“Lord Wei, what’s the meaning of this?”
Chen Zhenxin managed to ask.
Lord Wei didn’t pay any attention to him, instead, he looked to Chen Gexin and his wife knowingly. Then he exclaimed: “You two have such an outstanding son! In time, he will achieve unprecedented greatness.”
When Zhen Jiulin and Xu Ao told him the same thing, Chen Gexin didn’t take their words seriously.
However, after they heard them again from Elderly Man Wei, they had to come to terms with reality.
“Did my son really achieve some great deeds unbeknownst to me? So much so that even the Elderly Man Wei thought he was praiseworthy?”
Chen Gexin finally conceded that he had to re-evaluate his son. It occurred to him that his son had suddenly risen to power in these short six months.
“Lord Wei, why didn’t you tell us that you would be here?”
Chen Huaian walked over to Elderly Man Wei and asked with a welcoming smile.
It was evident to him that Chen Zhenxin could no longer handle the situation, and it was his time to shine.
“Ah-Ha! It’s young brother Chen!” Elderly Man Wei nodded slightly.
He was older and more respectable than Chen Huaian; to call him a young brother was an extremely polite thing from someone so influential.
Lo and behold, Chen Huaian was startled by the Elderly Man Wei’s friendly gesture. He shot a hot glance at Chen Zhenxin and hurried to bow before Elderly Man Wei. “Lord Wei, please join us at the main hall. ”
“There is no need. I am here to apologize to Mr. Chen and I will leave as soon as I share a couple more cups of tea with him.”
Elderly Man Wei shook his head and said.
Chen Huaian gave his grandson a long look and then nodded. “Very well, I will accompany you two as well.”
Seeing Chen Huaian sit down beside Elderly Man Wei in the courtyard, everyone filed out of the main hall to join him.
Chen Ning and Chen An stood up from their seats as soon as they noticed that even Wei Zifang had stood behind Elderly Man Wei. By then, there were only An Ya, Elderly Man Wei and Chen Huaian sitting at the table with Chen Fan.
Chen Fan dragged his parents to the seats beside him. The couple looked at their son as many strong yet contradicting emotions roiled inside of them: surprise, confusion, and shock. However, doubt was not among those emotions.
“Second Auntie, this is Wei Zifang right here.”
Chen Fan pointed to Wei Zifang and said. “Why don’t you ask him if he had given your son the cold shoulder because of me?”
“No… of course, not… ” Second Auntie answered with a fake smile.
Of course, she would not ask Elderly Man Wei’s grandson: the son of ChairMan Wei.
“Great Uncle. I asked you earlier why should I apologize since it was you who wanted to befriend Wei Zifang. Do you remember that?
“If so, can you answer that question please?”
Chen Fan looked right into Chen Zhenxin’s eyes.
Everyone watched as Chen Zhenxin’s face turned pale and embarrassment crawled into every hard wrinkle. After a few moments, he finally swallowed down his pride and answered: “Yes. It was my fault. I apologize.”
Chen Zhenxin was a proud person and it was about as bad as killing him to make him apologize to a youngster.
Chen An lowered his head and clenched his fists, He felt Chen Fan might as well have ruined the rest of his life.
The embarrassment didn’t make Chen Fan even consider going soft on them.
When Chen Zhenxin chided his father for his lack of resourcefulness, he never thought about his younger brother’s feelings?
When Chen Fan finally stopped talking, Elderly Man Wei spoke up: “Young Brother Chen, you have eyes, but how could you fail to see the true dragon right before you? ”
Chen Huaian could no longer hold back his curiosity, so he asked: “Why do you say so, brother? Would you please shed some light on the situation? Since when was my household become worthy of the Wei family’s attention?”
“Hum…” Words suddenly caught in Elderly Man Wei throat as he hesitated.
Chen Fan’s cover had not been fully blown yet, and Elderly Man Wei would not want to become the one to do that in public. In addition, Chen Fan’s attainment was already so great that it might not be easily taken in by ordinary people such as his family. He was not only a Transcendent Master but also going to be the Head Sergeant of the Cang Dragon Unit if he wished.
Chen Fan’s family knew nothing about martial arts and would know nothing about Transcendent Masters. The Head Sergeant of the Cang Dragon was also a top secret, and therefore, the old man decided to keep his words unspoken.
Seeing Elderly Man Wei hesitated, doubt and questions started to sprout in everyone’s minds.
Many members of the Chen family wondered if Elderly Man Wei vied to use Chen Fan’s connection with his mother’s side of the family to establish a connection with the mighty family of Wang.
Even as Elderly Man Wei continued his pause, a wave of commotion drifted into the courtyard.
“What’s the ruckus about?”
Chen Huaian asked annoyingly.
Everyone watched as a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses stormed into the courtyard and announced hastily:
“Chen Zhenxin, Qin Hua is going to arrive soon, come out and receive him.”
“Secretary Zhang?”
Chen Zhenxin was taken aback when he saw the visitor, it was the administrative assistant of his boss.
That meant Chen Zhenxin’s boss was here as well! The thought gave Chen Huaian a rush of elation. He turned to his father and said: “Dad, my supervisor is here. I will greet him right now.”
Without waiting for a reply, Chen Zhenxin rushed toward the entrance and was through the gate in a blink.
Chen Huaian’s face tightened slightly as the development took him by surprise. “Qin Hua is here too?”
“What? Qin Hua is Chen Zhenxin’s boss?”
“What is he doing here?”
“I heard that Qin Hua used to be Elderly Man Chen’s subordinate. I wager he is here to visit the old man for old time sake.”
The crowd boiled over.
Compared to Elderly Man Wei, whose influence seemed distant and insubstantial in the Jin City, Qin Hua’s clout could be felt everywhere in the Jin City. Everyone in Jin City had heard of his name.
Therefore, nearly everyone, host and the guests alike hurried to the entrance to greet the honorable guest.
Although Elderly Man Wei was not any less influential than Qin Hua, he had already retired. Meanwhile, not only did Qin Hua have a more immediate impact on the Chen family, but it had also been difficult to get an audience with him of late. The Chen family could not pass up the opportunity of leaving a good impression during his rare visit.
Walking among the large crowd, a red face stately-looking man strode into the courtyard.
“Mr. Chen. I am here to see you.”
He took a few large strides and closed in onto Chen Huaian and pumped his hand vigorously. A couple of journalists hurried to snatch a few photos.
Secretary Zhang stood at the side and explained: “We were on our way to Din Hu district to attend to some business, and we suddenly thought of coming to visit Lord Chen by taking a slight detour.”
“Thank you for still remembering me. I really appreciate it!”
Chen Huaian said proudly. Although Qin Hua used to be his subordinate, his was a higher rank officer in the government while Chen Huaian was just a retired public servant. His old subordinates thoughtful visit warmed his heart.
“Haha. Every time I see Zhenxin right beside me, I think of you, old boss.” Qin Hua laughed out loud.
Chen Zhenxin stood respectfully beside Qin Hua and let pride crawl onto his face.
Then, Qin Hua pretended that he had just noticed Elderly Man Wei as he exclaimed: “Lord Wei is here as well! Ha! looks like our detour was worthwhile.”
Thanks to his title in the government, Qin Hua was more powerful than most tycoons in the province and so was his influence. Therefore, even though he stood before the mighty Elderly Man Wei, he was unfazed by the powerful presence.
Elderly Man Wei nodded in reply.
Seeing Elderly Man Wei’s distant attitude, Qin Hua quickly switched his attention elsewhere.
“Boss, allow me to introduce you to my son, Chen An. He just got a promotion.” Chen Zhenxin hurried to announce.
“What a strapping young lad!” Qin Hua patted Chen An’s shoulder. “Keep at it, maybe you can come help me out one day.”
“Yes, Uncle Qin.”
Qin Hua’s words breathed new life into Chen An. The boy held his chin up as confidence surged inside of him.
“Xiao Qin. This is my grandson Chen Fan.” Chen Huaian put in.
“Oh? What does your grandson do?”
Seeing Chen Fan sat still in his chair and didn’t even spare him a glace, displeasure flickered in his eyes.
“My nephew is still in high school, and his father works at Chu Zhou City and Si Shui County.” Chen Zhenxin answered.
“I see.”
Qin Hua nodded perfunctorily.
Chen Zhenxin then diverted the topic from Chen Fan to other family members. Qin Hua didn’t remove his aloof mask until he was introduced to Chen Zhenxin and his son.
Chen Huaian heaved a sigh in his mind. It was evident that his old subordinate wasn’t a big fan of Chen Fan.
The attention that Qin Hua had garnered didn’t sit well with Xu Ao and other tycoons of Jiang Bei, however, they didn’t protest. After all, Qin Hua was the top dog in the Jin City, and they were all on his turf. They conceded that even if Tang Yuanqin arrived here personally, he would have to show some respect to Qin Hua.
“Chen Fan, now you will finally understand why the Chen family can only rely on me and my father.”
Seeing Qin Hua had become the center of everyone’s attention, Chen An gave Chen Fan a glance that was filled with contempt.
“You have the support of the Wei family, but so what? The Wei family does not control the Jin City.”
Wei Zifang’s face was riddled with embarrassment. However, he was of the younger generation, and therefore he didn’t speak a word. Chen Fan sat still in his chair nonchalantly. It was as if he had mentally removed himself from what’s happening around him.
Meanwhile, at the top of the hill near the entrance of the Chen village…
Seeing fewer and fewer guests had arrived, the kids went home, except for one. The little boy sat beside Old Bone Chen and looked down at the highway.
“Old Bone Chen, did you really used to be the chauffeur for the richest man?”
The kid asked while chewing a piece of gum.
“Of course! He is the richest man and he owns many public firms.” Old Bone Chen glared at the kid. “You would never imagine how respectful people were when they spoke to me. Even the lesser tycoons would call me Brother Chen and I would reply back as their equals.
“That old man who had just gone in was of ordinary wealth. Back then, I wouldn’t even look at him if I saw him on the street.”
Old Bone Chen lamented.
The child didn’t buy his story. “You are lying again. My dad said you are just an ordinary driver. And you got fired by an ordinary businessman.”
“Bull crap! Don’t let me see your father, I will give him a knuckle sandwich for saying that!”
Old Bone Chen wagged his fist in the air, pretending he was going to hit the child.
The boy ran away with a string of laughter. He ran to the lookout spot and looked down. Suddenly, he shouted.
“Old Bone Chen, there is a strange car coming.”
“There are so many people in it!”
“Wait! The license plate is a string of 0. Who is this person?”
The boy asked curiously.
Suddenly, he heard a thud.
The boy looked back and noticed that Old Bone Chen’s had dropped his tobacco pipe and his shaking body was frozen in place. The old man murmured in trembling voice:
“The… the real top dog has finally arrived!”