Daddy, Come Home For Dinner!

Chapter 1085: Chapter 1085: Just for Show

She actually didn’t have time to really think about why she wanted Mrs. Li to know that the Zhao family elders were very good.

She just felt subconsciously that she should do so.

So Li Xiaoyun said: "The gifts we brought today were all prepared by the old lady of the Zhao family."

"You asked me before why I didn’t stop it; it’s because I couldn’t stop it. When we went to the old house for dinner yesterday, the old lady said Zhao Dingli mustn’t come back empty-handed after hearing he was coming with me."

"Of course, Zhao Dingli wouldn’t come empty-handed. He’s not someone who doesn’t know etiquette. But the old lady said that if he bought things now, the quality wouldn’t be as good as those from the old house. So, she packed up what was ready in the old house for us to bring." Li Xiaoyun said.

Mrs. Li was listening, and she thought there were just too many key points here.

For instance, Li Xiaoyun had only visited the old house yesterday.

For instance, Li Xiaoyun directly used "we," implying a sense of unity with Zhao Dingli.

And of course, there was the fact that the old lady of the Zhao family personally packed the gifts and insisted they bring them.

Wow.

Mrs. Li felt like her head was filled with all this information, unable to digest it all at once.

Then, she looked at Li Xiaoyun with a sense of melancholy.

Her daughter was usually a very astute person.

Yet when it came to matters of the heart, she was like a fool.

Probably only she herself couldn’t see it.

Mrs. Li didn’t plan to say anything either.

Even if she did, Li Xiaoyun wouldn’t believe her.

After all, she had always pushed her into blind dates, so Li Xiaoyun had doubts about her words in this regard.

"Mom, weren’t you going to cut some fruit?" Li Xiaoyun reminded.

They had been here for quite some time, yet Mrs. Li hadn’t started cutting yet.

"Oh, right." Mrs. Li finally remembered.

She had indeed forgotten.

Mrs. Li brought a cutting board and knife to cut the fruit, and Li Xiaoyun squatted by the trash can, peeling the fruits that needed peeling before handing them to Mrs. Li to cut.

In no time, the two of them were done.

Each holding four fruit plates, they went out.

In a little while, Zhao Dingli and Ye Fei, and the little one too, would come.

With so many people, even four fruit plates might not be enough.

Once fruits were cut, they couldn’t be left out for long.

So, Mrs. Li thought that when Ye Fei and the others arrived, she would go to the kitchen to prepare a few more plates.

The two of them returned, only to find that the atmosphere in the living room seemed a bit off.

It was hard to pinpoint what exactly felt wrong, but there was definitely a strange vibe.

Mr. Li, seeing that Li Xiaoyun and Mrs. Li had finally returned, let out a sigh of relief.

They didn’t know.

Just after they went to the kitchen, the atmosphere between Zhao Dingli and Xiao Xu became extremely awkward.

At that time, fearing the awkwardness, Zhao Dingli initiated a conversation, asking, "Mr. Xu, what do you do?"

Xu Mingjian replied, "I am in foreign trade."

Pausing, Xu Mingjian asked Zhao Dingli, "What about you, Mr. Zhao?"

"I’m in the catering business." Zhao Dingli answered very modestly.

"Catering, does Mr. Zhao run a restaurant?" Xu Mingjian asked again.

Zhao Dingli hesitated a little, saying it wasn’t entirely accurate to say he ran a restaurant.

But it was roughly along those lines.

Not wanting to elaborate, he said, "Yes."

But it was this hesitation that led Xu Mingjian to overthink.

Xu Mingjian wondered if Zhao Dingli was exaggerating.

Was he actually not in the restaurant business?

Just running a regular snack shop?

But looking at Zhao Dingli’s demeanor, it didn’t seem like it.

Or perhaps, he was actually working for someone else?

Observing Zhao Dingli’s demeanor, Xu Mingjian couldn’t help but admit that he seemed more suited to high-end restaurants.

Perhaps Zhao Dingli worked for a high-end restaurant or hotel.

Maybe he was at least a manager-level person.

But that still meant working for someone else, which didn’t sound too impressive.

So when he asked if he ran a restaurant himself, Zhao Dingli hesitated a little before ultimately going along with it.

But anyway, Xu Mingjian felt that Zhao Dingli was lying.

It was also because he had asked too hastily earlier.

He was deceived by Zhao Dingli’s overall aura.

Subconsciously, he just assumed he should be some kind of boss.

Forgotting that he could still be a manager or something.

So, Xu Mingjian began to slightly look down on Zhao Dingli.

Not because he thought he was incapable, nor did he find working for someone else contemptible.

After all, being a leader meant something, and judging by Zhao Dingli’s attire, his income should be decent.

But why did he lie?

Working for someone else isn’t something to be ashamed of.

Did he lie just to show off?

Moreover, he said this even in front of Mr. Li.

If that were the case, would he have lied to Li Xiaoyun as well?

This suggested that Li Xiaoyun might have been deceived by him!

Thinking about it, Xu Mingjian said, "Nowadays, it must be hard to run a physical store, right? Although the food and beverage industry is okay, with many thriving places, a lot of places close down too. Standing out in the food and beverage industry is quite challenging."

"That’s indeed the case." Zhao Dingli nodded, noticing Mr. Li’s keen interest, possibly wanting to know more about the man near his daughter.

To reassure Mr. Li, Zhao Dingli said, "But my restaurants are doing quite well; business is good."

"Restaurants?" Xu Mingjian caught the word, "Mr. Zhao, do you own quite a few restaurants?"

"Yes, I have quite a few," Zhao Dingli said again.

Quite a few?

Now, Xu Mingjian really wanted to scoff.

This man had an impressive air and appeared to be quite serious.

He hadn’t expected him to be so vain, so prone to boasting.

Claiming to own restaurants wasn’t enough; he also claimed to own many.

"Quite a few" sounded like a lot.

"How many have you opened?" Xu Mingjian asked again.

"Some chains," Zhao Dingli replied.

This was without counting the restaurants under Changlin.

The restaurants under Changlin, while he held shares, technically belonged to the entire Zhao Family.

Not just to Changlin.

Including Changping, Changyi, etc.

The restaurants under their names belonged to the whole Zhao Family, not to individuals.

The only difference was in the size of the shares they held.

What Zhao Dingli was referring to now were the hotpot restaurants he owned.

These hotpot restaurants truly belonged to him personally.

And the "Shuyu You" hotpot restaurant chain had indeed spread nationwide.

It even originated from Sichuan and Chongqing.

In his heart, Xu Mingjian thought less and less of him, thinking that Zhao Dingli’s boasts were getting bigger and bigger.

Unable to hold back, it showed a bit on his face.

Of course, Zhao Dingli noticed this.

He’d seen it for a while now.

But Zhao Dingli wasn’t lying; he was speaking sincerely.

He had no way of making others believe him.

After this meeting, they would likely never see each other again, so it didn’t matter if he believed him or not.

But Xu Mingjian’s gaze inadvertently fell on Zhao Dingli’s wrist.

In his mind, Xu Mingjian wondered if with Zhao Dingli’s vanity, was his watch fake as well?

So, Xu Mingjian decided to let go of the restaurant topic for the time being.

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