A busy afternoon quickly passed. By the time Lu Jingming returned home, it was already dark.
He had sent a message to Xu Yanxia before leaving the company, and at that time, she was already on her way back. Now, parking his car in the garage, he saw her new car already parked in the space next to his.
The car was in perfect condition and parked very neatly.
It seemed her commute to and from work today went smoothly.
He smiled and walked all the way into the living room.
There he saw the third child, Lu Jingyao, who had changed into his loungewear, sitting on the sofa playing video games. Catching a glimpse of him coming in, he even took a moment to call out, "Brother."
However, Xu Yanxia was nowhere to be seen.
Lu Jingming was a bit surprised. "Why are you back?"
Lu Jingyao, who was busy gaming, replied, "??? It's Friday today, bro!"
Lu Jingming let out an "oh" and said, "Almost forgot."
After saying that, he headed to the kitchen.
Sure enough, he saw Xu Yanxia bustling about in front of the stove. She had already changed into her work clothes for the house, and various prepped ingredients were laid out on the counter.
Catching sight of him entering from the corner of her eye, she let out a sound of surprise. "You're back so soon?"
Lu Jingming hummed in agreement and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mom and Dad aren't coming back for dinner tonight, so why did you prepare so much?"
Xu Yanxia replied, "Although the Chairman and his wife aren't coming back to eat, you guys still have to eat. Besides, Jingyao said he's going to Jingbei for a training camp next week, so I tried to make a bit more. Anyway, if we don't finish today's ingredients, they'll just go to waste."
"Alright then."
Lu Jingming left the kitchen.
Soon, he returned, followed closely by Lu Jingyao, who had originally been playing games.
"Sister Xia, is there anything I can help with?"
The tall and burly third young master stood behind his brother, instantly turning into an obedient little brother.
Xu Yanxia, who was busy stir-frying salt in a clay pot, said, "...I don't really need any help."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Jingming chimed in, "Find some work for him to do, let him feel a sense of participation."
Lu Jingyao nodded with a flattering smile. "Exactly, Sister Xia, find me some work to do. I want to feel involved too."
"..."
Xu Yanxia had no choice but to say, "Then how about you help me peel some garlic? I'm going to make Typhoon Shelter fried lobster later, and I need minced garlic."
"You got it!"
The little brother of the Lu family immediately stepped forward and started peeling garlic.
Lu Jingming went upstairs to change his clothes and also returned to the kitchen to help.
A while later, Chairman Lu and his wife returned home and immediately saw the lively scene in the kitchen—
Their youngest son was sitting on a low stool peeling garlic, their eldest son was at the counter using a food processor to mince the garlic, and Xu Yanxia was at the stove simmering something in a clay pot.
The aroma wafting from the pot and the sound of the few people talking and laughing blended together, presenting a lively and warm domestic scene in the kitchen.
Lu Jingyao saw them first and called out, "Mom, Dad, you're back?"
Following closely, Lu Jingming and Xu Yanxia also greeted them one after another.
"My, the sun really has risen from the west!"
Mrs. Lu exclaimed with a smile, "Now not only does the eldest like to cook, but the third also knows to come into the kitchen and help?"
Chairman Lu nodded. "Now this is more like it!"
Saying this, he didn't forget to instruct his youngest son, "Jingyao, learn more about cooking from your Sister Xia. You won't have to worry about no one wanting to marry you in the future."
"That's a must, Dad."
The third young master of the Lu family dumped all the peeled garlic in his hands into his brother's food processor.
Leaving himself aside for now, in order for his brother to realize his dream as soon as possible, he had to learn too!
...
A while later, a sumptuous dinner was laid out on the dining table.
Crispy roast pork, salt-baked chicken, braised beef brisket with radish, Typhoon Shelter fried lobster, salted fish and eggplant clay pot, and stir-fried Chinese broccoli.
Every dish looked excellent and emitted its own rich aroma.
Even though Chairman Lu and Mrs. Lu had already eaten dinner, they couldn't help but be drawn to the table by the fragrance.
"This is too sumptuous!"
Chairman Lu couldn't help but exclaim.
To cater to the third young master of the Lu family, who was about to go to Jingbei for a training camp and would be gone for nearly a month, Xu Yanxia had cooked all local dishes tonight.
She smiled and said, "Today's dinner had the participation of President Lu and the third young master, so the Chairman and Madam should also have a taste."
"Sure!"
Mrs. Lu joked, "Although I'm already full from drinking tea this afternoon, who knows when I'll encounter the scene of my two sons helping to cook together again. I definitely have to taste it!"
Saying so, she sat down at the dining table and picked up her chopsticks.
"Then I'll have a taste too."
Chairman Lu also chuckled as he picked up his chopsticks to taste, and couldn't help nodding repeatedly. "Delicious!"
The crispy roast pork was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the salt-baked chicken was savory to the bone, the radish and beef brisket were each permeated with a rich flavor, and the lobster was even more flavorful.
Even the eggplant and Chinese broccoli were extremely tasty.
"Xia's culinary skills go without saying, but tonight's dishes have an especially homey feel."
As Chairman Lu spoke, he couldn't help but sigh, "If only the second child were also home."
Among the three children, only Lu Jingxi was a girl, so as a father, Chairman Lu inevitably showed a bit of favoritism towards her.
Little did he know that just as he finished speaking, Mrs. Lu's phone started vibrating.
Mrs. Lu glanced at it and immediately smiled at Chairman Lu, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The second child is video calling me right now."
She then answered the video call.
Lu Jingxi on the other end of the video called out, "Mom." Immediately after, Chairman Lu also leaned his face over and said, "Xixi, Dad is here too. When are you coming home? We're all eating together right now, you're the only one missing."
"Dad, I'll finish recording the show in a few days, and I'll be able to come home then."
After Lu Jingxi finished speaking on her end, she said to Mrs. Lu, "By the way, Mom, the time has been set for what I mentioned to you yesterday about inviting Xia to help record the show."
Mrs. Lu let out an "oh" and quickly said, "We don't have a problem with it. Xia happens to be here too, so you can tell her directly."
Saying so, she handed the phone to Xu Yanxia.
Xu Yanxia took the phone, waved at Queen Xixi on the other end, and heard the other party say to her, "Xia, our show is recording on Sunday, so you should come over tomorrow night."
"No problem."
Xu Yanxia nodded.
Lu Jingxi then added, "Then send me your information later, and I'll have my assistant book a flight for you."
"Okay."
Xu Yanxia nodded and returned the phone to Mrs. Lu.
Mrs. Lu and Chairman Lu exchanged a few more words with their daughter before hanging up.
However, they saw the third child, Lu Jingyao, saying with a sad face, "Sister Xia is going to Hainan tomorrow? Doesn't that mean I won't have many delicious meals left to eat?"
Mrs. Lu shot him a glance. "What food can't you eat? Your Sister Xia is going to help your sister. It'll be the same when you come back from your training camp and eat then!"
"Alright then."
The third young master of the Lu family nodded and ate a few more pieces of crispy roast pork in quick succession.
Mmm, the skin was crispy, the fat underneath melted in the mouth, and the lean meat was full of savory flavor.
He wasn't bragging, but for this crispy roast pork made by Sister Xia, there weren't many restaurants in all of Rong City that could beat it!
Seeing his youngest son eating so carelessly, Chairman Lu turned his gaze to his eldest son and asked, "Jingming, you don't need to work overtime at the company this week, right?"
Lu Jingming nodded immediately. "No need."
Even if he did, he would have to push it off.
After all, he still had to go be a talent agent.
He was just about to look up flight tickets when his phone suddenly buzzed.
He answered it, and Wen Jiajun's voice came through the receiver, "Boss, just a quick reminder in case it slipped your mind. The technology forum kicks off in Hangzhou the morning after next. Our flight is tomorrow at noon, and we need to head over early to meet with a few top executives beforehand."
