Dinner Gathering

As he prepared to change clothes, Zhang Yi thought of the machine tools again. There was nothing he could do about it. He wanted high-performance CNC Machines too, but he did not have enough money.

After changing, Zhang Yi headed downstairs while looking up introductions and specifications for various machine tools online. Although his family ran a machining factory, he actually knew very little about CNC Machines and could only get a general idea.

After looking around, Zhang Yi found that there were many machine tools listed online, with widely varying prices. Some CNC Machines cost only a little over a hundred thousand yuan, while others went for several hundred thousand. Yet they all had one thing in common: they were basically domestic machines made by manufacturers he had never even heard of.

Zhang Yi had no interest in those machines at all. He knew the online specifications might look impressive, but no one could know their actual performance without using them first, especially those cheap CNC Machines.

Even high-precision Non-CNC Machine Tools could cost hundreds of thousands or even over a million yuan. Since these manufacturers' CNC Machines were priced so cheaply, Zhang Yi did not trust them much. Machine tools were not purchases that cost just ten or twenty thousand yuan, so he had to be very cautious.

Just then, Zhang Yi's phone rang. It was Zhu Gang.

Zhu Gang told him that the place for dinner had been decided: Xian County Grand Hotel. He also told him he could set off now.

Xian County Grand Hotel was located in the bustling center of Xian County. It was the most luxurious hotel in the entire county. Though it was only a three-star hotel, that was more than enough for a small county town.

After hanging up, he drove Xiao Hua toward Xian County Grand Hotel. The Development Zone was actually quite far from the hotel, and even by car, it took around twenty minutes to get there.

Before long, Zhang Yi arrived at Xian County Grand Hotel. But just as he was about to enter, a familiar and irritating voice rang out.

"Are you Zhang Yi? What, did you strike it rich? You actually came to Xian County Grand Hotel for dinner? You should know this isn't somewhere ordinary people can afford to eat."

Zhang Yi frowned when he heard the voice, then looked toward its source. The speaker was Wang Lin, the man who had clashed with them a few days ago and been taught a lesson by Xiao Hua.

"Why do I run into you everywhere? Was the lesson you got last time not enough?" Zhang Yi said, glancing at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin visibly shrank back at Zhang Yi's words. Xiao Hua had left too great an impression on him last time. A little girl had thrown so many people out of the restaurant, and today he was alone. If Xiao Hua made a move, he stood no chance against her.

More importantly, he could not afford the humiliation. This was the entrance to Xian County Grand Hotel, and those coming and going were all prominent people from the county. Meanwhile, the little girl was glaring at him with clear hostility.

"Don't get too full of yourself. I have business today, so I won't stoop to your level." With that, Wang Lin swaggered into Xian County Grand Hotel.

"All right, let's go in too. There's no need to lower ourselves to his level," Zhang Yi said, seeing Xiao Hua's obvious displeasure.

"Mm." The two of them then entered Xian County Grand Hotel.

As soon as they entered, a waiter came over and said, "This way, please." The waiter clearly assumed that Zhang Yi and Xiao Hua were ordinary diners and started leading them toward the main hall.

"Private room 028," Zhang Yi said to the waiter.

"Certainly, sir." He then led Zhang Yi and Xiao Hua to private room 028.

When Zhang Yi entered private room 028, he found that people were already inside, including Zhu Gang.

He quickly walked in and said, "Sorry, everyone. I'm late!"

"No, we only just arrived as well. Come, Boss Zhang. This is the director of our Development Zone. He shares your surname—his name is Zhang Ou." As Zhu Gang spoke, he pointed at a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties.

"Hello, Director Zhang. I'm Zhang Yi from Seven Color Stone Mechanical Factory. Please take care of me in the future," Zhang Yi said.

"Hello. I know you. You're Zhang Ming's son, aren't you? Back then, your father and I were colleagues. I even learned machine tool techniques from him, but my talent was limited, so I gave up halfway through. I never expected that in the blink of an eye, his son would be this grown up.

"I heard you're preparing to expand your factory? You're more ambitious than your father. Your father only wanted to hold on to his little machining workshop. Your family's factory has been around for over twenty years, yet it has remained like this," Zhang Ou said.

Zhang Yi did not know how to respond to Director Zhang's words. After all, a son should not speak of his father's faults.

Just then, Zhu Gang said to Zhang Yi, "These two are Director Wang from the county bureau and County Magistrate Fang."

"Hello, County Magistrate Fang, Director Wang. I hope the two of you will offer guidance for my factory's future development," Zhang Yi said with a smile.

"No need to be so polite. Your father and I were colleagues back then, so if you need anything in the future, as long as it is within our ability, we will certainly help. Besides, if your factory grows, it will be of considerable benefit to our county as well."

Zhu Gang pulled Zhang Yi over to sit down, but Zhang Yi was still somewhat confused. He had never met these people before—or rather, he had never met them in real life. Yet they were clearly no strangers to him, and they seemed to hold his father in high regard. Zhang Yi found it deeply puzzling.

His father had only been a skilled machine tool operator. Even if his father had been particularly talented technically, there was no reason for these people to treat him this way. They were all government officials, and none of them held low-ranking positions in Xian County. The lowest-ranking among them was the director of the Development Zone, while the highest was already the county's second-in-command. Zhang Yi felt rather overwhelmed by the attention.

Seeing Zhang Yi's reserved manner, the Deputy County Magistrate, the highest-ranking person present, spoke up. "You don't need to be so nervous. My name is Fang Jinming. Although I am now the county's Deputy County Magistrate, without your father's help, forget this position—I might not even be alive today. Has your father never told you about his younger days?"

"No. I only know that my father used to work at Xian County State-Owned Machinery Factory. After that machinery factory went bankrupt, he started our current mechanical factory. I don't know anything else," Zhang Yi said.

In truth, Zhang Yi had always been very interested in his father's younger years. But his father had never spoken about his past, and even when Zhang Yi asked, he had never revealed a single word.