Chapter 372: Bastard, Don’t You Understand What Bloodline Bonds Are

What kind of person was Pan Xiaomei?

At home, her word was law.

Seeing Luo Xiwen’s expression now, she felt a flare of anger.

“Alright.”

“Everyone’s here.”

“Let’s have the server bring out the food.”

Shen Zhengsheng saw his wife’s expression darken and quickly changed the subject. “Miss,” he said to the server, “could you read back the dishes we just ordered? And please bring us the menu again.”

“Of course.”

The server acknowledged and was about to turn and grab a menu from the service area when the restaurant’s deputy general manager, Zhou Shun’an, walked out briskly with a menu in hand. He shot her a look that said, ‘Keep quiet.’

The server swallowed the greeting that was on the tip of her tongue. She returned to the round table and, as Shen Zhengsheng had requested, read their order back to them one more time.

“Xiaoluo.”

“The Zhenshui Banquet is probably the classiest restaurant in Beichun. I imagine you and your parents don’t get many chances to eat here. Just consider today practice for the future. If you’re fortunate enough to end up with my son, your family should have the opportunity to come to places like this often.”

Pan Xiaomei was still fuming from Luo Xiwen’s faintly mocking smile. She thought about how if it weren’t for the fact that Luo Xiwen was excellent in every aspect—looks, figure, education, and career—and was the rare girl her son had actually expressed interest in after seeing a photo, she would have stormed off long ago.

Even though Shen Zhengsheng had changed the subject, she had to vent the anger simmering inside her. In her eyes, being chosen by their family was a tremendous honor for Luo Xiwen, one she could never possibly refuse.

In that case, Luo Xiwen was practically her “daughter-in-law-to-be.” As the mother-in-law, she had to teach her some manners. If she was this defiant before even marrying into the family, wouldn’t she tear the house down once she was in?

Thinking this, Pan Xiaomei turned her gaze to Luo Xiwen’s parents. “Xiaoluo’s father, Xiaoluo’s mother, you two take a look at the menu with Xiaoluo. Zhengsheng and I just casually ordered a few things we usually eat. It’s nothing too extravagant.”

“See if there’s anything you’d like. You two and Xiaoluo can just tell the server directly.” Pan Xiaomei then looked at the server. “They’re probably not very worldly. If there’s anything they don’t understand, please help explain it to them.”

If Pan Xiaomei’s previous words had been subtle digs, her final remark to the server was as good as calling Luo Xiwen and her parents a bunch of country bumpkins.

The moment Pan Xiaomei said this, it wasn’t just Luo Xiwen and her parents, Hou Meilan and her husband, whose expressions darkened—even Luo Xiwen’s third aunt, Hou Meixia, and her husband’s faces changed. Even Luo Xiwen’s cousin’s expression fell.

Although Luo Xiwen’s parents had never earned a great fortune in their lives, as workers in a state-owned enterprise, they lived a respectable life in Beichun. At the very least, they never had to worry about food, clothing, or medical bills.

It was true they were worried about their daughter’s marriage prospects, and they genuinely wanted her to marry into a good family. But all of that had to be built on a foundation of respect and equality.

But ever since Luo Xiwen had walked in, every word from this couple had been nothing but condescension—or rather, outright contempt.

How could they tolerate this?

They were marrying off their daughter, not selling her.

To put it in the Northeast dialect: So what if you’re rich? What’s so damn special about you?

Luo Xiwen’s parents were absolutely livid at Pan Xiaomei’s words, and even Hou Meixia, who had been trying to smooth things over ever since Luo Xiwen arrived, could no longer maintain her smile.

‘You were the ones who wanted to find a wife for your son!’

‘You were the ones who took a liking to our niece and asked us to set them up!’

‘And now that we’ve brought her here and arranged this whole meeting, you pull this stunt?’

‘Even if our two families have grown distant over the years, Hou Meilan will always be my own sister, and Luo Xiwen is the niece I watched grow up.’

‘Bastards!’

‘Don’t you understand the bonds of blood?!’

‘Don’t you understand respect?!’

‘Don’t you understand common courtesy?!’

‘Out of respect, I call you President Shen, but if I didn’t respect you, your whole family would be nothing but bastards!’

‘So what if you’re our upstream supplier?’

‘There are plenty of other agricultural markets in Beichun. Do you think we’ll starve without you?’

Hou Meixia had helped her husband run their produce supermarket for many years, weathering storms just like a man. She had a fiery temper and a strong personality, and after hearing Pan Xiaomei’s last comment, the powder keg of her anger was just a single spark away from exploding.

At this moment, Luo Xiwen’s parents and her third aunt’s family all turned to look at Luo Xiwen. If she showed even the slightest hint of grievance or humiliation, they would flip the table.

Luo Xiwen’s cousin, Ye Ziming, tightened his right hand around his water glass, his eyes fixed on Shen Haichen, who was sitting in the middle. If things took a wrong turn, he was confident that, with his years of experience tossing paper notes in class, he could splash every drop of water from that glass onto the guy’s face.

‘Fuck!’

‘He’d found this guy annoying from the start!’

‘He’s had that sour look on his face ever since he walked in!’

‘You think you’re so cool?’

‘You think you’re so deep and brooding?’

‘With your ugly fucking face, your mom still thinks my cousin isn’t good enough for you?’

‘Even a bitch would be a top-tier, perfect, god-sent match for a pathetic mama’s boy like you!’

Even Hou Meixia and Ye Taihong, who had been hardened by years in the complex world of business, were struggling to keep their tempers in check. So it was no surprise that the young and hot-blooded Ye Ziming had already cursed the other family out a thousand times in his head.

However, just as both families were seething with anger, waiting for Luo Xiwen to give the signal for an all-out war, who would have thought that after hearing Pan Xiaomei’s words, Luo Xiwen’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. In fact…

She actually started to smile!