K《Hibiscus Noodles》

Chapter 2

"What are you all doing! Chatting during work hours?" With a slam, Deputy General Manager Li Tongtian slammed the documents heavily on the table. The girls scattered like birds, all burying their heads in their typewriters, not daring to make a sound.

"If you don't discipline someone for three days, they'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. Is it easy to find a job these days? The boss is a foreigner, and he's willing to hire women like you. You need to have some self-respect, self-respect, and more self-respect! What kind of behavior is this, acting so crazy and disorderly!"

Li Tongtian's chubby figure trembled with excitement, his eyes wide with a murderous rage, more so than ever before. He was truly furious. If it weren't for Luo Xiuqing, he would have been the natural choice for general manager. He had worked diligently for the company for over a decade, only to have his position usurped by a mere young upstart—what kind of world was this? Moreover, as a long-serving employee, a single misstep could lead to dismissal, which was what truly troubled Li Tongtian.

What else could he do but swallow his anger? His outburst in the office had already extinguished his fury; now only resentment and worry remained. Li Tongtian steadied himself, straightened his collar, and peered out the window. The company's Mercedes was already approaching.

Luo Xiuqing was a little curious about Li Tongtian. Despite his weight, he was agile. He went downstairs, opened the car door, and bowed at a 90-degree angle with such lightness and fluidity. She wondered if it was due to his good training or his innate talent.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Tongtian accompanied Luo Xiuqing on a tour of all departments.

As a rising star in the shipping industry in recent years, Licheng Shipping's market share has been rapidly increasing. Besides possessing a powerful fleet, its strong cooperative relationships with both the military and political sectors are crucial for the company's further development. Sir Howard, the blue-eyed president, deeply understood that appointing a young and capable Chinese general manager was the best choice. Therefore, when he saw Luo Xiuqing, an outstanding doctoral graduate, at his alma mater, Jianqiao, his furrowed brow finally relaxed.

Now Howard has gone back to his hometown in England to enjoy the rare good weather of the year. Although testing Luo Xiuqing was necessary, Howard wasn't a fool; he had long ago prepared contingency plans for any unexpected events.

Luo Xiuqing knew the names of all the company's veteran employees and was extremely knowledgeable about the company's operations. At the subsequent meeting, Li Tongtian received the biggest reassurance of the day: Luo Xiuqing announced that Li Tongtian would be responsible for approving all daily work. Li Tongtian's emotions had been turbulent, shifting from anger to resentment to trepidation, and now he was overwhelmed with gratitude. He felt he should say something, but his face trembled with excitement, and he couldn't utter a single word. Luo Xiuqing patted his shoulder, a pat that nearly made Old Li burst into tears.

"Squeak—" The conference room door opened.

"I'm sorry everyone, I'm late." A bright and cheerful woman appeared with the voice. She wore a low-cut orange-red dress with a bright green silk scarf, and had long, chestnut-brown curly hair. The large briefcase she carried seemed somewhat out of place. She sat down opposite Luo Xiuqing, took stacks of documents from her bag, and began to sort them neatly on the table.

Luo Xiuqing looked at her with interest. She must be Rose, the one Harold mentioned in his telegram, his assistant. He had assumed Harold would send a serious, elderly British secretary to monitor him.

A hush fell over the room as everyone waited for the woman to calm herself down. Finally, she completed the long process of "sitting down." She finally looked up, glanced around at everyone, and smiled sheepishly.

"Excuse me, let me introduce myself. My name is Jian Rou, and I'm General Manager Luo's assistant. You can call me Rose." Jian Rou always spoke with a smile, and the two small dimples at the corners of her mouth added a touch of coquettish charm to her.

"Ah—" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; the decisive young general manager must have been accompanied by a beautiful female secretary. They exchanged knowing smiles.

"Jian Rou, you'll be very busy from now on, is that alright?" Luo Xiuqing asked, looking at her questioningly.

“I’m ready,” Jian Rou replied briefly, not avoiding Luo Xiuqing’s gaze.

"Alright, meeting adjourned. Everyone, get back to work." Luo Xiuqing stood up.

Luo Xiuqing left, and the meeting room became lively as everyone began whispering and sharing their feelings and questions. Many quick-witted individuals rushed to Li Tongtian's side to congratulate him, expressing their continued support. Li Tongtian nodded and smiled, seemingly still caught up in the excitement or perhaps reflecting on the fickle nature of human relationships.

Jian Rou was clearly a little surprised; the documents she had carefully prepared were temporarily useless. But she didn't mind. She was very confident in herself and believed she could gain the company's approval, including that arrogant CEO.

Four

Osmanthus-flavored Sweet Lotus Root

Crab Roe Broth Pumpkin Strips

Raw eel

Chinese yam and wolfberry pig's feet soup

Braised Three Delicacies Fried Rice

Xiaoju was raised in England, but she was an excellent Chinese cook. Her parents had helped a down-on-his-luck Cantonese chef years ago, and the chef volunteered to stay and work as their family cook. Xiaoju had a very sensitive palate; whenever the chef created a new dish, she was always the first to taste it, and she would guess the ingredients and seasonings from scratch. Despite being from a well-to-do family, over the years, Xiaoju learned to cook exceptionally well.

We walked until we were exhausted before Xing'er and I finally managed to buy all the ingredients at the market. There's a deep well in the backyard with incredibly sweet water; Xiaoju is happy to give up on the slightly salty tap water. Why isn't Xiuqing back yet? The old clock is already striking the seventh hour, a crescent moon has risen, and the evening primroses outside the window are beginning to bloom in twos and threes.

The sound of a car horn, the sound of a door opening—ah, Xiuqing is back. Xiaoju lit the jade-colored candle on the candlestick, pushed open the glass door, and was immediately picked up by Luo Xiuqing, who had just stepped onto the last step.

"It smells so good, I'm starving." Luo Xiuqing planted a deep kiss on Xiaoju's forehead. "Look, I bought this on the way here, it's kind of fun, do you like it?"

Luo Xiuqing produced several small items as if by magic. There were small boxes from India, palm leaves from Ceylon, coral beads from Himalaya, and colorful stone bracelets.

"Liar, liar, there's no such thing as a good thing here. You must have stolen it from somewhere." Xiaoju grinned from ear to ear, not forgetting to tease Luo Xiuqing.

“Haha,” Luo Xiuqing picked up a spoon, took a sip of soup, and pointed to the door. “It really wasn’t me who stole it, it was him.”

Xiaoju then turned to look at the doorway, where a man with a sunburnt face, taking the last drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray on the windowsill in the entryway.

"Brother!" Xiaoju was genuinely surprised; his adventurous brother hadn't been home for two years.

Jiaming opened his arms and accepted his sister's warm hug. His neck felt cool; the silly girl was crying again. Jiaming pulled Xiaoju's hands off his neck and grinned. Xiaoju also stopped crying and smiled, still tightly hugging her brother, whose scent was a mixture of tobacco, sweat, leather, and sunshine. With her brother here, this place felt more like home.

Dinner was a great meal. Jiaming and Xiuqing finished off two bottles of vodka, while Xiaoju went to the kitchen to cook a large pot of borscht and baked a cheesecake with a red wine center. Jiaming basically looked like a diver because he ate three to five more pieces of cake than the others without needing to breathe.

"Brother, how come there are so many corals in Tibet? Is it true?"

“In the past, Tibet was actually a sea. Later, tectonic changes caused the mountains to rise, but the corals and seashells did not disappear.”

"Brother, you've gotten so tanned." Xiaoju touched her brother's sunburnt cheeks and lips with concern.

"It's alright, I'm tough. Everyone says I look like a Khampa man, and Khampa men are known for being popular with women. Your brother's amazing, isn't he?" Jiaming chuckled, stroking his chin and stubble.

"You're so vain! I've never seen you bring a girl home before!" Xiaoju retorted mercilessly to her brother.

"I won't stoop to your level, you little brat," Jiaming chuckled, not angry at all. "Xiuqing, you should keep a closer eye on your wife."

“Jiaming, come work at my company,” Luo Xiuqing said without looking at Xiaoju, but he knew all too well how much Xiaoju wanted her brother to stay.

"Me?" Jiaming asked, a little confused. "What can I do?"

"Perfect for you. Our company has just bought three 3,000-ton ships and wants to develop the Southeast Asian market. Are you interested?"

"I'll think about it. You're not going to expect me to come to work on time, are you?"

"You're in market development, and attendance isn't the deciding factor; performance is what matters. This position is quite stressful."

"Don't try to provoke me. I'll think about it and give you an answer tomorrow. Let's drink."

"Okay, let's drink!" Luo Xiuqing raised her glass.

It was late at night, and Jiaming was already snoring in his room.

"Xiuqing, thank you." Xiaoju hugged Luo Xiuqing's neck from behind, pressing her face against his slightly curly hair.

“Silly girl, it’s not all for you. I do need someone trustworthy in the company, and Jiaming’s arrival is just in time.” Luo Xiuqing patted Xiaoju’s face.

"Xiuqing, do you think it would be good for me to go out and get a job?"

"What kind of job is it?"

"I want to go back to my old profession, teaching. What do you think?"

"Hmm... that's a good idea, it'll keep you from getting bored at home. But don't work too hard, have you decided which school you want to go to?"

“Today, my dad’s old friend, the principal of the No. 2 Girls’ Middle School, came over. He said he saw the news in the newspaper, the name matched, and the photo looked like me. He just happened to be passing by and came in to take a look. He said the school is short of English teachers and asked if I had any ideas. I said I would discuss it with him later before I could get back to him.”

"Oh, it's Uncle Lu. Of course I support what my wife wants to do. But let's make it clear, she can't work too hard."

"Xiuqing, you agreed? That's great!" Xiaoju gave Luo Xiuqing a surprise kiss.

Luo Xiuqing pinched Xiaoju's nose. This girl seemed to have an incredible attraction. From the first moment she saw her, she felt that she was the one she would spend her life with. This was probably the magic that Hollywood movies repeatedly emphasize.

"Xiuqing, you have gray hair." Xiaoju picked out a gray hair.

"Don't worry, having gray hair is just a good thing, it means we'll grow old together."

"Well, will you still love me like this when I become an old lady?" Xiaoju suddenly felt a little worried about the future.

“I’ll be an old man by then, unable to walk or crawl, so of course I’ll have to rely on you and have you take care of me.”

"Xiuqing, you have to give way to me, let me die first."

“Hey, kid, stop talking nonsense,” Luo Xiuqing grabbed Xiaoju’s hand and slapped it on the table three times. “Don’t say anything about death or life. We’ll always be together.”

Xiaoju fell silent. Perhaps this was happiness—being able to talk about the word "forever" with someone.