Chapter 180 Don't bother showing off your low-budget milk tea.
These words sounded like charity, but they made Wang Meihua's stomach churn.
She knew Lu Rensheng too well. This man was selfish to the core. If he didn't really have no decent heir, why would he condescend to come to this wretched place?
Lu Yaoting was already impatient. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. "Dad, why waste your breath on her? If my older brother knows what's good for him, he'll come with us. If not, then forget it."
Lu Rensheng ignored him and stared at Wang Meihua: "Make Lu Zheng come out to see me."
Wang Meihua frowned. Yes, this was her son's life. What right did she have to make decisions for him? Back then, Lu Zheng said he didn't care about the Lu family's wealth, but how could she know he didn't have any regrets about this life in the poor mountains?
As she hesitated, Xia Qianqian stepped forward, blocking Wang Meihua's path: "Uncle Lu, Lu Zheng isn't home right now. If you need anything, you can just tell me."
Lu Rensheng raised an eyebrow and looked Xia Qianqian up and down. She was clearly a young wife, but her eyes showed a kind of tenacity, making her more composed than Wang Meihua, the mother.
After returning to Hong Kong, Lu Rensheng immediately ordered his men to investigate Xia Qianqian's background. To their surprise, they discovered that she was the carefully groomed legitimate daughter of the Xia family in Nancheng.
The Xia family was once deeply entrenched in the southern business world. Although they later declined, the fact that they could raise such a clever and insightful daughter shows that they had an extraordinary background.
"It's a pity that the Xia family has fallen; otherwise, they could have been a great help to Lu Zheng."
What surprised him even more was that even though the Xia family had already collapsed, Xia Qianqian was still able to make large transactions with merchants in Fangcheng.
Even in Hong Kong, everything is hard currency. Where does she get such a powerful source of goods?
This discovery made Lu Rensheng look at Xia Qianqian with new respect.
He would have given no thought to an ordinary country woman, but the resources Xia Qianqian possessed piqued his interest. Even without the Xia family as a backer, she was still a rare talent based solely on her access to these resources.
“However…” Lu Rensheng flicked his cigarette ash, his eyes becoming serious, “Having a source of goods is not enough. If she can hand over this channel, or prove that she is useful to the Lu family, it’s not impossible to let her stay by Lu Zheng’s side.”
Lu Rensheng was calculating in his mind, but put on a kind smile: "Qianqian, look how far along you are in your pregnancy. How can you stand in the wind like this? Come inside, come inside and talk. Don't let our Lu family's precious grandson get cold, or Lu Zheng will definitely be furious with me when he comes back."
He deliberately emphasized the words "Lu family's golden grandson," his tone conveying a deliberate intimacy.
Seeing this, Lu Yaoting felt it was a perfect opportunity to impress the beauty. He took the initiative to push open the creaking wooden door, bowed, and gestured "please," thinking himself incredibly charming.
“Miss Xia, please come in.” He paused, then said in a gentlemanly manner, “This time I brought some top-quality Ceylon black tea from Hong Kong. I’ll brew it for you to try later. It’s authentic Hong Kong-style afternoon tea, I guarantee you’ve never had it before.”
Xia Qianqian looked at him and sneered inwardly: This father and son, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, what kind of play are they putting on?
But she was Lu Zheng's lawfully wedded wife, and they were in his own home, so he couldn't be impolite to his guests. She nodded slightly and stepped aside, saying, "Come in."
The Lu father and son stepped across the threshold one after the other, their eyes immediately scanning the room.
It's called a living room, but it's actually just a large brick house that's been converted into a single space. There's a heated earthen bed on the left against the wall, and an eight-immortal table with four long benches on the right. The family eats here when it's cold.
But the table looked unusual. Although it was a common solid wood style, it was polished to a mirror shine and covered with an elegant off-white tablecloth, which made it look particularly refreshing in this drab farmhouse.
Lu Rensheng's eyes darkened. To be able to use such good wood, it seems that Lu Zheng has been living a good life these past few years.
If Xia Qianqian knew what he was thinking, she would definitely sneer in her heart: If she wasn't afraid of attracting trouble by being too conspicuous, she would have had this dilapidated courtyard renovated long ago. Why would she make herself suffer by living in this drafty mud-brick house?
Lu Rensheng sat down at the table with an air of authority. Just as Xia Qianqian was about to go to the kitchen to boil water, Lu Yaoting eagerly snatched the teapot away, saying, "Miss Xia, please rest. I can handle this kind of rough work."
He proudly pulled out several packets of creamer with foreign writing printed on them from his bag, along with a small packet of sugar and a few cookies wrapped in oil paper.
In an era of scarcity, this was considered a rare item.
Lu Yaoting quickly prepared the tea and placed it in an enamel cup in front of Xia Qianqian, a smug look on his face: "Miss Xia, would you like to try some? This is authentic Hong Kong-style afternoon tea. You probably haven't had it before in this place, have you?"
He had expected to see Xia Qianqian's amazed expression, but instead she just smiled faintly, her gaze falling on the cup of tea with creamer foam floating on top, a strange look flashing in her eyes.
[High-energy showing off warning ahead!]
[Pfft! This is the legendary afternoon tea? It's just a cheap version of instant milk tea!]
[Non-dairy creamer! Ladies, did you see that?! This stuff is full of trans fats; drinking too much will clog your blood vessels! Tell the female lead to stop touching it!]
[And this tea, the color is dull, it's obviously brewed from broken tea leaves, it can't even compare to the three-yuan-a-cup tea bags downstairs from my house, and it dares to call itself authentic?]
[Haha, Lu Shao's actions—trying to show off in front of the 80s-era female lead, only to be mercilessly mocked by 21st-century comments—are so pathetic!]
Xia Qianqian silently memorized the comments, lightly tapped the rim of her cup with her fingertip, and smiled without reaching her eyes: "Mr. Lu, you are very kind, but I am currently pregnant, and the doctor said I should drink less of these sweet things."
Lu Yaoting's smile froze for a moment, as if he hadn't expected to be rejected.
Lu Rensheng watched everything clearly from the side. He calmly picked up his glass and took a sip, but his eyes lingered on Xia Qianqian's face for a long time. This girl, seemingly docile, is actually quite opinionated.
"Since Qianqian doesn't like these drinks, don't make them so fancy next time." After saying that, Lu Rensheng changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the furnishings in the room before finally settling back on Xia Qianqian's face.
"Qianqian, you're living a good life. I'm afraid Lu Zheng can't earn this kind of extravagance by earning work points in the production team, can he?"
Wang Meihua's heart jumped into her throat. After spending so much time together, how could she not know about her daughter-in-law's "strange traits"?
She didn't want her daughter-in-law to be targeted by that old fox, Lu Rensheng! Before Qianqian could speak, she said, "It's all thanks to Qianqian! Her family were wealthy merchants in Nancheng back then. They sold some of the jewelry that was part of her dowry, which made our lives a little easier."
Xia Qianqian knew her mother-in-law was covering for her, and her heart warmed slightly. She smiled and said, "Yes, Uncle Lu, it's all thanks to your family. Lu Zheng has had a hard life; how can we let him worry about family matters?"
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