The main thing is to make money, and the rest is just a matter of convenience.

Seeing Hua Jingxing busy with everything, Hua Yan suddenly realized that she had neglected her father. Qiu Jiu, Liang Dong, and Hai Yitian had all been sent out by her, while Hua Jingxing was still stuck in a corner, busy with his original business.

It wasn't that Hua Yan had truly forgotten Hua Jingxing; she just didn't want him to be overworked. She just wanted him to have something to do so he wouldn't be idle. However, she had never asked Hua Jingxing's opinion and didn't know her father's true thoughts.

As you enter the Sihe Restaurant, Hua Jingxing greets and sees off guests with a beaming smile, no longer the shy country bumpkin he once was.

"dad!"

"Jiu'er is here. Have you eaten? I'll have Li Cuilan make you something delicious."

Hua Jingxing's smile widened when he saw his daughter, his face beaming like a flower. This girl was so busy that he sometimes wouldn't see her for months at a time. Even when she had free time, she was only focused on studying and practicing her skills, unlike most children who would think about going out to play.

Now that she's become the top scorer in the college entrance exam, she'll probably have even less time to play after starting university. Hua Jingxing is conflicted; he wants Hua Yan to excel, but he also doesn't want her to lose her childlike innocence.

Sigh! This is probably the dilemma faced by parents everywhere!

"Okay! I'll ask Aunt Li to make me some sweet and sour pork, and also a serving of stir-fried eggs with chives."

Hua Yan now calls Li Cuilan "Auntie" because her true identity has been exposed, and she can no longer pretend to be someone's aunt.

Hua Yan was truly starving. She had been busy with Ren Yi and the others all morning and hadn't even had lunch. This wasn't Ren Yi's fault; after a month-long ordeal, they finally had a lead, and he'd forgotten to eat or even drink water.

They toiled day and night, trying to find even the slightest clue on the deceased, but they couldn't find a single trace. Fortunately, Tong Tianci remembered Hua Yan; otherwise, who knows how much longer they would have been tortured, and how many more people would have perished!

Ren Yi and the others didn't think about eating, so they certainly didn't remember that Hua Yan hadn't eaten. As a result, Hua Yan came back hungry and with a rumbling stomach.

"Alright! I'll have Li Cuilan do it right away."

As she spoke, Hua Jingxing headed straight for the kitchen, not even bothering to greet the guests who came in through the door.

Li Cuilan, you might have forgotten, is Hua Yan's neighbor in the courtyard. She used to be Zhang Jiaxi's lover. Later, when Zhang Jiaxi went to prison, Hua Yan took pity on her and had Hua Jingxing arrange a job for her. Unexpectedly, once this woman broke away from the unreliable man, she immediately shone. She apprenticed with a chef and is now a chef herself.

Li Cuilan was quite pretty, and Hua Yan wanted her to help greet customers at the front, but she insisted on going to the kitchen to suffer. She could have relied on her looks, but she chose to rely on her skills. And now, she's a chef at the Sihe Restaurant.

Before long, Li Cuilan personally brought out two dishes for Hua Yan.

"Jiu'er, try Aunt Li's cooking."

Li Cuilan's smile was exceptionally radiant. She was deeply grateful to Hua Yan; without Hua Yan, she might still be living a life that couldn't be seen in the light of day. Now she could support herself and stand tall with confidence.

Hua Yan had lied to her that she was already in her sixties or seventies, but later she found out that Hua Yan was a child prodigy, and she was glad that she hadn't offended Hua Yan.

"Okay! Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Li. My dad told me that your cooking is very popular with our guests now."

"It's all thanks to my boss for giving me opportunities, my mentor for teaching me well, and my good fortune in meeting you."

Li Cuilan wiped away a tear as she spoke. She was telling the truth.

"Nothing is more real than your own hard work. Work hard, and my dad won't treat you unfairly."

"Okay! I know, I definitely won't let you down. You take your time eating, I'm going to get back to work."

Li Cuilan left with red eyes.

Hua Yan knew from Li Cuilan's appearance that she would have a good future, but she never expected that she would be her benefactor and change her life.

Haha! Life needs benefactors, and you can also become someone else's benefactor.

After Hua Yan finished eating, she went to the traditional Chinese medicine clinic again. This time, she brought Liu Zhiyi back with her. Besides handing over some patients, Liu Zhiyi also formally said goodbye to Wang Ming and Li Yang.

Besides visiting the traditional Chinese medicine clinic, Kong Wen spent his time traveling with Taiji to several of their businesses in Shengjing to see if there were any problems that needed to be addressed.

Since finishing the college entrance examination, Taiji has devoted all his energy to the relocation of villagers in Guoyuan Village and the construction of new houses. He originally wanted to go with Huayan, but Huayan also had her own things to do; besides practicing her martial arts, she also went to Harbin.

Although he didn't know what it was about, with Liu Liang present, he knew it wasn't a small matter. But Hua Yan didn't say, and he didn't ask. He knew that if she could tell him, she certainly wouldn't hide it from him. Since she hadn't said anything, it meant she couldn't tell him, and he didn't need to know.

In their past life, Hua Yan and Tai Ji had a good relationship, but they both had their own things to do. They never thought that being inseparable meant a good relationship; they believed that mutual support was the best match for a relationship.

Due to their habits from their previous life, they continued this way of getting along in this life as well.

"Jiu'er! You've come here because of something?"

When Chu Xiu saw Hua Yan enter, she quickly walked over and handed the customer over to Luan Feng.

"It's nothing. I just missed Aunt Chu, so I came to visit."

Chu Xiu is too busy now, and we don't live together, so we don't see each other for days at a time.

Chu Xiu held Hua Yan's hand, her eyes filled with doting affection. If you said these two were mother and daughter, many would believe you. Just look at the way they looked at each other—it was overflowing with love.

Upon hearing that Hua Yan had arrived, many people couldn't sit still. Sheng Fang came over immediately after finishing acupuncture for the patient.

“Jiu’er, your Uncle Tai said that he’s going to hold a graduation banquet for you and Taiji at the Xilai Hotel in a couple of days and invite all our relatives and friends.”

Sheng Fang still looked at Hua Yan with regret. She couldn't believe they had missed their chance; otherwise, the Tai family would be the envy of everyone. Not only was their biological son a top scholar, but their goddaughter was too. But now it was all about their biological son; their goddaughter had nothing to do with it.

Although Sheng Fang felt a pang of regret, her heart still melted every time she saw Hua Rong. Such a cute little girl always managed to melt her heart. It's just that Hua Rong was so dazzling that it made their Guo'er seem less prominent.

However, this dazzling person is Guo'er's older sister, so they can be considered to have benefited from it as well.

“Great! That would be even more lively, and my dad would be very happy. Uncle Tai is too busy, let my dad discuss it with Grandpa Fu.”

Hua Yan knew that Tai Ran Zhi Ke was now the main force of Shengjing City's Investment Promotion Office.

"No matter how busy he is, this is a big deal for you and Taiji, and he has to make time for it."

Sheng Fang spoke in an irrefutable tone, exuding the air of a mistress of the house.

"Haha! Aunt Sheng is awesome!"

Hua Yan sighed inwardly, realizing that she hadn't had the chance to see such a beautiful woman in her past life, but thankfully she hadn't missed it in this one.

Sheng Fang laughed along, and everyone else laughed too.

At this time, many patients asked the people at the TCM clinic what had happened, and the people at the TCM clinic proudly told everyone about their boss's deeds.

Wow! This is quite a big deal! Many people now know that the TCM clinic produced a top scorer in the college entrance examination, and they're even hosting a banquet at the Xilai Hotel.

Hua Yan chatted with Sheng Fang about Tai Ranzhi, learning that he was incredibly busy, and that Taiji and Kong Wen had brought him back a radio production project. She wondered if he intended to settle the project in Guoyuan Village or generously share the benefits with other areas.

"Jiu'er, thank you for always thinking of your Uncle Tai."

Sheng Fang knew that without Hua Yan, Tai Ranzhi would never have had the chance to enter the Shengjing City Investment Promotion Office, let alone achieve so much.

Haha! This is all thanks to your son. Without him, Hua Yan wouldn't have been able to help your husband like this.

“Aunt Sheng, Uncle Tai’s abilities are obvious to all, and Director Ren sees things more clearly than we do.”

Hua Yan didn't want to accept this favor, as it would put pressure on her; she had only done what she could.