On the fifth day of the first lunar month, it was half past five in the evening, and the lobby on the first floor of Ningcheng Jinling Hotel was already brightly lit.

The bright red carpet extends from the outside of the hall. It is soft and comfortable to step on, as if you are standing on the clouds. The welcoming doorman is respectful and polite, making you feel like a spring breeze. In the center is a crystal lamp and countless transparent pendants shining with golden light.

The hall is even more dazzling.

This is the Ningcheng landmark hotel that was just built and officially opened in 1983. It is also the place where Tao Yuanjie and Xia Shuping entertain their guests.

In order to organize this dinner, Tao Yuanjie used almost all his personal connections, and finally managed to book the most luxurious private room in the Jinling Hotel.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the couple dressed in heavy clothes and came to the hotel in advance to make arrangements. They determined the menu and drinks, and the quality of the cigarettes should not be low. They even personally checked the placement of each set of tableware. When the agreed time was reached,

The two of them were waiting in the guest lounge area in the hall, looking out through the glass door from time to time, just to greet their important guests as soon as they appeared.

As time went by, the number of cars on the square outside the hall gradually increased. People who could come to such a place to spend money were either rich or noble, and all of them were arrogant and pretentious. Xia Shuping did not dare to neglect, every day

She unconsciously glanced at anyone who came in from the door, for fear of missing the distinguished guest she needed to greet.

"Don't be so nervous. Be more natural. Since Xiao Wu agreed, he won't break the promise." Tao Yuanjie reached out and patted his wife's hand, trying to appease her, "But your precious niece will definitely come? Do you want it?"

Make another call to confirm?"

"Don't worry, I went to the third brother's house in the morning. The girl is back. The third sister-in-law also agreed to let Xiaoyan come and meet Xiao Wu. It should be almost time." Xia Shuping said as she spoke.

All the while, he kept staring at the door, "Hey? Old Tao, look, is Xiao Wu here?"

Tao Yuanjie sat up straight after hearing this, raised his eyes and looked in the direction his wife pointed. Sure enough, he saw a familiar figure getting out of the car and walking towards the hall.

"Yes, that's him."

The couple hurriedly stood up from the sofa and approached the young man wearing a black furry trench coat. The doorman opened the glass door with great discernment, and the three of them quickly met on the red carpet in front of the hall.

.

"Uncle Tao, Aunt Xia, happy Spring Festival. I was delayed by something just now, so I didn't want to keep you two waiting."

Wu Jinkang bowed to the two of them humbly. Such a low posture actually made Tao Yuanjie feel flattered. He hurriedly stretched out his hand and shook Wu Jinkang's hand: "Happy Spring Festival. Happy Spring Festival. Needless to say any kind words.

Let's go to the private room and sit down and chat slowly." Then, he looked behind Wu Jinkang and said, "What? Didn't your father come with you?"

The corner of Wu Jinkang's mouth raised slightly, revealing a polite curve: "Tonight is just a first meeting. If there are elders present, I will be restrained. Aunt Xia, don't you think so?"

"Yes, yes, young people are thin-skinned. Old Tao, let's get acquainted after dinner and let the two of them chat alone."

Surrounded by the couple, Wu Jinkang got on the elevator as a matter of course, came to the box door and took a look inside.

Seeing that there was no one inside, Wu Jinkang let out a sigh of relief: "It's okay, okay, Comrade Xia Yan hasn't arrived yet. I would really feel bad if I kept the female comrade waiting for so long."

Tao Yuanjie's face was a bit ugly, but he still put on a smile: "We don't have suitable transportation at home, so it's not convenient to go out. We should be there soon. Let's go in and chat and wait."

After sending Wu Jinkang in first, Tao Yuanjie grabbed Xia Shuping's arm, with a very anxious expression on his face: "What's going on with Xia Yan? Xiao Wu is here. Go make a phone call and ask if she has gone out.

If you offend this young master tonight, your husband and I will basically be finished with our career."

Of course Xia Shuping knew the importance of it, and she immediately trotted to the front desk, grabbed the phone receiver, and with a clicking sound of fingers dialing the dial, Xia Shuping dialed a series of numbers.

Xia Yan's house definitely didn't have a telephone installed. Xia Shuping could only call the communication room in the family compound of the institute, and then the staff on duty called the person. This back and forth was delayed for more than ten minutes.

Qiu Aihua walked over unhurriedly and just picked up the receiver. Xia Shuping on the other end of the phone directly asked anxiously into the receiver: "Sister-in-law, has Xia Yan set off? Why haven't you arrived in such a long time? Xiao Wu

Comrades have been here for a while."

There was a trace of apology in Qiu Aihua's voice: "Shuping, I'm really sorry. After the girl came back yesterday, our family discussed it and thought that since she has already made a friend, it would be really bad if she goes to see another one, so

We won't go over for dinner tonight. I wanted to inform you at noon, but I couldn't reach you after I called you for a while, so I didn't have time to tell you. You see what happened."

"What?" Qiu Aihua's few explanations made Xia Shuping's anger burn directly to the top of her head. Their old Tao finally got in touch with the Wu family and invited people here tonight.

The girl won't come even if she says she can't come? Doesn't this put the couple directly on the fire?

"Third sister-in-law, you can't do things like this. If you hadn't promised well at the beginning, I wouldn't have done this. Now if you don't show up, how will Lao Tao and I end up?"

Qiu Aihua continued to apologize: "It's really my fault for this, and I didn't ask for Xiaoyan's opinion, but if you hadn't moved the old man out at that time, I wouldn't have been able to call Xia Yan back in such a hurry. Isn't it just a blind date?

To formally confirm the relationship, you can find any excuse to excuse it. Since the other party is a high-level intellectual who has returned from studying abroad, he will definitely understand what our family means."

Xia Shuping laughed angrily. Qiu Aihua's move was really damaging to the whole family. He agreed to meet and then broke the appointment at the last minute. From the beginning to the end, he was the one pulling the strings. If they didn't come forward, if the Wu family felt that they were being cheated, not only would they be the unlucky ones.

His old Tao?

"Oh, look at my memory, there's still water sitting in the kitchen. I have to go back quickly, so that's it for now."

Before Xia Shuping could react, Qiu Aihua hung up the phone directly. Xia Shuping wanted to say a few words to save her, but only busy signals came from the receiver.

"Who is this?"

At this moment, Xia Shuping was completely like an enraged lioness, completely devoid of her previous elegance. She really wanted to rush to her third brother's house, kick the door open, and scold Qiu Aihua, but the immediate priority was definitely not that.

Instead of venting my anger, I had to think about how to explain this matter to Comrade Xiao Wu in the box.

After standing at the elevator entrance and hesitating for a long time, Xia Shuping finally stamped her feet and took the elevator to her husband's floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, she strode straight towards the box, her bloodless face full of emotions.

Frightened, the moment she opened the door, she exclaimed towards Tao Yuanjie: "Old Tao is not good. Our dad fell and broke his bones in the afternoon and is now sent to the hospital."

While Xia Shuping was on the phone downstairs, Lao Tao and Xiao Wu in the box had already finished chatting. This was an awkward time when they had nothing to say. Tao Yuanjie kept talking while talking.

He was talking to the west to prevent the scene from being cold, and at the same time he scolded Xia Shuping bloody in his heart.

Xia Shuping's first words when she rushed into the box made Tao Yuanjie, who had suppressed his anger, be stunned for a moment. Seeing that his wife's anxious expression did not seem to be fake, he immediately became nervous: "Is the old man okay? Which hospital was he sent to?

Have you gone? Why didn’t you inform us of such a big thing?"

Wu Jinkang on the side also stood up: "Grandpa Xia's bone was broken? Is it serious? Which hospital is he in? Do you need me to make a call?"

"I'm fine. My right leg and calf are fractured. I just came here to tell you that our family members are all in the hospital now, and I have to rush there. That Xiao Wu, I'm so sorry. Look at the original appointment, who could have imagined that
Chapter completed!