cast a peach

to the place.

Tan Mingli got out of the car, handed the car keys to the grandpa housekeeper who greeted him with a smile, nodded gently at him, and asked a few homely words in a warm voice.

After the butler drove the car away for her, she slowly suppressed her smile, raised her eyes, and looked carefully at the familiar yet unfamiliar mansion in front of her.

At the end of August, the summer heat in Jiangcheng was scorching hot, but this ivory-white villa hidden in the green bamboo forest was still cool and quiet like a paradise.

Carefully selected strange rocks are built into layers of rockeries, and clear springs gushing out from the springs, the garden is silent, only the thrushes occasionally uttered a melodious cry.

This is a small bungalow owned by a great businessman in the last century, and now it has been converted into the private residence of the Tan family. It is still a villa on the outside, but the interior is more similar to a Chinese garden.

The Tan family's annual banquet was held in another big villa. This private house rarely welcomes outsiders. It is said to be a private house, but in fact, only Tan Jingshan lives there all the time. When Second Uncle Tan came here when he was the most popular, he had to inform the old man in advance. , which is allowed to enter.

But as soon as Tan Mingli returned to China, he got a key to this private house. Tan Jingshan kindly told her that you can come and go here as you like. Two years ago, he even made a will, planning to leave this house to Tan behind him. Mingli is privately owned.

When she first came back to China when she was young, she was ignorant. Tan Mingli liked the structure here very much. She was very naughty when she was a teenager, and she even caught fish in the pond of her private house. Later, she realized that it was specially imported by Tan Jingshan from abroad. Ornamental fish are very precious, and one fry can sell for tens of thousands.

But Tan Jingshan was not annoyed at all when he saw it, he just smiled and said, it seems that you have a good eye, Mingli, and you immediately fell in love with the best fish here at Grandpa's place, and casually gave her a few for her to bring. Go back and play with it.

Tan Mingli didn't think much about it. After taking the fish back, her father turned pale in shock. Only then did she realize how precious the fish was.

Thinking about it now, it was not unreasonable for the second uncle to target her like that...

Grandpa treated her much better than his own son, maybe even the second uncle was jealous of her back then.

Tan Mingli sighed softly, lowered her eyelashes, stopped recalling the past, and walked into the house.

Grandpa is not in the room.

He often likes to stay outdoors in summer. He often walks the birds in the bamboo forest in the morning, and usually sits in the pavilion in the afternoon, feeding the fish and drinking tea slowly.He taught Tan Mingli the tea ceremony himself.

Ever since Tan Mingli got married, she has never been here again. It has been several years, but when she walked in today, she found that she still remembered her grandfather's habits clearly.

Just as in memory, Grandpa was indeed sitting in the pavilion with a tea table in front of him, closing his eyes and meditating.

Tan Mingli's steps were very light. She walked forward quietly, looked at the teacup in front of her grandfather, bent down to refill him with a new cup of tea, and then sat upright on the seat in front of her grandfather.

"Mingli."

Tan Jingshan opened his eyes in response, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes stretched out. He smiled and nodded at her, "You're here. Why do you suddenly want to see grandpa when you have time?"

Grandpa's hair was even whiter than the last time she saw him. Like the most ordinary old man in the world, he saw the eldest grandson he hadn't seen for a long time, and his eyes showed joy from the bottom of his heart.

It's true that she hasn't seen grandpa for a long time.

Tan Mingli felt sore in her heart, she just smiled slightly, and said softly: "It's hot, I'll come and see you. How are you doing recently? How's your appetite?"

Tan Jingshan smiled and waved his hands, "It's still the same. I'm counting the days now, and I don't know how many more years I can count like this."

"You are joking. You still look very energetic. I have also read the physical reports that Dr. Chen gives you every quarter. Except for low blood pressure and stomach problems, you are very healthy in other areas. As long as you take care of yourself, I think you Can hold Mingzhao's great-grandson."

Tan Mingli's tone became lighter, and he said in a gentle voice.

"Hi, great-grandson..."

Tan Jingshan also laughed when he heard the words, and shook his head nonchalantly, "I'm not the one who cares about this. It's meaningless to stare at the stomachs of children and grandchildren all day long. Besides, Mingzhao is so confused, what good can the children born have?" What about it? If it was your child, I would still have a high regard, and I would be really happy."

Speaking of the child, Tan Mingli's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously raised his eyes to observe Tan Jingshan's expression, and found that the old man's expression and posture were still casual and relaxed, and there was no sign of expressing any hidden meaning. After making sure that the current actions are not leaking, I finally let go of my heart.

Talking to grandpa always made her nervous.She needs to be extremely vigilant, listen carefully to every word he said, and keep thinking about it, trying to figure out if there is any deep meaning that she didn't catch. A heart-wrenching exhaustion.

Especially in the first few years after returning to China, Tan Mingli's Chinese was not as good as it was later. She could understand every word that grandpa said separately, but when combined into sentences, she always felt at a loss——

She could hardly understand Tan Jingshan's slapstick: a vague hint with rich meaning.She is often suppressed and speechless.

No one likes this feeling, and Tan Mingli is no exception.

Perhaps it was because of this that she subconsciously resisted coming to Grandpa.she thinks.

The tea leaves in the duck celadon teacup are gently swirling, the soup is bright yellow and green, the four corners of the gazebo are pointed, and the pond next to it is so clear and transparent, the sunlight is projected on the pebbles at the bottom of the pond, and the fiery red carp suddenly swings by.

Tan Mingli's eyes twitched slightly following the carp, and then looked away.

Not the kind of fish she had caught as a teenager.

She raised her eyebrows, looked at Tan Jingshan calmly, and said softly, "Grandpa, I'm with a girl."

Tan Jingshan paused while drinking tea. He took a deep look at Tan Mingli and didn't say anything immediately. He just calmly drank the tea in the cup, then nodded slowly, and said:

"This tea is very good, Mingli. It's Mengding Ganlu. If you like it, the housekeeper will bring you some back later."

"Okay, thank you grandpa."

Tan Mingli nodded in thanks.

She was familiar with Grandpa's speaking style, and she was not in a hurry, just patiently waiting for his next words.

The more you can't be impatient at this time—at least you can't show your impatience on the surface.

This is the most common test.If you fail to pass, showing an anxious expression of not being able to wait, you are showing timidity, and you have missed the initiative.

What grandpa dislikes the most is losing his temper, and Tan Mingli happens to be particularly good at this.Her character was honed little by little by her grandfather.

Outsiders only know that Tan Mingli is Tan Jingshan's proudest granddaughter, but few know that she is also his best student.

She has learned ten percent of Tan Jingshan's skills, is good at pushing and pulling, and has excellent patience.

Sure enough, after a while, seeing that she was still calm, Tan Jingshan showed a little satisfaction, nodded gently, and said softly:

"Does your girlfriend like tea? Bring some for her, Mingli."

This is what it means to accept.

But Tan Mingli did not breathe a sigh of relief, she still looked as calm as water, and continued lightly, "Her name is Zhao Guangshui——you know, I told you, she is the child who borrowed from my house before."

This is what she wants to talk about today.

"It's also Zhao Zhihua's daughter, and Zhao Hongliang's granddaughter."

Facing Tan Jingshan's gaze, Tan Mingli added warmly.

Tan Jingshan's teacup shook, and a little clear tea soup spilled out.

Although grandpa is getting older, he is in good health, his hands have always been steady, and he attaches great importance to decent demeanor. The situation of spilling tea has never happened before.

It seems that Grandpa's reaction was more horrified than she imagined... Tan Mingli remained silent, took a handkerchief from the side, and wiped away the traces of tea.

"It's just nonsense...Mingli. Nonsense. Even you are confused, aren't you?"

Tan Jingshan put down the teacup lightly, and made a clear sound of porcelain hitting.

He closed his eyes, his expression stable like a rock, only his snow-white beard trembled slightly:

"There are so many young girls in the world. If you just like one of them, I won't say a word. But you just like Brother Hongliang's granddaughter. Mingli, you are so confused."

"Who is Zhao Hongliang, don't you know? Don't you want to follow the example of the man who kidnapped Zhao Zhihua before and climb the high branches of the Zhao family?"

Tan Jingshan's tone was still calm and gentle, and he didn't raise his volume much. Just looking at his expression, he even seemed to be saying some homely words intimately, but what he said was extremely stern:

"I originally thought that although the Tan family is not too prosperous, it can be regarded as moderate and conservative. It can support the Tan family, so you are quite satisfied."

He thought that Tan Mingli was ambitious and wanted to use the Zhao family to continue climbing, otherwise, he couldn't figure out why his granddaughter, who had always been the smartest and most transparent, insisted on taking such a dangerous journey.

If Zhao Hongliang got angry, he didn't believe that Tan Mingli would not know what the consequences would be.

Tan Mingli smiled softly, and said warmly, "Grandpa, you misunderstood."

"What kind of person am I, don't you know?"

The aura accumulated by the old man in her life is as thick as a mountain, but she is still calm under the coercion he deliberately released, and even smiled a little softly, "If I wanted to chase fame and fortune, I would never have left the Tan family to get married. .what do you think?"

"And Grandpa Zhao and Sister Zhihua already knew about me and Xiaoshui, and they both agreed; Grandpa Zhao also asked me to visit the capital in Beijing during the Chinese New Year."

She added calmly and softly.

Tan Jingshan opened his eyes, showing surprise for the first time today, "Brother Hongliang agreed?"

"Yes."

Tan Mingli was respectful.

"Ah... that's good, that's good, Mingli."

Tan Jingshan held the teacup again.While rubbing the smooth porcelain surface with his fingertips, he thought quietly, and after a while he said, "Mingli, you did a great job."

He wasn't angry because Tan Mingli cut it first and played it later, or because he kept it from him.

In his opinion, being able to do things well without telling him is a skill, much better than telling him everything but getting nothing done.A large part of the reason why he admires and likes Tan Mingli is because she is smart, calm and resolute - just like himself when he was young.

Mingli was with the children of the Zhao family, and got the consent of Zhao Hongliang and Zhao Zhihua, but now it turned the situation around, and it became an excellent thing, almost worth celebrating.

Although Tan Jingshan is over seventy this year, his mind is still clear and quick, and he has already thought of all the benefits of the marriage between the two families when he raised his hand. Even though he is as calm as him, he can't help showing some joy.

At his position and age, he has seen all kinds of beings, and he has long been completely indifferent to whether his grandchildren like men or women. Those are trivial matters for him.

As long as it is beneficial to the Tan family and the Tan family, it is a good thing; otherwise, it is a bad thing.

But now, after being approved and accepted by the Zhao family, Mingli and the children of the Zhao family undoubtedly belonged to the former.

"Is that child called——Zhao Guangshui? I remember her, a very obedient and shy little girl..."

It is good to be good, and it is also good to be shy. These two words can point to one result, that is, easy to coax and easy to handle.

If the child's temperament is like her mother Zhao Zhihua's, it will be bad.

As a partner or competitor, Tan Jingshan undoubtedly appreciates Zhao Zhihua; but as a grandson-in-law, he doesn't like a strong and arrogant woman like Zhao Zhihua.

Tan Jingshan narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "It's not bad that I've grown into an adult now. Mingli, if you're free, when will you bring her to meet Grandpa? I'll prepare a gift for her in advance."

Tan Mingli nodded in agreement.

"Have you ever thought about having a child with her, Mingli?"

After thinking for a while, he suddenly said again.

"It's good to let her have a baby..."

Tan Jingshan tapped the teacup thoughtfully, and emphasized, "This child has to be named after you. He is a child of our Tan family, huh?"

"In this way, you can save your worries. You only need to worry about Mrs. Tan."

The more Tan Jingshan thought about it, the more he felt that this is really beneficial and has many benefits. Only then did he really think about persuasion, and patiently analyzed, "Besides, you are much older than her. Young girls have changeable minds and are easy to change their minds. A child can tie her down and make her unable to leave you. What do you think, Mingli?"

He doesn't care about the so-called "incense" and "having offspring", but the meaning of a child is very important on a certain level-he or she is not only the glue between partners, but also a sharp weapon for the combination of two families.

In comparison, of course, the latter made him value it more.

So it is necessary to have a child.And isn't there Zhao Guangshui now?Asking her to give birth can completely save Ming Li's trouble and hard work, and won't delay Tan's work.

So no matter how you look at this matter, it couldn't be better.

Tan Jingshan suddenly became joyful. He believed that this child would be as smart as Mingli, and as the blood bond of the Zhao and Tan families, who else is more suitable to be the future heir of the Tan family than this unborn child?

This solved another worry in his mind - the Tan family's lineage was weak and seemed to be cut off, but he would never choose someone from a side branch unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I heard you said about her before. Since she likes you so much and is so devoted to you, it shouldn't be difficult to ask her to give birth to a child for you?"

Tan Jingshan smiled gently.

Tan Mingli was taken aback - she didn't expect her grandfather to change the subject of the conversation and suddenly tell her about the child, which was a bit beyond her expectation.

She herself has no plans to have children, otherwise she would not have married Shen Qingzhou for several years without having children.

After being with Xiao Shui, every day was filled with sweetness and warmth, and she never thought of having a baby.

Although it's not that she didn't say some ridiculous things in the affair with Xiaoshui, Xiaoshui also cried and said "I want to conceive my sister's child" when she was in a state of infatuation, but in the final analysis, it was just some fun She doesn't take it seriously, and neither does Xiao Shui.

Of course she was not willing to let Xiaoshui have a baby... She is still so young.

Tan Mingli has seen relevant science popularization, and those pictures and the narrations of people who have experienced it are too shocking. She clearly knows what childbearing means to a woman's body.

In her eyes, Xiao Shui herself was still a child, and it was too late for her to be distressed, so why would she want to make her suffer that kind of suffering.

If she really wants to give birth, it should be her next birth. She is 28 years old, and theoretically speaking, she is still in the golden period of women's childbirth... There is no reason to ask Xiaoshui to have a child, or even to follow her by the surname Tan. What is this? Woolen cloth?Although she knew why grandpa specially emphasized the surname.

Moreover, Grandpa's rational tone of calculating the pros and cons made her very uncomfortable - it seemed that whether it was Xiao Shui or that illusory child, they were just a pawn in his hands.

Tan Mingli has long been used to this style of grandpa, and she herself is an excellent heir to this style of behavior, but when this precise and cold calculation is applied to Xiao Shui, she still makes her frown slightly uncomfortably.

She declined, "Xiao Shui is still young, so I'm afraid it's not suitable."

After thinking about it, she added softly, "And she's not in good health either... Pregnancy hurts the body too much, and there are many after-effects."

Xiao Shui is so thin, so thin that he could be blown away by the wind. In the past few months, she has taken good care of her. There is a little flesh on his cheeks, but he is by no means able to bear the pain of childbirth.

"Do you want to live?"

Tan Jingshan glanced at her in surprise, and immediately vetoed, "No, no, how can you work after a year of pregnancy? It's all delayed. Besides, pregnancy hurts your body, and your health may not be so good. I know."

This is as if Xiao Shui's pregnancy will not hurt her body.

Tan Mingli couldn't listen any longer, her tone was still gentle, but her attitude was unwavering and firm, "Then Xiaoshui won't be late for school?"

She seldom directly dismissed Tan Jingshan's disobedience like this. Tan Jingshan was a little surprised, paused slightly, and looked at her expression carefully, as if he was re-evaluating the weight of that girl in her heart, and made a concession:

"Then - a surrogate is also possible."

Tan Jingshan continued thinking, "This is not good in China, you can go to the United States. Both of you have good genes, and the child you will give birth to must be smart and beautiful. But the child still has to be named Tan, and you can discuss it with her yourself. , young girl, I have no idea, coax her, she will listen to you."

"There's only one bad thing, it wasn't Xiaoshui who was born, maybe the connection isn't that deep..."

He closed the teacup and said thoughtfully, "Maybe I can't tie her down."

"Why do you have to have a baby?"

Tan Mingli interrupted his thinking, "Grandpa, I don't understand."

"..."

Tan Jingshan smiled, "Do you really not understand, or do you not want to understand?"

Tan Mingli lowered her eyebrows, without further distinguishing, she just said, "Mingli is dull."

Of course, she would not fail to understand the benefits to her and the Tan family, but she was unwilling to do so.

From a rational point of view, her pride does not allow her to act like this; from an emotional point of view, she is not at all willing to add calculations to Xiao Shui.

Although she knew that if she proposed, Xiao Shui would most likely not reject her, and would even take the initiative to ask her to be reborn because she felt sorry for her.

Xiao Shui longs to be completely possessed by her, and very much hopes to be able to help her. She doesn't mind, and is even willing to dedicate herself, and she has discovered this a long time ago.

This is a symptom of lack of love, she just feels distressed, and has been trying to subtly guide and correct Xiaoshui's tendency-she doesn't want Xiaoshui to take her too seriously.

It was a soft but firm refusal: Tan Mingli refused to talk about the subject again.She fully expressed her attitude to Tan Jingshan.

In shopping malls, there is always a leeway in what to say, but this time she didn't give herself a way out.She would not give an inch.

A breeze blew by, the bamboo forest in the garden rustled, and in the cinnabar-red gazebo, the grandparents and grandchildren faced each other silently.

"Mingli, you disappoint me so much."

Tan Jingshan said in a low voice.

The victory and defeat have been announced, and Tan Jingshan failed to overwhelm Tan Mingli.He knew that this was the end of the matter—Mingli rejected his proposal, completely and completely.

And he couldn't figure out why this kind of thing happened.

To Tan Mingli, calling Zhao Guangshui to have a child is beneficial and harmless. An excellent chess player should not give up this wonderful move, and a shrewd businessman should not stop doing this profitable business.

There is no doubt that Tan Mingli is both a brilliant chess player and a courageous businessman, but she actually chose to quit.

His negotiation and tug-of-war did not work for her at all, because Tan Mingli refused to even enter the chess game—she refused to put Zhao Guangshui on the chip board.

Tan Jingshan closed his eyes, stroking the teacup with his fingers, and said softly, "I originally thought that you were different from Er Yatou and Ming Zhao, and that you could trust the Tan family, but now it seems that you are not even as good as Ming Qing." ——At least Mingqing won't tie his hands and feet for a little girl."

Doing business requires brains, not love.How could he have misjudged Mingli, and didn't realize that she still has a side that cares nothing about gains and losses for love.

This is a strong statement.Tan Mingli couldn't help raising her eyebrows slightly.

"I think you may be mistaken, Grandpa."

she said softly.

"I'm not your chess piece, nor is it the life-sustaining medicine of the Tan family, let alone Xiao Shui. I can accept you using me, but I can't accept you using Xiao Shui, not at all."

Tan Mingli stood up and picked up her handbag, "Xiao Shui is my bottom line. I don't want her to be involved in anything about the Tan family. If you must count, feel free to count me, not her."

"As for what you said about being disappointed in me..."

She paused, then suddenly opened her eyes and smiled very lightly, before continuing, "I think this is the best thing I've done in these years, and the thing that doesn't disappoint me the least. "

Tan Mingli took out an exquisite box from her handbag, put it on the tea table, and pushed it towards Grandpa:

"This is the adult gift you gave me that year, do you remember? It is the Song edition of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". I have kept it carefully all these years."

"'In view of the past, there is capital to govern the way', so it is called "Zizhi Tongjian". I understand your intentions and expectations of me."

She raised her eyes and said softly, "But today, I'm going to give it back to you, Grandpa."

Tan Mingli calmly took out the things he had prepared before from his bag, business card, Tan's ID card, equity certificate, even car keys and community access card, and laid them out in front of Tan Jingshan.

"Look, Grandpa, all the things you and the Tan family gave me over the years are here."

She bent down a little, stretched out her slender fingers, and gently pointed at the listed things, "Cars, houses, stocks, the seat of the chairman of the Tan Corporation...etc. Ah, yes, I think There are also some jewelry, if you want, I will get it for you when I go back later."

Seeing her like this, Tan Jingshan couldn't understand what she meant, his face was ashen, he just shook his head and sighed: "Mingli..."

Why bother?

Why do you have to do this?For a little girl?He couldn't figure it out.

"Take them back. These things belong to you. There is nothing I can say to you."

Tan Jingshan stood up, picked up the business card, handed it to Tan Mingli, and whispered.

In the end, she won this game - in a way that was almost a gamble, betting on whether Grandpa would give in for her in the end.

Tan Mingli doesn't like gambling. She doesn't like uncertain things, and she doesn't like the feeling of putting her fate in the hands of others for judgment. select.

Grandpa seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. He looked extremely tired, with a kind of helpless gentleness and vague loneliness.

Tan Mingli felt sad for him, but she had to do it.

"Mingli, tell me, why did we become like this?"

The old man whispered softly, his white hair swaying gently in the breeze.

Obviously they are grandparents, she is his most beloved granddaughter, and also the most proud work in his life, but they have come to this point.

Mingli even needs to use such a decisive way to force him to give in.But how could this be?why?Where did he lose her?

Tan Mingli stared deeply at his grandfather - he was very old, his face was full of traces of time; he was still wise, but after all he was not as resolute and powerful as he was when he was young.

If it wasn't like this, she would not necessarily be the one who won if she was so bold to force herself against each other today.

She sighed in her heart, walked to Tan Jingshan, watched the fish in the pond quietly with him for a while, and said softly:

"If what you gave me back then was not "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", but a fishing rod or something, how good would it be?"

Then the two of them, grandparents and grandchildren, may not be undercurrents in this pavilion like they are today, but they will chat with each other kindly, arguing about which bait is best for catching big fish... just like the most common bait in the world. grandpa and granddaughter alike.

Tan Jingshan also laughed. He shook his head and said, "Whatever you gain, you will lose, Mingli."

He lost his granddaughter, but got the best successor of the Tan family.Although he regretted this, he did not regret it.

Tan Mingli was not lonely when she heard the words, she just smiled lightly and didn't speak, she was still beautiful, gentle, dignified and decent.

Before leaving, Tan Jingshan suddenly stopped her. He looked at Tan Mingli very gently, and said kindly, "If I don't give in today, what will you do, Mingli?"

It was her ability for Mingli to beat him, and he was not unconvinced, but simply curious.He didn't think Mingli wasn't prepared for this possibility.

"Then I'll marry into the Zhao family and be Xiaoshui's wife? I think she won't ignore me."

It was rare for Tan Mingli to make a joke in front of her grandfather, and couldn't help laughing because of the picture she imagined——that silly child Xiaoshui will definitely be responsible for her by then, maybe he will give her Write a letter of guarantee or something.

After the joke was over, she was looking up and said gently:

"The worst thing is to start over, Grandpa."

"My surname is Tan, but it's not like I can't live without the Tan family. I can live as ordinary people live. There will never be a place for me in such a big Jiangcheng."

"Ah, I'm leaving. Xiao Shui is waiting for me at home. Grandpa, take care of yourself too."

Tan Mingli glanced at his watch, smiled and nodded to him.

"it is good."

Tan Jingshan was stunned for a moment because of her answer, then quickly came back to his senses, nodded lightly, and said, "Go, Mingli, don't make her wait too long."

Tan Jingshan watched her for a long time, until the figure of his granddaughter completely disappeared from sight, then turned around and sat down slowly.

Others said that Tan Mingli was Mingyue, but today he suddenly felt that Mingli was really like a knife.

Her blade is so sharp, and her unsheathing is so decisive, as if it can cut off everything in the world, even pointing the blade at herself.

She is too ruthless, even if she tries her best to hurt herself by [-], she must kill [-] enemies. As long as her opponent shows the slightest hesitation and fear, he will be defeated at that moment.

He clearly felt the shake in his heart when Mingli put those things in front of him, so he was the one who lost.

Tan Jingshan suddenly smiled softly, he stood up, and took one last look at the carp in the pond.

Brother Hongliang had told him a long time ago that Mingli was very similar to him in every way, but she was much better than him, there was no doubt about it.