Chapter 308: This Kind of Pretentiousness Will Get You Screwed

With the sales of the sauerkraut factory and health products opening up, the business at the forest farm had stabilized. However, Li Xian, who was supposed to return to Beilin to prepare for the merger of the sanitary paper and sanitary napkin businesses, had not left.

It wasn't that he didn't have business to attend to, but Li Qing's second child was about to be born soon. Adding a new member to the family was a significant event, and a few days didn't make much difference.

But just as Li Xian was planning to take a break, an unexpected phone call came to the Eight-Nine Forest Farm.

The caller was Zheng Biao, a former classmate from the forestry technical school.

Since Li Xian graduated from the forestry technical school, he hadn't been in touch with Zheng Biao. Zheng Biao had been assigned to the Forestry Bureau's Forestry Administration Department, a powerful department within the bureau.

However, with Liang Yonghe's suicide and Li Xian's troublemaking at the school and filing complaints against the school, all graduates from the forestry technical school's class of 1988 were reassigned.

Later, Li Xian was busy making money to build a new house for his family and didn't pay attention to where his classmates ended up.

When Li Xian reconnected with Liang Yonghe, they mentioned their classmates, and it seemed Zheng Biao was now with the Sanitation Department of the Forestry Bureau—the same place Li Xian had been assigned for manure collection.

Li Xian could only feel sorry for him.

The call didn't reach Li Xian's cell phone but was received at the forest farm's broadcast station.

After arriving and chatting with Zheng Biao, Li Xian learned that Zheng Biao wanted to organize a class reunion to bring together their old classmates from the forestry technical school.

This warmed Li Xian's heart.

Although their relationships at school weren't very deep, life after graduation made him occasionally nostalgic for the simple and carefree days of school. Now, with his original classmates no longer in the picture, he cherished his time at the technical school.

So, when he heard about the reunion, he agreed immediately.

The reunion was held at a restaurant near the forestry technical school. The restaurant was small and the environment wasn't great; Li Xian and Liang Yonghe had eaten there before.

Despite the low-grade setting, the familiar smell of oil and the sight of the same slightly unkempt landlady welcoming guests brought back many memories for Li Xian.

When he pushed open the door to the private room that Zheng Biao had mentioned, there were already quite a few people inside.

The 666 private room, possibly designed for banquets, had three large tables—two of which were already full.

Even though it had been over a year since they last met, the faces in the room seemed mostly unchanged. The students had mostly lost their youthful innocence and gained a more experienced look.

When Li Xian walked in, people immediately began to shout.

It was clear that many of them still remembered how Li Xian had disrupted their school assignments, and some harbored grievances. However, in this setting, they didn't voice their complaints openly but merely grumbled about being reassigned to agricultural departments or inspection stations instead of commercial bureaus.

A classmate named Wang Zhaowei, who was sitting near the door, got up and warmly welcomed Li Xian. Wang Zhaowei had initially been assigned to the Forestry Bureau's Goods Department but had since become a team leader in the forest fire brigade.

"Do you remember when we graduated?" Wang Zhaowei, perhaps feeling grateful for Li Xian's earlier support, was especially warm and scrutinized Li Xian's appearance. "Li Xian, you once said you'd surpass all of us! Now, you really seem to be doing quite well. After graduation, when the second distribution happened, your name wasn't on the list. Where did you go then?"

Li Xian had actually not stayed long at the Forestry Bureau after starting his business. Most of his interactions were with the Commercial Bureau and Xu Chaoyang, so many of the people present didn't know his full background.

He smiled wryly, explaining that Wang Lin had tried to have Xu Chaoyang personally arrange his assignment, but it was delayed. He later went to the Commercial Bureau but left after a short time.

This was the truth.

"Oh!" Wang Zhaowei's face showed regret. "That must be because you had conflicts with the vice-principal and offended the higher-ups, right?"

Everyone had been quite interested in Li Xian's assignment, and rumors had been circulating since the second distribution. Now that Li Xian explained, everyone started discussing it.

Li Xian was too lazy to explain further. It wasn't appropriate to say his assignment had been arranged by the bureau chief and later he had resigned, right?

He waved his hand and sat next to Wang Zhaowei.

After sitting down and surveying the table, he didn't see the other two classmates from Room 302, so he asked Wang Zhaowei, "Where are Wen Sheng and Zheng Biao? I don't see them."

Wang Zhaowei shook his head and said with a smile, "Wen Sheng hasn't been in touch for a long time. As for Zheng Biao, who knows what he's up to? This class reunion was supposed to reconnect us, but now, he seems to have disappeared after inviting us."

Just then, the private room door opened.

The organizer of the reunion, Zheng Biao, walked in with a large package. Seeing the classmates already present, he quickly placed the package aside, chatted with a few familiar faces, then stood by the door, waving to signal he had something to say.

Once everyone quieted down, Zheng Biao cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, the purpose of today's gathering is actually quite simple!"

Seeing his cliché opening, someone below teased, "Alright, no need for formalities. It's just about reminiscing and having a good time, right? Zheng, take a seat. We'll talk after the drinks are served."

Since they were classmates, the crowd began to joke and tease.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Biao, after a brief pause, smiled and shook his head.

"Of course, reconnecting is important, but after spending four years together in school, we don't need to reconnect, right? We have a strong bond."

"Hey!" Wang Zhaowei slapped his thigh, "That's true!"

Seeing some agreement, Zheng Biao chuckled, bent down, and took out the large package he had brought in. "But today, aside from reconnecting, there's another matter."

The crowd was puzzled.

Another matter? What could it be?

Ignoring the confused looks, Zheng Biao opened the package.

He took out a square red box and raised his voice, "This! This is the Guizhen Tang Brain Heart Health Oral Liquid produced by our Lin Cuishan Development Company of the Forestry Bureau! It's made entirely from precious herbs from our mountains and is extremely effective for cardiovascular health! I'm the agent for this oral liquid, and I've called everyone here to make a fortune together!"

Seeing the familiar product and hearing the familiar sales pitch, Li Xian was speechless!

Damn, what a routine!

My pharmaceutical company's products have already piled up into a mountain, and you're here promoting them?

And asking me to be a direct salesperson?

Is it glorious to be demoted from a CEO to a salesperson?

Seeing Zheng Biao's hopeful look, Li Xian pursed his lips and sighed internally.

Sure enough, class reunions after graduation... are never straightforward.

All nostalgia for school days shattered at this moment. Li Xian remained silent.

Zheng Biao went through everyone present, finally sitting down next to Li Xian, "Li Xian, I don't care about others, but we were roommates for over three years. You have to support this. Damn, I'm still sweeping the streets in sanitation because of you. You better understand this."

Li Xian was both amused and exasperated.

Seeing Zheng Biao's attitude, it seemed like he wouldn't leave until he got money.

To avoid further harassment, Li Xian decided to make a decisive move: "Biao, actually, I came here not just for the reunion."

"Ah?" Zheng Biao was surprised, "Li Xian, you have something else?"

Li Xian nodded, "Recently, things have been tough at home, and my brother's family is expecting a baby. Sigh, money is tight. When you called me, I was going to ask if you could lend me two thousand yuan..."

Hearing this, Zheng Biao completely ignored Li Xian and turned to Wang Zhaowei, who was already confused, "Zhaowei, good brother..."

Seeing himself being ignored, Li Xian could only feel a sense of betrayal.

Plastic brotherhood indeed!

At that moment, the door to the private room opened again.

Wang Wen Sheng, who was also a classmate from Room 302, arrived.

Wang Wen Sheng looked at the strange atmosphere in the room and frowned, "Sorry, I'm late because of a sudden issue at work. What's going on? The food and drinks haven't been served yet?"

After surveying the room, he spotted Li Xian, "Li Xian, when did you return? I heard you're now handling mountain specialties and have taken over the berry research institute. Such a big deal, why didn't you tell me?"

Wang Wen Sheng then glanced at Zheng Biao, noticing the oral liquid, "Li Xian, what's this? Is your company's product sales struggling, and you want your classmates to help sell it?"

Wang Wen

 Sheng had been assigned to the Multi-Management Bureau in the second distribution, and he had heard about Li Xian's takeover of the berry research institute.

Hearing Wang Wen Sheng's questions, everyone was confused.

Zheng Biao's mind was a bit confused: "Wen Sheng, what's going on with this oral liquid?"

"This oral liquid is produced by the berry research institute Li Xian took over, right? Didn't you know?" Wang Wen Sheng scratched his head.

The scene looked quite chaotic.