A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Chef Jiang, who had been cooking for half his life, didn't know what steak was. After thinking for a while, he tentatively asked if it was beef ribs.

Feng Wenhua disagreed. Although he had never seen or eaten it, he could roughly guess that it was something foreigners ate.

"Chef Jiang, you're the head chef of our canteen, you should at least think of a solution." Feng Wenhua said with a worried look, "Director Lu isn't home. If we mess this up and the experts get angry and leave, how are we going to explain it to the director?"

Master Jiang felt that the few hairs on his head were about to be lost, so he painfully touched his scalp, called Jiang Weihai over, and asked him if he knew.

Jiang Weihai was even more unaware.

Seeing his father so worried, he tentatively asked, "How about I go ask Zhuang Qingxiang?"

Master Jiang's eyes lit up, and he urged him to hurry over.

With Lu Congyue not home, Jiang Weihai was able to see Zhuang Qingxiang without any trouble.

Seeing her rosy complexion and how well she had recovered, I finally felt relieved. I scratched my head sheepishly and said, "You're all better now, aren't you? I should have come to see you sooner when I heard you were injured."

Zhuang Qingxiang thought Jiang Weihai was a really good person. He had come earlier but was stopped by Lu Congyue. Now he didn't say a bad word about Lu Congyue, only saying that he should have come to visit earlier.

Zhuang Qingxiang liked kind people, so she treated Jiang Weihai very well. After exchanging a few pleasantries and thanking him for thinking of her, she chatted about the cafeteria for a bit and then realized that Jiang Weihai had something to do.

"Is there something you need from me?" she asked proactively.

Jiang Weihai then asked her if she knew what the steak that foreigners eat was.

Originally, he just came here under an excuse to see Zhuang Qingxiang. How could Zhuang Qingxiang, a woman who grew up in a village, know something that neither he nor his father knew?

But Zhuang Qingxiang actually knew.

The dealer was a wealthy man in Beijing who had eaten at foreign restaurants before.

Zhuang Qingxiang had secretly learned how to cook from her mother when she was little, but she never actually cooked it because the Zhuang family had a professional cook and didn't need them.

Based on her childhood memories, Zhuang Qingxiang described it to Jiang Weihai.

Jiang Weihai frowned deeply.

"It's just a piece of meat pan-fried? What's so good about that? It's nothing compared to our stir-fried beef or braised beef."

"Foreigners like it," Zhuang Qingxiang said with a smile. "They eat steak, vegetable salad, bread, and drink red wine."

Jiang Weihai had never heard of it before and said with concern, "If you know how to do it, why don't you give it a try? That expert seems quite picky, and Technician Feng is afraid he'll just leave in a huff."

"I've never done it before, I can only try. If it doesn't work, don't blame me," Zhuang Qingxiang said hesitantly.

Jiang Weihai was overjoyed: "We are so grateful that you are willing to help us, how could we refuse you? Come on, go to the kitchen and see what materials we need, and we will prepare them."

As usual, the two of them carried one child on their backs to the cafeteria kitchen.

The previous beef was definitely not good enough. Zhuang Qingxiang told them to prepare beef tenderloin, specifying the size and cutting method...

After a busy afternoon, the experts finally got to eat steak for dinner, along with a salad of raw vegetables.

Since there was no bread, Zhuang Qingxiang prepared toasted bread slices for him.

Feng Wenhua nervously watched the foreigners eating and tentatively asked, "Mr. Ross, are you satisfied with dinner?"

Ross nodded reluctantly, and said in broken Chinese that it was alright, but it would be even better if there was bread and pasta.

Feng Wenhua rolled her eyes inwardly.

He tried it in the kitchen and had no idea what was so delicious about it. Mr. Ross, on the other hand, ate it with such refined manners and elegance, which was a huge waste of time.

When they get busy, they hold their aluminum lunchboxes, squat on the ground, and quickly finish a meal in a few bites. Time is life, and they can't waste it.

But what can you do when they're foreign experts...?

But what exactly are bread and pasta?

Feng Wenhua decided to go back and ask Zhuang Qingxiang again to see if she could prepare something.

Zhuang Qingxiang took the opportunity to have an oven built in Lu Congyue's yard. This time, she could help Master Jiang bake bread for that expert, and in the future, she could also consider baking some snacks and secretly selling them.

After the oven was ready, Zhuang Qingxiang baked bread, but it tasted much worse than the bread she had eaten in Beijing. She guessed it was missing something.

However, Mr. Ross was very satisfied. He was content to eat fresh bread and steak every day and was willing to teach Feng Wenhua some knowledge.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhuang Qingxiang and Jiang Weihai's cooking skills improved more and more. Zhuang Qingxiang even made an inauthentic borscht.

That day, people from the province came to take Mr. Ross away, but to their surprise, he refused.

"I like it here. The food is more delicious. If anyone else wants to study, let them come here."

Since Mr. Ross had made his decision, there was no point in saying anything else. He could only go to the factory office and call the sister company to ask them to send technicians over to learn.

Feng Wenhua was so happy she wanted to kowtow to Zhuang Qingxiang, and she was even more eager for Director Lu to return soon to hear the good news.

Hearing him address him as "Director Lu" repeatedly, Zhuang Qingxiang couldn't help but think of that man.

It's been almost a week since I left home. When am I planning to come back?

"Technician Feng, did Factory Director Lu say when he'll be back?" she asked.

"I don't know." Feng Wenhua sighed, then suddenly leaned close to Zhuang Qingxiang and whispered, "I'll tell you something, but don't tell anyone else... I heard that Director Lu's business trip this time wasn't official business, but rather he went to take care of his own business. I wonder what it is that's been dragging on for so long..."

"Mr. Ross has been here for several days now. If Director Lu doesn't come back to take charge soon, something bad is bound to happen. He didn't even show up last time when people from the province came..."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Qingxiang couldn't help but sigh as well.

She was very worried that she was the reason Lu Congyue was so angry that he wouldn't come back.

Didn't Feng Wenhua say he went to take care of personal business?

"By the way, what kind of gift should we prepare for Mr. Ross when he leaves?" Feng Wenhua suddenly asked. "The director held a meeting and told us all to think of something that would satisfy Mr. Ross."

Zhuang Qingxiang shook her head blankly.

How could she possibly know something so important?

Seeing Feng Wenhua's troubled expression, she tentatively asked, "Food?"

Feng Wenhua waved her hand: "The director said we should prepare something that can be stored for a long time, so that Mr. Ross will remember the friendship we had in China when he sees it."

Speaking of which, he suddenly remembered his purpose: "Oh right, Sister Zhuang, could you give me some more of the cookies you made? Mr. Ross wants some."

Zhuang Qingxiang never expected that the cookies she baked for the child would win Mr. Ross's favor, so she could only contribute a small bag.

The two of them talked for a long time, so long that Jiang Weihai watched them countless times.

Master Jiang secretly kicked him, then gestured towards Zhuang Qingxiang with his chin, saying with exasperation, "What are you still standing here for? Go over and have a chat."

Jiang Weihai looked embarrassed: "Dad, I was just busy... Besides, I didn't understand what Technician Feng was talking about..."

"Who told you to actually go and chat? I told you to go and get to know Zhuang Qingxiang better. She's capable; you won't regret marrying her," Master Jiang sighed.