ride-hailing car, while crossing the street.
The latter asked them with some surprise, "Is there some kind of event going on here today? The traffic is ridiculously congested. My ride cost a lot more due to the extra time."
Xu Yanxia said, "It wasn't this congested a while ago. Maybe the nearby shopping mall is having a weekend event. Next time, we should travel during off-peak hours."
As she spoke, she led the two men forward. When they reached her family's stall, the scene before her left her a bit surprised.
Not only were all the seats inside taken, but there were also dozens of people waiting in line outside.
Even the plastic square stools they had prepared were all occupied, and quite a few customers were standing around waiting.
Fortunately, she had asked Luo Jiajia to save a table in advance, so she directly arranged for Lu Jingming and Wen Jiajun to sit at a table furthest inside.
She then said to the two of them, "I'm sorry, it's a bit close to the kitchen here, but there are so many people today, so it was hard to save a table closer to the outside."
"It's fine,"
Lu Jingming smiled and said, "It's pretty good here. With so many people, it's really not easy to save a seat for us."
"Exactly!"
Wen Jiajun also exclaimed, "Your family's stall is way too popular! Thank goodness we came with you, otherwise, how long would we have had to wait?"
Xu Yanxia also found it a bit strange. "There are indeed a lot of people today. I wonder if my brother organized some kind of promotion in the group chat."
As her voice fell, Luo Jiajia and Xu Zhanpeng, who was in the kitchen, caught sight of them and immediately put down their work to come over and say hello.
"Xiao Xia, the friend you mentioned turned out to be President Lu?"
Luo Jiajia looked surprised.
Xu Zhanpeng also said in surprise, "President Lu, how do you have time to come over today?"
Lu Jingming smiled very approachably. "I've heard great things about your food for a long time. Since Xiao Xia has the night off tonight, I just followed her here to give it a try. Seeing how good your business is, I'm really sorry to intrude."
"No, no, we're very happy that you could come!"
Xu Zhanpeng hurriedly wiped his hands on a towel before daring to shake his hand.
Xu Yanxia then introduced Wen Jiajun to her brother and sister-in-law. "This is Assistant Wen, President Lu's former classmate and current colleague."
"Hello, hello."
Wen Jiajun also took the initiative to shake hands with Xu Zhanpeng, saying half-jokingly, "Tonight, I'm purely riding on President Lu's coattails. I've long heard that your food is delicious, but the popularity today is still way beyond my expectations!"
"There are indeed a bit more people today."
Xu Zhanpeng and Luo Jiajia both still had work to do, so they could only instruct Xu Yanxia, "Xiao Xia, take good care of our two guests. We have to get back to work."
"Got it, you guys go ahead."
Xu Yanxia brought over two glasses of their signature drinks and a menu to help the two order.
"Our beef tenderloin, babylonia snails, octopus, and beef offal are all quite popular. The teppanyaki pork collar is also pretty good. Is there anything you particularly want to eat?"
It was rare for them to come and not have to wait in line, so they definitely had to try a few more dishes.
Wen Jiajun's eyes lit up as he said, "I want to eat everything you just mentioned!"
Lu Jingming, on the other hand, said, "I don't have any particular preferences. Just order whatever you see fit."
"Alright."
Xu Yanxia nodded and said, "Then I'll place the order. But you'll have to wait a bit. Looking at the queue today, it will probably take another twenty minutes before it's ready."
"No problem."
Wen Jiajun's face was already full of anticipation. "Just smelling the aroma, I know it can't be wrong. I can wait as long as it takes."
Xu Yanxia then took the menu to the kitchen and nimbly prepared the ingredients.
During the few days her brother had returned home, Wang Gang had practiced quite enough. Lately, he and Xu Zhanpeng each manned a stove, tossing the woks, and their efficiency was decent.
The other two team members, Liu Lei and Hao Long, were busy preheating the iron plates and serving dishes. It could be considered busy but orderly.
Xu Yanxia helped Lu Jingming and Wen Jiajun get a few side dishes, and then went to ask Luo Jiajia, "Why are there so many people today? Did we hand out coupons?"
"No,"
Luo Jiajia said, "There were already customers waiting when we first got here. Wang Gang was also wondering about it just now. He said there weren't this many people yesterday or the day before."
As soon as she finished speaking, two girls who were waiting in line came up to her and asked, "Excuse me, are you Sister Xiaoxia who livestreamed with Lu Jingxi last night?"
"Ah, yes, that's me."
Xu Yanxia nodded.
"It really is you!!!"
The two girls immediately got excited and said, "We heard this place was opened by your family, but we didn't expect to actually run into you!!! Xiao Xia, you look even prettier than on camera!!! Can we... can we take a picture with you?"
Xu Yanxia, "...Sure."
Although she wasn't used to taking photos with strangers yet, these were their customers, and they had been waiting in such a long line, so she definitely had to oblige them.
She stood nicely with the two girls and asked Luo Jiajia to take a photo for them.
Unexpectedly, right after that, two boys came over to ask for a photo with her.
Xu Yanxia then took a photo with the two boys as well.
She thought that would be the end of it, but to her surprise, many more young people came one after another to ask for photos with her, even forming a queue.
Xu Yanxia treated everyone equally. By the time she finished taking photos with everyone, more than twenty minutes had passed.
Luo Jiajia came over with a look of sudden realization and said to her, "I know why there are so many people today. They all came for you!!! Goodness, over two hundred thousand fans is really no joke. We're going to become an internet-famous restaurant, Xiao Xia!!!"
Xu Yanxia, "..."
It seemed to make some sense.
Most of the people queuing today were young people, exactly the demographic of Queen Xixi's fan base.
...So it turned out she was riding on the coattails of a celebrity's traffic?
Speaking of which, Queen Xixi's own older brother was right here at their place right now.
Xu Yanxia quickly turned her head to look, only to see that the dishes had already been served at the innermost table, and Lu Jingming and Wen Jiajun had already started eating.
She hurried over and asked them, "How does it taste? Is it to your liking?"
Wen Jiajun immediately gave a thumbs up and said with heartfelt admiration, "It's so delicious. It's simply the best teppanyaki I've had in recent years, oh wait, the best I've had in my entire life! The heat control and the flavor are absolutely fantastic!"
Lu Jingming also nodded along. "No wonder so many people are waiting in line. The taste is indeed very good."
"That's good,"
Xu Yanxia smiled and apologized to them again, "My brother even told me to host you well, but I didn't expect there to be so many people tonight."
Who knew that just as she finished speaking, three young girls came over from the side and asked her, "Hello, Xiao Xia, can we take a picture with you?"
"Of course."
Xu Yanxia immediately stood up and politely took a picture with the three girls.
After the photo was taken, the girls happily said to her, "Your family's restaurant tastes so good! It really wasn't in vain for us to come here today. We'll definitely come back to eat next time!"
Xu Yanxia quickly nodded and said thank you, "Thank you for your support, you are welcome to come back next time."
As soon as her voice faded, one of the girls added excitedly, "I think you and President Lu are a perfect match! I hope you two end up together soon, and when you do, be sure to make an official announcement!"
Xu Yanxia, "..."
