Ming Xinyue chuckled, finally feeling a sense of satisfaction. She thought to herself that even though she had been so low-key, she had still attracted the shameless flirting of Lin Yao. The saying "evil people will be punished by other evil people" was absolutely true. Thinking this, Ming Xinyue looked up and gave Zhu Youmei an encouraging look, but unfortunately, the other woman didn't see it.
"Then let's have hot pot. It'll be a good way to let the fire burn and my bad luck will be over, haha." Xiang Honglian readily accepted Lin Yao's suggestion. Hot pot is lively and can help control expenses. Even if she was happy, she still had to consider the family's finances. Lin Yao's suggestion suited her situation perfectly, making her happy without spending too much money.
"Little Lizi, let's go together. We can't run away this time." Xiang Honglian waved to Chen Zhili, who was one seat away to her right. Her movements were no longer as gentle as usual, showing Lin Yao a rare display of female strength.
“Great! Of course I’ll go if Sister Lian is treating. I can’t refuse.” Chen Zhili never called Xiang Honglian “Sister Hong” because he said the name sounded too vulgar. He also privately praised Xiang Honglian for her beauty and talent, saying she was a classical beauty as lovely as a lotus. Therefore, he always addressed Xiang Honglian as “Sister Lian.” However, his private comments only reached Lin Yao’s ears and were not known to Xiang Honglian.
"Honglian, tell me, what's the good news? Don't keep it to yourself." Although Zhu Youmei often bickered with Xiang Honglian, she couldn't suppress her gossipy nature and couldn't help but ask at this moment.
"Haha. Didn't I tell you before that there was a female classmate in middle school who never got along with me? Last time I brought our Xiaolinzi to a class reunion, I ran into her too." Xiang Honglian took a deep breath and began to tell her story.
"My dad was framed a while ago, and as a result, he was fired when he was about to retire. It turned out that it was all done by that Song Tiantian. That night, she even humiliated me in front of my classmates. Fortunately, our Xiao Linzi stepped up and saved my face, but it also made me realize that she was the one who orchestrated my dad's troubles."
"It's only been a few days, and Song Tiantian's corrupt father was invited by the government for tea. Hahahaha, hahahaha, that's so satisfying."
Xiang Honglian's tone gradually rose, and her voice grew louder, as if she wanted to vent the repression in her heart.
As she laughed, her voice began to tremble with a hint of tears. Everyone felt a pang of sadness. Even Zhu Youmei, who was usually argumentative, fell silent. She simply handed Xiang Honglian a tissue from the other side of the partition and whispered, "Don't be sad, things will get better."
Taking the tissue, Xiang Honglian gave a soft "hmm," then turned to look at Lin Yao, "Little Lin, you really are my lucky star. The first time I took you out, you figured out the truth about what was weighing on my dad's mind. In just a few days, that guy got his comeuppance. Now my dad is out and about all the time, and he even went to his workplace to file a complaint. He's no longer like before, hiding at home and afraid to go out and see anyone."
"What goes around comes around. Sister Xiang, your family will have a better and better life."
Lin Yao was very happy for Xiang Honglian and secretly praised Ge Yong for his efficiency. He thought that the security guards should receive more bonuses and subsidies. Although his mother, Lin Hongmei, never restricted the security team's finances, the personal income of the security guards was still strictly issued according to regulations. Even if they had rice but no food coupons, the security guards could not receive the rewards they deserved.
"Yes, yes. Xiao Linzi is right. Your classmate deserved what she got. It would be best if she herself were punished. Honglian, don't be sad. Things will get better and better for your family in the future." Zhu Youmei completely put aside the conflict between the two of them and tried her best to comfort Honglian.
In contrast, mutual dislike or frequent bickering between colleagues does not necessarily mean that the two are at odds. Neither Xiang Honglian nor Zhu Youmei are inherently bad women. Therefore, on important matters, Zhu Youmei immediately sided with Xiang Honglian.
"Let's split the bill today. It's a habit of our office. We can also have a get-together since Honglian is here." The office staff member from Mingda University spoke up, which was met with a chorus of agreement from everyone. Even Cai Na, who had previously seemed the least enthusiastic, pouted and accepted the suggestion.
"No need, I can still afford this amount of money. Our family isn't in that situation yet." Xiang Honglian was somewhat moved. She was really excited to receive everyone's support after sharing her feelings. "Today is a celebration, the prelude to our family's great turnaround. I'm definitely inviting everyone. Please come!"
"Sister Xiang, later at home, you can take an enamel basin, light a fire in it, and then you and your uncle can jump over it three times. In our hometown, this is called 'jumping over the fire basin,' which is to ward off bad luck," Lin Yao suggested enthusiastically.
"Really?" Xiang Honglian believed it and quickly asked for details about "jumping into the fire basin." She also decided to go to the supermarket after get off work to buy an enamel basin. These days, almost no one uses washbasins anymore, and even if they do, they are mostly plastic and cannot withstand fire.
Ming Xinyue originally wanted to reprimand Lin Yao for his superstitious activities, but upon seeing Xiang Honglian's enthusiasm, she immediately changed her mind. She merely glanced at Lin Yao with an indescribably charming expression.
======================================
Many thanks to "穿越成真", "绿茶解渴", "maxxis999" (3 votes) and "落叶飄飄" for their monthly ticket support! Thank you!
Many thanks to "o逝水清o" and "轻轻的别离开" for their generous donations! Old friends are always the best!
(!)
For the latest and fastest chapters, please visit <NieShu Novel Network www.NieS>. Reading is a pleasure, and we suggest you bookmark it.
Chapter 296 A Crow's Mouth
Please remember our website domain name <www.NieS>, or search for "NieShu Novel Network" on Baidu.
7K4 chapters, a total of 16,000 effective words in the main text today. Although it's much less than the previous few days, I still had to use all my time except for eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom to write and rush it out. I can only say that my efficiency has dropped a lot, but there's nothing I can do about it.
With only half an hour left until next month, the eligibility for the new book monthly ticket ranking should be finalized. Thank you all for your support!
I bow in gratitude!
=================
"Shuguo Xiangxie" is a hot pot restaurant. Although Lin Yao believes that hot pot outside of Sichuan is not authentic, "Shuguo Xiangxie" is still considered one of the better hot pot restaurants outside of Sichuan. After all, even specialty restaurants must take into account the local people's eating habits and tastes when they go to different places. Otherwise, they can only become a so-called authentic restaurant that is only popular for a short time. Locals will not come back after they have tried it.
Competition requires consideration of local conditions. Just like China's unique characteristics, many internationally popular rules and practices must be adapted to local customs when they come to China. Otherwise, they will be dragged down and unable to achieve the fastest development.
"Shuguo Xiangxie," a hot pot restaurant that knows how to adapt, is doing exceptionally well, with the chilly spring breeze keeping it packed with customers. In a city like Beijing, hot pot restaurants are a highly seasonal business. If they don't make the most of the cold weather, it will be difficult for the owners to survive the summer and autumn. After all, in Beijing, where land is incredibly valuable, the rent alone is enough to make investors' hearts bleed.
"If this were in Sichuan, with so many customers, even the hottest days of summer wouldn't affect the business of the hot pot restaurant. How much money would they make?" The short, chubby hot pot restaurant owner thought to himself as he looked at the bustling hall, before quickly dismissing his idea.
Just kidding! The thought of Sichuan having more hot pot restaurants than newsstands, and the intense competition, is enough to keep one up at night. So the short, chubby boss thought he had come to Beijing. The cost of living in the capital is very high, and the profits here far exceed those in Sichuan, even if the restaurant is closed for the entire summer.
Two men and six elegant women—a group of eight—stood out quite a bit, attracting a lot of attention among the many large northern men.
The entire hall was incredibly noisy, even more so than the hall of a hot pot restaurant in Chengdu.
This is mainly because northerners are good at talking; they can make even the smallest thing sound amazing. Coupled with their loud voices and fluent Beijing accent, Lin Yao felt like he had entered a futures trading hall. If he didn't shout, he couldn't communicate with his companions who were two meters away.
Lin Yao enjoyed the lively atmosphere, feeling that this was the kind of life ordinary people should have. The hustle and bustle, the excitement—just talking while eating a meal was enough to break a sweat—it was simply exhilarating.
As everyone took their seats and the dishes were served, the atmosphere instantly reached its peak.
At Lin Yao's suggestion, the usually reserved office ladies all let go of their reserve and expressed their congratulations and blessings to Xiang Honglian's family in the most enthusiastic way.
Beer, of course! All the ladies have a high alcohol tolerance, which is a key requirement that Hongyuan Company pays special attention to when recruiting. After all, it's unavoidable to occasionally invite people to accompany clients, and without a high alcohol tolerance, it's impossible to liven up the atmosphere, and the women are likely to suffer.
In this regard, Hongyuan is not like many companies that always think of female employees sacrificing their sexuality to gain business. Even when accompanying clients, they will always consult the internal staff in advance and provide additional subsidies as travel expenses.
Aside from Lin Yao and Xiang Honglian, the others only sipped their beer, as they still had work to do in the afternoon. It wouldn't be appropriate for the office staff to be sitting there reeking of alcohol, nor was it the style of the office staff who always paid attention to their image.
Xiang Honglian had clearly let go of her pent-up emotions. Her father's long-standing frustration had finally been released. The night before, when they received the news, the two of them even drank together at home.
They were drinking Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) at the time. My father, who had a high alcohol tolerance, actually got drunk in front of Xiang Honglian, which was rare. Xiang Honglian hadn't even drunk half of what she was used to, yet she still managed to get him drunk, making him drink twice as much as two of her fathers. This was clearly a happy kind of drunkenness. As a result, Xiang Honglian realized that her father had been under more pressure than she had ever felt. So this time, she was particularly uninhibited when drinking with Lin Yao. She no longer had the delicate and gentle demeanor of Lin Daiyu and had become a heroic and valiant woman.
"Come on, if you're a brother, let's do it!" Xiang Honglian said in a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) tone, which startled one of her colleagues, who stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
Who says women aren't bold? They just haven't had the chance to show it yet. Once they let go of their inhibitions, they can be just as impressive as men.
Lin Yao tilted his head back and poured the full glass of beer down his throat, feeling a bit bloated in his stomach. He really didn't know what Xiang Honglian's stomach was made of. She clearly didn't have a belly at all, and she wasn't afraid of men at all when drinking beer. She didn't even need to go to the toilet, which made Lin Yao, who was a little bloated, too embarrassed to ask to go to the bathroom.