Chapter 1649
Morning.
In the courtyard.
It was still early before mealtime, so Dong Xuebing invited them to sit on the stone benches under the Chinese toon tree. The air outside was good, so they didn"t go inside.
"How old is Xiao Ling?" Dong Xuebing asked.
Fang Shuling replied, "She"s twenty-five this year."
Dong Xuebing blinked and asked, "What job does she have?"
"She doesn"t have a job yet," Fang Shuling said softly. "She"s currently studying."
Xie Ran didn"t want his brother-in-law to look down on his girlfriend, so he added, "She"s about to finish her Ph.D."
"Oh, a Ph.D. at just twenty-five?" Dong Xuebing looked at her and asked, "Did she study in China?"
Fang Shuling nodded, "My family wanted me to study abroad, but I didn"t go. I always felt that China is better."
Dong Xuebing suddenly slapped the table, startling several of them, "Well said! That"s how it should be. Listening to them talk about how great foreign countries are, it"s nonsense. What"s good about foreign countries? There"s chaos and racial discrimination. They look down on us, yet we still go there with our heads held high. Screw them! Who"s better than who? Xiao Ling has a high level of ideological awareness. She"s right to focus on studying and developing in China!"
Fang Shuling was surprised by Xie Ran"s brother-in-law"s strong reaction.
However, Xie Jing was relatively objective, "Actually, most people study abroad mainly for the educational resources. It must be acknowledged that some disciplines and teaching methods abroad are stronger than those in China. But it"s not blind wors.h.i.+p of foreign countries. Most international students still want to return to China for development."
Dong Xuebing looked at her and said unhappily, "Stronger than us? Foreigners are just deceivers. You think they"re treasures."
Xie Jing was speechless, "I"m just making an objective evaluation."
Dong Xuebing snorted, "I"ve seen you working at Xinhua News Agency these years, and you haven"t learned anything. You still talk like this. Your ideological awareness is far inferior to Xiao Ling"s."
Xie Jing replied, "I won"t argue with you."
Fang Shuling hurriedly intervened, "Both of you have valid points."
Dong Xuebing also glanced at her, "There"s no reason to wors.h.i.+p foreign things. I also use foreign things, like phones, computers, and I watch foreign TV dramas, American dramas, j.a.panese dramas. I can even accept some foreign ideologies but only accept them. I never take pride in it!"
Xie Jing argued, "I"m not proud of it either."
Xie Hao waved his hand, "Stop, stop. Our brother-in-law is the most radical of radicals. You all know that."
Seventy percent of Beijingers are radicals, and Dong Xuebing is no exception, especially in his work over the years. He has had plenty of dealings with foreigners, fought with them, broken into museums, stolen artifacts, and stormed into America’s research inst.i.tutes. Even his daughter has been kidnapped by pirates, and his mother has been hit by a foreigner"s car and almost died. Several incidents have acc.u.mulated, making Dong Xuebing completely biased against foreigners, regardless of who says how good they are. Dong Xuebing doesn"t care. He"s the kind of person who will turn his face and refuse to recognize people!
That"s his stubborn temper!
Xie Jing and Xie Hao have long understood!
So, seeing his brother-in-law being so unreasonable, Xie Jing could only smile bitterly and say, "Alright, alright. You"re right. I can"t argue with you anyway."
Dong Xuebing said, "I"m right in the first place."
Xie Jing snorted, "You"re just bullying me. I"ll go tell my sister about you later."
Dong Xuebing shrugged, "The truth is right here. It"s useless no matter who says what. It"s right here."
Xie Ran pulled his sister aside and whispered, "Come on, you know your brother-in-law"s temper."
Indeed, Dong Xuebing always insisted on his reasoning; no matter what others said, he would never listen. In Beijing slang, this is "arguing for the sake of arguing."
Seeing his sister pouting, Dong Xuebing said nothing further. "Let"s change the subject, Xiao Ling. What would you like to eat for lunch?"
Fang Shuling shyly replied, "Whatever you say, Brother Dong."
Dong Xuebing said, "Don"t listen to me. What do you like to eat?"
Fang Shuling replied, "I like everything. I"m not particularly picky."
Xie Ran interjected, "Just make something simple. Let Xiao Ling sit down, and I"ll help out. She can cook, too."
"No, I"ll cook today." Dong Xuebing was not only worried about their cooking skills, but also, as Fang Shuling was visiting their home for the first time as Xie Ran"s girlfriend, he couldn"t let her do the cooking. It was a matter of hospitality. "Don"t worry about it. I"ll handle it, and Xiao Jing will a.s.sist me."
Xie Jing huffed, "I"m not going."
Dong Xuebing chuckled, "What"s wrong? Are you angry?"
"Just after you criticized me, you expect me to help? No way." Xie Jing said playfully, but it was mostly a joke.
Xie Hao volunteered, "I"ll do it, I"ll help! Haha, but there"s a condition: brother-in-law, you have to buy me a car in advance. This winter vacation, I"ll turn eighteen anyway!"
Dong Xuebing patted his head, "Go away. You"re everywhere. Let me handle it. Don"t even bother with this meal. You can"t even wash vegetables properly."
Xie Hao exclaimed, "You don"t trust me! It"s impossible! I"ll wash them for you to see. But you have to get me a car this winter vacation!"
Dong Xuebing bluntly said, "Forget it."
Fang Shuling immediately said, "I"ll a.s.sist you."
Xie Jing glanced at Fang Shuling and said, "I"ll do it."
"Xiao Jing, it"s not necessary." Fang Shuling seemed to want to show some respect.
Xie Jing didn"t say anything. She just stood up and followed Dong Xuebing.
Seeing his sister"s lukewarm att.i.tude towards his girlfriend, Xie Ran wasn"t too happy either. He gave his sister a stern look, implying she should be nicer.
But Xie Jing pretended not to see and said, "Let"s go, brother-in-law."
Xie Ran had no choice. He couldn"t argue with his sister, as he had always been very fond of her.
However, Fang Shuling didn"t mind and even wanted to go to the kitchen together. Ultimately, Dong Xuebing pushes her back and doesn"t let her busy herself.
...
In the southern room.
In the small kitchen.
Xie Jing entered first, followed by Dong Xuebing, who closed the door after seeing Xie Ran consoling Fang Shuling outside. It was suddenly dark inside.
Xie Jing was puzzled, "Why did you close the door?"
Dong Xuebing turned on the light, "Let"s talk, what"s going on?"
"What do you mean?" Xie Jing blinked, picked up some vegetables, and started was.h.i.+ng them.
Dong Xuebing looked at her and said, "Your brother finally has a girlfriend, and you didn"t show any reaction. You were indifferent. The family is already urging your brother about his marriage. Isn"t this a good thing? From Xiao Ling"s accent, she should also be from Beijing, right? Are you looking down on her family background? Do you think she"s not good enough for your brother? Look, you and Sun Kai also started your relations.h.i.+p like this. You"re fine with it, but your brother can"t? I"m not criticizing you, Xiao Jing, but you"re completely unreasonable."
Xie Jing remained silent.
Dong Xuebing continued, "Say something."
"What do you want me to say?" Xie Jing became frustrated.
Dong Xuebing chuckled, "Look, are you feeling guilty?"
Xie Jing couldn"t help but say, "It"s not what you think. Am I such a superficial person? Is Fang Shuling"s family background not good enough? No! It"s because her family background is too good!"
Dong Xuebing was taken aback, "What do you mean?"
Xie Jing smiled bitterly, "Do you know who her grandfather is? He"s still serving in the State Council. Just think about which family has the surname Fang."
"Fang? The surname Fang?" Dong Xuebing pondered momentarily, then suddenly exclaimed, "The Premier?" Being in the system, he had heard of the top leaders even if he hadn"t had much contact with them. Moreover, he often followed the news. How could he not know? When Xie Jing mentioned it, Dong Xuebing immediately thought of one person - Fang, the nominal third in command of the country and the actual second in command of the State Council!
Xie Jing nodded, "That"s her grandfather."
Dong Xuebing was astonished, "From the Fang family?"
The Fang family, just like the Xie family, held a similar status. Their influence in the Republic could rank in the top five. Although they might not be as brilliant as the Xie family, the Fang family was not far behind. Even more direct relatives held essential government positions than the Xie family. Their influence might be slightly less than that of the Xie family. Still, now that Xie"s father had retired, and because Fang Shuling"s grandfather had risen to the second highest position during the last reshuffle, surpa.s.sing the highest rank of the Xie family, the Fang family was a bit higher. Overall, the Fang and Xie families were basically on the same level, almost equal, and considered a good match.
Dong Xuebing was puzzled, "Isn"t this a good thing? Both of them have feelings for each other. Shouldn"t it be a free love? Their families are well-matched. Isn"t this marriage great?"
Xie Jing said, "What"s good about it?"
"Why are you like this? What"s wrong?" Dong Xuebing asked.
"You don"t pay attention to these things and don"t understand the situation at all," Xie Jing said helplessly. "If it"s good, why has my brother hesitated to tell the family about his relations.h.i.+p? Why hasn"t he brought Fang Shuling home? Why can he only come to your house? It"s all done secretly! I didn"t even know my brother was in a relations.h.i.+p before this. Would my brother be like this if it were such a big deal?"
Dong Xuebing couldn"t care less about cooking now. "Stop beating around the bush. Just tell me."
Xie Jing paused momentarily before reluctantly saying, "The Fang family and our family... are arch-enemies. They"ve been fighting for many years, basically mortal enemies."
Dong Xuebing exclaimed, "Is that so?"
He had only been married to Huilan for a little over a year, so he knew little about the Xie family"s history. Of course, with Dong Xuebing"s personality, he hadn"t planned to learn about it before. Huilan also didn"t like to boast, so Dong Xuebing naturally didn"t know.
"This is a long story," Xie Jing said.
Dong Xuebing wasn"t in a hurry. "Take your time. Let"s talk while we cook."