The Shang family was in turmoil.

As the New Year approached, the various restaurants under the company’s umbrella were preparing for the annual New Year’s Eve dinner.

This was a crucial event for most food businesses, especially traditional ones, and required a lot of manpower.

The departure of the second master and others immediately caused panic within the company.

The many restaurants under the Shang family were struggling to maintain normal operations, not even being able to carry out their daily business, let alone the New Year’s Eve dinner project.

It wasn’t because they took the staff with them.

In fact, except for a few close relatives and disciples, they didn’t actively take anyone who was already working at Shang family restaurants.

They didn’t even announce their departure, leaving quietly without drawing attention.

They had shown enough consideration.

But how could the news of the key figures leaving be hidden?

Though they didn’t actively take people, the apprentices left behind at each restaurant decided to quit.

Shang family had never been particularly concerned with these employees, and the balance of power was clear.

So, many quit their jobs, confronting the company about the reasons behind their masters’ departure.

Only a few who had connections with the Shang family or were hired from outside the company remained.

But how useful were these people?

Various departments of the company began to falter.

The relatives of the Xia family, who managed these departments, found themselves suddenly overwhelmed, receiving countless distress calls from employees.

Complaints about the lack of participation in the company’s culinary association activities, long-time customers expressing dissatisfaction with the food quality, and reports of restaurants failing to operate properly flooded in.

The alarming numbers were increasing like a snowball.

Now, not just the top chefs, but even the employees were starting to grumble.

How long would this chaos last?

Could they find a way to get through it?

Perhaps because the previous decades had been too smooth, Old Madame Xia only now realized how important the silent key figures were to the company.

She became scared, surrendered, and no longer dared to scold anyone or bring up issues like withholding bonuses.

She even stopped insisting on her “Mistress” identity and tried to call the second master and others, attempting to reconcile.

She promised to offer them better treatment if they returned to work.

But this wasn’t the reason the second master and others left.

After one conflict after another, their respect for the Shang family had been worn thin.

It was too late to rekindle it now.

The Shang family had no choice but to seek help from the outside, but the news of their conflict had already spread within the Shenzhen Restaurant Association.

The former president, after returning from the Jin family, had vented his frustration, and no one wanted to get involved in such a messy situation.

However, when the second master and others joined the culinary association, they were puzzled by the Shang family’s request for help.

The second master’s disciples had a good reputation within the association.

Over the years, they had won numerous awards in competitions.

The brotherhood of the team was respected in Shenzhen, and their deep affection for the Shang family was well known.

Although the Shang family’s old patriarch had passed away, his legacy as a royal chef still carried weight.

Despite not knowing why the second master and others had left, there was still a desire to help reconcile.

But before they could take action, at a year-end event, some members of the restaurant association discussed this matter with familiar culinary association members.

The culinary association members were puzzled, asking why.

Then, the rumors spread like wildfire.

“What!?”

“Really?”

“I can’t believe Shang Rong isn’t the biological son of the old patriarch! No wonder there are so many executives with the Xia surname in the company. How is this still Shang’s company?”

“How dare they still meddle in where Master Ma and the others go? Even if they start their own business, it’s none of their business.”

“Yeah, Master Ma and the others were too nostalgic. They worked so diligently for outsiders for years. If it were me, I wouldn’t do it.”

This New Year’s Eve, the gossip about the Shang family spread like wildfire, giving the Shenzhen culinary industry a cheerful end to the last day of the year.

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As for the Jin family, apart from a few more guests, they were not affected much.

After so many years of separation, the encounters had always been brief.

But now, after all these years, they were finally reunited.

The second master and the others maintained their stern presence in front of their apprentices, but when they were with Jin’s father, they seemed to revert to the group of junior brothers who relied on their eldest brother.

This year was the Jin family’s first New Year not spent in Linjiang, but even though they were crowded together in Shenzhen, it didn’t feel like they were far from home.

In the living room, three large tables were set up.

The second senior brother and the others helped prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Since the masters had arrived, the apprentices could also stay with them.

Ma Le and a group of younger apprentices were finally able to stay at Mingde, happily following the father and their uncles to help Jin Yaotiao with the chores.

For the first time, Ma Le was asked to run errands by Jin Yaotiao, and he felt quite proud.

He ran quickly to fetch the roast duck, goose, and sausages hanging in the drying box, boasting to his junior brother, “See, she has no choice but to let me do the work.”

“Brother Le, I think something’s wrong…”

“Do you think being asked to work is such an honor?” Ma Le retorted, carrying the duck and goose like a victorious general. “This is the difference between working under a formal contract and working illegally. You wouldn’t understand.”

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Shen Qiming didn’t have a reason to return to Linjiang.

He had planned to work at the company during the New Year, but received an invitation from his mother, Xu Wan.

Recently, Xu Wan had been coming to Jingmao more often, occasionally bringing things for him.

Shen Qiming had hesitated to go.

Last year, he didn’t care much for the frozen dumplings at the New Year’s Eve dinner, but after seeing Jin Yaotiao’s recent post on preparing the dinner, he liked it and decided to go.

This was Shen Qiming’s first time visiting his mother’s place in Shenzhen.

From the outside, it looked similar to the old Shen family house in Linjiang, but once inside, he was surprised to see the differences.

His mother didn’t have time for pleasantries and quickly ran to the kitchen, shouting, “Qiming, wear slippers yourself, I still have dishes to prepare!”

Shen Qiming noticed the new slippers by the door and, after changing, looked at the pile of dishes in the restaurant direction.

Several dishes were already on the table, but their appearance wasn’t very appealing.

The house was a bit messy, with New Year goods scattered everywhere.

Shen Qiming, feeling a little OCD, couldn’t help but tidy up.

He placed the bags of snacks from the sofa on the coffee table.

His mother saw him and seemed slightly embarrassed, explaining, “I bought these with Yaotiao’s mother the other day. I haven’t had time to clean up. Last year, I didn’t know what to buy, so I just brought two bags of stuff. This year, I followed Yaotiao’s mom’s list. I bought dozens of pounds of meat, and I’ve learned several big dishes from her. This year, we won’t eat frozen dumplings! By the way, do you like pork and cabbage dumplings?”

Shen Qiming looked at his somewhat anxious mother, nodded, and calmly said, “I’m fine with whatever.”

The large TV in the living room was playing a program, not the Spring Festival Gala, but “China’s Delicacies.”

Shen Qiming turned up the volume.

The music from “China’s Delicacies” filled the large house, and the screen showed Jin Yaotiao making dumplings.

Shen Qiming’s expression softened.

Xu Wan, hearing the sound, came out holding a spatula. “I’ve been meaning to watch it. Yaotiao taught me how to make dumplings several times, but I still can’t wrap them well. Look, she makes them so beautifully, a perfect belly-tightening little dumpling. I just can’t learn.”

Shen Qiming remembered last year’s dough, asking, “Did you make dumplings again?”

Xu Wan quickly explained, feeling embarrassed, “This time, I definitely got the dough right. Yaotiao sent me the ratio of water to flour.”

Shen Qiming didn’t respond directly, smelling a faint burnt odor and reminding her, “The food is burning.”

His mother snapped back, “Ah!!!”

The fish in the pan had been overcooked, and the surface had turned an unappetizing brown.

Xu Wan’s mood sank immediately as she regretted not doing better. “How can we eat this? I wanted to make you a nice New Year’s Eve dinner.”

Shen Qiming glanced at the unappetizing dishes on the table. “It’s okay.”

“Really?” Xu Wan asked cautiously, seeing his calm expression, feeling relieved.

She then returned to the kitchen to finish the fish, saying with a little joy, “I added 150 grams of water to 300 grams of flour, Yaotiao reminded me several times to add the water slowly so the dough would be easier to knead. I’ve remembered.”

Shen Qiming watched as his mother carefully added water to the flour, then, after a while, asked, “Did you learn all these dishes from Yaotiao?”

He was referring to the dishes on the table.

Xu Wan nodded. “Yes, Yaotiao’s so patient with me, teaching me even though she’s busy. She’s such a gentle child. She must be making the New Year’s Eve dinner with her parents right now. Their house is probably full of noise and laughter.”

Shen Qiming agreed, his lips curling up slightly.

Xu Wan sighed deeply, looking at her son. “Qiming, I’m sorry. You’re already so grown up, and this is the first time I’ve made you New Year’s Eve dinner.”

Shen Qiming didn’t say anything.

Xu Wan had long gotten used to it and didn’t think much of it.

In fact, she found joy in saying it out loud.

With her head lowered, she kneaded the dough while muttering to herself, “But, Yaotiao is right. Learning to be a mother now is better than giving up. I’m happy making these things now. No wonder people say life is all about the basic necessities—cooking for someone important to you might be something most ordinary people do.”

Shen Qiming furrowed his brow as he listened.

Watching his mother knead the dough with great effort, he suddenly spoke up, “Let me do it.”

Xu Wan’s arms were sore from kneading. She had just realized her mistake—she had forgotten to buy a dough kneading machine.

Then she saw her tall son, his hands already clean, standing at the counter ready to help.

Xu Wan was momentarily stunned and stepped aside to make room.

Two egg whites were added to the dough.

Shen Qiming had a lot of strength, and sure enough, he kneaded the dough well.

Xu Wan blanched the cabbage and chopped it while checking the ratio in the message Yaotiao had sent her.

The mother and son didn’t chat much but worked together smoothly.

After the dough was done, Xu Wan thought that would be the end of it.

However, her son didn’t leave.

Instead, he picked up a rolling pin and seemed ready to participate in making dumplings.

Xu Wan was a bit surprised but soon became worried.

She made terrible dumplings, while her son had kneaded the dough quickly and perfectly.

This reminded her of last year when she ruined the kitchen and her son, with a blank expression, froze some dumplings.

Could the same scenario be repeating itself?

But when Shen Qiming took the rolling pin and rolled out a triangular wrapper—still a sharp-angled triangle—Xu Wan sighed, “Give it to me. I’ll do it.”

Yes, last year’s frozen dumplings had all broken when boiled.

To her surprise, there was someone who rolled out wrappers worse than she did.

Shen Qiming definitely was cooking for the first time.

Ten minutes later, the mother and son reappeared in the living room, watching a replay of the show Huaxia Delicacies.

Xu Wan held up a horribly ugly dumpling, looking at the scene on the screen where Yaotiao skillfully pinched a beautiful dumpling, lost in thought.

Shen Qiming, sitting beside her, was as calm and steady as ever.

In his hand was a dumpling even uglier than hers—no longer a dumpling, but a hideous bun.

But no matter how ugly the dumplings were, they eventually went into the pot.

The mother and son stood in the kitchen, both eyes fixed on the pot of boiling water.

After adding more water several times, Xu Wan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the dumplings float up, “They’re done! Finally!”

She looked a bit disheveled, and Shen Qiming was no better, with flour all over his clothes.

They fished the dumplings out and put them on the table.

Xu Wan continued to prepare the vegetables she would stir-fry next, but her eyes caught sight of her son heading toward the front door.

Xu Wan froze for a second and asked, “Qiming, where are you going?”

The door opened, and Shen Qiming’s voice drifted in, “I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back later.”

It took Xu Wan a few seconds to react, and she called out loudly, “It’s dark outside and cold! Wear something warm!”

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The Jin family was bustling with activity.

All three dining tables were in use, and even the living room sofas and coffee tables were occupied.

It was even livelier than last year.

The apprentices brought drinks to the table as the strong aroma of the New Year’s feast filled the air.

Luna returned to Linjiang for the holiday, and after greeting her, Jin Yaotiao spent time on the phone with Leiqiu while opening New Year gifts she had received.

This year had been so busy that she hadn’t even unpacked all the gifts yet.

Some gifts came from major associations and familiar people in Linjiang and Shenzhen, while others came from friends.

Leiqiu sent a special local delicacy from the mountains, mentioning on the phone, “I received the sausages and braised duck you sent me. They’re delicious.”

Debbie, who was overseas, had also sent a gift—a new product she was endorsing that hadn’t been released yet.

Inside, there was a card that read, “Jin, surprise! I heard the Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday, so I wish you and your family a happy New Year. I’m doing well, miss you. Have you had winter bamboo shoots yet?”

Jin Yaotiao smiled as she read the card and then heard the voice of Jia Bingyang on the phone.

She raised an eyebrow and asked Leiqiu, “Are you spending the New Year with Jia Bingyang?”

Leiqiu replied, a bit embarrassed, “No, the project team is still busy. Jia Bingyang can’t go home, and my parents have come to Beijing, so he’s coming over to join us for dinner.”

As she spoke, the sounds of children laughing and Jia Bingyang teasing them came through the phone.

Jin Yaotiao laughed.

After hanging up, she received a video call from Ye Baiqing, who excitedly showed her his baby, still unable to speak but trying to teach the child, “Call godmother! Call godmother!”

At the dinner table, the second child and their father were reminiscing about past events, with a few of the apprentices wiping their eyes while holding their heads.

Jin’s mother quietly drank the bean porridge Jin Yaotiao had made, occasionally nibbling on some braised goose.

The sausages and pickled goods this year were all homemade by the Jin family.

Jin’s father had sourced a new breed of pork, perfect for making sausages, and Jin Yaotiao had prepared two flavors.

These, along with braised duck, goose, and salted meat, were steamed together into a plate full of rich, preserved flavors.