Chapter 1357: 1357: Another Uninvited Guest

Chapter 1357: Chapter 1357: Another Uninvited Guest

Luo Ziling, Luo Yuqing, and Wuyue escorted Wu Jianjun, Ding Zhongming, and the others to their car, and then returned to the rear hall.

The dishes prepared by the chef were not yet all served, but the table was already brimming with food.

Luo Liansheng, Luo Xusheng, and Ling Ruonan had already sat back down and were slowly drinking as if nothing had happened.

“Mom, it wasn’t my arrangement,” Luo Ziling hurriedly explained after sitting down again, “I never expected that so many people would visit our old mansion during our New Year’s dinner. They must have come to visit Grandpa, look at the gifts they brought.”

When this group of people arrived, they brought quite a few gifts, but they were all common items like fruit and flowers.

“I know it wasn’t arranged by you. It’s just part of their job,” Ling Ruonan said with a smile, “Tonight, they will surely visit other people, and there are media reporters following them.”

“Mom, how do you know?”

“I’ve also been part of such activities in the past. This is called a populist campaign,” Ling Ruonan put down her chopsticks and spoke softly, “But they didn’t let the media reporters come in, which was well done indeed.”

“Mom, I didn’t anticipate that your presence would intimidate them,” Luo Ziling spoke with a hint of pride, “Seeing them so apprehensive, I almost wanted to laugh. Perhaps, they’re hoping to get you to invest here? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have asked me to arrange a meeting with you.”

“Did you agree?”

“No,” Luo Ziling shook his head, “I told them to contact Sister Wuyue.”

“Well done,” Ling Ruonan smiled again, praised Luo Ziling, and explained, “My status is slightly higher than theirs, and many people know I am from the Ling Family, so their wariness of me is quite normal.”

“Mrs. Ling, I’ve noticed that Ziling is very skilled in handling these officials, not showing any discourtesies in receiving them,” Luo Yuqing couldn’t help but speak up, praising Luo Ziling, and then said, “After this, these officials will care even more about us, the Luo Family. In the future, if we have any matters in Yuezhou, we can directly reach out to them.”

“Don’t rush to ask them for favours. We would have to return double, and it’s not worth it,” Ling Ruonan shook her head slightly and smiled, “However, the way you made an entrance today was pretty good. Since we’ve come to Yuezhou, it’s inevitable to show ourselves at some point.”

“Mom, without intending to, you let them witness the powerful Buddha you are, which had an extraordinary deterring effect!” Luo Ziling chuckled, “Just now, you were like a commanding officer inspecting your subordinates. Seeing them show you such reverence, I felt proud on your behalf.”

“This kid, always the flatterer,” Luo Liansheng chuckled and pointed at Luo Ziling, “I never noticed him being such a smooth talker before.”

“Grandpa, when have I ever been a smooth talker?” Luo Ziling hurriedly defended himself and pulled Luo Yuqing over as an ally, “Senior sister, am I a smooth talker?”

To his surprise, Luo Yuqing betrayed him without hesitation: “Actually, you are. Grandpa is quite right!”

“Sister Wuyue, do you think so too?” Luo Ziling had to look for another ally.

Wuyue had been silent all along, but upon being asked by Luo Ziling, she was taken aback for a moment and then shook her head, “Young Master, you are quite earnest and experienced in your affairs.”

“Sister Wuyue’s assessment is fair.” Luo Ziling said as he picked up a cup of wine in front of him, toasting Wuyue, “Sister Wuyue, I toast to you, wishing you grow ever more beautiful in the new year. I also hope my mom will give you a raise!”

Luo Ziling’s words made Wuyue blush, but she still picked up her cup and drank the yellow wine in front of her.

“Why aren’t you toasting me?” Luo Yuqing voiced her complaint, “Could it be because Sister Wuyue is prettier than me, you put beauty before your sister?”

“Yeah, you have a problem with that?” Luo Ziling admitted with a smile.

“Hmph, let me toast you then,” Luo Yuqing picked up her cup and drank the wine, then held up her cup in a defiant manner.

Luo Xusheng had been silent, but a shallow smile appeared on his face as he watched Luo Ziling and Luo Yuqing bicker.

Ling Ruonan’s smile faded, but she didn’t show any disapproval, and simply continued to eat her meal composedly.

Luo Liansheng was all smiles as well, as he had long since regarded Luo Yuqing as his own granddaughter, and so he was fond of her no matter how he looked at her.

Luo Yuqing was indeed an endearing girl, beautiful and sweet-talking, her continuous calling of “Grandpa” had long brought joy to Luo Liansheng’s heart.

Wuyue reigned in her earlier shyness, knowing that Ling Ruonan didn’t particularly like Luo Yuqing,

and thus, she also didn’t have a favorable impression of Luo Yuqing, even though she thought Luo Yuqing had a good personality.

During the New Year’s Eve dinner, Luo Yuqing openly claimed her place as a daughter of the Luo Family, which Ling Ruonan surely did not appreciate.

But she couldn’t show her discontent, and Wuyue felt somewhat sorry for Ling Ruonan.

“Mom, I’d like to propose a toast to you,” Luo Ziling, noticing Ling Ruonan’s faint look of desolation, quickly raised his glass and said, “I hope you’ll become more and more beautiful and youthful. In the future, I’ll often take you out, and you can pretend to be my girlfriend to keep others from hitting on me.”

“Cough…” Luo Xusheng, who was in the middle of drinking, choked on his drink when he heard Luo Ziling’s words.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly, covering his mouth with a tissue, but he was still choked by the drink.

Luo Ziling couldn’t help but want to laugh, but he dared not.

Luo Yuqing felt the same, ultimately suppressing her laughter with great effort.

Ling Ruonan, seeing Luo Xusheng in this state, sighed helplessly, picked up her cup, and drank the wine.

“Dad, Mom, will there be red envelopes tonight?” Luo Ziling, setting down his glass, reached out his hand towards Luo Xusheng and Ling Ruonan, “I’ve never received New Year’s money from you guys before.”

Looking at Luo Ziling’s beaming face as he held out his hand, and hearing his statement about never having received New Year’s money from them before, Ling Ruonan froze for a moment, and then her nose turned sour immediately.

“We’ll give them to you after dinner,” she said with biting lips, forcing a smile, “Everyone will get one.”

“I have one for you, too,” Luo Liansheng laughed heartily, “This kid, he has refused the New Year’s money I wanted to give him for years, claiming he was all grown up!”

“Grandpa, in the past few years, it was just the two of us during New Year’s Eve, how could I have the nerve to take so much New Year’s money!” Luo Ziling, who originally wanted to express more of his sentiments, stopped himself immediately upon seeing Ling Ruonan’s eyes turning red and cleverly added with a smile, “Actually, we’ve all grown up, so it’s okay without New Year’s money. When we earn our own money, we’ll give you New Year’s money!”

“Mom has prepared several big red envelopes for you, I’ll give them to you right after we finish dinner,” Ling Ruonan, wiping her eyes to the side before turning back with a forced smile, said, “This year’s New Year is very lively with our whole family, and Mom is very happy too, so the red packets have to be generous.”

“Mom, you’re amazing, I love you to death,” Luo Ziling exaggerated with a tone of staged surprise.

Luo Yuqing immediately followed, cheering along.

The atmosphere shifted at once.

Just then, Luo Ziling’s phone rang, and seeing that it was a call from Ouyang Huihui, he frowned.

But after a moment of thought, he still answered the call.

As soon as the call connected, Ouyang Huihui’s pitiful voice came from the receiver, “I’m in Yuezhou, I just got off the high-speed train and took a taxi here, but the driver doesn’t know where the Luo Family Old Mansion is, can you come and pick me up?”