Chapter 126 I like the evenings, inside a state-run restaurant. ...
Evening, inside a state-run restaurant.
Tong Wanjun genuinely wanted to thank everyone for their help and invited them to dinner. Although everyone was worried that Tong Wanjun would spend too much money and initially declined, Tong Wanjun was very determined to treat them, so in the end everyone came.
However, Tong Wanjun wasn't particularly familiar with the people at the table, so Mingxi was the one who kept the atmosphere lively.
Mingxi kept telling one person, "Don't be shy, eat as much as you want," and another, "Eat more vegetables, eat more vegetables." She was so busy that she didn't even have time to drink a sip of water.
As they took their seats, Wei Ning quickly seized the opportunity, holding a plain ceramic cup in his slender fingers, and presented it to Ming Xi.
Mingxi was taken aback and looked up at Wei Ning.
Wei Ning: "After talking for so long, you must be thirsty. Have some water."
She was thirsty.
Without thinking, Mingxi took the cup, tilted her head back, and drank the warm tea in one gulp.
She smacked her lips. "Hmm, I must say, the tea at this restaurant is pretty good. It's fresh jasmine, not the high-foam kind."
Mingxi had just put down her cup when Weining came over with a bowl. He thoughtfully placed the bowl in front of Mingxi and said, "This soup tastes good. Have a sip first."
Wei Ning brought over a bowl of meatball soup. When he brought it over, Ming Xi was busy attending to the others and didn't have time to serve herself a bowl. It turned out that Wei Ning was thinking of Ming Xi.
Mingxi glanced at Wei Ning, said nothing, and then lowered her head to happily drink her soup.
The meatball soup at the state-run restaurant is delicious!
Wei Ning and Ming Xi thought they had done something discreet, but everyone at the table was shrewd enough to see their little tricks. Although no one said anything, curious and gossipy eyes were all directed at Ming Xi.
Sister Wang glanced at Wei Ning, then at Ming Xi, her eyes filled with ambiguity.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Wei has a crush on Xiao Ming. These two are always around her, and she only just noticed.
However, to be fair, Xiao Wei is a nice guy. He's good-looking, has a sweet tongue, is eloquent and knows how to handle things, but he's definitely not just a smooth talker.
Xiaoming is a good girl, capable and hardworking. Only a good young man like Weining is worthy of her.
The more Sister Wang looked at Wei Ning, the more satisfied she became. Her smile widened as she looked at Wei Ning and Ming Xi with a doting aunt's grin.
Guan Lixin was also surprised that Wei Ning was interested in Ming Xi.
Having grown up in the same alley, Guan Lixin knew Wei Ning quite well. He knew that although Wei Ning seemed kind and easy to get along with on the surface, it was actually the hardest thing for others to get into his heart.
Who would have thought that Wei Ning would fall for Ming Xi?
Guan Lixin curled up the corners of his mouth, as if he had seen something interesting.
Hey, this is going to be interesting.
Guan Lixin watched as Wei Ning served tea and water and picked out vegetables to fawn over Mingxi, and the corners of his mouth never left his lips.
Having watched the excitement for a while, Guan Lixin remembered something: "Xiao Ming, last time you told Master Bao to inquire about the Americans who were trading with Ning Feng, Master Bao found out some things."
"oh?"
Mingxi looked over curiously. Although the matter had come to an end, Mingxi was still curious about what Third Master Bao had found out.
Guan Lixin put down his chopsticks: "Third Master Bao found out that the American who traded with Ning Feng is named Mike. He says he's American, but he's actually based in Hong Kong and works with people from Hong Kong who come here to deal in cultural relics. They buy cultural relics from us at low prices and sell them to Americans, British, and Europeans at high prices. I heard that this Mike recently got a big order from a big client. He's been collecting landscape paintings by Qing Dynasty painters, but I heard he's going to get into trouble soon."
Mingxi: "Huh? What's going on?"
Guan Lixin: "I heard that he sold several landscape paintings a while ago, and the original owner of those paintings is trying to find out where they are."
There were no outsiders at the table, so Guan Lixin didn't hold back and whispered, "I heard that the original owner was a descendant of the Zhong family."
"The Zhong family?"
Before Mingxi could speak, Sister Wang gasped, "Is it the Zhong family who owns a bank?"
Guan Lixin nodded.
hiss--
Everyone at the table gasped.
During the Republican era, there were eight wealthy merchants in Beicheng, the most prominent of whom was the Zhong family, who owned a bank.
At that time, the person in charge of the Zhong family was nicknamed "Zhong Half-City," which meant that the Zhong family's wealth combined could buy most of the northern part of the city.
However, because the Zhong family acted in a high-profile manner, they were among the first to be targeted during times of war. At that time, society was in turmoil, with numerous warlords vying for power. Not only were notorious thieves and petty criminals eyeing the Zhong family, but also various warlord factions.
As outsiders, no one can say for sure who did it, or what exactly happened. All they know is that in an accident, the head of the Zhong family and his only son were killed in an explosion. The entire Zhong family line was reduced to just an old lady and a baby still nursing.
The matriarch of the Zhong family was also decisive. Knowing that her husband and son were gone, she might not be able to protect the entire Zhong family business on her own. So she gritted her teeth and donated it all, leaving only two Chinese medicine shops to support her grandson.
After the war ended, around the 1950s, the old lady of the Zhong family passed away. When the Zhong family's only grandson grew up, got married, and started his own family, he was targeted by someone with ulterior motives. Someone used his status as the descendant of a capitalist to ransack his home.
To put it bluntly, the people who made the move were after the Zhong family's assets.
Although the matriarch of the Zhong family had handed over all of the Zhong family's assets back then, that was still the Zhong family! The Zhong family of half the city!
Who can say for sure how much money the Zhong family has? And who can be sure that the matriarch of the Zhong family has left some inheritance for her grandson?
And so, the Zhong family's home was ransacked. When the Revolutionary Committee ransacked the house, the commotion was enormous; they even tore down the wall of the courtyard where the Zhong family lived, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they dug three feet into the ground.
However, the Revolutionary Committee ultimately failed to find the gold and silver jewelry they were looking for. They only found some worthless antiques and paintings at the Zhong family's home. Some knowledgeable people recognized them as antiques and used this as an excuse to send the entire Zhong family to the Northeast. From then on, the people of Beicheng never heard of the Zhong family's whereabouts again.
As for those antique paintings and calligraphy, although they were some years old, they were not particularly famous works and were not valuable at the time, so no one took them. They were stuffed into the Cultural Palace's warehouse along with the other things that were confiscated from other families.
When Guan Lixin mentioned the Zhong family, everyone at the table was quite surprised.
In Beicheng, the Zhong family has always been a legendary family. Everyone has heard gossip about the Zhong family, but to be honest, when the eldest sister on the table, Sister Wang, was born, the Zhong family had already fallen into decline. No one has ever seen the Zhong family at its peak.
Mingxi: "The descendants of the Zhong family have returned?"
Guan Lixin nodded: "What Master Bao found out was the son of the eldest grandson of the Zhong family. He came back from the Northeast. I heard that their family later found evidence of their donations of goods and money during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and they were listed as red capitalists. They lived quite well in the Northeast. Now, because the storm has completely passed, the whole family has returned from the Northeast."
"Oh, I see—"
Guan Lixin: "When the Zhong family was exonerated, the first thing they did upon returning was to retrieve the items that had been confiscated during the raid. However, when the government returned them, they discovered that many things were missing. Among the most important items were several landscape paintings, which were said to be family heirlooms passed down through the Zhong family. The Zhong family descendants had been searching for them everywhere."
Mingxi blinked: "You mean the Zhong family doesn't know that Jiang Xuningfeng and Mike were the ones who sold their family heirloom?"
Guan Lixin nodded.
Mingxi's eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes darted around as she instantly came up with a great idea.
She said with a wicked smile, "That thing is so important to the Zhong family, we can't let them continue to be kept in the dark. Think of a way to get Master Bao to send a message to the descendants of the Zhong family."
Those paintings were so important to the Zhong family; if they knew that Ning Feng and Jiang Xu had conspired to resell them, they would be furious.
"Hehe, just what I wanted."
Guan Lixin chuckled twice, agreeing with Mingxi's idea.
As a fellow man, he also looked down on the bastard Jiang Xu for the outrageous things he had done.
The two men chuckled mischievously, giving Sister Wang goosebumps.
She picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and glanced at Mingxi and Guan Lixin.
What's wrong with these two young people? They're clearly doing a good deed, so why are they laughing in such a creepy way?
Wei Ning, however, looked at Ming Xi, who was smiling broadly and looking carefree, and moved his fingers.
cute.
Even her mischievous smile is so cute.
Of all the people at the table, the slowest to react was Tong Wanjun, who harbored the deepest grudge against Jiang Xu. It took her a while to realize that Mingxi's words implied that the Zhong family should settle accounts with Jiang Xu.
She certainly had no objection to this matter; in fact, she had no objection at all.
If I had to say, I'd give it my full support.
Putting aside the grudges between Jiang Xu and her, let's just talk about the matter of reselling cultural relics. It was Jiang Xu who did this. He dared to do such a thing, so he has to bear the consequences!
The thought that Jiang Xu would lose his job and even go to jail after the incident made Tong Wanjun feel a sense of satisfaction.
In a good mood, Tong Wanjun relaxed and picked up her wine glass, tilting her head back and downing it in one gulp.
“Comrade Mingxi, this glass of wine was for you. I want to thank you for your help during this time. I know that I am just a stranger to you. What you did for me was not because of me, but simply because you are kind-hearted. You would help anyone. But you don’t know that what you did really saved me. If I hadn’t met you and hadn’t had your help, I definitely wouldn’t be able to divorce Jiang Xu now. I might not even be here anymore.”
As Tong Wanjun spoke, tears began to fall. She had thought before that if she had to spend the rest of her life as husband and wife with Jiang Xu and endure his unreasonable demands, she would rather die.
Fortunately, though.
Fortunately, there was Mingxi.
Upon hearing this, Mingxi stood up apologetically, "It's nothing, it's nothing..."
Tong Wanjun wiped away her tears and turned to Sister Wang: "Sister Wang, this glass of wine is for you. You've helped me a lot during this time. Thanks to you for always being there for me and encouraging me, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to make it..."
Sister Wang is different from Mingxi. Mingxi helps Tong Wanjun solve her problems, while Sister Wang is responsible for doing ideological work with Tong Wanjun.
Jiang Xu's attraction to men caused Tong Wanjun considerable harm, making her insecure and even leading to a period of depression. Sister Wang, an experienced counselor, immediately noticed Tong Wanjun's distress and spent considerable time counseling her until she improved somewhat.
Sister Wang felt embarrassed after hearing what Tong Wanjun said.
Tong Wanjun turned her head again: "And you, Comrade Xiao Wei, thank you too. Although you weren't of much help, I still appreciate it. Thank you for worrying about me and waiting for me outside my house with Comrade Xiao Ming!"
As she spoke, she downed another gulp of the baijiu in her glass.
Mingxi's heart trembled at the sight. How many cups had Tong Wanjun drunk in a row?
She roughly estimated that there were at least three or four cups.
The bottle of wine they opened today has a high alcohol content. Tong Wanjun drank it so fast and in such a hurry, could she be drunk?
Tong Wanjun: "This last cup, Comrade Guan, is for you... thank you for introducing... introducing Master Bao to us, for letting us..."
Mingxi's guess was correct; Tong Wanjun had drunk too quickly and was already somewhat drunk, her speech becoming slurred.
"Thank you, Comrade Guan, I will remember your kindness!"
Tong Wanjun stammered and finally managed to finish speaking when Mingxi quickly stepped forward and snatched her wine glass away: "Alright, stop drinking, you're already drunk."
Tong Wanjun stared wide-eyed: "Huh? I'm drunk? I got drunk so quickly? Oh, I'm drunk."
As Tong Wanjun was speaking, she suddenly buried her head in the table and fell silent.
Mingxi was startled and quickly reached out to check Tong Wanjun's breathing.
Fortunately, her breathing was normal and Tong Wanjun was fine; she had just fallen asleep.
Mingxi breathed a sigh of relief. However, Tong Wanjun was so drunk that she definitely couldn't finish the meal. But it was alright, since everyone had already eaten enough, so it was fine to just end the meal like this.
Mingxi: "We've eaten enough for today, it's getting late, and everyone's had a bit too much to drink. How about we call it a day?"
Sister Wang: "Okay, it looks about right. It's getting late, and I have to go to work tomorrow."
"Then let's call it a day, let's call it a day..."
After discussing it with everyone, Mingxi decided that Mingxi and Weining would escort Tong Wanjun home.
The reason for choosing Wei Ning was that he was the only person who came out on a bicycle today. The reason for choosing Ming Xi was even simpler: Wei Ning is a gay man, and if Tong Wanjun, a recently divorced lesbian, were to be taken home drunk by a gay man like Wei Ning, it's easy to imagine how much gossip would circulate.
As a woman, it was fine for Mingxi to accompany Tong Wanjun back home.
Mingxi and Weining had no objection to this. The two of them helped Tong Wanjun onto the back of Weining's bicycle, with Weining pushing the bike from the front and Mingxi supporting Tong Wanjun from behind.
As they walked, Mingxi suddenly said, "I feel like you've been acting strange lately."
Wei Ning: "Hmm?"
He's acting strange?
Mingxi: "You've been unusually attentive to me lately."
She kept a straight face, looking wary: "You're not trying to curry favor with me so you can get transferred to our Women's Federation, are you? It's no use. I'm just a newbie here; my words don't carry any weight."
Wei Ning was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"Pfft—"
The man's soft laughter was exceptionally clear in the darkness. Mingxi looked up at Wei Ning: "Are you laughing at me?"
Wei Ning laughed until he was done, then shook his head: "I'm laughing at myself. I'm laughing at myself for being so incompetent, for pursuing someone so subtly that even you, the person in question, didn't notice."
This time, it was Mingxi who was stunned. She opened her mouth, somewhat surprised.
Are you pursuing me?
Wei Ning nodded and went straight to the point: "I like you, so I'm trying to pursue you with the intention of dating you."
This was the second time Mingxi had heard Wei Ning say "I like you." Unlike the casual remark she made the first time, this time Wei Ning was clearly sincere, and his words carried a greater sense of seriousness.
Mingxi wasn't sure if Weining was joking.
She remained silent for a while, then couldn't help scratching her head: "What do you like about me?"
Wei Ning couldn't help but grind his teeth: "You're not going to say that I like something about you, and you'll change that thing, are you?"
He began to doubt himself, wondering if there was something wrong with him, otherwise why was he so disliked by Mingxi?
Mingxi quickly waved her hand: "No, no, I didn't mean that."
Mingxi's big eyes widened in disbelief, indicating that she was truly wronged. She had never said anything like that, so why was Wei Ning making things up?
Mingxi scratched her head: "I just don't know why you like me."
She counted on her fingers and said, "I'm fierce, I like to hit people, I have a bad temper, and I'm a mama's girl. I can't be separated from my mom wherever I go..."
Mingxi knew that she didn't have a good reputation in the alley.
Although no one said it outright, Mingxi knew that many people in the alley privately said they would never date a woman like her.
Mingxi was very dismissive of this; they didn't want to date a woman like her, and she didn't want to get married yet!
Of course, even if she wanted to get married, she wouldn't be interested in the men in the alley.
Just by looking at them, she wouldn't even consider them. They were all slovenly and unkempt, twenty-somethings who didn't even know how to do their own laundry. They didn't care if it was hot at home and would wear the same work clothes for a whole week.
Mingxi briefly lost her focus, but quickly returned to Wei Ning in front of her.
Compared to many unkempt and slovenly men in the alley, Wei Ning was quite good; he was always clean and had a refreshing, sunny soap scent.
His white shirt was always spotless and perfectly pressed, without a single yellow stain.
I don't know how Wei Ning washed it; even her white shirts couldn't be washed that clean.
Moreover, her shirts were always wrinkled after she washed them, unlike Wei Ning's shirts, which were always neat and tidy, without a single extra wrinkle.
Wei Ning: "Hmm?"
Hearing the short syllable from Wei Ning's nose, Ming Xi looked up: "Huh?"
Wei Ning looked puzzled: "You just asked me if I iron my shirts every time I wash them?"
Mingxi scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
She accidentally blurted out what was on her mind.
However, she quickly composed herself and said calmly, "Yes, I'm asking you, do you iron your shirts every time you wash them? What? You don't want to answer my question?"
Wei Ning shook his head and honestly said, "Yes, I iron it every time I wash it."
Mingxi: "You're really patient."
Hearing this, Wei Ning smiled, his eyes sparkling like stars, and blinked lightly: "Thank you for the compliment."
Mingxi: "Ah, this..."
She was just giving a casual, perfunctory answer; she didn't mean to praise Wei Ning at all.
However, looking at Wei Ning's smiling face, she couldn't find any words to refute him.
Well, Wei Ning, take it as a compliment, then it is a compliment.
I never would have guessed that Wei Ning is someone who needs others' approval at heart.
Mingxi: "By the way, you still haven't told me exactly what you like about me!"
Her round eyes widened as she stared intently at Wei Ning, searching for an answer.
Wei Ning paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.
Mingxi wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "What are you laughing at? Answer my question!"
Wei Ning smiled and said, "There's no specific reason why I like you. It's just because it's you."
His burning gaze was fixed on Mingxi, and Mingxi's body felt as if it were on fire.
She awkwardly touched her nose and opened her mouth as if to say something, just then, Tong Wanjun on the bicycle next to her started making a fuss.
"Ugh, no, I'm going to throw up, I'm going to throw up, ugh—"
Upon hearing the noise, Mingxi quickly helped Tong Wanjun out of the car. Fortunately, Mingxi acted in time, and Tong Wanjun vomited on the roadside the moment she got out of the car.
The strong smell of alcohol filled the air, and Mingxi instinctively covered her nose. Weining took out a pack of tissues from his bag and handed it to Mingxi.
Mingxi patted Tong Wanjun's back and handed her a tissue after she finished vomiting. After vomiting, Tong Wanjun was a little more sober. She tidied herself up and thanked Mingxi.
Mingxi waved her hand, "What's the big deal?"
Although Tong Wanjun was a little more conscious, it was only a little; she still walked unsteadily and couldn't even stand up straight.
There was no other way, so Mingxi helped her back into the car. Wei Ning didn't dare to delay this time and quickly pushed the car toward the Tong family, afraid that if they were any slower, Tong Wanjun would throw up again.
And so, Mingxi and Weining quickly took Tong Wanjun home.
The Tong family knew that Tong Wanjun was going to treat Mingxi and the others to dinner today and would be back very late, so they hadn't gone to sleep and were waiting for Tong Wanjun to come back.
So as soon as Mingxi arrived at the Tong family's door and knocked, Tong's parents came to open the door in the next second, wearing their clothes. Seeing their daughter drunk, they quickly took her and helped her into the house.
Mingxi: "Auntie, Sister Tong drank a bit too much tonight. She already threw up outside just now. Please be careful, I think she might throw up again."
Tong's mother: "Okay, okay, thank you so much, Comrade Xiaoming. You've helped our Wanjun so much before, and now you're even bringing her back. We really don't know how to thank you enough."
Mingxi waved her hand: "No, no..."
She smiled and said, "It's getting late. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now..."
When Tong's mother heard that Mingxi was going back, she said anxiously, "You're going back already? Won't you stay for a drink of water? Or a cup of tea? Old man, hurry up and give it to Xiaoming..."
Before Tong's mother could finish speaking, Mingxi interrupted her: "No need, Auntie, I have to go to work tomorrow, and it's getting late, so I'll head back now."
Mother: "Alright then..."
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