As the end of the year approached, Chen Pingjiang also became busy.
He had to attend the annual meetings of his various companies one by one.
This year, the companies' performance was good, and the annual meetings were quite grand.
In fact, this was not only the case for Chen Pingjiang's companies; other major internet companies and even real estate companies were the same, with annual meetings becoming more spectacular year by year.
It was no longer uncommon for big bosses to get on stage and sing.
It's a pity that this situation wouldn't last for many years; once cost reduction and efficiency improvement arrived, annual meetings would become dull.
No money, no exciting performances.
Chen Pingjiang established a separate company to manage the bars, and Zhou Guanghan and the other two were also shareholders.
These three also emptied their pockets.
Among them, Zhou Guanghan invested one million yuan, part of which was the money earned from the barbecue restaurant over the past few years, and part was the money from the buyback by Zhizhen Catering.
Zhao Shaoyang also contributed eight hundred thousand yuan.
It was indeed easier to do business under Chen Pingjiang's banner; his family members, hearing that Chen Pingjiang was a major shareholder, eagerly offered money.
If he hadn't been afraid of overshadowing Zhou Guanghan, Zhao Shaoyang would have directly invested three million yuan.
Dai Sheng had no savings, so he scraped together three hundred thousand yuan.
Everyone knew that Chen Pingjiang was helping his old buddies; once it opened, they could practically lie back and make money.
Chen Pingjiang kept his word, renting the best location and decorating it to the highest standards, using all the high-tech and black technology available.
Chen Pingjiang rented an apartment for Cong Nini in a high-end residential area relatively close to Deji Plaza and also provided her with a car, which made the girl affectionately call him "Daddy" countless times.
Cong Nini's changes did not escape the notice of other colleagues.
Everyone discussed it privately, saying that Cong Nini had found a sugar daddy.
Otherwise, how to explain the difference before and after? She wore Cartier jewelry on her wrist and carried Hermès bags to and from work, no longer looking like a counter lady.
Cong Nini was indifferent to others' discussions, simply taking it as jealousy.
She was very satisfied with her current life; the only reason she continued to work was to pass the time.
......
Chen Pingjiang didn't finish his work until the 29th of the twelfth lunar month.
Empress Dowager Xu and Emperor Emeritus Chen returned to Dongjiang not long ago, after staying in Hainan for over a month and then traveling to other places.
The old couple didn't know where they had found a pile of souvenirs and seriously set up a room as a display room.
No longer exposed to wind and rain doing physical labor, and no longer having their nerves constantly taut, both of them visibly improved in condition.
Xu Fangjuan also learned to frequent beauty salons for maintenance and took some vitamin supplements under the doctor's advice, becoming increasingly youthful.
Chen Guangming's physical condition also greatly improved; perhaps due to genetic factors, high blood pressure was inevitable, but it was good if it could come ten or eight years later.
Due to Chen Pingjiang's presence, the lives of those around him were changing.
"The community asked me what day I'm going back after the New Year,"
Chen Guangming asked.
Chen Pingjiang thought for a moment and then shook his head:
"I'm not going back. After the New Year, I have a very important press conference to prepare for."
Empress Dowager Xu chimed in from the side:
"It's good not to go back, saves us from being surrounded by people offering insincere greetings. Besides, our relatives at home all said they're coming to pay New Year's greetings this year, so we can't leave."
The Old Chen family had become prosperous; their status was different now.
In the past, even when they lived very close to their hometown, few relatives would voluntarily visit.
Now that they had moved to Dongjiang, over three hundred kilometers from their hometown, they were actively coming to pay New Year's greetings.
"Oh, Fangjuan, I've missed you terribly. You and Old Chen went on vacation, and I couldn't even make beauty appointments during the weekdays."
Li Yuhua, Yan Liming, and Yan Yan arrived.
The two families planned to spend the New Year together this year.
Chen Pingjiang grinned, thinking that this future mother-in-law's words were getting sweeter and sweeter.
Xu Fangjuan chatted warmly with Li Yuhua, and Yan Liming also exchanged greetings with Chen Guangming.
Only Chen Pingjiang was left, holding his little wife in his arms and playing with her hair.
Yan Yan leaned stickily on Chen Pingjiang, quiet like a ragdoll cat.
"I heard Xiaohongshu is going to be released after the New Year?"
Yan Yan nodded, "That's right. It's already very late, if it's any slower, it will be almost a year."
"What are you afraid of? Slow work makes fine products. Xiaohongshu is different from other social software; content is the most important."
The way these two families got along was quite amusing; the three groups each did their own thing, only coming together for meals.
Nominally, Yan Yan slept in the guest bedroom on the second floor, but everyone knew that they would always sleep in the same bed every night.
On New Year's Eve, Zhou Guanghan also rushed over early to help.
Dai Sheng went home for the New Year.
Zhao Shaoyang had relatives to visit after the New Year.
Zhou Guanghan volunteered to stay and be on duty, checking the decoration site every day to see if any construction materials were missing.
Yan Yan wore a wine-red cheongsam today, for good luck.
The seven-quarter sleeves revealed her jade wrists, and she had a red ribbon tied in her hair, with a lock of hair falling on each cheek.
Delicate lines outlined her perfect figure, and her graceful steps swayed charmingly.
The wine-red cheongsam contrasted sharply with Yan Yan's smooth skin, further accentuating her fair complexion.
Chen Pingjiang's eyes lit up, recalling last night's scene, and he felt his body warm up by two or three degrees.
"Aunt-in-law, Happy New Year!"
Zhou Guanghan greeted with a simple smile.
Yan Yan smiled kindly:
"Happy New Year."
After speaking, she handed Chen Pingjiang a red envelope.
In any case, Zhou Guanghan was a junior.
The nanny aunties in the villa worked in shifts; some went home for the New Year and rushed back immediately after, then another group would go back.
From noon onwards, the kitchen was incredibly lively, with Xu Fangjuan and Li Yuhua in charge of cooking, and the aunties assisting.
Chen Guangming and Yan Liming, looking composed, hid in the study playing chess.
A large table of dishes was prepared until around five or six in the afternoon, filling the entire table.
"Li Fu, come eat with us."
When Chen Pingjiang found Li Fu, the man was serving dishes with other nannies in the small dining room.
The small dining room was usually where the bodyguards and nannies ate.
"Mr. Chen, I won't go."
"Oh, why be so polite?"
"I really won't go."
The man was stubborn, and Chen Pingjiang had no choice but to let him be.
The Old Chen family rarely returned to their hometown to celebrate the New Year with relatives.
This was the largest number of people Chen Pingjiang could remember celebrating the New Year with.
"I propose a toast to everyone, wishing our young people prosperous businesses next year. And to the elders, good health and growing younger year by year!"
"Good, good, let's drink together."
"Happy New Year!"
"..."
After the New Year's Eve dinner, the whole family gathered to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
Chen Pingjiang took Yan Yan outside to set off fireworks.
Fireworks bloomed across the sky, illuminating different faces, flickering between bright and dark.
Yan Yan danced with joy:
"Happy New Year, it's so good to have you."
In short... 2009 was over, and 2010 had arrived.
......
Chen Pingjiang no longer needed to go door-to-door to pay New Year's greetings to leaders; he only selectively visited a few households.
When Ge Mengshi received a call from Chen Pingjiang saying he was coming to pay New Year's greetings, she was quite surprised:
"Why would you think of coming to my house for New Year's greetings?"
On the other end of the phone, Chen Pingjiang laughed:
"I've already 'abducted' someone's precious daughter, shouldn't I show my face to express myself?"
That he would still think of her during the New Year and perfectly consider her feelings, Ge Mengshi said it would be false not to be moved.
After meeting, Ge Mengshi directly left a lipstick mark on Chen Pingjiang's cheek:
"Little man, my sister didn't misjudge you."
Father Ge and Mother Ge were incredibly shocked by Chen Pingjiang's arrival.
They hadn't seen Chen Pingjiang since the two of them pretended to be a couple.
Later, when Chen Pingjiang appeared on TV, they learned of his identity as a wealthy magnate and also found out about their true relationship.
Somewhat strangely, the old couple liked to look for news about Chen Pingjiang whenever they had nothing to do.
The more they looked, the more uncomfortable they felt.
How wonderful it would be if this Chen Pingjiang were really their son-in-law.
"Uncle and Aunt, long time no see! This time, I'm here to pay New Year's greetings as Manager Ge's colleague."
Chen Pingjiang, in his familiar way, carried large and small bags of gifts into the house.
"..."
Words came to their lips, but Father Ge and Mother Ge found themselves at a loss as to what mindset to use to face Chen Pingjiang.
"You're too kind. Since you're here, why bring gifts?"
"Mr. Chen, Shishi is very stubborn normally and rarely listens to others' opinions. If she offends you at work, please be patient with her."
Seeing Chen Pingjiang again, the old couple had lost the composure they had during their previous meeting, appearing increasingly reserved.
There was no way around it; the more they paid attention to and understood Chen Pingjiang, the more they realized how capable this young man in front of them was, making it difficult to face him with a normal mindset.
Especially Ge Bingyi, who was in business, knew what the series of numbers representing wealth behind Chen Pingjiang stood for, not to mention that his daughter was still working for him.
Chen Pingjiang secretly chuckled, thinking to himself that a mother knows her daughter best, and the old couple also knew their daughter was very stubborn.
Since Ge Mengshi decided to have a child, she firmly adopted the supine position during occasional intimate meetings, and after doing the deed, she would prop up her hips with a pillow, maintaining the posture for at least half anades an hour.
However, perhaps because the frequency was low or it wasn't during her ovulation period, she hadn't conceived yet.
After having a meal at the Ge family's house, Chen Pingjiang got up to leave, and Ge Mengshi said she would see him off.
Watching their departing figures, Mother Ge looked at her husband:
"Did you notice?"
Ge Bingyi sighed:
"I'm not blind; how could I not notice?"
From the moment his daughter saw Chen Pingjiang, she always intentionally or unintentionally stared at him with loving eyes.
The old couple were just old, but not blind; as people who had been through it, how could they not see?
Moreover, if it were merely a colleague relationship, and he was a big boss, why would he personally come to pay New Year's greetings?
The most crucial point was that there had been misunderstandings between them, yet he claimed to come in the name of a colleague.
The question was, who would believe it?
"What should we do?"
Speaking of this, Ge Bingyi became annoyed:
"How should I know what to do? Your precious daughter is as stubborn as can be and won't listen to anything we say. Do you think if we tell them to break up, they will? Impossible."
Mother Ge nodded:
"But the problem is, Chen Pingjiang seems to have a girlfriend; I saw it in the news."
"Forget it, let's just pretend we don't know anything,"
Ge Bingyi slapped his thigh.
"She won't listen to what you say; if we push her too hard, she might really refuse to come home. Besides, she's been single for so many years; let her be with someone she likes. We're old and can't manage that much; as long as our daughter is happy."
"But... what if she gets abandoned later?"
"You underestimate our daughter too much, and you also underestimate Chen Pingjiang. To take a step back, if that day really comes, won't her money plus our money be enough to take care of them?"
Ge Bingyi said this, but in his heart, he was somewhat unwilling for his daughter to bear such a status.
If... just if.
If Chen Pingjiang wasn't so rich and had no social status, just an ordinary person, Ge Bingyi wouldn't agree to this matter, even if it meant disowning his daughter.
In the Maybach 57S at the entrance of the residential area, Chen Pingjiang and Ge Mengshi sat in the back, while Li Fu, on the pretext of smoking, stayed far away.
Ge Mengshi looked at Chen Pingjiang with complex eyes, and after a long while, it turned into a passionate kiss.
"Thank you."
"Thank you for what? Isn't it right for a son-in-law to visit his father-in-law?"
"They don't know."
Chen Pingjiang smiled:
"Do you think your parents are stupid? They understand perfectly well. Besides, today is the second day of the New Year, and the second day is for returning to the maternal home."
(End of Chapter)