Chapter 183

The hotel's back kitchen was busy and orderly, with staff preparing ingredients, stir-frying, and serving dishes, bustling with activity, the air filled with the aromas of various foods, sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy mingling.

A burst of flame shot up from the pot, lighting the face of the chef wearing a tall toque; he gave the pan a few shakes, scooped with a ladle, plated the dish, turned and saw Xia Xi, the stout chef raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised: 'Little Xi, how did you come here?'

Seeing her in a white dress, white socks, and white shoes, the chef grabbed a towel, wiped sweat from his face, smiling as he reminded her: 'Don't get your clothes dirty.'

Here oil splatters everywhere, and it's easy to get some on you if you're not careful.

'I have something to do.' Xia Xi quickly walked through this area, waving her hand, 'Uncle Cao, you're busy.'

At the back, a separate clean area was set up; on a worktable about eight meters long lay full of ingredients, the aunts sat in a circle wearing clean uniforms, dust caps and masks, with clear division of duties: wrapping dumplings, shaping wheat gluten, rolling tangyuan, making pastries.

All food at Peishan Grand Hotel is made fresh by hand, with no semi‑finished products or inventory; anything not used that day is left for staff as meals and late‑night snacks.

Xia Xi washed her hands, walked to the aunt wrapping dumplings, watched silently for a moment, rolled up her sleeves, took a dumpling wrapper herself, and wrapped one with three‑fresh filling.

The aunt spared a glance at her lopsided dumpling, her face behind the mask torn between laughter and tears, after a moment's thought she gently said: 'Xi Xi, this appearance isn't fit to serve to customers.'

Details matter; with picky customers, they can ruin the hotel's reputation. This rule was set by the elderly matriarch when she managed the place; they keep it in mind and dare not be lax.

The hotel has a signature main dish called 'Five Blessings Dumplings': five different fillings, after wrapping they are placed in a special mold and lightly frozen, so each dumpling bears the character for 'blessing' on both sides, written in various ways, symbolizing abundant blessings.

Many first‑time customers order this dish, hoping for a good omen.

'I know.' Xia Xi smiled, brushed a few stray hairs from her cheek with the back of her hand, 'I made these to eat myself, not to send to customers' tables.'

The aunt relaxed, then chided: 'You little thing, if you wanted to eat you could have just said so; why did you have to make them yourself?' She pointed to a tray holding several rows of freshly wrapped dumplings, plump and sitting in the mold, each uniform as if machine‑made, 'Take a plate over and have someone cook them for you.'

Compared to the aunt's dumplings, Xia Xi's were truly a sorry sight—filling threatening to spill out, she patched and mended them, barely holding together. She wondered how to explain to the aunt that she wanted to wrap them herself for her boyfriend to eat.

Although the dumpling wrappers were rolled by the aunt and the filling mixed by her.

Xia Xi wrapped five; Xu Yanfeng doesn't eat beef, so she discarded the celery‑beef filling and switched to lotus‑dice, corn and pork filling.

She claimed a pot, poured in about half a pot of pure water, and the chef's apprentice beside her taught her how to light the fire, telling her to wait until the water boils before adding the dumplings.

Xia Xi pursed her little face, waiting tensely.

Seeing she was completely inexperienced and fearing a safety mishap, the apprentice guided her throughout: 'Add a splash of cold water to the pot, wait for it to boil again. After three such cold‑water additions, when the dumplings float they're done.'

Xia Xi clasped her hands together, staring at the dumplings in the pot as if performing a ritual.

When they floated up one by one, she took out a plate she had washed earlier, scooped the dumplings with a strainer, bowed to thank the apprentice, lifted the plate with both hands and left, taking the elevator upstairs.

All the way she guarded it carefully, as if it were treasure, drawing odd glances from nearby people—what treasure? Clearly just a plate of steaming dumplings.

Xia Xi entered the private room; two dishes were already on the table, Xu Yanfeng hadn't touched his chopsticks, waiting for her.

Someone said they'd be back soon, but had actually been gone nearly half an hour; Xu Yanfeng, genuinely curious, asked her: 'What did you go do?'

'I went to get you…' Xia Xi almost blurted the truth, pressed her lips, swallowed the words, set a plate of dumplings on the table, 'I went to the back kitchen to watch the chef cook dumplings for you. Eat them hot, you must finish every last one—it's meaningful.'

'Why watch the chef cook dumplings?' Xu Yanfeng didn't understand, but he didn't press further, glanced down at the oddly shaped dumplings on the plate: 'What's the meaning?'

Xia Xi sat beside him, pointing at the character on the dumpling: 'See the character for "blessing"? Eating it brings complete blessings, five fortunes arriving, auspicious stars shining high—basically, good luck will come!'

'Like that?'

'Mm.'

Xu Yanfeng picked up a dumpling whose filling was leaking, and inevitably felt a doubt; hearing from the local driver who brought him that Peishan Grand Hotel enjoys a stellar reputation and its dishes are worth tasting, he wondered how the dumplings' appearance could be so… poor.

That shouldn't be.

'Hurry up and eat, why are you just standing there?' Xia Xi prodded him with her chin, not noticing that even after boiling, the dumplings she had patched still ended up leaking filling.

Xu Yanfeng bit off half in one go; the skin was thin, the texture smooth and crisp, the filling tasted great—crisp lotus dice, tender bamboo shoots, sweet corn kernels, paired with well‑balanced fatty and lean meat, richly layered and not greasy.

'Is it delicious?' Xia Xi asked him eagerly.

Xu Yanfeng ate the remaining half; hearing her question, he glanced sideways at her, the way she asked made it seem as if the dumplings were hers… The thought suddenly struck him, his expression flickered, he carefully studied Xia Xi's face and spotted a speck of flour on her left cheekbone.

He doubted his sight, rubbed his fingertip there, and indeed picked up some flour: 'Did you make the dumplings?'

Xia Xi hadn't expected him to figure it out—how sharp Xu Yanfeng is, amazing.

She didn't dare claim credit, confessing frankly: 'The filling and wrappers were ready‑made; I just learned on the spot from the aunt, wrapped a few, they're not pretty—I know that even without you saying so. The apprentice chef taught me how to boil dumplings.' She added, 'You're allergic to beef, and I forgot to mention it when ordering; I was afraid they'd get it wrong, so I made them myself.'

Xu Yanfeng felt warmed inside, his eyes gradually deepening, showing tender affection. He set down his chopsticks, his large hand gripping her nape, pressing her toward him as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

The private room was enclosed, not a public thoroughfare, eliminating the chance of onlookers; Xu Yanfeng became more absorbed, sucking her lips, gradually deepening, the kiss gentle and delicate.

Not yet satisfied, a knock sounded on the door; a waiter arrived with dishes, and accompanying him was someone Xu Yanfeng hadn't expected.

A seventy‑year‑old lady wore a reddish‑brown dress embroidered with gold thread, deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, her hair half‑white, curled, held with a tortoiseshell comb, twisted into a bun at the back of her head.

Su Jinru followed behind her, gazing past the elderly lady's head toward Xia Xi, smiling helplessly: 'I only mentioned it once, but your grandmother insisted on coming to see little Xu, so I had to bring her along.'

The instant before the door opened, Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi were locked in a kiss, hard to part, breathing hard; hearing the knock, their lips sprang apart like an electric shock, and immediately the elderly lady burst into view, Xia Xi's cheeks flushing crimson, comparable to the plate of sauced duck the waiter carried.

Xu Yanfeng, who always prided himself on staying calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, was also caught off guard by this situation; his lust had not yet faded, he hurriedly rose, his chair behind him making a noise, which made him seem irritable.

The regret lingered only a brief second or two in his brow; he steadied himself and greeted the elderly lady.

Grandma had long been curious about Xia Xi's partner; at home she had repeatedly caught her clingily cooing over the phone, to the point she hardly recognized her own granddaughter. Upon hearing from Su Jinru that Xia Xi's boyfriend was visiting, she didn't hesitate, abandoning her old friends to come take a look.

Now seeing him in person, Grandma thought, no wonder Su Jinru praises him endlessly, calling him 'little Xu' so intimately, as if he had become 'one of us'; with her vast experience judging people, she found nothing to fault.

Xia Xi recovered, hopped to Grandma's side, linked arms with her and said: 'If you don't stay to eat with us, you can at least get a good look at your future son‑in‑law.'

The elderly lady patted the back of Xia Xi's hand: 'I still have a gathering, no time to keep you company.' After saying that, she turned her gaze to Xu Yanfeng, her smile warm and affable, also following Su Jinru in calling him 'little Xu': 'Treat this as your own home, don't stand on ceremony.'

Xu Yanfeng lowered his eyes, respectfully thanked the grandmother.

Because of this little interruption, the meal took on a somewhat chaotic, tumultuous flavor.

After a brief post‑meal chat, Xia Xi started her own car, preparing to take Xu Yanfeng around the vicinity; the weather was too hot for outdoor activities, so she had already decided to visit some commercialized attractions.

Before sightseeing, Xia Xi glanced at Xu Yanfeng a few times, rolled her eyes, and calmly said: 'I need to go home first to pick up some things.'

Xu Yanfeng: 'Okay.'

In the past, whenever they went out together he was the one driving; now he sits steadily in the passenger seat while she drives, moving through traffic, her gaze earnest and calm, feeling quite fresh.