"Come on, Shuangshuang’s mother, Aunt Shuangshuang, have a seat, both of you. Children, don’t be shy, all this food is prepared for you, so open up and eat as much as you want."

Old Mrs. Xue enthusiastically stood up to greet the incoming guests.

Yu Si Niang and Zhao Yun both felt a bit overwhelmed.

The old lady before them dressed elegantly, clearly not someone from a common family.

The two of them regularly interacted with people of a similar background to themselves, seldom encountering such affluent families.

And yet, she was so courteous to them.

"Mother, this is the Old Mrs. Xue I told you about. Today’s lunch was at her son, Mr. Xue’s invitation."

Mu Shuangshuang had mentioned Old Mrs. Xue to Yu Si Niang.

Finally, the anxious feeling in Yu Si Niang’s throat eased.

"Thank you, Old Mrs. Xue and Mr. Xue, for your care, and sorry for the trouble of inviting us," Yu Si Niang said politely.

Old Mrs. Xue nodded with satisfaction.

"I said earlier, a smart girl like Shuang must have someone teaching her. Turns out she takes after her mother. Let’s not stand on ceremony, go ahead and eat."

Old Mrs. Xue had ordered tea, pastries, and fruits, which were quite plentiful.

The apples on the table were red and large. People from farming families mainly eat grains, rarely indulging in fruits and pastries.

The four children glanced at the fruits, clearly wanting to eat.

Mu Shuangshuang stood up and cut the washed apples into four, one piece for each child.

As for the adults, they could help themselves to whatever they wanted.

Old Mrs. Xue asked, "Si Niang, may I call you that?"

Yu Si Niang replied, "Of course, call me however you feel comfortable."

"Si Niang, I have another favor to ask of you today."

"Old Mrs. Xue, feel free to speak, if it’s within Si Niang’s ability, I’ll do my best."

Reassured by Yu Si Niang’s answer, Old Mrs. Xue nodded and laughed heartily.

"Here’s the situation, I’m not sure if Shuangshuang mentioned about my grandson..." Old Mrs. Xue shared Xue Zheng’s situation with Yu Si Niang.

After hearing it, Yu Si Niang felt quite distressed.

She was also a mother, with Xiao Han and Little Zhi being young. If anything happened to her two children, she wouldn’t be able to survive.

"Old Mrs. Xue, about letting Xue Zheng stay at my place for a few days, I don’t object. But does Xue Zheng want to come with us? The weather isn’t warm, and it’s easy for children to catch cold and fever if not cared for properly."

Yu Si Niang, though sympathetic, remained rational.

Having Xue Zheng go to the countryside alone, to a strange place, not to mention the issues with day-to-day food and living.

"There’s no need to worry about that. Since I’m letting Zheng’er go, it’s to help him adapt to life there and make some friends.

His living can be just like yours, no need to overly consider his feelings."

Previously, Old Mrs. Xue would have found it difficult to say such things.

But times were different now.

She wanted her grandson to get better, so she had to take the first step.

No matter the hardship, it’s worth it.

"What about Shuangshuang’s thoughts?" Yu Si Niang asked Mu Shuangshuang.

"We can give it a try. The sooner Xue Zheng’s issues are resolved, the better. Besides, I have some rapport with him," Mu Shuangshuang replied confidently.

Mu Shuangshuang had considerable contact with Xue Zheng; the child wasn’t as indifferent to the world as he seemed.

At least back when she took him to the mountains, the smile on his face wasn’t fake.

Unfortunately, at the time, Xue Yi was too impatient. If he had let Xue Zheng play for a few more days, the situation might not have become so severe.

"Since you all have no objections, I’ll mention this to Zheng’er later. I’ll only have him bring two sets of warm clothes, no need for food, since he doesn’t like eating bits and pieces," Old Mrs. Xue said cheerfully.

"Certainly, we’re going back to the village in the evening; Old Mrs. Xue can take Xue Zheng back to the Xue Mansion to play for a while."

Mu Shuangshuang had plans to go shopping in the afternoon and couldn’t take Xue Zheng. Given his current situation, it wasn’t suitable for him to suddenly interact with so many people, so Mu Shuangshuang had Old Mrs. Xue take him back first.

After the conversation, everyone had laid bare their thoughts and concerns, and the pressure felt by everyone lessened.

Mu Shuangshuang followed Yu Si Niang and the others downstairs to find Fengzi.

When they reached the staircase on the first floor, Mu Shuangshuang saw Mrs. Lin had moved over to the table occupied by the Qin Family, where she was devouring food.

Nearby Mu Dazhong and Mu Danian were also gorging themselves, but none matched Mu Xiangxiang at full throttle.

"Slow down, save some for me," Mrs. Lin barked loudly.

The rest didn’t care for her and just focused on eating.

Mu Xiangxiang simply grabbed a large sea bowl used for soup, dumping food into it, looking as though she was feeding a pig.

"Xiangxiang, haven’t you already had ten meat buns and several sugar cakes? Why are you fighting with us?" Mu Dazhong couldn’t compete with Mu Xiangxiang when it came to eating.

"Second Brother, I’m hungry, didn’t you already eat earlier? Don’t fight with me."

The few of them, lost in their scramble for food, left the restaurant’s other guests astonished, with several leaving the First-class Residence without finishing their meal.

If the four weren’t dressed in people’s clothing and didn’t look human, they might have been mistaken for pigs that had run away from a pigsty.

Mr. Mu’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Old Mrs. Mu was furious because these three were fighting with Mu Xiangxiang for food.

Earlier, the Qin Family and Mr. Mu’s family had just stepped out of the restaurant when Mu Dazhong and the others rushed over, grabbing their bowls and chopsticks to eat what was left on their table.

To put it nicely, it was avoiding waste; negatively, it was eating someone else’s leftovers.

Qin Shijie and Aunt Qin didn’t eat much, and Mu Xiangxiang, due to Old Mrs. Mu’s reminder, held back.

While people left, she couldn’t hold back any longer.

Several waiters went to find the steward to report the situation.

At this moment, the steward was in a conversation with Lu Yuanfeng about managing the restaurant. Whenever Mu Shuangshuang visited, she would bring some mountain goods for the shopkeeper. Sometimes it was game caught in the mountains, sometimes wild vegetables and mushrooms.

The steward had a favorable impression of Mu Shuangshuang, naturally leading to a good impression of Lu Yuanfeng.

"Did those people pay the bill?" The steward asked.

"No, originally someone was going to pay, but that old man said he’d pay later himself."

The employee answered truthfully.

"Then it’s easy, let them eat and account for the meal separately later."

The steward instructed the employee.

Generally, restaurants don’t charge for food, but those in the hall seemed to have been reborn from starvation.

Not only did they eat a lot, but they also scared off many of his guests.

After speaking, the steward turned to Lu Yuanfeng and said, "Fengzi, I’ve told you, the diner comes first, though there are exceptional cases. If those people had paid, we’d just kick them out.

If they haven’t paid, separately charge for their food, we can’t let people think First-class Residence is afraid of trouble."