Chapter 288: Tomorrow’s Itinerary
Looking at the mature and steady Daolin Li, Nancy let out a deep sigh.
She had to admit that Ainuo’s father was far superior to his son, who had caused her and Yating endless headaches—not only was his speech elegant, but he also knew how to keep a sense of distance in his interactions with others.
Nancy’s mind flashed to the recent scene where Ainuo had hoisted Xiang Chuan over his shoulder like a rice sack from a TV series, and she suddenly lost composure, nearly choking on the cake in her mouth.
As for the topics the adults were discussing, Nancy had no interest in listening. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in ancient food—she often went to the A Bite of China Club at school under the pretext of finding Ouyang Yating and Ainuo to freeload food and drinks, and she was delighted by the large-scale ancient food edible processing activity led by the A Bite of China Club for the whole class.
But regarding the insincere jostling for interests among the adults in the social scene, Nancy truly couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for it; on this point, she was completely in sync with her own parents. Unfortunately, no matter how much they usually kept a low profile, they still needed to show their faces on such occasions, so they had no choice but to send their little daughter, who was on vacation and had nothing to do, to represent them.
A plate of cake was quickly finished.
Nancy surveyed the banquet venue.
At this moment, with the Li Family head making an appearance and the Xiang Family spokesperson showing up, most people’s attention was focused on the interaction between the two in the center of the venue.
Those high-level executives from small and medium-sized enterprises who couldn’t easily join the conversation were happy to act as background cheerleaders on the side, hoping to glean some information from their small talk pleasantries, thinking that even if they couldn’t compete with the top company groups, they could at least get a head start in competition with peers.
What surprised Nancy was that Xiang Chuan’s mother surprisingly hadn’t come to the banquet with Xiang Weiguo.
In the modern era, there were no taboos on commerce and politics, so cooperation between the government and commercial groups was very close. Many of the guests present were even important officials from the Third Fleet.
But upon careful thought, Nancy understood:
On the issue of their children’s relationships, the usually reserved company executives had just “besieged” Xiang Chuan’s father until sweat beaded on his forehead. If Xiang Chuan’s mother joined the fray at this moment, those mothers of her generation “standing by” around the banquet venue would probably charge right over.
That scene would surely be chaotic. Nancy thought mischievously.
——
But even with the elders’ drama to watch, the banquet was ultimately boring for Nancy, so she had already opened the terminal’s light screen and started looking for entertainment everywhere.
The SNS platform was always lively, but right now, everyone was only talking about one topic: A Bite of China.
Occasionally, a few posts discussing new and old TV series or those three novels she had read countless times would pop up, but soon the comment section’s topics inevitably drifted back to A Bite of China.
Some discussed dietary habits showcased in different regions, some discussed the feasibility of expanding freshwater areas to raise bighead carp, some fancifully hoped to recreate the edible mushrooms shown at the beginning… Of course, a small portion protested the Agriculture Bureau’s actions that night of the live stream, when they uprooted and hauled away the bamboo from the residential area.
Whether it was new dramas or A Bite of China, Nancy always caught up first in Xiang Xue’s live stream room, so she naturally kept up with everyone’s topics. But right now, for Nancy and other Class Eight members who held the “latest updates,” these topics were already old news!
She opened the Class Eight Grade One class group, and sure enough, the topic of the Ancient Food Personal Use Edible Processing Permit Management Regulations had at least 999+ messages. Nancy tapped into the chat history—good grief, this group of energetic youths who didn’t have school the next day had chatted all day straight.
And as expected, there were no figures from the A Bite of China Club in it.
Yesterday afternoon and evening, including her, the class cadres and several Class 8 Members had noticed Xiang Chuan eating bread while lost in thought. On the way back, they had muttered that Xiang Chuan must have come up with something new.
And sure enough? They had only heard rumors of this new regulation last night, yet Xiang Chuan, the central figure of the topic, and the three from the A Bite of China Club were completely silent in the group—wasn’t that a signal that gourmet food was on the way?
Would it be new bread? Or something unrelated to bread?
Humming a tune from My Own Swordsman, Nancy opened the contact group that she and her two childhood friends had used for over a dozen years.
Nancy [Yating, the handyman, what are you up to now?]
Ainuo [Who is the handyman.]
Ouyang Yating [Just finished eating. How’s the banquet situation over there?]
Nancy [With Uncle Xiang there, it’s a bit livelier than usual, the food is a bit better than before, and that’s it—pretty dull. What delicious thing did you make today?]
Ouyang Yating [Made something that counts as seasonings. We think it turned out pretty good, but Xiang Chuan isn’t too satisfied, so we plan to head to the botanical garden tomorrow to take a look.]
Nancy [Oh ho, this means Uncle Wang (Agriculture Bureau Director) will have to revise the increased production ratio draft overnight again?]
Ouyang Yating [Not that serious, just looking for one plant.]
Ainuo [Don’t say ‘just.’ Last time we just visited the botanical garden, and now the production escort ship side is directly opening up a new field for legume crops.]
Nancy [On this point, I agree with the handyman. Yating, prepare for some unexpected events tomorrow.]
Ouyang Yating [……]
Looking at the ellipsis her best friend sent, Nancy grinned until the corners of her mouth lifted several degrees.
Since the words had come to this—
Nancy [What time are you arriving tomorrow? I’ll go with you to stroll around, and by the way, mooch dinner at Xiang Chuan’s place in the evening.]
Ainuo [Are you sure you didn’t get the priorities backwards?]
Ouyang Yating [Around nine tomorrow at the botanical garden. Lately, because of A Bite of China, there are more people visiting the botanical garden, so Xiang Chuan had Aunt Lin contact Manager Ye at the botanical garden to let us in an hour early.]
Aunt Ye? Nancy recalled the middle-aged auntie who spoke like a machine gun when Xiang Chuan was buying beans back then.
Nancy [I’d bet they agreed instantly.]
Ainuo [Not only instantly, they even specially allowed us to reserve a small area to find the plant Xiang Chuan wants.]
“Prominent figure.”
Nancy shook her head lightly with a tsk.
That supervisor at the botanical garden had previously hinted at some dealings with the Agriculture Bureau and must have heard the news about legume crops being added to staple food crops. How could she not realize Xiang Chuan’s role in it? No doubt, she must have been smug about it for a while.
Now with Xiang Chuan going to the botanical garden again, that supervisor auntie would surely treat her like the highest-level guest.
After all, who knew which plant Xiang Chuan casually spotted might end up on the Agriculture Bureau’s list of edible crops next month.
