His words shocked Matriarch He.
When had this brat become so sensible?
The more she looked at it, the stranger it seemed!
He Ying’s eyes lit up after she heard He Erlang’s words. She glanced at her daughter with clear intentions. Unfortunately, Pan Nianzhen was still looking down in a daze and she didn’t catch the look her mother had thrown her way.
He Ying furrowed her brows slightly as she looked at her absent-minded daughter.
Matriarch He hadn’t expected He Erlang to have suddenly turned so amenable to her requests. Her mood was currently better than it had ever been for some time.
She called for everyone to sit down. There were only a few of them and they were all family, so they didn’t separate the men and women for dinner. Everyone gathered around a large round table to eat.
Fermented rice wine had been specially prepared for the occasion so the women could drink freely without fear of becoming drunk.
Although they were not separated by gender for dinner, their seating positions had been specially prepared.
He Dalang was sat to the left of Matriarch He, while Countess Jing’an was seated on her right. Chu Lian sat beside He Sanlang and Miss Pan was on her other side.
He Erlang was seated across from Pan Nianzhen.
For the reunion dinner tonight, Matriarch He had specifically ordered the kitchen to prepare a table full of dishes. There were also several new dishes that Chu Lian had instructed Xiyan to make in the main kitchen.
The table was laden with a magnificent feast.
He Ying looked at the exquisite dishes in front of her, before turning to smile at Chu Lian, “Sanlang’s wife, I heard about Guilin Restaurant the moment I arrived at the capital. Everyone has been saying that the dishes at Guilin Restaurant are the best in the capital. When will I get the chance to try them sometime?”
Before Chu Lian could answer, He Ying pinched Pan Nianzhen’s hand under the table.
While Miss Pan was shocked, she quickly reacted and continued the conversation, “Mother, what do you mean by going to Guilin Restaurant? Third Cousin-in-law’s Guilin Restaurant hasn’t been reopened yet!”
Upon hearing her daughter’s words, He Ying looked surprised and smiled sheepishly.
Chu Lian swept a cool gaze over the two women beside her. Her expression didn’t show any hint of change and she maintained a faint smile on her face.
Thanks to He Ying and her daughter, Matriarch He was also reminded of Guilin Restaurant.
The matriarch asked, “Lian’er, what’s happened to Guilin Restaurant? Why hasn’t it reopened yet?”
If it was only He Ying and her daughter asking about it, Chu Lian could simply smile and ignore them. However, now that the matriarch had personally spoken up, she couldn’t continue pretending ignorance.
Chu Lian replied in a serious manner, “Grandmother, I was planning to make some changes to the layout of Guilin Restaurant at first, so I told Xiyan to close the restaurant before the new year. The servants probably didn’t dare to do anything else without my approval, since I wasn’t in the capital. Thus, the reopening has been delayed until now. Now that I’m back in the capital, I’ll work on reopening the restaurant as soon as possible.”
Matriarch He dropped her line of questioning and nodded. She advised, “It’s best if you can reopen it earlier. The old Duke of House Zheng has already sent his servants over several times to ask about it.”
Chu Lian nodded.
Actually, she knew that it was actually the matriarch who was pushing her to reopen the restaurant.
If Old Duke Zheng really couldn’t wait to eat those delicacies again, he wouldn’t have sent people over to ask the matriarch. He would have come to look for her himself.
He Changdi’s thick brows wrinkled slightly as he listened to his grandmother’s words from the side.
The matriarch gave the order to start eating.
Since it was a rare reunion, they disregarded the usual formalities and the whole family chatted while eating.