Old Xu looked at Ya Ya one last time, his eyes filled with interest: "Hmm, this little girl, is she the Ya Ya that Yi Fan mentioned?"
Besides curiosity, there was something else in Old Xu's eyes, but he didn't say anything. He just turned around and took the wine glass from the waiter's hand, and everyone clinked glasses.
Chen Xiao was a little embarrassed: "Uncle Xu, I came empty-handed today and didn't prepare any gift for you."
Old Xu laughed heartily: "I treat you like one of my own sons, so let's not stand on ceremony. It's good enough that you came and we had a drink together."
Chen Xiao didn't put on any pretense and drank it all in one gulp.
Originally, he was just a poor young man with little money, while the Xu family was incredibly wealthy. For a tycoon like Old Man Xu to celebrate his birthday, he would naturally receive countless expensive gifts. As for Chen Xiao… even if he sold everything he owned, he might not be good enough to impress the Xu family. Therefore, it was better not to buy anything.
Chen Xiao smiled and said, "Well then... Uncle Xu, let's do it the same way as last year. Since I couldn't give you any gift, I'll go to the kitchen later and make you some longevity noodles myself... Hehe, I didn't do a very good job last year, but I've practiced for a whole year now."
Old Xu laughed heartily, but Ya Ya next to him suddenly said innocently, "Yes, Chen Xiao's noodles are the best."
Lu Bancheng, who was standing next to him, exchanged a few pleasantries with Chen Xiao, and was very polite to him.
Chen Xiao noticed that ever since he approached, the four men in suits under Phoenix's command had remained silent, standing to the side and looking at him with strange expressions.
In particular, Chen Xiao noticed a detail: when the four people saw Xiao Qing, it was obvious that all four of them showed surprise and shock at the same time, but others did not notice, so they quickly covered it up.
However, the four of them kept glancing at Xiao Qing with curious eyes. Such glances were obviously impolite, which made Xiao Qing's expression gradually turn ugly. She regarded the four of them as lecherous men.
Could it be... that these four of Phoenix's subordinates have never seen Xiao Qing before?
Thinking of this, Chen Xiao deliberately looked at the four people politely: "Uncle Xu, who are these gentlemen...?"
Old Man Xu smiled and said, "They are also my distinguished guests." Old Man Xu seemed reluctant to say more, and smiled politely at the four of them, "Gentlemen, I have some private matters to discuss with my juniors, so please excuse me for a moment."
The four nodded, saying nothing more, but they couldn't help but keep glancing at Xiao Qing.
However, the tallest of the four seemed to be the leader. He gently tugged at his companion and said, "Mr. Xu, please make yourself at home. We'll just have a few drinks."
Old Xu apologized to Lu Bancheng again. Lu Bancheng guessed what they had to say, so he laughed and said, "I'm going to see where that little girl has gone off to. I haven't seen her for half a day. I hope she doesn't cause any trouble for you."
He left after saying that.
"Let's go, Chen Xiao, let's go to the kitchen together." Old Xu smiled at Chen Xiao, his eyes very kind.
This is a routine between the two of them.
Last year, it was Old Master Xu's birthday. Chen Xiao's family had already fallen on hard times, but for some reason, Old Master Xu was particularly fond of this impoverished boy his son brought home. Chen Xiao didn't have money to give an expensive gift—everyone else gave him inexpensive gifts, so he couldn't very well spend tens of yuan on a bouquet of flowers.
Therefore, since Chen Xiao had no money, he could only put more thought into it.
Last year, Chen Xiao made a bowl of longevity noodles for Old Man Xu. Originally, his cooking skills were only so-so, but unexpectedly, Old Man Xu was very happy after eating it. Moreover, judging from his appearance, it was definitely not an act. Such a business tycoon actually showed a genuine emotion in his eyes after eating Chen Xiao's noodles, which was quite amazing.
So the two agreed that every year on Old Man Xu's birthday, Chen Xiao would come and cook him a bowl of longevity noodles. Chen Xiao respected Old Man Xu very much, so he would naturally never refuse such a request.
However, there was one condition: he could make noodles, but only one portion specifically for Old Man Xu. Chen Xiao knew his own culinary skills; the Xu family naturally had a master chef whose dishes far surpassed his own. Compared to his own cooking, he dared not offer his own creations to others—he didn't understand why Old Man Xu liked them so much. Did this tycoon Xu have a different palate than ordinary people?
Secondly, it's Old Master Xu's birthday. The house is packed with guests. If Chen Xiao really had to make noodles for all the guests, then he might as well not do anything else all evening and just stay in the kitchen busy...
Chen Xiao looked at Old Man Xu and smiled slightly: "Uncle Xu, shall we go now?"
"Of course, now. If we wait any longer, we probably won't be able to leave even if we want to," Old Man Xu sighed.
Ya Ya and Xiao Qing, who were standing nearby, were both curious, but Old Man Xu glanced at the two girls, smiled slightly, his eyes full of old age wisdom, and said lightly, "You two girls, how about lending me Chen Xiao for a while? This old man has something to talk to him about alone. You don't need to come along."
Although Xiao Qing was somewhat unwilling, she was too embarrassed to say anything. As for Ya Ya, she glanced at Chen Xiao, and seeing that Chen Xiao nodded, she obediently remained silent.
Old Xu was a shrewd old man. He noticed a hint of worry in Chen Xiao's eyes, as if he was concerned about Ya Ya being alone. He smiled, raised his hand to summon a middle-aged man who looked like an assistant, and pointed at Ya Ya, saying, "Take good care of this girl. Don't let anyone bully her! If any scoundrel dares to cause trouble here, have him thrown into the street."
Xiao Qing couldn't help but laugh and said, "There's no need for that. With me here, no one will bully Ya Ya."
"Oh, right. I almost forgot about our heroine Xiao." Old Xu laughed heartily, then put his arm around Chen Xiao's shoulder and headed towards the kitchen in the mansion.
The kitchen in the Xu family mansion was naturally extraordinary. Although it couldn't compare to the back kitchen of a luxury hotel, its size was many times larger than that of an ordinary family's kitchen.
Today is Old Man Xu's birthday banquet, and naturally there are many hired chefs busy in the kitchen. When Chen Xiao and Old Man Xu arrived at the kitchen, the person in charge was stunned. Old Man Xu waved his hand, gave a few simple instructions, and after a moment, everyone quickly withdrew, leaving the huge kitchen to the old man and the young man.
"Here you go, we have everything you need. Do whatever you want with it." Old Xu laughed heartily, then took off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the table beside him. He then unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves: "I'll chop some scallions for you."
In the Xu family kitchen, all the ingredients were readily available, and the cooking utensils were also complete. Chen Xiao immediately rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
The old man chopped scallions while he cooked noodles—cooking noodles is an essential skill for a man living alone. Chen Xiao was very skilled and quickly made a pot of noodles.
Pour the noodles into a bowl, sprinkle with chopped green onions, and drizzle with two drops of sesame oil. The aroma is irresistible. After Chen Xiao sprinkled some more sesame seeds into the bowl, Old Man Xu next to him started drooling.
This simple bowl of plain noodles, without any delicacies, subtly changed the look in Old Xu's eyes.
This richest man in K City magically produced a bag of pickled vegetables from the refrigerator!
Chen Xiao glanced at it—yes, it really was just ordinary pickled vegetables! A real estate tycoon likes to eat this?
But seeing the old man Xu's moved expression, his trembling fingers pulled out two ivory chopsticks, and in less than ten minutes, he devoured a large bowl of noodles in a whirlwind. As if he hadn't had enough, he chewed on some pickled vegetables and drank half a bowl of noodle soup.
He held ivory chopsticks, wore a Patek Philippe necklace, and a DG shirt—but at this moment, Chen Xiao felt as if he had mistaken the old man in front of him for one of the many ordinary old men in K City who ate noodles at roadside stalls at night.
After finishing his noodles, Old Xu was covered in sweat. He lit a cigarette and offered one to Chen Xiao as well. Chen Xiao didn't refuse and lit it up and took a puff.
"Excellent, very satisfying!" The old man patted his belly contentedly while smoking. "This is the taste!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Chen Xiao and said, "You must be wondering why, right?"
"Of course I'm surprised," Chen Xiao said with a wry smile. "I'd say my cooking skills are just average, I really didn't expect you to be such a good cook..."
"Tch, what do you mean by 'average cooking skills'? Your cooking skills are absolutely terrible." Old Xu's eyes were filled with mockery. "To be honest, the noodles you make don't even taste as good as those from a roadside noodle stall."