Perhaps it was because the marketing department did a good job, or perhaps the repriced dishes were indeed very attractive, but the first day of Jiushan's soft opening went much better than Xu Yanxia had expected.
Starting from 11:30, diners began to arrive one after another. Before 12:00, the main dining hall was almost full, and the private rooms had an occupancy rate of over 80 percent.
Although such a scene hadn't been seen at Jiushan for a long time, fortunately, their preliminary preparations were solid. The front-of-house reception was orderly, and the back-of-house kitchen kept up with the pace of serving dishes.
Especially with Xu Yanxia personally overseeing every dish on the side, everyone felt much more confident.
Judging from the reactions of the customers on the spot, the results were quite ideal. When paying the bill, many customers took the initiative to praise the improved quality of their dishes.
A few of them even went to the kitchen in person to express their support for Xu Yanxia.
Xu Yanxia politely expressed her gratitude to all the customers.
Everyone had their nerves strung tight as if fighting a war. It wasn't until the three-hour lunch service ended that they could finally relax a little.
After eating their staff meals, the colleagues went to rest, and Xu Yanxia went up to the office area on the fourth floor.
There was a director's office specially set up for her here, complete with a desk, chairs, and a sofa, which was perfect for taking a break.
Having kept an eye on the kitchen for several hours, she was indeed a bit tired. She sat down on the sofa and casually took out her phone to see if there were any new messages.
She found that Luo Jiajia had sent her several messages in a row two hours ago:
[Damn, Xiao Xia, you went to record a show???]
[And you shared a stage with celebrities?!!]
[Xiao Xia, you're famous!!!]
Below the messages were a few video links.
She clicked on them and found scenes from her recording in Hainan yesterday. There was footage of her cooking, of her using facts to roast that fake foreigner, and finally, of her exchanging blessings with the others at the round table.
"???"
What was going on? Did someone secretly film it again?
While she was wondering, she received another new message from Luo Jiajia: [Xiao Xia, give me a call when you're done, we've picked a location for our store!]
This was good news, so she quickly called Luo Jiajia back.
Luo Jiajia must have been looking at her phone, as she picked up the call after just one ring.
Xu Yanxia hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, Sister Jiajia. Today is Jiushan's soft opening, and I've been in the kitchen the whole time. I just sat down to rest and saw your messages. Where did we choose for the store?"
Luo Jiajia told her, "It's not far from our old place, close to the subway entrance. It's that Western restaurant on the first floor next to MixC."
Really?
Xu Yanxia immediately walked to the window and looked down. From the view of her office, she could just see the location Luo Jiajia mentioned.
"This location is great!"
She immediately said to Luo Jiajia, "It's closer to the subway entrance, and we can also catch the foot traffic from MixC."
You know, this is one of the most popular shopping complexes in the city. Not only are there many local customers, but many out-of-town tourists also often come to check in.
"Isn't it!"
Luo Jiajia was also happy. "The company helped pick this out. It really is better to have investment. Otherwise, how could we possibly secure this location on our own?"
Xu Yanxia also smiled and said, "Then let's work hard. About how long will the renovations take?"
Luo Jiajia said, "From what the company says, it will take about a month. After all, the National Day holiday is coming up, and that place used to be a Western restaurant, so remodeling the kitchen and dining hall will take some effort."
"But the company will worry about all that, so we don't need to. They definitely want it done quickly too."
"Right,"
Xu Yanxia added, "Then over the next couple of days of business, mention the relocation to the customers, and we'll also announce it in the WeChat group when the time comes."
"I know,"
After agreeing, Luo Jiajia on the other end eagerly asked her, "By the way, did you see the messages I sent you earlier? You went to record a show? And you shared the stage with Xiao Chen and Cheng Yiran???"
"Yes, that happened. I mainly went to help our Second Miss out, and I just got back this morning..."
"Ahhh..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Luo Jiajia was already screaming on the other end of the phone, "Why didn't you say so earlier!!! If I had known, I would have asked you to get Xiao Chen's autograph for me!!! I've been super into his dramas lately!!!"
Xu Yanxia could only smile and apologize to her sister-in-law, "I'm sorry, time was tight so I didn't get a chance to tell you. But I'm in a group chat with them, so I'll help you ask for it if I get the chance."
"Great, great, great! It's a deal!!!"
Seeing that the important matters had been discussed, Luo Jiajia hung up the phone.
Xu Yanxia returned to the WeChat interface, planning to ask Lu Jingxi about the videos.
After all, she remembered Lu Jingxi mentioning earlier that the show had a non-disclosure agreement. She hoped the leaked videos wouldn't be secret recordings that could cause trouble.
Who knew she would find that Third Brother Lu, Lu Jingyao, who had already gone to Jingbei for training, had also forwarded the video of her roasting the fake foreigner to the Lu Family Foodies group chat.
He even asked her and Lu Jingxi, [What's going on here? Which fearless bastard managed to piss off my usually good-tempered Sister Xia so much that she roasted him herself?]
Xu Yanxia couldn't help but be amused. She was just about to reply when the second child, Lu Jingxi, beat her to it with a voice message:
"A super thick-skinned poser and fraud. It's his honor to get slapped in the face by Xiao Xia!"
Pfft...
She was amused again and quickly asked Lu Jingxi, [Does the production team know these videos were leaked? Will it have any negative impact?]
Soon, she received another voice reply from Queen Xixi, "The production team had people release them to attract attention. They'll release the official trailer in a bit, and you can share it then."
Xu Yanxia, "..."
Alright then, so it was officially released.
She figured, given the video quality, it didn't look like it was secretly recorded.
She sent an OK emoji.
Immediately after, she saw Lu Jingyao, eager for gossip, ask again, [Wait, who exactly got roasted? If the official team is personally releasing dirt, is he not going to work in the entertainment industry anymore? Will his agency just let this happen?]
Xu Yanxia had the same question.
Never mind the fake foreigner, but Xu Qinghe had always maintained the image of an upright, elegant, and genuinely knowledgeable person. With this happening, would he still be able to get acting roles in the future?
But Lu Jingxi quickly sent a voice message, "What agency? He's basically been blacklisted by the industry now. If he's smart, he might be able to brazenly milk some internet traffic and do livestream sales. If he's not, he can go find a corner to starve in!"
Xu Yanxia, "..."
That greasy guy was actually blacklisted just like that?
Third Brother Lu, who still hadn't fully understood the gossip, quickly asked again, [Wait, which big shot did he offend exactly?]
His sister, Lu Jingxi, replied: [Which big shot do you think? He offended Xiao Xia.]
Unable to get a word in edgewise in front of her screen, Xu Yanxia thought, "???"
...Could it be Lu Jingming?
Right after that, Lu Jingyao sent a string of exclamation marks and tagged Lu Jingming, saying, [Bro, you look so cool wielding all that power!]
Soon, Lu Jingming, who had been quiet all this time, popped up and sent three smiley faces, replying, [It's called carrying out justice on behalf of heaven.]
He then asked Lu Jingyao, [Aren't you training? How can you still be using your phone?]
Lu Jingyao replied, [I'm back at the dorm for my lunch break. Leaving right away.]
Lu Jingming ignored him after that and just tagged Xu Yanxia: [How was today?]
Xu Yanxia reported on her work situation: [Customers started arriving at 11:30 noon. The main dining hall is basically full, and over half the private rooms are booked. It's better than expected.]
Lu Jingming sent an OK emoji and added, [Don't work too hard. Go back and rest early tonight. I'll be able to head back after my wrap-up meeting tomorrow morning.]
Xu Yanxia replied with an [Okay.]
Then she saw him ask, [Do you want some pastries from Hangzhou? I tried the Longjing tea crisps at the hotel and they're pretty good.]
Xu Yanxia was just about to say no, but unexpectedly saw the third brother, Lu Jingyao, send three smiling emojis in a row—
[Can you guys stop rubbing your romance in my face? Bro, do you know how hard my training is here? I can't even get a decent meal!!! And you're here talking about Longjing tea crisps!!!]
Before Lu Jingming could reply, their sister Lu Jingxi sent a string of smiling emojis and said, [Here's another dose of PDA for you.]
With that, she sent a TikTok link to the group.
Out of curiosity, Xu Yanxia clicked on it and found two photos of her and Lu Jingming at the Sanya airport this morning, taken by someone unknown—
One was from right when they arrived; she was watching their two suitcases while Lu Jingming went to buy coffee and was handing it to her.
The other was a shot of Lu Jingming waving goodbye to her as she was about to board her flight.
In the picture, his eyes were full of reluctance to part, looking somewhat melancholic.
Someone in the comments was screaming: [Ahhh, the CEO is so deeply in love! He looks so reluctant to let his girlfriend go!!!]
Others had dug up Lu Jingming's itinerary—
[Yesterday morning I saw the video of Xixi's Big Brother giving a speech at the tech forum. How come he appeared at the Sanya airport this morning? Did he go straight to accompany Xiao Xia after his speech?]
[That must be it!!! Yesterday morning, when Queen Xixi and Xiao Xia were live-streaming their show recording in Sanya, the big brother even sent two Carnival gifts in a row!!!]
[He definitely went to find Xiao Xia as soon as he finished his work!!!]
[Ahhh, he loves her so much!!! They are so shippable together!!!]
[I'm dying from the sweetness of this ship. You two please lock it in forever, okay!!!]
...
Xu Yanxia, "..."
Before she could even utter a word of complaint, she saw the third brother, Lu Jingyao, send several shattered emojis: [Fine, fine, fine! I'm here working myself to death in training, and you guys run off to Sanya together to eat seafood. What great friends you are!!! I'm not playing with you guys anymore!!!]
With that, he indignantly exited the group chat.
Xu Yanxia, "..."
You have to know, it wasn't even seven o'clock in the morning then. How could they have been photographed so early in the day?
