Lin Xu returned to his car and nudged Shen Jiayue, who was still fast asleep in the passenger seat.
"Stop sleeping, Baobao, wipe off your drool. We’re about to et my family’s elders."
Shen Baobao, deep in her slumber, jerked awake upon hearing this. She looked around and then said in a daze, "Are we here already? Wow, this place is beautiful!"
But the thought of eting the Lin Family’s elders had her quickly pulling out a small mirror from her bag, checking her reflection, wiping clean the saliva at the corner of her mouth, and tidying the hair at her temples.
After Lin Hongqi and Chen ijuan drove in with Liu Zhengyu, Lin Xu was preparing to follow when he saw a business van with a Beijing license plate, covered in dust, approaching from the rearview mirror.
Hmm? Could it be another acquaintance from Beijing?
He waited for a mont. As the vehicle drew closer, he recognized Zeng Xiaoqi sitting in the passenger seat at a glance. This...
He opened his door, stepped out, and waved to Zeng Xiaoqi in the passenger seat.
Zeng Xiaoqi, who had just woken up, saw soone waving in the distance and mumbled to the driver with a smile, "I’ve been really craving Boss Lin’s cooking recently; I see him in everyone. Look at the person waving up ahead; he looks so much like Boss Lin... Hey, isn’t that him?"
When they reached the ticket office entrance, Zeng Xiaoqi got out of the car.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Xu asked, "Have you guys eaten yet?"
"Not yet. The GPS led us to the wrong place earlier, and we just found our way here."
"Let’s go then. My grandmothers have prepared a big spread of food. Let’s go in and eat first. Driver, just follow my car in."
After everyone got back into their cars, Lin Xu drove, leading the TV station’s interview van to the scenic area’s main entrance. Once he honked the horn, his maternal uncle, who was responsible for watching the gate, hurried over to greet him. Lin Xu handed over a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes he had prepared in advance.
"We’re going inside to eat, Uncle. We’ll chat after the al."
"Go on, go on. Everyone at ho is waiting."
After driving in, Lin Xu drove past the tourist center and turned into a courtyard with a sign for a farmhouse restaurant. This was one of the scenic area’s restaurants, specializing in farmhouse cuisine. At this ti, Lin Family relatives were under the shade of trees in the yard, so sitting, so standing, chatting while enjoying the mountain breeze.
When Lin Xu’s car pulled in, all the relatives gathered around.
"He’s here, he’s here! Xiao Xu has finally arrived!"
"We’ve all been anxiously waiting!"
"Where are the two grandmothers? Weren’t they just chattering about their grandson’s wife? Quick, find them. Our guests have co from so far; we mustn’t neglect them."
"Exactly. They’ve traveled such a long way. It would be awful if we were cold or neglectful. That would make them feel terrible."
"The red envelopes? Are they all ready?"
"..."
When Lin Xu got out of the car and saw the relatives crowding around, he quickly greeted everyone. He then went around to the other side of the car to put an arm around Shen Baobao, who looked a bit panicked.
"Yueyue, this is my eldest maternal uncle."
"Hello, Eldest Maternal Uncle!"
"Hey, hello, hello! This is a red envelope from your eldest maternal uncle. It’s just a small token."
"Thank you, Eldest Maternal Uncle!"
"Yueyue, this is my second maternal uncle."
"Hello, Second Maternal Uncle!"
"..."
The proceedings were pretty much the sa as Lin Xu’s first visit to the Shen Family; he just had to greet each person in turn. However, the difference was that Lin Xu hadn’t received any red envelopes at the Shen Family last ti, whereas now Shen Baobao’s hands held a stack of them.
While they were exchanging pleasantries, Lin Xu’s grandmothers ca over. The two elderly ladies, chattering about their ’grandson’s wife’—each using their own term for her—pulled red envelopes from their pockets.
After greeting them again, just as everyone was about to go inside, Lin Xu suddenly heard scratching noises on the glass. He turned to realize that Dundun, the little guy, was still in the car. He hurriedly opened the car door to carry the little one out.
At the sight of him, Lin Xu’s grandmother couldn’t hide her delight. "Oh, this little guy, looking all clever and mischievous! Co here and let hold you."
As she reached out, Dundun imdiately leaned out from Lin Xu’s arms. The old lady delightedly took Dundun and held him close.
By this ti, Zeng Xiaoqi and her companions had already gotten out of the car, while Lin Hongqi and Chen ijuan also led Liu Zhengyu, who had finished looking around the tourist center, into the courtyard of the farmhouse restaurant.
After the introductions, Lin Hongqi said, "We’re all starving, so let’s eat and talk. President Liu, Reporter Zeng, I’m afraid this humble al is a bit simple, please don’t mind."
Liu Zhengyu and Zeng Xiaoqi quickly replied with polite remarks.
Arriving at the dining room, they saw several tables had already been set, with the hot dishes covered by inverted bowls and plates to keep them warm. After all the covers were removed, everyone took their seats and began to eat. Both the visitors from afar and the Lin Family relatives were famished by this ti. Once seated, they picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
The dishes on the table consisted mainly of wild mountain greens, accompanied by pork from well-fattened farm-raised pigs or free-range chickens. Whether pan-fried, stir-fried, braised, or deep-fried, the flavors were surprisingly delightful, and Shen Baobao ate with great relish.
Liu Zhengyu, Zeng Xiaoqi, and the others also ate happily. Initially, seeing the plain appearance of the dishes, they hadn’t expected them to taste very good. But upon tasting them, they discovered these unpretentious farmhouse dishes were exceptionally delicious, possessing flavors that even renowned restaurants in Beijing couldn’t replicate.
No wonder city dwellers love eating at farmhouse restaurants; these flavors are truly out of the ordinary... Liu Zhengyu mused as he ate.
As a foodie, he had sampled delicacies from many places. In the past, however, he had mostly eaten at formal restaurants and grand hotels. Now it seed to him that the cuisine of such establishnts was rather limited. The flavors of these farmhouse dishes were in no way inferior, and their ingredients were even more distinctive.
"Lin Xu’s wife is really stunning!"
"Indeed, so beautiful. I think she’s prettier than those online celebrities who use beauty filters."
"Our Lin Xu is handso too, right? The two of them look so well-matched sitting together."
"It’s true; they look like celebrities."
"She’s much prettier than celebrities. Rember when we saw so celebrities in the city last ti? They looked great in online photos, but in reality, their skin was rough and sallow, they had faces full of blemishes, and short legs—no taller than one ter fifty-sothing. They can’t compare to Lin Xu’s wife at all."
"..."
During the al, the relatives continued to shower Lin Xu and Shen Jiayue with complints. Shen Baobao felt a bit embarrassed by all the praise.
While they were eating, Lin Xu noticed Dundun had wandered off to a corner by himself, so he went over to take a look. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a basin in the corner filled with live shrimp, and they were quite large. Dundun was currently using his paws to bat at the Large Shrimp in the water.
"Grandma, what are these Large Shrimp for?" Lin Xu asked curiously, scooping Dundun into his arms to prevent the little guy from splashing water everywhere.
Hearing him ntion the Large Shrimp, Lin Xu’s grandmother suddenly recalled, "Oh dear, those are the live shrimp your eldest maternal uncle brought this morning! He said they’re best cooked fresh, but I got so busy I completely forgot... How about I make a dish with them now? It’s Little Yueyue’s first visit to our ho; we can’t neglect her, can we?"
Lin Xu said, "Please, Grandma, you stay seated and eat. I can cook them. Besides, it’ll give all the elders and relatives a chance to taste my cooking."
At the ntion of cooking, the relatives suddenly rembered that Lin Xu had just won the championship in a competition the day before yesterday.
"Oh, then I absolutely must try Xiao Xu’s cooking!"
" too! I have to taste how delicious a champion’s dishes are."
"Wasn’t President Liu the head judge back then? President Liu, is Xiao Xu’s cooking really that good?"
Liu Zhengyu was currently eating chicken braised with bamboo shoots. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "He’s the most skilled young cook I’ve ever t. To be honest, one of the main reasons I ca all this way and got involved was to taste his cooking again."
When they heard their family mber being praised so highly, all the relatives were overjoyed.
"Xiao Xu, President Liu has praised you so highly. What dish are you planning to prepare today?"
Lin Xu looked at the basin of live shrimp and, with a smile, announced the na of a dish that had to be prepared with fresh shrimp, "Oil Braised Large Shrimp!"
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