The kitchen sparked to life with the crackling sound of stir-frying, followed by the rhythmic thudding of footsteps on the stairs.
"Coming!"
Immediately after, a face that bore a striking resemblance to Lu Jiaying’s came into view.
Tong An’an, dressed in a short black cotton jacket and her hair tied up in a high bun, ran down the stairs.
Seeing guests, she first trotted to a corner of the kitchen, picked up a kettle, and then placed two disposable cups in front of them.
As she poured the water, she realized the assistant was the same person who had greeted her earlier.
"It's you. Handling some business, aren't you? Still here."
The assistant replied, "Yes, I'm a bit hungry. I'll leave after dinner."
"Alright, you two drink first. I've put the kettle here. If you want more, you can refill it, or I can pour for you."
The assistant politely said, "Thank you, no need to trouble yourself."
Seeing Jiang Jingyu pick up the water and take a sip, he then picked up his own teacup.
Jiang Jingyu took a sip of tea, raised his wrist to check his watch. It was 5:40 PM.
At this hour, it should be the peak of business for a restaurant. Perhaps it was due to the impending demolition that they had no customers.
A wave of inexplicable guilt washed over him. He put down his teacup and said to the assistant,
"I don't like this. Go see if there's any good soup available."
It was normal for the CEO to be unaccustomed to plain water served in plastic cups when visiting a roadside eatery for the first time.
However, he might not find a soup to his liking.
He quickly turned to find Tong An’an.
Tong An’an, wearing gloves, was wiping a table. Sensing his gaze, she ran over with a rag.
"What is it?"
"Do you have any good soup recommendations? Something light, not greasy, and thirst-quenching."
"Soup,"
Tong An’an raised her hand and tilted her head to look at the wall. After a long moment, she pursed her lips and smiled.
"It's hard for me to recommend something. I'm not very professional. How about you wait a moment? I'll go ask my mom."
Upon hearing this, the assistant fought back a smile at her honesty.
This was his first time encountering such an unprofessional server. The CEO had always been very strict about work performance. He hoped she wouldn't be angered by her lack of professionalism.
Jiang Jingyu wasn't angry. Instead, he felt a sense of warmth from Tong An’an's candor.
He nodded, agreeing to Tong An’an's suggestion.
Tong An’an, carrying the rag, went into the kitchen.
The dishes were already stir-fried, and the rice had been steamed beforehand. Tong's mother scolded her as she plated the food.
"You've read yourself silly! You don't even know what soup to recommend to guests. What good are you?"
"Everyone said you were smart since you were little, that I'd have a good life thanks to you. But after all these years of schooling, you can't find a job, and now you come back to help, but you can't even do that properly. What good are you?"
"You're so stupid your brain doesn't even spin. You should just recommend the most expensive item on the menu!"
After a torrent of petty complaints, Tong An’an emerged with two plates, her face dejected.
"Here's your food—or, would you like to try the pigeon soup?"
She wasn't blind. She had studied in Nancheng for several years. Although she hadn't found a particularly good job, she had worked many part-time jobs and had some ability to assess people's status.
Jiang Jingyu and the assistant, with their attire, speech, and demeanor, were clearly not people to be easily fooled.
They were probably just hungry and happened to see a restaurant here, so they came in for a bite.
Expecting to earn much from their pockets wasn't enough for anything significant. Why embarrass herself?
"To be honest, there isn't any soup that's particularly light and thirst-quenching. Pigeon soup is the only decent one. Order it if you want, or just drink plain water."
She kept her voice very low, as if afraid her mother would hear.
"Alright, eat slowly. Call me if you need anything."
As she finished speaking, before she could leave the table, her mother walked out, wiping her hands, a fake smile plastered on her face.
"You want soup? We have pig's trotter soup with soybeans..."
She chattered on about a lot of things.
The assistant was truly unsure what to order and was struggling, when Jiang Jingyu said,
"It's our first time in your town, so trying your local specialties would be good. Give me one of each."
Not only the assistant but also Tong An’an and her mother were stunned.
These two looked refined and elegant, clearly not foodies. Could they finish so much food?
Tong An’an was about to ask Jiang Jingyu when her mother's fake smile turned into a genuine one.
"Great, I'll go serve you now. What are you standing there for? An’an, come help!"
Tong An’an was speechless for a moment, and then followed them into the kitchen.
Even with so many dishes ordered, the meal cost less than 200 yuan.
While they were eating, Tong An’an's mother sat at a nearby table and chatted with them.
"I don't know which heartless person is trying to ruin our livelihood. I've run this restaurant for half my life. I've raised my children, saved some money for retirement, and now they say we have to move out because of demolition."
"What did we do to deserve this? Leaving the place where we've lived our whole lives to move into those cramped apartments? It's crowded, and what will we eat in the future?"
Ever since the demolition notice, business had been declining. Her mother complained about these things to everyone.
Tong An’an was tired of hearing it but dared not say anything.
But today was different. It was obvious that these two couldn't stand such petty talk from common folk. She quickly stopped her.
"Mom, they're eating. What are you rambling about?"
"What am I rambling about? I'm speaking the truth. They can eat their food, what's wrong with me chatting?"
"I rarely encounter people all day, so I can't vent my frustrations?"
"I want to talk to you, but do you even pay attention to me? All day long, it's just reading, reading, reading. What's the use of reading for so many years? In the end, you can't even find a job."
"If you and your brother were even a little bit accomplished, your father and I wouldn't have to..."
Tong An’an's face turned red with embarrassment, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
Being humiliated by her mother in front of peers, she had truly had enough.
But she also blamed herself for not being more capable. She had sent out so many resumes and interviewed with so many companies.
Either her applications vanished into thin air, or the benefits were too poor. Otherwise, she would have left home long ago.
It was at this moment that Tong An’an made up her mind. The next time she received a recruitment call, no matter how poor the benefits, she would go and try.
Anything was better than staying at home.
The assistant, with his high emotional intelligence, saw how her mother was speaking to Tong An’an and smoothly chimed in, diffusing the awkwardness for both of them.
Tong's mother continued her barrage of complaints.
Jiang Jingyu listened, taking everything in and filing it away in his mind.
To be honest, he had the ability to help Tong An’an.
It was rare to find someone who looked so much like Lu Jiaying, and he was happy to see her again.
If nothing else, it would be a comfort, a way to alleviate his longing.
However, he didn't want to do that.
If he hadn't been so persistent in pursuing Lu Jiaying, she wouldn't have had an accident.
The men of the Zhan family seemed to have an inherited trait.
Whichever woman they liked would somehow bring them misfortune.
He absolutely did not want to harm any other girl.