247: Chapter 247 What's wrong with the sewage?

"Sigh, let him go. Just assume he lacked the affinity for this." Li Dequan sighed lightly, shaking his head as he murmured with emotion.

He had already said as much as he could, even showing him a portion of the original boxing manual, yet Li Tianming failed to see the true meaning within it and refused to wait any longer. This showed that he truly lacked the discernment and the affinity. Even if he were to meet Grandmaster Chen, he might not necessarily obtain Grandmaster Chen's permission, and it might even lead to some friction. Therefore, Li Dequan could only think: let him go. Since he didn't believe, then there was no need to meet, which might not be a bad thing after all.

"Why would he go to some class reunion in the middle of the day? Who knows where they're even meeting…" Li Fengxu muttered with some dissatisfaction. Suddenly thinking of something, her eyes lit up as she looked at Li Dequan. "Grandpa, why don't you find someone to temporarily seal off all the entertainment venues for the afternoon? That way, they won't have anywhere to go for their reunion and will have to break it up unhappily. If that happens, Chen Mo…"

"Nonsense! How could such a dangerous thought even cross your mind?"

Before Li Fengxu could finish speaking, she was sternly reprimanded by Li Dequan, causing her to shut her mouth sheepishly and lower her head.

Actually, Li Fengxu's idea sounded whimsical at first because they didn't know where Chen Mo's class reunion was being held. To force them to disband by sealing off entertainment venues, they would have to close all the venues in Jiangnan to be effective. The manpower and time required would be significant. However, for an ordinary person, this is true, but with Old Li's current prestige and status, it would just be a matter of one phone call. Moreover, these entertainment venues don't have much traffic in the afternoon, so closing them for a while wouldn't cause much loss in revenue. So, if they really wanted to carry out Li Fengxu's whimsical idea, it would be relatively simple to implement.

But Li Dequan didn't even consider these factors. A rare look of anger appeared on his face. "Regardless of whether you are my granddaughter, Li Dequan, and need to hold yourself to a higher standard, even if you weren't, such a dangerous thought should never cross your mind!"...

While Li Dequan was giving Li Fengxu an education on moral character, inside the lobby of the Huanghe Hotel, a group of classmates, feeling slightly constrained by the golden and magnificent scene, were led by a waiter through the lobby to the second floor. After walking straight, turning left, and then turning right, they arrived before a pair of carved, hollowed-out rosewood doors. On the door was a sign, but it didn't have any high-end name; it simply had a '6' written on it. It seemed this was Room 6, the private room Ye Chen had booked early on.

Stepping over the wooden steps with railings on both sides and pushing the door open, everyone suddenly felt their eyes widen. The space inside the room was incredibly large, featuring a rockery and a pond, and even two pavilions. Beside the pond, a fairly large vegetable garden had been cordoned off, planted with cabbages, chili peppers, scallions, and various other green vegetables. It made everyone feel as if they hadn't arrived in a dining room, but rather in a small farmhouse courtyard that one only sees on television. No wonder that when they were walking in the corridor on the second floor just now, they felt the space on the second floor seemed much smaller compared to the magnificent lobby on the first floor; it turned out the space was being used inside the rooms. This truly refreshed their perspective.

The service staff who led them in introduced: "The vegetables planted in this small garden are all natural, green vegetables. You can pick them, wash them, and eat them immediately. Every private room we have features such a garden. It is both to decorate the room and to showcase our ingredients to everyone. When Young Master Ye and the distinguished guests leave, you are welcome to pick these vegetables and take them with you. Whether you take them home as gifts or eat them yourselves, they are a very good choice."

Some of the students present showed strange expressions upon hearing the waiter's introduction. The common point among these students was that their grades were good, but their family's financial situation was completely incomparable to Ye Chen, Wang Chao, and the others. So, hearing the waiter's introduction, they all thought in unison: 'Is it really appropriate to take a few cabbages and chili peppers home as gifts?'

Then, just after the waiter finished speaking, Ye Chen took over and said with a smile: "The natural green vegetables here are indeed excellent. Last time, I took a full bag home, and I basically gave them all away. Everyone praised them highly."

The waiter smiled and said: "Then Young Master Ye, please take some more today. If that's not enough, I'll go pluck some from other private rooms for you."

Ye Chen waved his hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "No, no. We have to go out to have fun after eating later, so it's not convenient."

"What's inconvenient about that? I'll call a runner to deliver it directly to your residence later," the waiter said very matter-of-factly.

"This… that would be too embarrassing." Ye Chen's eyes lit up as soon as he heard the waiter's suggestion. Although he said that, there wasn't a hint of embarrassment on his face. "Let's do that then."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? As long as you like it, Young Master Ye, that's all that matters. Just keep coming to visit us." The waiter said, noting something down in the small notebook he carried with him.

Many of the surrounding classmates heard their conversation and felt a sense of disbelief. These cabbages, chili peppers, greens, and scallions were actually being treated like treasures to be given as gifts? One could only say that the world of the rich is truly impossible to understand.

Ye Chen nodded, looking very pleased with himself. He looked at the doorway, seeing his group of twenty-something people walking in one after another. There were also a dozen or so classmates who had arrived early sitting inside the room. Hearing the commotion outside, they all came out, and the two groups merged with enthusiastic hugs and laughter. As the class monitor, Ye Chen counted the number of people and found that all the students in the class had arrived, so he said to the waiter: "You can serve the food now."

"Alright, alright, I'll go arrange it right away."

After the waiter left the private room, Song Xiaoqin finally couldn't help but lean over to Ye Chen and said: "Brother Chen, my family grows vegetables too. If you like green vegetables, feel free to take some from my place in the future." As he spoke, Song Xiaoqin took out his phone, opened his photo album, and scrolled through it one by one, showing the photos of his family's vegetable plot to everyone. When everyone leaned in to look, good heavens, Song Xiaoqin's family really did have a large vegetable plot, as well as a fish pond. The vegetables in the plot were all lush and green, with broad leaves and thick stems; one look and you could tell they were growing very well.

"How about it? Not bad, right?" Song Xiaoqin asked, his face full of pride as he held the phone to show the photos.

"Hey Xiaoqin, you rascal, you're not being honest. You always said your family were farmers, but it turns out you're the landlord class." Wang Chao leaned over, looked at the photos, and couldn't help but tease him.

"Brother Chao, don't slander me. How could my family be the landlord class?" Song Xiaoqin said, getting a bit anxious. He pointed at the people farming in the photos and introduced them one by one: "This is my dad, this is my mom, this is my older brother." As he spoke, he flipped back a few more photos and found one taken by someone else showing himself working in the field. "This is me. Our whole family is out in the fields; how could we be the landlord class!"

"Hahaha!"

Song Xiaoqin's words made everyone laugh.

"So, getting back to it, Brother Chen, what do you think of our family's vegetables? If you think they're good, I'll bring you some to try next time." Song Xiaoqin said to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen watched with interest as he finished looking through the photos on Song Xiaoqin's phone. "Not bad, very good indeed. Although your family's vegetables don't look as exquisite as those at the Huanghe Hotel, they are truly all-natural. How about…" Ye Chen was about to say that maybe he should order a batch of vegetables from Song Xiaoqin to try, but before he could say it, his sleeve was pulled by his girlfriend, Cai Miner.

"What's wrong, Miner?" Ye Chen looked at Cai Miner with concern and some confusion.

He thought Cai Miner had something going on, but instead, he saw Cai Miner cast a glance toward the vegetable plot scene in the photo on Song Xiaoqin's phone. Confused, Ye Chen followed her gaze and saw a large plastic bucket filled with filthy matter in the photo.

Although Ye Chen was born into a wealthy family and pampered, he had no defects in intelligence and had received a normal education, so he had at least that bit of common sense. He was stunned for a moment, then recognized what was inside, and couldn't help but frown.

However, on second thought, even if Song Xiaoqin's family used this stuff to irrigate the vegetable plot, as long as it was processed clean, it shouldn't matter. Just as Ye Chen was thinking this, he saw Cai Miner shake her head at him with an undisguised look of disgust on her face.

'This…' Ye Chen hesitated. He didn't want to disappoint his classmate, but his girlfriend was already showing such disgust. If he didn't go along with her wishes, there was no doubt it would make her unhappy. And an unhappy girlfriend was much more troublesome than green vegetables or a disappointed classmate.

Thinking this, Ye Chen nodded, having already made up his mind. He glanced at Song Xiaoqin and said somewhat vaguely: "This… let's just forget it."

"Why forget it?" Song Xiaoqin was a bit anxious. He truly felt that the vegetables his family grew were natural, green vegetables and were good things, which is why he wanted to share them with his classmate. He had just seen Ye Chen praising the very ordinary small vegetables growing in this private room, so he wanted to share some truly natural green vegetables with him. Who would have thought that after showing Ye Chen the photos, he would be rejected? Thinking he hadn't made himself clear, Song Xiaoqin quickly added: "It doesn't cost money, it's free. Brother Chen, take some to try."

"This…" Faced with his classmate's good intentions, Ye Chen hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say. At this time, Cai Miner, who was beside him, glanced sideways at Song Xiaoqin. "Do you know how to speak? Do you think my Brother Chen is short of money? And is this a question of money? Brother Chen is afraid of embarrassing you, so he didn't refuse you outright, but you really take yourself seriously?" Cai Miner said with a tone that was both disdainful and somewhat angry.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present fell silent. Although many of them didn't know this Cai Miner before, they knew she was Ye Chen's girlfriend. So, although they felt her words were not very appropriate, no one stood up to say anything.

As for Song Xiaoqin, having been asked several questions in a row by this girl he didn't know, he appeared quite stunned for a moment and also felt quite embarrassed. Because although he didn't know Cai Miner, he saw her following Ye Chen, so it was highly likely she was Ye Chen's girlfriend. Since she said that, it probably represented Ye Chen's meaning. Therefore, Song Xiaoqin's somewhat dark face suddenly flushed, turning both black and red.

"What nonsense are you spouting? He had good intentions!" Ye Chen reacted, pulling Cai Miner and saying to her in a low voice.

Cai Miner was stunned for a moment, then gave a soft scoff, glanced at Ye Chen, and moved her gaze away. "Right, he had good intentions, so am I not looking out for you?"

"Why do you think I specifically reminded you not to take these vegetables just now? It was for the sake of you and your family's relationships!"

"Think about it. If you take these vegetables back, most of them will be given to your dad's clients and relatives. What if they recognize that these are vegetables grown with manure water? Guess what will happen? Will they thank you for giving them natural, pollution-free green food, or will they think you are deliberately trying to disgust them?"

"If you really think he had good intentions, then go ahead and accept them. If something happens later, don't blame me for not warning you, hmph!" Cai Miner said angrily, crossing her arms over her chest, inadvertently accentuating her curves. Ye Chen, who was standing close to her, was involuntarily deeply attracted. Furthermore, what Cai Miner said seemed to have some merit, because his own family couldn't eat many of these vegetables, and most were just given away to others. Vegetables, while said to be inexpensive, once they are associated with terms like "green" and "natural," are easily sought after by today's upper-class society. So, when giving gifts, whether they taste good or not is secondary; the first thing to consider is surely the aesthetic and perceived value. The vegetables grown by the Huanghe Hotel are small and exquisite; even if you don't eat them, they look pleasing to the eye as floral arrangements at home. Moreover, when packed, they are put into the Huanghe Hotel's packaging bags, maximizing the perceived value, making them an undoubtedly excellent choice for gifts. But looking at the greens grown by his classmate Song Xiaoqin's family, although they grew quite large and looked lush and full of vitality, they were grown with manure water. If they were given as gifts and others detected manure water residue, it would really be better not to give them at all.

Just as Ye Chen was still pondering, Song Xiaoqin couldn't hold back anymore. He raised his face, which was both black and red, and stared straight at Cai Miner. "What's wrong with manure water? So what if the vegetables in my family's field are grown with manure water? Aren't vegetables grown with manure water better than these malnourished, stunted seedlings?"