Chapter 432 Arriving One after Another
Zi Qiang felt that his brain was no longer working.
And so did Zi Qingtian and the other guests.
“What’s going on? What’s all this about?”
“Liang Li comes in person, but ignores Zi Qingtian! Instead, he greets Zi Qiang, who is in a low position???”
This made Zi Qingtian feel very embarra.s.sed, even Fang Huan’s face darkened.
After all the people sat down again, their conversation was much quieter, and they looked in the corner from time to time.
“Nice to meet you, Patriarch Liang.” Zi Peng and Dong Ling also greeted the Liangs.
They thought that Patriarch Liang would not pay attention to them, but the latter replied with a smile, “Nice to meet you. You are Zi Peng and Dong Ling, right? Just call me Brother Liang if it is convenient for you.”
“This…” When Zi Peng was about to say something in confusion.
Patriarch Liang looked at Zi Qiang again and whispered, “Brother Zi Qiang, Sister Xu, you really have a good daughter.”
Hearing this again, Zi Qiang was in a daze.
“Liang…” Zi Qiang wanted to call him Patriarch Liang but paused when he thought of what Patriarch Liang had just told him. In the end, he just asked the question, “What does this mean?”
“Huh? Don’t you know?” Patriarch Liang asked in surprise.
“What am I supposed to know?” Zi Qiang was more confused.
“Your daughter is married to a talent!” Patriarch Liang lowered his voice as if telling a secret. “Mr. Zhang, your daughter’s husband is a talent! He is amazing!”
“This…” Zi Qiang hesitated for a while then finally asked, “How do you know about my daughter?”
“I told him,” Liang Mengqi said with a grin. “I’ve been eating in the boss’s restaurant. The boss is Sister Zi Yan’s husband. At first, I fell in love with him.”
“Mengqi? What are you talking about?” Patriarch Liang was startled and gave the girl a quick stare.
“Hee hee.” Liang Mengqi was not afraid of it. She said with a smile, “Later, I found out that the boss was Sister Zi Yan’s. Uncle Zi and Aunt Xu, you can’t imagine how handsome and powerful the boss, no, Zi Yan’s husband is! And he is even good at cooking…”
The cheerful and lively Liang Mengqi spoke more and more happily, and her voice got louder and louder.
Fang Huan, who had been paying attention to them, vaguely heard “Zi Yan’s husband”.
This reminded her of the Liang family’s disregard for her just now, which made her more embarra.s.sed and angry.
“The family head is still sitting here! And I’m here, too. What do you Liangs mean by going to chat with a family member of low status?”
Therefore, when Fang Huan heard these words, her face darkened and she said, “I’m sorry, but Zi Yan of the Zi family has no so-called husband! According to the rules of the Zi family, she will be punished severely if she dares to get married without permission. It’s 10 minutes to 10! I’d like to see whether she obeys the rules or not!”
When her statement came to an end, Fang Huan was almost scolding Zi Yan!
This made the people who had been talking suddenly go silent.
Zi Qingtian’s face was expressionless, and his eyes flickered slightly after hearing the words, but he didn’t say anything.
“Although Fang Huan’s att.i.tude may embarra.s.s Patriarch Liang, their att.i.tude just now also embarra.s.sed me!”
He was still wondering why the Liangs wanted to talk with Zi Qiang.
And why Elder Liang treated them warmly.
“According to their chat just now, is it because of Zi Yan or her husband?
“No.”
Zi Qingtian thought that it was probably because of the good relations.h.i.+p between Liang Hao and Zi Yan, and the Liangs were here to support them.
After thinking about it, he felt that Fang Huan also knew this and dared to scold Zi Yan’s parents directly in front of the guests, so he didn’t have to say anything more.
Fang Huan’s words silenced many people on the scene, and they felt that she was deliberately targeting Zi Yan’s family.
Patriarch Liang frowned as if he wanted to say something, but he finally snorted and didn’t make any comments.
Liang Mengqi secretly rolled her eyes at Fang Huan, and then went over to Zi Qiang and Xu Xinyu and whispered, “Does she want to punish Sister Zi Yan? She is daydreaming. Uncle Zi Qiang and Aunt Xu, you can rest a.s.sured that Sister Zi Yan’s husband dotes on her very much. If anyone dares to bully her, the boss can dismantle this place. Hmph!”
“Huh?” Zi Qiang and Xu Xinyu exchange a confused look.
“What’s all this about?”
At the same time, the crowd at the bottom circular square were chatting while paying attention to the platform.
In the area where Zi Feng was located, one of the young generation of the Zi family was surprised to see this and asked, “Why did Elder Liang and the Liangs go to the last row to say h.e.l.lo?”
“What’s going on? Patriarch Liang is sitting behind Uncle Zi Qiang? It’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible!” Zi Feng suddenly said.
He looked into the distance with full expectation, looking forward to the day when the family rules were broken!
The prosperity of the family depended on if the capable people were given the opportunity and status to use their talents, rather than on the bloodline theory!
As a collateral offspring, Zi Feng had been conscientious, but could not get the recognition of the family. He had been suppressed for too long, and the att.i.tude of the Liang family undoubtedly gave him hope.
At that moment…
More than 10 people came from the square entrance, and everyone’s attention was attracted again.
“It’s the Zhao family. Do they come at the invitation of our family leader?”
The crowd began discussing.
Soon, they came to the platform. Like the Liang family, while most of them stayed in the square, only three of them went on the platform.
“Brother Qingtian, I heard that you had a party today, so I came here uninvited. Please forgive me.” Patriarch Zhao laughed.
“Eh? How come? It’s my pleasure.” Zi Qingtian got up to meet him, smiled, and said, “Brother Zhao, please come in!”
“Okay.”
The Zhaos were invited to sit down.
They had just talked for a while, and some really influential people came one after another.
“Qi Haoran, patriarch of the North District, arrives!”
“Mr. Liao of Haoguang Technology arrives!”
“Patriarch Bao of the South Island arrives!”
“…”
Most of these celebrities in Singapore were related to Zi Qingtian’s faction. They soon occupied all the seats around the Zi family head and began talking with a smile.
This made Fang Huan feel proud again, and she looked at the last row where Zi Qiang was located with disdain.
“Only Patriarch Liang is there!
“Haha!
“Only the Liang family is here to support you. Is that useful?”
Fang Huan almost showed a smile of victory ahead of time.
The 10 minutes pa.s.sed in a flash, and soon it was 10 o’clock in the morning.
At this time, Fang Huan glanced at the back and knew that almost all the members of her faction had arrived. Although there were many people from other factions, they were still fewer than Zi Qingtian’s followers in number.
“But… why doesn’t the Fan family arrive?
“We all agreed yesterday that it would start at 10 o’clock!”
Fang Huan and Zi Qingtian had some doubts.
Fang Huan wanted to wait a little longer, but she checked the time and found it was 10:02 a.m.
She never liked to wait for others!
Considering the strength and influence of the Fan family, she could bear it, but what about Zi Yan?
So she looked at Zi Qiang at once, frowned, and snapped, “Zi Qiang! Xu Xinyu! Come here!”
“Swish, swish, swis.h.!.+”
Everyone looked over and fixed their eyes on Zi Qiang.
Zi Qiang and Xu Xinyu hesitated for a while, then they got up and went over.
Many of the followers behind Zi Qingtian were looking at Zi Qiang meaningfully. The time was up, but the main character of the party hadn’t arrived yet. They knew they were going to see some fun!
“Zi Qiang, Xu Xinyu, what’s the matter with you? What time is it? Where is she? Shall we all wait for her here?” Fang Huan began scolding them.
“Do you know how to obey the rules? Are you too comfortable? I’ll tell you…”
Fang Huan’s words made Zi Qiang so angry that his expression changed several times in a short time.
Patriarch Liang, sitting next to Zi Qiang, frowned and was about to stand up.
Suddenly, a loud voice came from the square.
“Liu Qingfeng, chairman of the Liu Group of Hua nation, arrives.”
“Swis.h.!.+”
Under the crowd’s gaze, Liu Qingfeng, his male bodyguard, and secretary Xiao Ling strode onto the platform.
Although Liu Qingfeng didn’t have as many a.s.sets as the Zi family, he was a legendary businessman with a complex network of relations.h.i.+ps. With a strong backing, he could go further and had made greater achievements, which made no one dare look down on him.
Fang Huan gave up the reprimand and looked at the new guest suspiciously with Zi Qingtian.
“Why does Liu Qingfeng come?
“The Zi family has no business relations.h.i.+p with him.”
No matter how surprised he was, Zi Qingtian stood up to welcome Liu Qingfeng.
“Nice to meet you, Chairman Liu,” Zi Qingtian smiled, “welcome.”
“Nice to meet you, Patriarch Zi.” Liu Qingfeng smiled and nodded, looking at the people in the room with some doubts. When he had just entered through the gate, he felt something unusual here.
“Here, this way, please,” Zi Qing said politely.
Although Liu Qingfeng was not prominent in Singapore as a member of the top cla.s.s, his interpersonal network in Hua nation was amazing. For any overseas family, it would be easier for them to enter the Hua nation market if they could have a good relations.h.i.+p with Liu Qingfeng. Therefore, Liu Qingfeng’s position overseas was actually higher than that in Hua nation.
However, Liu Qingfeng did not move at the invitation of Zi Qingtian.
Zi Qingtian felt a little surprised. “Is he also…?”
When the thought just came into his mind, he heard Liu Qingfeng ask in a loud voice, “Who is brother Zi Qiang?”
“Swis.h.!.+”
Once again, the focus of everyone’s attention turned to Zi Qiang.
Liu Qingfeng fixed the crowd with a piercing stare.
“It seems that Zi Qiang’s position in the Zi family is not high, and someone even makes him a target of persecution.”
“Hahaha.” Liu Qingfeng chuckled, avoided Zi Qingtian, and walked to Zi Qiang’s side directly. He grasped Zi Qiang’s hand and said enthusiastically, “Brother Zi Qiang and Sister Xu, Qingfeng pays his regards to you.”
“? ? ?” Everyone was a little confused.
Especially Zi Qingtian, who was looking at that corner in a complicated mood with mixed feelings.
“What’s the matter? Can’t I be better than Zi Qiang?”
Liu Qingfeng’s greeting frightened Zi Qiang. He quickly nodded and replied, “You’re most welcome. Chairman Liu, this way, please.”
Zi Qiang led the way to the last row.
At this time, the head of the Liang family also sat back with a trace of irony in his eyes.
“The fun is going to start.
“Maybe Zi Qingtian’s faction will be destroyed because of these ridiculous family rules!”
Just as they were about to sit down, Fang Huan suddenly asked seriously, “Zi Qiang! I just said that your daughter didn’t obey the family rules. It seems that I haven’t finished my words nor asked you to go back. Why don’t you behave yourself?”
Zi Qiang stopped and looked at Fang Huan coldly.
“Do you think I’m easy to bully, since I’m scolded by you again and again in public?”
When he was about to refute angrily, Liu Qingfeng beside him replied to Fang Huang with a louder voice, “How could such a family event allow a woman to show off her power here? Who is not following the rules?”
The obvious sarcasm changed the expression of all the people present, especially those of Zi Qingtian’s faction.
Patriarch Liang almost burst out laughing.
“Liu Qingfeng is a straightforward person indeed!”
While Zi Qingtian had been embarra.s.sed to the extreme, Fang Huan stood up and said coldly with a darkened face, “This is the Zi family. How can you accuse me here? No one has invited you. If you don’t want to stay here, then leave!”
The instant she finished speaking, the atmosphere immediately became frosty.
“How can she say such unkind words on such an occasion? The Zi family and Liu Qingfeng may become enemies.”
However, Liu Qingfeng didn’t care about this kind of thing.
He looked Fang Huan up and down and said casually, “Who are you? You think I’m here because of you?”
He smiled sarcastically, looked at Zi Qiang again, and said with respectful expression, “Brother Zi Qiang, Sister Xu, please take a seat.”
“Okay, okay.” The dazed Zi Qiang and Xu Xinyu sat down.
“Zi Qiang! Come here!” Fang Huan shouted angrily.
“What do you want to ask? Come here by yourself! Do you have broken legs or are you too heavy?”
Liu Qingfeng glared at Fang Huan, and then said, “Brother Zi Qiang, don’t give in to that disgusting person. If you really can’t help it, why not come to my group as vice chairman? Brother, as long as you agree, I’ll draft the contract now.”
Liu Qingfeng’s words made everyone dizzy.
“What have I experienced in this period of time?
“What happened?”
Zi Qiang was totally muddled. Looking at Liu Qingfeng’s sincere face, he realized that if he agreed, Liu Qingfeng would make him the vice chairman.
“Chairman Liu, why do you do this…” Zi Qingtian couldn’t bear it anymore. He narrowed his eyes and said slowly, “Isn’t it impolite?”
“It’s not rude. I came here from Lin Hai to witness Mr. Zhang’s proposal. Brother Zi Qiang is Mr. Zhang’s father-in-law. How can you scold him?” Liu Qingfeng said frankly.
His words shocked everyone present.
“Mr. Zhang?
“Is Zi Yan’s husband influential?”
At this time, Zi Qingtian and Fang Huan also began to think about it.
“Brother Zi Qiang, I’m lucky to meet Mr. Zhang and glad to be his partner. So what I said just now was serious. If Brother Zi Qiang is interested in the position, how would you like to be the vice chairman of my group?” Liu Qingfeng’s looked at Zi Qiang with expectation.
Originally, Liu Qingfeng just wanted to show his kindness to Zi Qiang, but he hadn’t expected that Zi Qiang’s position in the Zi family was so low that he would even be scolded on the spot.
Liu Qingfeng’s eyes lit up.
“What a good opportunity!
“My chance has come. If Zi Qiang agrees to be the vice chairman, according to Mr. Zhang’s character, our Liu Group will surely make great progress and surpa.s.s ourselves!”
At this time, Fang Huan sneered, “Father-in-law? Liu Qingfeng, is it too soon for you to say that?
“If he wants to marry a woman from the Zi family, he must ask for our consent first! And the main purpose of today’s gathering is to discuss our marriage plan with the Fan family. Yesterday, we reached a consensus with the Fan family head, and this has been settled…”
At this time, the guests finally understood that all this was the same as what they had heard. Zi Yan had a boyfriend, but the Zi family refused to recognize him. Instead, they made a marriage agreement for Zi Yan with the Fan family.
This choice could be understood because the cooperation with the Fan family was the most suitable for the Zi family in their current condition.
However…
Fang Huan’s words were not finished when a stern reprimanding resounded throughout the square.
“Nonsense!”
Almost everyone looked in the direction of the voice.
Fang Huan’s expression froze after she saw clearly who the guest was.
The Fan family had arrived!
However, the reprimand just now came from the elder of Fan family, Fan Congfeng!
“Him…”
“Elder Fan arrives!”
There was a great uproar around them.
“He hasn’t appeared for a long time! I didn’t expect that this master would come here in person today!”
In the square, Zi Feng suddenly narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
“Fan Congfeng, the elder of the Fan family, is much higher than our elder in status. Why does he come in person? Who does he come for?”
What’s more, he knew that Fan Congfeng was a respected Wu Dao Grand Master!
Just when everyone was wondering…
Fan Congfeng took the lead to step onto the platform.
Apart from Fan Congfeng and Patriarch Fan, all the guests arriving from the Fan family stayed in the square.
What made Zi Qingtian puzzled was—
“Fan Zigang, the leader of the young generation of the Fan family is absent. Why does the elder of the Fan family come in person?”
Seeing Elder Fan coming up, Zi Qingtian controlled his puzzled expression and took the lead to welcome them with Fang Huan and the other members of his faction.
“Welcome, Mr. Fan. Please take your seat,” Zi Qingtian said respectfully.
“Take a seat?” Fan Congfeng glared at him, snorted coldly, and walked directly away from him to the side.
“Someone has snubbed Zi Qingtian again! Someone has walked to the right side again!”
Everyone’s eyes gradually became wide in astonishment.
“Is… he also going to Zi Qiang?”
“Sure enough!”
Just as they were thinking about it, they saw Fan Congfeng go over to Zi Qiang, smiling warmly and saying, “Zi Qiang, Xu Xinyu, you really have a good girl.”
“Don’t say that, Mr. Fan.” Xu Xinyu seemed to have guessed something, and her eyes lit up as she hurriedly replied.
“Hahaha, I’ll go to see Brother Jiangshan for a chat. You young people just chat here. I’ll be back to visit Mr. Zhang later,” Fan Congfeng said as left with a smile.
Everyone present was shocked with eyes wide open.
“Isn’t that what Elder Liang said when he just came here?”
“The Liang family, Liu Qingfeng, and the Fan family!”
“Hiss!”
Thinking about it, many guests and the Zi family members changed their expressions.
A second thought incurred profound fear.
Because they noticed that all these people mentioned a name: “Mr. Zhang!”
They had vaguely felt that it seemed… like the Zi family was going to welcome a giant!
“Is Zi Yan’s man particularly powerful?”
Zi Qingtian and Fang Huan were also in doubt at this time, and they even didn’t know what to say.
They could only sit awkwardly back in their chairs and keep quiet.
Everyone was looking at the corner on the right.
“Mr. Fan, please take a seat.” Zi Qiang smiled and made a respectful gesture.
“Please take your seat, too,” Patriarch Fan said repeatedly.
From the manner and att.i.tude of Patriarch Fan, it could be seen clearly that he defined his position to be under Zi Qiang’s!
Patriarch Fan looked around and said h.e.l.lo to Patriarch Liang, Liu Qingfeng, Zi Peng, and Dong Ling one by one.
In front of his seat, he looked at Zi Qingtian with a pale expression and said in a loud voice, “Before I sit down, I want to clarify something. Patriarch Zi, why do I hear the news from the Zi family that you want to marry Zi Yan to our Fan family? This is ridiculous! And totally out of the question! I hope you can make a good investigation and find out who is spreading rumors! Zi Yan is a talented and beautiful girl, and I hope you don’t listen to and spread rumors, or you will be the enemy of the whole Fan family!”
With that, Patriarch Fan sat down directly.
On the platform, there was silence.
Fang Huan’s face was gloomy, and she felt as if she had been slapped in public!
Others, however, felt a strong sense of suffocation.
“The enemy of the whole Fan family!”
“The implied meaning of the few words was so serious.”
“Who can be treated so respectfully like this by the Fan family?”
“Who is Mr. Zhang?”
At this moment, almost everyone present was acutely aware of the strong wind before the storm, which was sweeping through the whole Zi family, making them s.h.i.+ver.
In silence, everyone, including the younger generation of Fan family in the lower square, was focusing on Zi Qiang’s side.
Patriarch Liang, Elder Liang, Patriarch Fan, Elder Fan, and Liu Qingfeng were all standing at the top of society! They were much more powerful than the sum of all the followers behind Patriarch Zi!
It was really amazing!
Among them, Zi Feng, who had not been taken seriously all the time, was shaking in excitement and roaring inside, “The rules, the rules are going to be broken!”
Soon, Zi Qingtian saw the current situation clearly and knew that he was lower than Patriarch Fan in position after all. So he smiled reluctantly and said apologetically, “It’s just a rumor indeed. I’ll find out who spread it and give a reasonable explanation to Patriarch Fan.”
However, Patriarch Fan didn’t even pay attention to him, but began to talk with Zi Qiang and Xu Xinyu with a smile.
This made Zi Qingtian’s mouth twitch in anger, especially when looking at Zi Qiang.
“I’m the head of the Zi family! I’m a man who can decide the life and death of others!
“How is it that you, a low ranking person, can be treated so well? For what?”
At this time, the aged man sitting to Zi Qingtian’s left pondered.
As the elder of Zi Qingtian’s faction, he felt that he had to do something now, so he stood up, looked at Zi Qiang, and said with a smile, “Patriarch Fan, Patriarch Liang, and Chairman Liu, I’d like to ask you something. Could you please come over and have a talk?”
“Swis.h.!.+”
Everyone looked over and fixed their eyes on him.
“Is this about grabbing partners directly? But… all those people are not Zi Qiang’s partners!”
“No, it’s comfortable to sit there.” Liu Qingfeng refused without hesitation.
Patriarch Liang shook his head with a smile and said, “What’s the matter with you, Elder? I’ll call on you after today’s event.”
“I’m sorry, but I still have something to talk with brother Zi Qiang about,” Patriarch Fan said.
They all refused the invitation!
The three guests’ direct refusal triggered another round of discussion among all the people present.
Hearing the discussion, the elder of the Zi family who had just stood up sat back down.
Zi Qingtian and Fang Huan were too embarra.s.sed to stay any longer.
At that moment…
“Huang Yuan, Patriarch Huang, president of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, arrives!”
“Lu Xuan, Patriarch Lu, arrives!”
“Mr. Gu, chairman of the Dongsheng Group, arrives!”
“Mr. Bai of the Haoyong Group arrives!”
“Chairman Niu of the Fanyu Trading Company arrives!”
The expression of the crowd changed many times.
Under everyone’s gaze, five men walked to the platform surrounded by a large group of people. Then they left their followers behind and stepped onto the platform themselves.
However, the influence of each of them was no less than Zi Qingtian’s! They were real business giants. Under their leaders.h.i.+p, the chamber of commerce accounted for half of Singapore’s business.
“Today, the five of them came to the Zi family together???”
All the young people in the square were stunned!
It was amazing. Even those who followed them, but were not qualified to go to the platform, were actually in high position!
The people on the platform all stood up.
Zi Qingtian hesitated before taking a step.
He was worried that these big shots were here for Zi Qiang as well.
If that was the case, he would lose all the dignity of being the head of the family.
“Hiss…”
Zi Qingtian took a deep breath and stepped out to meet the guests…