"Big Sister, once you reach that level, you'll understand!" Section Chief Liu chuckled and then said, "But you probably won't have that chance."
"Alas!" Auntie Zhou shook her head and said, "Then forget it, I think as long as I have enough money to spend, that's fine."
"You don't understand." Section Chief Liu laughed heartily and then added, "Okay, now that the job is done, I'm off. Also, you really must not cause any trouble for our leaders. Otherwise, the trouble would be big!"
"As long as you don't dismantle our street lights, we'll definitely be fine," Auntie Zhou said, shaking her head.
Section Chief Liu left highly satisfied. He had thought he would need to put in quite a struggle but had managed to settle the matter so effortlessly. With orders from above, he had to smooth things over no matter what. Now, he could go back and report that he had done so.
Watching the municipal officials depart.
Pah!
Xiao Han spat towards their retreating figures, cursing resentfully, "A bunch of parasites, a bunch of national parasites, sucking the blood of the people."
"Well said," Auntie Zhou nodded in agreent.
In fact, they had imagined governnt people to be corrupt, but they had never expected them to be quite so rotten, which was indeed a bit of a surprise. With a sense of helplessness, Auntie Zhou said, "What kind of governnt can we expect to be led by this bunch?"
"Big Sister, I think this might just be a problem with the municipal services, not directly related to the governnt," Xiao Han said with a smile. "The fact that Linjiang City has developed to what it is today shows that our Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Governnt are still quite effective."
"Exactly!" Auntie Xiaohong eagerly nodded in agreent.
Looking at the price list provided by the municipal services, Auntie Zhou said with a wry smile, "Those officials really have it hard."
"Big Sister Zhou, what do you an by that?" Xiao Han asked, puzzled.
"They rack their brains to embezzle and take bribes," Auntie Zhou said with a laugh. "They absolutely won't allow any dissenting opinions. You see, they try every possible way to make money, and still find ways to hide it from the hardworking public, making their corruption seem justified."
"So what can be done?" Xiao Han asked.
"Let's drop it, it's the New Year," Auntie Zhou said, shaking her head. "I should just do my part. As for the rest, we can't change it, can we?"
"Yeah," Xiao Han nodded.
The first day of the New Year's morning passed just like that. By the ti everyone left the Residents' Committee, almost everyone had dispersed.
By noon, there were significantly fewer people in the community; all had gone ho for lunch.
Liu Xiaolei had also gone ho to eat.
At noon, Xiao Han and Mother Xiao went to Xiao Mingguo's house to pay a New Year's visit. The house was packed with people at lunchti, around the sa table where they had eaten the day before. Everyone was gathered together. Xiao Zhicheng was not ho; he had taken his wife out for a drive in his BMW car. That morning, during the New Year's visits, the guy had shown off quite a bit by driving his luxurious BMW SUV around his classmates. Everyone thought he had struck it rich. It took a while to realize that it wasn't his car, but having a relative who could afford such a luxury BMW was sothing to be proud of, indeed.
"Xiao Han, you're here?" Xiao Mingguo saw Xiao Han's family co in and quickly went over to greet them, a sign of honor that nobody else had received. Today, it was Xiao Han's turn. Now, Xiao Han's status was different. He was considered a bit of a local tycoon in the Xiao family.
Ever since they had seen Xiao Han's mansion and his nice car, their fondness for Xiao Han had skyrocketed.
"Eldest Uncle, happy New Year," Xiao Han nodded his head.
"Why did you co so late?" Xiao Mingguo hurriedly said, "We've been waiting for you to eat all this ti."
"That's so considerate of you," Mother Xiao hurriedly replied. "Why didn't you eat first?"
"You hadn't arrived; how could we eat first? That would be impolite," Xiao Mingguo quickly shook his head.
"Yeah, that would be impolite," Aunt Xiao also hurriedly nodded.
Now, Xiao Han had clearly beco the star of the Xiao family. The mbers of the Xiao family treated him with absolute reverence and respect. Ordinarily, as a junior mber of the family, Xiao Han shouldn't warrant such grand formalities, nor should he receive them, but the Xiao family treated him as if he were an ancestor to be venerated.
"Let's eat, let's eat!" Xiao Mingguo eagerly called out.
While speaking, Xiao Mingguo pulled Xiao Han to sit beside him. Everyone saw it and took note, but no one had much to say since Xiao Han's status and position had changed, and he deserved such treatnt.
Aunt Xiao pulled Mother Xiao to sit beside her and said, "Sister-in-law, you've had it tough all these years. Now it's finally your turn to enjoy life."
"Yes," Mother Xiao nodded, "Xiao Han has really made us proud, he's made a na for himself at last."
"Indeed." Aunt Xiao nodded too, "Xiao Han is the child I've watched grow up, and now he's finally made it, not letting our hard work go to waste."
"Mhm!" Mother Xiao nodded and said, "I've harbored great hopes for him since he was a child, hoping he'd lead a successful life."
Everyone took their seats, Xiao Mingguo and Xiao Minghua were drinking, with Xiao Han also by their side keeping them company.
When a person succeeds, whatever they say is right, and they'll be revered by everyone; but if a person fails, not only is everything they say considered wrong, but they will also be despised by all.
Back when Xiao Han's family was poor, they were looked down upon by the Xiao's family mbers. Now, Xiao Han has succeeded, and his status and standing have undergone an earth-shattering transformation. Consequently, everything naturally cannot be spoken of in the sa breath as before.
At the dinner table, Xiao Han wasn't ignored, Xiao Mingguo and Xiao Minghua were now mostly talking about Xiao Han.
After three rounds of drinks.
Xiao Mingguo started, "Xiao Han, is your company hiring?"
"What's up?" Xiao Han asked, puzzled.
Xiao Mingguo smiled and then said, "Dahai isn't going with to Shenzhen anymore, so going alone ans I'll have no company. That's why I thought about it and decided to look for a job in Linjiang City. I don't know if your company is hiring, but if not, then never mind."
Xiao Mingguo had been thinking about this for a long ti. In fact, the mont he saw Xiao Han driving luxury cars and living in mansions, he believed that Xiao Han must have succeeded in business. Thus, he was hoping for a less demanding job. Even if the salary wasn't as high as in Shenzhen, it didn't matter as long as it was stable. That was Xiao Mingguo's innermost thought.
Xiao Mingguo chuckled, a hint of embarrassnt on his face.
Especially given that Xiao Han hadn't given any response yet, which made Xiao Mingguo even more embarrassed. After a brief silence, Xiao Han smiled and said, "Eldest Uncle, I might consider Dahai and Zhicheng, but truthfully, you wouldn't fit in with our industry. After all, it's a young person's industry, and I'm afraid you're not quite familiar with these things. If we hired you, I'm afraid it wouldn't work out for the company!"
"Oh…" Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingguo uttered an "oh" and didn't continue.
Xiao Minghua had been eavesdropping intently, and when he heard Xiao Han's refusal, he imdiately relaxed and a smile appeared on his lips. He seed quite relieved. After taking a small sip of his drink, he said, "Xiao Han, if my big brother doesn't fit, what about ? I'm still young, right?"
"Uncle, don't tease ," Xiao Han said awkwardly, "This industry really isn't suitable for you!"
"Xiao Han, you keep saying this industry, this industry, what exactly does your company do?" Aunt Xiao asked eagerly, showing great curiosity about Xiao Han's company. And with Xiao Han making so much money, it must not be so small company, probably a big one.
"Yeah, we're all very curious!" Your aunt chid in with curiosity.
The crowd was looking at Xiao Han with imnse curiosity.
Xiao Han knew that if he didn't provide a reasonable explanation at this ti, it could easily cause misunderstanding. Although he wasn't concerned about their opinions, his mother did care. If he didn't speak up, it was likely his mother would, so Xiao Han decided to explain himself, as it would be more convincing.
"You should all know the Apple authorized store at the corner of the pedestrian street, right?" Xiao Han looked around at everyone and said, "That's the only Apple authorized store in Linjiang City. That's my company, Hann Technology Co., Ltd."
"Wow…"
The group was abuzz with astonishnt, none of them having expected the largest Apple specialty store in Linjiang City to be run by their own relative. They all had bought phones there before. Inside, the phones were expensive, used mainly by the young folks, with a single phone rumored to cost six or seven thousand. What's more, they didn't negotiate the price, and importantly, there were always a lot of buyers. Everyone knew that the Apple store made plenty of money, easily pulling in hundreds of thousands a month.
"My god, I bought a phone there."
"Really? Is that Apple store really yours?"
At the dining table, the group was visibly surprised and excited. Surprised at how unexpected it was and excited that the Apple store was owned by a relative, a fact that would be very prestigious to share with others. Maybe they could even get an unexpected discount on phones in the future.
"Yes!" Xiao Han nodded, "That's my store."
"That's amazing," Aunt Xiao exclaid in amazent, "No wonder you drive luxury cars and live in mansions at such a young age."
"I never would have guessed," your aunt said excitedly, "Last month, when Dahai just ca back, he dragged there to buy him an Apple phone, almost six thousand. It felt like cutting flesh, but I noticed that none of the custors even blinked when buying phones. So bought several at once."
"Absolutely!" Aunt Xiao nodded, "Which brand of phones sells the hottest? It's definitely Apple. Linjiang City has only that one official authorized store, so how could it not make money? Monopoly businesses are the best. If you don't buy from there, there's no second option."
Reviews
All reviews (0)