Chapter 278 – Parent-Teacher Conference with Distracted Parents

On Saturday afternoon, Yang Yi had to attend a parent-teacher conference, and Mo Fei had to go to the company and was currently filming a music video. With many people around and distractions, it was not convenient to bring Xixi along. So, Yang Yi had to call Guo Ziyi over and let him stay in the shop, acting as Xixi’s babysitter for half a day.

Ding Xiang was also in the shop, but most of the time, she had to attend to the customers and could only help supervise the little chubby guy.

When the kindergarten held a parent-teacher conference, Yang Yi thought he would have to sit on a small stool like Xixi and sit in a row with other parents. If that were the case, Yang Yi would feel uncomfortable. How could his long legs fit on the small stool that the little one sits on?

Fortunately, the kindergarten has a conference room that he didn’t know about. Under the guidance of Teacher Shen, Yang Yi walked in. There were already some parents in the conference room who were even more proactive than Yang Yi, arriving early and chatting together in groups of three or two.

Yang Yi was greeting a few familiar parents, such as Wu Yue and Nan Yiyun when a surprised voice suddenly came, “Hey, Little Yang, you’re here? Come, come and sit here!”

Yang Yi turned his head and saw Lan Zhoukai’s round smiling face in the last row of the conference room.

This big boss even rearranged the chairs around him, clearing the space for four people and leaving only two chairs, just right for his and Yang Yi’s stature.

Yang Yi smiled and walked straight over, sitting down next to Lan Zhoukai.

“How come Boss Lan has so much free time today to come to the parent-teacher conference in person?” Although Yang Yi called him Boss Lan, he spoke with a teasing tone and a smile.

Needless to say, Lan Zhoukai liked Yang Yi’s neither humble nor arrogant tone. If Yang Yi was too respectful, he would become distance.

“Don’t mention it. I was trying to grab a piece of land in Shanghai recently but didn’t succeed. I was so depressed! Lan Xin’s mother asked me to attend the parent-teacher conference to relax.” Lan Zhoukai waved his hand.

“The real estate industry…” Yang Yi shook his head. “Local protectionism is quite strong, so real estate developers from Jiangnan are at a disadvantage when competing in Shanghai.”

“Hey, Little Yang, I didn’t expect you to understand these things!” Lan Zhoukai was somewhat surprised and smiled. “I thought you, a scholar who specializes in writing, basically stayed at home, not paying attention to what’s happening outside.”

Yang Yi smiled slightly and said, “I don’t know much, but I really don’t approve of the excessive profits in the real estate industry. If it keeps pushing up housing prices, then it becomes a disguised form of exploitation for the common people at the bottom.”

Although Lan Zhoukai was a real estate tycoon, Yang Yi wasn’t afraid to speak up directly in front of him, because Yang Yi knew Lan Zhoukai wouldn’t dislike him because of this.

Lan Zhoukai was stunned. He shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “What you said is not unreasonable. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t want to be in the real estate business either, but there’s no way. Who made my father inherit such a real estate company to me?”

This statement was a bit a slap in the face, but in fact, Lan Zhoukai was also teasing himself. When he inherited his father’s real estate company, the company’s market value was only 200 million yuan. It was his hard work over the past decade or so that led to its current scale of several billion yuan.

Regardless of whether he liked real estate or not, Lan Zhoukai was definitely not a simple second-generation rich.

“I think the most promising development in this world is not real estate but the internet,” Yang Yi said to Lan Zhoukai.

At this moment, Teacher Mu and several other teachers walked in, and the conversation between Yang Yi and Lan Zhoukai temporarily stopped.

Basically, all the parents were present, and under the guidance of Teacher Mu, the parent-teacher meeting began on time.

The first thing to be discussed in the parent-teacher conference was naturally to inform the parents about the current situation of the kindergarten and the class. Teacher Mu also called out the names of each student and discussed their performance. Regardless of whether they were mischievous or not, Teacher Mu highlighted their positive aspects first, praised them, and then mentioned a few issues that the children usually have, so that the parents could address and help their children correct them.

For example, Lan Xin was the first one to be named and praised by Teacher Mu: “Lan Xin is a very kind and lovely child who is always willing to help other children. Of course, there is a small problem that Lan Xin does not like sports very much, which has a negative impact on the child’s physical development. I hope Lan Xin’s father can encourage the child to exercise more and eat more healthy food and fruits.”

Lan Zhoukai nodded with a smile and took notes. However, when it came to other children, Lan Zhoukai wasn’t particularly interested in listening. Bored, he enthusiastically pulled Yang Yi to talk about the topic of the internet industry they had just discussed.

No wonder he chose to sit in the area of the so-called “academic underachievers club”. He didn’t seem to have any intention of listening carefully.

Yang Yi had never attended school, but he was also not very interested in the situations of other children. So, while he was waiting for Teacher Mu to mention Xixi’s name with his ears pricked up, he continued to whisper with Lan Zhoukai.

“The internet can be divided into two parts. One is the traditional internet we use on computers, and the other is the mobile internet that has emerged in the past two years with the rise of smartphones. These two markets that have not yet been fully developed represent a potential value of trillions of yuan…” When it came to the internet, Yang Yi could talk about it more than real estate.

They hadn’t chatted for long when Teacher Mu turned her gaze toward Yang Yi. Yang Yi reacted quickly and immediately closed his mouth, showing his remarkable ability to conceal his actions.

“Today, I also want to talk about Yang Xi’s performance. Xixi is a very sensible child. She listens carefully in class and works hard to complete the tasks assigned by the teacher. Since the beginning of the school year, she has already received three big red flowers. Moreover, Xixi is also united with her classmates, loves the collective, and is always willing to share with her classmates, whether it’s food or her stories.”

Teacher Mu’s praise made Yang Yi feel a bit elated. He even straightened his chest, as if to highlight his identity as the father of the praised girl!

However, Teacher Mu didn’t intend to end it there. She also wanted to invite Yang Yi to come up: “Please, Yang Xi’s father, come up.”

Yang Yi walked up somewhat puzzled.

Teacher Mu smiled and said, “I mentioned earlier that Xixi’s willingness to share with her classmates has contributed to her generous, kind, and friendly personality. This is also closely related to the education she receives from her parents at home. Yang Xi’s father is a very good cook, and according to Xixi, both you and your wife often encourage Xixi to share with her friends, right?”

It seemed that he was being asked to share his experience. Yang Yi didn’t refuse and nodded, then said, “Xixi’s mother deserves more credit in this regard. Before coming to kindergarten, Xixi was a bit introverted. Her mother hoped that she could make more friends and also hope that she could be a generous and positive person, so she bought her two lunch boxes.”

“She is indeed a very open-minded mother, and of course, Yang Xi’s father also works very hard, preparing two lunches every day.”

“It’s not too bad, just buy a little more ingredient and it won’t take much extra time,” Yang Yi smiled.

“But Xixi usually likes to share some fairy tales with other children in kindergarten. Does Yang Xi’s father know?” Teacher Mu asked.

Yang Yi nodded and said, “That’s not my credit. I only found out about it later. But I think Xixi did a good job, so I encourage her to bravely tell stories to her friends. Whether or not she can tell the whole story doesn’t matter. Her mother and I both hope that Xixi can gain experience in this process and that her relationships with her other friends become closer. That’s what we are happy to see.”

“That’s very well said. I also hope that all the parents here will learn from Yang Xi’s father and encourage their children to do things within their capabilities. Don’t worry about how well the children do. What’s more important for us parents is to stimulate their enthusiasm and let them get some exercise in these small things!”

“Of course, the biggest reason I invited Yang Xi’s father up here is actually because of this book.” Teacher Mu suddenly smiled and took out “Xixi’s Bedtime Stories” from the bag next to the lectern, to Yang Yi’s surprised gaze.