Chapter Ninety: Falling Ill

His eyes darted restlessly about, as if he were carefully taking in the furniture in Lu Hao’s home and every other detail of the place.

“Lu Hao, I heard you recently bought the Neijiang Restaurant in the village. Is that true?” As soon as Second Uncle Lu Weiming arrived, he came straight toward Lu Hao.

He did not even go into the inner room to look for his own father first.

Lu Hao was the younger generation, while his father was of the same generation as Lu Weiming, and besides, his father was ill at the moment.

Yet his second uncle did not look in on the father first, but came to see him instead.

Lu Hao did not know whether this was deliberate or not, and only nodded.

Then he reminded him, “Second Uncle, if you want to see my dad, he’s resting in the inner room right now.”

“It’s fine. I’ll go see him later.” Lu Weiming smiled and came forward to pat Lu Hao on the shoulder.

“Not bad, boy. I never expected one of the younger generation of the Lu family to turn out to be such talent.” Lu Weiming spoke to Lu Hao with an air of great warmth.

He looked just like an elder who had watched Lu Hao grow up from childhood.

Yet in Lu Hao’s memory, he had basically never been close with this second uncle at all.

From the time he started school, to when he grew old enough to understand things, and all the way to his university graduation, Lu Weiming had only appeared once, at the celebration banquet for his admission to medical university.

One could say this man was sharp to the bone, and only showed up when someone in the family had made something of himself.

He would come to celebration banquets, but at all other times he was nowhere to be seen.

Especially after Lu Hao quit his job and rumors of his unemployment spread, this second uncle had basically never appeared again.

“Just so-so,” Lu Hao said calmly.

From the way his second uncle was acting now, Lu Hao did not particularly like him.

He was simply far too snobbish.

“You’ve made something of yourself. Good. I suppose I didn’t misjudge you when you were little.”

“You’re better than your father.” Lu Weiming gave him a false-sounding compliment.

“Second Uncle, sit on the sofa for now. I’ll bring you some tea.” At that moment, his mother, Liu Xiulan, had not sensed any of this.

She was all warmth and hospitality, carrying a teapot and cups toward the sofa in the living room.

“All right, Xiulan. I came this time to see your family, and there’s also something I want to discuss with Lu Hao,” Lu Weiming said with a smile.

“Oh, that’s perfect. He didn’t go to work at the clinic today anyway. Whatever you want to tell him later, just give him a proper talking-to,” Liu Xiulan said politely.

At this point, Lu Hao also frowned.

A guest does not come without a reason. Since this second uncle had come to his home, it was surely about the restaurant or the clinic.

And it probably was not anything good.

“Haha, I’ll just wait for him in the living room. Lu Hao, come find me when you’re done. It’s been so long since we last met; we really should catch up.” Seeing that Lu Hao’s expression remained calm, Lu Weiming still could not quite read what was on his mind.

“All right, Second Uncle. Go ahead and have some tea first,” Lu Hao said with a smile.

“Yes, yes, tea, tea,” Liu Xiulan echoed, playing along.

Very soon, Liu Xiulan brought the tea over and poured Lu Weiming a full cup.

“Xiulan, your family’s life is getting better now, and Lu Hao has made something of himself. If you ask me, the food, clothes, and everyday things you use really ought to be of better quality.”

Lu Weiming took a sip of tea, and at once his brows knotted.

To be frank, after so many years of wealth and comfort, he had grown used to drinking fine tea in his daily life.

West Lake Longjing, Biluochun, Da Hong Pao, Golden Junmei, and countless others—he had tasted them all.

Now, having come to Lu Hao’s home and been served ordinary jasmine tea bought at the market, he naturally found the taste rather unbearable.

At that, Liu Xiulan’s expression changed at once, and she felt her face burn with embarrassment.

She gave a strained laugh.

“This... Weiming, our family doesn’t really drink much tea. Just a moment, a moment—I’ll go buy some good tea leaves right away to entertain you.”

“After all, there isn’t much good tea being sold in our village on ordinary days...”

In her agitation, her words became somewhat incoherent.

“How could there not be... A while ago, over at Young Master Sun’s place, there was plenty of excellent high-grade tea...” Lu Weiming muttered under his breath, his voice not very loud.

Liu Xiulan did not catch what he had muttered; she only felt that he seemed somewhat displeased.

“This... please wait, I’ll be right back,” Liu Xiulan said, trying to explain.

“No need.” Lu Weiming waved a hand and did not touch the cup of tea on the table again.

“I came mainly to see Lu Hao. The rest doesn’t matter,” he said with clear distaste.

What sort of tea could you possibly buy if you went out now?

Besides, your family is poor enough as it is. Would you even be willing to spend money on it?

“Haha... Weiming, y-you’ll have to make do. Our family, as you know, we’re still supporting two children...” Liu Xiulan was a simple, honest woman, and her speech was clumsy too.

Still, she was doing her utmost not to offend Lu Weiming.

At that moment, Lu Hao’s figure appeared in the room.

“Second Uncle, if you don’t want tea, then have some plain boiled water. We’ve got plenty of that,” Lu Hao said evenly.

Then he took out a large bowl, filled it to the brim with steaming hot water, and set it directly in front of Lu Weiming.

When Lu Weiming saw the bowl of water Lu Hao had placed before him, his face changed at once.

It was clearly a warning, a hint that if he would not accept the courtesy, he would be offered something less pleasant instead.

He looked at Lu Hao for a long moment.

This boy really was not easy to handle. No wonder someone over at Young Master Sun’s side had specially arranged for people to meet with him.

“Xiao Lu, I’m not really in the mood for plain water,” Lu Weiming said with a smile.

“Still, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

He looked at Lu Hao seriously.

“Would you be interested in coming to work at my pig farm, as a manager?” he said with a grin.

“The job is easy as can be. Every day when you go to work, all you have to do is keep an eye on a dozen or so workers.”

At that, Lu Hao was slightly stunned.

What did he mean by that?

“Second Uncle, I’m running a clinic now, and I also have a restaurant. Where would I find the time? You’re very thoughtful, and I appreciate the offer,” Lu Hao said with a smile.

Hearing this, Lu Weiming’s cheek twitched. Then he pulled a Marlboro from his waistband and lit it.

As he exhaled smoke, he looked at Lu Hao and said with a smile, “Xiao Lu, you’re still too young. You don’t understand the tricks of business.”

“When you run your own business, how can it be as comfortable as following someone else and enjoying the good life?”

“When you’re your own boss, you have to bear both profits and losses yourself. Every month, not to mention how much you make, just the expenses alone will be enough to drown you.”

He looked at Lu Hao and said earnestly, “Think about it. Right now, between keeping the Neijiang Restaurant and the clinic going, can you still hold out with the amount of money you’re putting in each month?”