EBE Chapter 227 The Father of the Zhuang Family Regretted It
Chapter 227 The Father of the Zhuang Family Regretted It
In the evening, the two families gathered together for a lively New Year's Eve dinner. The table was laden with sumptuous dishes, their aromas filling the air. Three children sat at a small table, chattering incessantly, occasionally arguing heatedly over a particular dish. The adults sat at the large table, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
Lin Wufeng raised his glass. "Uncle Huang, Aunt Huang, I'd like to toast you both. My parents passed away early, and Song Ying's family isn't from Suzhou either. This year's Spring Festival is the most lively one I've ever had."
Mr. Huang laughed and drank the soda in his glass. "Xiao Lin, from now on, as long as your Aunt Huang and I are here, we'll celebrate the New Year together. Ah Ling's mother can have a drink, okay?" He then handed the glass to Chao Ying and winked.
Seeing the old man's expression, Huang's mother said, "Then let's have a drink."
Zhuang Chaoying took the wine bottle and poured the bottom of the glass into Huang's father's glass.
"Chao Ying, a little more! This isn't enough to make you smack your lips, give me some more!"
Mr. Huang raised a half-full glass of baijiu with satisfaction and took a sip. "Now, your mother makes all the decisions, big and small, at home. I'm afraid she'll get angry."
Huang's mother glared at Old Huang. "The children are all here, what are you saying? It's not like we didn't tell you to drink, just drink your wine."
Zhuang Chaoying also felt that this year's Spring Festival was truly special, with the elderly and children gathered together, creating a festive atmosphere that the Zhuang family had never experienced before.
Looking at his family around him, he realized that the true essence of the New Year is the company of family.
"Cheers!" he shouted, tilting his head back to down the glass of wine in one gulp.
Xiaoting's eyes suddenly lit up, and she quickly pointed to the TV. "Look at the TV! This year's skit is 'Making a Movie' by Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao. Look, it's much better than the previous program!"
Everyone turned their heads to watch the Spring Festival Gala, eat their reunion dinner, and were occasionally amused by the funny scenes in the skits.
On the other side, in the old house of the Zhuang family, Mr. and Mrs. Zhuang sat on the bed in the outer room watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Mrs. Zhuang handed the peeled orange to Mr. Zhuang. After all, Chaoying was born after she carried her for ten months. They just preferred to be more like the Americans. Chaoying was the eldest child, so why didn't they understand their parents?
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke. "Old Zhuang, why didn't the eldest son and his family come over for Chinese New Year this year?"
As Mr. Zhuang sipped his tea, he heard this and snorted heavily. "I don't even care if they die out there. Don't mention them. Watch TV. If they don't come, don't come again. I'll just consider them dead. From now on, I only have one son. None of you are allowed to mention the eldest son's family in front of me. Tu Nan and Xiao Ting haven't been raised well either. They're unfilial. They don't even know to come and visit their grandparents. Unfilial!"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and the expression on his face became somewhat ferocious.
Mrs. Zhuang took Mr. Zhuang's hand and patted it gently. "Alright, alright, I shouldn't have brought up the eldest son's family. Let's watch the Spring Festival Gala."
Zhuang's father pursed his lips, his face gloomy. Recently, whenever his old colleagues from the factory saw him, they would inquire about Tu Nan's situation, asking if Tu Nan had any friends.
Each time, he could only awkwardly twitch the corners of his mouth and offer a few perfunctory words.
In reality, he rarely saw Tu Nan throughout the year, so how could he know whether Tu Nan had any friends?
Thinking about all this, Zhuang's father felt like he was burning with anger. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The seemingly caring inquiries from his old colleagues sounded like mockery to him.
"What a misfortune for our family! What a tragedy!" Father Zhuang sighed heavily and slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups on it shake.
At this moment, Zhuang Ganmei was sitting leisurely to the side, legs crossed, eating melon seeds.
As he ate, he glanced sideways at the angry Zhuang father, while secretly plotting his own scheme.
The factory wasn't doing well, and they couldn't pay wages. They only gave out a small living allowance each month, but his wife held onto that money tightly. He felt it was unacceptable for a man to be penniless, let alone go out and have fun without money.
Thinking about all this, he wanted to find some excuse to get some money from his parents to spend.
Zhuang Ganmei spat out the sunflower seed shells from her mouth. "Dad, take it easy."
"Your older brother and his family are probably enjoying a big meal at home, watching the Spring Festival Gala with great relish. Why are you getting so worked up? You might end up in the hospital, which isn't worth it."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang's father flew into a rage, stood up abruptly, pointed at Zhuang Ganmei, his eyes wide like copper bells, and was about to lash out when Zhuang's mother swiftly stopped him.
Mrs. Zhuang was extremely anxious and urged in a low but urgent voice, "Now we just have to catch up with the US!"
She was afraid that Zhuang's father would offend Zhuang Ganmei as well.
After hearing what Mrs. Zhuang said, Mr. Zhuang deflated like a punctured balloon.
He sat back down in his chair, feeling utterly helpless. He knew perfectly well that now all he could rely on was Gome.
If they anger Ganmei, then the old couple's future will truly be hopeless.
But he couldn't swallow his anger, so he sat there alone, muttering to himself, "What a tragedy!"
At that moment, Zhuang's father regretted it. If he hadn't acted so badly and had treated Chao Ying's family better, their lives would definitely have been better than if he had followed Gan Hao's lead.
But then I thought, isn't it a bit too late now?
,,,,
After the Chinese New Year, the roar of machines at the Changcheng Refrigerator Parts Factory has resumed, marking the start of work after half a month.
Qiao Jianshe sat in the chair, comfortably crossing his legs, a smug look on his face.
I remember a month ago, those people from the factory that makes electric kettles came to my door, making threats and threats, but in the end, they didn't cause any trouble and didn't cause any problems at all.
Right now, their factory's electric kettles are in high demand and short supply, with orders galore. Qiao Jianshe sneered inwardly, thinking that those people who wanted to compete with him were simply overestimating themselves and were still too green!
"Director Qiao, have some tea," said Wang, a propaganda officer in her twenties, with a smile on her face and a hint of flattery in her eyes.
"This tea was brought back from Chongcheng by my husband, Lao Liu. Smell it, it smells wonderful!" As she spoke, she held up the teacup, as if to bring it to Qiao Jianshe's lips.
Qiao Jianshe looked up and glanced at Wang, thinking to himself that married women are indeed considerate.
He reached out and patted Wang, his smile utterly greasy. "Oh, then I'll have to really try the tea your man gave me."
As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed Wang's hand, pulled her into his arms, placed the teacup on the table, and whispered in her ear, "Should we send your man on another business trip for a few more days?"
Just then, "Knock knock knock!" came a series of urgent knocks on the door.
Qiao Jianshe's interest was interrupted by the sudden sound, but he still took the opportunity to play a game before leisurely pushing Wang, straightening his clothes, and calling out irritably, "Come in!"
Secretary Bai, looking flustered, rushed in through the door, clutching a court summons tightly in her hand.
"Factory...factory manager, this!~~~"
Qiao Jianshe gave her a look.
Seeing this, Officer Wang wisely walked out of the office and gently closed the door behind him.
Secretary Bai swallowed hard, trying to remain calm. "Factory Manager, something terrible has happened! We have a court summons! They say our product can't be called 'Quick Heater,' because they've already registered those three words as a trademark. If we don't rectify this, they'll seize our products and force us to stop production for rectification."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Jianshe's smugness vanished instantly. He snatched the summons, staring intently at its contents, his expression growing increasingly grim.