Numerous luxury cars could be seen parked outside Haiyuan Pavilion, the most opulent restaurant in the whole of Yunzhou city.
Those who could afford to dine here were either rich businessmen or government officials, the elites of Yunzhou city. If a family could have their wedding banquet at this restaurant, that would be an event worth boasting about.-
And so, Chu Wen-Fei arranged for the engagement banquet to be held at this very restaurant. Three private rooms were booked for this occasion.
"Wow, Ying-Ying's fiance is such a remarkable man!"
"Not just anyone can throw a banquet at Haiyuan Pavilion." The Qiu family members were full of praise for this feat.
Qiu Mu-Ying raised her chin proudly as her heart brimmed over with satisfaction. Her mother too was all smiles, but she put on a show of humility and downplayed her son-in-law's achievements.
Soon, the guests reached the entrance of Haiyuan Pavilion.
At this moment, a handsome young man in black tuxedo hurried over to the car with Qiu Mu-Ying onboard and opened the door with a smile. "Mom, dad and Ying-Ying. You've arrived. I've been waiting for you. Are you satisfied with this arrangement?"
"Satisfied. We're very satisfied. Wen-Fei, you are so considerate." The more Wang Qiao-Yu looked at her son-in-law, the more she liked him.
Chu Wen-Fei's family did not produce scholars and government officials like Jiang Yang's, but they had money.
These days, if you had money you could accomplish a lot of things. And Chu Wen-Fei's family was involved in real estate. Everyone knew the real estate industry was a money-maker. A decent project could earn you billions. That's more money than what the Qiu family could make.
"That young man, he looks sharp.”
"They are a good match with each other. This Qiao-Yu found herself a good son-in-law!"
Another round of praise came from the gathered relatives.
Only Qiu Mu-Cheng and her family refrained from participating, as they were dealing with their own negative emotions.
"Uncles and aunties, please don't just stand around. Let's move inside." Chu Wen-Fei has started ushering his guests into the restaurant.
But, at this moment, someone hurried over to Chu Wen-Fei and said: "Young Master Chu, it's terrible. Something has gone wrong. The receptionist just told me they do not have enough private rooms. They told us to move to another restaurant or come another day."
"What? They have the guts to tell me to change the date of my engagement banquet?" When Chu Wen-Fei heard this, he flew into a rage.
This turn of events caused misgiving to spread among the guests. Wang Qiao-Yu asked worriedly: "Wen-Fei, is there a problem?"
Chu Wen-Fei waved his hand dismissively. "Mom, it's not a big deal. I can handle this. Everyone, please follow me inside."
But just as expected, the Qiu family was stopped at the front desk. The receptionist informed them that they didn't have any private room available and asked them to move to another restaurant.
"Screw you!"
"I want my private room and I want it now."
"Where's your manager? Let me see your manager. I am Chu Wen-Fei and this is my engagement banquet. Let's see if he has the guts to embarrass me?" Chu Wen-Fei's hollered angrily. The receptionist was so frightened by the outburst that he scurried away to find the manager.
A few minutes later.
The receptionist returned and led the guests to a private room.
"Wow, Wen-Fei. You're good!"
"They had no choice but to agree to your demands."
"Qiao-Yu, this son-in-law of yours has a bright future ahead!"
"Ying-Ying is going to be a rich madam in future and enjoy the good life."
The guests let loose another torrent of praise. Wang Qiao-Yu and her family were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling. Driven by the mood, Qiu Mu-Ying hugged her fiance's arm, a blissful smile plastered on her face, and said shyly, "Darling, you're great." The crowd laughed joyously at this public display of affection.
Chu Wen-Fei waved his hand dismissively. "Everyone, it's not a big deal. Not worth mentioning. And the restaurant manager used to be my father's driver. He has to respect my father. So the one who's great is my father. Not me. I am just a fresh
university graduate."
This pretension of humility earned him full marks from the crowd.
And yet another round of praise.
"Humble and not proud. He's destined for great things."
"Ying-Ying, you've found yourself a good man!"
"It's the Qiu family's good fortune to have a son-in-law like him!"
The last line was said by the head of the Qiu family, who was seated at the seat of honor. This evaluation made Chu Wen-Fei swell with pride. Qiu Mu-Ying and her family also basked in the reflected glory.
Humans are competitive creatures and, naturally, Master Qiu's favoritism made his youngest son's family unhappy.
"Dad, come on, our Jiang Yang is not bad as well. When our company ran into difficulties, his family helped us out a number of times. Without Jiang Yang, the Qiu family would not be where we are today." Ma Ling, the wife of Master Qiu's youngest son, was quick to point out.
Master Qiu laughed. "That's right. Ling is correct. Although our family is welcoming in the new today, we must not forget the old. I've liked Jiang Yang since I first saw him. After he completes his postgraduate studies, whether he chooses to go into politics or business, his achievements will not be lesser than his father's. Our Hong-Hong has also found herself the right man She has not embarrassed our family."
"Anyway, our Qiu family has four young ladies. Except for my second son's daughter who is still in school, the other three have found their life partners. And I am pleased with my sons-in-laws. Except for a certain someone.”
As the family head gave his speech at the dinner table, the fourth and fifth Qiu brothers basked in the reflected glory. Qiu Mu-Cheng's family, however, could only bow their heads in silence, while praying that nobody would notice them.
At this moment, outside the private room, the restaurant's general manager was waiting for a call. When his phone rang, he saw the caller's ID and broke into a smile. Then he answered the call in a servile tone. "Master, we've prepared everything. We've been keeping the presidential ready."
"Now, we're just waiting for the arrival of the VIP."
"What? The other guests have to leave as well?"
"That's no good. The guests here are all VIPs...” Without waiting for the general manager to finish speaking, the party on the other end of the line cut in with a stream of scolding.
"I'm warning you. The person coming today is a very big shot. If anything goes wrong, you will not be losing just your job, but your life as well!"
A guttural snarl came from the other end of the line and then the call ended, leaving behind the dull du-du of the disconnect tone.
The restaurant's general manager stayed rooted to the spot, his face pale and covered with cold sweat.
"A... very big shot?"
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