Chapter 1090 Dreams and Reality
Zhang Hao arranged dinner. The property club of Century Shenghua has a dedicated chef, which is also a feature of Century Shenghua and has been maintained for so many years. In fact, this club has always been operating at a loss. After all, the overall scale of Century Shenghua is not very large, and there are not many owners living here. In addition, some owners do not live here often, or those who live here usually solve the problem of eating by themselves. Only in certain cases will the club make arrangements.
The monthly expenses to maintain the normal operation of the club, including the chef's salary, are not small. However, Century Shenghua has maintained this feature over the years, which is one of the reasons why Century Shenghua is different from other high-end residential areas.
Although some high-end residential communities built subsequently also established property clubs like Century Shenghua, none of them can last until now like Century Shenghua and maintain a relatively high level of service.
The dinner was not luxurious, just some home-cooked meals, but the food was excellent, in no way inferior to some high-end restaurants.
The participants were Zhang Hao, Sun Yaoliang and Song Yangming, with no other outsiders.
Everyone was laughing and chatting at the table, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. After eating for about ten minutes, Song Yangming's cell phone suddenly rang. After looking at the phone, Song Yangming nodded apologetically to Zhang Hao and Sun Yaoliang, then stood up and took the phone to the side.
A few minutes later, Song Yangming came back. He apologized to Zhang Hao and Sun Yaoliang and told them that an old friend of his happened to be in Pengcheng. He ran into him at the airport when he came to Pengcheng today. Because they hadn't seen each other for many years, the other party asked him to get together tonight. He forgot about this before, but he had to go because of the phone call just now.
Zhang Hao and Sun Yaoliang smiled and said it was okay. Since the young man had a date, he should just go. Today was just an ordinary dinner anyway. After he left, the two of them could have a drink and chat or something, and it would also prevent the young man Song Yangming from getting used to staying with them.
After apologizing again, Song Yangming left Zhang Hao's place first. He didn't drive, because he might drink later, so he just took a taxi. Forty minutes later, Zhang Hao arrived at Pengcheng, which was not far from his previous workplace and a hotel where he often had dinner with old colleagues.
The hotel was still the same, and not much had changed from the outside. Zhang Hao got off the taxi and walked straight into the hotel. He went up to the third floor and found the private room that Huo Dawei had reserved.
"Sorry, Old Huo, there was some traffic jam on the road, so I arrived a little late." When he entered the room, he saw Huo Dawei had already arrived. The cold dishes on the table were also served, and there were two bottles of beer and a bottle of white wine on the side. Song Yangming smiled and bowed to him to express his apology.
"Not too late, not too late. I just arrived a while ago." Huo Dawei stood up and asked Song Yangming to sit down with a smile. The private room was not big, with only a small round table for five people. Anyway, there were only two of them, so there was no need to follow any order of priority, and they just sat down next to each other casually.
"What do you want to drink? Beer or white wine? I know you can drink."
"White wine first, then beer, or the old rules?"
"Haha! So refreshing!"
Huo Dawei laughed loudly and shouted to the waiter outside the door that the food was ready. Then he picked up the white wine and opened the lid, poured a glass for Song Yangming first, and then filled his own glass.
"Come on! Let's have a drink together so that we can meet again in Pengcheng?"
"cheers!"
Song Yangming raised his wine cup and clinked it with Huo Dawei's, then drank it all in one gulp.
The wine was not very good, just an ordinary white wine that cost fifty or sixty-one yuan a bottle. It tasted a bit spicy in the throat, but after taking a sip, Song Yangming immediately thought of the time when he was working in Pengcheng and had dinner with old colleagues after work.
"Several years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time flies so fast. Old Huo, I didn't expect you still remember this place. We used to have dinner here many times." Looking around, the interior has been renovated and is slightly different from what he remembered, but there are still many details that show its original appearance.
"Yes, we came here for dinner quite often in the past. But we were all poor back then, with only that much salary every month. If we wanted to have a good meal or drink something nice, we had to contribute money, and at the end of the month we had to calculate our living expenses. Haha, things are much better now than before. At least this meal is nothing. If it were in the past, I would have felt painful for several days." As he said this, Huo Dawei pointed at the food and wine on the table and joked. When he said this, Song Yangming also laughed.
After Song Yangming arrived, the remaining dishes came up one after another. Pengcheng is located in the south and not far from the sea, so it is naturally famous for its seafood.
Huo Dawei ordered a lot of fish, shrimp and other things, as well as some local specialties. The two of them drank and chatted, as if they had returned to the old days.
As he was talking, Huo Dawei talked about several old colleagues. He told Song Yangming that many of them were no longer in the previous company. And there were not many who could stay in Pengcheng. Most of them went to other cities like himself or Song Yangming, or returned to their hometowns to develop.
After a few years, things have changed and it is not so easy to get together again. Song Yangming never contacted anyone after he left, and even Huo Dawei lost contact with many people over the years.
They laughed at the past and told some interesting stories from the past. Suddenly, Huo Dawei thought of something. He secretly asked about the girl that Song Yangming confessed to and asked if he had contacted her again.
Song Yangming was a little embarrassed. He smiled and shook his head, saying that they had not been in contact for a long time. Moreover, he had just graduated at that time and had a vague understanding of things like love. Looking back now, he felt that he was a little naive at that time.
"Why are you so childish? It's a waste of youth if a man doesn't indulge himself in romance!" Patting Song Yangming's arm, Huo Dawei spoke up for him and said, "That girl was blind and didn't agree to you. She was just unlucky. By the way, how are you now? Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Haha, even the baby will be there soon, what do you think?" Song Yangming replied with a smile.
Huo Dawei was stunned. He tilted his head and looked at Song Yangming. He immediately gossiped, "You are really good, kid. I didn't expect you to be ahead of me. When did you get married? Where is your wife from? Is she pretty? Oh, how many months pregnant are you? When will you be a father?"
After a series of questions were thrown out, Song Yangming had to explain a few words. When Huo Dawei asked him again, he took out his wallet and showed the photos inside to Huo Dawei.
After seeing Qin Wenhui's photo, Huo Dawei was envious and agreed, and kept saying that his sister-in-law looked really good, beautiful and elegant. He didn't expect that Song Yangming would be so amazing when he did!
"It's not as exaggerated as you say. It's just average..."
"Second in the world?" Huo Dawei jokingly said, and then they both laughed together.
"By the way, Old Huo, how about you? Have you not solved your personal problems yet? I remember you are two years older than me?" Song Yangming asked as he handed Huo Dawei a glass of wine.
"My ancestor Huo Qubing once said, 'How can I have a family if the Huns are not destroyed?'" Huo Dawei said, shaking his head, then he picked up the wine in front of him and drank it in one gulp. After putting down the wine cup, he sighed, "You are kidding. Where are the Huns now? How can I have a family? I would like to do that, but I haven't met the right one in these years. In addition, my job has not been stable in the past few years. I haven't made much money. More importantly, if you want to find a good one in the city, you need to have conditions! For example, a house, money, a car, etc. Look at me, do I have these? Girls nowadays are different from our parents' generation. They value material things. Who would be with you if you don't have conditions?"
Song Yangming was speechless, but he also admitted that what Huo Dawei said made some sense. The current era is indeed a material era. Huo Dawei's hometown is in a small city and his family is of ordinary conditions. After graduating, he went to a big city to work hard. It is no problem for him to live on his income, but it is extremely difficult to make a fortune.
Moreover, he doesn't have a house in the big city, and the rent expenses are quite high every month. Add in food and other expenses, and there is very little money left in a month.
"By the way, how was the interview today?" Seeing the loneliness in Huo Dawei's eyes, Song Yangming quickly changed the subject and asked him about his interview in the afternoon.
Huo Dawei shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This time I came here for nothing."
"What's wrong? Didn't you say we had a good chat on the phone before? Why are you turning pale again?"
"Haha, this is actually just like online dating. You chat passionately online, but it cools down when you meet in person. The truth is always crueler than you imagine. This is the reality of life." Huo Dawei sighed very philosophically, and Song Yangming was speechless after hearing this.
Huo Dawei lit a cigarette and took a deep puff, then stood up and walked to the window and opened it.
"It's okay, you can smoke it. I don't smoke but I'm used to the smell." Song Yangming said.
Huo Dawei waved his hand, returned to his seat, and continued smoking, with a look of emotion and helplessness on his face: "Old Song, there are some things that we can only talk about behind closed doors. When I was a child, I always felt that I was different from ordinary people, with great ambitions. When the teacher asked you what you wanted to do when you grew up?"
"Some classmates said they wanted to be soldiers, some said they wanted to be police officers, some said they wanted to be scientists, and some said they wanted to be successful businessmen... Anyway, there were all kinds of things. Guess what I answered at the time?"
"Scientist?" Song Yangming asked half seriously and half jokingly.
"Haha, you're right. There are more than 40 people in our class, and half of them want to be scientists. I am one of them. Later, I was admitted to university. Although it was not an undergraduate degree but just an ordinary junior college, I didn't think it was bad at that time. I always thought that as long as I had the ability, my dream would come true. Later, I graduated, got a job, joined a company, studied hard, worked hard and made money. But so many years have passed in a flash, and I don't know where my ideals have gone. All that is left for me is to work hard every day for a few pieces of silver. Now I don't even have a woman around me, and I have to rely on the fifth girl to solve problems..."
"Old Song, do you think I am a failure in life? Haha, that's how I feel anyway. I came here thinking it was an opportunity, but I lost hope when we met and talked this afternoon. If I had known this would happen, why would I have come? Waste of money? Damn it! You don't know, I was dumbfounded when I heard the conditions and treatment proposed by the other party this afternoon. It was completely different from what was said on the phone before! Could it be that I have two big words 'Sabi' pasted on my forehead?"
He picked up the wine and poured himself another glass, took a sip and drank it, then shook his head and said, "People nowadays have lost their basic trust, and some are just cheating! But then again, this trip is not in vain, it's a surprise to meet you. Old Song, it's great to see you again! Really! It's great! I'm definitely not just saying this, I really feel good in my heart!"
As he spoke, Huo Dawei's eyes actually turned red. Song Yangming sighed, picked up his wine cup, gestured to him, and raised his hand to drink the wine in the glass.