Chapter 484 - 383: Thoughts on Expansion

Chapter 484: Chapter 383: Thoughts on Expansion

Jiang Liu reminded him, "Uncle, you should get a smaller portion. Don’t eat too much in the evening. You can always get more later."

"Alright!"

Jun Xinghe felt a warmth spread through his heart.

’It feels great to be cared for by my son-in-law.’

After dishing out the rice, the four of them sat down.

Jiang Tongtong and Jun Qingmeng stared at Jiang Liu, their eyes full of longing.

’Hubby, I’m hungry!’

’Daddy, I’m hungry!’

Jiang Liu seemed to hear their two silent pleas.

He said with a smile, "Go on, dig in. We’re family, there’s no need to be so reserved."

"Okay~ CHOMP!"

"Honey, let me feed you a piece."

"Daddy, open your mouth!"

Jiang Liu smiled and ate the bites offered by his daughter and his wife.

’I have to eat this.’

’There’s no way I can refuse.’

Jun Xinghe’s stomach had been feeling a bit full, but he felt hungry all over again when he saw the glistening, golden candied potatoes and sweet potatoes.

He quickly picked up a piece of sweet potato, a long, viscous thread of caramelized sugar trailing behind it.

He mimicked Tongtong, twirling his chopsticks a few times to wind the sugary thread around the piece before popping it into his mouth.

It was instantly sweet, but not cloying. The outside of the sweet potato was crisp from the caramel, while the inside was soft, tender, and piping hot.

’So sweet!’

’This is incredible!’

The sweet potato’s flavor danced across his taste buds. Even his breath was warm and fragrant.

"Daddy, have some fish!"

Jiang Tongtong struggled but managed to pick up a piece of fish with her chopsticks, placing it in Jiang Liu’s bowl.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Jiang Liu.

’Come on, praise me!’

Jiang Liu said with a smile, "Tongtong is so good to her daddy."

"Hehe, and I’m going to be even better to you in the future!"

"Honey, you worked hard today. Eat up."

Jun Qingmeng picked up what she deemed the largest slice of fish and placed it in Jiang Liu’s bowl, adding a few pieces of kelp for good measure.

’Gotta make sure my honey gets his protein.’

"Okay, dear."

Jiang Liu obediently lowered his head and ate the kelp and fish his wife had given him.

Then, he returned the favor, giving both Tongtong and Jun Qingmeng a piece of fish.

Watching the family, Jun Xinghe’s usually stern face was now filled with a benevolent smile.

Normally, he hated it when people served food for each other like this; he felt it was bad manners.

But today, watching the three youngsters in his family feeding and caring for one another...

...a warm happiness bloomed in his heart.

Jun Xinghe reflected internally.

’Perhaps even the most mundane, most boring things feel completely different when you do them with the people you care about.’

"Alright, alright, let’s just eat. Stop feeding each other," Jiang Liu said with an amused laugh.

"Okay, Daddy!"

Jiang Tongtong hugged her little bowl, stood up, and scraped a huge pile of meat from the serving dish onto her rice. Then, remembering her father was watching, she made a show of adding a single, inch-long piece of kelp.

’Hehe.’

’See? A balanced meal.’

The tender, delicious, numbing, and spicy fish entered her mouth along with a scoop of rice.

Tongtong’s eyes lit up.

"Sho yummy!"

Her greedy little mouth was stuffed to the brim, her chubby cheeks working up and down.

Tongtong secretly gave Jiang Liu a tiny thumbs-up.

Jun Qingmeng was also eating with great delight.

The two little foodies alternated between a bite of fish and a bite of rice, then a bite of mu shu pork and another bite of rice.

"Dada, Tongtong really, really loves your cooking!"

Jiang Tongtong mumbled, her words muffled by the food.

"If you like it, eat plenty."

"Honey~ Ahhh—"

Jun Qingmeng opened her mouth, asking her husband to feed her!

Jiang Liu wrapped a few Sichuan peppercorns inside a piece of fish and popped it into Jun Qingmeng’s mouth.

The moment Jun Qingmeng chewed, her face contorted.

Still, she swallowed it.

After swallowing, Jun Qingmeng shot Jiang Liu a fierce glare.

But her bright, limpid eyes, crinkled with a suppressed smile, held no real menace.

"Honey, I want to feed you, too!"

Jiang Liu opened his mouth.

Jun Qingmeng fed Jiang Liu a single Sichuan peppercorn in return.

"Is it good?" she asked with a sweet smile,

"Anything my wife feeds me is delicious."

"Daddy, Mommy, why aren’t you feeding Tongtong?"

The little darling was watching from the side, overcome with envy.

"Come here."

"Open up, sweetie."

"Mmmph, mmm?"

"It’s so tingly! Tongtong got a peppercorn!"

Jiang Tongtong stuck out her little tongue and fanned it with her hand, but it was no use. It was still numb and tingly.

The silly girl had no idea her parents had done it on purpose.

Jun Xinghe just chuckled from the sidelines.

After dinner, the family of four leaned back in their chairs, patting their full bellies as they digested.

"Daddy, can you show Tongtong the household registration book again? I want to see it again!"

Jiang Tongtong asked cheerfully, both hands still on her tummy.

Jun Qingmeng also looked over with an expectant gaze.

They had looked at the photos on a phone at the kindergarten earlier today.

And when they got home, Jiang Liu had shown them the real thing.

But now they wanted to see it again. One look hadn’t been enough.

"Sure, hold on."

Jiang Liu went to a drawer and placed the household registration book and the property deed on the table.

He started clearing the table as he did.

Jun Qingmeng opened the household registration book, and Tongtong leaned in to get a look.

The two heads, one large and one small, completely obscured the little booklet.

Jun Xinghe glanced over as well and said happily, "Xiao Jiang, congratulations from your uncle."

Jiang Liu couldn’t call him "Dad" yet, as the formal change of address wouldn’t happen until the wedding.

In Huaxia, changing such terms required a sense of ceremony.

To do it too easily would seem overly casual and informal.

"I have you to thank for your help, Uncle," Jiang Liu said as he gathered the plates. "If it weren’t for you, I probably would have had to wait for some time."

"Besides, buying a house is so time-consuming, and I’m already pretty busy every day."

Jun Xinghe shook his head with a smile. "This was all earned through your own hard work. It doesn’t count as my help; you earned it with your amazing food."

He said this to make his son-in-law feel at ease and comfortable living there.

’If he were giving a house to anyone else...’

’...he would definitely have to remind them of the favor, making sure they wouldn’t forget to repay him someday.’

’But with Jiang Liu, he already considered him his own son.’

’He’d willingly give him things far more precious than a small villa.’

"Alright then, we won’t keep score."

Jiang Liu asked casually, "Uncle, do you have any advice regarding the restaurant’s current situation?"

"Everything is perfect! I have none."

Jun Xinghe shook his head. "The restaurant you’ve opened is many times better than I ever imagined. I don’t see a single problem with it."

"Especially the staff you’ve trained. I heard from Ren Qingqing that every single one of them is a top performer."

"If you keep this up, your brand has a huge opportunity to grow!"

Jun Xinghe gave him very high praise.

He was now extremely bullish on Jiang Liu’s Tongtong Restaurant; the brand’s commercial value was immense.

Jiang Liu came out of the kitchen after putting the plates in the smart sanitizing cabinet.

"Uncle, I think we can go ahead and open a new branch in another ten days or so."

"Ten days? Can’t we do it sooner?"

Seeing how explosive the business at Tongtong Restaurant was, Jun Xinghe couldn’t help but feel a little impatient.

"I’m afraid not."

Jiang Liu said with a small smile, "We don’t have any issues on the funding side. The main thing is that training staff takes time."

"Right now, all staff are personally selected and recruited by the first branch, after which they undergo systematic training before they can start working."

"I believe it’s crucial to put real effort into screening and training our people. Once the second branch is up and running smoothly, I’ll have them start training new staff as well. That way, the pace of opening new branches will get faster and faster."

Jiang Liu knew perfectly well.

’A good company needs top talent. It needs employees who are loyal, reliable, and hardworking.’