I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

Previously, Lu Yuanlong's secretary, Gao, was also extremely uncooperative at first and had a very arrogant personality.

It was only later that things were gradually "corrected".

It seems that even though the decline of the Lu family is inevitable, people's character will not change easily.

Chen Sheng then led Chen Ya into the courtyard house, knocked on the door of a side room, and a hoarse voice came from inside:

"Who is it?"

Chen Sheng, with a broad smile, said through the door, "Second Grandfather, it's me, Chen Sheng from Lu Ruixiang's family. I've come to see you."

The door opened quickly, and a gaunt old man appeared in the doorway. He had a bulbous nose, large ears, triangular eyes, and baldness down to a tuft of hair above his ears. The corners of his mouth drooped.

He first scrutinized the two people at the door with a critical look, his triangular eyes drooping as if he were somewhat displeased. But when he saw what Chen Sheng was carrying, his smile immediately blossomed like a flower.

"You're already here, why bring anything?"

That's what he said, but he immediately took away the things Chen Sheng was carrying, as if afraid that Chen Sheng would change his mind and not see him off.

With that, he ushered the two into the house. Once inside, Chen Ya looked around.

There weren't many things in the room, but the sofa cushions were wrinkled and a wad of blanket was carelessly tossed around, suggesting that a maid usually helped tidy up.

The rest of the furnishings were no different from those in the homes of ordinary elderly people.

It seems that this second great-grandfather lives alone, but it's unclear whether his partner has passed away or what happened.

The second master didn't greet the two of them, and carried Chen Sheng's gifts into the inner room. Just as he opened the door, Chen Ya saw that the inner room was dark and filled with all sorts of odds and ends, with a box of Brain Gold lying on its side by the door.

He couldn't help but grin.

Now I finally understand why Chen Sheng thought that 50,000 yuan would be enough to settle things with this second great-grandfather.

If this were placed in the history of Western literature, she would be a typical Eugénie Grandet: a miser, a hoarder, and willing to do anything as long as she had money.

I don’t know if this person was used to being poor when he was young, but Chen Ya has never seen this characteristic in any other scion of a prominent family.

After a while, the second grandfather came out of the inner room again, this time with an even bigger smile on his face.

It seems he discovered the "little gift" Chen Sheng had tucked into the gift bag.

"Hey kid, what brings you here?" The second master sat in his armchair, picking up a large tea mug.

Chen Sheng quickly said, "Second Grandfather, this is my eldest son, Chen Ya. From today onwards, he is a member of the Lu family. I brought him here to introduce him to you."

Lu Zhankui took a sip of tea, nodded, swallowed the water, and slowly said, "You're so thoughtful, you still care about this old man."

"Look at what you're saying, Ruixiang is still your own niece."

...The two then started chatting about everyday things. Chen Ya listened for a while and, based on the analysis of various sources, gained some understanding of his past.

Although the Lu family's Old Master Lu and Second Master Lu were brothers, their social statuses were worlds apart.

Grandpa Lu is someone who has appeared in history textbooks.

A combat hero during the Liberation period, he participated in the Korean War and made countless contributions, both big and small, throughout his life.

After the war, he was demobilized and returned home. The organization assigned him to a leadership position in a coal mine in Jinzhong, with extremely high salary and rank.

The years he spent in the mines coincided with the most vigorous period of industrial construction in the Republic, and it was under his leadership that Zhang Xishun, the "Iron Man," was born.

Industrialization requires electricity, and power generation requires coal. During the years he managed the coal mines, he used his sweat and wisdom to transform coal into black gold, which in turn became electricity, supporting the nation's path to large-scale industrialization.

He dedicated almost the entire latter half of his life to coal mining, worked under countless workers and technicians, dealt with numerous factories and government departments, and had connections all over the world.

After the reform and opening up, he retired from the mine. In order to find a way out for the laid-off miners, he led the workers to start a business. His three sons, Lu Yuanlong, Lu Yuanhu and Lu Yuanbao, also showed their talents and eventually built a business empire.

This is how the Lu family rose to prominence.

However, compared to the brilliant and ambitious Old Master Lu, whose life was full of ups and downs, the Second Master paled in comparison.

This second great-grandfather was a farmer, and he remained a farmer his entire life.

The reason is that when Grandpa Lu left home to join the army, his mother was still alive, so his younger brother stayed with her to take care of her.

One wrong step leads to another, and so the two brothers eventually drifted apart by an immense gap.

However, despite having farmed all their lives, the two brothers have now come to the same end and are living together in this big courtyard.

Moreover, compared to the troubled old master Lu, the second master actually has more simple and happy happiness.

Because of the Lu family's influence, no one dared to look down on him, a farmer who had spent half his life farming. In fact, his filial sons and grandsons would often come to his door to "show their respect."

If one carefully considers the fate of the two brothers, one can only sigh at the cruel twists of destiny.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" the Second Grandfather said, beaming as he took Chen Sheng's hand.

"No, no..." Chen Sheng waved his hands repeatedly.

"Come on, two more pairs of chopsticks won't make a difference."

A glimmer of hope appeared in Chen Sheng's eyes: "Will you eat with the old man?"

“How could that grumpy guy eat with us? I’ll just ask the kitchen to prepare a few dishes and bring them to my room, then we can all eat together.”

Chen Sheng's gaze immediately dimmed, and he said somewhat listlessly, "Fine."

He thought that the second master was going to keep them here to eat with the other families in the manor.

The manor is inhabited by the core members of the Lu family. For him, a son-in-law from a peripheral branch, to be able to bring his son to the table would be an honor in itself.

Even just being able to make those core members remember her and her son's faces would be a great achievement, and Lu Ruixiang would be overjoyed.

Unfortunately, this is just a dream.

After agreeing to have dinner together, the second great-grandfather kept talking to Chen Sheng.

As the old man grew older, he had no partner, and the people in the manor were all prominent figures, so no one wanted to listen to an old man's ramblings.

When someone finally comes along and is willing to listen to him, he gets so engrossed in conversation that he can't stop talking.

Chen Yaren was getting sleepy from listening, so he made an excuse to go for a walk and walked out of the house leisurely under Chen Sheng's questioning gaze.

When they first arrived, Chen Sheng told him, "Don't look around too much, don't ask too many questions, don't wander around," but he didn't take a single word to heart.

After leaving the house and walking for a while, he quickly lost his way.

This place is too big.

Even in winter, there is no sign of desolation; the lawns are lush and green, and evergreen trees dot the surrounding area.

The gardeners were still busy in the garden, and every now and then unidentified people would walk by, some of them watching Chen Ya, this uninvited guest, but no one came up to ask him what he was doing.

Amidst this ordinary scene, Chen Ya inexplicably sensed a feeling reminiscent of the late Grand View Garden in "Dream of the Red Chamber".

There's a hint of forced bravado in it.

He quickly estimated that the daily expenses of the manor, including labor, flowers, plants, food, and lodging, would be no less than 100,000.

When Aihua was still in the Lu family's hands, the family could afford to spend so much, but now it's hard to say.

It's just unknown how long this proud and arrogant family can hold on.

Wandering around, we soon arrived at the pond and rockery we had seen at the entrance, where sure enough, an old man was sitting there fishing.

The old man had a dark complexion and looked somewhat similar to the second great-grandfather we had just met, but he was clearly much more robust. His square face had two white, sword-like eyebrows, giving him the air of a seasoned veteran actor.

He sat on a small stool, staring intently at the water. Chen Ya stood behind him, making no attempt to conceal his footsteps, but he didn't turn around.

Chen Ya stared at him from the side. He didn't move at all, nor did the pole. Only the buoy swayed on the water's surface with the wind.

After looking at it for a while, Chen Ya suddenly asked:

"If the water is clear but there are no fish, what can you fish for?"

The wind blew between the two, taking away the long silence.

"How do you know there are no fish?" the old man asked. "Can you see the bottom of the pond?"

“That’s just arguing for the sake of arguing,” Chen Ya said bluntly.

"You're the one arguing for the sake of arguing," the old man retorted sharply, refusing to back down.

Chen Ya smiled slightly, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked away.

"Go fishing, go fishing, but you're just fishing for nothing. You might as well go home. Besides, it's windy, you might catch a cold..."

As the sound faded into the distance, a "clucking" sound suddenly came from the old man sitting by the pond.

That's gritted teeth.

After a while, the wind really did get stronger.

The weather forecast indicates that there will be northerly winds today.

The old man put away his rods, placing the expensive ones in his bag, and stood alone in the wind.

Then... I sneezed.

"Ah!"

……

Beyond the pond and rockery lies a lawn, and beyond that, weeping willows. Stepping on the bluestone slabs of the lawn, one can walk to the opposite side of the weeping willows, where there is a pavilion. The two people are currently sitting in the pavilion enjoying the scenery.

There was no snow, only wind, and not much scenery to see; the two of them just looked at the sky with a sense of loneliness.

"The wind is picking up," said the old man on the left.

"Hmm, the wind is picking up," said the man with the white beard on the right.

The person sitting on the left is the one known as "Committee Member Gao".

"Committee Member Gao" is actually named Gao Jinliang. The reason people call him Committee Member Gao is because before the reform and opening up, he served as a member of a committee at a coal mine in Jinzhong.

Before assuming this position, he was a bodyguard. He was Old Master Lu's bodyguard.

Before that, when he entered the court, he was a soldier under Old Master Lu. At that time, Old Master Lu was a platoon leader.

In 52, at Shangganling, only the two of them survived in that platoon.

Gao Jinliang was 17 years old at the time.

Therefore, he has always had a good relationship with the Lu family. This good relationship is also reflected in the fact that he has a son who has been working for Lu Yuanlong, and people call his son "Secretary Gao".

The way he was addressed was exactly the same as the way he was called "Committee Member Gao".

The person sitting to his right is named Li Siqing.

A Chinese... no, a world-renowned violin master.

He was also Lu Ningna's teacher.

“Ningna is talented,” Li Siqing said. “However, she lacks a certain drive, the drive of a top violinist.”

Committee Member Gao sighed and said, "I know what you mean. You mean that the child's mind is not settled and he cannot become a first-class violinist."

“I didn’t say that,” Li Siqing said with a wry smile.

He paused for a moment, then added, "Perhaps the child is still young and hasn't experienced any hardship."

Gao Jinliang sighed again.

"If this isn't considered a trial, then this child is doomed."

He paused, then looked at the world-renowned violin master beside him and said:

"I just want to know, can taking this path be considered a way out for my child?"

Li Siqing took a sip of tea.

"It's hard to say," he said. "Who says you have to become a world-class violinist to succeed?"

Gao Jinliang looked at the water rippling in the breeze and said:

"Usually, after going through something like that, one should at least grow up a bit, but for some reason, this child seems distracted every day, and I don't know what he's thinking about..."

Li Siqing thought for a moment, still holding the steaming teacup in her hands: "Could it be... lovesickness?"

Chapter 222 How can JX's music be played?

Gao Jinliang was stunned when he heard Li Siqing's words.

Then, the hands on her lap clenched tightly.

The old man is getting on in years and doesn't quite understand his daughter's thoughts, but he can still glean some clues from the girl's reaction.