Chapter 243: Friends and Family (Part 2)

The livestream lasted only about ten minutes before it came to an abrupt end. For the sake of her phone's health, Luo Quan dismissed the idea of continuing the stream after it rebooted and could only post an update on Bilibili:

"There were too many people sending gifts and posting comments just now; the phone couldn't handle it all at once and crashed.

I'm afraid it'll crash again, so I won't be starting it up for now. I'll use a computer once I'm back in China. My apologies to everyone here."

The comment section was soon filled with complaints:

"I didn't even get a chance to watch the stream, and now you're telling me it's over?"

"I missed it! I really missed out on a hundred million this time!"

"Why?"

"Luo Quan's younger siblings made an appearance, and their looks are off the charts!"

"Are there any pictures?"

"Go check Weibo; it'll probably be trending soon."

……………………

"Can't stream anymore," Luo Quan said, looking helplessly at her rebooting phone.

Apple's system is indeed not prone to lagging, but when it does, it reboots without negotiation—that's the most frustrating part.

Mia said, "I heard Apple is releasing a new model soon. The body is longer and the performance is better. You could get a new one, sister."

Luo Quan shook her head: "Forget it, it's too expensive. I'm planning to switch to a domestic brand; it's cheaper."

Mia was stunned when she heard this and said, "Sister Luo Quan, I saw that your 'Love' album sales are almost at twenty million. The royalties alone are a huge fortune; buying a new phone shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Gao Liang laughed: "Sister has always been frugal. Before she signed as a Chanel ambassador, the clothes she wore rarely cost more than 200 RMB."

Karena couldn't help but tease: "This isn't frugality; you're living in asceticism."

Luo Quan smiled and explained: "I developed these spending habits when I didn't have money. Now that I'm wealthy, I really can't bring myself to spend lavishly."

Mia pouted and said, "You're just like my mother, reluctant to spend money on herself. Sometimes she doesn't even spend a hundred pounds in a month."

With different spending philosophies, Luo Quan could only listen at this moment; she wouldn't try to persuade Mia to consume the way she did.

As the saying goes, boys should be raised in poverty and girls in luxury. Besides, born into such a wealthy family, spending lavishly is actually no big deal.

Don't adults struggle their whole lives just so their descendants can live more easily?

"What are you chatting about?" Luo Ni and the fifth aunt walked over at this moment.

"We're talking about spending money," Mia ran up to Luo Ni: "Aunt Luo Ni, isn't Sister Luo Quan too frugal? Gao Liang said that the clothes she wore used to rarely cost more than two hundred yuan?"

Sonia said in surprise: "Two hundred pounds? That much money wouldn't even buy a decent outfit in London!"

"It's two hundred RMB," Mia corrected.

One pound is about 9 yuan, so 200 pounds is nearly 2,000 RMB.

Sonia did the conversion, and her expression became even more surprised.

"By the way, your grandfather is looking for you all to go over and chat for a while. Let's go," Luo Ni said, ending the topic.

Hearing these topics, she always felt like a poor relative from the countryside, feeling a bit embarrassed.

It wasn't that she was afraid of losing face; it was mainly because women are naturally thin-skinned and don't want to expose the hardships they experienced in the past to others.

Seeing this, Luo Quan kept a mental note.

It seems she should mention less about the things she experienced in the past from now on.

The children returned to where the adults were chatting, this time gathered together, each sitting beside their own parents.

"This must be the first time you siblings have gathered together, right?" The old man looked at his grandchildren with a face full of gratification.

Now that he has achieved success in his career and possesses wealth that surpasses the vast majority of humanity, his body is gradually aging, but his spirit is still quite good.

After losing interest in business, his greatest joy is this scene of family prosperity with children and grandchildren surrounding him.

The only pity is that his wife left too early and couldn't see this scene with him.

"I've been busy with company matters all these years and haven't cared much about your growth and studies. As a grandfather, I really am too incompetent."

When these words were spoken, the old man's three sons immediately felt ashamed.

If one were to really analyze it, they, as fathers, were the ones who were truly incompetent.

Not to mention Eric, who raised his daughter for a year after she was born and then ran off for eighteen years. As for his son, he had always left him to be raised by his wife, and only started entering his son's life after his wife passed away; by then, Gao Liang was already twelve years old.

As for Andrei, he spent most of his time in the company. His son getting into Oxford University had nothing to do with him; the tuition and living expenses were paid by the son himself using scholarships.

The fourth son, Erwin, goes without saying; he was just as outrageous as his big brother. It was fortunate that he didn't manage his daughter much, otherwise, it's hard to say what Karena would be like now.

In short, all three fathers felt ashamed at this moment, and they didn't know if their father saying such things was a case of "pointing at the mulberry to curse the locust."

Next, the old man asked about the children's recent situation.

There was no need to worry about their studies; they were all hardworking children with upright values, and they hadn't developed the bad habits of most wealthy playboys.

What he was more concerned about was the children's romantic lives.

Young people in foreign countries are relatively precocious; it is common to see them dating or even going further during their middle school years.

The old man considered his family discipline to be relatively strict; dating was fine, but going further was absolutely not allowed.

So, taking advantage of this opportunity, he asked them one by one.

The old man pretended to be serious and said: "Don't think about lying to your grandfather. I've lived for decades; if I have no other skills, I've never made a mistake in telling whether someone is lying.

Stukart, you go first."

"Why do I have to go first?" Stukart was between laughter and tears. She was third among the siblings; by age, he should have let Luo Quan and Gao Liang go first.

"I've already asked Luo Quan and Gao Liang; both are still single and have never dated."

Stukart said helplessly: "I am dating a girlfriend. We are from the same school, and she is an archaeology major."

Erwin laughed: "You study history and she studies archaeology; your majors are quite a match."

Eliza said: "Great, you actually kept this from your father and me all this time. I was wondering why you were suddenly staring at your phone and giggling at home recently... By the way, what is this girl like, and what does her family do?"

Stukart said hurriedly: "She is a very kind and beautiful girl. Her family is in the antique business, so they are quite well-off."

The old man waved his hand: "Family background is not the point; the key is that she must be a good person. You have to find that out for yourself."

Stukart nodded: "We are still getting to know each other; we'll see how it goes in a while."

"What about you two?" The old man looked at Mia and Karena again.

Mia complained: "Grandfather, have you forgotten? I go to an all-girls school, and I spend most of my time at school. Where would I find someone to date?"

"I also go to an all-girls school," Karena said in a low voice.

"It's grandfather who forgot," the old man laughed.

It seems that among the grandchildren, only Stukart has a partner; the others haven't even had their first love. It's hard to say if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

After chatting about the precautions for dating, the old man brought up other topics.

Opportunities for such a family reunion in a year total less than one or two times, so the old man naturally had endless things to say and endless chats.

But time always passes quickly at such moments, and before they knew it, the sky in the garden gradually darkened.

Butler Barry walked over carrying a lamp: "Sir, tonight's dinner is ready. Shall we dine now or..."

"Let's go. After chatting with me all afternoon, you must be hungry," the old man said, pushing himself up from the chair.

Tonight's dinner was quite sumptuous. The long dining table was filled with various delicacies. Luo Quan had seen most of the food in the British travel guide, and there were many that were not in the guide.

As for drinks, Luo Quan looked around and didn't see the Lafite red wine that is hyped up in China.

Although she didn't understand how valuable '82 or '28 Lafite was, in China, it seemed that Lafite red wine was an essential drink for high-society dining.

If there was such a bottle at a banquet, it was synonymous with taste and style.

However, among the many bottles of red wine in front of her, she couldn't see any bottle with the word "Lafite" on it.

Luo Quan saw her father pick up a bottle of red wine and hand it to the servant behind him to open and decant, so she asked curiously: "Dad, how come I don't see any Lafite?"

"Lafite? Grandfather never drinks that kind of low-end stuff," Eric said as a matter of course.

Luo Quan frowned: "Lafite is low-end stuff?"

"Yes. When it comes to high-end red wine, it has to be red wine from the Burgundy region. Those wineries held by French nobles are the best wine-producing areas in the world. Your grandfather buys a dozen of the best bottles from there every year, either to drink himself or to share with good friends when hosting banquets.

The ones brought out today are all Romanée-Conti that he treasured years ago. One bottle costs twenty or thirty thousand dollars, and only a few are produced in the world each year. Every sip is one less."

While speaking, the wine had been decanted, and the servant poured a glass for Eric, Luo Ni, and Luo Quan each.

"Can my daughter drink?" Luo Ni asked with a smile.

Eric didn't care: "Wine, what's the difference from fruit juice? Drinking a little occasionally is good for your health."

Luo Quan picked up the wine glass and smelled it. There was a rich wine aroma, but it wasn't as pungent as white liquor, and it carried a hint of sweetness.

In her previous life, Luo Quan sometimes drank white liquor, and she felt her tolerance was still okay.

At such a happy moment, having a glass shouldn't be a big deal.

Besides, as her father said, is there much difference between wine made from fruit and fruit juice?

Unfortunately, she ignored her own constitution; some people are destined not to be able to drink.

Luo Quan took two sips, felt the taste was just so-so, and after putting it down, she started eating the barbecue on her own.

During this time, grandfather raised his glass to give an important speech, and then everyone stood up to drink together. Luo Quan downed the remaining red wine in her glass in one go.

As a result, within five minutes, she felt dizzy and her face was flushed.

"No way, drunk after one glass?" Luo Quan's consciousness was still relatively clear at this time. Although her head was a bit dizzy, she knew she was probably already tipsy.

To avoid getting truly drunk and losing face in front of everyone, Luo Quan stood up unsteadily: "Grandfather, I seem to be a bit drunk, so I'll go up and rest first."

"Drunk after just one glass?" Eric couldn't believe it. He had already had two glasses, and it was only considered an appetizer. How could his daughter not handle even one glass?

Erwin also said: "Big niece, you need to practice your tolerance. How can you be so tipsy after one glass of wine?"

Luo Ni got up to support her daughter: "Luo Quan hasn't really drunk much before; maybe she's just naturally bad at drinking."

"Could it be an alcohol allergy?" Andrei asked.

"Probably not, my head is just a bit dizzy," Luo Quan shook her head and looked at herself on the phone screen. It seemed that apart from her face being flushed, there was no abnormality in other parts of her body.

"Then I'll send Luo Quan back to her room first," Luo Ni said, taking Luo Quan away from the dining table, and the maid nearby also came over to help.

In a daze, Luo Quan didn't even know how she got back to her room.

When she came to her senses, she was already lying on the bed.

Her clothes had been taken off and hung on the coat rack by the bed. She was covered with a thin quilt. Except for her head, the corners of the quilt were all tucked under her, tucked tightly.

Luo Quan couldn't help but smile; she knew this technique was her mother's.

Blinking, Luo Quan found that she didn't have the dizziness or headache after sobering up.

It was just that her face was still a bit red, just like those children in kindergarten who were about to perform on stage, as if she were covered in blush.

Luo Quan rubbed her head and said distressingly: "I can't drink anymore in the future. Just a little bit is more effective than a sleeping pill; I don't have any impression at all."

Opening her phone, she found that it was already one o'clock in the morning. Without knowing it, she had slept for six hours. What was fatal was that her stomach started growling.

After drinking just now, she hadn't eaten two bites of food before getting drunk. Now, in the middle of the night, where could she find food?

Luo Quan remembered the communicator that Butler Barry mentioned, saying that someone would answer it 24 hours a day, but Luo Quan wasn't sure if there was a dedicated person on night shift on the other side of the communicator, or if they put the communicator by their ear when sleeping.

If it were the latter, wouldn't it be bad to disturb someone's dream?

Servants are also people, and Luo Quan couldn't bear it for a while.

However, as her hunger increased, Luo Quan's desire finally overcame her conscience. Gritting her teeth, she pressed the small red button.

After about three seconds, a reply came from the communicator: "Miss Luo Quan, is there anything you need?"

It was answered in seconds! Luo Quan felt much more at ease; it seemed there was a dedicated person on night shift.

Luo Quan said softly: "Could you please send some food up? I'm a bit hungry."

"No problem, please wait a moment," the maid replied happily.

Ps. Thanks to book friend Xiao Xiao Xiao Yu for the book coins, thank you!