Lu Yalong dared not be arrogant now, and he dared not take the farmers lightly: "Fang, don't you know them very well? Tell me what's going on?"
Liu Fang said, "I used to know them very well, but so many years have passed, how would I know anything about their family situation?"
Lu Yalong said worriedly, "Why don't you go in and ask?"
Liu Fang said, "I think we should leave quickly. You and Chun Chun offended them just now."
Lu Yalong's face was ashen: "That's why we need to figure this out. The third young master of the Yang family has also been in Zhao Weidong's room, and now it's Zhou Wan. If there's some kind of relationship between them, even if we run away, can we escape the consequences?"
Lu Chun Chun said, "Yes, Mom, go in and take a look. Zhao Weidong respects you now, and he won't dare disobey you as long as you speak."
Recalling Zhao Weidong's attitude towards her, Liu Fang regained her confidence and said, "I'll go in and take a look."
Zhao Qiang settled into his seat, unaware that Yang Shiqi had already arrived. Xu Xiaoya was chatting animatedly with her mother, while her father and grandfather were enjoying their drinks. The food at the high-end hotel was truly exceptional; the chef had undoubtedly undergone rigorous training. Although the wine was of slightly lower quality, it was still adequate for her father and grandfather, as it was not easy to find good wine in the countryside.
"Qiang, Mom has something to ask you." Liu Huilan decided to settle things as soon as possible, otherwise, with her son in such a complicated environment, if any girl successfully seduced him, wouldn't that be a tragedy for Xiaoya?
Zhao Qiang asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"
Liu Huilan asked, "How many years have you and Xiaoya been dating?"
Zhao Qiang was puzzled: "It started in our senior year. Before that, she might not even know that I was a classmate."
Xu Xiaoya objected, "No, Zhao Qiang, you're wronging me. I knew you back in freshman year, and I specifically assigned you several work-study opportunities."
Zhao Qiang recalled for a moment: "It seems like there really was such a thing."
Xu Xiaoya shook Liu Huilan's arm and said, "Auntie, look, Zhao Qiang is just careless, otherwise he would have pursued me long ago."
Liu Huilan said, "Sometimes boys take other people's care for granted. Qiang, Xiaoya cares about you a lot, and she comes from a good family. You can't let her down."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "Mom, don't worry, I'll treat her well."
Liu Huilan said, "Since you also said you would treat her well, then I will say it again: settle your marriage as soon as possible."
Here we go again. Zhao Qiang had a headache. He had finally managed to get away with this matter this afternoon, but his mother brought it up again in such a solemn setting.
Liu Huilan continued, "Your father, your grandfather, and I all approve of your relationship with Xiaoya. Now that it's settled, you must refuse other girls when necessary. You can't bully Xiaoya. Being good to her isn't just about words; you have to be sincere. Understand?" Liu Huilan was giving Zhao Qiang a heads-up after meeting Yang Shiqi.
Zhao Qiang didn't know how to answer. Seeing the troubled look on his face, Xu Xiaoya began to regret her actions. She had been urging Zhao's mother to side with her, but wouldn't that be unfair to the other girls? Would Zhao Qiang be angry? After all, she and those girls were good friends, and Zhao Qiang's career was largely supported by them; he couldn't manage on his own.
Xu Xiaoya gave Zhao Qiang an apologetic look and lowered her head. Women are too easily selfish when it comes to matters of the heart.
Liu Huilan prepared a few more words to persuade her son when the door was pushed open and Chen Xinyu and Li Qingqing entered. Zhao Weidong and Liu Huilan were not familiar with each other. Although they had seen Chen Xinyu at Zhao Qiang's place, they had not spoken.
Li Qingqing was a feisty girl. As soon as she entered the door, she shouted, "Zhao Qiang, hurry up and introduce him to us!"
Zhao Qiang glared at Li Qingqing, who immediately shrank behind Chen Xinyu, not daring to say another word. Zhao Qiang had shown no mercy when he beat up the security guards.
Xu Xiaoya stood up and nodded to Chen Xinyu, who smiled in response. No one knew what to say, so Zhao Qiang, needing to assert his authority, said, "Sit down, Xiaoya, Xinyu, have a couple of drinks with my dad and grandpa. Li Qingqing, go sit down in that seat and don't say a word." Zhao Qiang didn't want his mother to misunderstand again; he and Li Qingqing had absolutely nothing going on.
Xu Xiaoya and Chen Xinyu poured wine for Zhao Weidong and Zhao Tiancheng to toast. The two women had known each other for a while, and as long as it didn't involve Zhao Qiang's marriage, they were actually good friends.
Liu Huilan finally had a chance to have a private conversation with her son. She said, "Qiang, Mom knows you're capable now and several girls like you. Even though your great-grandfather had two wives and a concubine, this is a new society where it's one husband and one wife. You're at the age where you really need to get married. Tell Mom the truth: between that girl surnamed Yang and Xiaoya, who do you choose?"
Zhao Qiang was confused: "A girl surnamed Yang?"
Liu Huilan said, "She just came by and said she wanted to give me a healthy, chubby grandson."
Zhao Qiang sighed inwardly, thinking to himself, "Yang Shiqi, aren't you just making trouble?"
Zhao Qiang asked his mother, "Mom, where did Yang Shiqi go?"
Liu Huilan said, "I rejected her for you, and she left heartbroken. Son, it's better to end it now than to suffer for a long time. I did this for your own good."
Zhao Qiang felt like dying. Yang Shiqi was very dependent on him. If her mother said something that made her despair, who knew if she would do something stupid? How come they used to get along so well? Suddenly she ran to Beijing and started causing trouble. And that Xu Xiaoya, she used to handle everyone's relationships quite well, but now she's starting to act immaturely too.
Zhao Qiangteng stood up abruptly: "I'm going to find her." Things had gone too chaotic today.
As soon as Zhao Qiang opened the door, he almost bumped into Zhou Wan. Zhou Wan asked anxiously, "Where are you going?" She grabbed Zhao Qiang's arm, but Zhao Qiang, already annoyed, shook her off, saying, "I have something to do, move aside."
Zhou Wan staggered from the impact. Zhao Qiang was incredibly strong; Zhou Wan was no match for him.
Xu Xiaoya and Chen Xinyu remained silent. Everyone knew Zhao Qiang well. He was angry, especially Xu Xiaoya. She knew Zhao Qiang would definitely be angry with her, so she lowered her head and dared not look at him. Although she was still Zhao Qiang's class monitor, Zhao Qiang was no longer the student he was in college. In particular, she deeply regretted hurting another woman's feelings.
Liu Fang, Lu Yalong, and Chen Chunchun stood in the corridor and witnessed the scene that had just unfolded. In their eyes, Zhou Wan, who seemed so high and mighty, had actually been bullied? Had this Zhao Qiang, who was so reckless, forgotten his identity as a repairman?
Lu Chun Chun jumped forward, pointed at Zhao Qiang, and said, "What are you doing? How dare you bully my classmate?"
Liu Fang also said, "Qiang, how could you do this? Do you think you can bully Wan?"
Zhao Qiang was furious and pointed at Zhou Wan, demanding, "Who are they to you?"
Zhou Wan was terrified: "Me, my classmate, and her parents."
Zhao Qiang shouted angrily, "I'm telling you, tell them to behave themselves, or get out of here!"
Liu Fang was the first to jump up: "Zhao Qiang, who do you think you are? Do you even know who Zhou Wan's parents are?"
Zhao Qiang decided to no longer give his father face. He was going to kick Liu Fang out of the hotel. He really didn't want to play with them anymore. He was in a bad mood, and Yang Shiqi had run away again. He had to chase after her and bring her back.
However, before Zhao Qiang could make a move, Zhou Wan struck, slapping Liu Fang across the face with a loud thud: "Shut up and get out of here!" With that, she threw the file bag in her hand at Lu Yalong's face.
Lu Chun Chun was stunned: "Wan, you..."
Zhou Wan said, "What do you mean 'you'? Zhao Qiang is my savior. What right do you have to be arrogant in front of him? Get out of here!"
Liu Fang covered her face in surprise, while Lu Yalong was completely petrified. Just when things were about to succeed, they were ruined by this spendthrift woman. Wasn't she quite polite to Zhao Qiang's family before? Why did she suddenly change her attitude? If the change had a good effect, that would be fine, but it seems like she's just made a mistake.
Volume 2 [612] The Broom Star Family
【612】The Broom Star Family
Zhao Qiang turned and left, not caring who Zhou Wan hit. With a creak, the door to the next room opened, and Yang Shiqi came out. She had heard Zhao Qiang's voice, and upon seeing him, the aggrieved Yang Shiqi, disregarding the presence of strangers, threw herself into Zhao Qiang's arms and burst into tears.
Zhao Qiang patted Yang Shiqi on the back and said, "Alright, stop crying. It's not good for a grown-up to cry. People will laugh at you."
Yang Shiqi said, "Your mother said she doesn't want me." Her words were filled with such resentment.
Liu Huilan, Zhao Weidong, Xu Xiaoya, and others had arrived in the corridor. They saw Zhao Qiang holding Yang Shiqi, and Yang Shiqi said, "Your mother said she doesn't want me." Liu Huilan looked embarrassed. By today's standards, her son shouldn't be two-timing, so she rejected Yang Shiqi on his behalf. But who knew that her son didn't want to give up either of them?
Xu Xiaoya was extremely uneasy. This whole thing started because of her. Would Zhao Qiang divorce her in a fit of anger? Suddenly, Xu Xiaoya felt extremely guilty. She had been too selfish. Even if love is unforgiving, she shouldn't have used her position to force Zhao Qiang's mother to issue an expulsion order against Yang Shiqi. That was wrong of her.
Zhang Lingfeng said to Zhao Qiang, "Master, what should we do?" With the harem in turmoil, Zhang Lingfeng was powerless to help.
Lu Yalong muttered to himself, "He...he calls Zhao Qiang 'Master'? What...what's going on?"
Liu Fang was dumbfounded. She didn't know the background of the others, but who were Zhou Wan and Zhang Lingfeng? Zhou Wan was easy to deal with; she was just a spoiled brat who relied on her family's influence and was basically an uneducated playboy. But Zhang Lingfeng ran a huge company that was now internationally renowned. Yet, he dared to call the son of her fellow villager from when she was sent to the countryside "master." Fine, he called him that, but her family had just been mocking and ridiculing this fellow villager. Liu Fang felt like dying. She was still hoping for her husband's promotion. She'd rather die than give up.
Zhao Qiang hugged Yang Shiqi and said, "Let's talk about this later." Zhao Qiang was a filial son. He might not always listen to or do everything his mother said, but he would never criticize her.
Liu Huilan sighed. She knew she was powerless to help her son with his love life. She glanced at Xu Xiaoya and thought to herself, "Child, you have to try your best. That's all I can do."
Zhao Weidong wanted to scold Zhao Qiang, but he couldn't bring himself to do it in front of Yang Shiqi. After all, he knew that Yang Shiqi was a military officer with a large number of soldiers under her command, and offending her might not be a good thing for his son.
When the hotel manager, Mr. Huang, heard the commotion, he immediately rushed over. He felt that he hadn't checked the almanac before going out today, or that Lu Yalong's family was just a jinx, otherwise why would they keep having problems?
"This, this..." Manager Huang suddenly stammered because he saw a person in the crowd who shouldn't be there. "This...is this President Xu?" Manager Huang had seen Xu Xiaoya before. Although this hotel was just a part of the catering industry under Jiayuan Investment, Xu Xiaoya didn't know Manager Huang, but Manager Huang knew Xu Xiaoya. To him, Xu Xiaoya was a god-like figure, young, beautiful, and successful.
Xu Xiaoya glanced at Manager Huang, then lowered her head again. At this moment, she felt guilty because of Yang Shiqi's matter, so she wouldn't pay attention to a manager she didn't know at all.
When Lu Yalong saw Manager Huang, he thought his savior had arrived. Today, he finally saw some progress. This Zhao Qiang seemed to be the center of attention among these important figures, but he had just given them a good scathing rebuke. He had to salvage the current situation, and Manager Huang was probably the most capable person to mediate between them.
“Manager Huang, could you please introduce us to this? This Brother Zhao Qiang is the son of a farmer my wife worked with when she was sent to the countryside. So he’s friends with everyone here,” Lu Yalong said.
Manager Huang glared at Lu Yalong: "I don't even understand it myself, how can I explain it to you?" After saying that, Manager Huang took two steps forward to Xu Xiaoya: "President Xu, what can I do for you? I didn't know you were here to guide our work, I'm so sorry for not welcoming you properly."
Seeing Lu Yalong talking to Manager Huang, Xu Xiaoya asked, "What is your relationship with Mayor Lu?"
Manager Huang said, "Oh, friend, just a regular friend."
Xu Xiaoya said, "We don't like their whole family."
Manager Huang suddenly realized: "I understand, Mr. Xu, don't worry, I'll ask them to leave the hotel right away."
Lu Yalong overheard the entire conversation between Manager Huang and Xu Xiaoya. Manager Huang's attitude towards Xu Xiaoya made him uneasy. Then, Xu Xiaoya said she didn't like Lu Yalong and his family of three. Manager Huang then turned around and walked towards Lu Yalong.
Lu Yalong wished he could disappear into a mouse hole. Manager Huang said to him, "Mayor Lu, you should leave. I don't have you as a friend anymore."
Lu Chun Chun pointed at Xu Xiao Ya, quite indignant, and said, "Who is she? How can you do whatever she tells you to do? Are you even a man?"
Manager Huang snorted, "You little brat, didn't your parents teach you how to talk? Security, take them out."
Lu Yalong raised his hand and slapped his daughter across the face. Both mother and daughter were hit. Lu Chun Chun's tears of grievance flowed down her cheeks. She wanted to argue, but her mother grabbed her. Going against these men's wishes would only invite a beating.
Lu Yalong pleaded, "Manager Huang, even if you're going to kick us out, at least give us an explanation."
Manager Huang said, "Don't you know Mr. Xu of Jiayuan Investment? You made Mr. Xu unhappy while you were eating at his hotel. Mayor Lu, you really have a lot of official airs."
Lu Yalong's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground. Xu Xiaoya—even as mayor, he would hardly ever meet her. Today, she was right in front of him, and he had a great chance to become good friends with her. But because he looked down on his wife's association with three old farmers, he put on airs and acted like an official, never expecting to squander his chance to rise to prominence.
Zhao Qiang paid no attention to what was happening on Lu Yalong's side. After his persuasion, Yang Shiqi finally stopped crying, wiped her tears and said to Zhao Weidong, "Uncle Zhao, I'm sorry, I embarrassed myself."
Zhao Weidong didn't know what to say. He looked at Xu Xiaoya, then at Yang Shiqi, and then said to his son, "Qiang, you young people should handle things yourselves."
Xu Xiaoya walked over, took Yang Shiqi's hand, and said, "I'm sorry, Shiqi." Whether it was a sincere apology or not, Xu Xiaoya didn't dare to argue with everyone anymore, at least not openly.
Yang Shiqi said, "Forget it, if I were you, I would have done the same. But don't think I'll give up. It's still uncertain who Zhao Qiang will marry."
Standing to the side, Chen Xinyu thought to herself, "Not bad, it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious."
Zhao Qiang was unwilling to stay here any longer, and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, let's go back." This place was not safe; it would be safest to return to Yang Shiqi's family's residence.
Zhao Qiang led his family and women out. Lu Yalong was helped up by the mother and daughter. He felt like he wanted to kill himself. If he let those people leave, his stupidity would soon reach the ears of the provincial leaders. At that time, he would not only lose his promotion, but he might even lose his position as mayor.
"Hurry up and chase after them, Fang. We're counting on you this time. Whether our family can eat again depends on your relationship with Zhao Weidong." Lu Yalong wasn't stupid; he understood the crux of the problem immediately.
Liu Fang touched her swollen face and said, "When we first met, I told you to be more enthusiastic, but you insisted on putting on airs. Now that you know you were wrong, you want me to beg you."
Lu Yalong said, "Fang, it's all my fault, you should go after them right away. Chun Chun, go and find out what Zhang Lingfeng is up to. If he can help mediate, you have to agree even if it means giving him your body."
The fate of the six families was at stake, so Liu Fang and Lu Chun Chun couldn't blame Lu Yalong at this moment. The two of them quickly chased after him, and Lu Yalong stood up and staggered to catch up.
Lu Chun Chun called out sweetly from behind Zhang Lingfeng, "Brother Feng."
Zhang Lingfeng glanced back, and Lu Chun Chun quickly stepped forward and grabbed his hand: "Brother Feng, I didn't know there would be so many misunderstandings. Are you angry? By the way, what about you and them...?"
Zhang Lingfeng said, "Don't say anything more. I get very angry when my master is unhappy." Zhang Lingfeng was unaware of how Lu Chun Chun and the others had mocked Zhao Qiang's family before; otherwise, he would have kicked them long ago.
Lu Chun Chun said, "Don't be angry. I'll help you calm down tonight, okay? Can you talk to my dad for me? He didn't mean to look down on Zhao Qiang's family. It's a misunderstanding. Actually, our family and Zhao Qiang's family are old friends."
Zhang Lingfeng chuckled and said, "You think you're some kind of beauty? Get out of here!" After shouting at her, Zhang Lingfeng followed Zhao Qiang and the others out of the hotel, leaving Lu Chun Chun feeling very embarrassed. She stood there for a long time, not knowing what to do.
Liu Fang also called out, "Brother Weidong, Uncle Zhao, wait for me!"