CH 44.1

By the time the headlights came in ,the maid was already walking to the gate.

Chen Qizha’s hand moved away from the voice chat button and he frowned slightly at the car that turned into the garage. Two men emerged from the car. The middle-aged man was wearing slightly more formal clothes and had a slightly embarrassed expression on his ordinary face. The person standing next to him was still young and wore fancy clothes. He looked a bit unruly.

The people who came were members of the Chen family i.e. the younger brother of his father, Chen Jianhong.

He was Chen Qizhao’s nominal third uncle and the person next to his uncle was his cousin. The previous generation of the Chen family made a fortune and the family relationship wasn’t harmonious. Later. MRs Chen divided the family property to their Chen family’s brothers for them to develop independently. However, the other brothers were mediocre. In the end, Chen Jianhong was the only one who seized the opportunity and took over the Chen family in one go. Then he grew the Chen Group to the current size.

Some people had long moved away from S City and some had gone abroad for development. There was basically no contact.

Only this third uncle’s family remained in S City.

Chen Qizhao didn’t have a deep memory of these people, or it could be said that these people were dispensable. His third uncle was a person who could act flexibly and take advantage of the situation. Once the Chen Group became prosperous, he squeezed into the group to share the profits. Once the Chen Group declined, he was also one of the first people to get rid of their relationship. He even came out to muddy the waters when some property rights were disputed and he took away a piece of land in the suburbs.

The housekeeper, Uncle Zhang, came over to guide them. The two of them followed him into the house.

Chen Qizhao stood in the garden without making a sound. He could probably guess what his third uncle wanted when coming over today. It was nothing more than to find a chance for his son, or to ask Chen Qizhao for money for a project.

Just as he was thinking this, his phone suddenly vibrated. Then he remembered that he hadn’t replied to Shen Yuhuai’s message.

[Zhao: I accidentally pressed the wrong button just now.]

[Shen Yuhuai: It’s okay. I thought something happened.]

[Zhao: Brother Huai, I will talk to you later. There are guests at home.]

“You’ve been cooking this soup for a long time.” Shen Xuelan came in from outside and saw her younger brother in an apron and skillfully pouring clear soup into a soup pot prepared in advance.

Shen Yuhuai told her, “It will be ready soon.”

The aunt of the Shen family had gone home for the holiday and Shen Yuhuai always cooked the New Year’s Eve meal. Shen Xuelan leaned against the wall and tried to see how she could help in the kitchen. Then out of the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the phone placed next to the cooking counter. “I keep seeing you playing with your phone. Who are you chatting with…?”

Before she finished speaking, Shen Yuhuai turned off the screen of his phone.

“Come and help,” Shen Yuhuai told her.

Shen Xuelan glanced at his phone meaningfully. “Yes, I’m coming.”

—

By the time Chen Qizhao returned to the villa, his father was already chatting with his third uncle.

Third Uncle Chen seemed to notice his arrival and had a smile on his face. “Qizhao, you’re here? I just heard from your father about Feihong. This child is young and is showing your demeanor in the past. Liyao, you should learn from your brother.”

His cousin Chen Liyao was sitting next to his uncle. After hearing this, he replied in a simple manner, his eyes on Chen Qizhao. Then he lowered his head to play with his phone again.

Chen Jianhong politely said, “Liyao is also good.”

“This child is bored. How can he be compared to Shiming? His usual grades are average as well.” Third Uncle Chen’s tone was a bit hateful as he said to Chen Jianhong, “This child was determined to work hard some time ago and wanted to go to my company to hone his skills. As a result, he did things in fits and starts. My subordinates didn’t dare to disobey him so he didn’t learn anything at all. Big Brother, do you have a simpler position? I will send Liyao to you and let him learn from Shiming. This way, he can help me manage the company in the future.”

Chen Liyao didn’t speak but he was already looking at Chen Shiming.

“Learn from my brother?” Chen Qizhao suddenly laughed. “You better not. He doesn’t even take me. How can he have time to bring someone else? Since you want to learn, it is better to learn from me. There are still a few job vacancies at Feihong. It isn’t bad for you to go there and mess around.”

Third Uncle Chen said, “Aren’t you still at school? How can you have time…?”

Chen Qizhao spoke again, “My brother is still working. Why? Third Uncle is looking down on me?”

Chen Jianhong spoke at the right time. “If you want to hone yourself, it is best to start from the basics. The affairs at headquarters are complicated. It might be easier to start with Qizhao at a subsidiary. The two of them are also the same age and can get along better.”

Chen Qizhao paid attention to the change in the other person’s expression. Sure enough, he saw the embarrassment on Third Uncle Chen’s face. This time, he was looking for a job for his child. He wanted Chen Liyao to go under Chen Shiming to make money. Who didn’t know that the projects under Chen Shiming’s hands were very profitable.

In his previous life, Third Uncle Chen did even more things. He wasn’t very capable. Every time he came, he always brought a certain project as an excuse and asked Chen Jianhong to invest. In fact, this type of investment was in vain every time. The money invested in them basically didn’t get any returns.

The Chen family had a big business and Third Uncle Chen was Chen Jianhong’s only brother left in S City. Therefore, Chen Jianhong didn’t think about it for the sake of his brotherhood. However, this type of person was greedy and repeated concessions only made him worse.

Chen Qizhao glanced at the location of the dining room out of the corner of his eye and picked some food. There were many things. He said, “Third Uncle, you have invested in a lot of projects before and the industry is specialized. After all, the market is different and the things I have come to learn are really useless.”

Seeing this, Third Uncle Chen said, “That’s right. It is also true that Qizhao is still busy with your studies. How can I be kind enough to let Liyao trouble you?”

Chen Qizhao smiled. “Third Uncle also asked my father for a lot of investment before. Now the projects should be finalized. Why don’t you let my cousin practice his skills there? In the end, it is best to start from your own business.”

He finished speaking and asked again, “Third Uncle’s business should be good this year, right? Don’t you have many projects?”

Third Uncle Chen didn’t speak. He really had brought a project with him today.

However, it was difficult for him to speak once Chen Qizhao said this.

Third Uncle Chen couldn’t open his mouth after Chen Qizhao’s disturbance and could only get closer to Chen Jianhong.

He had a dry mouth. There were several times when he wanted to take the initiative to talk about asking for money, but was inexplicably interrupted. After seeing that the time was late, Chen Jianhong took the initiative to say that he still had something to do in the evening. It wasn’t good for Third Uncle Chen to stay longer but as he was leaving, he gave Chen Qizhao a hard look.

Chen Qizhao watched Chen Jianhong send people to the door and glanced at the location of the garage. He walked to the garage and found that the tools used by Old Lin to change the tires were cleaned up. The tools were put away in the garage’s tools cabinet.

Chen Qizhao looked over it. He walked near the car that Chen Shiming often used. He crouched down and carefully checked the replaced tire. Then he walked to the damaged tire to carefully look at the location of the iron nail. It did look like it was pierced while driving.

Old Lin had already entered the villa and wasn’t here.

Chen Qizhao walked to the window and found that the car was unlocked with the car key still inserted in the keyhole. He simply sat in it and tested the accelerator and brakes. He only came out after making sure there were no problems.

“What are you doing here?” Chen Shiming happened to pass by and saw Chen Qizhao coming out of the car.

“Nothing. Your car seems pretty good,” Chen Qizhao answered. “Can you let me borrow it for a drive later?”

Chen Shiming glanced at him. “Wait until you get your driver’s license. Put the key inside. Uncle Lin will probably clean it up later.”

“Oh.” Chen Qizhao closed the car door and withdrew his gaze. “Have you driven this car before?”

“The previous car was sent to the car yard for regular maintenance,” Chen Shiming said.

Chen Qizhao asked, “Which car yard?”

Chen Shiming answered, “The one you raced at last time.”

He continued, “Chen Qizhao, you are talking a bit too much tonight.”

“I’m in a good mood.” Chen Qizhao looked away.

In his last life, Chen Shiming’s car accident took place in a new car and it wasn’t in the garage right now.

Perhaps he was being too suspicious.

Third Uncle Chen left and the Chen family returned to tranquility. They started to eat the New Year’s Eve dinner.

There was a table full of people. The servants at home ate at the same table and the food on the table emitted heat.

“You don’t like Third Uncle?” Chen Shiming sat next to Chen Qizhao and poured him a glass of wine.

Chen Qizhao bluntly said, “I don’t like him. I can see that his face is covered in desire for money and power. Do you like him? How about telling him that you’ve changed your mind?”

Zhang Yazhi put the last dish on the table and looked at the two brothers in the distance. “No quarrels are allowed during the New Year. Both of you should say less.”

Chen Shiming glanced at Chen Qizhao. In the past, Chen Qizhao liked to go out with his friends for New Year’s Eve and he couldn’t wait to finish the New Year’s Eve dinner this time. However, today he got up early in the morning. Then in the afternoon, he followed Zhang Yazhi around and watched her prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner without urging her.

He even had the patience to sit in the living room and listen to them when he used to go upstairs and play games.

Zhang Yazhi held something. “Try this. It is a new dish that I learned last time. You should eat more.”

Chen Qizhao looked at the contents of the bowl. “Mom, are you feeding a pig?”

“If I could feed you to become a pig then I would be happy.” Zhang Yazhi’s eyes stopped on Chen Qizhao. “Xiao Zhao, have you lost weight again recently? Why do I feel like the flesh on your cheeks is gone?”

Chen Jianhong calmly listened to the mother and son speak while his eyes were on Chen Qizhao for a long time. He looked at Chen Qizhao’s casual appearance but thought of other things in his heart. It seemed that he hadn’t gotten along with his youngest son for a while and couldn’t see this child clearly.

Chen Qizhao was unusually silent. During this period of time, there were indeed not many words at the dinner table and he would only occasionally respond.

For tonight’s meal, Zhang Yazhi asked a few questions while Chen Qizhao’s response was a bit slow.