At noon, He Lang took them to the supermarket cafeteria.

He Nan scanned the room. "Where’s Dad?"

He Lang chuckled. "He’ll be here soon."

Whenever Mr. He came to work, he never missed a single meal here.

Just as they got their food and found a place to sit, they saw Mr. He approaching. A few people followed behind him, chatting and laughing. Mr. He looked like their leader, his hands clasped behind his back.

Seeing his father’s impressive demeanor, He Nan couldn’t help but laugh. "Dad looks several years younger like this. It seems he’s really happy working here."

He Lang was used to it. He said, "I pay the old man a monthly salary and cover his meals. Plus, everyone knows he’s my dad, so they’re all very respectful to him. He’s loving it."

He Nan nodded. ’No kidding,’ he thought. ’The man walks with a swagger now.’

Xiao Nian stood up and called out to Mr. He, "Grandpa!"

Mr. He paused, muttering, "I think I heard my grandson’s voice." He looked around and finally spotted Xiao Nian waving at him.

A happy expression lit up Mr. He’s face. He told the people with him, "You guys go on ahead." Then he walked over to their table.

"Grandpa."

"Hey!" Seeing He Nan’s whole family, Mr. He said with a smile, "I was just saying you all should be here by now."

He Nan nodded. "We arrived this morning. We thought we’d stop by and see our third brother."

Mr. He glanced at He Lang and saw that he had already started eating. He cast a sidelong glance at today’s dishes and said, "He Nan, I’m going to get my food first. I’ll come back and chat in a bit."

Then he strode quickly to the service window to get his meal.

"Is Grandpa afraid they’ll run out of food?" Xiao Nian whispered.

He Lang told him with certainty, "You guessed it. Your grandpa loves this cafeteria-style food."

In the old man’s own words: every time he got his food, it reminded him of the old days of eating from a communal pot, which made everything taste delicious. Plus, the cafeteria always served both meat and vegetable dishes with every meal. Mr. He thought it was better than Mrs. He’s cooking, but he would never dare say that in front of her, only muttering it to himself in his head.

Mr. He came back with his food and sat down next to them.

"Eat up. Why are you all staring at me?"

He Nan smiled. "Dad, is the food good?"

Mr. He grunted in affirmation. "Of course it’s good. You all try it. The head chef here is pretty decent."

With that, he began to eat, lost in his own world.

The food was indeed good, better than what He Nan’s family ate at home. They didn’t have meat every day back home. Xiao Nian was the fastest eater. After finishing, he wiped his mouth and watched the others, still looking a bit unsatisfied.

He Lang noticed. "Not full?"

Xiao Nian nodded. It was normal for boys his age to eat a lot, as they were in the middle of a growth spurt.

He Lang smiled and told him, "Go on, just mention my name and get another serving."

"Alrighty!" Xiao Nian happily stood up, took his bowl, and went back to the service window.

He quickly returned with a second helping.

He Nan wasn’t quite full either, but he was too embarrassed to go back for more. Wang Hui Fang and He Ziqing, however, were both stuffed.

"You all take your time looking around. I have to get back to work." After finishing his meal, Mr. He left with his hands clasped behind his back, leaving He Nan’s family stunned. They finally understood what their mother meant when she said their father felt the supermarket couldn’t run without him.

He Ziqing said with a laugh, "Grandpa is so cute."

Everyone else laughed. People always talk about the elderly becoming childlike, and perhaps this was it—taking everything so seriously.

After lunch, they got ready to head back.

"If you’re not busy, you can have Ziqing show you around Beijing City. Sister-in-law, this is your first time in Beijing City, right?"

Wang Hui Fang nodded. "Yes, it is."

He Lang suggested, "There’s a famous scenic spot not far from here. You should go check it out. It’s not easy to make a trip all the way here, after all."

He Nan glanced at Wang Hui Fang and saw a hopeful look in her eyes. "Alright, we’ll go take a look."

Only after the family left did Xue Xingjun sneak over.

He Lang couldn’t even bear to look at him. "Acting like a thief, are you? Where’d you go? I didn’t see you at lunch."

Xue Xingjun said, a little sheepishly, "Well, I saw you were with other people, didn’t I?"

He Lang said coolly, "So why were you hiding?"

Xue Xingjun sighed, which made He Lang glance at him. He heard him say, "I was just thinking, your eldest brother’s whole family is here, and your nephew is about my age. If he found out I was here too, what if he wanted to come work for you as well? You wouldn’t be able to refuse."

Xue Xingjun was still shaken by the whole incident with Zhang Yunlei.

He Lang let out a dry laugh. "You’re overthinking it."

Xue Xingjun rubbed the tip of his nose. "Brother-in-law, I call this being prepared for a rainy day. If all your relatives came looking for a job, would you say yes or no?"

He Lang looked at him, the corner of his mouth twitching. He joked, "Why don’t you stop working for me, then? That way, no one will have a reason to pester you about it."

Xue Xingjun’s expression froze. He was stunned for a moment, then scurried over to He Lang, squatted down, and hugged his thigh, wailing, "No way, Brother-in-law! I’m your only brother-in-law! You can’t get rid of me! I’m planning on sticking with you for the rest of my life!"

He Lang’s eyelid twitched. He looked down and nudged him with his foot. "Get up. I was just kidding."

Only then did Xue Xingjun look up at He Lang, only to see not a hint of sadness on his face.

He Lang shot him a sidelong glance. "Putting on a show for me?"

Xue Xingjun scrambled to his feet and started massaging He Lang’s arm, fawning, "No show, Brother-in-law. I knew you wouldn’t get rid of me."

He Lang gave him a shove. "Get out and get to work."

Xue Xingjun quickly bowed with his hands clasped. "Yessir!"

Then he scurried away.

A moment later, He Lang smiled. ’That kid. He’s trying to give me a subtle warning.’ He Lang wasn’t one to hire just anyone.

He Lang had only brought Shitou and Little Chen with him because he knew their character. Xue Xingjun had come on his own, and He Lang was still observing him. Still, the kid was certainly clever—he had the makings of a businessman.

As for that Zhang Yunlei, He Lang hadn’t given him a second thought.

In the evening, Xue Yue came home from work and saw several children playing with Xiao Nian in the yard.

Xue Yue knew at once that Eldest Brother and his family had arrived.

Sure enough, when she entered the kitchen, she saw Wang Hui Fang cooking with Mrs. He.

"Mom, Sister-in-law, what are you making? It smells wonderful."

Wang Hui Fang turned to see Xue Yue and said with a smile, "You’re back. We’re making sweet fermented rice balls. You can try some in a bit."

Xue Yue went over for a look and nodded. "It looks delicious. Sister-in-law, when did you all get here?"

"This morning. We also went to the supermarket and had lunch there."

"Oh, right. It’s about time you guys went for a look. What did you think?"

Wang Hui Fang nodded. "It’s set up so well. Third Brother’s business is huge! My eyes couldn’t take it all in when I went inside. The cafeteria food was delicious, too. I’m so full." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Xue Yue burst out laughing.

Wang Hui Fang didn’t understand what Xue Yue was laughing about and was a little confused.