Chapter 21: You think you can just get out of the Ji family with a single phone call?
Originally, the two of them didn't need such a grand affair to return to Shanghai, but for the Ji family, Zhong Yan was a golden son-in-law.
Many times, Ji Tanyuan would remind herself of how others treated Zhong Yan, that her husband was born with a privilege that others could only dream of.
Because when the two of them usually get along, Zhong Yan is too down-to-earth. He doesn't act like Yun Duan, who is high and mighty and has a group of people waiting to serve him.
Besides indulging in ultra-luxury items like yachts and private jets, like other wealthy families, he also...
She would tidy up the master bedroom and clean on Saturdays, cook a meal on a whim, and even ride her expensive mountain bike to a convenience store in the middle of the night to buy condoms.
So Ji Tanyuan thought he was quite amazing. Yes, amazing. He had a high ceiling but also a low floor. He acted according to his own preferences, except for his germaphobia.
They gradually forgot that the person next to them was a central figure in Beijing's elite circles.
But today, the entire Ji family is here, making it comparable to a thank-you banquet after the wedding. Ji Tanyuan looked at the man beside her, wearing a black shirt, unlike when he was at home wearing flip-flops and shorts and catching koi fish. At this moment, he was dignified and aloof.
The private room was a high-end VIP room at Fu Rong Club. The table was very large, and the Ji family members sat around it.
The waiter at the door saw the two people and was about to open the door when the door opened a crack, and the sound of voices coming from inside could be heard first.
Ji Tanyuan grabbed the waiter's arm to stop him from opening the door. Zhong Yan raised an eyebrow but didn't stop him. He liked eavesdropping too.
He lowered his head and casually removed Ji Tanyuan's hand from the waiter's arm. The waiter kept his head down and dared not make a sound.
So the four of them listened to the sounds coming from behind the screen.
First came a hoarse voice speaking in a dialect that Zhong Yan couldn't quite understand; the dialect sounded like a foreign language.
"Fourth brother, Tan Yuan is already married. I'm not trying to be nosy, but she'll be someone else's wife in the future. With such a big company, you need to train a good successor so that our Ji family can continue to prosper."
“You guys are saying you don’t want to have another son? Tan Yuan is a girl, her abilities are limited. There are so many boys in the family, I think it would be good for her to go to headquarters to get some training. I don’t like Lu Ke, he’s always trying to talk to me in English. Tan Yuan is the same, she’s been abroad for a long time, her thinking is too Westernized, she’s not suitable for a local family business at all.” Ji Ting, Ji Tan Yuan’s uncle, went on and on, basically saying that now that Ji Tan Yuan is married, it’s time to choose a suitable successor.
Ji Tanyuan heard her father's voice: "Big brother, professional managers are better. Professionals do professional work. We don't understand management and can't keep up with the times."
“How can he be a professional manager? He’s an outsider! Are you stupid?” Ji Tanyuan’s second uncle said.
"Fourth brother, you're not thinking of giving the company to your daughter, are you? Be careful your son-in-law doesn't eat you out of your family fortune. I don't agree. Our Ji family has finally gotten better, how can we let it fall into the hands of outsiders?" Ji Tanyuan's uncle continued.
Ji Qing didn't speak, but Ji's second uncle started talking like a double act, echoing, "Fourth brother, eldest brother is doing this for the good of the family. Now that Mom and Dad are gone, we have to rely on eldest brother, the head of the family, to support us, right?"
Ji Qing seemed to have really taken it to heart, "I know my brother means well, but Tan Yuan is still my daughter after she's married into the family."
"When did I say she wasn't your daughter? She gets the shares and dividends. I meant the company management shouldn't be handed over to outsiders," Ji Ting interrupted him, somewhat annoyed.
“She needs her family to support her. Fourth Uncle, as her older brother, I must be a good support for Tan Yuan so that she has a way out in the future,” said Ji Ting’s eldest son, Ji Ziqian.
Zhong Yan whispered in her ear, adding fuel to the fire, "They're the ones who are really taking advantage of the family's wealth."
As the era's dividends recede and the pie shrinks, the process of natural selection eliminates two extreme types of people: those with too much conscience and those with no conscience at all. Ji Qing belongs to the former.
Ji Tanyuan pushed open the door, making a noise, and then it suddenly became quiet inside.
Ji Tanyuan's calm voice rang out, "I'm sorry, we're late."
Zhong Yan and Ji Tanyuan emerged from behind the screen, both dressed entirely in black. Everyone's expression changed, and they unconsciously stood up.
Zhong Yan placed his hand on Ji Tanyuan's waist, close to hers, and took a step forward, calling out to his father, "Sorry we're late."
Ji Qing's hair was a little gray, but his back was straight, there were fine lines at the corners of his eyes, his skin was not dark, his eyes were gentle, and he had a refined air. He smiled awkwardly and said, "It's good that you're here. Please sit down."
Zhong Yan pulled out a seat for Ji Tanyuan. There were no other women present, only Ji Tanyuan.
Zhong Yan led the group to sit down, and Ji Ting said with a smile, "Huanghuang, why don't you go next door? Your aunt and cousin are next door."
He then looked at Zhong Yan's reaction, but he couldn't tell if he was satisfied.
Ji Tanyuan laughed and said, "Can't I listen to what you want to say?"
"No way, we smoke, we're not afraid of you..."
“Then I won’t smoke.” Ji Tanyuan interrupted her uncle.
Ji Tanyuan said calmly, "Then I won't smoke, Uncle. If you can't stand it, go to the smoking room."
Ji Ting didn't expect Ji Tanyuan to be so disrespectful. It seems she heard those words and is angry.
But he was telling the truth. How could a married woman possibly inherit the Ji family business? This company is called the Ji family; how could it be inherited by someone who has already left?
The atmosphere cooled down, and Ji Tanyuan's second uncle, Ji Yu, stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Huanghuang thinks smoking is bad for your health, brother, you should smoke less."
On the field were Ji Tanyuan's father, her eldest, second, and third uncles, and four cousins. In terms of appearance, it was like a swan born in a toad's nest. Ji Qing's appearance was that of the swan in the nest. Zhong Yan increasingly felt that Ji Qing was not his biological son. If not, the genetic mutation was too severe.
Ji Qing's face darkened. He didn't notice it until Zhong Yan arrived at the private room. In stark contrast to his nephews, Zhong Yan was 188 cm tall, handsome, and upright. He had no unnecessary small movements, nor was he overly arrogant or rude. He possessed the true air of a noble young master cultivated by a prominent family.
He finally felt ashamed, ashamed for his daughter.
Ji Tanyuan didn't have such thoughts. After all, the Zhong family wasn't much better, they were all in the same boat, and every family had its own troubles. No one had the right to look down on the other.
The waiter came in and started serving the food.
Zhong Yan remained silent for a while, so Ji Tanyuan's cousin, Ji Ziqian, started the conversation, asking how long the two would stay.
Zhong Yan glanced at Ji Tanyuan, who was drinking water, and replied with a smile, "Look, Tanyuan, once she's finished, we'll go back."
"Busy? Huanghuang, what are you busy with? Tell your brother what's wrong and let him handle it for you," said Ji Yu, the second uncle of the Ji family.
Ji Yu's son, Ji Zhan, wearing a fully printed shirt from a luxury brand and a silver earring, responded, "That's right, it's just a matter of one phone call from you, why bother making a wasted trip?"
You think you can just get out of the Ji family with just one phone call?
Ji Tanyuan put down her water glass. "Besides missing home, of course I'm also preparing to separate Qinghe Real Estate from the Ji Group headquarters."
As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions on everyone's faces at the table changed.
Ji Tanyuan originally planned not to say anything, after all, she wanted to have a nice meal, but when she arrived, she found that not only were men and women seated separately, but they were also talking about daydreams behind her back.
So what if she got married? Her marriage doesn't change the fact that she is now the heir to the Ji family.
Even if she gets married eight hundred times, becoming Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Li, Mrs. Zhang, all the money that is rightfully hers will still be hers.
In order to exclude her daughter from the line of succession, she made up all sorts of excuses, even preventing her from being included in the family genealogy. She didn't care about family interests; this was fine, since she only cared about her personal interests anyway.
If it weren't for the need to inherit the company, she would never have agreed to the marriage to save the group.
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