Chapter 640
The Little Ancestor of the Ji Family
Chapter 640 The Little Ancestor of the Ji Family
Time flies like a cloud, passing in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Yunqi stayed in Yanjing for two days to accompany Chu Jian.
His three roommates hadn't returned to Peking University yet, so he slept in the Chujian dormitory for one night. The autumn in the north was warm. On the bed, which was 90 centimeters wide and 190 centimeters long, the two of them fell asleep almost touching each other without any clothes on.
The next day, Zhang Yunqi returned to Lijin, supporting his back.
He rested for two more days at the South Gate Villa, and thoroughly reflected on his emotional entanglements with Chu Jian and Li Yufei.
Yang Jin said that men are all greedy creatures, which isn't entirely true, because both men and women are greedy creatures. Therefore, this shouldn't be a reason for infidelity. People should be more responsible for their actions; a mistake is a mistake. While there are countless wealthy businessmen who keep their wives at home while having affairs on the side, there's no need to distort the truth, twist socialist core values, and paint a dark picture of the world to justify one's behavior as simply human nature, a mistake every man makes, thus justifying one's affairs.
However, some mistakes can be corrected, while others cannot. Mistakes that cannot be corrected must bear the consequences. What are these consequences? They might hurt the feelings of someone you just met; they might dump you, or even lead to some drastic action.
This was a difficult situation for him, but no matter how difficult it was, he had to be clear-headed and accept it. The damage to this girl's heart was already done, but how could he make amends and make amends? Zhang Yunqi did think of doing what Dong Ge did, giving his woman a large number of company shares to make her happy, but the question was, was it possible for him to accept this at their first meeting?
Damn it, why isn't it the Qing Dynasty now?
Look at Wei Xiaobao, he falls in love with every woman he sees, and when he's having sex with one of them, he can order three of them. They play human pyramid on the communal bed, and every one of them calls him "Master" and is incredibly obedient.
Born in the new China and raised under the red flag, such a scene can only be imagined in dreams now. He thought that after Chu Jian's "Red Girl" was published and he earned a lot of royalties, he would resolve this matter once her financial situation was stable.
During his few days of rest, Zhang Yunqi took the opportunity to check on Zhangji Catering, his earliest company. Over the years, it had remained quite stable. The revenue from the Jiangchuan Yuxianli Night Market and the Zhangji Qifengdu Fish Noodle franchise was decent, but not particularly outstanding. Compared to the development momentum of Aihua Electronics and Lianzhong Group, it was far behind. This was partly due to the fact that his older brother, Zhang Yunfeng, was in charge of everything.
After he came to Lijin to study, Zhangji Catering also expanded into the provincial capital, based on the local food culture of Lijin and carried out modern commercial brand operation. A few months ago, after he acquired Jinzhao Industrial, Zhangji Catering opened its first sub-brand store on Qingwu Street, Huangxing South Road.
This brand store is called Wenheyou.
In his previous life, Wenheyou, a top-tier restaurant brand in Lijin, didn't appear until 2010. Zhang Yunqi is using this name now simply because of path dependence. He was brainwashed by Wenheyou so much in Lijin in his previous life that he thought the name was pretty good, and he was too lazy to think of a new brand name.
Of course, times have changed, and business strategies can't simply copy Wenheyou's approach from the past. Wenheyou's main focus in the past was on the nostalgia factor of the 80s and 90s, but now it's the 90s, so what's the point of nostalgia?
Zhangji Catering focuses on exploring local specialty snacks from the Hunan region, including Qiaokou crayfish, Laolijin stinky tofu, and Qifengdu fish noodles. At the same time, it introduces more than 60 kinds of specialty snacks from various parts of southern Hunan through franchising. It also combines popular trends such as video games, dance halls, and karaoke to create a catering brand with a symbiotic model of "business + specialty catering + trendy culture".
Zhangji Catering's largest investment project was the Jiangchuan Yuxianli Night Market two years ago, which has been operating very well and is now a top brand in Jiangchuan's tourism and consumption scene. The second largest project is the Lijinshi Wenheyou Lobster Restaurant, which was quickly renovated after Zhang Yunqi took control of Jinzhao Industrial. It covers an area of 2700 square meters and has more than 500 seats.
Based on this, Zhangji Catering, in conjunction with Liansheng Group, has been conducting marketing and promotion around Qiaokou Lotus Flower Crayfish. Recently, the Lijin Crayfish Food Festival, launched in conjunction with Hunan TV, has generated a lot of buzz and popularity.
During Zhang Yunqi's few days of rest, Li Yufei's mother, Zhang Jing, called him several times, inviting him to her home for dinner. He made an excuse that he was too busy to go.
The next day, Zhang Yunqi received another call from Ji Ling, who invited him to her house. Without a second thought, he ran over.
His reason for doing this was simple: Li Yufei had already joined a film crew and was shooting at the Zhuozhou Film and Television City in Hebei Province, and it would probably be several months before she returned. With Li Yufei away, going to his in-laws' house for dinner was simply asking for trouble.
Xie Jing didn't actually know that Zhang Yunqi and Yufei were already together, but circumstances forced her to accept her daughter's resolute choice. However, this meant that Xie Jing's core objective became to bring Zhang Yunqi and her daughter Yufei together while also getting Zhang Yunqi to break up with Chujian.
Damn it, can he even do this?
Let alone asking him to break up with Chu Jian, even if Chu Jian were to break up with him, he would still have to shamelessly and desperately try to win her back.
In less than thirty minutes, Zhang Yun arrived at Baizhupo.
He knew this place like the back of his hand. As he walked through the courtyard and entered the gate, he saw Ji Ling and three unfamiliar young men eating snacks and playing video games in the spacious living room.
The group of three young people consisted of two men and one woman.
One of the boys was tall and thin, wearing a neatly ironed white shirt and trousers, with shiny leather shoes. The other boy was chubby, with fair skin, wearing a flashy Hawaiian-style short-sleeved shirt with exaggerated palm tree and coconut patterns, floral shorts, and a pair of worn-out flip-flops. He had a somewhat cynical air about him and was intently playing a game with Ji Ling. There was also a girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a light blue dress, with her hair in a high ponytail. She had fair skin and was sitting in a caterpillar-shaped chair by the window, holding an open book. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her, as if she were being edged with a soft gold.
When the girl saw Zhang Yunqi, she smiled politely, her eyes crinkling and appearing exceptionally bright.
When Ji Ling saw Zhang Yunqi walk in, she said, "Little Zhang, you're here. I'm thirsty, would you like me to get a glass of water? These are my cousins, they're here in Lijin for the holidays, you two can get to know each other."
Ji Ling didn't know how to be polite to Zhang Yunqi. She was playing Ridge Racer on her Sony PlayStation connected to the TV, and her skill level was quite impressive.
Zhang Yunqi poured a glass of water for his great-aunt. Perhaps because he had a natural affinity for the Ji family, he greeted Ji Ling's cousins politely and chatted briefly. He quickly figured out their identities: the two boys were the children of Ji Ling's second uncle, her third cousin Ji Wenxuan and fourth cousin Ji Wenbo, and her third uncle's youngest cousin Ji Xue.
In Zhang Yunqi's memory, Ji Ling's grandfather's family was quite large. Ji Zhong's generation alone had six siblings, each developing in different fields, each more successful than the last. Some entered government ministries, some became university professors, some thrived in business in the forefront of reform and opening up, and others, like Ji Ling's father, worked diligently in local areas. Their descendants numbered more than a football team. Many were pursuing advanced studies at top universities both domestically and internationally. This family had deep roots, yet their members were often separated due to their individual pursuits.
Ji Ling's third cousin, Ji Wenxuan, was a very polite and courteous person. He smiled and said to Zhang Yunqi, "I've heard Ji Ling talk about you a lot these past few years. Every time we go back to our hometown of Zhuzhou and meet, every time we want to brag, she starts by saying how she has a close friend she's had since childhood, which makes all of us cousins want to disappear. Today, we finally get to meet her in person..."
Before Ji Wenxuan could finish speaking, he felt a chill approaching. He turned his head and saw Ji Ling's large, clear eyes glaring at him fiercely: "Ji Wenxuan, try saying something even more cheesy."
Ji Wenxuan seemed to be afraid of his little cousin as well, and shrugged, saying, "I was wrong, I shouldn't have said anything."
The chubby Ji Wenbo next to him laughed heartily: "Our little darling of the Ji family is about to lose his temper." Then, he looked at Zhang Yunqi and asked, "This Zhang... classmate, my cousin told me you're still a sophomore?"
Zhang Yun nodded: "From the Department of Economics and Management at Xiangtan University."
Ji Wenbo smiled and said, "A top student."
Zhang Yunqi felt something was off. Just then, Ji Ling threw down her game controller, grabbed the water Zhang Yunqi had poured, and gulped down several mouthfuls: "You guys can talk about this while you eat, Zhang. They want to eat crayfish. Do you have a way to handle that?"
Zhang Yunqi didn't react in time.
After chatting for a bit, he finally understood what was going on. Recently, there had been a craze for eating crayfish in Lijin. Ji Ling's cousins had come all the way from afar and wanted to try the Wenheyou Crayfish Restaurant, but it was just too hot. They had to enter a lottery and wait in line, and there were so many people that they didn't know when they would be able to get a turn.
Ji Ling, this auntie, has always been unambitious. Today, she rarely has a small matter to trouble him with. Let alone her wish to take her family to Wenheyou on Qingwu Street to eat crayfish, even going to the lotus shrimp base in Qiaokou Town to catch and cook crayfish on the spot would require arrangements made overnight.
Zhang Yunqi laughed and said, "Shall we go over now?"
Everyone stood up. Ji Wenbo and Ji Wenxuan walked ahead. Ji Xue, who had been sitting on a bamboo chair and not participating in the conversation, got up, closed her book, and whispered to Ji Ling, "I'm going to get my bag."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards the TV cabinet in the living room, brushing past Zhang Yunqi who was about to leave. She carried a faint fragrance on her body.
Zhang Yunqi glanced at Ji Xue subconsciously, then walked out the door. Ji Ling leaned closer and whispered, "Is my little cousin pretty?"
Zhang Yunqi objectively commented, "She's prettier than most girls."
Ji Ling asked again in a low voice, "And how about compared to me?"
Zhang Yunqi was more objective: "No matter how bright a light bulb is, it can't compare to the stars!"
Ji Ling smiled so much that her mouth curved into a crescent moon.
At this moment, Ji Xue walked out of the living room door and her eyes met Zhang Yunqi's. She seemed to have heard something and smiled faintly.
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