Chapter 990: Family Gathering

He Yuzhu rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and dove into the kitchen, ready to go all out.

But before he could even pick up his spatula, a little tail he couldn't shake appeared by his legs—He Doudou tilted her head, staring longingly at the stove, her drool nearly forming a stream, her little nose twitching hard as she sniffed the aroma.

He Yuzhu couldn't do anything about her, so he had to call over the chef hired by the family to take the helm, while he picked up his little granddaughter in his arms and stood behind to direct and coordinate.

The flames on the stove "whooshed" up high, blue tongues licking the bottom of the pot, the iron wok flying up and down, the oil popping and crackling.

Dish after dish was brought out steaming hot, prepared strictly according to the tastes of everyone in the family.

The braised lamb that He Daqing was most proud of; the Boiled Fish that Chen Xueru favored; He Jia's favorite was steamed pork with preserved mustard greens; He Zheng loved to eat sweet and sour pork; Ma Rui was most greedy for squirrel-shaped mandarin fish...

He Daqing was drawn over by the bustling activity in the kitchen. The old man strolled up to the stove with his hands behind his back, took a look at the table full of dishes, and raised an eyebrow: "Zhuzi, I'll show you a trick in a moment and make a dish of Tan Family Cuisine's Arhat Prawns."

"Alright! I'll go find the ingredients for you! Mom and I both love this dish the most."

He Daqing did as he said, nimbly tying on an apron and reaching out to start mixing the sauce.

At over eighty years old, his wrists turned steadily and quickly; slicing ginger and chopping garlic, mixing ingredients and adjusting the sauce—that level of dexterity would make even a young man admire him.

Just as he was busy, He Yulu rushed into the kitchen in a flurry, "Brother, you have to help me!"

He Yuzhu teased He Doudou in his arms while turning his head to look at her: "Is your instant noodle factory having trouble?"

He Yulu had resigned from the Military Factory back then, determined to open an instant noodle factory. After He Yuzhu helped her set up the business, it had been smooth sailing for the past few years, and the profits were good.

But the market had changed recently, and a lot of large capital had entered the industry. Her side wasn't doing well.

He Yuzhu saw it clearly in his heart and pointed it out directly: "Is it because others are selling cheaper than you, and the flavors are about the same, so your advantage is gone?"

He Yulu nodded with a bitter face: "That's exactly it! A bunch of capital from Taiwan is playing marketing tricks very skillfully, with advertisements everywhere, occupying the high, middle, and low ends. We're caught in the middle and can barely breathe."

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment and patted his sister on the shoulder, "You, don't get into a price war with them; you have to move toward the mid-to-high end. Make the seasoning packets more refined, ensure the quality is good, and don't cut corners. Try to come up with a few high-end instant noodles, and I'll help you brainstorm the flavors..."

He then listed all the popular flavors from later generations one by one.

He Yulu's eyes lit up as she listened, and she suddenly felt confident in her heart. She clapped her hands and laughed: "Brother, then you have to help me more! Our R&D department tries new flavors every day, but we just can't figure out which one will be a hit."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Done, I promise you."

By the time they finished talking, the food was all set out.

Yi Zhonghai, the First Elder of the Siheyuan, also strolled over slowly.

Nowadays, this large courtyard was left with only two households, the He Family and the Yi family; the rest of the old neighbors had moved away long ago—of course, the He Family had bought the houses one by one at market price, never shorting anyone on money.

Only Yi Zhonghai was an exception; the old man was like he had taken root, refusing to budge no matter what.

Yi Xiaotian held shares in He Zheng's company and had long since bought an impressive villa outside, but his father refused to go no matter what. Yi Xiaotian had no choice, so the couple had to leave the villa empty and obediently return to this old courtyard every day to accompany his father.

Chen Xueru hadn't been idle all these years either, quietly buying up the houses around the Ninety-five Courtyard bit by bit.

She wasn't doing it to speculate on real estate—He Yuzhu had offended many people over the years, and there were plenty of people secretly eyeing his family. The houses in the surrounding courtyards were basically occupied by bodyguards responsible for security, protecting the whole family tightly, both openly and secretly.

Besides, Chen Xueru had heard He Yuzhu mention once before that the Luogu Lane area would become a top-tier tourist area in the future, so she took the opportunity to keep the courtyards in her hands. When tourists swarmed in later, renting them out would be a steady, profitable business.

The He Family was prosperous, with adults and children filling three large tables. The courtyard was noisy, with bowls and chopsticks clinking and children running around the table, as lively as the New Year.

After three rounds of drinks, the brothers He Zheng and Ma Rui both had red faces, and their words became increasingly straightforward.

He Zheng suddenly slammed his wine glass on the table and stared at Ma Rui with half-squinted eyes: "You brat, tell me honestly—did you plant a lot of spies in my company?"

When Ma Rui heard this, he shook his head like a rattle, his face turning even redder: "Brother, you're wronging me! I'm in the film and television business; I have nothing to do with your tech company. Why would I steal your trade secrets?"

He Zheng was relentless, pointing at him with his chopsticks: "Then why did you go and acquire Q Gongsi? The product that thing makes is almost a carbon copy of mine! I was planning to have my lawyers sue them, but you quietly bought their shares. What do you want me to do?"

Ma Rui chuckled, a cunning glint in his eyes, "Uncle said back then that mobile phones would dominate the world in the future. This trend is clearly right there; how could I just watch and miss it? Brother, this is called vision; it doesn't need any spies at all."

He Xiao rolled his eyes at the side and tapped the edge of his bowl with his chopsticks: "You two brothers bicker every time you meet. Today is the happy day of Yang Jing's pregnancy; can you two coexist peacefully for a while?"

He Zheng spread his hands, his face full of helplessness: "I'm already peaceful enough. After he finished the acquisition, I directly had the lawyers withdraw the lawsuit and didn't give him any trouble at all. Isn't that enough?"

He Jia smiled with pursed lips at this time, holding her wine glass and interjecting slowly: "You should all come and flatter me—I am the Deputy General Manager under Aunt Liu Siman. Those high-tech gadgets of yours were all tinkered with in our Laboratory."

When Ma Rui heard this, he immediately changed to a cheeky face, leaned over, and poured a glass of wine for He Jia: "Sister, it's a deal then! In the future, whenever you launch any high-tech gadgets, you must treat us equally. You can't just give them to your own brother; you have to think of me too. By the way, if you discover any excellent talent, you must recommend them to me as well."

He Jia said with a smile: "Coming out of the Laboratory is one thing, but making the product a success is another."

Ma Rui laughed, "Don't I know that?"

Just as everyone was drinking happily, Ershuan suddenly ran in and said: "Zhuzi, someone from above wants you to go to the First Reception House..."