Returning Home in Brocade

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Song Wenbo asked irritably.

"Find someone else, obviously. Is he the only cook in existence? Does the kitchen stop turning without him? If you really can't find anyone, just withhold his wages and force him to stay!" Zhou Xiaona said, a flash of malice in her eyes.

Song Wenbo's eyes widened, shocked by his wife's cold-blooded cruelty.

After all, this was his own sister and brother-in-law.

Realizing his own wife had such a disposition made a chill run down his spine.

"Heh, you're so benevolent, so righteous. It's not like you don't know how important the May Day holiday is." Zhou Xiaona noticed his expression. "Don't look at me like that. I've been looking out for this family from the very beginning."

Song Wenbo struggled with his conscience for a moment, then gave a heavy nod.

No more talk; he had to hire someone as soon as possible.

He was a member of several local community groups and immediately posted a job advertisement.

These days, as long as the pay was decent, finding help wasn't difficult; they were everywhere. Soon, he had scheduled a trial for a cook who claimed to have plenty of experience.

That afternoon, just as the kitchen finished the rush and Zhang Zhaohai finally had a moment to sit down for a meal, Song Wenbo and Zhou Xiaona walked in, leading a stranger behind them.

"Master, we'd like to trouble you to try your hand at a few dishes."

Zhou Xiaona spoke right in front of Zhang Zhaohai. Beside her, Song Wenbo, thin-skinned as he was, felt too awkward to meet Zhang Zhaohai's gaze.

Zhang Zhaohai lifted his eyelids, took one look, and understood immediately.

The couple had rushed to find a replacement for him; they certainly didn't waste any time.

The trial went exceptionally smoothly, and the couple finalized the employment contract with the new cook on the spot.

"Finally, that's settled." Song Wenbo let out a long sigh of relief. He looked at his wife and grinned obsequiously. "Honey, you really are the thoughtful one."

Deep down, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Now that someone had been hired, he wouldn't have to withhold Zhang Zhaohai's wages to force him to stay. If word of that had gotten out, he would have been branded a villain for the rest of his life.

"Only just realized how good I am?" Zhou Xiaona rolled her eyes, speaking with a huff.

With the new hire, the kitchen no longer relied on Zhang Zhaohai, so Song Wenbo naturally didn't care whether he left or not.

On the eve of May Day, the first day of the holiday, it was also Zhang Zhaohai's final day at the restaurant.

"Brother-in-law, thank you for all your hard work over the past two years," Song Wenbo said, offering a lukewarm greeting, not wanting things to end on too sour a note.

After all, he couldn't exactly cut ties with his own sister, could he?

"It wasn't hard work. You paid me a salary, didn't you?" Zhang Zhaohai replied, casting him a sidelong glance.

Song Wenbo offered an awkward smile and turned to leave. Even among blood brothers, let alone relatives, it wasn't rare for people to cut ties over money. Once a rift formed, it was impossible to mend.

"Don't take it to heart," Zhou Xiaona consoled him. "I'll be blunt: your sister and brother-in-law are destined to stay where they are. Our family is only going to prosper; there will never be a day where we need to beg them for anything. What are you worried about?"

"That's true." Song Wenbo felt his heart ease.

His sister's family—she was a wage earner, and her husband relied on his paycheck. How much could they possibly achieve? As for that nephew of his, he'd heard he was working in Magic City; he was probably just getting by.

Who knows, maybe one day they'd be the ones begging for help!

Zhang Zhaohai was the type to do his job properly until the very last second. Even though it was his final day in the kitchen, he meticulously finished every task at hand.

Once he was free, he didn't forget to contact his son.

Zhang Yang's company was on holiday today, and he would likely be back by the afternoon.

"What time is your high-speed rail?" Zhang Zhaohai asked over the phone.

"I didn't take the train. I bought a car," Zhang Yang said, not bothering to hide it.

"You brat, you really don't deny yourself anything, do you? What kind of car did you buy?" Hearing this, Zhang Zhaohai immediately pressed for details, his curiosity piqued.

"A Porsche Cayenne. I'll take you for a spin when I get back, Dad," Zhang Yang laughed.

Zhang Zhaohai hung up the phone, stunned.

This kid—he had three and a half million, and he turned around and spent over a million on a Porsche. He really was...

He really had his father's flair from back in the day.

Zhang Zhaohai did some quick mental math: three and a half million, minus over a million, left him with two-point-something million. Enough to buy a house, renovate it, get married...

It was fine, it was all enough.

Let him buy it.

At that moment, Zhang Yang was just preparing to leave his apartment.

Bei Wei didn't plan on going home for the May Day holiday. Her parents worked out of town, and since the break wasn't very long, she decided to stay in Magic City.

Leaving the apartment, Zhang Yang pulled over outside Bei Wei's place.

Before long, a figure with skin so fair it was dazzling came jogging over. She wore a simple white dress that fluttered in the breeze—it was Bei Wei.

"Brother Zhang." Bei Wei bowed slightly and handed him a box. "I made some sushi this morning."

"Reciprocity is the way of the world. Here, take this." Zhang Yang looked at the neatly packed homemade sushi, smiled, and pulled a box of cake from the back of the car.

This is Black Swan, the top-tier cake brand under Holiland. Zhang Yang had pre-ordered a Floral Bloom cake for just under three thousand, which was delivered early that morning by a handsome Black Swan courier.

The cake was stunningly beautiful, with a delicate pink design that was sure to satisfy any girl's heart.

Bei Wei held the cake and gently covered her mouth, clearly both surprised and dazzled.

"Do you want to sit in the car for a while?" Zhang Yang watched Bei Wei as he extended the invitation.

Bei Wei's cheeks flushed slightly, and with a soft hum of agreement, she quietly opened the car door and climbed in.

From Magic City to Yinghai City was a drive of several hours.

Zhang Yang drove at breakneck speed, arriving back in his hometown of Yinghai by the afternoon.

As he drove, he looked at the familiar grass and trees outside the window. Although there were no towering skyscrapers or magnificent skylines like in Magic City, the single word "hometown" was worth more than a thousand words.

"Dad, have you headed back yet?" Zhang Yang asked while calling Zhang Zhaohai as he drove.

"Just finished up at noon, getting ready to head back now," Zhang Zhaohai replied.

"Alright, wait for me then. I'll come find you at Uncle's place," Zhang Yang said with a smile.

After all, who doesn't have a bit of a desire to show off? He was driving this car to his uncle's place partly to help his old man save some face.

"You're coming over?" Zhang Zhaohai raised his voice. "Alright then, I'll wait for you."

After hanging up, Zhang Yang drove his Porsche Cayenne straight toward his uncle's restaurant. It took him about half an hour to reach the building.

There were quite a few cars in the parking lot below the restaurant, and it was clear that business was good today.

"Uncle's restaurant has really gotten on the right track," Zhang Yang remarked with a nod of approval after stepping out of the car and looking at Fengsheng Restaurant.

He was no stranger to this restaurant, not just because his father worked there as a chef, but because over the years, whenever the family held a banquet or dinner for the holidays, it was almost always here.

He knew the layout of the private rooms and the main halls like the back of his hand.

Thanks to Mo Nuo, Jay Chou, and Cloudless for the tips.