During the wait, Sun Dasheng had a server clear the table of their earlier leftovers. He then had Qian Zhi order several more dishes that his wife liked.
Just as the food was almost ready, their guests arrived. It wasn’t just Qian Zhi’s wife; she had brought another woman along with her.
Both won were in their thirties and fairly attractive. They might not have been great beauties, but they could certainly be considered pretty. However, one of them wore no makeup at all, while the other was heavily made-up. The one with heavy makeup glanced disdainfully at the small, roadside barbecue stand.
"i Na, your husband is still so stingy. He can’t even pick a nicer place to eat."
The woman she addressed, Yang i Na, gave a faint smile. "i i, my husband was just laid off. Please be mindful of what you say in front of him."
"Oh, I know, I know. You just love to spoil those n. If you ask , you should take advantage of your youth and beauty to divorce him and find soone new. That’s the smart move. Isn’t Manager Wang from our hotel still smitten with you?"
Yang i Na quickly cut her friend’s nonsense short because her husband was walking over to greet them, accompanied by the old classmate he had ntioned on the phone.
Curious, she looked over. She had never seen this old classmate of her husband’s before; he was a complete stranger to her. But he’s a fine-looking man, tall and handso—a rare sight among middle-aged n.
"i Na, you’re here! And i i, welco," Qian Zhi said, quickly making introductions.
"Da Sheng, this is my wife, Yang i Na. She’s been married to for over ten years, gave a lovely daughter, and now works as a lobby manager at a hotel. She’s virtuous and capable."
Sun Dasheng smiled and said, "A pleasure to et you."
Then Qian Zhi introduced his old classmate to his wife.
"i Na, this is my deskmate from all three years of high school. He’s a great friend. We haven’t seen each other in over a decade. I’m so happy we ran into each other today."
Yang i Na also greeted "Brother Sun," and after the introductions were complete, everyone sat down.
"Eat up, everyone! Make yourselves at ho," Qian Zhi said, trying to liven things up.
The group was chatting and laughing when an unpleasant voice cut through the air.
"Old Qian, is this really the kind of place you bring an old classmate you haven’t seen in over ten years?" Wang i i asked with a hint of disdain.
Qian Zhi felt a flush of embarrassnt, not expecting his wife’s best friend to be so rude. I rember she wasn’t like this before. She used to call ’Brother Qian’ this and ’Brother Qian’ that. When did she start calling ’Old Qian’?
Seeing his old friend’s discomfort, Sun Dasheng ca to the rescue. "What’s wrong with this place? Back in high school, we used to co to little stands like this all the ti. It has a familiar feel, a familiar taste. I actually quite like it."
"Right, right, right!" Yang i Na said, nudging her friend and signaling for her to be quiet.
She felt a headache coming on. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have brought her best friend along. However, they had been out shopping together when her husband called, and it hadn’t occurred to her to step away, so her friend overheard the entire conversation. Her friend then claid she was starving and wanted to tag along for a free al, and Yang i Na didn’t have the heart to turn her away. It was true, too. They had both been on the night shift recently, so they slept all morning before going out to shop and were now famished.
After her friend’s signal, Wang i i stopped causing trouble, perhaps because she really was hungry. She started devouring a roasted duck leg, exclaiming how delicious it was!
Without her disruptions, the conversation among the other three began to flow. Before long, the topic turned to work.
"I resigned a while ago and started my own company. Just a small business," Sun Dasheng said modestly.
"Oh? My husband was also recently laid off by his company," Yang i Na lanted. "What is wrong with the world these days? We’re only in our mid-thirties. Is it already ti for us to ’retire’?"
So that’s what happened, Yang i Na thought, her mind suddenly clearing. No wonder I saw him handing out flyers on the street. He must have just been laid off and couldn’t find a good job right away, so he’s handing out flyers to get by.
Yang i Na interpreted Sun Dasheng’s words as a sign of shared misfortune, assuming his situation was as difficult as her husband’s.
But Wang i i, busy gnawing on her duck leg, heard things differently.
With a look of scorn, she said, "Starting a company? Isn’t entrepreneurship practically a death sentence these days? You’ve got a lot of nerve. Aren’t you afraid of losing your entire life’s savings?"
Then, turning to her best friend, Yang i Na, she added, "You’d better keep a tight grip on your family’s finances. Don’t let your Old Qian follow his so-called old classmate and sink all your savings into so startup. When you lose everything, don’t say I didn’t warn you." She said all this as if it were simply a matter of course.
"Wang i i, what is that supposed to an? If you don’t want to eat, then please leave," Qian Zhi said, his patience finally snapping.
She can criticize all she wants, but she can’t talk about my old classmate, my good friend. I treat her to a al, and this is how she repays , with all these snide remarks?
Wang i i, who was in the middle of taking a bite of the duck leg, was stunned. It was the first ti she had ever seen the good-tempered, easy-going Qian Zhi lose his temper.
Furious, she slamd the duck leg down on the table. "This frozen garbage is worth a few bucks at most. You think I actually enjoy eating this?"
"This whole setup is just low-class."
"i Na, let’s go!"
She grabbed her purse and pulled her best friend up, ready to storm out. However, her "frozen garbage" remark provoked a strong reaction from the barbecue stand’s owner.
"Miss, you can eat what you like, but you can’t just run your mouth! All of our at is bought fresh from the market first thing in the morning. You can’t just slander people without any proof. If you don’t have evidence, you shouldn’t make such accusations. Otherwise, you’ll have to take responsibility for your words."
In the little barbecue stand, all the other custors turned to watch the commotion. The owner knew that if he didn’t clear up the misunderstanding, it would definitely affect his future business. More importantly, it would damage his reputation, as his little shop relied almost entirely on repeat custors.
Seeing the furious owner, Wang i i showed no fear and said disdainfully:
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