Strongest Counterattack

It was true that the Lin family was an undoubtedly local tyrant in Ningbo. The allies, who were related to their interests, were everywhere. They and Third Master Wu had different connections. However, they each took what they needed. In addition, the close relative of the Lin family took the same path as Third Master Wu and was on good terms with him. When it came to the other side of Ningbo, Third Master Wu possessed unwavering influence. Consequently, the Lin family took the initiative to attend the birthday party.

However, the Lin family looked down upon Third Master Wu, more or less. Actually, they were not more powerful than Third Master Wu, they were just on different paths and that was all. That was also the reason why they had sent Lin Ze here rather than the elder. Take their close relative, Lin Songhao, as an example, he came here to celebrate the birthday of Third Master Wu on his own.

Lin Ze arrived here exactly on time. He had somewhat taken himself too seriously. After all, as for those who would attend, they already informed Third Master Wu in advance. Third Master Wu already knew who would be here and who would not. Since he had already reserved the seats for those who would show up, it did not matter at all whether they would arrive here early or late.

However, it did not occur to him that though he had arrived here exactly on time, he would run into Qin Sheng, the initiator, who made all the members of the Lin family feel pretty disturbed over the past half a year. Lin Ze brought along the housekeeper, who had put Qin Sheng down in the first place. He had been in the Lin family for his entire life. Ever since the era of the Old Master, he had been in the Lin family.

After getting out of the car, Lin Ze mumbled as he said, “I wonder why this old guy is still alive. Though he is on Putuo Mountain, he does not keep a low profile at all. Instead, he insists on making such a big scene. What the hell.”

Since nobody was around, Lin Ze was just making complaints randomly. Speaking of his cousin, who was his close relative, since he was on good terms with Third Master Wu, in addition to knowing how to get along with the members of his family, he achieved great success in Ningbo now. Many people started to make a comparison between him and his cousin. Of course, the result was self-evident. His cousin was an outstanding tycoon and he was just a scoundrel, who achieved nothing at all with his ancestors’ support.

Uncle Fu reminded him out of kindness as he said, “Lin Ze, be careful of your words here, in case the outsiders will hear what you have said.”

Lin Ze was just boasting. He knew how capable the trusted subordinates and the foster son of Third Master Wu were. If his words were really overheard by them, he probably would not know how he would end up. As a result, he smiled awkwardly as he said, “Uncle Fu, I know.”

At this moment, Qin Sheng and Yang Deng drove back to the hotel. Qin Sheng did not notice either Lin Ze or Uncle Fu. When he was about to get out of the car, Yang Deng, who was by his side, suddenly pointed outside the windows as he said, “Tsk-tsk. Qin Sheng, come and see who they are. Did I get it right?”

Through the glass, Qin Sheng looked at a short distance. He instantly recognized his brother-in-law, Lin Ze, and Uncle Fu, who had excellent fighting skills. He slightly changed the look on his face, squinted, and stared at Lin Ze attentively. However, he said nothing at all. Back when Yang Deng had given him such a warning yesterday, he had been fully prepared to meet them.

Yang Deng asked playfully, “Would you like to get out of the car to greet them?”

Qin Sheng came back to his senses, shook his head, and said, “It is not necessary. We certainly will meet each other later. It does not matter at all that if I don’t go to them at this time.”

Yang Deng smiled awkwardly and did not say anything further. It was not until Lin Ze and Uncle Fu entered the hotel that they got out of the car and walked into the hotel. This time, Yang Deng needed to go to the entrance in advance to greet the guests along with others. After all, he was Third Master Wu’s foster son. Qin Sheng and Gu Qingyang went back to their rooms first. They planned to go to the party after the time was up.

Though Third Master Wu did not intend to celebrate his 70th birthday in a high-profile manner, 10 tables of guests still showed up. Basically, those tycoons in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions all sent their own representatives here. Among them, some sent their brothers, sons, and nephews here, some showed up on their own, and some others sent the principals of their companies here, and so on. While some just sent their underlings here to present the gifts due to their own identities.

Third Master Wu sat in the VIP room in the rear, where sat several very close friends of his. Though they might possess ordinary identities, they were the closest to Third Master Wu. As for the group of people, including Yang Deng and Luo Changgong, since they were the hosts, they all stood at the entrance of the banquet hall, greeting the guests. They knew these guests, more or less. After greeting these guests and exchanging pleasant remarks with them, they guided them into the banquet hall.

As the guests came and went in a continuous stream, the scene was pretty lively, which acted as an affirmation for all that Third Master Wu had done for his entire life, indicating the people all respected his social status.

It was not until Qin Sheng felt the time was almost up that he carried the birthday gifts and went to the banquet hall. Gu Qingyang stayed in his room and rested himself. He certainly could not enter such an occasion. Actually, Third Master Wu had also arranged a birthday dinner for those entourages in another banquet hall, which was next to the main one. However, since Gu Qingyang did not like this kind of lively scene, he did not go there.

When Qin Sheng showed up at the entrance of the banquet hall, Yang Deng and Luo Changgong directly walked over to him. Luo Changgong said in a polite manner, “Qin Sheng, you are here.”

Yang Deng only smiled gently at Qin Sheng. After all, they could not be too familiar with each other.

Yang Deng took the initiative to introduce Qin Sheng to a man by his side, who was dressed in Western-style clothes and leather shoes. He said, “Brother, this is Qin Sheng, whom I have mentioned to you.”

The man was taller than Yang Deng by half a head, who looked pretty handsome and good-looking. He looked a bit like he was biracial. He wore a fashionable haircut. It was estimated that he had used a lot of wax in his hair. The look in his eyes was quite proud. He did not look as amiable as Yang Deng.

Qin Sheng could tell from the way Yang Deng talked that this man had to be Third Master Wu’s other foster son, who was much more amazing than Yang Deng. Currently, he was in charge of Third Master Wu’s business in Shanghai.

The man only smiled, nodded and said, “Welcome.”

Qin Sheng also smiled politely and did not make much more conversation with him. After all, there were other guests behind him. Everybody was busy doing their chores. Yang Deng took Qin Sheng into the banquet hall.

Yang Deng said casually, “He is my brother, Wu Yongchuan. He always stays in Shanghai. Since there are so many people today, you can meet each other another day.”

Qin Sheng said in a low voice, “Thanks.”

Yang Deng arranged for Qin Sheng to sit at a table, which was on the side and in a different direction from the one where the Lin family sat. If Lin Ze paid attention to what had happened at the entrance all the time, he certainly would have noticed Qin Sheng. However, Lin Ze only focused on chatting with a beauty who sat at the same table as him. He did not pay attention to the surroundings at all.

However, the brother and sister of the Dugu family saw Qin Sheng. They were arranged to sit at a table that was by the side of the main table. It could be easily seen how highly Third Master Wu thought of the Dugu family. Speaking of the arrangement of the seats, it was related to people’s social status. The seats could not be taken randomly by anybody. As for Qin Sheng’s seat, he got it due to Yang Deng’s influence.

Feeling pretty angry, Qingyu asked, “Brother, who on earth is this Qin Sheng? Wherever we go, we will run into him. How come?”

Qingning asked her on purpose, “Could it be that you have fallen in love with him? Though I don’t know too much about him, I do know some general knowledge about him. He is young and talented, more or less. If you do like him, I can act as a go-between for you. Anyway, speaking of your future husband, as long as you like him, our parents don’t have any requirements.”

“Dugu Qingning, are you kidding me? Did you say I like him? “Why don’t you directly ask me to jump into the Huangpu River!” Qingyu snorted as she said.

Qingning found it funny and said, “If you don’t like him, why do you pay attention to him closely?”

“All right. I won’t bother to argue with you. I will keep my mouth shut. Is that OK?” Qingyu turned her head away and focused on playing with her mobile. She did not talk any bullsh*t anymore.

At 12 o’clock, the guests who were supposed to be here were all on the scene. The Old Monk also sent some people over on his behalf, who were Qin Sheng’s acquaintance, Yuan Ke, and his grandson, Qu Huanxi. Yuan Ke and Qu Huanxi were close to each other. Obviously, they were on good terms. Apparently, Yuan Ke was good at flattering this young master and he had served him quite well. They did not notice Qin Sheng at all. They sat at the same table as the Dugu family.

It seemed the brother and sister of the Dugu family did not like Qu Huanxi at all. Acting in a proper manner, Qingning talked and chatted with both Yuan Ke and Qu Huanxi in a perfunctory manner. However, Qingyu directly turned her head away and did not even bother to greet them. Though Qu Huanxi tried to talk to her several times, Qingyu directly ignored him. Of course, she had known Qu Huanxi for a long time and knew who he was. Qu Huanxi did not know how to deal with her. If he were facing another woman, he probably would have made her submit herself to him early or he could pick her up with tricks. However, he dared not to do so with a woman from the Dugu family, unless he was fearless and brave. But if he did so, he probably would be directly beaten to the death by the Old Master.

There were 10 people sitting at the same table as Qin Sheng. On his left was the president of a company. On his right was a royal sister, who took the initiative to chat with Qin Sheng. Since Qin Sheng was idle and had nothing to do, he also teased with her.

At this moment, after a piece of comfortable music was over, the host of the birthday party also showed up, who was a host from Zhejiang TV. After all, everybody needed to respect Third Master Wu. He knew this kind of occasion quite well and started the relative procedures step by step.

At first, he conducted an opening remark to liven up the atmosphere. When the atmosphere reached its climax, the host yelled out loud with excitement, “In this case, let’s welcome the Star of Longevity tonight, Old Master Wu, with warm applause!”

The audience burst into thunderous applause. All the guests stood up.

The door to the VIP room was pushed open. Old Master Wu, who was dressed in a traditional Chinese costume, supported himself with a stick. Surrounded by his two foster sons, each successor, along with his trusted subordinates, he walked into the banquet hall slowly. The host came forward to him in a hurry.

Old Master Wu wore a smile on his face. Apparently, he was in quite a good mental state and condition. Supported by others, he sat on a rosewood chair located in the middle of the stage. The others all stood by his side. There were several waitresses behind him, who were dressed in cheongsams.

Smiling happily, the host greeted the Old Master. After chatting randomly for a while, he gave the microphone to Old Master Wu. Looking at all the guests on the scene, Old Master Wu smiled as he said, “Thanks so much for your presence today. Everyone, sit down now.”

This was the first time that Qin Sheng had seen Third Master Wu, who looked almost the same as the ordinary elders. His face was covered with wrinkles and ravines. There were also quite a lot of age pigments on his face. Shaving his head early, he wore a long beard, looking somewhat like a master living in seclusion. For those who didn’t know him, they would take him as the Old Monk rather than the Third Master Wu. For those who had seen the Old Monk, they would think the Old Monk and Third Master Wu had traded their identities.

“I have lived my 70 years in vain. Originally, I did not intend to make such a big scene. However, these children insisted on holding such a birthday party for me. I knew they were doing it out of their respect for me, so I did not refuse this suggestion. I know I have troubled you a lot. I don’t have many words to say. Whether you are a new friend or an old one, kindly forgive me if there’s anything wrong with hospitality. Everybody should enjoy yourselves, and that’s all.” Though Third Master Wu had not liked this kind of scene before, he attended this here today as a mere formality. But if he did not say anything at all, all the people on the scene certainly would feel uncomfortable.

Everybody on the scene applauded again. The host went on with the remaining procedure.

Speaking of the remaining procedure, it was a birthday celebration, which was also the highlight today.

Of course, Third Master Wu’s two foster sons, his various successors, and his trusted subordinates should be the first to present their gifts. The guests on the scene today should be next. Of course, some guests had already directly handed over their gifts to the outside ushers. Probably they did it because their gifts could not be brought to the table or they preferred to keep a low profile, while some other guests intended to stun everybody on the scene or impress Third Master Wu with their birthday gift, which they had carefully prepared.

Of course, Qin Sheng was also one of the latter…