Obsessive Tycoon and His Swan Girl
Chapter 336 The Snow Ear is Gone!

Chapter 336: Chapter 336 The Snow Ear is Gone!

Mrs. Xia laughed and said, "I know you’re busy, but now that Xingzhi is able to stay in the country and has found his own research direction, as a mother, I have to invite everyone to have a meal together. That’s why I troubled you to come here."

"Congratulations, cousin," Jiang Zhe said in an even tone.

She hadn’t done much; with Xingzhi’s abilities, Professor Fu would have noticed him sooner or later.

It was indeed fortunate for the country that such a talent had been spotted earlier and not lost to a foreign land.

"Originally, Xingzhi said there was no need to make a fuss, and we could just eat as we normally do, simply. But I thought since we are going to eat anyway, why not make it a sumptuous meal and celebrate without going out to eat somewhere special. After all, it’s a happy occasion."

Jiang Xiruo also expressed her happiness for them: "Xingzhi has loved this field of research since he was young, and now that he has found his calling, we’re all happy for him."

The servants prepared a lot of things and came to report back to Mrs. Xia.

"Still, let’s invite the second master and his wife," said Mrs. Xia.

During this time, because of old Mrs. Xia’s illness, everyone had been eating together.

We couldn’t just say we wouldn’t join them today.

Originally, she had considered keeping it low-key, afraid that Xia Mingli’s wife would be unhappy.

But then she thought about how Xia Mingli’s wife had been showing off for longer than just a day or two and had never considered the feelings of others.

So Mrs. Xia was tired of caring about what they thought.

These past two days, Xia Mingli’s wife had been holed up in her room, not coming out.

She had originally prepared a grand ceremony for Xia Mingzhu, inviting family and friends to a meal as soon as she became the project leader.

Who would have known that Xia Mingzhu would come back that day in low spirits?

When she found out that Xingzhi had taken Xia Mingzhu’s place, she was furious.

But after all was said and done, she had to admit that the research institute had strict requirements for choosing people, and the most capable should occupy the position.

If Xingzhi was chosen, it meant that he was indeed more capable than Xia Mingzhu.

Xia Mingli’s wife was very upset about this these past couple of days.

When she heard that Mrs. Xia said they were going to have dinner tonight, she replied, "I know."

No matter how unhappy she was, she had to go if Mrs. Xia invited her to dinner.

She also had to prepare a gift for Xingzhi.

Thinking about how her son and daughter had been outstanding, and how she had been lording it over Mrs. Xia for the past two years, now that Mrs. Xia was barely getting back on her feet, she could only endure it.

She called Xia Mingzhu.

Xia Mingzhu sounded languid: "Dinner? I’m still a bit busy."

"Your great-aunt is already preparing, which means Xingzhi will be coming back too. If Xingzhi is coming back, you should come back as well."

Xia Mingzhu’s busyness was really just an excuse.

These last two days she hadn’t wanted to see her family, especially Xingzhi.

During the day at work, she was already distressed and lost face.

And at night, she had to face it again.

"Can’t we just not go?"

"Mingzhu!" Xia Mingli’s wife said, "Do you think that’s appropriate?"

Xia Mingzhu replied, "I got it, I’ll come back. Mom, while you’re at it, help me find the snow fungus Brother Mingli bought. I want to take some to give away."

Xia Mingli’s wife hung up the phone and went to look for it.

Last time, Mingli finally managed to buy two boxes of snow fungus after spending a lot of money.

They had just received the goods yesterday and brought them home.

This was originally meant to be for old Mrs. Xia’s health.

Xia Mingli’s wife had been feeling upset these past two days and hadn’t taken it over yet.

Thinking about the two boxes, Xia Mingzhu wanted to take one to give away, and the second lady of the Xia family naturally had no objections.

The old lady had recently shown signs of improved health, and Jiang Xiruo had been helping to take care of her, so maybe they wouldn’t even need this tremella, and saving it would be a good thing.

Because the item was so valuable, the second lady of the Xia family had not let the servants handle it and had found a special place to store it herself.

Now that Xia Mingzhu wanted it, she naturally went to look for it herself.

Upon entering the room designated for storing valuable items, the second lady of the Xia family looked around and, to her surprise, discovered that the item was gone!

"What happened? I clearly placed it here yesterday."

Still, she did not find it.

Her heart raced as she frantically searched through boxes and chests.

Sweat broke out over her back.

This item was hard to come by, and if it had been consumed by the old lady of the Xia family, at least she would have gained a reputation for filial piety.

But now that it was missing, what was this all about?

Xia Mingzhu had already come back, and hearing her search, asked, "Mother, what happened?"

"The tremella is gone!" the second lady of the Xia family said in frustration, "I clearly put it in this spot!"

"Call the servants to ask!" Xia Mingzhu said.

All the servants came and said they had not seen the item.

"Then who else could it be?" said the second lady of the Xia family. "Did anyone from over there come here?"

"Miss Enci came by briefly. Didn’t she come asking you for a flower from the courtyard the day before yesterday? She took it away this morning."

The second lady of the Xia family knew about this; that evening at dinner, Xia Enci mentioned she liked flowers, and the old lady of the Xia family was planning to give her own to Enci.

The second lady of the Xia family took the initiative and gave Xia Enci a flower.

Xia Mingzhu didn’t say a word, but the second lady of the Xia family commented, "This is really the behavior of a child raised outside the family, with no respect for the basic rules. Bringing all these problems into the house!"

She had already been irritable these past few days, and now with an excuse, her anger flared up even more.

Xia Mingzhu said indifferently, "Mother, you don’t need to get angry right away, why not ask her first? Maybe she doesn’t even know what this is and thought the tremella was just ordinary mushrooms and ate it. Auntie Three is always sending some mushrooms over, so they don’t know the difference between valuable items and ordinary items."

The second lady of the Xia family became even angrier, saying, "Even if she doesn’t know the difference, shouldn’t she know better than to take other people’s things without asking? I won’t speak of the price, but you know how hard this is to procure. You know how much effort your brother put into it."

She stood up in a huff and stormed out.

Xia Mingzhu was also not in the best mood these days, so she didn’t stop her.

...

Jiang Zhe and Xia Enci were sitting in the living room.

Jiang Xiruo brought over several bowls of dessert, inviting the two to eat.

"Sister-in-law, this one is for you. Mother, this is yours," Jiang Xiruo arranged the bowls.

"Do I have one too?" Mrs. Xia asked with a smile.

"The weather is getting warmer and a bit dry. I made extra dessert to cool things down, so everyone can have some," Jiang Xiruo explained.

Mrs. Xia looked into the bowl which was filled with something dark and couldn’t tell what kind of dessert it was.

After a taste, it was slightly cold and mildly sweet, but she couldn’t discern any other flavors.

However, it was quite palatable, and Mrs. Xia enjoyed it thoroughly.

Jiang Xiruo fed the dessert to the old lady of the Xia family.

Jiang Zhe and Xia Enci ate while chatting.

"Eat up, there’s more in the kitchen. You can always get seconds," Jiang Xiruo said with a smile.

With a spoon in hand, Jiang Zhe nibbled at her dessert.