What a rush!

8:20 AM.

Everything was sold out.

Old Li was so stuffed that a few of the other old-timers had to carry him out.

A customer who hadn’t been able to buy anything asked, unwilling to give up, "Is it really all gone, Brother Jiang?"

"It’s gone, see for yourself!" Jiang Liu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he stepped aside.

"Well, did you save any for yourself? How about you just sell me your portion?"

"I already ate this morning. I didn’t save any."

"Alright, then. You’re sure you’ll be open tomorrow morning, right?"

"I will!"

"That’s a relief, Boss Jiang. I’m only waiting until tomorrow morning, you hear? That’s my deadline. If you don’t open, I’ll starve to death on your doorstep!"

"Brother Jiang, can you sell me a bag of your salt?"

Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow. "Go buy it at the supermarket. I barely have enough salt for myself."

Finally, the last batch of customers left.

Jiang Liu took a sip of hot water.

Tongtong stomped her feet excitedly. "Papa, we sold out! Can you take me out to play now?"

"No problem. You wait here like a good girl while I lock up."

"Yay! Waiting! Tongtong loves Papa the most, and Papa loves Tongtong the most, hehehe."

Jiang Liu shut off the water, gas, and electricity in the shop. He had already placed the gift boxes of cigarettes and alcohol he’d bought in the car.

With everything ready, he packed up twenty buns, a portion of ham, and a serving of stir-fried shredded potatoes.

"Let’s go, Tongtong. We’ll head home and change first."

"Okay, Papa, carry me."

Jiang Liu picked up Tongtong and walked out the door.

Tongtong wrapped her arms around Jiang Liu’s neck, kissing him nonstop all the way.

’Can’t kiss Papa enough, hehe.’

Xiao Han and her friends were sitting in a car not far away and saw Jiang Liu come out.

Yang Zishan’s face was twisted with jealousy.

They waited until Jiang Liu had left.

Only then did the driver start the car.

All of them posted on their social media at the same time.

Yang Zishan: "Damn it! This is the first time I’ve ever been this jealous. My dream guy actually married the woman I hate the most!"

Xiao Han: "I’m dying of jealousy! Boss Jiang is going to meet his girlfriend’s parents. I wish he were my boyfriend. I’d definitely dote on him more than Sister Jun!!"

Bai An’an: "Successfully got served Jing City’s biggest public display of affection today. Too bad Boss Jiang isn’t open for lunch, and probably not for dinner either. So annoying."

As soon as the posts went up, a bunch of their gossip-loving friends quickly commented below.

"Boss Jiang isn’t open today? Are you kidding me?! I just got off the f*cking plane! F*ck!"

"Me too! I even got all dressed up and brought my new bag to go eat with my dream guy..."

「Meanwhile.」

Jiang Liu was driving home with Tongtong.

"Papa, Mommy sent you a message!"

Tongtong reported in real-time, holding Jiang Liu’s phone.

"What did she send?"

"Umm, I can’t read it!"

"Then ask your mom to send a voice message."

"Okay! Mommy, it’s your little cutie, can you send a voice message?"

A five-second voice message arrived from Jun Qingmeng.

Tongtong tapped it open.

Jun Qingmeng’s voice came through: "Little treasure, I’m on my way to the destination. I’ll message you guys again in a bit."

"Should I reply to Mommy, Papa?"

"No need. Let’s let her focus on driving."

A few minutes later, Jiang Liu arrived home, carrying Tongtong.

Lin Qiu and Jiang Dahai were on the sofa, covered with a blanket, watching an anti-Japanese war drama.

They were originally supposed to leave on Sunday, but they were worried about their son’s situation, so they took a day off to wait for news.

Seeing her son return, Lin Qiu stood up and said with a smile, "Is everything packed? What time are you leaving?"

Jiang Liu tossed the keys onto the shoe cabinet by the door. "In a bit. I’ll take Tongtong to change, and then we’ll head out. The restaurant is a bit far, and traffic will be heavy, so we need to leave early to avoid being late."

Six Flavors Restaurant was in the northernmost part of Qinghe District, even past the Moat.

"Alright. If anything comes up, call me first."

"Okay, Dad."

Jiang Liu carried Tongtong back to the room and changed into the suit he had prepared beforehand.

He dressed Tongtong in a small white shirt, light blue denim overalls, clean little white shoes, and topped it off with a formal little bow tie.

These were all new clothes that Tongtong was usually reluctant to wear.

"Papa, does your little cutie look pretty?" Jiang Tongtong spun around and asked expectantly.

Jiang Liu smiled.

He answered with certainty, "Pretty. The prettiest in the whole world."

He gave her a thumbs-up.

"Hehe, right? Tongtong is Papa’s daughter, you know! If Tongtong is pretty, then Papa, you’re even more handsome!"

"You’re such a little show-off. Come on, do you need to use the bathroom? The drive will take two hours."

"Wait for Tongtong, Papa! Tongtong will be quick!"

Jiang Tongtong trotted into the bathroom to pee, washed her little hands, and grinned at her reflection, baring her teeth.

"Mom, Dad, I’m heading out! I left lunch for you in the fridge. When you get hungry, just heat it up in the kitchen."

"Alright, you go on. Don’t worry about us."

Lin Qiu and Jiang Dahai felt a warmth in their hearts. They didn’t know when their son had started taking such thoughtful care of them. They couldn’t help but sigh at the fact they were getting old.

Jiang Liu took Tongtong’s hand and got into the elevator.

He put a pair of sunglasses on his daughter.

The sunglasses were too big, covering Tongtong’s nose entirely.

A little shy, Tongtong sat in the back seat, her little legs swinging. It was a small mannerism she shared with Jun Qingmeng.

Jiang Liu casually turned on some music.

A song called "Lady She Xiang" started to play.

It wasn’t raining today. The sky was a clear, vast blue without a single cloud. The sun had risen, and its warmth shone on the windshield.

From the back seat, Tongtong helped Jiang Liu put on his sunglasses, giggling.

"Papa?"

"What is it, little treasure?"

"Hehe, I’ll tell you a little secret. Tongtong super loves it when you take her out to play. She’s happy no matter where we go."

Jiang Liu smiled faintly. "Papa likes going out to play with you, too."

"Really? Then Tongtong will stay with Papa forever. Wherever Papa goes, I’ll go too, okay?"

"Of course you can. Whenever Papa has time in the future, I’ll take you out, how about that?"

"Okay~! Mwah!"

Tongtong wanted to give him another kiss, but she was a sensible girl and knew her dad was driving, so she lay back in her seat and watched videos on the phone.

「Around 10:00 AM」

Jun Xinghe got off the plane.

Secretary Wang, who was also his driver, had already rented a car.

He had familiar car rental partners in every city.

He bowed slightly and said, "President Jun, would you prefer to find a place to rest for a while, or should we head over directly?"

"Let’s go directly. The sooner we deal with this trouble, the better."

"Ahem, well, President Jun, you see..." Secretary Wang glanced at the bodyguards behind Jun Xinghe, an expectant smile on his face.

’You’re going to meet your son-in-law. It wouldn’t be appropriate to bring me along, right?’

’I can use this chance to tidy up the house I bought.’

Jun Xinghe gave a faint smile and patted Secretary Wang’s shoulder meaningfully. "Secretary Wang, you are my right-hand man. I can’t do this without you! What do you say?"

"Huh?"

Secretary Wang looked left and right, completely flustered.

’He’s really going to drag me along no matter what!’

’This is too much!’

"Alright, I’ll come along!" Secretary Wang said with a smile.

Inwardly, he was grinding his teeth.

’This is killing me.’

’I was hoping to use this chance to go chat and have a meal with Boss Jiang.’

They got in the car.

A bodyguard drove.

Jun Xinghe closed his eyes to rest. Even now, he was still thinking about work, but any spare thought immediately drifted to Jiang Liu’s food.

’Even if I can’t eat it, it’s nice to just dream about it!’

...