After a little while, the master and mistress arrived, bringing along their senior students.
After exchanging pleasantries, they explained that they were delayed because they encountered Elder Liangâs grandchildren being chased and couldnât ignore it.
The mistress apologized, saying, "We hurried over, but weâre still late."
Xinyan replied with a smile, "No worries, Iâm just happy you could all come together to support us."
The senior students had taken time off to come; itâs just a small store opening, not a big deal.
Han Jingchen and Gu Wanqing chimed in, "Your presence is the biggest support for her."
Everyone laughed.
Then Xinyan took the master, mistress, and senior students on a quick tour of the store. It was crowded, so they didnât stay inside long and soon came out.
Everyone showered Xinyan with compliments again.
It made Xinyan a bit embarrassed.
After that, everyone took out red envelopes to give to Xinyan, but she refused, half-jokingly saying, "I appreciate your goodwill, but I canât accept the envelopes. I might open more stores in the future; itâll drain you dry."
After some back-and-forth, everyone had no choice but to put away the red envelopes.
What Xinyan said was actually what she felt. With the current uncertainty and exploration in various industries, she wanted to have a transitional period to prepare funds for future business ventures.
Seeing the store bustling and unable to help, the elders considered leaving.
But Xinyan stopped them: "Today is a good day, and you see my small store is doing well. We should raise a glass to celebrate.
Youâve all taken time out of your busy schedules to support me, as a junior, I should show my appreciation."
So Xinyan brought out gifts she had prepared in advance from the back yard: "These are clothes tailored to your sizes. These designs arenât for sale in the store yet. Thank you all for your support."
Senior Brother Ma Chengxi joked, "Little Junior Sister is so generous; now my wife might be envious."
Xinyan actually prepared quite a few sets, but not for those who didnât show up; thatâs her rule.
Everyone understood Xinyanâs intentions and naturally accepted the gifts happily.
After that, they headed to the restaurant Xinyan had booked earlier in the day.
With Ling Tianze at the store, Xinyan felt reassured.
But when they left, she said someone would deliver lunch to them later.
Xinyan had pre-ordered two tables of dishes at a nearby state-run restaurant, and when they arrived, everything was almost ready.
Gu Wanqing noticed He Jinxuan bustling around and, during the meal, surprisingly used public chopsticks to serve Jinxuan a dish: "Youâve worked hard helping Xinyan these days, eat more to replenish."
He Jinxuan felt a bit overwhelmed but politely thanked her, "Itâs my duty, thank you, Aunt."
He actually wanted to call her âMomâ, but he didnât dare.
Because his father-in-law was sending chills, battling the dishes before him,
while the little girl beside was gleefully watching.
Just as Gu Wanqing was about to serve more food to He Jinxuan, he eagerly finished his bowl of rice: "You all take your time to eat, Iâll go deliver lunch to the store folks."
As he dashed off, Xinyan burst into laughter.