Sophia yawned and waved toward them.
"Officer Yang, did you just get here?"
Leaning against the stair railing, Sophia chatted with the people downstairs.
"We've been here for a while. Right now, they're preparing lunch and snacks for the afternoon at the back of the courtyard," Officer Yang replied.
This village was quite remote, with no shops or restaurants nearby. It was inconvenient to go out for food, so Sophia had arranged for people to come and cook on-site.
The afternoon desserts had been handed over to a local pastry company.
All the specific arrangements were handled by the planning team. Sophia only needed to oversee the big picture so she wouldn't get too exhausted.
"Alright, you all keep working. I'll go wash up first," she said, glancing at her phone.
She noticed that Laoyezi and Professor Zhou were already on their way. They should start arriving one after another in about an hour.
"Boss, my mom made a big pot of porridge and asked me to bring it over. After you're done washing up, come down and have some," said Ronin.
Knowing how busy Sophia would be today, Ronin's mom got up early to cook a big pot of porridge. She wanted to make sure that everyone, whether guests or staff, would have something warm in their stomachs even if they were too busy to eat a proper meal.
"Great, thank Madam Xi for me!" Sophia responded with a smile.
Amelia hadn't gotten up yet either. While brushing her teeth, Sophia knocked on her door and called her.
The porridge Ronin's mom made had chunks of potato, squid rolls, and slices of meat in it.
Though it sounded like an ordinary porridge, it was filled with ingredients.
When Sophia came down to eat, the porridge was still warm—just right. She ended up having two bowls in one go.
It was Amelia's first time eating this kind of porridge since she was from the north.
"What is this? Don't you southern folks usually cook your porridge until it's all mushy? This one has so many things in it," Amelia said while happily going for a second bowl.
Sophia chuckled. "This is a local specialty, not something you'll find everywhere in the south."
"Well, it's really tasty!" Amelia said, enjoying her meal.
After finishing breakfast, Sophia went around to check things out.
The people from the planning and security teams were already in place.
"Officer Yang, remember to have two people go to the village entrance to greet the guests later," she reminded him.
After doing a full walkaround and confirming everything was in order, Sophia received a call from Laoyezi at 9:30. They were almost at the village.
She estimated the time and stood at the front gate to wait. Even though it was already autumn turning into winter, the weather was strangely hot today.
She hadn't been waiting for more than ten minutes before she saw a car pulling up to her gate.
Looking closely, she noticed someone inside waving at her.
Behind the first car were four to six more following along.
When the cars stopped in front of her house and the passengers began to get out, Sophia asked, "Laoyezi, did you all plan to come together?"
Laoyezi replied, "We met up at one place first. It's easier that way so no one gets lost."
Sophia smiled and waited for everyone to get out before leading them inside.
Thankfully, they had just recently repaired the land next door and improved the village roads. It came in handy today.
As she guided everyone inside, the house felt much cooler compared to the heat outside.
"The weather out here is really strange. It's so hot. Up north, it's already snowing by now," Laoyezi commented.
Sophia smiled and said, "The weather in the South is like this. The people in the village say it often switches between hot and cold. The temperature slowly drops as winter comes, unlike the North, where it suddenly gets cold."
Sophia hadn't spent much time living in the South before either.
"Has everyone had breakfast yet? If not, we have some porridge we made ourselves. Would you like a small bite first? Lunch will be served at twelve sharp."
Most of the people who came were older. They probably got up quite early to travel here.
Laoyezi turned to look at his old friends.
Some of them really did want to eat.
The first floor was quite spacious. Since lunch would be held there, four big tables were already set up.
So Sophia asked Manager Yang to help serve those who wanted breakfast.
"The rest of us can go up to the third floor first."
Sophia called out.
As she spoke, Sophia looked at Laoyezi and the others. Since no one objected, she led the first group to the elevator.
There were quite a few guests, so they had to go up in groups. Sophia took the first group, while two people from the security company stayed downstairs to accompany those who were waiting.
Once inside the elevator, Sophia noticed that Haoze had come as well.
Out of courtesy, Sophia nodded politely at him.
When they got out of the elevator, both exhibition areas were already open.
Without needing Sophia to say anything, the guests started looking through the glass at the displays.
"Our event today runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a two-hour break for lunch and rest. Lunch and resting will take place on the first floor. If you see something you're interested in, you can talk to me or any of the staff here."
"So now, feel free to look around. There are staff in both exhibit areas, and if you need anything, just ask. I'll also be staying on the third floor with you all."
After giving her announcement, Sophia let everyone explore the exhibition freely.
Haoze stayed close to Laoyezi, following him step by step. Laoyezi glanced at him in annoyance and said, "Why are you sticking to me like a shadow? Go look around on your own. You're being annoying."
With no choice, Haoze went off on his own.
He hadn't expected Sophia to have so many items here. And even after scanning the pieces in the area he walked through, he didn't see anything that looked fake.
Sophia stood waiting in the hallway.
Before long, Laoyezi came over to her. "Did you set aside the few pieces I pointed out in the group chat last time?"
He had walked around for a bit and suddenly remembered, but didn't see those pieces in the exhibit area.
"Grandpa Zhou, yes, I set them aside just for you. Since you specifically asked for them, I didn't display them publicly. I didn't want to have to explain anything if others asked about them."
Sophia answered.
Laoyezi nodded with approval. "Sophia, you really do handle things well."
Haoze also glanced at Sophia.
Laoyezi noticed him from the corner of his eye and said impatiently, "You brat, why are you still here hanging around? Go pay for the pieces I picked out already!"
Haoze looked helpless. "Grandpa, I don't even know what you picked. How can I pay for them?"
And besides, isn't this too casual?
Even if their family didn't care about the money, it wasn't right to just buy things without verifying them. At the very least, they should check whether the items were genuine.
"I'll send them to you!"
Saying that, Laoyezi forwarded the images to Haoze.
After seeing the pictures, Haoze turned to Sophia and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Miss Sophia, to take me to see the actual items?"