Back to the teenage years

Chapter 586 Dog Barking
Zhang Yunqi was not angered at all by Xie Jing's attitude.

Human nature!

Back when he was single, Xie Jing had tried to get close to him, intentionally or unintentionally encouraging Li Yufei to spend more time with him. However, Xie Jing already knew that he had a girlfriend, and as a mother, she naturally couldn't be happy for her daughter to get too close to a man who already had a girlfriend.

What does this look like?

It wouldn't sound good if word got out.

Actually, in this day and age, there are quite a few women who have given birth at Li Yufei's age. Plus, she's very beautiful, so there are a lot of men eyeing her. It's perfectly normal for Xie Jing, as a mother, to keep a close eye on her.

Li Yufei is a girl with her own opinions. As she gets older, she has more and more ideas of her own. The older generation of mothers have a tendency to impose their own preferences on their children when it comes to marriage. Xie Jing is probably like that. Lu Yuanzhou, a ready-made single diamond bachelor, is naturally favored by her.

Therefore, it was inevitable that Xie Jing would feel resentful upon seeing this scene.

This resentment went beyond the meaning of Li Yufei's actions. It was because her usually obedient daughter had defied her will in public without hesitation. However, her status and the occasion forced her to suppress this rising anger.

Xie Jing and Xie Yun's father was an intellectual who had a successful career in officialdom. Before retiring, he served as a division-level leader in the Logistics Service Center of the Hunan Provincial Department of Industry. The two siblings received traditional education from a young age. Xie Yun, the younger brother, had already achieved outstanding success in his career. Xie Jing herself was a teacher at the Affiliated High School of Hunan Normal University, one of the four major high schools in Hunan. Her identity as a teacher and her traditional family background forced her to restrain herself deep down. She couldn't bring herself to get angry with her daughter on such a joyous day and make herself a laughing stock among her relatives.

Before the guests, unaware of the full story, could grasp the profound meaning behind Li Yufei's actions, Xie Jing glanced at her daughter sitting opposite her, suppressed her anger, and smiled, saying, "Let's eat, everyone!"

The rain during the Qingming Festival was falling in a light drizzle.

In the luxurious villa restaurant, the guests' quiet conversations mingled with the sound of rain outside the window, as exquisite dishes were served in a continuous stream, creating a lively atmosphere.

As the host, Li Jilin frequently raised his glass.

In such a joyous scene, enjoying the current affluent life, everyone inevitably reminisces about the past hardships and appreciates the present sweetness. This seems to be a unique sentiment among Chinese people. They recall the difficult days before the reform and opening up, when they lived in cramped 30-square-meter apartments in tenement buildings and even had to share a toilet. They express their feelings about how the country is becoming stronger and stronger, how people's lives are getting better and better, how life is full of hope, and how everything smells like milk and honey.

As they chatted, the conversation turned to Li Yufei's recent official signing with a cultural media company in Beijing, the capital, and her upcoming debut as an artist.

Li Yufei's aunt, Liu Huihui, said rather excitedly, "Did you know? A few days ago, our Yufei went to the capital and was spotted by a media company. She signed a contract right away! Wow, the agent they arranged for her is a top agent who used to be an assistant to the big star Chen Daoming. The signing bonus is this much!"

Liu Huihui held up five fingers, and some relatives and friends clicked their tongues in amazement. One woman said in a high-pitched voice, "Our Yufei is only a freshman in college, and she just turned 18. She's already so accomplished. It's amazing!"

"Oh right, I remember Yufei was the spokesperson for Aihua VCD, right? Her ads were everywhere in the city. She's so young, and now she's signed with a big company in the capital. If this continues, she'll become a big star sooner or later!"

"Of course, Yufei. After dinner, remember to sign autographs for us poor relatives. When you become a big star, we can keep them as family heirlooms."

Hearing everyone's praise, Xie Jing, Xie's mother, seemed to have calmed down a lot after being provoked by her stubborn daughter. A reserved and peaceful smile appeared on her face: "She is still young, and her studies are important. We don't want her to become a big star. We just hope that she will be safe and sound."

Everyone laughed and echoed, praising Xie Jing for being so lucky to have such a wonderful daughter.

There were quite a few women at the table. Sitting next to Liu Huihui was a stylishly dressed, loud-voiced middle-aged woman, Xie Jing's cousin, named Zhao Mincui. She had married far away to the coastal area of ​​Guangdong and rarely returned to her hometown in recent years. She didn't know much about her brother-in-law Li Jilin's family situation, but seeing her younger sister Xie Jing's unusual enthusiasm for Lu Yuanzhou, she roughly understood her sister's thoughts. Her eyes darted around the handsome young man several times before she finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked warmly, "Young Lu, you look so handsome. What kind of big business do you run?" This was quite like the scene of a new son-in-law's first visit, with all the aunts and uncles taking turns to scrutinize him. Hearing this, Lu Yuanzhou put down his chopsticks and said modestly, "Auntie, you flatter me. I mainly do business in electronic products, specifically VCD players."

"Oh! A VCD player?" Zhao Mincui's eyes lit up. "That local Aiwa Electronics VCD player that everyone was talking about earlier, could it be yours? Wow, that's amazing! No wonder you asked our Yufei to be your spokesperson!"

Hearing this, Li Yufei, who had been silent, frowned and glanced at Zhang Yunqi. Her family members, including his mother and sisters-in-law, were already chiming in: "Yes, yes, Aihua Electronics is a famous local brand! Now the whole city is full of Aihua Electronics advertisements, it's very impressive! Xiao Lu, you're young and promising, truly young and promising!"

Lu Yuanzhou's smile remained unchanged: "Auntie, it's my fault for not explaining clearly, causing you to misunderstand. I work for Shinco Electronics' VCDs. Of course, Shinco isn't mine; I'm just the general agent for Shinco Electronics' VCDs in Central China."

"Uh... this, then..." Zhao Mincui, who had been so enthusiastic just moments before, suddenly stammered. Her flattery had backfired, and she felt a little embarrassed. She gave an awkward smile and said, "Xinke Electronics is even better, Xinke Electronics is even better. Although I don't know much about VCDs, I've heard that it's a big state-owned enterprise and brand. They're even advertising in Guangzhou now. I saw them quite a few times in those villa areas and high-end shopping malls in Guangzhou the other day."

"I've been hearing from my neighbors lately that Aiwa Electronics' VCDs don't have a good reputation, the quality is poor, and there have been many tape jams. They even made it onto Focus Interview to expose them as fakes. I don't know if it's true."

"Is that so?" Zhao Mincui chimed in, her voice high-pitched. "You'd better be careful. There are so many counterfeit VCDs on the market now. You might not know this because you live inland, but my husband told me that there are factories all over the coastal areas that produce pirated VCD players. They can just rent a factory and buy a cheap production line and start making them. There's no quality assurance at all. We bought a Samsung VCD player. It was a bit expensive, but we wanted peace of mind. You don't have to worry about the quality or after-sales service of foreign brands. But since the Xinke Electronics that Xiao Lu is an agent for is a state-owned enterprise, it should be pretty good too."

After a pause, whether she meant well or not, she smiled and said to Xie Jing and her daughter, "Speaking of which, Yufei is the spokesperson for that VCD brand that was featured on Focus Interview. You have a bright future ahead of you, but you have to be careful. A celebrity's reputation is extremely valuable! Little sister, you also need to be mindful and keep a close eye on things for our precious daughter. She can't just accept any random advertisement. Since Xiao Lu is representing a state-owned enterprise brand, its reputation is bound to be good, isn't that better?"

Before Xie Jing could speak, Lu Yuanzhou immediately chimed in, "This has nothing to do with Yufei. It's just that the VCD player market is fiercely competitive right now, and some businesses are really resorting to underhanded tactics to undermine their competitors. That's one of the main reasons I entered the VCD player industry. Of course, if Yufei is willing to be the advertising spokesperson for Shinco Electronics, I can certainly lend a hand."

Upon hearing this, the women at the table couldn't help but praise Lu Yuanzhou, this polite, responsible young man, and they truly thought he was quite remarkable.

Li Jilin's expression stiffened for a moment. He felt that his aunts and sisters-in-law, who pretended to know everything, were really unrestrained in their speech, chattering away about all sorts of nonsense. Just as he was about to change the subject, Wang Guibing slammed his chopsticks on the table with a "bang," glaring at Lu Yuanzhou and saying, "Hey Lu, I've been putting up with you for a long time. What are you doing, being so sarcastic during a perfectly good meal?"

Wang Guibing suddenly erupted, and most of Li Jilin's relatives, unaware of the true situation, were momentarily stunned, creating a tense and awkward atmosphere.

Lu Yuanzhou put down his chopsticks and looked up at Wang Guibing: "President Wang, what do you mean by this?"

Wang Guibing lit a Zhonghua cigarette and said, "Let's be frank. What the hell was the dirty business you were doing at the Friendship Shopping Mall? Today was supposed to be Old Li's family dinner, and I didn't want to spoil the mood, but you've gone too far. You're making veiled accusations while we're eating. Do you really think I wouldn't dare to touch you? Last time in Jiangchuan, I shouldn't have let you go back unscathed!"

Lu Yuanzhou smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, I am a legitimate businessman. I am not good at those things that involve shouting for violence at the drop of a hat, but I can tell that you are an expert in this area."

Wang Guibing's face turned pale.

All eyes in the room instantly focused on him.

Lu Yuanzhou picked up a napkin to wipe his hands, glanced at Zhang Yunqi who was silent beside him, and then slowly said to Wang Guibing, "I know you are threatening me, but have you ever heard this saying? If the master doesn't speak, the dog's barking is useless."

Wang Guibing flew into a rage and grabbed the bowl beside him, ready to smash it over Lu Yuanzhou's head!

******