Jiang Qingqing, seeing her husband suddenly turn serious, stared with her mouth slightly agape.
"What are you staring at? Let's go eat." Zhang Liunian buttoned up his clothes, lightly pecked her lips, took her small hand, and they walked out of the room together.
"Uncle Zhao, please eat." At the dinner table, Zhang Liunian served his wife and daughter, then Uncle Zhao Zhijie, before finally eating himself.
Zhao Zhijie noticed this detail and nodded with a smile, "Good, good, good, I won't be polite."
"Consider it your home. You can come often. Huabao likes you too!" Zhang Liunian picked up some braised pork and said while eating.
Huabao, hearing her name, looked adorably at Zhao Zhijie and said in her milky voice, "Huabao likes Grandpa Zhao because you help me take care of the little yellow chicken."
"Hahaha, alright, Grandpa will come often to help you take care of the little yellow chicken." Zhao Zhijie was quite happy to be liked by the little tot.
Huabao was also happy to have a grandpa willing to help her take care of the chick.
"Uncle Zhao, stay at my place tonight. We have a completion banquet this evening, so you can join the fun," Zhang Liunian said, inviting him as he thought of the completion banquet at Daming Lake that night.
"Completion banquet?" Zhao Zhijie looked surprised.
"Didn't I lease Daming Lake? So I built a house there for the elder brother who helps me watch the lake. It's completed today, and tonight is the completion banquet," Zhang Liunian explained specifically when he saw his confusion.
Zhao Zhijie understood. So that was it. He was too good to his elder brother! Building a house for him just to watch the lake, that was quite a gesture!
"I have something to do tonight and can't stay. I'll wait until your new house is built before coming to stay!" Zhao Zhijie still refused, not wanting his god-nephew to drive him home at night.
Zhang Liunian didn't insist. After lunch, he took Zhao Zhijie to Daming Lake and let him witness how his crayfish were prepared.
Because of this, Zhao Zhijie discovered Zhang Liunian's secret recipe and got the idea of asking Zhang Liunian to sell him some of the seasoning.
"Uncle Zhao, if you want some, I'll give you a few bottles." What money or not, it was just some seasoning, and the most common kind. Zhang Liunian didn't take it to heart.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Zhijie smiled and accepted. As soon as he returned to the county town, he gave some to each of his disciples, saying it was his god-nephew's seasoning and that they could order from him if they needed any.
Thus, without Zhang Liunian's knowledge, another business opportunity had arrived.
At the same time, after lunch, Zhang Wenxue made a phone call to his second son, the content of which was long, but the meaning was clear: they would no longer concern themselves with the affairs of their three sons.
They could communicate and resolve any issues themselves; he wouldn't get involved. From now on, he and his wife would help their eldest son raise his son and could not go to Nancheng for the time being.
After Zhang Liuxing hung up, he couldn't quite process the meaning of his parents' words.
They said their eldest brother was divorced, their youngest sister was remarrying, and since his third brother had replaced him as the hope of the entire village and intended to lead the village to a better life.
Most importantly, his third brother actually had a motorcycle worth twenty to thirty thousand yuan, and it was the Honda he had always coveted.
His third brother had replaced him? And was enjoying a motorcycle he himself didn't have?
"Bang!" His fist landed heavily on the table, hurting his own hand, but Zhang Liuxing didn't notice. He got up and went to the window.
Ever since he was admitted to university, he had been the hope of his family and the entire village.
At home, his parents favored him, and in the village, everyone admired him.
Although he didn't show that he cared about these things, nor did he admit that he was the hope of the village, nor did he do anything for those people, he still enjoyed their favoritism and liked having everyone's attention focused on him.
This gave him a feeling of being a savior, and at the same time, he enjoyed preferential treatment.
But after not seeing them for a few months, his third brother had replaced him. Who gave him permission to replace him?
He didn't allow anyone to do that, even if it was his third brother, he wouldn't agree.
His glory belonged only to him; he wouldn't share it with anyone.
Especially not with his third brother, who had married a celestial fairy.
He decided. In a couple of days, he would go back. This time, he would prepare some gifts for everyone, to let them know that he was still their hope.
Zhang Liunian was unaware of this. At this moment, he was sitting on a tractor, sending Zhao Zhijie back to the county town, and incidentally, delivering goods to Nancheng.
After dropping off Zhao Zhijie in the county town, the tractor headed straight for Nancheng. This time, he was going to the glass factory to order some glass bottles, so he arrived a bit early.
800 catties of crayfish, 300 catties of braised meat, totaling 920 yuan. With the money, he went to the glass factory.
It was a bit early today, and the glass factory hadn't closed yet when he arrived.
"Uncle, I want to order some glass bottles. Can you notify someone for me?" Zhang Liunian produced a pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes like a magician and handed it to the security guard.
The security guard, honest and upright, didn't want to accept it. "No need, it's just a matter of speaking. Please wait, I'll go ask."
After speaking, the uncle turned to find the factory director. However, the official director was not there, but the deputy director, Tang Shimen, was.
Upon learning that someone was looking for them to order glass bottles, the latter thought of something and asked the uncle to let the person in.
As Zhang Liunian entered, the latter's expression was slightly stunned. After a moment, he asked, "May I ask your name?"
"My name is Zhang Liunian. Hello, Deputy Director Tang." Zhang Liunian introduced himself proactively. He didn't notice that as soon as he gave his name, Tang Shimen's eyes flickered, and he sized him up discreetly before stepping forward to shake his hand. "Hello, Comrade Zhang. I heard you want to order some glass bottles from us. Let's sit down and chat."
Zhang Liunian released his hand and sat opposite him. "That's right."
"May I ask what kind of glass bottles Comrade Zhang needs?" Deputy Director Tang pointed to a cabinet of glass samples beside him.
On this cabinet were large and small, various types of glass products. They had produced samples of everything they could manufacture.
Zhang Liunian followed his gaze, mentally calculating, and pointed to glass bottles the size of fruit preserves jars.
"I need them for food. This size is just right. Deputy Director Tang, what price can you offer me?" Zhang Liunian stood up, took out a glass bottle about as tall as his palm, and examined it carefully, but couldn't discern much.
After all, he didn't have much contact with glass products. He didn't need to understand them; he just needed a bottle.
"It depends on how many you need. Within a hundred, it's one yuan fifty. From one hundred to five hundred, it's one yuan thirty. From five hundred to a thousand, it's one yuan two," Deputy Director Tang began to quote prices in a businesslike manner.
Zhang Liunian smiled upon hearing this. The price was simply malicious.
In his previous life, although he started his factory a few years later, the bottles he obtained cost only seventy-five cents each. Yet, this deputy director, with his eyes wide open, quoted such a high price. Was he bullying him because he didn't understand anything, or was he treating him like a fool?
Thinking of this, Zhang Liunian looked up and also sized up Tang Shimen, who let him look, with an expression as if he had done nothing.
Sly old fox!