"Shall we go out to eat?"
Upon hearing this, Jing Zeyou raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Jing Zeqian. Seeing the surprise in his eyes, he knew that Zeqian had just found out about this as well.
Jing Zeyou asked, "Where shall we eat?" It would be nice to gather for a meal out occasionally.
Jing Yi raised her hand with a suggestion, "How about hot pot?" Although Aunt Wang's cooking was delicious, she sometimes wanted a change of taste.
Hot pot?
This was quite novel for Jing Zeyou. Even when he went out for business dinners, his assistant would usually book a five-star restaurant for him. He had never specifically gone out for hot pot before.
"I have no objections."
Jing Yi quickly looked towards Jing Zeqian. He was lazily leaning back on the sofa, deliberately dragging out his words, "Hot pot, huh? I'll have to think about that..."
Jing Zeyou's lips curled into a slight smile as he placed his water glass on the coffee table. His tone was casual as he said, "If Zeqian doesn't like it, the three of us can go..."
"Who said I don't like it!" Jing Zeqian hastily retorted.
Jing Yi stood up happily, "Then Junjun and I will go change clothes, and we'll head out in a bit!"
[Tonight is young people's gathering time!]
Once again outmaneuvered by his brother...
Feeling a bit disgruntled, Jing Zeqian saw Jing Yi and Jing Zejun go upstairs. He teasingly said to his brother, "Big bro, it's young people's gathering time, you know."
Jing Zeyou replied calmly, "Aren't you almost thirty too?" Jing Zeqian was only three years younger than him, so he could hardly be counted among the young people either.
But Jing Zeqian didn't see it that way. As long as he hadn't reached thirty, he was still in his twenties and therefore a young person.
Moreover, he still had the recreational life of a young person, unlike his brother who seemed to live solely for Hengjing Group and felt uncomfortable if he didn't work for a single day.
While waiting for Jing Yi and Jing Zejun, the two brothers chatted casually. "What are you planning to do about Junjun's drama?" Jing Zeyou asked.
Jing Zeqian's tone turned serious, "I've taken over the entire project. I've already contacted the film and TV production company a few days ago. Startrack will bear the subsequent investment costs..."
"Sea Crabapple Still Blooms" had already completed filming before Li Yu was sidelined, but the post-production work hadn't been finished.
Although Startrack was an entertainment company with its own production department, it still fell slightly short compared to professional film and TV production companies.
Jing Zeqian wasn't arrogant enough to believe that Startrack's production department could handle the entire post-production of this Republican-era drama.
"Do you need my help?" Jing Zeyou offered.
Jing Zeqian declined. It was just one drama, and this level of investment wasn't a big deal for Startrack. Even if the show didn't become a big hit, he was confident they could recover their costs.
"Big bro, second bro, let's go!" Jing Yi and Jing Zejun were ready quickly, and the two brothers discussing business on the sofa also stood up.
Jing Zeqian walked to the courtyard, intending to go to the garage and bring out the car. He had been truly frightened by Jing Yi's driving earlier today and decided it would be safer if he drove.
But after a moment's thought, he looked at Jing Yi and asked, "Shall I drive? Or do you want to?"
"It's fine, second bro. You can drive."
[What's with that expression? It's not like I'm uncomfortable if I'm not driving. Why fight over it when someone else offers to drive?]
Jing Zeqian: ... He was just worried she might feel upset.
About fifteen minutes later, the four of them arrived at the location Jing Yi had mentioned.
Jing Zeyou stood outside the hot pot restaurant, a hint of bewilderment in his deep eyes.
So this was how young people gathered?
The exterior of the hot pot restaurant was bustling with activity, the air filled with a cacophony of voices. A long queue snaked its way from the entrance, full of customers waiting for their turn to dine. Dozens of chairs were placed outside the door to allow queuing customers to wait patiently.
Jing Zeyou carefully avoided the waiter who was handing out queue numbers, but the waiter still hurriedly passed a number to Jing Zeyou, assuming that Jing Yi's group had also come to dine at the hot pot restaurant.
After briefly explaining how many customers were ahead, the waiter turned and hurried away.
Jing Zeyou looked at the [Number 87] in his hand with surprise. Were there really 86 groups of people waiting to eat before them?
Jing Zeqian also seemed a bit put off, avoiding the passing crowd as he questioned, "Jing Yi, we're not going to wait for all these people to finish eating before we can have our dinner, are we?"
How could that be possible?
Jing Yi called over the waiter who had been handing out queue numbers and showed him the membership on her phone.
She had borrowed this from Shen Xi earlier. Shen Xi was a serious hot pot enthusiast, especially fond of this restaurant. She not only came here often but never hesitated to top up her membership.
The waiter paused, looked at Jing Yi's membership level, and his attitude became more enthusiastic. He led the four of them into the restaurant.
Inside the hot pot restaurant, diners sat around tables, savoring the delicious hot pot while chatting with friends or family. Some were engaged in lively conversation, others speaking in low tones.
Several waiters were constantly moving between these customers, efficiently serving dishes and enthusiastically inquiring about customers' needs.
The waiter opened the door to a private room, "Will this room be suitable for you?"
Jing Zeyou scanned the room. Although it was a bit small, it was clean and bright.
Jing Yi looked at the other three, and seeing no objections, said, "It's fine."
After they sat down, the waiter took out a tablet.
Jing Yi's eyes lit up. It had been a long time since she had eaten hot pot at this restaurant. "What would you like to eat?" she asked.
Jing Zeyou shook his head, "You order. Anything is fine with me."
Jing Yi and Jing Zejun sat together, enthusiastically selecting dishes.
"How about the four-grid pot?"
"Sounds good. I heard they've recently introduced several new soup bases."
"Then let's get two classic ones and two new ones..."
A few minutes later, the table in front of them was filled with various types of meat, seafood, vegetables, and other hot pot ingredients. The hot pot was steaming, with four different soup bases bubbling in the pot.
"Big bro, go ahead and start. The tripe is going to overcook."
Jing Yi used the public chopsticks to put fresh tripe into her own bowl and Jing Zejun's bowl. Seeing Jing Zeyou's hesitation, she warmly invited him to join in.
Beside them, Jing Zeqian had already quickly adapted to the environment and was busily putting his favorite ingredients into the pot.
The scene before him was too lively. Jing Zeyou's lips curled into a smile as he also joined in the hot pot feast.
"Isn't this soup base too spicy?"
Jing Zeqian lifted his water glass and took a big gulp. He saw that Jing Yi and Jing Zejun really liked the spicy pot, so he couldn't resist trying a few slices of fatty beef from it.
The numbing spiciness exploded in his mouth instantly, as if a ball of fire was burning. This level of spiciness was clearly beyond his tolerance!
At this moment, Jing Yi's lips were also slightly red, but seeing Jing Zeqian's reaction to the spiciness, she burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, how can hot pot not be spicy?! If you're afraid of spice, go for the tomato base!"
"Who's afraid?" Jing Zeqian defiantly picked up a few more pieces with his chopsticks and put them into the spicy pot...
