aring Xiao Yu mention his elder brother’s name, Liu Erhao became very excited, thinking that Xiao Yu must have known him!Xiao Yu broke out in a cold sweat.... He thought to himself, Is it really hard...Chapter 513: The Zhong Family Watches the Spring Festival Gala Too

The waiter's voice had barely faded when a young man took out an embossed ticket and handed it to her. Although he didn't say anything, the gloom in his eyes couldn't be concealed; what the waiter said just now made him feel quite humiliated, especially with their esteemed elder present.

Seeing the young man's glum expression, the waiter paled. She had been too excited to notice her tone of voice earlier.

"Y-You... please follow me!" After taking the ticket from him, she led them down a corridor.

"Hello, Elder Zhong."

"Greetings, Elder Zhong. Please arrange for you and your party quickly."

Director Guo and Director Hu stood by once they heard voices coming from the hallway; no one who came here was someone they could afford to offend, so both of them greeted the old man respectfully as he walked past.

The rest must naturally be his family. They had been at CCTV for years—if they didn't know any of the Nine People back then, they wouldn't have lasted this long. Moreover, one of these people was the son of an elder who held a high office in another province.

"Good, good! You are..." Upon hearing their greetings, the old man beamed and said quickly.

This elderly person was the Zhong family that Xiao Yu had encountered before; it would be their first reunion after decades of separation.

Originally they should have been at home for New Year's Eve, but thinking about how his wife's family had lived such a hard life over the years and only being able to watch the gala on TV, he decided to bring them here to spend an unusual holiday.

"Elder Zhong, I'm Little Guo from the station. And this is Little Hu! We're in charge of the whole TV department now!" The two hurriedly nodded and grinned ingratiatingly when they heard Elder Zhong's question.

"Haha, you guys are doing well! Still working on New Year's Eve, we should learn from you. Jia Guo, be a good learner! As for you, Zhong Tao and Tian Ming, you also need to have this kind of spirit!"

Master Zhong smiled and said something to the two people, then began talking about his descendants.

The former bus driver, Tianming Zhong, is now a dispatcher chief of the bus company. The speed of his promotion can't be called slow, but even so, this was all due to some people taking action on their own initiative when they heard wind of it, before the Zhongs had made any effort.

Tianming Zhong is already in his late twenties or early thirties. If he were from a family like theirs and had grown up within such an environment, by this age, Tianming might have reached a rank equivalent to that of a deputy department head at the least.

But what about Tianming Before he was recognized by the Zhongs, he was merely a bus driver. If he were to follow normal procedures for promotion, he would miss out on his best years for advancement, so Master Zhong had him continue working in the bus company.

The advantage of staying within the bus company is that promotions happen quickly, without restrictions based on age or seniority. Once Tianming reaches a position such as deputy general manager or general manager, he can be transferred to a government department, saving several years' worth of time.

Tianming's girlfriend’s parents used to despise him for his poverty, but after learning about his background, they treat him like an ancestor every time he visits their house.

And Tianming and his girlfriend have set their wedding date for May Day next year. They originally weren't in such a rush, but her parents, who used to oppose their marriage, now constantly urge them when they meet.

Tianming naturally understood the intentions of his girlfriend's parents and thus discussed with his own parents and grandparents to set the wedding date for May Day next year.

Today, Tianming’s girlfriend’s parents are also here; this was specifically arranged by Master Zhong. Since they’ve already decided on a wedding date, there's no chance of them breaking off the engagement. Thus, before coming here, Master Zhong had Tianming's girlfriend Xiaomiao invite her own parents along.

Although both of Xiaomiao’s parents are civil servants, at most they have only met their bureau chiefs and never dined with people like the elder Zhongs. Even now that they’re going to be in-laws, the troubles they caused for Tianming's family back then are still vividly remembered.

Now who would've thought that the Zhong family suddenly underwent a tremendous transformation The once-despised family is now seen as part of the princelings' clique, and the speed at which the Zhongs have been promoted has left them speechless with astonishment.

In just several months, Tianming Zhong rose from being an ordinary bus driver to a high-ranking official in the company. To them, this is akin to a fairy tale.

If they knew that this was only the result of the Zhongs having not yet made any efforts, who knows how shocked they would be!

The parents of Little Xiao followed behind everyone else, looking slightly tense. Along the way, countless people had greeted Old Zhong, and their ranks were frightening to even think about. When had they ever seen such a grand setup

Hence, even now, they still felt very constrained.

"Come on, old man, it's the Spring Festival. What’s the point of talking like this How will the kids celebrate the New Year if they all go to work" After hearing Old Zhong’s words, Old Yang, Old Zhong’s wife, spoke irritably.

"Ahem…." Upon hearing her words, Old Zhong helplessly cleared his throat and smiled bitterly. Although he didn’t agree with what she said, he wouldn’t argue against it either.

When seeing this scene, both of Old Zhong’s son-in-law and daughter-in-law couldn’t help but chuckle softly. The current Old Zhong looked nothing like a former national leader; at the moment, he seemed like a henpecked husband who was constantly being bullied by his wife.

"Please enter first, Old Zhong! Governor Zhong, please…" At this time, as they reached the entrance of an exclusive room, Director Gu quickly opened the door and said.

Although Old Zhong had retired now, as long as he was still alive, his influence would remain. Moreover, Zhong Jianguo, who was seen as the pillar of support for the Zhong family, was already rising up; after this round of rotation, he might take another step forward.

Therefore, no one would underestimate the Zhong family just because there were fewer members in it. Back then, Old Zhong had also had a batch of people under him, and these people could be considered part of the Zhong faction.

With Zhong Jianguo’s support, Old Zhong entered this exclusive room. The layout of this VIP hall was identical to that of Xiao Yushui’s group, but it was in a different location; even so, this place was one of the best VIP halls.

In addition, their VIP hall was right next to Xiao Yushui’s, being the second VIP hall.

Right after Old Zhong’s family sat down, they heard cheers coming from next door. The Zhongs frowned slightly upon hearing these cheers.

Old Zhong had been here before as well; people who could come here to eat were usually quiet and composed. It was the first time something like this happened—next door being so chaotic with even children’s laughter.

The two directors, Gu and Hu, immediately turned pale when they saw Old Zhong frowning; beads of sweat quickly appeared on their foreheads.

Here we have Old Zhong, while over there, although he hasn't seen the person or heard about them, and doesn't know their identity, the fact that they are occupying the VIP lounge number one indicates that this person isn't someone simple.

Although the other party's voice is loud, neither of them dares to say a word in response.

"Old Zhong... should we switch rooms for you and your family" After seeing Old Zhong frowning, Deputy Director Gu nervously suggested after a moment.

He can't provoke either side. Moreover, since they had just sat down and other guests are unlikely to arrive tonight, switching rooms would be convenient.

In previous years, these lounges were mostly empty. But this year, by half past seven, two important figures have already arrived.

Zhong Tao usually acts bravely and fearlessly but now that he hears the shouting from over there, he merely frowns without saying a word.

He knows who can come here; very few are below his grandfather's status. Most are at the same level as his family.

If not for Old Zhong, he could only be on the second floor and couldn't enter the third floor even if his father is a provincial governor.

Moreover, high-ranking officials from ministries or provinces don't usually attend the Spring Festival Gala; those who come are mostly their relatives. The more important holidays are for senior officials, the busier they become. If not for this being the first year of family reunion for his grandfather's clan, Zhong Jianguo would probably be in the province consoling people.

"Little Gu, right Who is on your other side" Upon hearing Deputy Director Gu’s suggestion, Old Zhong neither agreed nor disagreed but instead asked about the identity of the person next to him.

The people coming here are all important figures. Especially since it's VIP lounge number one, Old Zhong was curious who could be there, as people with their status and background wouldn't act so unrefined in such an occasion. Therefore, he was very interested in finding out who had managed to get in.

"Uh... We're not quite sure! We haven't seen these people before!" After hearing Old Zhong's question, Deputy Director Gu and Hu looked at each other and replied.

At this point, they started suspecting that there might be an issue here. Among those people, only the young man had a distinguished appearance; all others seemed to have never seen the world before.."Ah, boss, you two are too hasty. You should first seek out some good traditional Chinese medicine practitioners for a consultation. Forget it, I'll just give him an acupuncture treatment!"Xiao Yu si...