In order to fulfill their daughter's wish, the Huo family of three took Huo Yanping's "Jim" car and went to the eastern suburbs together.
Since it was the weekend, there were few cars and few people outside the city, and the wide Capital Airport Road remained empty for a long time.
Only occasionally a carriage or car passes by, and bicycles and pedestrians are almost extinct.
Huo Xin had a great time practicing and felt pretty good.
In her words, although they are all old cars.
But no matter what, the car is much better than the "Great Liberation" coach car that needs to be cranked to start.
It seems that when he learned to drive on Tuomen Road, he was not as good as his own father.
Not only was the car good, but the "coach" in the auxiliary seat gave guidance and was careful and patient.
Of course, she couldn't help complaining again, saying that the six hundred yuan tuition fee was too much.
On the other hand, Huo Yanping and his wife were quite pleased to see with their own eyes that their daughter's driving skills were as good as they were.
After all, this is a very practical skill that will be useful even if you go abroad in the future.
Although you still have to retake the driver's license test, having the foundation makes a real difference.
So Huo Yanping also came to tease his daughter in a happy mood.
"You, just be content. Where do ordinary people have the opportunity to learn to drive? You have to rely on your employer to issue a certificate. If your employer doesn't train you, it's useless to try to learn."
"The fare of six hundred yuan is quite a lot. It is almost the salary of an ordinary person for a year. But don't you earn more, do you still care about this?"
"You have to think this way, knowledge is priceless. Judging from our national conditions, there are not many car drivers, and girls with driving skills like you are even rarer."
"In my opinion, as long as you want to pass the test successfully and get your driving license, the money is well spent."
Huo Xin was delighted after hearing this.
"Oh, Dad, it's not easy to hear your approval with my own ears. What kind of day is it today? Did I meet a magpie when I went out?"
Huo Yanping looked at his daughter's slightly proud and pretentious expression and couldn't help laughing.
"Seek truth from facts. Seeing is believing today. I am sincerely impressed by the driving skills of our number one female driver in Beijing."
Now even Huang Jingping couldn't help laughing.
"Yanping, why are you talking nonsense like a child? Ouch! Stop teasing her and distracting her attention. Aren't you afraid that she will praise you and drive the car into a ditch on the roadside?"
This rare and pleasant coexistence has made the family of three emotionally harmonious.
So when she returned in the evening, Huo Xin was very excited to entertain guests and took her parents to the French restaurant of Jianguo Hotel.
This is currently the only authentic French restaurant in the Republic. Its magnificent, calm and elegant decoration surprised Huo Yanping and his wife.
None of them expected that there were already hotels of this level and high-end Western restaurants in China.
Huo Yanping said, "Hearing is worse than seeing. I really didn't expect that the comprehensive standard of the first joint venture hotel in Beijing would exceed that of the Beijing Hotel. It seems that the method of introducing foreign investment is indeed effective, and the foreign monks can chant sutras."
Huang Jingping also said, "Well, maybe we will rely on foreigners for many things in the future. I think the company where our daughter works will not have any problems for a while."
But Huo Xin disagreed.
She claimed that Pierre Carton is not only rich and powerful, but also has close relations with the Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of Economic and Trade, and is inherently very reliable and stable.
Soon the French restaurant in Jianguo Hotel will no longer be on the list.
This year, their company's Maxim Restaurant will be dethroned as the number one French restaurant in Beijing.
The Maxim restaurant she participated in supervising will cost US$1.5 million to replicate the Paris main store.
All the construction was done by Japanese personnel, not to mention the prisms and stained glass ceilings, the silverware and chandeliers, even the French palace murals were copied.
That's called splendor, that's called romantic and gorgeous.
On the contrary, Jianguo Hotel is a restaurant that is too mediocre.
The so-called French style is just the curtains on the roof and a harp at the door. There is nothing new at all.
According to her, in terms of atmosphere, this place is not as interesting as the new underground Western restaurants opened in Xidan in the past two years.
The restaurant called "Dadi" very cleverly used underground civil air defenses to open a unique Western restaurant.
The walls have no decoration at all, just exposed cement walls.
The key is that the lighting is quite dim.
Although there are chandeliers and wall lamps, candlelight still has to be used for lighting...
"Hey, your company's restaurant is just that. It cost so much money, so it must be good. But what's the underground restaurant? It sounds bad." Huang Jingping couldn't help but shook his head and sighed, "I can't think of anyone who will come there.
Eating in a place like this is a waste of time."
"Mom! You don't understand. The most popular and fashionable thing right now is this unique style! Don't underestimate me. This is the restaurant, even though it's nicknamed 'Beijing Xiao Lao Mo'
, but in fact the limelight has eclipsed the real 'Old Mo'. He has to wait to be seated for lunch, and he can't even close the door when it's time for lunch break. He queues up every day..."
There is no doubt that as a member of the fashion industry, Huo Xin has obviously lived up to her profession and knows very well what is fashionable and what is not fashionable in Beijing today.
But Huo Yanping obviously doesn't see it that way.
He actually made a joke to his daughter.
"What kind of mood is this? Is the mood just about fighting in the dark and fighting in the tunnels?"
"Dad, you really don't understand, do you mean you don't understand? This is called primitive, rough, and wild! There should be quite a few underground bars in Europe..."
"Oh, right..."
Seeing that Huo Xin was a little dissatisfied, Huo Yanping reluctantly pretended to understand in order not to disappoint his daughter.
But Huo Xin still saw that he was not sincere in his words.
"Dad, Mom, I am getting more and more confused about you now. You have obviously come back from abroad, but why do you seem to have never seen anything? Your ideology seems to be nothing like those in China.
There’s a difference. No, maybe it’s more old-fashioned.”
"Okay, I understand. You are deliberately trying to harm us."
Huo Yanping first patted his daughter's face and then explained sincerely.
"Yes, we came back from abroad, but we haven't seen what you mentioned."
"Don't forget, we are officials, representing the image of our government, and we cannot go to random places. It can be said that except for scenic spots, concert halls, museums, and parks, we almost all stay in the embassy."
"Of course, we will also attend some banquets and even visit some foreigners' homes. But who are those people? They are all officials, scholars, businessmen, journalists, and artists. So..."
There is no need to say the next words, Huo Xin already understood it, and she twisted her body like a baby.
"Oh, I understand. You are really not free. Even if you stay abroad, you must always be serious. It's so boring. Poor parents..."
However, her understatement could not stop Huang Jinghua, a mother, from questioning her.
"Xinxin, I'm surprised, you've been staying in China all the time. That kind of thing abroad, that kind of thing abroad, where did you learn that kind of thing?"
"Where? You are so funny, there are foreigners in the country. There are many foreign students in our school! They are white, black, brown, they come from everywhere."
"But your dad and I have been abroad for so long, and we haven't learned so much from you!"
"That's because you are old and slow."
What Huo Xin said was purely unintentional.
But Huo Yanping and Huang Jinghua still looked at each other after hearing this.
Want to see if they themselves are really old.
Are you old?
Both of them asked themselves secretly.
Perhaps, it's not that they are old, but that their daughter is too young...
Finally it was time to order.
But when the waiter came forward, Huo Xin didn't let his parents speak at all.
I directly ordered three rib-eye steaks, snail soup, Caesar salad, champagne before the meal and fig dessert after the meal.
This meal costs at least more than 200 yuan.
However, Huo Yanping couldn't accept his daughter's way of spending money without looking at the price.
"Xinxin, you learn this trick really quickly. I know you spend your own money and you want to make us happy. But I also want to remind you that it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
You should cherish your hard work and make good use of your money."
"Don't bring up any spoiler tonight, okay?"
Huo Xin took a sip of champagne and interrupted Huo Yanping bluntly.
"Why can't we mention it tonight?" Huo Yanping asked strangely.
"But tonight is the weekend!"
"I see you have weekends every day!"
Facing his daughter's contempt and disdain, Huo Yanping really wanted to get angry.
Fortunately, Huang Jinghua came to stop him at the right time, so the atmosphere of the meal was not ruined.
"Stop talking, Yanping, today is the weekend! It's rare for our family to get together, so we should thank our daughter."
The dishes were served one by one, and Huo Xin's dining style was very expert.
"Mom, no, it has to be like this! Real French people use their forks like this..." She even corrected her mother's technique while eating.
Huo Yanping took a sip of wine and wanted to say nothing more, but when he saw his daughter behaving like this, he felt very uneasy.
So he couldn't help but speak again, "Xinxin, you are still young. You have to know that society is very complicated and people are also very complicated. Now our country is open, but because the changes are too fast, okay
The bad ones are swarming in. We must distinguish between right and wrong, but we cannot learn everything. We still have to maintain our fine traditions..."
"Hey hey hey..."
Unexpectedly, Huo Xin couldn't help but laugh. The more she laughed, the harder it was to suppress it. She even stopped eating.
He just wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Dad, I'm impressed by you. You're actually giving a report while eating! Who asked you to engage in foreign affairs work? You're really dim-sighted. He should let you stay in China as a secretary.
…”
Even Huang Jinghua felt that these words were meaningless and dry.
"Okay, it's a big weekend, don't keep telling your children these big principles."
"What's the big deal?"
Huo Yanping retorted firmly.
"What I'm saying is right. Don't be disinclined to hear it. This matter is very important. People are affected by their environment. If I leave my daughter alone, I will harm her. Why do I care about her? I also want to ask her
What kind of friends do you have around you?"
Huo Xin became serious now.
She put down her knife and fork completely, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and rested her arms on the table.
"Dad, I don't understand. Ever since I was a child, you have told me to broaden my horizons, increase my knowledge, stop being closed off, and stop being self-conscious. You have told me to watch more TV, read more newspapers, and make more friends with active ideas.
, interact more with capable people. You should even have more contact with foreigners and learn more about foreign affairs, right?"
"Yes. Don't you think this is bad?"
"It's not bad, it's just that you make me confused. Look at it now, you actually want me not to learn this, not to learn that, and to maintain some fine traditions. You also say that society is complicated and you wish the world would suddenly become dangerous.
.I don’t understand, what kind of person do you want me to be? Should I be fashionable and avant-garde, or should I be traditional and conservative? Should I make more friends and be a good communicator? Or should I be independent, stay true to myself, not care about others at all, and do my own thing?
And for foreigners, do you require that the people I come into contact with are all people of your age, status and status?"
This question left Huo Yanping speechless.
Because to be honest, even he himself is conflicted about his daughter.
When the child did not grow up, he hoped that his daughter would become an adult soon, become independent and self-reliant soon.
But now that I see her growing up, I don't feel comfortable with it.
I'm afraid that she will be influenced by bad friends and live her life with a determined attitude.
What to say to the child?
"That's right," Huo Yanping swallowed a sip of wine, "I think that when it comes to family values and ethics, our tradition is better. This means that in these aspects, you should have your own opinions and stick to what you should stick to.
.Apart from these, I don’t want to interfere in other aspects..."
"Of course I have my own persistence. But I feel that you will never trust me to take care of yourself."
"You can't say that. I'm just afraid of you because you're young...I'm afraid of you..."
"What are you afraid of me for?"
"Suffer!"
"What's the disadvantage?"
"Suffering from girls."
"Humph," Huo Xin sneered, "You are such a feudal head. So this is what you are worried about. Do you think you can feel completely at ease only if I don't make friends of the opposite sex? Let me tell you frankly,
It really makes me sick..."
"Xinxin!" Huang Jinghua stopped Huo Xin with stern words, "You can't talk to dad like that!"
At this time, a melodious violin sound came from the other end of the restaurant.
It turned out that it was the birthday of one of the guests at the table, and the musician in the restaurant played this tune on the violin.
The guests at that table immediately became excited. Not only did they applaud together, they also sang along with the music.
Then a chef wearing a tall white hat pushed a dining cart and delivered a cake.
This invisibly eased the language conflict between Huo Xin's family.
Huo Xin took the opportunity to leave and go to the bathroom, leaving only her parents in their seats.
"My daughter has grown up." Huo Yanping looked at Huo Xin's back and sighed.
"Um."
"Her personality is very different from before."
"Why is it different?"
"She has become so stubborn that she no longer has any docility. She is also too smart and capable. If she is not guided well, something may happen."
"This child is not like you when you were young. You are receptive, quick to react, impetuous, and disobedient. You are impatient and stubborn!"
These words made Huo Yanping laugh, he also liked hearing this.
As a father, of course he would be satisfied because his daughter's personality is close to his own.
"But," he said, "haven't I changed now? Apart from the fact that I can't help being anxious about my daughter's affairs, when have you ever seen me lose my temper? There's no need to treat my family. Of course,
I am also concerned about chaos."
"You have to talk to her carefully about what's on your mind. I believe that as long as you have patience, your daughter will understand us..."
"I don't think so." Huo Yanping said, "I think that after living apart for so many years, my daughter's trust in us is far less than her trust in the friends around her. I have to find out who her friends are.
Only then can we prescribe the right medicine and bring her back on the right track of life..."