Chapter 64: Listen to Your Wife and Make a Fortune
Lu Ming wanted to sit down next to Wen Chu, but Wen Shiyang patted the seat next to him and said, "You sit here."
"This...isn't that inappropriate..."
"What's wrong with that? Come on!"
Lu Ming hesitated for a moment, then sat down with a pursed lip. Wen Shiyang picked up the wine bottle to pour him a drink, but Lu Ming, who had just sat down on the stool, quickly stood up again and took the wine from the other man's hand: "Let me do it."
Wen Shiyang didn't say anything. He was holding an extra-large glass, filled with strong liquor. Fearing someone might skimp on the amount, he specifically reminded them, "Fill it up! Fill it up! I've been treasuring this liquor for many years, but I've never had a chance to drink it. This is your first time here, so let's drink together today!"
Lu Ming obediently filled the wine glass and said politely, "Uncle Wen has gone to so much trouble."
Seeing this, Wen Chu pushed her cup in front of Lu Ming: "I want to drink too, pour me some."
Lu Ming: "No."
Wen Shiyang: "No way!"
Seeing that the two reacted exactly the same way, Wen Chu was a little dumbfounded: "Why? Why are you treating them differently?"
Wen Shiyang: "How old are you? Why are you drinking baijiu? There's juice in the fridge!"
Wen Chu observed the atmosphere between the two, which seemed both harmonious and tense.
Something's not right, something's not right, what exactly did they say?
She cast a questioning glance at Yang Lan, who didn't seem too serious and just told her to hurry up and eat.
The two people opposite each other started chatting casually, and then they talked about the competition.
Do you know what this competition is all about?
"knew. "
"Do you know how much benefit Wen Chu has brought you?"
Lu Ming lowered his eyes and replied, "I know."
Wen Shiyang chuckled softly, "I wonder if I would have seen my daughter so accomplished before I died without you. In a way, I should thank you, shouldn't I?"
Lu Ming's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly explained, "You flatter me. The Academy of Sciences kept the news very tightly under wraps this time. Neither Wen Chu nor I knew the importance of this matter beforehand. Otherwise, she would definitely have prioritized Keming's interests. Even if research continues, the technology patent will be in her name, and I will have no objection. In addition, I should thank you and Aunt Yang for teaching Wen Chu so well. Let me toast you and Aunt Yang first."
As Lu Ming spoke, he picked up his wine glass, stood up, raised it to the two of them, and took a sip himself, but almost choked. The wine was even spicier than he had expected.
A burning sensation came from just one bite of my throat.
Wen Shiyang was not satisfied that he had only drunk so little: "I saw you drink much more at the banquet before. What, is it that my face is not big enough, or your heart is not sincere enough?"
"That's not true." Lu Ming didn't dare to lie after being told that. He raised his glass again and took a big gulp, reducing the amount of alcohol in the glass by a third.
He pressed hard to stop himself from coughing.
Wen Chu was dumbfounded when she saw people drinking baijiu like beer. "So dedicated?" she thought.
Seeing this, Wen Shiyang's brows relaxed again, and he laughed, "I was just joking. This liquor is very strong; you can't drink it so fast. Can you usually drink a lot?"
Lu Ming couldn't help but cough softly and said in a muffled voice, "It's alright."
"Socializing is inevitable in business, there's no way around it. You're still young, you really need to practice, otherwise you might make mistakes from drinking." Wen Shiyang picked up his chopsticks and gestured, "Don't be so reserved, eat your food."
"Thank you, Uncle Wen." Lu Ming picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food, and put it in his mouth. Then he heard Wen Shiyang ask, "What have your older brothers been up to lately?"
“They all have their own things to do, and I don’t know much about them.”
"So you're the only one working at the company most of the time?"
"Yes."
Wen Shiyang nodded: "It's tiring, but I've learned a lot. I'm also letting go and handing some things over to my son now. He told me a while ago that he was going to work at the company, and I was happy about it. But look what happened, he ran off to your place after only two days."
"I already told you I wanted to participate in the core algorithm development, but you just look down on me!" Wen Chu couldn't help but interject.
Wen Shiyang glared at her: "Go eat your food!"
Wen Chu: "..." She pouted and gave Lu Ming a resentful look. Unfortunately, Lu Ming was in trouble himself and had no time to comfort her.
Lu Ming humbly said, "Wen Chu is indeed very capable and can achieve great things no matter where she is. If we can secure this project, I personally prefer to have her stay at Baiyue to continue in charge, as it is a great opportunity for her to gain experience. I also prefer to cooperate with Kemin and can give you 50% of the profits."
“My daughter will never lack opportunities. She can go anywhere, but she can’t be taken advantage of by those with ulterior motives. You mentioned cooperation, but I only like to cooperate with people who are trustworthy, consistent in their words and deeds, and don’t change their minds. Tell me, do you meet these criteria?” Wen Shiyang said pointedly.
The atmosphere on the field suddenly became tense for a moment.
Wen Chu lowered her head and secretly grinned. Why did her father's sarcastic remarks about Lu Ming sound so satisfying? Finally, someone was going to teach this guy a lesson.
Lu Ming said earnestly and sincerely, "Uncle Wen, everything I just said is true and I will not go back on my word."
"What did you say?" Wen Chu asked, looking up from her rice, still oblivious to what was going on.
Wen Shiyang put a large piece of meat into her chopsticks: "I told you to eat! All this food can't shut you up!"
He then raised his glass to Lu Ming and said, "Come on, have another drink with me!"
Lu Ming quickly put down his chopsticks, picked up his cup with both hands, clinked it against the person's cup, and took another sip.
Wen Chu pouted again, clearly annoyed.
They had only been eating for a short while, and the glass of wine was almost empty. Wen Chu noticed that the man's face was flushed, making him look both pitiful and easy to bully.
She was quite surprised by this.
He drank a ton at the banquet before and was fine, but this time he started blushing after less than a glass? How strong was that liquor her dad was serving? Was he trying to kill him?
No wonder those two wouldn't let her drink.
Wen Chu shrank back, thinking that this personality was a perfect copy of her father's. When she was in high school, a male classmate liked her and would always create coincidences to walk home with her after school. She didn't think much of it and just treated him as a friend, but her father saw it twice, and then she was suspected of having a puppy love. Her father insisted on inviting him to their home to test his intentions.
Wen Chu had to persuade him quite a bit before she finally stopped him.
She finally realized that her father definitely wanted to get her drunk today to test her.
If Lu Ming still doesn't like her, her father might refuse to let her help with future projects no matter what. That wouldn't be a good thing.
Once she thought about it, the thing that had puzzled her suddenly became clear. Lu Ming, with porcelain in his left hand and a famous painting in his right, was actually there to indirectly seek cooperation.
Are you using her as a target?
He reasoned with her and appealed to her emotions, wanting her to go back to work and also hoping to advance her career. He brought Komin into the situation, sharing the risks and benefits, and also building a closer relationship.
That bastard's head is definitely full of self-interest! He played his cards so well!
Of course, her father was definitely unwilling due to considerations of their relationship, which led to the current situation. The attitude her father wanted was actually Lu Ming's attitude towards her.
If it's good, we'll stay together; if not, we'll break up now.
If they weren't so far apart, Wen Chu would have loved to kick him. She glared fiercely at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming remained seated, listening attentively to Wen Shiyang, oblivious to her inner thoughts.
The old man and the young man huddled together, chatting about business matters and amusing incidents from the past. Wen Shiyang also subtly inquired about Lu Ming's family atmosphere.
Lu Ming responded to each of them, but his eyes gradually became less clear.
Wen Chu was annoyed, but she definitely didn't want the "cooperation" to fall through, since it would benefit her mission. So she started to get nervous. What if her dad asked Lu Ming if he liked her, and that jerk still said no? She herself hadn't even figured out Lu Ming's true feelings for her.
She had planned to wait for the results of the competition before pressing him for an answer, but before she could, she was locked up at home.
If the favorability rating is less than 50%, it seems like there's a high probability that they won't admit it.
Wen Chu imagined the scene of the man, drunk, saying that he only liked Wen Xue and had no romantic feelings for her, and the scene of her father turning ashen-faced after hearing it, wanting to kick him out of the house and never let them have any contact again. She had an extremely bad headache.
No, we absolutely cannot let this happen!
Why the rush? We could have waited until we'd built up a relationship before exploring things further! Why now of all times?
Seeing Lu Ming drinking nonstop, Wen Chu felt a pang of sympathy and couldn't help but stop him, saying, "Dad, don't let him drink anymore... How can he go home after drinking so much?"
Wen Shiyang glared at her again, a hint of drunkenness showing on his face: "Why haven't you finished eating yet? Go downstairs when you're done. Your older brother is usually so busy that he never chats with me. It just so happens that he's here, so what's wrong with us chatting for a bit?"
Lu Ming echoed Wen Shiyang's words, saying, "It's alright, I'm fine."
Hey, why are you always the ingrate? It's like I'm always the bad cop and you're always the good cop!
Wen Chu felt both angry and relieved; she never expected to see Lu Ming so humble one day. However, if they could secure the robotics project, the risks and rewards would be directly proportional, making Baiyue's turnaround a sure thing. It was indeed worth Lu Ming bowing down like this.
But what saddened her even more was that she actually had the chance to witness her father overseeing her career.
Thinking of this, Wen Chu's usually fiery heart softened again. She calmed down and watched the two of them drinking and chatting, a touch of sadness welling up in her heart and eyes.
A myriad of thoughts, dense and subtle, seeped into my heart.
She lowered her head and ate a mouthful of rice, trying to hide the strange feeling in her heart.
From the moment Wen Chu blossomed into a graceful young woman, Wen Shiyang would always look at her and tell Yang Lan what kind of person she should look for in the future: he must be reliable, ambitious, able to earn money, good-looking, and thoughtful...
For more than ten years, countless rules and regulations have been added, and he always says that his eyes are the ruler, and he can tell at a glance whether something is a mule or a horse.
Yang Lan glared at him and said, "Can't my daughter find someone? Does she have to find a cow or a horse?"
Although Wen Chu was the center of the discussion, she acted as if she were detached, laughing heartily as she was amused. She actually knew that the other woman couldn't bear to part with her when she imagined the scene of her getting married.
Although she felt it was unnecessary, even if she got married, she would still come back home as usual. It was just that they couldn't be together every day like before, but it wasn't that dramatic.
Unfortunately, the other party didn't even get to see that day.
Last year, when she went to the cemetery to pay her respects to him, she complained in front of his tombstone about why he had to leave so early. She had said that she had to get past him before she could find a girlfriend, and before she could even bring one home to meet him, he was gone.
If I get scammed in the future, I'll blame him.
Wen Chu didn't know whether this scene made up for her or her father's regret.
Even though she constantly tells herself that the happiness she sees is an illusion and that she shouldn't have too much of a withdrawal reaction when she leaves this world, she still can't help but be moved by it.
The sound of Wen Shiyang and Lu Ming talking loudly kept coming to her ears, and Wen Chu's mood suddenly became very complicated.
Driven by personal feelings, she didn't want the dinner to end badly.
She glanced at Lu Ming, also curious about his thoughts. She seemed to still harbor a slight hope that Lu Ming could gain her father's approval.
Seemingly noticing her gaze, Lu Ming also glanced at her.
Neither of them could decipher the meaning in the other's eyes, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Wen Shiyang was still saying, "Come on, drink! It's almost empty, pour some more!"
Lu Ming stood up again, filled the glasses for himself and others, and his hand swayed almost imperceptibly as he poured the wine.
He desperately wanted to rub his temples. The alcohol was hitting his brain, making his eyes hot and his head spin. But Wen Shiyang handed him the glass again, so he could only raise it, steel himself, and take a large gulp as a sign of respect.
After a few rounds of drinks, Lu Ming's hands were on the table, and his reactions became noticeably slower. He stared at the table quietly, still sitting upright, like a good student listening attentively to his teacher.
He answered whatever Wen Shiyang said.
Wen Shiyang, observing Lu Ming's state closely, and drawing on his years of experience in drinking circles, felt it was time to get down to business. So he said earnestly, "I think I'm most proud of three things in my life. The first is that when I was young, I was stubborn and founded Kemin. Back then, nobody believed in it, only my wife supported me and thought it was doable. Look at me now, haven't I succeeded? Do you know what that means?"
Lu Ming touched the back of his neck and pondered for a moment: "It means... once you've identified the right opportunity, you must act decisively and persevere to the end?"
"Wrong! It means that only men who listen to their wives can make a fortune and keep it!"
Wen Chu: "..."
Yang Lan: "..."
Yang Lan couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, then whispered to Wen Chu, "I'm afraid that Lu Ming won't get drunk, but your dad will pass out first. If that's embarrassing, I'll just pretend I don't know him."
Lu Ming nodded very seriously and said, "Yes, you are right."
They remained silent, as if they genuinely agreed with what the other person said.
"So, when you have a wife in the future, will you listen to her?"
Lu Ming nodded dully again: "Yes!"
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Author's note: I've been incredibly productive lately, it's exhausting! [crying emoji] [eating melon emoji]
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