Chapter 10: The Arrogant Dinner Party (Part 1)

  Bamboo Pavilion Residence the next day.

  It's also the first day of the summer vacation before the high school entrance exam.

  Zhu Xuan Ju was the most frequent gathering place for Su Can's big family in those years, of course, the organizer of the gathering was not his parents. At that time, Su Can's father and mother were ordinary workers, and his mother's unit was also involved in layoffs, which made people worried. It seemed that Zhu Xuan Ju, a mid-to-high-end restaurant, could not afford to host a big family dinner no matter what.

  The host is his elder uncle Zeng Quanming, who is also the most powerful and prestigious family leader in the big family. He works in the Municipal Construction Bureau and serves as the director of the Planning Office. In the whole big family, he is the only civil servant, not to mention that he is still the director, and his core position in the family is unshakeable.

  Xiao Shu Zeng Zhao Ding was a small shareholder of the "Century Club" karaoke nightclub in Xiashi City at that time, without the political awareness of Da Shu.

  After graduating from high school, he went to the society alone and struggled. The original little ruffian who mixed with him became a real boss, and Xiao Shu, as his former fighting brother, was also taken care of by him. These big rascals had a keen sense of grasping new business opportunities at that time. At that time, they opened a gift toy store that was quite novel for Xia Hai City. Xiao Zuo Ding was the manager of this toy store before, and later developed well, then his "boss" gave him shares and went to the nightclub as a shareholder. In his thirties, his career was booming.

  In my impression, the group of party members led by my uncle were originally thugs, but later became legitimate businessmen, only with a bit of a hoodlum style. My uncle was particularly proud at that time, especially when he became a shareholder of "Shiji Club". He had a lot of say in the family and even looked down on his older brother, Zhang Quanming, who was the director of the planning department, often saying "You, as a civil servant, earn less in a year than I do in three months." He would also frequently boast about drinking with high-level city leaders and playing golf together.

  Provoking the temperamental and eccentric eldest uncle in the civil service system even more resentful.

  The elder uncle was like this, and the younger uncle looked down on Su Can's father who had been holding a dead salary. Of course, the younger uncle was more knowledgeable about human relationships and was more clever than the elder uncle. The elder uncle repeatedly scolded his own father in front of everyone, but it led to Su Can speaking out against him several times, and several family banquets ended in discord.

  Although Xiao Shu was disdainful of his father Su Licheng, he only mentioned it when communicating with his mother alone. In front of his father, he maintained a smiling face.

  His own father also knew that he was the most bullied person in this family circle, and he had always been silent, taking all kinds of pressure. Sometimes when he went out with his mother and got bullied, he would just smile wryly and remind himself, "Dad is useless and looked down upon by others, you are Dad's hope, I can still proudly say that my son is great."

  It's just a pity that I never made my dad feel proud of me when I was young.

  Always falling down, needing parents' full support from young to old... Now thinking back, Su Can's heart is filled with guilt.

  "You're so useless, Zeng Ke is no good either. You should have brought your son out to make a living, with the way things are going for you, the company will collapse soon! What can you rely on? Only if your son Su Can makes something of himself can you change your fate!"

  My elder uncle, Quan Ming, was a straightforward person with some ability in planning. He had one eye that was cloudy and not very useful. In the past, he relied on just one eye to read out as a civil engineer. Of course, being the director of the planning office didn't have much room for advancement. He wouldn't curry favor with his superiors, and towards the end, his abilities declined due to age and cerebral hemorrhage issues. He was transferred to the later-established administrative center, where his powers were gradually stripped away. Later on, he basically just waited for retirement.

  But the big uncle is also the person Su Can is most grateful to in his growth process. Although he and Su Can had many conflicts due to his father's problems, after all, he sincerely hoped that these younger generations could have greater development and achievements. Now, seeing the big uncle who was clear-headed eleven years ago, Su Can feels a bit grateful. When he was young, although he often rebelled against him, to be honest, he never really resented him. As he grew up slowly, his gratitude towards the big uncle became thicker and thicker. Until many years later, Su Can understood that what the big uncle needed was not his repayment, but his achievements, even if he had to put on a proud face in front of him.

  Now, Da Shu began to speak bluntly as usual, but this time his words were directed at Su Can's father and also implicated his own mother, Zeng Ke. The whole thing was tied together in a way that didn't seem to have any specific target, and while speaking, he noticed that Da Shu Zeng Quanming glanced at him with one eye, as if he still had some concerns about mentioning his own father, Su Li Cheng, a forbidden topic, and would immediately become defensive.

  Su Can couldn't help but feel amused and a little moved. At this moment, her elder uncle was still the director of the planning department after all. There were not a few people who usually fawned on him, flattered him, and tried to curry favor with him by watching his expression. Now he actually considered his own temperament and watched his own expression. How difficult was that?

  "Yes, yes, okay..." His parents nodded in agreement, his mother turned her head slightly and said with a hint of affection, "This time it's all up to him, after all, our hopes are all pinned on you, son!"

  Her sister Zena, who was next to her, immediately gave her a white eye and said, "He's got good grades! You're still holding onto big hopes, look at his mock exam scores? More than 470 points, not even 500 points, let alone the difficult high school in Sanzhong. In our school when we were in junior high, even the worst student in the class scored more than 500 points. Your grades are just average in your class! It's clear that Sanzhong Third Middle School is really bad!"

  A sense of superiority, this innate sense of superiority represents a unique imprint of Xia Hai City.

  My elder sister is currently in her second year of high school, and with her consistently excellent academic performance since young, she naturally attends the top school, First High School, and has a superior attitude to boot.

  In a daze, Su Can also remembered that her older sister, the daughter of her uncle, had a bad relationship with her when they were young. Firstly, there was a younger brother named Zeng Yuan who was five years younger than herself and was the apple of their parents' eye, and Older Sister Zeng Na liked him more than she liked Su Can. Secondly, although they were both in primary and secondary school at the same time, they had a generation gap and often clashed with each other because they were both very strong-willed. As a result, they would often argue until their faces turned red. Moreover, Su Can's grades were poor, and she couldn't compare to her older sister who was in the top class, so Older Sister looked down on her even more. This was completely different from how Older Sister treated her many years later, when she would call her every week to show concern for her well-being after they had moved to a different city. Growth can change many things over time.

  A big family gathered together, although they had their own accusations and complaints towards each other, perhaps with red faces and ears, or using theoretical arguments, but in the end it was always the warmest. In the future, the three siblings would be scattered all over the world, and even during Chinese New Year, someone would often be absent, but when recalling those days spent together, it was always the most lively and heartwarming.

  Now, Su Can felt a sense of closeness to all this, and he didn't mind his sister's disdain for him. He smiled calmly and said, "It doesn't matter if the results are poor, as long as I can make up for it and study hard, I'll try my best this time, okay?"

  Su Mu Yuan immediately mediated, "Hey, now Su Can has worked hard, he even studied late last night, he knows how to work hard!"

  "I didn't expect Su Can to remain calm under my ridicule, but this composure is something I've never seen before in my most disobedient younger brother. It left me stunned and unable to continue teasing him. All I could do was pout and say, 'With such poor grades, even studying would be useless!'"