He never liked to curry favor with others, nor would he lower himself and act shamelessly just because someone was wealthy.
This kind of behavior was precisely what they detested the most.
Yet, in this era, leaders often favored those who flattered them from behind.
Consequently, many capable individuals failed to gain recognition and were merely tools for capitalists to exploit.
At this moment, Gao Shuai, having cast aside all his worries, was basking in the adulation of his classmates.
"Enough talk, everyone. Let's quickly savor the taste of this red wine!" he said with a chuckle.
Hearing Gao Shuai, everyone eagerly raised their wine glasses.
This was likely the only chance in their lives to taste such expensive red wine, so they had to try it, even if many didn't actually like drinking red wine.
However, just as they were about to take a sip, the private room door opened again. Wan Hui, dressed in a suit, entered with a smile, followed by the hotel's lobby manager.
Upon seeing the lobby manager, Gao Shuai immediately put down his glass and greeted him proactively, "Manager Xie, why are you here?"
Manager Xie smiled upon seeing Gao Shuai and introduced, "Mr. Gao, this is our hotel's General Manager, Wan Hui. He heard it's your high school teacher's birthday today and has come to offer a toast."
Hearing that this middle-aged man in a suit was the hotel's General Manager, and that he had come personally to toast, everyone's gaze towards Gao Shuai reached a new height.
This was the General Manager of a five-star hotel, someone who could be considered second only to the king.
How much face did Gao Shuai have to warrant such a gesture, receiving wine as a gift and a personal toast?
Gao Shuai, seeing the lobby manager introduce the General Manager to him, naturally assumed that General Manager Wan was here for him.
He proactively extended his hand, "Hello, General Manager Wan. You are too kind. You sent such expensive wine, I feel quite embarrassed. How could I trouble you to come in person!"
Wan Hui did not shake his hand. Instead, he looked at Liu Yifeng and asked, "Brother Liu, who is this?"
Liu Yifeng replied, "This is my high school classmate, Gao Shuai. He is also treating us to dinner today!"
Upon hearing this, Wan Hui finally shook Gao Shuai's hand and said, "Hello, classmate Gao. Since you are Brother Liu's classmate, how can you dine with me without a discount!"
He then turned to the lobby manager and said, "Tell the front desk to give these two tables a sixty percent discount!"
"Yes, I will inform them right away," the lobby manager nodded repeatedly.
Everyone was stunned. Their eyes darted back and forth between Liu Yifeng and Gao Shuai.
What was going on? Wasn't the red wine sent for Gao Shuai?
How come General Manager Wan seemed so familiar with Liu Yifeng, and he didn't seem to recognize Gao Shuai, otherwise, why would he ask Liu Yifeng before shaking his hand?
Then why did he initially tacitly accept the wine as being in his name? Was he being a bit too thick-skinned?
"Then thank you, General Manager Wan. But why send such expensive wine? It's too extravagant. I'll transfer the money to your card later." Liu Yifeng did not want Wan Hui to pay out of his own pocket for him.
"As the General Manager of this hotel, I have the authority to send some wine. Don't worry, I'm not paying out of my own pocket." Wan Hui understood Liu Yifeng's concern.
Only then did Liu Yifeng nod, "Then next time, I'll treat you to a meal, General Manager Wan. Please don't refuse!"
"Hahaha, that's easy.
By the way, this must be your homeroom teacher, Teacher Xiong, right?" Wan Hui asked, looking at the person seated at the head of the table, who was also the oldest.
Teacher Xiong had never interacted with such an influential person before. He nervously stood up, "H-hello, General Manager Wan!"
"Teacher Xiong, it's your birthday today, and I didn't manage to prepare any gifts. I've come specifically to offer you a toast, wishing you a happy birthday and a long, healthy life."
As Wan Hui spoke, the lobby manager immediately poured him a glass of red wine.
Wan Hui raised his glass, and everyone else followed suit.
After finishing their drinks, Wan Hui said to the group, "Everyone, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't stay to chat. Please let me know if you need anything!"
"Please, go ahead. We understand," everyone nodded obsequiously, their demeanor subservient.
"Brother Liu, I'll be going then. Manager Xie will be waiting outside. Just find him if you need anything," Wan Hui said to Liu Yifeng.
His attentive attitude towards Liu Yifeng left everyone stunned.
How did Liu Yifeng know the General Manager of a five-star hotel, and he hadn't mentioned it at all throughout the evening? He was incredibly low-key.
If they knew the General Manager of this place, they would have used it as capital for boasting from the start.
If Manager Wan hadn't come to toast, Liu Yifeng probably wouldn't have said a word.
Then this wine would have been credited to Gao Shuai. Thinking about this, everyone felt Gao Shuai was somewhat hypocritical.
It had nothing to do with him, and he didn't know the General Manager, yet he hadn't said a word, making everyone mistakenly believe it was because of him that they could drink such fine wine.
"Manager Xie, please go ahead and do your work. We can just ask a server if we need anything." Liu Yifeng didn't want to disrupt Manager Xie's work because of him.
Initially, he felt quite indebted to Wan Hui for sending such expensive wine. How could he bear to waste the lobby manager's time just waiting for his command?
The lobby manager quickly said, "Mr. Liu, our General Manager instructed me to wait outside. This is my job. Just let me know if you need anything!" With that, he also left the private room, carefully closing the door.
Thus, all eyes in the private room turned to Liu Yifeng.
They were all curious about how Liu Yifeng knew the hotel's General Manager, and why the General Manager would grant him such significant favor.
The twelve thousand yuan worth of wine was given away so readily, and Gao Shuai even received a sixty percent discount.
This discounted price meant the meal was essentially just covered at cost, with the hotel making almost no profit.
"Liu Yifeng, you're something else. You know the General Manager here, why didn't you say anything earlier?" someone asked curiously.
"Exactly, you're too low-key. If it were me, I'd be itching for everyone to know."
"How do you know the General Manager here?"
"..."
A barrage of questions followed, making Liu Yifeng dizzy and unsure how to answer.
Finally, Qiang Zi couldn't bear it any longer and spoke the truth, "You probably don't know, but you looked down on the vegetables Liu Yifeng grows, thinking he had no prospects in this line of work.
Little did you know, Yifeng earns tens of thousands of yuan a day selling vegetables, an amount you might not earn in three years. Do you still think farming in the countryside is without prospects?"
The entire room fell silent. Everyone looked at Liu Yifeng in disbelief, their eyes filled with envy, doubt, and jealousy.
"You're bragging, aren't you? Selling vegetables can earn that much money?" Zhang Shuixin said with evident disbelief.
"Don't doubt it. The vegetables you're eating now are from Yifeng's harvest. He's just a low-key person who doesn't like to show off.
As a result, you all praised Gao Shuai to the skies and belittled Yifeng to the ground, not knowing his achievements have long surpassed all of yours.
Also, this wine was clearly sent by General Manager Wan because of Yifeng, yet Gao Shuai shamelessly took the credit, making us think it was his doing so we could drink such good wine. He's quite thick-skinned.
Without Yifeng, would this hotel give him a sixty percent discount?
Frankly, if I were any of you, I'd be utterly ashamed to death," Qiang Zi said, leaving everyone utterly mortified.