"Sorry, I'm late," Hao Heng's words were interrupted by the person who came in with Xiao Gu.
"Cao Xiaosong?"
Zhou Xiang cried out in surprise. The man who came was a middle-aged, fat man with gray hair on his temples. If it weren't for the fact that his face, which was marked by the years, still had its original elegance, she would never have believed that the middle-aged man in front of her, who looked as tacky as a street boy, was the handsome man who looked like an ancient nobleman.
When Hao Heng's words were interrupted, Ling Ran saw a flash of displeasure on his face. When he heard his lover's surprise, he turned his eyes to the door, and suddenly a humorous thought from later generations popped up in his mind:
Time is a butcher's knife, each cut makes people gain weight. Age is a ruthless sword, each cut makes people show wrinkles.
"Yes!" Cao Xiaosong said with a smile, "I heard you were back. I haven't had time to go to the market town to see you yet. Then I heard you were in the capital, so I planned to come with Hao Heng to see you. Are you all right?"
His words are vulgar and his tone is full of officialism.
"We're fine," Ling Ran replied. Since they were talking about us, wasn't he the one? It was up to him to answer.
Ling Ran's words were distant, but Cao Xiaosong's expression remained unchanged. "That's good. When you disappeared, I asked around but couldn't find any information. I feel bad that I couldn't help you."
Zhou Xiang suppressed the regret that was rising in his heart, as well as the guilt of revealing his life story. "You are too polite. Let's sit down and talk."
The five people sat down again, Xiao Gu poured tea for each of them, and left the living room.
After a brief silence in the living room, Cao Xiaosong picked up his teacup and asked, "What did Hao Heng want to say just now?"
These words made the expressions of the other four people become subtle.
Zhou Xiang felt the most directly. Although she had heard about Yao Qian's actions from Ren Qing, she still deceived herself that Cao Xiaosong loved Yao Qian too much and that Yao Qian was spoiled by her favor. But how could Cao Xiaosong's current behavior be explained by the saying "the company of bad company corrupts"? Not only was he beating around the bush, but he also carelessly stepped on his former friend.
Jiang Weihua lowered his head while drinking tea to hide the disappointment in his eyes. Has the friendship of his youth finally passed away?
After Cao Xiaosong's experience with Yao Qian and the Yao family, he became a career-seeking person. Otherwise, with the connections left by Old Yue, he should have been promoted to a department-level position instead of staying at the section-level for many years.
Although Hao Heng is unmarried, his utilitarianism is less than Cao Xiaosong's after the expansion of the family business. However, he clearly felt the displeasure of being interrupted by Cao Xiaosong just now. How could the helmsman of such a leading Fortune 500 company be a person who shows his joy easily?
One speaks in official language, the other plays tricks.
Looking at himself again, he seems to be standing still, but in fact he doesn't want to. Otherwise, he doesn't dare to be sure whether he will change. Although he is different now than before, he believes that his original intention has not changed.
Money and power can make a person unrecognizable.
Hao Heng almost choked on his tea. This person was getting more and more excessive. He stepped on his shoulders to reach the ladder, but he refused.
"Nothing, just talking about the rent at the school."
Playing Tai Chi? Zhou Xiang frowned. The capital was the political center, where money and power were intertwined. Even family members could turn against each other if they weren't careful. What about three playmates who had no real connection to each other?
She hated courtesy and hypocrisy the most. She was already tired and didn't want to engage in intrigue with these two people.
"I don't care what you're planning, just don't bring it down on me. I'm not a stepping stone for you to gain benefits. Hao Heng, the rent will double this year, and we'll raise it again next year. Cao Xiaosong and Ren Qing are my protectors, so you'd better not have any more plans. Sorry, I'm tired, you guys can chat!"
Ling Ran followed his wife out.
Hao Heng glared at Cao Xiaosong. If this man had come in later, he could have asked directly, whether it was okay or not. At least he would have a clear answer. Zhou Xiang didn't like people beating around the bush. He didn't want to hand the ladder to Cao Xiaosong just now, which changed his image in Zhou Xiang's eyes.
Cao Xiaosong drank his tea leisurely. If he couldn't get it, why should others? Back then, he had spent 100,000 yuan on the liquid medicine, a price Zhou Xiang had offered as a friendly price, and he had shamelessly accepted it.
But he knew the real price of the medicine, and he didn't have enough financial resources. Therefore, the uncle from the Hao family who wanted to compete with him for the deputy bureau-level position could not think of using Zhou Xiang's medicine to please his superiors. They should all compete based on their own abilities.
Jiang Weihua also felt annoyed, so after talking to the two of them for a few words, he sent them away.
The next day, Zhou Xiang planned to go home. She originally wanted to go see Mr. Xiao, but because of Cao Xiaosong and Hao Heng's performance last night, she felt there was no need to go.
After breakfast, while I was packing up, Grandpa Xiao and my senior brother An Guoliang came together.
Zhou Xiang was surprised but not surprised by Mr. Xiao's arrival. An Guoliang's arrival was completely unexpected by Zhou Xiang. This senior brother was more than 20 years younger than her and they had little communication. They were just polite when they met, but he was quite caring towards Senior Jiang.
Sitting down in the living room, Mr. Xiao asked her about her disappearance for four years with concern, and Zhou Xiang picked out what she could say and told it.
An Guoliang listened without saying much.
But Mr. Xiao kept talking about this and that, and had already ordered the live pigs for the end of the year, but he didn't say what else was going on.
Zhou Xiang wondered if Mr. Xiao felt that it was inconvenient to say some things in the presence of the senior brother, so she signaled Senior Jiang to ask the senior brother to leave so that she could talk to Mr. Xiao alone.
An Guoliang seemed not to understand his junior brother's hint, and his butt was nailed to the stool, refusing to move.
Zhou Xiang frowned. What was this senior brother going to do?
In this awkward atmosphere, the team leader Tang Ganwen arrived. When he saw Tang Ganwen coming, Mr. Xiao knew that he had nothing to do, so he stood up and said goodbye.
Although An Guoliang felt that he didn't have much of a chance, he still walked over to Zhou Xiang and said, "Zhou Xiang, I..."
"Wait," Zhou wanted to stop him from speaking, "Let me ask the captain what's going on. Wait for me."
These people she is familiar with are all weird, and she doesn't want to be kept in the dark.
An Guoliang pursed his lips and watched Zhou Xiang and Tang Ganwen talking in the yard.
After hearing Tang Ganwen's purpose, Zhou Xiang finally understood why the four people were reluctant to speak up last night and this morning.
It turned out that the father of one of the leaders in the new leadership team was seriously ill. Those who knew that Zhou Xiang had a magical medicine were tempted to curry favor with the leader, but no one was familiar with Zhou Xiang, and the few people who were familiar with him all knew his temper.
Moreover, she had just completed an S-level mission with Ling Ran, so it would be even more difficult to force her, because no one knew whether Zhou Xiang had any medicine left from this mission.
The old leader was afraid that Zhou Xiang would be embarrassed, so he sent Tang Ganwen directly.
"What the old leader means is that if you have that liquid medicine, it would be best to take out a few bottles and send them up. If it is convenient, you can continue to send dried fish and dried fruits. They have been craving it for a long time."
A new big brother? She definitely wants to hug him, the old boss is helping her again.
Zhou Xiang turned and looked into the living room, nervously looking at her senior brother. Thinking about the confrontation between Hao Heng and Cao Xiaosong last night, she suddenly chuckled. She was being pretentious, always immersed in the sadness of being betrayed, and blinded herself.
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