The footage showing the process of preparing dishes in the documentary transferred from small screens to large ones, with the allure of the dishes magnified many times over.

Close-up shots of dishes were greatly enlarged, showing rich sauces, steaming hot dishes, and other foods that made your mouth water just by looking at them…

On the screen, a piece of stewed, dark-red meat in savory broth gently swayed, and one could almost tell just by looking how tender it was, how delicious it would taste.

Passersby who saw this were left speechless.

“Is this even real?” they thought.

At the same time, many who had never followed internet gossip were finally struck with realization.

“Oh! So the tempting dishes in that documentary were from Mingde, which just opened many stores in Shenzhen today?”

Such a big move naturally attracted widespread attention.

The combined effects of the advertising screens in the city centers of Shenzhen and Linjiang and the congratulations from the Huaxia Delicacies filming crew directly invaded people’s social media feeds, and many who were still skeptical of Mingde’s fanbase suddenly felt less confident in their doubts.

Though they had never heard of Mingde before, most of them had watched Huaxia Delicacies, and while watching, they had been salivating over some of the dishes…

Mingde’s loyal fans, seeing the explosive promotional videos across social media, were even more excited.

Impressive! Truly impressive!

---

Mingde’s Jin Yaotiao knew right away that the advertising screens in the city centers of Shenzhen and Linjiang could not have been the work of Jia Bingyang.

Jia Bingyang didn’t have that much money—oh, wait, he probably had a bit more now.

However, according to Lei Qiu, he was still often seen buying twenty-yuan sweaters at the local market.

After the banquet, she gave the prepared gifts to the guests—a personalized ice pack with Mingde’s logo.

Her colleagues in the Shenzhen Restaurant Association were puzzled, and Jin Yaotiao smiled as she explained, “This is a new product Mingde is about to launch.”

When they opened the gift, they found frozen dumplings, soup dumplings, and noodles—products Mingde had never made before.

The colleagues were confused. “What’s going on with Mingde? Are they starting a side product line now?”

No one at the banquet was particularly interested in frozen foods, but after the event, their perception of Mingde in the restaurant association had been refreshed, so they kept their doubts to themselves.

After sending the gifts to the media, Jin Yaotiao noticed that a group of strangers, who had been behind the media before the event, had not left and were still excited when they saw her again.

Although she didn’t know who they were, they looked like they were here to support Mingde. Jin Yaotiao thought for a moment and had her staff prepare more gifts for these people.

As the evening drew near, feeling a bit tired, she rubbed her neck and, after some thought, took out her phone to call Shen Qiming.

The phone was answered quickly, and Shen Qiming’s voice came through. “Yaotiao.”

Jin Yaotiao went straight to the point. “The promotional videos on the city center screens in Shenzhen and Linjiang—was it you who arranged it?”

It was more of a statement than a question.

Shen Qiming confirmed with an “mm” and then asked, “Did you receive the flower baskets? I wasn’t in Shenzhen this afternoon, so I couldn’t call you. Sorry.”

Jin Yaotiao understood he was referring to his work.

Shen Qiming had been attending an important conference in Beijing and was too busy to spare any attention.

Jin Yaotiao sighed, realizing how costly the advertising campaign must have been. “Shen Qiming, you’re in Beijing. Just focus on your conference. You don’t need to worry about these things.”

Shen Qiming didn’t say anything. Jin Yaotiao turned around and saw a car slowly coming to a stop.

She froze for a moment.

Shen Qiming stepped out of the car, phone pressed to his cheek, looking at her. His deep, tired voice came through the receiver: “Sorry, the meeting just ended this morning. I’m late.”

He looked tired, clearly having flown back from Beijing right after his meeting.

Jin Yaotiao paused for a few seconds, realizing that his “not being able to call” probably referred to the flight. She slowly asked, “…Shen Qiming, what are you doing?”

Shen Qiming paused, his gaze on her from a few meters away.

After a while, he spoke, his voice unsure but clear. “I wanted to see you sooner.”

Jin Yaotiao: “…”

Jin Yaotiao didn’t know what expression to wear as she was called back to work.

Xu Wan, who had come to help with the company’s staff, noticed her son arriving and saw Jiang Bai reporting the latest factory updates to Jin Yaotiao.

She sighed, though she was also worried, she still tried to comfort her son: “Qiming, that’s Yaotiao’s new assistant, actually…”

Xu Wan began to tear up.

It wasn’t just this assistant.

“The plan for the first batch of products to leave the factory has been set. The production process is going smoothly, with no issues, but the only thing left is the distribution channels. I’m with the team and working quickly on it…”

Jin Yaotiao listened carefully as Jiang Bai reported to her about the upcoming work.

The most critical challenge for Mingde’s future was hidden in Jiang Bai’s words.

The company was skilled at running restaurants, but when it came to other aspects of business, they were far less experienced. New channels and new ventures had to be learned from scratch.

This was the reason why Jin YaoTiao had been so strict in her requirements for hiring new assistants. Although Jiang Bai had not worked in this industry before, his previous experience with a now-defunct startup that dealt with trade meant that he knew what needed to be done from production to market.

Thus, his entry into Mingde was like a shot of adrenaline for Jin YaoTiao.

After working with him, Jin YaoTiao finally understood why Jiang Bai had weathered so many ups and downs and still achieved such impressive results despite his frail health.

Jiang Bai’s work ethic was relentless, almost as if he didn’t care about his life.

His ambition, combined with his loyal team who would follow his every command, made them an unstoppable force. Sometimes, when Jin YaoTiao gave him a week’s worth of tasks, he would finish them beautifully in just two days.

At first, Jin YaoTiao had prepared herself for Jiang Bai to become despondent after the failure of his startup.

But that never happened.

Jin YaoTiao felt relieved and delegated more authority, allowing him to fully spread his wings.

This approach proved effective. Originally, the product launch was expected to be delayed until mid-year, but Jiang Bai had managed to complete it at the same time as the opening of the branch.

After signing the documents he brought in, Jin YaoTiao put down her pen, and Jiang Bai glanced at her before speaking softly, “President Jin, it seems that person over there is waiting for you.”

Jin YaoTiao paused and then responded, “I know.”

---

Shen Qiming stepped out for some fresh air at the entrance of Xunxiang Yan.

He wasn’t good at opening up, but perhaps the appearance of unfamiliar men around Jin Yaotiao recently made him think a lot, or maybe it was the exhausting travel from Beijing to Shenzhen after the conference.

After several days of tension, when he saw Jin Yaotiao again, those words slipped out before he could stop them.

Even after saying them, he was momentarily stunned himself.

His mother’s comfort didn’t help much, because recently, what he thought about most was his past.

Behind him, Jin YaoTiao was still confirming details with her assistant.

The sky was already dark.

Xunxiang Yan wasn’t operating today, and the guests and media had all left. Yet, there was still a lingering sense of excitement at the entrance.

Not far away, there were people who hadn’t left yet, carrying insulated bags with Mingde’s logo.

They looked very excited, and their laughter carried in the evening breeze.

“President Jin is so great! She actually had the staff give us gifts.”

“I’ve been following schedules for so many years, and this is the first time I get to take a gift home.”

“Let me see the photos you took! Wow, amazing! Your shots are better than mine, and President Jin looks so beautiful in them!”

Shen Qiming slightly turned his head and glanced at them, realizing they didn’t seem to be the invited guests for the day.

“When will the itinerary for today’s event be posted online?” someone asked. “The fan club on Weibo is asking about it.”

“I’ll post it when I get back. I took a lot of photos; I need to organize them. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Shen Qiming was still watching those people leave when suddenly, he heard Jin YaoTiao’s voice behind him. “Shen Qiming.”

He turned around, and Jin YaoTiao, having finished her work, was walking toward him, no longer accompanied by Jiang Bai, who had called her away earlier.

Shen Qiming looked back at her, “Are you done with work?”

Jin YaoTiao nodded. Seeing that he seemed to have returned to his normal self, she relaxed a bit. “Why haven’t you gone back yet?”

But Shen Qiming spoke up. “I wanted to see you again.”

Jin YaoTiao blinked. “… Shen Qiming, are you okay?”

Was this a dream?

Seeing her expression, Shen Qiming chuckled softly. “YaoTiao, someone like me… I must have made it hard for you in the past, right?”

Jin YaoTiao paused, lifting her gaze to him.

Shen Qiming lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting a soft shadow. His voice was light as he said, “I’m sorry.”

In the car, Jin Mao’s assistant waited for the boss, who had been out for a while. When the boss finally entered the car, he brought in the cold air, briefly looking outside before telling the driver, “Return to the company.”

The driver and assistant, who had been napping while the boss was out, immediately woke up. “Understood.”

As the car started, the assistant glanced outside, where the dazzling lights of Xunxiang Yan gleamed in the night. He couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional—so, the boss’s wife didn’t come today either.

The boss seemed to have grown used to it, calmly resting his forehead against the window, eyes closed, as though deep in thought.

After a moment, he suddenly spoke. “Does the company have a Weibo account?”

The assistant was taken aback but quickly responded, “Of course!”

Such a large company like Jin Mao would never be without a publicity account.

But the boss never used social media, so why would he ask about it?

Not daring to ask, the assistant quickly pulled out his phone and showed the account to the boss.

Shen Qiming wasn’t very familiar with this software, hearing it mentioned occasionally by others.

The official Weibo account of Jin Mao was quite formal, with the first post being about their participation in the recent financial summit.

He fiddled with it for a while, then recalled the conversation he overheard earlier.

Still unsure about that so-called fan group, he was about to ask when the assistant’s phone suddenly rang.

The assistant looked at the caller ID and immediately became nervous, quickly answering, “I’m at work,” before hanging up and apologizing to Shen Qiming. “Sorry, Mr. Shen, my girlfriend called. I’ve been so busy with work in Beijing that I haven’t been in touch with her, and now she’s upset.”

The boss frowned as expected.

The assistant, nervous, heard the boss say, “How could you hang up the phone?”

The assistant froze.

Shen Qiming had recently been rigorously practicing so-called “straight man tests” and scored as high as 80 on his latest attempt. Seeing his subordinate’s behavior now, he found it unacceptable.

With the air of an experienced mentor, he advised, “What you need to do now is explain things to her properly.”

The assistant hesitated for a moment. “Then… then, Mr. Shen, should I call her back to make up for it? Is that okay?”