Problems arose when Yang Jin was taking BeiBei to Yang Xuan's place. The little girl heard about the dinner outing and insisted on coming. It was understandable that BeiBei, a child, wouldn't listen, but Yang Xuan also wanted to join the fun.
Yang Jin felt awkward when she called Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan chuckled and said,
"Just come. Don't worry, Yang Jin. I have some say here in the Eighth District. Let's have a meal with the kids and enjoy ourselves. You can take BeiBei back after dinner."
"There's no other way," Yang Jin replied.
She glanced at Yang Xuan sitting in the passenger seat and snorted. It was all her fault, encouraging BeiBei to act up. After glaring at Yang Xuan, she turned to look at BeiBei sitting in the back and gritted her teeth, saying angrily,
"Just wait until we get home tonight."
"Don't worry, BeiBei. Your aunt will sleep with you tonight. Sis! Have you considered finding another..."
"Shut up! You start dating before worrying about me."
"I'm still young..."
"Get lost!"
Yang Jin was also exasperated.
At the Eighth District's Xiao'er Fangniu Music Grill Bar, Guan Dagou had already instructed the manager to reserve several good tables. The manager asked in a low voice if there were any distinguished guests, and Guan Dagou simply said, "Little Uncle."
In their circle, calling someone by name meant not respecting them. They couldn't call Jiang Fan "Brother Jiang," so they all called him "Little Uncle."
A large group of people walked into the music grill bar. No one needed to order; individual hot pots were already on the tables. Meat slices, tripe, side dishes, barbecue, beer, cold drinks, and several boxes of Yunyan cigarettes were placed on the tables.
Jiang Fan sat in the middle, closest to the stage. There was an empty seat between him and Chen Yi, reserved for Yang Jin. Liu Jiulong looked at them with resentment; they were like two torches, making it impossible for him to get close to Yang Jin.
On Chen Yi's other side was Duck Pear Girl. Originally, the aloof and domineering woman should have sat next to Jiang Fan, but Ji Jing, rarely assertive, sat down directly. The aloof woman and the youthful schoolgirl went to other tables to liven up the atmosphere.
The tall and handsome Oppa sat between Da Qian'er and Shan Shan, with men and women interspersed. The table was filled with handsome men and beautiful women, making it a pleasant sight.
Yang Jin arrived late. When BeiBei saw Jiang Fan, she let go of Yang Jin's hand and ran towards him. The little girl didn't watch her step and collided with the manager's leg. The manager, a man in his thirties, looked at the little girl sitting on the ground, pouting and tears in her eyes, and he felt a little panicked. When the little girl stood up, wiped her tears, and called out "Uncle" in a cute voice, the manager was instantly nervous. He looked at Jiang Fan anxiously and said,
"Little Uncle, I... I really didn't notice your daughter. I..."
Jiang Fan picked up BeiBei and smiled at the manager, saying,
"It's okay. Kids don't watch where they're walking. You just go and do your job."
"Yes, Little Uncle. What kind of cigarettes do you smoke? I'll go buy them for you."
The manager was really nervous. Jiang Fan shook his head and smiled. The employees of Rongyao looked at Jiang Fan with a hint of gossip in their eyes. Why did he seem even more intimidating now?
Jiang Fan held BeiBei in his arms, and Yang Jin apologized to everyone with a smile. Yang Xuan went to another table; there was no special reason; Yang Jin simply didn't want to see her. The manager nervously stood beside the table, personally placing dishes on it while asking Jiang Fan what cigarettes he needed.
At this moment, Guan Dagou walked from behind the manager and chastised with a smile,
"Little Uncle's cigarettes are all from the army. Where can you buy them? Don't embarrass yourself here. Get lost!"
The manager quickly left as if he had received a pardon. Guan Dagou walked behind Jiang Fan, pinched his shoulders, and smiled at everyone, saying,
"You are all elites of Rongyao. It's coincidental that my master recently has a cooperation with your company. I heard that Jiang Brother wanted to invite you all out for a fun time, so I took the liberty to arrange it. If you have any needs, you can come to me anytime. There's another thing, Jiang Brother! My master heard that you would come, so he specially found a small internet celebrity company and asked their artists to come and liven up the atmosphere."
Jiang Fan was feeding BeiBei meat from the hot pot. Hearing Guan Dagou's words, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, turned around, and whispered through gritted teeth,
"I invited them to eat because I was worried they would be afraid of me at work. You made such a scene, and it seems like I'm buddies with Tu Xiao. Aren't you putting me in a difficult position?"
His voice was not low, and Yang Jin and Ji Jing heard it clearly. Yang Jin reached out to take BeiBei away, not wanting to disturb Jiang Fan's meal, but her hand was slapped away by Jiang Fan, who was glaring at Guan Dagou, without even looking.
Guan Dagou scratched his head embarrassedly and whispered,
"Did I mess it up? I didn't think much about it. What should we do now?"
"Do whatever you want... Just say that your master heard it was Rongyao's dinner party, and the two companies have a cooperative relationship, and then this and that..."
"Which one?"
"Yi, you tell Guan Brother. You understand this better than me. I can't explain it clearly. BeiBei, eat more meat. Why eat vegetables? They're not delicious."
Chen Yi pointed at Jiang Fan and smiled helplessly. Then he stood up and walked away with Guan Dagou. Sun Ya cupped her cheek with one hand and looked at Jiang Fan, feeling helpless. She smiled bitterly and said,
"Jiang Shao, they say kids should eat more vegetables because they're rich in vitamins. Why are you feeding BeiBei only meat?"
"BeiBei doesn't see me every day. Today, it's not easy to see me, so she should eat more. BeiBei, you can eat as much as you want. Your mom doesn't care today. Uncle says it's okay. Come on! What do you want to eat?"
Sun Ya covered her face, shook her head, and smiled. She closed her eyes and nodded at Duck Pear Girl, who nodded discreetly in response.
BeiBei, sitting in Jiang Fan's arms, pointed at the skewer of barbecue closest to Jiang Fan and shouted,
"Uncle, I want to eat balls."
"Okay, let's eat... No way! You can't eat this. Take it away. Who put this in front of me?"
If Jiang Fan hadn't said so, no one would have noticed. Two skewers of lamb testicles were placed right next to Jiang Fan. BeiBei was unhappy about this. She just said she could eat whatever she wanted, but now she couldn't? She had eaten meatballs at school, and they were delicious.
"Little Uncle! I want to eat balls!"
"No way!"
"Uncle! BeiBei wants to eat."
"BeiBei, Uncle will tell you. Kids can't eat this. If you eat it, you'll become... become... become Iron-Fist Train Hero."
"Then Uncle, you eat it."
Children say whatever comes to their minds, but BeiBei's words instantly brought the atmosphere to a climax. Ji Jing was the first to laugh, covering her face with embarrassment, and finally burst into laughter, holding her stomach and bowing her head. Yang Jin couldn't help but lightly pinch BeiBei. Even Liu Jiulong laughed until tears came out, breathing heavily, and explained with a mischievous grin,
"BeiBei, your uncle doesn't need it now. He... hahaha."
Jiang Fan's face turned red and then pale.
Who ordered the lamb testicles?
He's still a virgin. What's the use of eating this? Does he need to start compensating before it's too late?
Isn't this obviously telling them he's not good enough?
Lili looked at Jiang Fan with a stunned expression, tilting her head and asking incredulously, "Jiang, how old are you this year?"
Jiang Fan's face instantly darkened. Ji Jing, who was sitting beside him, finally couldn't hold it in and blurted out, "Twenty-four, hahaha! Jiang Fan, you're already twenty-four."
Lili's expression became even more stunned. She then stood up, swapped the positions of the roasted lamb testicles and meat skewers, and said in a low voice, "Well... Jiang, you really don't need to eat these. Deputy Liu, you should have them instead."
Ji Jing finally managed to stop laughing, wiping away tears and chuckling, "Maybe eating some now would still help. Big nephew, you're already twenty-four."
Jiang Fan couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up, picked up Beibei, glared at Ji Jing with the corner of his eye, and said with a pout, "I'm not playing with you guys anymore. You're really rubbing salt into my wound. Let's go! Uncle will take you to find your auntie. You're all mean."
After Jiang Fan left, the dining table erupted into laughter, even the cool and handsome guy couldn't hold it in. Jiang Fan, who was facing away from them, felt like his heart was bleeding. He guessed that another rumor would spread in the company tomorrow: A twenty-four-year-old virgin ordered two skewers of roasted lamb testicles at a barbecue?
Jiang Fan, holding a child, walked alongside Yang Xuan and just sat down when little Yang Jin brought over the lamb kidneys with a mischievous grin.
"Here, Fan, have some nourishment."
Jiang Fan turned his head to look at Yang Xuan. Unable to suppress his anger, he stood up and exclaimed,
"Get out of here! Take care of Beibei. Your sister's table is special with three department heads. I'm leaving."
As Jiang Fan rose to leave, the youthful schoolgirl spoke up,
"Jiang, how about joining me for a drink?"
Without much thought, Jiang Fan replied,
"Sure."
Seeing the schoolgirl down a full glass of draft beer, Jiang Fan was a bit stunned. Are girls like this now? Looking at the draft beer in his hand, Jiang Fan took a deep breath and said in a low voice,
"How about I surrender and lose half? What's your name, sister? Next time if I can't drink more than someone, I'll use your name."
"Just call me Shasha, Jiang. You should just drink it!"
Jiang Fan struggled to finish the beer and then turned to run. He hadn't eaten much, and this glass was a bit too much for him. He met Guan Dagou at the door of the bathroom. Guan Junbiao handed Jiang Fan a cigarette and said softly,
"Those little internet celebrities will be performing soon. If you see any you like, tell me, and I'll send them to your bed."
"Get lost!"
Jiang Fan wiped his mouth impatiently and then asked,
"Tell me, how do you drink draft beer without much effort?"
"Just tilt your head back and gulp it down. Don't think of yourself as a human; think of yourself as a bucket. Jiang, I see that cream puff seems interested in Da Qian. Is she Sun Ya's person? Should I remind you?"
Jiang Fan was still thinking about the bucket when he heard Guan Dagou's words. He frowned and followed Guan Dagou's gaze to see the tall and leggy Korean guy showing attention to Da Qian. Seeing this, Jiang Fan shrugged and chuckled,
"If Da Qian likes him, what can we say as outsiders? But if Da Qian doesn't want to be bothered, then I'll have to intervene. Guan, do you really think tilting your head back and gulping it down works?"
"There's no use lying to a lightweight like you. Shouldn't I book a room for you tonight and send a little internet celebrity to you? I even prepared lamb testicles and kidneys for you in vain."
Jiang Fan raised his eyebrow and squinted at Guan Dagou, reassuring himself that Guan didn't prepare the dish. Facing the reality, Jiang Fan really wanted to strangle this guy. Doesn't he know I'm still a virgin?
Resisting the urge to fight with Guan Dagou, Jiang Fan took a deep breath and said calmly,
"I got some information from my uncle-in-law a few days ago. Tell Tu Xiao to lay low for a while. Also, I want to ask you, did Tu Laoda receive an invitation to the government unit's Mid-Autumn Festival gala?"
The smile on Guan Dagou's face vanished instantly. He stood up straight, took out his phone, waved it at Jiang Fan, and then made a call to Tu Xiao in front of Jiang Fan. Tu Xiao only heard one sentence from Guan Dagou and then said,
"Is your sister's husband beside you? Let him answer."
Guan Dagou handed the phone to Jiang Fan, with a hint of jealousy. Am I not smart enough? Jiang Fan frowned and took the phone. Tu Xiao directly said,
"I know about this matter. I wanted to ask you when you came last time, but something unexpected happened, and I didn't speak up. What did you hear?"
Jiang Fan held the phone and frowned as he said with a cigarette in his mouth,
"I'm just guessing now. Both Changshu's Tang Shu and Rongyao's Qian Ling received invitations. Su Qing said the gala is a gathering of politicians and wealthy people. Moreover, I heard some rumors from my uncle-in-law. Also, not long ago, Guan brought Liu Guangming's 'concubines' to play cards and invited Wei Tiancheng's wife and daughter over. If these two attend the gala, you might be in big trouble."
"Hmm... You mean the government unit might take action against me?"
Tu Xiao's voice was unpleasant, but not directed at Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out. Just when he lifted his head, a graceful figure squatted down to pick up the cigarette butt he had stomped out. Ji Jing smiled at Jiang Fan and went to the bathroom. Jiang Fan ignored her and continued in a low voice,
"I feel something is off. The permit you were stuck with at the government unit recently had someone from the procuratorate involved. The procuratorate should be more troublesome for you than the municipal bureau. By the way! Lin Xuan wants to buy my leg, and the matter that Guan brother scammed him out of 100,000 yuan should have been exposed. If Changshu, Shuncheng, and Huitian, along with the procuratorate, gang up against you, you'll be in big trouble. You should let someone take the blame or discard what needs to be discarded. Don't let Tu Kun worry about you."
"Ask Biaozi to come back now."
"Tu Laoda, do you want to throw Guan Junbiao out to take the blame? Are you playing with me again?"
"My sister's husband, we're family. How could I play with you? I have something fun. I'll let Biaozi send it to you."
"What is it?"
"A man's gas station."
"Get lost! Tu Laoda, do you know I'm a virgin? Are you making fun of me? Be careful; I'll get angry."
"Hey? My sister's husband... Biaozi doesn't know how to handle things. I'll teach him a lesson later. Aren't there a few little internet celebrities tonight? I'll send them all to your room. My sister's husband..."
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Jiang Fan hung up the phone directly, took deep breaths continuously, and threw the phone to Guan Dagou with gritted teeth and anger,
"Like father, like son. You and your master are the same! I tell you not to arrange any little internet celebrities for me. I..."
"He has me."
Ji Jing had stood behind Jiang Fan without anyone noticing. She also heard on the phone that Tu Xiao wanted to arrange little internet celebrities for Jiang Fan, feeling slightly jealous and dissatisfied. Hearing Jiang Fan's refusal, she quickly spoke up without giving Guan Dagou a chance.
Ji Jing put her hands on Jiang Fan's shoulders and said softly again,
"Sun Ya is giving you face. Don't make her look too bad. Go talk to her."
Guan Dagou looked at the two walking away and muttered,
"Jiang, I have some good liquor. Should I book a room for you at Weijing tonight?"
"I'll book your second uncle! Get lost! Tu Xiao wants you to go back. Don't go and take the blame foolishly. I still need to find connections to get you out. Also! If I can't drink this down, we'll have to fight."
Jiang Fan was pushed away by Ji Jing. As he left, Guan Dagou clearly caught a hint of threat and disdain in Ji Jing's eyes.
Is this little 'Yingda' being possessive?
Haven't the two concubines disciplined you yet?
He instructed the manager not to refuse Jiang Fan's request to settle the bill tonight, and not to ask any questions if he didn't settle it.
Guan Dagou left "Xiaoer Fangniu".
Jiang Fan also returned to the position that had made him lose all his face once again. Originally, he wanted to go and join the fun with the aloof and elegant woman, but when Jiang Fan sat down, Sun Ya lightly coughed at the tall and handsome Korean man. The tall and handsome Korean man reluctantly stood up, left Da Qianer, and went to another table to liven up the atmosphere. The cool and handsome man also went to take care of the young ladies who were eagerly looking at him.
The two handsome men left, but the girl whom Sun Ya called Lili didn't move. She played dice with Chen Yi, and the two of them were extremely intimate.
One was the social butterfly of the marketing department.
The other was a sea king specialized in fish farming.
It's really hard to say who will win in the end, but Jiang Fan wasn't worried about Chen Yi. It would be good for this guy to get hurt a bit, Jiang Fan picked up his glass and said with a bitter smile.
"Let's make it clear first, you can't poke at my wounds anymore. The performance is about to begin. Let's make it clear first! You have to pay for the rewards during the performance yourselves! Let's drink!"
Everyone picked up their glasses, except for Ji Jing and Yang Jin, who picked up juice. Jiang Fan wondered if Ji Jing didn't drink alcohol. He tilted his head back and poured it directly into his mouth as Guan Dagou suggested. Jiang Fan was the first to put down his beer mug. This method really worked.
After sitting down, Jiang Fan, with a satisfied burp, leaned close to Ji Jing and asked in a low voice.
"Aunt Ji, don't you drink? I finally found someone worse than me. Next time when I drink with you, I'll be absolutely fine."
Ji Jing squinted at Jiang Fan and smiled softly.
"Okay."
As soon as the words fell, both Yang Jin and Sun Ya beside them laughed. Sun Ya giggled and said.
"Jiang, I don't know if you're really lucky or unlucky. Minister Ji is known for never getting drunk, either not drinking at all or not stopping. Last year's company annual meeting, Minister Ji drank straight from the box, beer by the box, liquor by the jin, and red wine too, you really should experience it."
Hmm?
Jiang Fan looked at Ji Jing with suspicion in his eyes. At this time, Yang Jin spoke softly.
"Minister Sun is right. It shouldn't be a problem for your Aunt Ji to drink more than ten rounds with you."
Hearing this, Jiang Fan stood up, cupped his fists towards Ji Jing, and bowed.
"Aunt, I know I was wrong! Goodbye!"
Jiang Fan went to another table. Now he had found a way to drink, so what was he afraid of?
When Jiang Fan stood up, the performance also began. There were seven or eight people, men and women, a combination of handsome men and beautiful women, and a few of them looked familiar.
Chen Yi looked at the internet celebrity introducing herself on the stage and smiled at the Pear girl.
"Once a child asked his mother, 'Mom, what did you do before?' The mother replied, 'I was a live streamer.' 'And what about Dad?' 'Your dad was the top fan in the rankings!'"
The Pear girl blushed and punched Chen Yi on the shoulder.