The atmosphere at the dinner table was still strange. Jiang Fan didn't quite understand what was going on, but he ate the meat seriously. He wasn't particularly interested in hot pot, but he didn't dislike it either.
At a square table, Yang Jin sat opposite Jiang Fan. This elder sister had a very soft personality, but when it came to eating spicy food, it made Jiang Fan feel like his throat was hurting just by watching. On the contrary, Su Qing didn't like spicy food much, so she added sugar to her condiments.
Ji Jing didn't know what she was thinking, as she lowered her head and stared blankly at the meat in her bowl.
At this moment, Su Qing picked up an abalone and handed it to Jiang Fan, but before it could land on the plate, Ji Jing suddenly spoke up.
"He doesn't eat seafood."
Su Qing's chopsticks stopped in mid-air, and she tilted her head, frowned, and looked at Ji Jing, chuckling softly.
"Huh, how do you know he doesn't eat seafood?"
In this laughter, Jiang Fan and Yang Jin didn't hear any sense of joking, but rather a hint of sarcasm. Ji Jing raised her head and looked at Su Qing, then lowered her head again and weakly replied.
"Yesterday, when we were at the street stall, Qian Wan asked Jiang Fan for scallops and clams. Tang, the deputy general manager, said so, and I just happened to hear it."
"Huh, we've known each other for several years, but I haven't heard you, Miss Ji, pay attention to a man's lifestyle."
Su Qing was aggressive, as if she wanted Ji Jing to say something. However, Ji Jing had changed from her usual lively demeanor. She lowered her head to eat and ignored Su Qing. At this time, Yang Jin spoke softly.
"Jiang Fan went to help in the operations department a few days ago. Ji Jing, are you thanking our integrated department's face for that? Next time, Jiang Fan can't be lent out. We'll have to charge for it."
Upon hearing the mention of money, Jiang Fan's eyes lit up! However, he was hit with a ruthless blow from Yang Jin, who told him that he wouldn't get any money from it.
After the hot pot meal, Ji Dama, who had been eagerly demanding to eat hot pot, didn't eat much. She ate even less than the snacks she had before coming. Yang Jin looked at Ji Jing, who seemed to be losing interest, and asked in a low voice if she was feeling unwell.
Ji Jing nodded forcefully.
Currently, she felt very itchy and uncomfortable. She wanted to go home and take a bath immediately.
Jiang Fan wasn't a god. It wasn't because of him that Ji Jing could suddenly accept physical contact with the opposite gender. Ji Jing's face looked even worse. Finally, with a tone of grievance, she stood up and told Yang Jin and Su Qing to take a taxi back. She needed to go home now.
As they were leaving, Su Qing suddenly spoke up.
"Have your parents called you recently?"
Ji Jing's body trembled slightly. She turned around, bit her lip, and shook her head. Su Qing sighed and waved at Ji Jing while holding her forehead.
"Next time they call you, come to my office, and I'll pick up the call."
Ji Jing ran away from the hot pot restaurant. When she went downstairs to pay, she was told that the girl in the short skirt had already paid when she arrived. After leaving, she sat in the driver's seat, leaned over the steering wheel, and cried loudly. It seemed like she had done something wrong that she would never have done in her life.
Jiang Fan, who was eating on the second floor, was playing with the abalone in his plate with his chopsticks. He had eaten this thing once, and chewing it was not much different from chewing rubber. Jiang Fan didn't know that the only time he ate abalone, it was not cooked. He didn't ask, and no one else knew he ate it half-cooked.
While playing with the abalone, Jiang Fan whispered with doubt.
"Qingqing, when you mentioned Ji Dama's family, her reaction was a bit strange. Is there something going on here?"
"If you call me Qingqing again, I'll push you into the hot pot, believe it or not? You care so much about your Aunt Ji, why don't you just ask her yourself? Why are you asking me? What? Does holding your Aunt Ji feel very good? You miss her right after she left?"
Su Qing retorted angrily to Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan tilted his head and looked at Su Qing, furrowing his brows.
"Did you eat gunpowder? Aren't we friends, aren't we allies? What are you thinking? I just wanted to save some money with Ji Jing to buy clothes. You're filthy, degrading, and full of obscene thoughts. I, Jiang Fan, am ashamed to be associated with you."
Puh!
Yang Jin couldn't help but laugh. Su Qing stood up to pick up the hot pot. Jiang Fan and Yang Jin stood up at the same time to stop this lady. Su Qing snorted, and Jiang Fan didn't bother with this woman anymore. He whispered to Yang Jin to ask how much the LV suit cost. Could this casual suit be worn to work?
As a result, Su Qing got angry again.
"You wear whatever you want to work now. Do you care whether it's casual or formal attire? Jiang Fan, are you being a little too sentimental? Come on, Jin!"
"Just one more bite!"
After work, Yang Jin was treated as a younger sister by Ji Jing and Su Qing.
That's right, a younger sister.
She was older than Su Qing and Ji Jing, but her personality was more childish and naive.
Su Qing and Yang Jin left in the same car. Jiang Fan waved to them and told Yang Jin to send him a text message when she got home, so he wouldn't worry. Yang Jin leaned against the car window and joked, asking if Jiang Fan wanted to receive a message from Miss Su. Jiang Fan quickly shook his head.
"No! I don't! Driver uncle, be careful. This lady eats children."
The driver uncle smiled innocently. The car gradually disappeared into the distance. Jiang Fan looked at the clothes in his hand, looked up at the sky again, and thought that since he had bought such good clothes, he should also buy a new pair of underwear and socks to match them.
Then Jiang Fan went to buy a portion of fried braised pork with sauce and two cups of milk tea.
He hailed a taxi.
"Sir, to Xingjia Wangfu."
Today, in one of the households of Xingjia Wangfu, the atmosphere was still warm. Li Jinhe watched her husband and daughter with vigilance, fearing that these two would try to cheat. Then, she cautiously threw out a card.
"A three."
"Four Js!"
Tang Wan, sitting next to her, finally found an opportunity for revenge. She looked at Li Jinhe, who only had one card left, with triumph. However, Lao Tang calmly threw out two cards and said calmly,
"Wangzha (a pair of kings, the highest combination in some Chinese card games)."
Tang Wan was instantly stunned. When she saw Lao Tang throw out a three, she slammed her cards on the table and shouted.
"Lao Tang! We are the farmers, and my mom is the landlord. You... you'll never get a chance to win as a farmer in this lifetime. I... I won't play with you anymore."
Li Jinhe took half a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and threw it to Lao Tang. Lao Tang looked delighted, while Tang Wan sneered,
"What a loser."
Li Jinhe chuckled, hugged Lao Tang's arm, and said with a sly smile,
"Well, he's my husband. Who lets me have you and not you? Jealous?"
"I..."
"Go and wash the dishes. You have to accept the consequences of your bet."
"I..."
Tang Wan was speechless. She struggled to find a reason to refute but couldn't. She glared at Li Jinhe without moving and then took out her phone to call Jiang Fan. When he picked up, she immediately complained,
"Wow... Jiang Fan, your mother-in-law is bullying me."
Mother-in-law bullying Tang Wan?
Jiang Fan didn't react immediately. He was almost tempted to ask "which mother-in-law," but he restrained himself. He whispered that he had arrived downstairs. After hanging up, Tang Wan's mood brightened. She looked at Li Jinhe proudly and said arrogantly,
"I have Jiang Fan!"
Li Jinhe looked at Tang Wan with disdain and said, "What a loser." Tang Wan shouted back, "I'm willing!" Within a few minutes, Jiang Fan arrived. When Tang Wan opened the door, she looked dejected again, pitifully narrating how she had been mercilessly oppressed by Li Jinhe and Lao Tang. Jiang Fan chuckled and held up the snacks he had brought, offering them to Tang Wan.
Eating stir-fried braised pork and drinking warm milk tea, Tang Wan forgot about her earlier displeasure. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, grinning foolishly. Tang Wan loved eating these rich, sticky foods, like braised pork mixed with sesame paste. Jiang Fan didn't like it; it was too greasy.
The other cup of milk tea was naturally for the mother-in-law, while Lao Tang only drank tea.
As Tang Wan ate the snacks, she asked vaguely,
"Did you go shopping for clothes? Hmm? Why is it my least favorite LV? Jiang Fan, your sense of aesthetics is getting worse. Hey? Where did you get the money? Hey? I just noticed you changed your clothes!"
Jiang Fan chuckled softly,
"You forget everything when you have something to eat. I talked with Tu Xiao about our matter. The company was satisfied with the result, so they asked Yang Jin to select some clothes for me as a reward, saying that I would meet people with higher status in the future and couldn't dress too casually."
"Didn't I buy you a suit? Is Yang Jin that Yang Jin? His taste is terrible."
Jiang Fan chuckled again. Tang Wan put down her milk tea, took the bag, and took out the suit. She discussed the pros and cons of LV with Li Jinhe. In Tang Wan's mouth, there was nothing good about it. She believed that men should wear Gucci, as the name and style suited mature men. LV was more suitable for young people and casual wear.
Lao Tang, who had been smiling, caught the name mentioned by Jiang Fan. He poured a cup of hot tea for Jiang Fan and said with a soft laugh,
"How did you get involved with Tu Xiao from the eighth district? He started as a thug and carved out his status in the city with a knife. Try to avoid people like him."
Jiang Fan held the teacup with both hands and chuckled softly,
"I'm also doing it for my own benefit. The construction of Rongyao Mall is about to begin. Due to some connections, I'm involved in the conflict between Su Qing and Gao Luxing."
He told the whole story to Lao Tang in detail. After hearing it, Wen Shu frowned and asked,
"Twelve million two hundred thousand yuan. After deducting layer by layer, there won't be much left. It's just that Tu Xiao's sudden transformation surprises me. Your thinking is also correct. Tu Xiao indeed dare not run away with the money. Compared to Rongyao, he's still lacking. I'm just curious about how much you deducted."
"Hmm... I gave Tu Xiao eight million yuan, and then I took back thirteen thousand yuan from him and put it in my own pocket."
Pu.
Lao Tang couldn't help but spray tea all over the tea table. Jiang Fan stood up and went to the kitchen to get a cloth. He was very skilled at it. Lao Tang took the cloth from his son-in-law's hand, indicating that he would do it. Jiang Fan sat down next to Tang Wan, and Tang Wan abandoned Li Jinhe and started to poke Jiang Fan's face.
Acne!
Lao Tang looked at his daughter tormenting his son-in-law and frowned,
"You mean you directly deducted four million yuan of Tu Xiao's profit and then took back thirteen thousand yuan from him? Don't do such things next time. If you need money, just tell me. It's just a hundred thousand yuan. Tu Xiao is a dangerous person. Even if he cuts you, he can still live his life tomorrow, and it's his subordinates who will go to jail. Did he threaten you?"
Jiang Fan shook his head with a smile.
"No, we even had lunch together."