The Red Era: Starting from a Truck Driver

Chapter 332 Deadline for Confession

The upper class always likes to hold celebrity banquets, birthday parties, exchange meetings, etc. Many people are keen to participate, as these are opportunities to make friends and expand their network.

The banquets hosted by some prestigious bigwigs would make many people fight for admission.

This means that some banquets must issue invitations, and invitations are used to limit certain people from sneaking in. Therefore, some banquet invitations are really valuable, and it is normal for some people to spend a lot of real money to get an invitation in order to attend a banquet.

It's just a simple point. Shen Li invited many famous artists from the entertainment industry to Jiang Fei's birthday party for her coming of age ceremony. Not to mention how high-end the banquet was, it could at least attract many lustful people to attend.

Originally, Shen Li invited some people from the entertainment industry to attend her daughter's coming-of-age party, perhaps to attract some new artists who also wanted to attend and become familiar to some seniors.

As for the business people, Jiang Cheng has been too low-key in recent years. Many things are negotiated by the company's senior management. In addition, the company has sufficient funds and does not want to carry out any large cross-border projects, so many chambers of commerce in Hong Kong have not participated.

Therefore, Jiang Cheng did not have any big friends in Hong Kong, but the executive chairman of Hang Seng Bank knew Jiang Cheng. It was impossible for Jiang Cheng to be so low-key as not to associate with people in any circle in Hong Kong.

In recent years, Jiang Cheng has relied on the bank to help with many things. As long as you have enough deposits, you can let the bank's people work for you.

Moreover, banks are an industry with the widest network of people. When Jiang Cheng bought land, it was the bank's staff who directly negotiated with the Hong Kong government. When he wanted to build a shopping mall, a hotel or something, the bank also helped to lead the bidding.

Even when he went to the island country to trade stocks, it was the bank that helped to contact many traders and introduced them to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng only needs to sign behind the scenes and pay the investment money. If Jiang Cheng wants the mortgaged house in Xiangjiang, he will be given priority to buy it.

In Hong Kong, the executive chairman of Hang Seng Bank is Jiang Cheng’s good friend behind the scenes. Even if the two have something to talk about, they will never do so in any formal setting.

Jiang Cheng acquired a large piece of land in the New Territories and built a golf course. The original intention of building this golf course was not to play golf, but to park helicopters.

However, after Jiang Cheng built this golf course, it was originally an unknown golf course. However, the chairman of Hang Seng Bank often went there to play, and the helicopter picked him up for free, so it now attracts many people.

Sometimes a place doesn’t need to be high-end or luxurious to attract people, but the key point is who is there.

Jiang Fei's birthday party was considered ordinary by the upper class. This was because celebrities did not have a high status in Hong Kong. In the eyes of the rich, celebrities were just actors.

Moreover, actors have always been a profession in Hong Kong. Few wireless actors like TVB can get high salaries. Many of them don't even get any pay, and only earn a few thousand yuan a month.

Some young men of status were willing to attend, but they were probably just bored and wanted to pick up girls. Big men with a little status, upon hearing that there were many artists attending the party, had no interest at all.

But Jiang Cheng could not stop the enthusiasm of the executive chairman of Hang Seng Bank. He even announced in advance that he would go to meet the daughter of the Jiang family on the evening of Jiang Fei's birthday.

This turned the low-end banquet into a top-notch high-end banquet. You have to know that nowadays, if you are not worth over 100 million, it is difficult to meet the executive director.

Many industries need bank loans to expand rapidly or to attract capital turnover when they encounter difficulties. This is especially true for the real estate and financial industries, where banks often hold the other party's lifeline.

As the chairman of Hang Seng Bank announced that he would attend Jiang Fei's birthday party, even if he just took some time to go through the motions, it attracted the attention of many "bigwigs" in Hong Kong's industries.

But many people did not receive an invitation to the Jiang family's daughter's birthday party. The key point is that many people have no business cooperation with the Jiang family, so they have no reason to attend someone else's daughter's birthday party.

Shen Li runs a shell film and television company. When Jiang Fei was about to have her birthday party, many "bigwigs" in the industry contacted Shen Li, hoping to cooperate with her and invest in movies and TV series.

Anyway, I just want to make friends with Shen Li, and then hope to get an invitation to attend the birthday party of the Jiang family's daughter.

In the end, they had no choice but to temporarily change the venue of the banquet. They chose their own big hotel and built a large banquet hall.

Red wine and various high-end ingredients would cost millions. Originally, it was a family banquet, so there was no need to hire a host or a host. Everyone came to the banquet, and the clothes they wore were different in different venues.

If it was held in a villa, the female artists could just wear some casual clothes. Now it is held in a hotel, and there will be business leaders attending the banquet.

In the past, small stars could not attend banquets of this level. But because of Shen Li's invitation at the beginning, many artists took advantage of it this time.

Some artists came to attend Jiang Fei's coming-of-age ceremony this time, and they all had to wear dresses and formal wear.

However, holding a birthday party in a hotel is not bad for Jiang Cheng. If he is at home, it will be difficult for Jiang Cheng to hide, and his identity as the head of the Jiang family will be easily exposed.

If the news were to spread to China and seen by Zhou Lingying, Jiang Cheng was really afraid that she would make a choice that she would not be willing to accept.

The banquet was held in his own hotel. The executive director of Hang Seng Bank attended the banquet. Jiang Cheng was paving the way for Jiang Fei and Jiang Yue to enter the management of Jiang family enterprises in the future.

Based on this banquet, when Jiang Fei comes to manage the hotel in the future, many people will give him face. All banquets and banquets will be held in this hotel.

As for the management model of shopping malls, there is not much room for improvement in the traditional industry.

June 18, 1992, Jiangdonglai Hotel.

In this era, a banquet cost millions, which was considered a luxury. There was free flow of red wine, and there were also special staff to squeeze fresh juices.

Although the red wine is not some 82 Lafite, it is definitely not the junk that is available on the market. The taste and purity are good, and it is really for tasting.

The ingredients are various top-quality seafood, the beef is also top-quality Wagyu, and there are also foie gras and the like.

The millions spent refer to the cost of the hotel, which is the Jiang family’s own business. They hold the banquet themselves without calculating the profit.

The various banquets and auctions that appeared in the skits were so simple that they were a complete joke. Some of the drinks were cheap, and red wine might be sold for more than ten yuan in the supermarket, and this price is for thirty years later. Many of the drinks were replaced by beverages.

The red wine here in Jiangcheng costs hundreds of yuan. Don't think that red wine worth hundreds of yuan is not good because you have watched too many stupid dramas. In the short distance, red wine costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan, which makes people feel that red wine must be high-end.

In fact, not to mention the brand added value and some hyped value, the wine that could be sold for hundreds of yuan at the factory price simply based on its quality was really a very good wine in the 1990s.

Just like the current domestic liquor Moutai, the price has been hyped up in recent years. Before 1981, a bottle was less than 10 yuan, so how can you say the wine is not good? In 1981, Feitian Moutai was priced at only 7 yuan, plus Moutai liquor tickets. In 1986, in order to absorb foreign exchange, they came up with 8 yuan plus 120 foreign exchange coupons, and the foreign exchange coupons were 1 yuan each.

That is to say, in 1986, Feitian Moutai cost 128 yuan per bottle without Moutai tickets.

In 1987, there was no requirement for foreign exchange coupons, and the price was 128 yuan per bottle. In 1988, it was 140 yuan.

Nowadays, Feitian 53° Moutai costs about yuan per bottle. At this price, its cost is not high. In comparison, it could be sold for about yuan ten years ago.

In the past ten years, domestic prices and wages have risen. In other words, wages in some places in Shenzhen and Shanghai have increased tenfold, while in other cities they have only increased several times.

Moutai that costs more than 200 yuan has a high level of hype and falsehood.

Jiang Cheng knew this so clearly because he used foreign exchange coupons to sell a large amount of Moutai in 1986.

In addition to Moutai, we also bought a large amount of Huadiao wine from Shaoxing.

Domestic Moutai and Huadiao are also exported, and the price is very cheap. So red wine that costs hundreds of yuan is actually considered high-quality red wine.

"Daddy, today is my birthday party, and you're not sitting at the main table."

"Xiao Fei, please don't embarrass Daddy. I really can't show my face in public."

In the banquet hall, Jiang Cheng and Zheng Ke sat in the back row. It was still early, but some people came here early.

Jiang Fei asked Jiang Cheng to let her sit in the chairman's seat. In fact, what Jiang Fei meant was that she hoped Jiang Cheng could show everyone that he was her daddy.

At her 18th birthday ceremony, Jiang Fei couldn't let anyone know who her father was. Even in many other wealthy families, the children of concubines would not let everyone know who their father was.

In the final analysis, Jiang Fei's mother didn't even have the status of a concubine. Jiang Cheng didn't want to be reported by the media, and even in the company, only the older generation of employees knew Jiang Cheng's identity.

Jiang Cheng used to go to the company to work, but now he doesn’t even go to the company anymore. If there is anything, he talks to some of the senior people in private.

The identity of the head of the Jiang family is a taboo in the Jiang family of Hong Kong. And the more unattainable something is, the more people desire it.

Jiang Fei really hoped that her daddy could attend her birthday party in an official capacity, but after begging for a long time, many people had already arrived at the banquet hall in advance, but her daddy still refused with an embarrassed look on his face.

Thinking about how her daddy had loved her and her sister Jiang Yue since they were young, Jiang Fei couldn't bear to force her daddy anymore.

"Daddy, stepmother, I like the gifts you gave me very much." Jiang Fei thanked Jiang Cheng and Zheng Ke for the gifts helplessly, and left Jiang Cheng under the gaze of some people.

After Jiang Fei left, Zheng Ke couldn't help but ask, "You can't keep it a secret over there forever, right? You're still strong now, but when you get older and get sick, no one from us will be able to visit you."

"I'm really scared. You know how conservative our generation is. I told you about my sister before. We are living separately now." Jiang Cheng shook his head and said.

Jiang Cheng met Zhou Lingying in 1972, which means it has been 20 years now. Even though they no longer have the passion they had when they were young, when they were young they would always stick together whenever they had time.

But in the past twenty years, there have only been a few major quarrels. They have never fought, and Zhou Lingying was always the first to give in after a quarrel.

Jiang Cheng was served comfortably by Zhou Lingying at home. Even now, Zhou Lingying prepared the water for him to wash his face and feet.

Even though he lived in a "dilapidated" compound, Jiang Cheng always went back because Zhou Lingying was there, making him feel at home.

Jiang Cheng admitted that he was biased. When he was with Zheng Ke, he was not afraid that she would know that he had a woman and a child in Hong Kong. He just didn't confess it, and Zheng Ke didn't think much about it.

Later, when Zheng Ke realized something was wrong, Jiang Cheng brought her directly to Hong Kong to meet Shen Li and the children there. He was not afraid that Shen Li would not be able to accept the situation and break off relations with him after knowing it.

If that were the case, Jiang Cheng would be willing to be the scumbag. When he was with Zheng Ke, Jiang Cheng was willing to be with him because she knew he had a wife and children.

At that time, Jiang Cheng really wanted Zheng Ke's body, but he didn't have deep feelings for her. Later, Zheng Ke gave birth to a daughter for him, and their feelings gradually deepened.

But now Jiang Cheng feels that what Zheng Ke said is right. He is already 42 years old. No matter how well he takes care of his body, he can never compare with a young guy.

If we keep it a secret like this, there should be no problem for another ten years. But what if it takes longer and my body fails? When I need someone to serve me all the time, should I just cut off the relationship between Shen Li and Zheng Ke?

"Let's wait a few more years. There are two little ones there who are a little young. I'm afraid if she finds out about this and the matter gets out of hand, it will affect the children." Jiang Cheng ate the fruit buffet provided at the banquet and felt that some things really could not be concealed any longer.

Perhaps it was Jiang Cheng's selfishness that was at work, making him feel that if he didn't go crazy, he would get old. When he was sleeping in the same bed with Shen Li and Zheng Ke in Xiangjiang, Jiang Cheng was still thinking about what the scene would be like if Zhou Lingying joined them.

But Jiang Cheng only dared to think about it before, but now that he is older, he has to consider more and more comprehensively. Jiang Cheng was afraid that Zhou Lingying would know everything. Jiang Cheng was young before, so he thought he should keep it a secret as long as possible.

If Jiang Cheng, Shen Li and Zheng Ke had no children, they might really give them a large sum of wealth and break off their relationship for Zhou Lingying.

After all, they all knew that Jiang Cheng had a wife but were still willing to be with him. Jiang Cheng being with them was already a philandering behavior. It was ridiculous to expect him to be an infatuated person.

In the past, Jiang Cheng had a sense of responsibility towards his woman, but this so-called sense of responsibility was more of a selfish motive. She was his own woman, and he would never let other men touch her unless he didn't want her.

Now Jiang Cheng can't bear to be so cruel as to disown his children for Zhou Lingying's sake.

Since he couldn't give up, Jiang Cheng still selfishly wanted to live a happy family life as soon as possible. He finally decided to wait until Jiang Ping and Jiang Meng finished junior high school before confessing to Zhou Lingying in private.

At that time, facing Zhou Lingying's trial, life or death was left to fate.

(End of this chapter)