"Zhang Hongmei, are you bullying me again?" Cheng Guangxu couldn't argue with Zhang Hongmei and protested his innocence.
"How could that be? See, I'm telling you the truth, and you still don't like it. The ancients were right: honest advice is hard to swallow."
The other two wouldn't be foolish enough to get involved; they just treated it like a performance, which was quite lively. Cheng Guangxu always ended up getting the short end of the stick, but this guy never learns from his mistakes.
When the four arrived home, they found it unusually lively. More than a dozen people from the National University had come together.
Zhang Hongmei greeted everyone, even Jiang Mingyan, without showing any unusual expression. In her mind, it wasn't a big deal. Once it was out in the open, it was over.
Jiang Mingyan felt somewhat uneasy, but seeing that Zhang Hongmei treated her no differently from the others, she felt relieved. She had been worried that Zhang Hongmei would give her a hard time, thinking that if she did, she wouldn't come next time.
Zhang Hongmei went to the kitchen and saw that the food was quite plentiful. Suddenly, she realized that she hadn't paid for any of the expenses here, and that this wouldn't do.
This should all be paid for by Zhao Tiancheng; remember to pay him back in the next few days. I don't want to take advantage of others. Zhang Shouyi's deal with him is their business. I will also receive a living allowance, but it's better for me to manage my own household expenses.
Dong Yuping and Miao Xinyue were helping Wang Xinyi knead the dough, Zhao Yuetong and Wang Minxia were chopping minced meat with cleavers, and Shen Yunfang was chopping onions.
Are we getting ready to make dumplings?
"Hongmei, you're back! We all wanted to eat dumplings, so we came over for a meal." Zhao Yuetong smiled at Zhang Hongmei with red eyes, realizing she was too close to the onion and her eyes kept welling up with tears.
"Hehe, welcome. I'll go wash my hands first, then I'll come over and help make dumplings." How many dumplings will we need to make for twenty people?
When it was time to start making dumplings, Jiang Mingyan came over to help. The eight women worked quite fast. Zhang Hongmei estimated that they made about a thousand dumplings, and the last batch wasn't taken out until 8 p.m.
Shen Yunfang's dumpling filling smelled delicious. And she cooked them perfectly. Zhang Hongmei unconsciously ate more than she should have.
After the meal, Zhang Hongmei was surprised to see that there were less than a hundred dumplings left. Looking at their stomachs, she wondered where all the food had gone.
The five male colleagues who started working were not familiar with Zhang Hongmei and the others before, and they were different from the three ladies, so they all felt quite embarrassed.
Cheng Guangxu was different. Leaning back on the sofa, he said, "I ate too much today. These dumplings are so delicious. I'm so full."
Zhao Hao was sitting next to Wang Xinyi. "Mom, these dumplings are delicious. Let's eat them again in a few days."
"Okay, I'll make you a vegetarian one to try."
"Can vegetarian fillings taste good?"
"Of course it's delicious. I'll make it for you when I have the chance, and I guarantee you'll love it."
"I'm really looking forward to it!"
After that, everyone started getting to know each other better, and of course, most of them contacted Zhang Hongmei.
They won't be coming tomorrow; they want to participate in a school activity.
Zhao Hao laughed, "This is a famous social event at our school, and it has brought together so many couples. You guys better watch out."
Jiang Mingyan looked at Zhao Haozheng with a puzzled expression and asked, "Aren't you participating?"
"I'm not going. I don't like these kinds of events. You can go if you want, but take my advice: it's better to keep a low profile and not follow the crowd."
"It sounds terrifying from what you're saying? Then I'd better not go." Miao Xinyue said with a frightened look on her face.
The other girls all looked a little scared, but Jiang Mingyan was completely unfazed.
Zhang Hongmei frowned. "It's good that you're not going, Senior Miao. I hope the girls won't go either."
Jiang Mingyan pouted, "I've already told my classmates, how can I not go? Besides, this is just a classmate reunion. What danger could there be? You're all overthinking it."
Several male students were also eager to try.
Zhang Hongmei's face showed disapproval, but she still patiently asked, "What are your thoughts, senior students?"
Dong Yuping and Wang Minxia both looked somewhat embarrassed, but Dong Yuping finally spoke up, "We've already promised to go, so we'd like to go and take a look."
"Senior Miao, Senior Zhao, where are you two?"
"I'm not going. Xinyue and I won't go back today. We'll eat here at your place tomorrow and the day after." Zhao Yuetong joked with Zhang Hongmei, winking at her.
"Welcome! Tell Aunt Chen what you'd like to eat."
There was no need to continue the conversation at this point, and the remaining ten people said their goodbyes and left after a while.
No one in the living room had left yet. Zhang Hongmei frowned. "Zhao Haozheng, what exactly is going on with this gathering?"
"Heh, to put it bluntly, I'm a pimp. Do you understand?"
Zhao Yuetong and Miao Xinyue both patted their chests, feeling a wave of relief.
"Zhang Hongmei, should we stop them?" Cheng Guangxu jumped up.
"I don't know either, I'm just afraid the girl will get taken advantage of." After saying that, she looked at Zeng Zhongkang.
“But we’ve already told them what’s really important, and they still insist on going. I’m afraid that even if we stop them this time, they won’t be able to resist the temptation next time.” Zhang Hongmei said, shaking her head in distress.
Zeng Zhongkang looked at the little girl with her brows furrowed and sighed inwardly. He really didn't want to get involved in their affairs; they were all adults and had to be responsible for their own actions. But he also didn't want her to be troubled by this.
“I’ll go there. I won’t intervene until something happens to them, otherwise they won’t learn their lesson.”
"I'll go with you. I know them well. You're just making trouble for no reason. I was hoping my mom would prepare hot pot for me tomorrow," Zhao Hao muttered reluctantly.
"Hehe, if tomorrow isn't possible, we can eat the day after tomorrow, or even tomorrow at noon." Wang Xinyi is really carefree now, at this age. She can still get married, and her partner is someone she's very satisfied with. His child is an adult, but still very dependent on and respectful of her, which makes her experience what it's like to be a mother.
"Mom, let's have lunch tomorrow. Their party isn't until the evening. They have no common sense or sense of crisis at all. You just arrived and don't know the situation yet. There's no need for them to invite you. If they don't get anything out of it, nobody will believe it. A bunch of vain women."
"Haozheng, watch your words. We are from the same country, and we should help and support each other when we are abroad."
"I know, Dad. I just think they're so stupid."
"Hehe, they should learn their lesson from this experience. They haven't experienced it before, and because it's new, they want to try it out. Besides, they probably want to fit in as quickly as possible." Zhao Tiancheng sighed. Who hasn't been young at some point?
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