Xia Changzhi scoffed, "Ha! Old Jun, are you daydreaming? I’m telling you, before you even bring up this idea, maybe you should think about Boss Jiang’s tens of thousands of fans."
"Never mind that Boss Jiang couldn’t care less about your money. Even if you did manage to poach him, don’t you think his neighbors might just co and smash your door down?"
...!!
The two, who had just gotten excited, had a bucket of cold water dumped on them.
That’s right!
With food as good as Boss Jiang’s, it’s not like he was short of opportunities. He wouldn’t even look twice at the two of them.
Besides, South City was crawling with retired bigwigs. If you poached their beloved chef, they would definitely co after you!
After thinking it through, Jun Xinghe lost his nerve.
’Better not.’
He really didn’t want to stir up any trouble.
Even though his friend Guo Dapao was an official, two fists were no match for four hands.
’A whole mob coming after you—wouldn’t you be scared?’
Just then, Jiang Liu ca out to stock the cooler with juice.
The three n ordered three more glasses.
Jun Xinghe sized up Jiang Liu, who was going about his work, and the more he watched, the more satisfied he beca, nodding with a constant smile.
He looked exactly like a father gazing at his own son.
His expression was so tender, it was as if he’d already picked out a na for his third-generation heir.
Guo Dapao could see what his friend was thinking.
He asked, "Have you found your daughter yet?"
Jun Xinghe’s expression instantly soured. "No. I can’t be bothered to look for her. She can go wherever she pleases."
If he wanted to find her, he could track her down at any ti.
But he just didn’t want to. He was still mad!
Xia Changzhi chuckled, knowing Jun Xinghe’s temper.
He turned and asked Jiang Liu:
"Boss Jiang, where’s Tongtong? Did she go to preschool?"
"Yep, it’s Monday."
Hearing soone ask about his daughter, Jiang Liu smiled happily.
Jun Xinghe wasn’t surprised. While they were eating earlier, he had discreetly asked Xia Changzhi a lot about Jiang Liu.
All in all, he was outstanding in every respect, and most importantly, his personality was very much to Jun Xinghe’s satisfaction.
He was a suitable candidate.
"I was wondering why I didn’t see the little girl today. I quite miss her. I’ll have to bring her a gift so other day," Xia Changzhi said with a cheerful laugh.
Jun Xinghe suddenly spoke up. "Boss Jiang, allow to introduce myself. My surna is Jun, and I’m an entrepreneur. Would it be alright if I asked you a few personal questions? You don’t have to answer."
"It’s fine, go ahead and ask."
Hearing that the man’s surna was Jun, Jiang Liu felt a sense of warmth. He casually pulled up a chair and sat down next to the three n to take a quick break.
"How is the relationship between you and your daughter, Tongtong?"
"Hm, it’s great. My daughter can be a little mischievous sotis, but she loves very much, and I love her very much."
As Jiang Liu spoke, a gratified smile appeared on his face.
Jun Xinghe nodded and asked, "Then what if one day, you wanted your daughter to do sothing you believed was right for her, but she got angry and ran away from ho? How would you handle that?"
"Angry?..."
Jiang Liu thought about it seriously. "Sothing like that would never happen between and my daughter. We never get angry with each other."
"Hahaha!" Guo Dapao slapped his thigh and roared with laughter. "Old Jun, don’t go comparing your family’s problems to others. Is there even a comparison?"
That hit Jun Xinghe right where it hurt.
He rephrased his question, frowning. "I’m saying *if*. If you two had a fight and she ran away from ho, if that happened to you, how would you handle it?"
"Assu you’re in the right, and your daughter is in the wrong."
Jiang Liu listened carefully and, without even pausing to think, replied with a smile, "If that really happened, I would go find her myself. Then I’d take her to get her favorite ice cream."
"My daughter loves ice cream more than anything. Besides, I don’t want to get hung up on who’s right or wrong. Love is about acceptance. All I need to know is that my daughter loves , her father. That’s enough to make happy."
All three n were moved.
As the saying goes, seeing is believing. Before, Jun Xinghe and Guo Dapao had only heard about Jiang Liu from Xia Changzhi.
But it was nowhere near as impactful as experiencing it firsthand.
Jun Xinghe fell silent.
Xia Changzhi and Guo Dapao exchanged glances.
’A major shareholder and executive of a publicly traded company was not only asking a small restaurant owner for advice, but was also getting his composure completely shattered by a few simple words?’
’Boss Jiang is really sothing else...’
Jiang Liu looked at the dazed Jun Xinghe, guessing what was going on. "Uncle Jun," he asked, "are you at odds with your daughter?"
"Yes," Jun Xinghe nodded and said with a sigh, pouring out his troubles.
"Here’s the thing. My daughter is an only child, and she was spoiled growing up, so she’s a bit naive. I want her to take over the company, but she doesn’t want to. *Sigh*. So she just stubbornly ran away from ho without a second glance. It’s been a few years since we last spoke. Tell , she’s clearly the one in the wrong, yet she won’t apologize to , her father. Am I, the father, supposed to go begging her to co back?"
Jun Xinghe was clearly angry as he spoke.
"Boss Jiang, what’s your take on this issue between and my daughter?"
Jiang Liu listened patiently again, not interrupting, nor did he reply imdiately.
Instead, he pondered for ten seconds before speaking. "I don’t really have a ’take’ on it. I just think family is priceless. Uncle Jun, you must be around fifty, right?"
"Yes, fifty-one."
"Then let ask you, if your daughter ca back to you now, how many more years could you spend with her?"
"About twenty-so years, I suppose."
"Right. Twenty-so years. Factoring in work, personal lives, and sleep, the ti you’d actually spend together is probably less than ten years. Ti passes like a puff of smoke. Why aren’t you cherishing it? Is your pride really that important?"
"Perhaps one day, when you’re too old to walk and decide you want to apologize and have your daughter co back to take care of you... will it be too late? If you truly love her, you should be more protective and forgiving of her."
Jun Xinghe listened, srized, his gaze fixed on the air conditioner in the kitchen.
’That’s right.’
’Ti passes like a puff of smoke.’
And here he was, feuding and holding a grudge against the only family he had left in the world.
All for a tiny scrap of fatherly pride. Was it really that important?
Jun Xinghe couldn’t help but think back ten years, to when he was still running a small dicinal herb drying and processing plant.
One day, one of his employees, exhausted from overti, accidentally hit a thirty-ter-high drying rack with a forklift, knocking it over.
The loss was over three hundred thousand.
Jun Xinghe chose to give him a second chance, offering forgiveness and encouragent.
Now, that employee was one of his most capable and loyal subordinates, willing to go through hell and high water for him.
He could be tolerant toward an outsider, yet with his own daughter, he nitpicked over every little thing.
Perhaps he really was a failure, a terrible father.
Jun Xinghe let out a deep sigh.
"Boss Jiang, thank you!"
Jiang Liu said, "I was just speaking what I believe to be the truth. You can think about it in your own situation. Every circumstance is different, so being able to adapt is always for the best."
"Alright. A lesson well learned."
Jun Xinghe’s trust in Jiang Liu grew significantly.
’If I entrusted my daughter to him, perhaps it would be a good choice.’
He didn’t care about wealth, because he wasn’t short on money.
He didn’t care about power, because he had friends in all places.
Instead...
Jun Xinghe much preferred soone like Jiang Liu—a man of good character, down-to-earth, sincere in his relationships, and not petty.
And besides, he was extrely satisfied with the food Jiang Liu made.
Jun Xinghe had figured it out. Relaxing, he continued to seek advice. "Boss Jiang, if one day you’re old and your restaurant has beco a huge success, and you want your daughter to learn how to make your buns, but she doesn’t want to inherit your craft, what would you do?"
"Would you find a way to make her learn from you, or would you give up and let her be?"
Jiang Liu looked up, recalling sothing Tongtong had said, and answered with a smile, "I’ve never thought about making my daughter learn to cook from . If she likes it, she can learn. If she doesn’t, she doesn’t have to."
"I rember my daughter’s biggest wish is that once her old dad has earned enough money, she can take out to eat delicious food and go have fun."
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