At the same time she grumbled, "When Xiaoyang was little, he especially loved this. After he grew up and started doing modeling and 3D printing, he stopped liking puzzles like this..."

Yang Zhengxi snorted, turned and sat down at the dining table. "Mom, let’s have breakfast first. You flew in overnight too, right? You must be hungry."

President Liu immediately shut up.

Hungry? Of course she was hungry. She looked expectantly toward the kitchen, then at Qiaoqiao. "What are we eating today?"

The chef perked up, and the housekeeper was also beaming. "Today for breakfast we have soup dumplings, crab roe..."

Seven or eight things to eat and drink first thing in the morning—not extravagant, but definitely rich enough.

But as the people at the table listened, their smiles all faded, and President Liu’s face downright collapsed:

"None of that sounds like it’s..."

There’s no way Qiaoqiao would bring soup dumplings and crab roe noodles, right? Those are actually what their Mr. Yang loves, so they get made a lot for breakfast.

What, did he bring crabs and flour? Would that even get through security?

Yang Zhengxi let out two cackling laughs—he himself was frustrated, but seeing his parents’ hopes dashed as well, he somehow had a tiny bit of wicked glee:

"Mom, Qiaoqiao came in too big a rush. All the food and drinks are being sent by courier; they’re not here yet."

President Liu: ...

Even the soup dumplings that had just been served didn’t smell good anymore!

Right then Mr. Yang added, "I ran into Mr. Li from Hengxin Finance on the plane. He heard we had a guest at home and said he’d come over and have a look too..."

President Liu was in a foul mood. "What’s he coming to see? Bet he’s here to hustle for investment again. I don’t want to see him, don’t want to see him! Just tell him I’m out today!"

The family ate breakfast in silence. Yang Zhengxi urged Qiaoqiao to eat more while watching his expression.

Seeing that although he frowned a little, he still earnestly finished everything in front of him, Yang Zhengxi was a bit shocked:

"You don’t think it tastes kind of bad?"

They as a family thought the food was quite good, but for Qiaoqiao, it should be different, right?

The chef heard this quietly from the kitchen, and his heart was breaking.

He’d been specially hired back by President Yang!

Back then they said they just loved his cooking, and he’d worked in this home for so many years now—how did it suddenly become "bad"?

Qiaoqiao thought for a moment:

"It’s not as good as the food at my house, but the chef’s skills are really good. If you eat slowly, you can taste it."

He wasn’t as picky as he’d been at the beginning anymore. Otherwise whenever he went out he’d have to bring his own food, which would be way too awkward!

But his big sister was still very picky.

After silently making the comparison in his heart, Qiaoqiao finished the last sip of soy milk and then said:

"We planted a lot of soybeans this year. Once we’ve harvested, I’ll mail some to you too, Xiaoyang. Then your soy milk will be even more fragrant."

Yang Zhengxi instantly got excited: who would use soybeans just to make soy milk? That’s such a waste!

They needed to soak the beans to grind tofu and sprout bean sprouts, eat the beans’ past and present lives from every angle!

After breakfast and a few more polite exchanges, Qiaoqiao got ready to go upstairs to brush his teeth. Just as he was about to get into the elevator, he saw Xiaoyang finally take out his phone, then stare wide-eyed—

"Mom! Dad!"

He shot out of the elevator like a gust of wind, holding his phone aloft like it was the Imperial Jade Seal:

"This is what Qiaoqiao sent me! So much! There’s so much!!!"

Qiaoqiao was baffled. "What..."

Before the words were out, the elevator doors closed slowly. The last thing he saw was the three of them huddled around the phone, heads together, faces as feverish as if they’d just won five million in the lottery.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Mr. Yang and President Liu were frowning in serious contemplation:

Has the courier been sent out already? If we fly over right now, would that look a bit too bad?

Also, when will the stuff arrive? That Mr. Li is messaging to ask when would be a good time to come by...

Ugh!

Why is he asking us? He should ask the courier company!

Right, Wind Speed Express has great prospects now, but entering the market at this point—is it a little too late?

The family flipped through the detailed item list again and again. It was originally sent by Song Tan in case too much got lost or misplaced during shipping, but now...

Mr. Yang rubbed his stomach. He already had it all planned out which sauce paired with which pickled vegetable.

It’s just that...

"This message was sent a little after 6 a.m., and it’s already 8. Why does it still show ’collected’? Is the logistics not moving yet?"

...

Song Tan had no time to worry about Qiaoqiao now.

Just after 8 o’clock, she got a call from Bai Yuxian’s side.

She looked at the screen—it was from a villager, so she simply hung up.

They’d already done everything they were supposed to. They’d only just gotten back late last night, and they were calling today; it was probably something awkward to answer.

Lun Chuan was in the courtyard picking gardenias—Wu Lan liked that fragrance. After he’d finished making honeysuckle soap for Song Tan to scent the wardrobe, he’d seen the forecast saying it would rain for a few days, so he decided to pick all the gardenias today and make some too.