Firstly and secondly
Zhang Chenglin dared not disobey Jiang Yuanxing's words. Even when Zhang Deyue was alive, Zhang Chenglin dared to disobey him, which shows Jiang Yuanxing's status.
So for an entire afternoon and evening, Zhang Chenglin and Jiang Guanyu stayed by Jiang Yuanxing's side, seeing people coming and going. When they met someone Jiang Yuanxing valued, Jiang Yuanxing would introduce them to that person.
Because of Zhang Deyue, and also because of Zhang Chenglin's own "reputation" outside, those big shots actually looked down on Zhang Chenglin.
If you see them on the street, you'll at least make fun of them.
But the host at this moment is Jiang Yuanxing. Unless they don't want to stay in China anymore, they would disobey Jiang Yuanxing.
As a result, Zhang Chenglin rarely received so many smiling faces in one day—except for the flattery that surrounded him when Zhang Deyue was alive.
As the visitors gradually dispersed in the evening, Jiang Yuanxing invited Zhang Chenglin and Jiang Guanyu to stay for dinner at his home, and the two of them readily agreed.
Jiang Yuanxing sat in the main seat and let Zhang Chenglin sit next to him. While the dishes were being served, he asked him with a smile, "How was it in Shandong?"
"It's quite nice, just a bit colder than Shanghai." Zhang Chenglin put away his usual coldness and adopted the gentleness he showed when speaking to Jiang Yuanxing.
"That's good, that's good. If you're cold, just wear another layer." Jiang Yuanxing reached up from Zhang Chenglin's wrist and touched the clothes under Zhang Chenglin's trench coat, frowning. "Shanghai isn't warm either, wear more tomorrow."
"Okay," Zhang Chenglin replied with a smile.
Jiang Xuyin watched from the side, lowered his eyes, and remained silent.
"Is your dad not coming home for dinner again?" Jiang Yuanxing released his grip on Zhang Chenglin's hand and turned to ask Jiang Guanyu.
“Yes,” Jiang Guanyu nodded slightly, “I have a lot of people to see these two days, so I’ll have him come to visit you at home after tomorrow.”
"Hmm," Jiang Yuanxing replied, his tone muffled, making it clear that he wasn't very happy.
Zhang Chenglin and Jiang Guanyu exchanged a glance, both seeing the same helplessness in each other's eyes.
Jiang Yuanxing had two sons, Jiang Rusu and Jiang Qingju, and two daughters, Jiang Xuyin and Jiang Xiaoxiao. Jiang Yuanxing held the economic lifeline of the entire country in his hands and stood out from the crowd, never participating in party struggles.
Jiang Rusu and Zhang Deyue were friends for many years, and Jiang Rusu's attitude was very clear: he supported Zhang Deyue and also supported the Kuomintang.
Jiang Qingju studied in Melbourne, where his teacher who taught him Marxism was a communist. Therefore, Jiang Qingju supported the Communist Party from beginning to end and continued to serve the Communist Party after returning to China.
Whether Zhang Deyue led the Kuomintang or Zhang Chenglin supported the Communist Party, Jiang Yuanxing never questioned these matters.
The Chiang family's rules: at home, they only discussed family matters, not national affairs; abroad, their faith was paramount.
Jiang Yuanxing was never a feudal landlord; he respected all the decisions and choices of the younger generation—as long as they were capable of taking responsibility for their actions.
When Zhang Deyue was alive, he would always accompany Jiang Xuyin to the Jiang family banquets, no matter how busy he was.
Now that Zhang Deyue is gone, Jiang Rusu and Zhuang Yanbin hold great power. They have a lot more to do and are indeed not as ruthless as Zhang Deyue, so they are always busy and have even missed the Jiang family banquet several times.
Although Jiang Yuanxing didn't say it, it was obvious that he had a lot of complaints about him.
Because of this, Jiang Xiaoxiao went to see Jiang Rusu alone, but he couldn't do anything about it. He had chosen this path, and he couldn't give up at this point.
Everyone thought Zhang Deyue would hand over power to Zhang Chenglin, and everyone thought Zhang Chenglin would take over his position.
Everyone tacitly agrees on this, but Zhang Chenglin refused to take Zhang Deyue's place, and later there were ambitious Zhuang Yanbin and Jiang Rusu. So it was absolutely impossible for him to let go of what he had so easily obtained.
"I'll stay at your place tonight." After dinner, as Jiang Yuanxing was leaving the restaurant, he said that to Zhang Chenglin.
Zhang Chenglin paused, holding his chopsticks, and looked up to see only Jiang Yuanxing's back as he walked out of the restaurant.
Zhang Chenglin's lips twitched, and he was about to speak when Jiang Xiaoxiao interrupted him, saying, "Don't speak."
The sound wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear it clearly.
Jiang Xuyin looked up at her, as if silently blaming her.
A few minutes later, it was confirmed that Jiang Yuanxing had returned to his room.
Jiang Xiaoxiao had barely spoken when she said, "Your grandfather looks like he's in a bad mood, and you still dare to talk back to him? Don't you want to die?"
Before Zhang Chenglin could respond, Jiang Xiaoxiao continued, "Letting you stay at home for one night won't kill you, but if you really anger your grandfather, you'll be in big trouble."
After listening to Jiang Xiaoxiao's words, Zhang Chenglin put down his chopsticks and looked at her intently, his expression unreadable.
"What?" Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't quite understand Zhang Chenglin's look and asked back.
“First of all,” Zhang Chenglin said, looking at her seriously, his tone still relatively gentle, “you were right to teach her a lesson.”
“Secondly,” Zhang Chenglin changed the subject, his tone dropping sharply, “I didn’t mean to argue with my grandfather, I just wanted to tell him to slow down.”
"Pfft." As soon as Zhang Chenglin finished speaking, Jiang Qingju, who was sitting the furthest away from him, laughed out first, clearly mocking him.
His smiling gaze fell on Jiang Xiaoxiao, his eyes filled with an undeniable mockery.
Jiang Xiaoxiao was silent for a few seconds, then realized what she meant and gritted her teeth: "Well said, don't say it again next time."
"You're so obedient, huh?" Jiang Xiaoxiao's gritted teeth came not only from Zhang Chenglin's "firstly and secondly," but also from Jiang Qingju's undisguised mockery. "If you're so obedient, then what am I? Am I a clown?"
Zhang Chenglin remained silent, afraid that if he said another word, Jiang Xiaoxiao would kick him out and then report him to Jiang Yuanxing.
*
The next day, on the day of Jiang Guanyu's wedding, Jiang Xiaoxiao, Jiang Xuyin, and other elders of the Jiang family went to the Peace Hotel, the hotel where Jiang Guanyu was holding his wedding, early in the morning.
As someone who wasn't entirely a member of the Chiang family, Zhang Chenglin should have gone over to help greet the guests.
But Jiang Yuanxing felt sorry for his grandson who had just arrived yesterday, so he told him to rest at home first and come to the Peace Hotel when the ceremony was about to begin.
No one dared to disobey Jiang Yuanxing, but there were two kinds of people he feared:
"No way! You're being so biased!" Jiang Yuanxing had barely finished telling Zhang Chenglin to rest at home when Jiang Xiaoxiao, standing beside him, began to wail, "You only see how hard your grandson's journey was, but you can't see how hard I've been working for your grandson all month!"
“My dearest dad,” Jiang Xiaoxiao said, her voice tinged with both a pleading tone and an inability to accept the injustice, “when will you ever say to me, ‘You’ve worked hard, take a good rest at home’?”
Jiang Yuanxing turned to look at her, almost rolling his eyes at her.
He turned and got into the car his subordinate had driven up and parked in front of him.
“Accept your fate,” Jiang Qingju, who was standing behind Jiang Xiaoxiao, took a step forward, patted her shoulder, and smiled gently: “If you don’t have the life of a young master, don’t act like one.”
Zhang Chenglin stood to the side and behind the group, a faint smile on his face.
*
When Zhang Chenglin arrived at the Peace Hotel, it was nearly 11:30. He leisurely led Xin Jie straight in through the main entrance.
The hotel lobby was crowded with people, and some prominent figures were standing in groups talking, or perhaps waiting for someone to arrive.
Upon seeing Zhang Chenglin enter, some people were already itching to greet him.
But someone acted even faster than these old guys: "Ah Lin! You've finally arrived!"
Upon seeing Zhang Chenglin, He Zhonghua pounced on him like a wolf seeing a rabbit, followed by Zheng Mingzhe and Ji Yuxing.
He Zhonghua hugged Zhang Chenglin and patted him hard on the back a few times. When he let go, he put one hand on the back of Zhang Chenglin's neck. They were as close as twins.
Zheng Mingzhe extended his right hand and said with a smile, "Long time no see, Ah Lin."
Zhang Chenglin glanced down at Zheng Mingzhe's outstretched hand with a blank expression, then slapped it down. "So, you're starting to pull these kinds of stunts on me, huh?"
Zheng Mingzhe laughed twice but didn't say anything more.
Ji Yuxing glanced at Zhang Chenglin and said in a very irritating tone, "I have something to say, it's been a long time, but I don't know if I should say it."
"You're sick." Zhang Chenglin cursed without thinking, feeling that even this was too lenient.
Those around who were eager to greet Zhang Chenglin and get closer to him dared not go any further when they saw the four of them like this, and could only reluctantly go into the inner area first.
Zhang Chenglin, Ji Yuxing, He Zhonghua, and Zheng Mingzhe were truly the "Chinese F4" who were famous overseas at Cambridge University. Each of them relied on their families' status in China to indulge in all sorts of vices, including eating, drinking, playing, fighting, and helping others. Later, foreign students would avoid them whenever they saw them.
That's too fierce.
Zhang Chenglin's father, Zhang Deyue, was the most powerful warlord in China at the time and a leader of the Kuomintang.
Ji Yuxing's father, Ji Yongkang, was a major landowner in Northeast China, controlling more than half of the land in the region. He also had his own army to defend the Northeast and controlled its economic lifeline.
He Zhonghua's father, He Qidong, was the biggest coal boss in Shanghai, producing 85% of China's domestic coal. He was also the president of the Puyu Chamber of Commerce, the largest chamber of commerce in China.
Zheng Mingzhe's family is in the transportation business. His father was once the top figure in China's transportation industry, and the Zheng family had the final say on which routes were open and closed by sea, land, and air. Shortly after graduating from Cambridge, Zheng Mingzhe's father passed away due to illness, and Zheng Mingzhe took over the family business. At the young age of 22, he entered the top ten of China's rich list, becoming the youngest entrepreneur on the list. A few years later, his net worth is now immeasurable.
When old friends reunite, they always have endless things to talk about. Zhang Chenglin, He Zhonghua, and the other two laughed and joked as they walked into the venue, chatting about all sorts of interesting things that had happened during the time they hadn't seen each other.
The wedding was still half an hour away from starting, but the huge indoor venue was already packed with people.
Looking around, he saw many prominent Chinese businessmen and important figures from all walks of life. He Zhonghua clicked his tongue in amazement: "If someone were to drop a bomb here, China's economic development would be delayed by at least twenty years."
Zhang Chenglin glanced at him and reminded him, "Be careful what you say."
Ji Yuxing glanced at him as well, "Be careful."
He Zhonghua: "..."
Zheng Mingzhe, standing to the side, laughed and said, "If you say another word, that dark gun barrel will be pressed against your head in the next second."
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