Chapter 26: Every Night is Moonless
Near the core business district of Yuncheng, there is an elegant Jiangnan courtyard. This is a private restaurant, which seems to be hidden in the city.
In front of the quaint gate of the courtyard, Wen Baijing looked humble, with an energetic old man standing next to him.
"Bai Jing, you're going to have dinner with Uncle Li today, so don't slack off." Wen Xin said.
"Grandpa, I understand!" Wen Baijing forced a smile.
He walked forward and pushed open the wooden door, then took Wenxin's hand, and the grandfather and grandson walked into the yard.
"Mr. Wen, you are here! Please come this way." The woman in cheongsam led the way with a smile.
Follow the winding bluestone path, through the winding bamboo forest, to the elegant private room.
"Mr. Wen, please come in! This is the Zhuzhai Pavilion you reserved."
Entering the Bamboo Pavilion, there is a floor-to-ceiling glass window on the east side. Outside the window, the bamboo forest is lush and green, and not far away, several streams of water converge and flow down the rockery.
On the west side of the private room hangs a copy of Su Shi's "Xiaoxiang Bamboo and Rock Painting", and there is a tea table next to the wall.
Wen Xin and Wen Baijing sat opposite each other at the tea table. The waiter brought a pot of Biluochun and said, "Mr. Wen, your guests will arrive at eight o'clock, right?"
"Well, you guys go and prepare first!" Wen Xin waved his hand.
Wen Baijing picked up the teapot and poured tea for his grandfather, "Grandpa, is there anything going on with Uncle Sun's dinner today?"
Wen Xin's eyes were bright and his voice was deep. "Isn't it right for the younger generation to have a meal with the elders? It's always good to have more exchanges between people in the same industry."
Wen Baijing paused, picked up the teacup, and sipped the tea calmly.
Li Fuqiang is engaged in knitting processing, and Wen Baijing makes all kinds of women's clothing. Although they are both in the clothing industry, they are basically unrelated.
What is the old man up to? He insisted on dragging me to dinner today. I have not had much contact with Li Fuqiang in the past few years, and we have no business dealings and rarely visit each other privately.
A gentle breeze blew outside the window, the bamboo shadows danced, and the bamboo leaves rustled from time to time when they collided with each other.
Half a cup of tea later, there was a knock on the door.
"Please come in!"
The waiter opened the door and walked in on the Li father and daughter.
Grandpa Wenxin and his grandson stood up and greeted them with a smile.
"Hello, old man!" Li Fuqiang held Wen Xin's hands with both.
"Hello, Grandpa!" Li Jiao, wearing a pink Chanel suit and carrying a white CF bag, greeted Wen Xin with a smile.
Wen Xin was very happy and kept saying, "Good, good, all good. Jiaojiao is becoming more and more beautiful!"
Li Jiao stepped forward and shook Wen Xin's sleeve, smiling mischievously, "Grandpa, is this true?"
"Of course it's true. I haven't seen you for a few years, and you've grown into a big girl." Wen Xin patted Li Jiao's hand.
"Hello, Uncle Li!" Wen Baijing stepped forward to greet him.
"Good! Bai Jing has become more and more stable over the years." Li Fuqiang looked at Wen Baijing with satisfaction.
Wen Baijing's heart sank. Grandpa only said that he was going to have a meal. No matter how you look at it, it seems like he was using this as an excuse to exchange ideas about the industry...
"Hello, Brother Bai Jing!" Li Jiao's eyes lit up and her face turned a little red.
"Well, hello." Wen Baijing smiled faintly.
A little girl's shyness flashed across Li Jiao's face, and she looked at him with burning eyes.
Wen Baijing smiled and looked at Li Jiao calmly. They had not seen each other for many years and had grown up, but they could still find a familiar feeling in each other's words, behavior and face.
Wen Xin signaled to the waiter that the meal was ready, and the waiter quickly brought the dishes. He asked Li's father and daughter to take a seat, and everyone sat at the table by the window.
Wen Xin sat in the main seat, with Li's father and daughter sitting on his right, and Wen Baijing sitting on his left.
"Jiaojiao is successful now! She is studying fashion design in Italy." Wenxin said with a smile.
"Bai Jing is doing well now, and Zhichu is developing very well!" Li Fuqiang looked at Wen Baijing and nodded from time to time.
Li Jiao smiled modestly and looked up at Wen Baijing opposite her.
When I was little, the little girl with snot on her sleeves grew up and became a big girl. But her personality has not changed, she is still carefree.
When Wen Baijing saw Li Jiao, what impressed him most were her shiny sleeves and her burnt yellow braids.
"Hey! We two adults were just chatting, and the two children were silent." Wen Xin turned to look at Wen Baijing, "You and Jiaojiao were very close when you were little, why don't you talk to each other now that you've grown up?"
Wen Baijing and Li Jiao were classmates in elementary school. Their families lived not far from each other, and they often played together. They were not in the same junior high school, and gradually they stopped contacting each other because they knew the difference between boys and girls. The Wen family and the Li family had no business dealings, so naturally they did not visit each other much.
Wen Baijing put down his teacup and said, "Grandpa, stop talking to me all the time. Let's eat first!"
Wen Xin patted his thigh and said, "Oh! I am old and confused, I just kept talking. Come, Fuqiang, Jiaojiao, eat your food."
"This is the wild grouper that was airlifted in this morning. Come and try it!" Wen Xin hurriedly invited Li's father and daughter to eat.
The waiter took out a 1999 white wine from Château Leroy (Cordon-Charlemagne Grand Cru) from a wooden wine box.
"Bang!" The waiter opened the cork and poured the wine into the decanter.
The light amber white wine exudes an attractive light color, and there is a faint scent of green apples floating in the air.
Wen Baijing stared at the wine in a trance.
The old man had never urged marriage, nor had he mentioned blind dates. Wen Baijing had not expected what happened today.
Li Jiao stared at him intently, "Brother Bai Jing, where did your company's fashion designer graduate from? The designs are pretty good."
Wen Baijing put down his chopsticks and said, "Our company's designers all graduated from ordinary schools, none of them graduated from famous schools."
Li Jiao held her chin with her hands, her eyes wide open, an egg could fit into her mouth, "That's pretty impressive."
Wen Baijing smiled and said, "It's nothing. We are taking the civilian route. The design concept is to be close to life."
Wen Xin and Li Fuqiang made eye contact, smiled at each other slyly, and clinked their glasses.
Wen Baijing looked down at his watch. It was nine o'clock and he had only finished half of his meal. He definitely couldn't leave, so he could only hope that it would end soon.
The shadows of the bamboo swayed back and forth, reflected on the bluestone slabs, sweeping the cold moonlight, and the shadows were dim on the glass.
This scene should have made people calm down and cultivate their moral character, but it made Wen Baijing feel a little anxious. The shadows of the bamboos made people feel upset, and the rustling sound of the bamboo leaves was also disturbing.
"Come on, let's have a toast!" Wen Xin raised his glass and suggested, "It's been a long time since we last met. We should get together more often in the future."
"OK!"
Li Fuqiang's eyes rolled around and he couldn't stop smiling.
Several people clinked their glasses together with laughter, exchanging polite greetings. The glasses clashed crisply, and the sound waves made Wen Baijing's ears ring. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose hard.
"Brother Bai Jing is not in good condition! He just drank two glasses, he won't be drunk!" Li Jiao stuck out her tongue mischievously.
"He! Don't drink too much!" Wen Xin glanced at Wen Baijing coldly, and looked at Li Jiao with a smile, "Bai Jing must have been reluctant to let go. You should eat out more and go out more often in the future. Once you get to know him, he can drink a lot."
Wen Baijing was frightened by his grandfather's eyes. He forced himself to cheer up and smiled at the Li father and daughter.
"Uncle Li, I toast to you. I will have many questions for you in the future. Please feel free to give me your advice!" Wen Baijing stood up, walked to Li Fuqiang, lowered his glass and clinked it with Li Fuqiang.
"What are you talking about? I don't necessarily know as much as you do. You and Jiaojiao could communicate more." Li Fuqiang tactfully turned the topic to his daughter, "You young people have no generation gap and similar ideas. It would be best if you discussed and learned from each other!"
Wen Baijing smiled and nodded.
"You young people should add each other on WeChat! Let's get together more often in the future! You can't always be busy with work, you also need to combine work and rest." Wen Xin also assisted, he looked at Wen Baijing with a smile.
Wen Baijing walked over to Li Jiao and took out his phone, "Let's add WeChat!"
Li Jiao's long light-therapy nails were inlaid with diamonds. She curled her fingers and swiped open her phone, adding Wen Baijing on WeChat.
Looking at Li Jiao's exaggerated manicure, Wen Baijing's mind was filled with her image of snot bubbles coming out of her nose.
At half past nine, Wen Baijing pushed the time deep into his heart.
Ye Zhenzhen finally figured it out and was willing to resign. His efforts these days were not in vain. He should have been happy, but he felt a little flustered for some reason.
Maybe I'm used to it, I go to see her every day. I don't know why I have to rush for this moment today, maybe I'm stuck in the dinner and can't leave, so I'm anxious.
Forget it! Since he's here, he should make the best of it. Ye Zhenzhen will wait for him, so it doesn't matter if it's later. There's no need to make Grandpa angry for such a small matter.