"Mumu, did you pass the Intermediate Arts and Crafts Artist qualification exam last year? Why didn't you call me to tell me the good news?"

"Aunt, I've been badly trapped in the two stocks you recommended to me last year. I don't think it will take me ten or eight years to get out of this!"

"Second Aunt, the bank where your son-in-law works doesn't need to collect deposits this year, right?"

"Uncle Wei Yu, you asked me to contact Zhou Ying about endorsing your products. Her agent said they need to arrange another time to talk."

…

Xiao Xingyu had a trump card in hand, and was determined to fight back one by one against all those who gave him "valuable advice". He threw out one card to solve each one, and his attacks were absolutely precise. Everyone at the table was soon made to shrink back in fear by him.

"Xingyu." Seeing the atmosphere deteriorate so much, Xiao Weizhou spoke up at the right time. His cautious tone made people suspect that this father was afraid of his own son. "Actually, it's Grandpa... Ever since his serious illness last year, his health has never recovered. The doctor told the old man to take care of himself and rest more..."

"But the truth is, he seems to be working even harder than before. Previously, he fired a kiln every ten days, but now he fires one every three. We tried to persuade him, but after repeated attempts, he got angry! Later, he calmed down and had a meeting with us. He told us frankly what he was thinking. He meant that he was gradually feeling that he didn't have enough time, and asked us not to interfere with him if we couldn't help."

Everyone was silent, even Sasa put down his chopsticks.

When it comes to grandpa, the topic seems to become different. Xiao Xingyu's anger fades away, and he loosens his arms around his chest, but his lips are tightly pursed, showing no intention of expressing his opinion.

But everyone seemed to be expecting him to say something. The silence lasted for about 20 seconds before Zhou Xia stood up and said, "Why aren't you eating fish? Today's fish is very fresh!"

As he spoke, he took the spoon from the fish dish and scooped out the fattest piece of meat from the chest of the grouper. He then passed his slender waist over Xiao Xingyu and placed it on Xiao Weizhou's bowl and plate, "Uncle Weizhou, have a try!"

"Everyone, eat so much!" Zhou Xia put the serving spoon back on the fish plate, picked up the serving chopsticks and picked up a piece of sea cucumber for Xiao Weiyu: "Uncle Weiyu, this sea cucumber seems to be the one you brought back from Dalian last time! My dad has already finished it."

Yao Ma, the waitress, immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, Zhou Xia is really sharp-eyed. Where else can we buy such good sea cucumbers here?"

"I thought so!" Zhou Xia smiled like a flower.

Everyone saw Zhou Xia's efforts, and no one wanted to eat in an ice cellar, so the atmosphere at the table became lively again under her leadership. Everyone automatically deleted the short memory just now, and spoke warm words as if they were resurrected, and the temperature at the table gradually warmed up.

Zhang Moyan looked at Zhou Xia, who responded positively to every topic with a good attitude, and felt that she really had the feeling of Xue Baochai, who was graceful, good at dealing with people, and good at reconciling conflicts. Most importantly, she was also very good-looking. The atmosphere, which was freezing cold just now, gradually showed a trend of returning to a happy state with her efforts.

Zhang Moyan has always been clumsy in dealing with people, so she has a little admiration for this kind of woman who is good at getting along with everyone.

Suddenly a tall figure stood up beside him.

The scene that had just become lively and busy suddenly became collectively banned.

Xiao Xingyu was poking at the food in his bowl when he saw Xiao Huai stand up. He stared at him for a while, then put down his chopsticks and asked, "Mr. Huai, what can I do for you?"

Xiao Huai's voice was not filled with anger. "Since you are a member of the Xiao family, you should be clear about your mission. It's wrong to let the elders remind you. Why are you pretending to be confused now?"

Well, the temperature just rose and now it’s probably back to 0 degrees.

But it can be seen that Xiao Huai's remarks were deeply supported by everyone. Everyone's face was glowing, and it was almost as if the words "If you can say something, say more" were written on their faces.

The air seemed to become a little sharp, and a welcome banquet turned into a Hongmen Banquet in seconds. The meal in a large family was indeed similar to that in Hong Kong dramas, with undercurrents appearing during the meal.

Xiao Xingyu's face darkened, and his still handsome face gradually became expressionless.

His silence finally made Xiao Huai slightly angry. "Grandpa has loved you the most since you were little. Now that his situation has been made clear to you, are you still acting like aloof? You know exactly what he wants and how anxious he is, yet you remain completely indifferent."

“…”

"I hope you won't regret it later."

The two of them exchanged glances from a distance, and Xiao Huai's words were so harsh that you could hear a pin drop on the dining table.

"None of your business is my business." Xiao Xingyu responded coldly while sitting in the chair.

In this way, the opposition between the two people could not be more obvious.

The temperature in the living room dropped by about another 5 degrees.

"Don't worry about me?" Xiao Huai's well-tailored suit heaved with movement. "Xiao Xingyu, anyone has the right to say this to me, except you."

This sentence seemed to have touched something, and Xiao Xingyu's momentum obviously retreated. The always proud young master did not even refute it.

"Many people with mediocre talents are diligently working on re-firing celadon glaze," Xiao Huai said, calming himself down. "You clearly possess unparalleled talent, yet you've allowed yourself to degenerate, wasting your time and energy on things that don't contribute to your success... It's truly disappointing."

After he finished speaking, the others sat down and the whole scene fell into dead silence.

Xiao Huai's voice replayed in everyone's mind several times like a lingering sound. The younger generation was fine, but the elders all had complex expressions of melancholy and joy on their faces.

The next moment, voices of seconding began to emerge regardless of the consequences.

"Xiao Huai said exactly what I wanted to say, Xingyu, Grandpa needs you. Although he didn't ask you to come back, you should still think about him a little bit!"

"You are capable, unlike us. We feel very sorry for you being like this now!"

"You're still young, and there's nothing wrong with taking a few years to do what you like. But you also have to consider Grandpa. Don't you want to fulfill his wish while he's still alive?"

"Even if you can't complete the re-firing of the celadon glaze, you can at least be the best in the industry! Don't waste your talent, you're really just being mediocre!"

…

Xiao Xingyu was almost drowned by the saliva of his elders.

But facing a group attack from a moral high ground, the more he turned his back on them, the more he looked like a pagan, so he wisely didn't make any rebuttal. This was definitely not easy for a man with a good mouth, as you can see from his face which is now uglier than a shoe sole.

"He's doing nothing?" a voice said with a slight nasal tone, very confused. "How many people have you met who are as mediocre as him?"

This was so inconsistent with the main theme that everyone fell silent.

Zhang Moyan was still holding a half-wrapped crab leg in her hand. Facing all the eyes that were staring at her, she straightened her back.

Although I knew it was definitely not my turn to speak at this time, I couldn't help but want to speak out when I saw such a proud person being besieged and had no choice but to keep silent.