Chapter 231 - An Presumptuous Request
Chapter 231 An Presumptuous Request
Most of the so-called bigwigs liked to put on airs. As those who seemingly kept low profiles, were actually proud and aloof in their hearts and souls, and maintained their distance from the ordinary people, all the time. Gongsun was used to this kind of situation, so he knew that if Master Liu was really not at home, the doormen would not have asked whether they had an appointment or not. Consequently, he identified himself, and waited for the doorman’s feedback.
Master Liu was having his dinner, which comprised of fruits and vegetarian dishes. Actually, Master Liu did eat meat; however, for the sake of his health, he was on a light and regular diet. After he finished dinner, he would take a stroll in the tea garden of Meijiawu, first. Following that, he would return, read for a while, and then rest.
When he had just put down his chopsticks, the doorman ran in hurriedly and said, “Old Master, some visitors are at the entrance now. They are requesting to see you.”
Master Liu frowned slightly. Obviously, ordinary people would not be able to find this place. If they were his acquaintances, they would usually make an appointment first, and notify him in advance. In that case, the visitors must be strangers. Consequently, Master Liu inquired, “Who are they?”
“They identified themselves as the descendants of the Qin family,” the doorman answered truthfully, in a respectful manner.
When he heard this, Master Liu was taken aback for a moment. Subconsciously, he already knew who the distinguished guest was. The one who identified himself as the descendant of the Qin family, was definitely not Qin Sheng. Moreover, Qin Sheng had just left. If so, there was only one possibility left, namely, the descendant of the Qin family was actually the one mentioned by the Eldest Master of the Chen family.
When he thought of this, Master Liu stood up hurriedly and said, “Show the distinguished guest in quickly. I will be waiting in the living room.”
Firstly, it did not occur to Master Liu that the descendant of the Qin family, whom the Eldest Master of the Chen family had mentioned, had flown to Hangzhou directly, which just showed how important Qin Sheng was. Secondly, he was quite excited because he might discover the meaning of the four Oracle bone scripts this time. It was Master Liu’s opinionated belief that the four Oracle bone scripts contained a profound meaning.
At the entrance of the villa, a doorman was standing guard. Qin Changan was still sitting in the car, and had not stepped out yet. Gongsun stood beside the car window and said in a low voice, “This old man is pretty well-known in Yangtze River Delta; however, he is filled with too much worldliness; the ones getting along with him come from all sorts of walks of life, and are complicated and diversified.”
“Speaking of the people who are good in mingling, they are common in every city. Gongsun, since you have been in Sijiu City for a very long time, I advise you not to make light of the masters in other places. Otherwise, you would suffer losses, sooner or later. Though people in Sijiu City have big ideas, sometimes, people who think big are just another kind of “frogs in the well” in a sense,” Qin Changan said, educating him, in a mild way.
Gongsun nodded hurriedly and said, “Master, I will keep what you just said, in mind.”
At this time, the doorman who had left to inform his master, came out. He hurried to Gongsun in big strides and said, “Sorry for keeping you waiting, my distinguished guest. Master Liu is waiting for you.”
“I am not a distinguished guest. It is actually this person,” Gongsun said. He swore secretly, “This Master Liu had just said he was not at home, right? When my Master visited the ones from those distinguished families in Sijiu City, none of them dared to say they were not available. As an ordinary old man in Hangzhou, who is not prestigious at all, you actually dare to put on airs.”
Gongsun opened the car door hurriedly. Getting out slowly from the car, Qin Changan lifted his head and looked around at the surrounding scenery. The grasses and trees were all green and lush, and there were vast mountains, where the tea trees grew. No wonder, Hangzhou was known for its half mountains and half lakes, and was favored by so many people.
Following the doorman, Qin Changan and Gongsun traversed a narrow path through a long corridor. Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the villa’s main hall. Sighing, Gongsun said, “This old man does know how to enjoy himself; this place is indeed nice.”
Qin Changan did not say anything at all. He stepped over the threshold and walked into the main hall. He had already noticed the old man sitting at the position of honor. This must be the Master Liu, whom Chen Luohe had mentioned earlier.
Master Liu stood up and greeted him. Smiling happily, he said, “As the saying goes, it is always a pleasure to greet a friend from afar. So sorry that we have slighted you, distinguished guests. Kindly forgive us. Let’s drink some tea now.”
Since Master Liu was very polite, Qin Changan also replied respectfully, “Since we are here without your permission, we hope you don’t take it to heart, Master Liu.”
“Since you are the descendant of the Old Master Qin, I will not blame you. Even if you were not here on your own, I might call on you in Sijiu City, after a while.” Since they were both sneaky old foxes who were pretty experienced in this world, the more polite they were to each other, the more prudent and cautious they became.
Qin Changan chuckled. “Master Liu, you are so polite. I am just a secular businessman and I am not a distinguished guest at all, compared to you, whose reputation is well-known all over the south region of the Yangtze River.”
After they were done with exchanging greetings, Master Liu stretched his hands out and said, “Have a seat.”
The host and the guest both took their seats. Gongsun stood by the side of Qin Changan, and the doorman sent the best Longjing tea over.
Master Liu eyed Qin Changan discreetly, keeping his countenance bland. Judging by the man’s aura, Master Liu could tell that he was not ordinary at all. Since he was not connected with the circles in Sijiu City, consequently, he did not know how famous Qin Changan was.
“I still don’t know who you are, my distinguished guest,” Master Liu asked his guest, as this was what he was concerned about.
Qin Changan replied in a deep voice, “Qin Changan from the Qin family.”
“What is your relationship with Old Master Qin?” Master Liu asked eagerly. He seemed to be impressed with this name, but he could not remember where he had heard it before.
Qin Changan replied determinedly, “He is my father.”
When he heard his reply, Master Liu was instantly dumbfounded. It did not occur to him that Qin Changan would answer so straight-forwardly. He questioned him closely and subconsciously, “Then do you know Qin Sheng?’
“He is my son,” Qin Changan replied.
Since Qin Changan was so straightforward, consequently, Master Liu was a bit at a loss. Gazing at Qin Changan, Master Liu didn’t know what he should ask next. The atmosphere became a bit embarrassing, all of a sudden.
“Did the Eldest Master of the Chen family ask you to contact me?” Master Liu asked, thoughtfully; however, it seemed that the Eldest Master of the Chen family had not contacted him at all, which made him feel confused.
Qin Changan smiled faintly and said, “The answer is neither positive nor negative. Chen Luohe did come to me; however, it is my own decision to see you in person.”
Master Liu’s forehead creased in a frown. The Eldest Master of the Chen family had powerful connections in Sijiu City and this man actually dared to address him by name. Apparently, he was of a higher status than the Eldest Master of the Chen family. What’s more, the Eldest Master of the Chen family had visited him personally.
Qin Changan said slowly, “Master Liu, you are feeling very confused now, right?”
Nodding, Master Liu answered positively, “Yes, I am.”
Qin Changan continued. “Master Liu, then kindly order your attendants to retreat, so that I can talk with you in detail. At the same time, I have a presumptuous request, and hope you can do me a small favor.”
Master Liu did not find Qin Changan threatening at all. As a result, he waved his hands, signaling all the doormen to retreat. All of a sudden, only Qin Changan, Gongsun, and he, were in the main hall.
It was only now that Master Liu asked, “If Old Master Qin were your father, I could relate to it; however, you said Qin Sheng is your son, so I am a bit surprised at that. Though I have not known Qin Sheng for long, I have heard him talking about his childhood. According to him, he has been an orphan since young. His grandfather and he were dependent on each other. Except for his grandfather, he did not have any other relatives. He didn’t even know who his parents were.”
Faced with Master Liu’s questions, Qin Changan explained slowly. He said, “Speaking of a lot of things, Master Liu, you don’t need to know them all. All you need to know is that Old Master took Qin Sheng away over 20 years ago. It was not until last year that I finally found Qin Sheng; however, I did not reconcile with him. I know everything about his current situation well.”
Master Liu was a bit confused and he asked, “Why didn’t you reconcile with Qin Sheng?”
Smiling happily, Qin Changan said, “It is personal to the Qin Family. Master Liu, you don’t need to worry about it. Since Qin Sheng is my son, I value him more than anyone else. If Chen Luohe had not found me and told me that you have news about the descendant of the Qin family, I would have thought that this secret would remain unknown. Due to my unusual identity, consequently, I hope Qin Sheng’s family background would be kept a secret to outsiders. After all, he needs to finish his life path on his own.”
“Well, I can relate to you,” Master Liu said thoughtfully. Firstly, he was already convinced that the man in front of him now, was the father of Qin Sheng and the son of Old Master Qin. Secondly, he was somewhat touched by the remark “my sort of unusual identity”.
Qin Changan continued. “Consequently, I have a presumptuous request, namely, I hope Master Liu could help me conceal this truth from all, including Chen Luohe and Qin Sheng.”
Upon hearing his words, Master Liu was deep in thought. This presumptuous request actually put him in a somewhat awkward position.
“Originally, I was just helping Qin Sheng to connect with Old Master of the Chen family, to help him check out his own family background. Since everything is clear now, of course, it will not be necessary for me to contact Chen Luohe again,” Master Liu said slowly. Following that, he said, “However, speaking of Qin Sheng, I promised him that I would give him an update.”
Qin Changan added. He said, “It will take time for me to reconcile with Qin Sheng. So, all I hope is that Master Liu, you will try your best to conceal the truth from him, regardless of the duration. And when the time is right, I will ask you to tell him the truth. What do you think of this plan, Master Liu?”
After weighing the pros and cons, Master Liu made up his mind and said, “Yes. There is no better way.” After all, this was the family business of the Qin Family, he should not get too deeply involved in it.
Standing up slowly, Qin Changan said, “Thank you, Master Liu. I owe you a favor. If you need any help in later days, you can come to me, Qin Changan, directly.”
Qin Changan said all this with much confidence. Since he had just praised Master Liu on his fame across the south region of the Yangtze River, now, he actually dared to make such a boast in front of Master Liu. How powerful could he be?
Though Master Liu felt a bit uncomfortable at what Qin Changan had said, he smiled politely as usual.
“It’s pretty late and I won’t disturb you anymore. I will leave first and hope we will meet again someday.” Since Qin Changan had finished what he wanted to say, he did not need to stay here any longer.
Seeing that Qin Changan was about to leave, Master Liu stood up hurriedly and said, “Don’t be in a rush. Since you are the son of Old Master Qin, I have another request. Over these years, I have been looking forward to knowing the truth, and I don’t want to miss the chance.”
With a playful look on his face, Qin Changan said, “I know what Master Liu wants to ask. Actually, a lot of people have also asked me the same question. Unfortunately, I do not have the answer; however, instead of asking me, you better ask Qin Sheng, who might know the answer. After all, he is the one who has been with my father, for the longest time.”
Feeling pretty disappointed, Master Liu said, “He does not know the answer, either.”
“In that case, nobody will have the answer,” Qin Changan said casually, indicating that he would be of no help. Following that, he said, “I will leave now.”
Once again, Master Liu was greatly disappointed; His reaction was that of one who had originally got his hopes too high. Feeling frustrated, he let out a sigh and said, “I won’t see you off. Doorman, show the guests out.”
Two doormen escorted Qin Changan and Gongsun out of the villa housing in Meijiawu. After Qin Changan left, Master Liu rested for sometime and then eventually recovered from his disappointment. He was not about to give up yet. He definitely would check out the meaning of the four characters.
It was not until this time that he started to think about Qin Changan’s name. Since Qin Changan had been hanging around in Sijiu City, if he were really that well known, somebody should be aware of it. As a result, he directly called an old friend of his in Sijiu City. He got directly to the point and asked, “Do you know Qin Changan?”
“Qin Changan?” His old friend was stupefied.
A few minutes later, when Master Liu learned about Qin Changan’s detailed identity, he was completely astonished. Fortunately, he had been quite polite to Qin Changan today. He also had consented to his presumptuous request, which made Qin Changan owe him a favor.
After Qin Changan left the villa housing in Meijiawu, he directly gave Qin Sheng a call. Since he was already in Hangzhou, he must see Qin Sheng. He explained to Qin Sheng that he was here to visit his old friend who had been hospitalised. Upon hearing the news that his Uncle was in Hangzhou, Qin Sheng was very happy. After all, the Uncle was his and Lin Su’s old friend in Xiamen.
Qin Changan said, “Hangzhou dishes are too greasy. I am not very much into them.”
Pondering for a while, Qin Sheng thought since the uncle was aged, he must value his health a lot and preferred lighter dishes. In that case, they could just cook at home. As a result, he told Qin Changan that he could eat at their home, since Lin Su and he always cooked their meals, themselves.
Eating at home might seem to be a very ordinary occurence; however, Qin Changan was quite overwhelmed by this invitation. This was because he had been looking forward to such an event for many years, and he had always admired other families, who did that. It did not occur to him that he would have the chance to enjoy this treat today.