Zhuang Li put down his briefcase and walked towards the dining table.
Zhuang Dahai shook his hand, which was as big as a palm-leaf fan, and said, "Go away. You haven't even washed your hands!" His voice was full of disgust, but his chubby face showed a doting smile.
Zhuang Li turned on his toes and immediately went into the kitchen to wash his hands.
7480 was still playing tricks on his mind, high-frequency noise, low-frequency noise, and even infrasound that could drive people crazy, alternating endlessly.
He frowned patiently, but washed his hands carefully without any impatience or carelessness, then returned to the dining table.
"Son, eat quickly." Zhuang Dahai immediately handed the bowl and chopsticks to him and rubbed his soft curly hair.
Zhuang Li put on disposable gloves and took a big bite. The Chinese delicacy that he could only eat in his dreams made him lose his composure and he even made a whimpering sound like a wolfdog gnawing at food.
Zhuang Li felt a burning sensation at the base of his ears, and his whole body froze instantly.
Zhuang Dahai laughed out loud instead: "Dad knew you liked this the most! Don't worry, there is still a big pot. If you like it, we will stew it tomorrow and let you eat your fill." His hands as big as a palm fan patted his son's back. Although he looked rough, his strength was surprisingly gentle.
Zhuang Li's embarrassment soon eased. He held the braised pork elbow in both hands and ate it slowly.
Chang Hui said sarcastically, "Where do you get the money to eat braised pork elbow every day?"
"My monthly salary of more than 8,000 yuan is not enough for my son to eat meat every meal?" Zhuang Dahai poured a glass of white wine and took a sip with relish.
"With your 8,000 yuan salary, you don't have to pay for water and electricity, buy daily necessities, or spend money, and you don't have to ask for favors. All the money is used to buy meat for your son. Do you still care about your family?" Chang Hui held back her temper.
"I take care of my son, which means I take care of my family." Zhuang Dahai put down his wine glass and said righteously.
"Okay, okay, you still treat Dongming and me as outsiders, right? What are you eating? Haven't you ever eaten meat in your entire life?" Chang Hui slapped the braised pork elbow from Zhuang Li's hand and said in a sharp voice, "Dongming hasn't come back yet, and you guys don't even ask?"
Zhuang Li put the dirty braised pork elbow aside and scooped another one from the basin. His face was calm and there was no anger on his face.
Zhuang Dahai slammed the table and retorted, "What the hell am I asking? You spent my money to buy roast chicken and roast duck for yourself and Chang Dongming and ate them away. Why didn't you remember that we are a family? If you and Chang Dongming hadn't always eaten alone and only gave my son vegetables and tofu, would my son have grown so short?"
Zhuang Li, standing at 183cm tall, felt like he'd been shot by an arrow for no apparent reason. But Zhuang Dahai was a sturdy 190cm tall man, and even Chang Dongming was 188cm tall, so it wasn't unreasonable to describe him as short.
Chang Hui was completely furious: "What's wrong with us eating alone? It's better than you selling all the houses to support Zhuang Li to study at a fake university abroad! Just calculate how much money you've lost for him! My Dongming is getting married, and you asked me to give you three million for a down payment, but you refused! You didn't even feel bad about spending five million on him in one go!"
"My son needs to spend money, why should I feel bad? Don't stare at my house. When my wife passed away, all these houses were transferred to my son. They are his personal property. He can do whatever he wants with them. I won't ask anything. How can you, a stepmother, interfere?" Zhuang Dahai slammed the wine glass down.
Chang Hui clutched her heart and panted, "Okay, okay, go with your son. I'm not going to live with you anymore! You only treat Dongming and me as servants in your house..."
Zhuang Dahai immediately interrupted her, "Come on, forget it. When you married me, Chang Dongming was already eighteen years old and an adult. According to the law, I have no obligation to support him. But I paid for his college and graduate studies, and I give him 2,500 yuan a month for living expenses. He also buys new phones and computers every two or three months. Just do the math and think about how much it cost me to raise him! What servant gets that kind of treatment?"
"He's so good. In all these years, he has never called me dad, and he has never said a good word about me to others. He even wants me to pay the down payment for him. I will never pay him anything!" Zhuang Dahai wanted to overturn the table, but when he saw that his son was eating the braised pork elbow with great concentration, he changed his mind and smashed the wine bottle.
Chang Hui screamed, "You said Dongming never called you dad, but has Zhuang Li ever called me mom?"
Zhuang Li immediately looked up, "Mom."
Chang Hui: “…”
I can’t keep this cheap son anymore!
Zhuang Dahai pointed at his son and shouted proudly, "Look, look, how polite my son is!"
Chang Hui: “…”
I'm so angry that I want to cry!
"Stop arguing and get a divorce!" A calm voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Chang Hui and Zhuang Dahai turned around and saw Chang Dongming standing upright at the door, with a number of neighbors peeking in from behind him.
"Mom, pack up and let's go. We'll go and complete the divorce procedures with Zhuang Dahai tomorrow. I took out a loan to buy a house outside and put it in your name. We won't have to live under someone else's roof anymore." Chang Dongming deliberately raised his voice.
So the neighbors outside the door started to talk: "Dongming has only been working for a few years, and he's already bought a house. He's really promising!"
"He's a top student at National Tsing Hua University, so of course he has a bright future!"
"I really don't know what Zhuang Dahai is thinking. His biological son only knows how to squander the family fortune, yet he still sells his flesh and blood to support him endlessly. His stepson is so promising, yet he doesn't even bother paying any attention to him. He'll regret it someday!"
"Yes, his Zhuang Li is incompetent and spends the most money. Zhuang Dahai will have no place to cry from now on."
Chang Dongming turned his body to the side, letting everyone admire Zhuang Li's silly look with grease all over his face, and he felt inexplicably happy.
Zhuang Dahai was annoyed. He walked to the door and waved his arms, "Go away, go away! My manager Zhuang works at the Haiming Group. He's much more promising than your kid!"
Chang Dongming leaned against the door frame, pretending to be concerned but actually mocking him: "Uncle, I forgot to tell you that the fact that you paid money to buy exam answers for Zhuang Li has been exposed. The company will soon fire Zhuang Li. I have a suggestion for you. Sell this house quickly and buy him another job."
"Oh my God, Zhuang Dahai is so generous! He even sold a house just to get his son into Haiming! I was wondering if Zhuang Li had no future since he was a child, how come he suddenly found such a good job! So this is what happened!" The neighbors were excited.
"Zhuang Dahai, you don't take good care of your promising son, but instead you support a loser who only knows how to live off his parents. What are you going to do when you are old? Don't reduce yourself to begging on the streets." Someone shouted gloatingly outside the door.
"Your son is useless, your whole family is useless!"
Zhuang Dahai pushed his way to the door and roared, "My son will definitely become something great. Just wait and see! Chang Dongming, take your mother and get out of here! Don't think I don't know what you two are up to. You married into my family because you were attracted by the houses I got from the demolition. Now that you know the houses are all in my son's name, you can't stand it anymore, right? Divorce! This marriage is final!"
Chang Dongming's eyes flashed, and he sneered, "Uncle, what exactly am I inferior to Zhuang Li? You just look down on me? You support me, and I will repay you sooner or later. You might as well support him as a dog."
"Get out of here! I've supported you for so many years, but you've never bought me anything after you started working and earned money. I know you're an ungrateful person. I'm willing to support my son for the rest of his life, so what's it to you?" Zhuang Dahai pushed Chang Dongming repeatedly.
He is a big guy, and when he gets angry, the fat on his face trembles, making him look very tough.
Chang Dongming was extremely angry but didn't dare to take action. He could only shout at the top of his voice: "Mom, hurry up, I'll wait for you outside."
"Hey hey hey, Mom is here." Chang Hui ran out of the bedroom carrying a lot of bags.
Zhuang Li then walked to the door, holding a greasy pork elbow in sauce, and said to Zhuang Dahai, "Dad, I'll earn you 400 million tomorrow. Wait for my call at home."
Zhuang Dahai was already used to his son's nonsense, but he still responded happily.
The neighbors who were hiding in the corridor and watching shook their heads and sighed, "Zhuang Dahai is so blind, there's really no hope for him."
Chang Dongming took Chang Hui's luggage and turned around and said, "Uncle, you should sell this house quickly. Zhuang Li's job will be in jeopardy."
Zhuang Dahai spat at his back, returned home, closed the door, and immediately lowered his voice to ask, "Son, is what he said true? Were you really fired?"
"No, I'm going to be promoted to department head tomorrow," Zhuang Li picked up a braised pork elbow and hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Dad, you eat too."
"Are you going to be a minister? Is that true?" Zhuang Dahai hugged the big food bowl, feeling dizzy.
"Well, Director of the R&D Department. Tomorrow you should pack up your things at home and prepare to move into the villa provided by the company." Zhuang Li instructed seriously.
"Yeah, okay." Zhuang Dahai agreed in a daze, but in his heart he was thinking: My son is bragging a little too much this time! It's even worse than the time he got into Princeton!
Zhuang Li couldn't sleep that night. 7480 was right. Noise could kill. It was a severe mental torture that no one could withstand over time.
But the next morning, he came to work on time. Except for a little black bruise under his eyes, he looked normal. No one could guess what kind of torture he was suffering.
Liao Kaiping met him in the elevator and immediately whistled, "Hey, here comes Preston's top student."
There was a chuckle in the elevator.
7480 immediately announced: "Host, there are thirteen people in the elevator, and their favorability towards you is below -10. You are such a loser!"
Zhuang Li looked up at the elevator counter with a calm expression. It was just some noisy, brainless monsters, no need to pay any attention to them.
Liao Kaiping uttered a few more provocative words, and when Zhuang Li didn't even frown, he grew even more irritated. As they exited the elevator, he deliberately raised his voice: "I urge you to resign voluntarily. Don't wait for your minister to fire you. That would be too embarrassing."
Zhuang Li walked around him and walked straight away. His way of dealing with mindless monsters was always to ignore them.
After entering the office, the people who had arrived earlier all looked up at him, their eyes filled with sympathy, ridicule, or contempt. It seemed as if something had happened that he was unaware of.
And the answer was slowly coming to him.
The head of the administration department slammed a stamped resignation form on his desk and ordered, "Fill it out, pack your things and get out right away."
"Why?" Zhuang Li put down his briefcase and took out his laptop.
"Because you falsified your academic qualifications."
"Please wait a moment. I'll go to the president's office to collect a reward first and come back to talk to you later." Zhuang Li adjusted the curly hair on his forehead in front of the computer screen, straightened his tie, and stood up and left.
His indifferent attitude infuriated the administrative director, who chased him out and shouted, "Going to President Xuan will only lead to an even more miserable end! Just wait to be banned from the industry, you idiot!"
Zhuang Li pretended not to hear, stepped into the elevator, and ascended to the top floor. He had expected a difficult time meeting Xuan Ming, but he hadn't expected the secretariat to usher him into the president's office after simply explaining his purpose.
When Zhuang Li walked in, he found Xuan Ming hurriedly putting a half-smoked cigar into the ashtray.
7480 suddenly exclaimed, "Host, why is Xuan Ming's initial favorability towards you higher than your father's, reaching 180? The average person's favorability is only 100 points. Your father's is already full, with no room for improvement, yet Xuan Ming's favorability is still off the charts? What on earth did you do to him?"
Zhuang Li paused slightly.
Xuan Ming hurriedly put out his cigar:???
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