Free Web NovelChapter 187: THE AUNTIES OVERSEAS.
The Xue residence sat behind red lacquered gates that had watched generations come and go without ever feeling the need to impress anyone. The stone walls surrounding the compound carried the wear of decades, their bases darkened by Beijing winters that had long since become part of the house’s history.
Inside, the household had been awake since before dawn.
Servants crossed the courtyards carrying tables, linens, and flower arrangements, weaving around one another with the ease of people who had done this countless times before. Nobody wasted movement. Nobody wasted words. The family dinner happened every year, but that never seemed to make preparing for it any less complicated.
Under the osmanthus tree in the second courtyard, Margaret Xue watched the activity over the rim of her teacup.
For a while she said nothing.
Then her eyes drifted toward the older wing, and her expression immediately soured.
"I swear this courtyard gets smaller every time I come back."
Across from her, Eleanor Xue didn’t even bother looking up.
"You said that the last time."
"Because it was true the last time."
Margaret gestured toward the weathered timber beams running beneath the roofline.
"Look at this place. The east wing is perfectly respectable, but the rest of it looks exactly the same as it did twenty years ago."
Eleanor finally raised her eyes.
"It looks exactly the same because nobody has touched it."
"Which is the problem."
"It’s three hundred years old."
"Exactly."
Margaret spoke as though she had just delivered an irrefutable argument.
Eleanor was still deciding whether it was worth responding when a familiar voice appeared behind them.
"Madam Xue."
Both women turned.
Butler Hou stood a few steps away, hands clasped neatly behind his back. His expression was as pleasant as ever, which usually meant somebody was about to regret something.
"The screens in the older wing are original," he said.
His tone remained perfectly courteous.
"So are most of the timber structures in the main hall. Several preservation organizations have inspected them over the years."
Margaret felt a faint sense of danger but was already too deep into the conversation to retreat.
"I simply think some modernization would help."
"The patriarch has received three renovation proposals within the last decade."
Butler Hou smiled politely.
"He rejected all of them."
There was a brief pause.
"We consider that a point of pride."
Margaret opened her mouth.
Nothing useful arrived.
Beside her, Eleanor lowered her eyes to hide a smile.
Butler Hou inclined his head.
"If there is anything either of you require, I will be in the main hall until noon."
Then he left exactly as he had arrived, calm and unhurried.
Margaret watched him disappear through the walkway.
Only when he was gone did she finally exhale.
"That man has been here too long."
Eleanor lifted her cup.
"Mm."
It was the closest thing to agreement Margaret was going to get.
---
Near the front gate, several younger members of the overseas branch had gathered beneath the shade of the covered walkway.
Not because they had planned to.
Because family gatherings naturally pushed cousins together the way rivers pushed driftwood.
Julian Xue stood with his hands in his pockets, watching another vehicle pull into the compound beyond the gates.
Beside him, Daphne Sinclair was scrolling through her phone while pretending to listen to everyone around her.
A few steps away, Iris Whitmore had somehow already started planning what came after dinner despite the fact that lunch hadn’t happened yet.
Julian noticed immediately.
"You’ve already moved on to the vacation portion of the trip, haven’t you?"
Iris didn’t even deny it.
"The dinner lasts one night."
"The trip lasts a week."
"See? You understand me."
Daphne laughed without looking up.
"The dinner hasn’t even started."
"Exactly," Iris said. "I’m being proactive."
Julian shook his head.
That answer made far too much sense coming from her.
"So where are we apparently going?"
That got her attention immediately.
The brightness that appeared in her eyes told both of them she had already considered multiple options.
"Hangzhou."
Daphne finally lowered her phone.
"Oh?"
"We could stay a few days."
Iris had already committed now.
"The food’s good. The lake is beautiful. Nobody’s going to drag us into family politics."
Julian narrowed his eyes.
"That last part sounds suspiciously optimistic."
"It sounds hopeful."
"It sounds fictional."
Daphne laughed.
The sound blended into the growing noise of the compound around them as more relatives arrived through the gates.
Greetings began echoing across the courtyards.
An uncle from Chengdu appeared carrying two bottles of baijiu like treasured family heirlooms. Somewhere nearby, somebody had already started arguing over seating arrangements despite the fact nobody was seated yet.
Normal family behavior.
Iris looked entirely unbothered.
"Fine. If not Hangzhou, then you choose."
Julian considered it.
"Somewhere with food."
"That’s every place."
"Then somewhere with better food."
Daphne pointed at him.
"That’s the most honest thing you’ve said all morning."
The conversation drifted naturally after that, moving from travel plans to restaurants, then somehow becoming an argument about who had the worst sense of direction.
None of them noticed Butler Hou walking past.
He listened for less than ten seconds.
Youth, he decided, was exhausting.
---
The kitchen remained the only place in the residence unaffected by any of it.
Old Master Chen stood over a stockpot that had been simmering since four in the morning.
Steam rose steadily as he lifted the lid and inspected the broth.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then he nodded once.
Acceptable.
Around him, his assistants continued working.
Knives moved against chopping boards. Bowls changed hands. Sauces simmered quietly in their pots.
Nobody spoke unless necessary.
The silence wasn’t enforced.
It had simply evolved naturally after years of working under him.
A woman appeared in the doorway.
One of the overseas aunts.
She entered with the confidence of someone who had convinced herself she was about to improve a situation.
"We were wondering about the menu."
Old Master Chen replaced the lid.
The aunt smiled.
"Some of us have dietary restrictions and thought perhaps there might be lighter options."
