A week after the Liao Qiang incident, Wu Tingxiu and Bai Hanyan called me almost every day, which I found very touching.
Old Yuan and the others intervening helped to cool things down, and I didn't detect any intention for retaliation from Liao Qiang.
Initially, I was afraid he might just be placating me at the moment and would cause trouble later, but now it seems this matter is truly over.
Wu Tingxiu didn't inquire about how I handled the situation during this time, which was quite characteristic of her.
That's just how she is; she knows what questions to ask and what not to.
This might also be related to her years of experience in business.
In the blink of an eye, the Appraisal Convention arrived as scheduled, and I had to prepare for my trip to Guangbei.
Before leaving, the house in the suburbs was finally renovated. The entire decoration style was based on my old home.
I also had a pair of stone lions placed at the entrance, and the interior was all in Chinese style. Hong Yunpeng even helped me get a lot of antique decorative items.
Overall, it looked quite presentable.
It's a shame that I have to start traveling again so soon after moving into the new house.
However, no matter what, I finally have a place to stay now.
After reviewing the information Wu Tingxiu gave me, I gained a more detailed understanding of the Appraisal Convention in Guangbei.
This so-called Appraisal Convention is essentially a gathering for the four major families to compete and absorb new talent.
Bai Hanyan also wanted to accompany me, but after the Liao Qiang incident, Bai Zhujing placed her under house arrest. She called me every day to complain, her most frequent plea being, "Xiang Fei, take me and run away..."
I wouldn't dare to fulfill her request. I felt that Bai Zhujing was even more troublesome than Liao Qiang.
If I were to elope with his daughter, I probably wouldn't be able to return to Guangling for the rest of my life.
Therefore, I could only offer her sympathy and comfort over the phone.
On the day of departure, Wu Tingxiu personally saw me and Fatty off to the airport.
"Be careful on your trip, and don't act impulsively," Wu Tingxiu cautioned me.
"Don't worry, I was entrusted with the last matter. You know what kind of person I am, right? I'll keep a low profile over there," I replied.
Wu Tingxiu nodded, "I've already made arrangements in Guangbei. Someone will pick you up when you get there, and you don't have to worry about anything. That person will take care of everything for you."
"Alright, with Manager Wu's arrangements, it will naturally be for the best," I said with a smile.
She gave me a playful glance, "It seems you still can't change how you address me?"
She laughed and said, "Alright, I won't chat with you any longer. Contact me anytime if anything comes up when you get there."
"Okay."
...
Since Wu Tingxiu booked our plane tickets, Fatty and I enjoyed first-class treatment this time.
I have to say, you get what you pay for. First class is completely different from economy class.
Fatty was clearly flying first class for the first time. As soon as we boarded, he started bothering the flight attendants to death.
If it weren't for their high level of professionalism, I doubt they would have bothered with him.
The flight from Guangling to Guangbei didn't take too long. As soon as we disembarked and walked out of the corridor, I saw someone holding a large sign with three big characters on it: An Yuan Tang.
Seeing these familiar characters, I walked over.
The person holding the sign was a middle-aged man around forty years old, wearing a gray suit and speaking Mandarin with a not-so-standard accent.
"Are you Mr. Xiang?"
"You can just call me Xiang Fei," I replied with a smile.
The man introduced himself, "My name is Liu Jiangmin. You can call me Old Liu. Manager Wu arranged for me to pick you up."
After leaving the airport, we got into a Crown sedan. Liu Jiangmin was very polite the entire way, saying he had already arranged accommodation for us.
I initially thought we were going to a hotel, but he drove us to a nice-looking residential area.
He said that because Wu Tingxiu mentioned we would be staying for a while, he was worried we might not be used to hotels, so he prepared an apartment in a residential complex.
"This apartment hasn't been lived in," Liu Jiangmin said. "I had people furnish it recently. I'll arrange for someone to come and clean it for you later."
"Manager Liu, thank you for your trouble," I said.
He waved his hand, "Not at all. Manager Wu and I have been good friends for many years. I will certainly handle anything she asks me to do. Please don't be too polite with me; just let me know if you need anything."
After going to the apartment and dropping off our luggage, Liu Jiangmin took us out to eat.
The place where we ate was also quite special. It wasn't a big hotel but an open-air restaurant by the river.
They served all sorts of seafood that I had never seen before, fish and shrimp of all kinds.
Fatty, being from the north, had even less experience with seafood.
A plate of shrimp was served, and without even spitting out the shells, he chewed and swallowed them.
After eating, he even told me that the shrimp was overcooked and a bit tough to chew.
I was at a loss for words and could only peel a shrimp for him, telling him that this kind of thing shouldn't be eaten with the shells.
It was fortunate they were indeed prawns; if they had been mantis shrimp, this guy might have ended up in the hospital from this meal.
"Please eat slowly, don't rush," Liu Jiangmin said with a smile. "Someone else will be arriving shortly."
"Someone else is coming?" I asked. "Who is coming?"
"A friend. After dinner, I'll take you two to a good place," Liu Jiangmin said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
As we were talking, a tall woman dressed rather revealingly walked towards us.
She wore sunglasses on her head, a shirt on her upper body with half of it tied up, revealing her flat stomach, and a denim mini-skirt on her lower half.
This woman appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with an oval face, large eyes, and a row of perfectly even white teeth when she smiled.
"Manager Liu," the woman said as she sat down, then looked at me and Fatty.
Liu Jiangmin introduced us, "These are good friends from Guangling. This is Liu Zaixi, Miss Liu..."
At first, I didn't understand why Liu Jiangmin had invited a woman. I thought she was an expert in the antique business in Guangbei. However, I found out after dinner.
This Liu Zaixi was the deputy manager of a local nightclub.
To be honest, I had never been to a nightclub in my life. I had only seen such places on television.
The nightclub where Liu Zaixi worked was one of the best in the area. As soon as we entered, the beautiful girls bowed and welcomed us, making me feel a bit awkward.
Fatty, on the other hand, seemed right at home. He leaned over to me and said, "Lord Xiang, this place is great! It's no less impressive than 'Heaven on Earth' in Yanjing."
"What is 'Heaven on Earth'?" I asked, confused.
"Lord Xiang, is this your first time in a place like this?" Fatty asked.
I felt a bit embarrassed, thinking he might laugh at me, so I replied, "Who says? This place is just so-so."
"So-so? Has Lord Xiang been to even better places?" Fatty asked.
"Of course," I said. "The place I went to before, compared to here, it's simply incomparable."
Fatty rubbed his hands together and said, "Lord Xiang, can you take me to see it sometime?"
"We'll see," I said with a hint of guilt, then quickened my pace to catch up with Liu Jiangmin and the others.