Chapter 539: Chapter 539

During breakfast, Mrs. Zhu made a special little bowl of longevity noodles for the elder, as they were celebrating his birthday today, with some guests visiting tomorrow.

Legend and the Hunter Team took action, their childish voices chiming together, "Great-grandpa, happy birthday, may your fortune be as vast as the Eastern Sea and your longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains."

Old Sir Zhong happily replied, "Good, good, good."

After breakfast, Jiang Kechu went out to run errands, and Wan Chu’er and Mao Xiaoyu helped Mrs. Zhu prepare the big noon meal. Under Xiao Bai’s guidance, Li Shan was bustling about decorating the yard, making the old residence lively all of a sudden.

Around noon, Yan Hui rushed back with gifts too. While Xiao Bai and Li Shan were making a fuss around him, Father Jiang and Mrs. Jiang showed up.

Wan Chu’er hurried out from the kitchen to greet them.

Father Jiang went to talk with Old Sir Zhong, and Mrs. Jiang chatted with her grandchildren for a while before taking Wan Chu’er’s hand to look her up and down, expressing concern, "Why have you lost so much weight? Haven’t you been eating well outside? The scenery might be good, but the food is never as fitting as our domestic fare. Now that you’re back, eat well and take care of yourself."

She didn’t mention a word about Wan Chu’er not attending the family compound gathering yesterday, instead she was genuinely concerned.

Wan Chu’er has never had the temper to refute Mrs. Jiang. Touched by her care and having reconciled with Jiang Kechu the night before, she felt no more grudges and agreed with a smile, even saying that she loved the soup Mrs. Jiang made the most. Mrs. Jiang repeatedly invited her to come to the family compound to treat her to delicious soup every day, making the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law seem quite harmonious for the moment.

After chatting for a while, Mrs. Jiang asked, "Where’s Legend’s father? On such an important day, how can he not show up?" She was about to have Wan Chu’er call Jiang Kechu to hurry back.

Wan Chu’er quickly said, "He’s out on an errand and will be back soon. He’s been reassigned to Beijing; he went to sort out the transfer."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Jiang was surprised, "Why haven’t I heard of this before? This child, such a big matter, and he didn’t even tell his family." She then looked at Wan Chu’er, guessing she must have known about it in advance. Content orıginally comes from 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝

Seeing Mrs. Jiang’s suspicion, Wan Chu’er immediately responded, "This was only decided yesterday; before that, no one knew."

Realizing this, Mrs. Jiang’s smile returned, but Wan Chu’er started to feel a headache – even the old lady could get jealous.

At that moment, Jiang Xiaoxiao, belly swollen, arrived. Wan Chu’er promptly went to greet Jiang Xiaoxiao, who was followed by Jiang Lingling.

Jiang Lingling had come along eagerly. She felt both happy and nervous upon seeing Wan Chu’er, knowing that today was a family banquet in the old house and that her presence might be inappropriate. She was afraid Wan Chu’er might send her away.

With everyone present and so many eyes watching on this joyful day, Wan Chu’er wasn’t about to commit the folly of sending a guest away. She greeted Jiang Lingling, then returned to the kitchen to help Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu showed off her skills with eight cold dishes, twelve hot dishes, and four dessert items – an impressive spread. The kitchen was bustling, and as soon as Wan Chu’er entered, she was on the go, non-stop.

After a while, Jiang Lingling also snuck into the kitchen. Without a hint of politeness, Wan Chu’er immediately put her to work. Displeased, Jiang Lingling didn’t want to help, but a sharp, "If you’re not going to work, leave right now," took all the defiance out of her, and she trudged through her tasks. Slow workers get prodded by Wan Chu’er.

Mrs. Zhu was too busy cooking to look after the squabble between Wan Chu’er and Jiang Lingling, and Mao Xiaoyu was also swamped, not bothering with such trivial matters.

After laboring silently for a while, Jiang Lingling couldn’t help but propose to Wan Chu’er, "I’m helping out at your family event today, you have to do me a favor in return."

Wan Chu’er didn’t look up, her hands skillfully working a knife, swiftly slicing fish into consistently sized pieces.

"You speak first, what is it about." She didn’t bother with the fact that Chuchu was the one who came to her today. Since she came over, she certainly couldn’t expect a free meal.

Jiang Lingling hesitated for a while before saying: "I really find my current life incredibly boring. I don’t want to work at my dad’s company, nor do I want to take the job arranged by my parents, and I definitely don’t want to go through matchmaking and get married right now. Can you help me find something more interesting to do?"

After she finished speaking, she let out a long sigh, feeling like years of pent-up frustration were released from her chest.

Actually, she had wanted to find Wan Chu’er for help a long time ago, but she never seized the right opportunity, and Wan Chu’er was often not in Beijing. So the matter dragged on, weighing heavily on her heart and leaving her feeling depressed.

This time she shamelessly followed her here, determined to speak her mind; otherwise, she couldn’t continue living . She always felt that Wan Chu’er could definitely arrange something she would enjoy doing, having an inexplicable trust in her.

Hearing Jiang Lingling’s words, Wan Chu’er snickered while continuing to work at a fast pace.

Jiang Lingling was anxious and asked, "What do you mean? Can you help me with this or not? Why aren’t you showing any reaction?"

Wan Chu’er replied indifferently, "When asking for help, one must have the right attitude. Look at how you act—I don’t owe you anything, so why should I help you?"

Although Jiang Lingling’s attitude had improved a lot compared to before, there was still the air of a spoiled young lady about her.

Jiang Lingling thought about the last time she went shopping for clothes and took a deep breath to adjust her mood before saying sincerely:

"Sister-in-law, please help me."

Wan Chu’er raised her eyebrows and smiled, asking, "Why don’t you go ask Lin Jiayi for help? Haven’t you always liked Lin Jiayi, following her lead?"

She could help, but she couldn’t foster an ingrate; the relationship needed to be clear.

Hearing Wan Chu’er’s words, Jiang Lingling’s brows and eyes drooped, and she became dispirited, muttering, "She only comes to me when she needs someone to take the fall for her, fobbing me off with little favors. She won’t truly help me."

Oh, she’s actually aware of that?!

Finally, Wan Chu’er stopped what she was doing and looked at her for a few moments, seeing her sincere expression before getting back to her work.

"Alright, I’ll think about it and get back to you in a couple of days."

Hearing Wan Chu’er agree, Jiang Lingling immediately perked up, her movements becoming quick and deft, finally living up to her name.

When it came time to eat, Jiang Lingling was all smiles, which added a festive air to the celebration.

Finally, the feast was ready, and Jiang Kechu hurried back from outside.

Everyone gathered in the dining room, lifted their wine glasses, and toasted together to Old Sir Zhong.

The meal was harmonious and joyful, with Xiao Bai and Jiang Lingling joking and bantering throughout, and the table was full of laughter.

Jiang Lingling used to be infatuated with Xiao Bai for a while, but later on, when Xiao Bai got together with Jiang Xiaoxiao, Lingling showed her pride and immediately moved on. Whenever she saw Xiao Bai, she would either give a cold shoulder or be sharp-tongued against him.