Chapter 266: The Xiang Family’s New Diner
As the final week gradually passed, the boarding students also began gradually shipping some daily necessities and clothes home in advance. Every day when Xiang Chuan led the trio and a large group of regular student customers who were too lazy to even go to the Club Building to the A Bite of China Club Small Restaurant, she could see transport robots of various sizes flying overhead.
These were mostly luggage from full-time boarding students.
For those like Xiang Chuan who only napped at school, the luggage quantity wasn’t much either. After packing some daily necessities and a few clothes, the luggage even wasn’t a quarter as big as the soy sauce jar Xiang Chuan prepared to carry home.
The theme of the A Bite of China Club Outdoor Study had already been approved by the Principal, the Student Union, and Homeroom Teacher Zhu Bingwen. Ouyang Yating and the others had no choice but to silently accept this reality.
Xiang Chuan saw the trio’s reluctant expressions and knew what they were thinking. She wasn’t unsympathetic to Ouyang Yating and the others’ dissatisfaction with this research topic. After all, the hottest topic in the entire Third Fleet right now was still the Agricultural Products Increased Production Ratio Adjustment Draft. Whether it was the new edible processing for staple food rice or the edible technology improvements for pork, these were all very worthwhile for students from the Agricultural University and even Nongda Affiliated High School to delve into.
As for their A Bite of China Club, with Xiang Chuan as an all-around golden finger, if they wanted to use any one of them as a summer research topic, the Agriculture Bureau would probably give it the full green light. After all, Uncle Wang from the Agriculture Bureau had intentionally or unintentionally mentioned it to Xiang Chuan several times while coming to the Xiang Family to mooch meals these past few days, but Xiang Chuan had brushed it off with Tai Chi the whole time.
It wasn’t that Xiang Chuan had no ideas for rice and pork anymore—like crispy rice, claypot rice, or pork jerky, braised pig trotters, pork floss, etc. Every time Xiang Chuan thought of them, she couldn’t help but munch on a couple more servings of french fries at home. But right now, first, soy sauce stock was insufficient, and second, castrated pigs hadn’t yet been released on a large scale. Xiang Chuan thought these weren’t suitable to bring out just yet.
Moreover, rice had already been recognized by the Third Fleet Agriculture Bureau as a new popular staple food. Wheat, as another major staple food crop, couldn’t drop the ball.
Xiang Chuan looked at the bread in front of her that was burnt again and sighed deeply.
Right now, with steamed buns, buns, noodles, flatbread, and other Chinese noodles as frequent guests on the dining table, this was already enough for the extremely easily satisfied modern people.
But for Xiang Chuan, who from childhood had held a lotus seed paste bun in one hand and a pineapple bun in the other, taking bites alternately, how could she tolerate a situation with buns but no bread?
Absolutely not because she was craving pineapple buns and pizza.
——
After the Closing Ceremony, Xiang Chuan and the excited Xiang Xue returned home.
Xiang Chuan didn’t quite understand why ceremonial cultures like opening ceremonies and closing ceremonies, which were formalism, could survive the cultural rupture and be passed down to this day. But since the Principal’s speech was very short and held indoors with air conditioning, Xiang Chuan just complained a few sentences in her heart and had no real grievances.
Today, Mr. and Mrs. Xiang Weiguo also came home very early, so before Da Xing brought the little stars to serve dinner, the family of four chatted in the restaurant.
“Xiao Chuan, are your friends coming over tomorrow?” Lin Minzhi asked.
Xiang Chuan had already reported the A Bite of China Club summer study matter and the need to use the home roaster to both parents in advance. She nodded and said, “They said their home was preparing a grand feast today, so they can only come over tomorrow morning. I already had Da Xing help clean the guest room this morning.”
“Is Sister Yating staying over for two months this time?”
Xiang Xue, still unfamiliar with club study activities, asked curiously.
Xiang Chuan shook her head and said:
“They’ll stay here from Monday to Friday each week until the study topic ends. On weekends, they’ll go back to their own homes. After all, summer vacation is still for proper rest. Once they enter society later, there won’t even be a proper summer vacation.”
Xiang Weiguo and Lin Minzhi: …The range of this sweep from the eldest daughter was a bit too broad.
Lin Ming was sipping hot milk in small mouthfuls. Hearing this, he suddenly looked up and said:
“By the way, Brother Xiang Qi said yesterday he’s bringing friends back to stay for a while. Sister Xiang Chuan, why don’t you have Da Xing prepare a few more rooms later?”
Xiang Qi? Bringing friends back to stay?
Sisters Xiang Xue and Xiang Chuan looked at each other.
From Xiang Chuan’s half-year of interactions with her family, she deeply realized how different modern families were from the families in her 21st Century.
Especially Xiang Qi. In Xiang Chuan’s memory, her eldest brother, who was deeply mired in midlife crisis, seemed determined to marry his career in this life. Seeing him once a month at the family dining table would already be a victory.
She wasn’t surprised that her eldest brother would come back to stay during summer vacation. After all, when Wen Tao, the Nongda Affiliated High School Student Union President, recently came to the A Bite of China Club Small Restaurant to slack off, he also mentioned temporarily laying down the Student Union burdens to relax during summer vacation. As the Agricultural University Student Union President, no matter how busy Xiang Qi was, he wouldn’t torment his subordinates during these two hottest months.
But bringing friends back to stay was truly beyond the entire family’s expectations.
Xiang Chuan leaned close to Lin Ming and asked softly, “Did Brother Xiang Qi say what friends he’s bringing back? Male or female?”
Xiang Xue also leaned over, and the Xiang Weiguo couple quietly perked up their ears too.
Unlike Xiang Chuan and Xiang Xue, who were legally prohibited from developing romantic relationships with peers, adult Xiang Qi’s love life was of great interest to the whole family. As soon as they heard he was bringing friends back, everyone perked up their ears.
Lin Ming looked helplessly at the two sisters and said, “Brother Xiang Qi didn’t elaborate, just said he’d recently met some new friends he gets along well with and wants to bring them back to try the family’s food.”
This explanation was fine. After all, anyone familiar with the Xiang Family knew that the Xiang Family Kitchen AI stored many mysterious recipes not found at Yue Xiang Restaurant or any university school cafeteria. Xiang Chuan was okay, with the natural protective net formed by the A Bite of China Club Trio and Class Eight Gluttons, but in the Junior High Department, who knew how many people fawned over Xiang Xue and Lin Ming just to eat a home-cooked meal at the Xiang Family or pry for some insider info.
In this half-year of live streaming life, Xiang Xue had also gradually become a seasoned veteran, brushing off these scheming flatterers in a few words. Lin Ming was even more so—Xiang Chuan even thought he was a bit more mature than their own Ainuo. (Ainuo: Are you being polite?)
In Xiang Chuan’s impression, Xiang Qi wasn’t the rigid and naive type of young person either. If he approved of them, it at least meant the other person’s character had no issues.
And at worst, there were still Mom and Dad to help vet them.
Thinking of this, Xiang Chuan tossed the matter aside, opened her personal terminal, and started browsing SNS. Recently, the A Bite of China trailer had been up on the Agriculture Bureau site for almost a week, and SNS was now full of topics about this documentary.
Watching modern people’s wild imaginations about the food in the trailer, Xiang Chuan found it quite amusing.
So, when Li Wei appeared at the Xiang Family dining table, Xiang Chuan was dumbfounded.
The two sat facing each other, staring wide-eyed.
Xiang Chuan: How is it you again?
Li Wei: Yeah, it’s me again.
