Jun Qingmeng smiled and nodded. "It’s mainly because you’re so charming, the number one handsome guy in the universe, Handsome Jiang!"

"Tongtong thinks so too!"

Jiang Liu glanced at her.

Jun Qingmeng met his gaze with her clear, bright eyes, not looking away.

Jun Qingmeng asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Looking at how beautiful you are."

"You’re handsome too!"

Tongtong grew anxious. "What about me?"

Jun Qingmeng bent down and pinched Tongtong’s chubby cheek. "Our Tongtong is the most beautiful one in the family! Mommy will love you forever!"

"Yay! Mommy, you’re the best, and Daddy, you’re the best too! Tongtong loves, loves, loves you both! Let’s always be a happy family together!"

Seeing his daughter’s happy face, Jiang Liu felt a secret joy in his heart. The three of them then returned to their residential complex.

Just as he parked the car, his phone vibrated with an update from Yue Longfan.

Jiang Liu didn’t look closely. He could see all the specifics on his back-end system anyway.

The group chat for Kun City, however, was buzzing with activity.

There were a ton of topics being discussed.

Some were debating whether Boss Jiang could only make buns.

Others were speculating about what kind of person the owner of Jiang’s Buns was.

And still others were asking if Jiang’s Buns would open a store in Kun City, and if so, where.

They went upstairs.

Jun Qingmeng came close, affectionately patting Jiang Liu’s head. "Baby Jiang, you take Tongtong and wait for me, okay? I’m going to go home, take a shower, and then come find you."

"Okay. Take this ugly citrus and watermelon for Guo Jia to eat. We have too much fruit at home, we can’t get through it all."

"Okay!"

The mention of giving Guo Jia food suddenly reminded Jiang Liu of what his dad had said about a first-meeting gift.

He then asked:

"Qingmeng, I forgot to discuss this with you. What do you think about giving your dad cigarettes and tea when I meet him? Would that be okay?"

Jun Qingmeng frowned in thought and shook her head. "I’m not too familiar with my dad’s hobbies."

She was very happy inside. ’He’s thinking about us. That means he really cares.’

"Well, does your dad smoke? Does he have a thermos?"

"He smokes, but not a lot. And yes, he likes to carry a thermos."

"Is your dad concerned with his looks?"

"Huh?"

Jun Qingmeng was stunned for a moment, then she broke into laughter and shot Jiang Liu a playful glare. "He’s not me! He’s a fifty-year-old man, okay? What’s there to be concerned about... At most, he probably shaves, but he doesn’t use skincare products."

Jiang Liu nodded. "Alright, then I’ll prepare some good cigarettes and tea in advance, and get some good liquor too. Hmm... let’s set the budget at around twenty thousand yuan."

"What do you think? If that’s not enough, I can buy more. We have to show enough sincerity."

Normally, when meeting a future father-in-law, the gifts would cost around three thousand yuan.

Jun Qingmeng bit her plump, red lower lip, waves of sweetness washing over her heart.

’Jiang Liu is taking meeting my dad so seriously. It means he really cares about our relationship!’

"You don’t have to buy that much. How about you prepare six cartons of cigarettes, a case of liquor, and two boxes of tea? They don’t have to be expensive, something decent is fine. And when you go, you can also bring my dad some food from our shop. How does that combination sound?"

Jiang Liu thought for a few seconds and said:

"That could work, but the food from our shop isn’t very convenient to bring. How about I bake a few boxes of almond crisps for your dad? They’re made with whole grains, so they’re nutritious and healthy."

’If I showed up with buns and ham, it would be so awkward. It’s better to just bring a traditional meeting gift. Chinese pastries are a good choice, and they keep well.’

’Almond crisps?’

Jun Qingmeng was a little surprised. "Honey, you know how to make almond crisps, too?"

’How is my boyfriend so talented at everything!’

She was secretly delighted.

Jiang Liu said, "I learned a little in the past. And I happen to have good ingredients on hand, so the taste should be on par with almond crisps from a famous shop."

"Mhm! Then let’s bring those! ... I’m going to head back and shower now, honey. You should go wash up too."

"Okay, I’ll be waiting for you."

When Jun Qingmeng got home, she heard Guo Jia storming out of her room, her slippers on the wrong feet in her haste.

She charged out of the bedroom and went straight for Jun Qingmeng’s tote bag.

"My dear lady, you’re finally back! I was waiting here for an eternity, I almost starved to death, you know that?!"

"What goodies did you bring today?"

Guo Jia clamored as she snatched the tote bag and opened it to look inside.

Inside were two palm-sized, triangular Souffles, ten buns, and a bowl of shrimp meatball soup.

"Huh? Mengmeng, where did you get this Souffle cake?"

"Jiang Liu made it. There’s fruit, too. Remember to eat some in a bit."

As she spoke, Jun Qingmeng went back to her bedroom, closed the door, and changed into her pajamas.

"Your boyfriend knows how to make Souffles, too?! That’s amazing!"

Not caring whether her best friend heard her or not, Guo Jia picked up a piece of the Souffle and took a huge bite.

It was incredibly fluffy, with a sweet, milky aroma and the fragrance of wheat.

"Whoa! This is delicious! Way better than what you get at a specialty shop! ... Qingmeng, can you ask your boyfriend to make some more for me? I want to stock up on rations!"

Jun Qingmeng, who had come out wearing a nightgown, shot her a look. "In your dreams. All you think about every day is ordering my husband around, right? You’re lucky you got a bite at all."

"Ooh-la-la, listen to you, ’husband’ this and ’husband’ that. You’re so shameless!"

"You’re calling me shameless? Look who’s talking! You single dog! Nyah nyah nyah."

Jun Qingmeng stuck her tongue out before going into the bathroom and closing the door.

"Tch, silly girl with love on the brain."

Guo Jia pouted.

’These two are always shoving their PDA in my face. It’s so annoying!’

「Around nine o’clock.」

Jiang Liu had finished bathing Tongtong and was drying her hair.

"Daddy, Baby Jiang doesn’t want to move. Can you carry her back to the sofa?"

"You’re so lazy!"

"Please, please! Daddy, you’re the best! The best in the whole world!"

In the end, Jiang Liu couldn’t resist his daughter’s sweet-talking and scooped her up, tossing her onto the sofa.

Jiang Tongtong bounced twice on the sofa, her eyes lighting up. "Daddy, that was fun! I want to do it again!"

"Alright."

Jiang Liu picked up Tongtong, who had her arms wide open, and tossed her onto the sofa a few more times.

Tongtong giggled.

Her bottom just hurt a little from the falls.

Jiang Liu sat down on the sofa, looked down, and opened his phone to send Boss Yan from the supermarket a message:

"I’m going to meet my girlfriend’s dad. President Yan, do you have any recommendations for cigarettes, tea, or liquor?"

Not a minute later, Boss Yan replied excitedly, "I do! Boss Jiang, let me tell you, you’ve come to the right person for this!"

"Tea, cigarettes, and liquor—it’s all about personal preference. You give the right gift, not just the most expensive one. You could buy the priciest item available, but it would be useless if he doesn’t like it. If you’re not sure about your future father-in-law’s tastes, just go with something neutral."

Jiang Liu: "For example?"

Boss Yan: "Right now, the popular choices on the market are soft-pack Zhonghua cigarettes, Feitian Moutai, and Liu’an Guapian green tea. I suggest you buy those. The prices aren’t outrageous. A case of six bottles of Moutai is about six thousand, two cartons of soft-pack Zhonghua are twelve hundred, and a Liu’an gift box is five hundred."

"It’s less than ten thousand total. You’ll absolutely be spending the least amount of money for the most impressive result."

Jiang Liu replied, "These prices don’t seem right. Are you secretly giving me a discount?"

It wasn’t like he didn’t know. A bottle of Feitian Moutai was almost two thousand, so how could a case be so cheap? The price for the soft-pack Zhonghua was off, too.

Boss Yan: "Uh, our supermarket is having a sale right now. That’s the price!"

Jiang Liu: ...

’And he said it with such confidence.’

’This Boss Yan is pretty amusing...’