Chapter 95 Their Fathers Came
"Song Shi-De, the chairman of Shunde Group of Haozhou, is here to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday! May you always remain youthful!"
"Lin Feng-Hua, the head of Huaxing Heavy Industries of Fenghai, is here to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday! I wish Madam Chu many happy returns of the day!"
"Shen Jiu-Yi, the head of the Shen family and chairman of Shen Group of Yunzhou, is here to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday! May you always enjoy good health!" Their reverent greetings reverberated through the courtyard.
When Shen Jiu-Yi and company walked into the courtyard, they immediately spotted Ye Fan, who was seated at a table and drinking his tea. Without another word, the trio hurried forward, all the while pushing aside all bystanders who were standing between them and their goal. Even a VIP like Lei Ao-Ting was pulled aside by Shen Jiu-Yi.
Finally, under the shocked stares of the guests, the three magnates bowed to Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng. And the sound of the trio's respectful greetings shook the guests to their core.
At first, Lei Ao-Ting and company had felt nothing but disdain when they heard Song Shi-De's and Lin Feng-Hua's names.
After all, the two businessmen were not very well-known, so Lei Ao-Ting and company had reckoned that they need not take the Song-Lin pair seriously.
But the young men's expression had changed when Shen Jiu-Yi's name was announced.
"How... How is it possible?"
"Why is Shen Jiu-Yi here?"
"He actually came forthat live-in son-in-law?"
Finally, Lei Ao-Ting was starting to take this seriously. And the mocking smile on his face was replaced by a frown.
Lei Ao-Ting was no stranger to Shen Jiu-Yi's name; he had even seen the latter a few times.
Once, he had followed his father to meet Master Li Er in Yunzhou. At that time, Shen Jiu-Yi had been standing right beside Master Li Er.
Shen Jiu-Yi's position in Yunzhou was probably only just below Li Er's and Xu Lei's.
"Whoa, what is going on?"
"Shen Jiu-Yi is really here in Jianghai?"
"He is here to support Ye Fan?"
"Damn! Awesome!"
"Could this live-in son-in-law be some kind of big shot?"
Everyone present was shocked.
Han Hai and the other Hans all had dumbfounded expressions, as they stood there in a daze.
Madam Han had been sitting in the hall, but she could still hear Shen Jiu-Yi's name being mentioned. Naturally, she was surprised and, right away, she yelled out to her son. "Han Hai! What is going on? Has the head of the Shen family, Shen Jiu-Yi, arrived?"
"He is a VIP guest!"
"Quick! He is here to celebrate my birthday. Quick, invite him into the hall. How could we let him sit in the courtyard?"
The old lady was in the throes of excitement. Her birthday banquet was turning out to be a truly eminent affair. Even a bigwig like Shen Jiu-Yi had come all the way from Yunzhou to celebrate her birthday. Madam Han felt rather flattered.
But Han Hai's eye twitched a little before he answered his mother. "Mom, let... let us observe the situation for a bit first. Perhaps he is not here for your birthday."
As he looked at the bigwigs who were celebrating Qiu Mu-Cheng's birthday, Han Hai could not help feeling perplexed.
What is going on?
Isn't today mom's birthday?
When did it turn into Mu-Cheng's birthday?
Meanwhile, Qiu Mu-Cheng was panicking and trying to return the presents Shen Jiu-Yi and the others had given her. "Mu-Cheng, accept them. Mr. Shen and the others just want to give you a little something," Ye Fan said nonchalantly.
And then he started serving tea to Shen Jiu-Yi and company. "Mr. Shen, Mr. Song. Please have a seat. This is thoughtful of you."
"Hahaha- Mr. Chu, you are standing on ceremony. It is our honor to be able to celebrate your wife's birthday for her. We have already heard stories about Miss Qiu's peerless beauty, and today we can see that the stories are true after all! Compared to her, the lady in the red dress over there is just an ugly duckling, no matter how much makeup she has on." Song Shi-De laughed heartily.
And Han Yu, who was the lady in the red dress, nearly had a stroke when she heard this.
"Hmph, what are you getting smug about?"
"What's the big deal about some unknown low-class businessmen?"
"My husband is still way better than them," Han Yu said disdainfully.
Han Yue and the others nodded in agreement. "That's right, that's right. Look at that lowlife acting like he's some bigshot. His guests are just some smalltime businessmen. They can't be compared with Wen- Xuan's guests."
"Take Hai-Sheng and Young Master Lei for example. Either of them can easily scare the bejesus out of those businessmen."
And Mo Wen-Xuan laughed mockingly.
"Okay. They are just a bunch of bumpkins sitting together. Why pay them any attention?"
"Mm, Wen-Xuan is right. What Shunde Group? I bet it is just some two-bit company. I have never heard of it before. And that Shen Jiu-Yi. Who knows if that is the real Shen Jiu-Yi?"
"Maybe he is a hired actor?"
Chen Hai-Sheng, Liu Zhao-Ran and the others erupted in mocking laughter.
"Yes! He must be a fake!"
"A hired actor!"
"We have never seen Shen Jiu-Yi before. That piece of trash knows this. So he hired an actor to impersonate Mr. Shen." Han Yue was burning with jealousy. She would never believe that a piece of trash like Ye Fan could get the support of a personage like Shen Jiu-Yi.
Just then, the roar of car engine drifted in from outside the house once again.
And very soon, several more people pushed open the door and entered the courtyard.
"Liu Qing-Cheng, the head of the Liu family of Nanquan, is here to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday. I wish you a very happy birthday-"
"Chen Qing-Quan, the chairman of Jiucheng Holdings of Jingzhou, is here to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday..."
"Liu Biao, the chairman of Donghua Industries of Jingzhou, is here to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday. May happiness always be with you~"
What?
The chairman of Jiucheng Holdings, Chen Qing-Quan?
"Hai-Sheng, he is your father?"
The chairman of Donghua Industries, Liu Biao?
"Zhao-Ran, he is your uncle?"
Damn-
Why have they come?
The Hans were once again shocked when they heard the names of the latest arrivals. Meanwhile, the onlookers who had gathered outside were staring at the scene inside the courtyard, their eyes bulging with envy.
What had happened to the Han family this year? Did Madam Han's grandson get promoted to become the city's mayor? Or perhaps, had Han Yue's son-in-law finally become the head of the Mo family?
What on earth was going on? The birthday well-wishers this year were on a much higher level than the guests who had come last year!
In the past, many guests had shown up to support Mo Wen-Xuan, but they were all just ne'er-do-well friends of his; wastrel sons of rich families who had no real power.
The guests who had just arrived, however, were not wastrel kids like Lei Ao-Ting or Chen Hai-Sheng. They were family heads and company chairmen; the people who held the reins of power.
Han Yu turned to her husband and asked shakily, "Wen-Xuan, did... did you invite Uncle Chen Qing-Quan?"
However, Mo Wen-Xuan was just as bewildered as his wife. His whole body was shaking as he replied, "I... I didn't invite him."
Mo Wen-Xuan knew his own limits. Given his current status, he was able to fool around with other rich kids like Chen Hai-Sheng. But he knew that the people who held real power would never pay him any attention.
So he most certainly did not have the guts to send personal invitations to those movers and shakers.
"Hai-Sheng, did you ask your father to come?" Mo Wen-Xuan turned around and asked his friend.
"No... No, I didn't." Chen Hai-Sheng was ready to burst into tears. His father had already told him not to associate with Mo Wen-Xuan. Today, Chen Hai-Sheng had sneaked out of the house in order to attend the birthday banquet, so there was no way he would bring his father with him.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhao-Ran was dumbstruck to see his uncle here.
Both Chen Hai-Sheng and Liu Zhao-Ran would never have thought that their father and uncle would show up at this banquet.
For whom had they come?
Madam Han?
Impossible. She was just an old woman who was ready to drop dead at any moment. If it were not for Mo Wen-Xuan's invitation, none of the Jingzhou princes would bother to show up.
As for Han Hai and his son...
That was even more unlikely. In the eyes of the elites, both father and son were good-for-nothings. Han Hai was just a worker and Han He was merely some low-level functionary.
What about Mo Wen-Xuan?
But Mo Wen-Xuan was just a nobody; the scion of a family of fallen nobles. He was able to get the support of the Jingzhou princes because they were his playmates, but it would be impossible for him to influence the real movers and shakers.