Chapter 58: Heaven and Earth in These Days
"Old Li, is your boy back?"
"Well, it seems like the time is almost up. I'm just about to go to the airport to pick someone up."
"Well, bring him to the chess and card room as soon as you pick him up. I've already prepared a celebration banquet."
"Celebration banquet? Hey, hey, Old Cai, this is my son. Why do you want you to hold a celebration banquet for my son's victory in chess? You don't really think of him as your son-in-law, do you? And even if he becomes your son-in-law, it won't be your turn. A son-in-law is half a son, and I am his biological father."
"Hey," Cai Zhixiong on the other end of the phone laughed, "Old Li, don't forget that your son is participating in the competition under the name of our club, so it's not me who is hosting the celebration banquet, but our club. It's the club that wants to celebrate that a player has made it to the main tournament of the World Series."
"Besides my boy, who else in your club has passed this qualifying round?"
"Hey! Don't mention it. It's just your kid."
Li Yuanhu on the other end was also happy: "Okay, I'm on my way to the airport now, I'll pick him up and go..."
"You're going now, so it might be a bit too late. So, Lao Li, after you pick up the person, don't go to the club. Just come to the old place."
Cai Zhixiong did not mention the specific location, but Li Yuanhu was obviously very familiar with the "old place":
"The old place? Old Cai, you mean 'Heaven on Earth', right?"
"Yes, it is 'Heaven on Earth'."
Around 7 o'clock in the evening, in Chaoyang District of Beijing, yes, the place where the famous "Chaoyang People" were born and raised, looking at the neon sign of "Heaven on Earth" in front of him, Li Xiangping had a strange expression on his face.
Everyone must understand Li Xiangping. You must know that this is the real "Heaven on Earth". It is the real "Heaven on Earth" in real history. Later, it almost became a myth and legend in the entertainment industry. It is a holy place for pleasure seekers and a place that countless men yearn for.
But Li Xiangping, who was a playboy in his previous life, could never have imagined that the first time he set foot here after his rebirth, he would be brought here by his own old man. This can only be said... There is no greater adventure in life than this.
Of course, Li Xiangping's strange expression only flashed by. After all, in this day and age, "Heaven on Earth" is just a very ordinary dining and entertainment venue. Not only does it not have the great fame of later generations, but even the hardware conditions here cannot be ranked at all in today's Beijing. It can barely be rated as a four-star hotel, and certainly not a five-star hotel.
Li Xiangping knew that the real success of "Heaven on Earth" would have to wait until two or three years later when a new boss came in. The new boss was quite active, and his idea for running "Heaven on Earth" was actually just one move, which was commonly known as "professional attire amateur", where the professional ladies here pretended to be college students, white-collar workers, models, second- and third-rate celebrities, and all kinds of good families...
No one could have imagined that such a simple move would make this place a hit, attracting countless wealthy people and countless poor people. The fees here became more and more expensive, but more and more people came to be ripped off. Gradually, this place became a legend in the underworld, and the "Heaven on Earth" sign became the number one sign in the entertainment industry.
In later generations, many stories about "Heaven on Earth" circulated in the world. Everyone was talking about how mysterious the boss here was and how profound his background was, but these were just everyone's imagination.
In fact, the boss who created the myth of "Heaven on Earth" is just an ordinary businessman. He has a little background, but it is not as deep as everyone imagines. However, although this guy has no background, he is a smart man.
Seeing that the sign of "Heaven on Earth" was getting louder and louder and famous, the old man became afraid. He ran the business for less than three years, but he found a buyer for "Heaven on Earth", who became the third owner of this place.
Well, the third boss does have some background, at least his background is much bigger than that of his predecessor. However, this buyer is not a fool either. He took over this place because he saw the huge profits of this business. While seeing the profits, this guy also saw the risks here.
He knew that if he continued to use the "Heaven on Earth" brand , it would definitely not work, and this brand would sooner or later be in trouble. So, before the 2008 Olympics, this guy made a makeover and made "Heaven on Earth" disappear from everyone's sight. Because of this operation, this guy was able to escape a disaster, at least he did not end up like his only DG colleague who could be as famous as him.
"What are you standing there for? Come in with me. Your Uncle Cai and the others are waiting for you."
Li Xiangping came back to his senses, he smiled strangely again, and then walked into "Heaven on Earth" with his old man.
Well, it is the first and very formal generation of "Heaven on Earth".
Li Xiangping certainly didn't know that this was some kind of "celebration banquet" that Old Cai had held for him. When Li Yuanhu picked him up just now, he didn't tell him, he just said "Uncle Cai is treating us to dinner tonight." And after entering, it really didn't look like a celebration banquet at all, because in the private room Old Cai had reserved, there weren't many adults, but there were quite a few children. The adults were Cai Zhixiong, Lin Yiran, and Zhao Daokai's father Zhao Jiadong, and the children were Zhao Daokai, Cai Shanshan, and Chen Yaoyue.
Li Xiangping saw Chen Yaoyue at a glance. Chen Yaoyue had returned to China a few days earlier than him. Li Xiangping was very happy. He was the first to step forward and greet Chen Yaoyue:
"Hey little leopard, why are you here today?"
Seeing Li Xiangping, Chen Yaoyue, who had been feeling a little uneasy, quickly smiled. It was a very innocent smile: "Boss, you are really amazing. You won the last game beautifully..."
Seeing the two of them talking non-stop about yesterday's game as soon as they met, and Chen Yaoyue 's words seemed to have obvious traces of admiration, Cai Shanshan on the side was unhappy:
"Hey, little leopard, how could you be like this? You ignored your sister when you saw this guy."
Cai Shanshan's reaction was normal. What surprised Li Xiangping was Zhao Daokai's reaction. This guy actually spoke up for Cai Shanshan at this time: "Yes, little leopard, you are such a heartless guy. Your sister Shanshan is so good to you, but you are focusing on sex... oh no, you are focusing on chess over friendship."
Li Xiangping was puzzled, thinking that it had only been a few days. Could it be that Zhao Daokai had been bribed by Cai Shanshan in just these few days?
While no one was paying attention, Li Xiangping asked Zhao Daokai:
"What's wrong with you?"
Zhao Daokai pretended to be sad, and leaned close to Li Xiangping and whispered, "Alas, I can't help it. You may not know this yet, but the two of us will soon be classmates with her."
"oh?"
"That's right."
At this point, Zhao Daokai moved closer again and said in a lower voice: "I heard that your wife is a top student. I am counting on her to protect me in the future, so I have to curry favor with her."
"You bastard."
