1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 693 The In-Laws Meet!

Li Changhe didn't have to wait long before the school's minibus arrived, and a large group of people got off, far exceeding the bus's capacity.

However, those standing and squeezing were all male students, while the female students were mostly sitting in their seats. In those days, men and women were still very polite and courteous to each other, unlike in later generations when there was a strict separation between men and women!

Soon, everyone got off the bus, and Zhu Lin was among the last group of people. But just a few minutes after she got off, someone pointed to Li Changhe's location.

Zhu Lin saw this and then walked over.

"Why are you waiting here?"

Zhu Lin was quite surprised to see Li Changhe suddenly appear.

“I came back and you weren’t home. Mom said you came to school to take graduation photos. I thought you would definitely come here to take them in the end, so I came to wait for you.”

"You go ahead and take your picture. We'll leave together after you're done!"

Li Changhe said with a light laugh.

Zhu Lin looked at him curiously: "Aren't you going to film with us?"

"Forget it, I'm not from your school, and besides, it's not appropriate for me to take pictures with them. If they ask, just say that I didn't even take pictures with people from my own school, so it's even less appropriate for me to take pictures with them."

Li Changhe explained softly.

Zhu Lin thought about it and realized that her man was not suitable for widespread exposure.

"Okay, then you wait here. We'll leave as soon as we're done filming!"

Zhu Lin then walked over, and Lao Tian, ​​Zhang Yimou, and the others looked over curiously. Li Changhe waved to them.

Li Changhe had never seen how Peking University students took their graduation photos, but he knew they certainly weren't as crazy as the students at Beijing Film Academy.

Because these guys took down the school sign hanging at the entrance, either holding it above their heads to take pictures together, or a group of people standing in a circle with their feet on it to take pictures, taking pictures in a very unrestrained way.

Even in the afternoon, they were still clamoring for dinner, but Li Changhe and Zhu Lin didn't join them; they were definitely prioritizing their son.

After riding her electric scooter home, Zhu Lin first lifted her clothes to feed her son.

“Wang Yue was just looking for me.”

Li Changhe sat down at this time, watching his son eat while chatting with Zhu Lin.

"What does he want from you?"

While using her right hand to straighten her son's head, Zhu Lin asked curiously.

"He was chosen by Teacher Yang to play Tang Sanzang, but he's hesitating about it."

"I want to make movies, but the assignments seem to be not very good. If I want to stay in Beijing, I have to make TV dramas, but I look down on TV dramas."

"My thoughts are wavering back and forth."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lin shook her head: "Actually, there are still opportunities to stay in Beijing, it's just that he doesn't think much of them."

“Look at Xie Yuan, he didn’t get a good job assignment, so he stayed at the school. Wang Yue could also have chosen to stay at the school as a teacher, but he just didn’t want to.”

Schools like Beijing Film Academy are still willing to accept students to stay on as teachers, since there is a severe shortage of qualified teachers.

However, in this day and age, being a teacher is not actually a very good profession.

Unlike the high welfare and benefits that followed, teachers in this era received very average pay. Even in universities in Beijing, apart from salaries, there was almost no welfare system.

Film studios, even those in other provinces and cities, are still film studios, and their benefits and compensation are undeniable.

After all, movie actors these days are on a much higher level than school teachers.

"Yes, he probably guessed that I helped sell the copyright of Journey to the West, so he consulted me."

“I told him that I am optimistic about the development of TV dramas.”

"Although the number of television sets in China is still small, as production capacity increases, television sets will definitely enter thousands of households. At that time, the audience for TV dramas will be no less than that for movies."

“I told him that I planned for him to focus on TV dramas in the future, and he should be more settled now.”

Zhu Lin smiled and praised, "You've done your teacher a favor."

"But what you said is not wrong. My job at CCTV is to be transferred to the TV drama department next."

"There aren't many people there now. Everyone's focused on the TV series 'Journey to the West' and 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' so I'm relatively free."

Zhu Lin's maternity leave is about to end. Unlike in later years when maternity leave is ninety days, it is now fifty-six days. That is, after the confinement period, she will have to rest for another month before she has to go back to work.

CCTV's drama department is a relatively new department, having been established not long ago. It doesn't have a huge workload, since CCTV's current focus is on adapting the Four Great Classical Novels.

They all have their own production crews over there, so they don't need Zhu Lin at all.

This can be considered a small perk for the new mom.

How many days are you staying at home this time?

"I can't stay for more than a few days. I just missed you and our son, so I came back to visit!"

Li Changhe said softly at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lin pursed her lips and said, "If you miss your son, just say so. You don't need to include me."

“You used to go away for months at a time, and I never saw you come back halfway through to say you missed me.”

"Alright, he's full, you can hold him now!"

Feeling that the little one in her arms had finished eating and was now fast asleep, Zhu Lin put her son into Li Changhe's arms, urging him to get closer to his son.

After staying at home for two more days, Li Changhe first returned to Hong Kong Island to meet up with Ah Hu and the others, and then accompanied Bao Yugang and his wife to Shanghai.

At Gong Xue's home in Shanghai.

"Old Gong, what do you think of my outfit?"

Gong's mother changed into a brand new women's long dress and was looking at herself in the mirror.

Tonight, they're going to the Peace Hotel for dinner again.

However, this was not an ordinary meal; it was a meal with the famous tycoon Bao Yugang and his family, which could be considered as eating with his "in-laws."

"Oh dear, you've been taking pictures for almost an hour, it's just a meal."

"Besides, they aren't Li Changhe's biological parents, why are you being so serious?"

Mr. Gong said with a hint of helplessness.

Upon hearing this, Gong's mother frowned.

"I don't like what you're saying. Although they aren't Li Changhe's biological parents, they will be Xiaoxue's uncle and aunt in the future."

“Our Xiaoxue will marry into the Bao family, not the Li family. Legally, she is a member of the Bao family, which is why we are recognizing her as a relative today.”

"You should also hurry up and get ready, put on the suit I bought you, we can't let our daughter lose face."

"Okay, okay!"

Gong's father reluctantly took out his suit.

He doesn't actually like wearing suits, but in the past two years, with the increase in overseas people in Shanghai, suits have gradually become popular.

Not long after she changed her clothes, Gong Xue, wearing a white dress, walked in quickly.

"Mom and Dad, are you ready yet?" "Vic has arrived!"

Gong Xue has recently started consciously calling Li Changhe by his English name, just in case she gets confused when they get to Hong Kong Island.

"Let's go, let's go. It's all your dad's fault for dawdling."

At this point, Gong's mother shifted the blame onto Gong's father.

Mr. Gong shook his head with a wry smile.

When the group arrived at the alley entrance, a black Mercedes was already parked there.

As the Gong family got into the car, a group of people gathered again at the entrance of the alley.

"What kind of car is that? It looks really shiny!"

"Mercedes-Benz, a German brand, I've heard it's very expensive, but this car has a black license plate, so it's obviously a foreign company's car."

"How did the Gong family get involved with foreign companies?"

"Isn't that normal? Think about that kid from the Liu family back then, wasn't he assigned to a foreign company?"

"Their daughter is amazing. I heard she's won some kind of award, which is really impressive."

At the entrance of the alley, a group of elderly neighbors watched enviously as the black Mercedes drove away.

Inside the car, Mr. and Mrs. Gong, sitting in the high-end Mercedes-Benz, suddenly felt inexplicably reserved.

"Chang Ayang, what's your uncle like?"

Gong's father originally wanted to call him Changhe, but then he remembered the other person's current identity and name, and quickly changed his address.

"Don't worry, your uncle has a very good personality."

“He lived in Shanghai for many years when he was young, and he has a humorous personality. He is not the serious and rigid type.”

Li Changhe said this to comfort him as he drove.

He quickly drove to the Peace Hotel, where a waiter soon came over and opened the door for him.

Ah Hu was already waiting at the door. After Li Changhe got out of the car, he took the keys and drove the car down.

Li Changhe then led Gong Xue and her family to the elevator.

The Peace Hotel has always been very famous in Shanghai. The renowned Nine Nations Suite is a well-known legend among many Shanghai residents.

The room where Uncle Bao and his friends stayed in the later hit TV series "Blossoms" was the British Suite, one of the Nine Kingdoms Suites.

However, this time Li Changhe took them not to the Nine Kingdoms Suite, but to the even more upscale Sassoon Pavilion.

Sassoon House was the former residence of Victor Sassoon, the Jewish owner of the Peace Hotel. It was not open to the public before and was Sassoon's private residence, so it was located on the top floor of the tower.

Later, the government converted it into a top-tier suite for foreign guests.

Bao Yugang and his group stayed here this time, and the room was specially arranged by the Shanghai Municipal Government.

Speaking of which, after Li Changhe learned about the Sassoon Pavilion, he suddenly remembered Victor Sassoon.

As for this former Jewish tycoon with the same name, Li Changhe had previously inquired about him, wanting to know what had become of this Jewish family that had been sucking blood from Shanghai for decades, and whether he had a chance to take down this opium family.

In the end, he did manage to find out about Victor Sassoon, but unfortunately, the guy was already dead.

Not only that, after leaving Shanghai, he quickly squandered all his wealth. He lost money on every investment he made in Panama, and before he died, he only had a little over £10,000 left in his estate, and he had no descendants.

Not only Victor Sassoon, but also the first generation of Sassoon family members are now in dire straits in England, constantly selling off their ancestral property and relying on some assets left behind in India to make a living.

This saved Li Changhe some trouble.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't want to let this family, which had committed heinous crimes in the country, go.

Soon, Li Changhe led them to suite 888, and then the door opened, which was opened by Huang Xiuying.

"Xiaoxue is here, come in quickly."

"Oh, these two must be our in-laws, please come in!"

Upon seeing Gong Xue, Huang Xiuying was initially delighted, and then, seeing Gong's parents behind her, she immediately greeted them warmly.

Mr. and Mrs. Gong were initially a little nervous, but upon hearing the other party's authentic Shanghai dialect, their nervousness dissipated considerably.

As soon as the group entered, Bao Yugang came up to greet them and warmly shook hands with Mr. Gong.

The suite is very spacious, with a separate dining room, kitchen, and bathroom in addition to the bedroom.

The restaurant offers a great view of the entire Huangpu River and Nanjing Road below.

At this moment, a variety of delicious dishes, all top-notch cuisine from the Peace Hotel, had already been prepared on the dining table.

Just as the two families began to meet, the waiter at the door took the opportunity to quickly enter a room downstairs.

"Manager, they've all gone inside."

"Okay, get to work now, and don't make any mistakes."

A man in a Zhongshan suit outside the suite nodded, then turned and went into the room.

At that moment, several people were drinking tea in the room.

"Boss, Mr. Bao and his family have already started eating."

After the manager went in, he immediately addressed the group of people drinking tea respectfully.

"Okay, Xiao Liu, you continue to keep an eye on them. Send the signal as soon as they come out."

After Manager Liu left, the group put down their teacups.

"What a coincidence! I never expected that Mr. Bao would marry a girl from Shanghai. This is truly a pleasant surprise."

"That's right. When I came back from Beijing this time, I heard that this young Bao Sheng is much more generous than Bao the shipping magnate. He's actually going to start a joint venture petrochemical company in Ningbo."

"This is a huge investment. It is said that the total investment in the first phase is no less than one billion US dollars, and it will be expanded as needed. It's a pity that it was placed in Ningbo. If it were in our Shanghai, it would be so much better."

"We can't win this argument. Mr. Bao is from Ningbo, and he will definitely give back to his hometown whenever he has the chance."

"It's not just him. Including those wealthy people from Guangdong Province, especially those in Hong Kong, their first consideration for investment is their hometown. We can't compare to them in this respect."

"However, this time Xiao Baosheng is going to become a son-in-law of our Shanghai, which is an excellent opportunity."

“Old Wu, if this deal really goes through, you need to make arrangements with the Gong family immediately. Putting aside everything else, you must make sure to give Mr. and Mrs. Gong a proper talking-to at their workplaces.”

"Understood, don't worry about it, Chief Zhao. As soon as they reach an agreement on the marriage, I will make the arrangements immediately."

That's right, sitting in here are several high-ranking officials from the Shanghai Municipal Government.

At this moment, they have come for the sake of the Bao family.

Although Shanghai is no longer a special economic zone, as the former premier city in the Far East, it is a place that many foreign investors are very familiar with and a top choice for foreign investment.

The Shanghai municipal government has also consciously begun to introduce foreign investment to develop itself, but of course, they are quite selective.

However, coincidentally, the Bao family on Hong Kong Island was exactly the target they highly approved of.

Especially after unexpectedly learning that the Bao family's visit was actually to discuss a marriage, and that the mysterious young Mr. Bao from Hong Kong had fallen in love with a girl from Shanghai and wanted to marry her.

The city government of Shanghai immediately realized that the opportunity had arrived!
(End of this chapter)