PDLP Chapter 2062 Old Man Liu's Feast at Baldy's Banquet
Chapter 2062 Old Man Liu's Feast at Baldy's Banquet
At this moment, Li Xiangnan had steadily passed through the middle courtyard, walked through the front courtyard, and exited through the moon gate of the rear building.
His gaze passed over the throng of people and anxious eyes, landing directly on the entrance of the courtyard house.
Outside the door, however, there was no sign of the expected large, imposing entourage.
The Liu family, the Hou family, and the Yan family—three groups of people—each of them only sent two or three people!
The leader of the Liu family was a tall, thin middle-aged man wearing a dark blue Zhongshan suit and gold-rimmed glasses, who looked quite refined.
Behind him was a man half his age, presumably his son, holding a small square brocade box. Both men wore gentle, even somewhat humble, smiles.
Li Xiangnan had heard Song Yi mention this person before; he should be Liu Wenyuan, the current head of the Liu family!
He was nicknamed "Old Man Liu" by the locals!
Looking at the Hou family again, the leader was a short, stout man with a ruddy complexion and a friendly smile. He was dressed like a wealthy old man and was not young. The man behind him was also carrying a box.
This person should be Hou Wanjin, the current head of the Hou family!
He was nicknamed "Baldy Hou" by the locals!
The person Li Xiangnan feared most was the one Song Yi mentioned—the man standing at the very back, whom she had warned him to be most careful of.
It's naturally the leader of the Yan family!
This man had a refined and elegant appearance, bright and agile eyes, and was a thin old man with two wispy mustaches. His possessions were not in the hands of his descendants, but were held by him personally; they were a small wooden box.
This man is Yan Qinghe, the head of the Yan family, also known as Yan the Fox.
Li Xiangnan noticed that the young people following behind the three men, like their fathers, all had smiles on their faces and were very polite.
The scene was not as tense as one might have imagined, nor as aggressive as expected.
Instead, it was a warm and gentle atmosphere, even with a touch of... modesty?
This contrasts sharply and strangely with Zong Wangshan's domineering and forceful attitude and Qian Houjin's tactful probing!
Li Xiangnan felt a sudden chill; instead of feeling relieved, alarm bells rang loudly!
There's always something fishy going on when things seem unusual!
These three groups chose to arrive at the same time, but with only a handful of people and no entourage at all. Their friendly attitude suggests that they have bigger plans!
Perhaps they changed the steps they took to arrive, altering their original plans.
Could that so-called eerie gift be in their hands?
What are they all planning to do by gathering here now?
Li Xiangnan's faint smile remained unchanged, but his eyes grew increasingly deep and sharp, like an undercurrent surging beneath the frozen surface of a lake, as he steadily stepped forward.
"Dr. Li, congratulations on your daughter's one-month celebration! I am here uninvited and apologize for disturbing you!" Liu Wenyuan bowed first, his voice gentle and refined, and with his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked more like a scholar.
"Dr. Li is a talented young man with a far-reaching reputation. I, Hou, have come here to share in his joy and good fortune!" Hou Wanjin said with a beaming smile and a ruddy complexion, truly resembling a wealthy and amiable man.
"Haha, I have long admired Doctor Li's skillful hands and kind heart. Today I have the pleasure of meeting you, and you truly live up to your reputation. You are also quite handsome! This is just a small gift, nothing special, but I hope you will accept it!" Yan Qinghe stroked his beard, his eyes darting around as he looked at Li Xiangnan, his words full of liveliness.
The nephews and nieces following behind the three also bowed respectfully.
They were not at all arrogant, and were even more polite than many ordinary guests.
This unusually low-key and friendly demeanor surprised many of the onlookers, who began to whisper among themselves.
The alarm bells in Li Xiangnan's mind rang even more urgently.
The more someone smiles while hiding a knife, the more dangerous they often are.
But he remained calm, wearing a polite smile, and returned the greetings one by one: "It is my great honor to have the esteemed presence of Patriarch Liu, Patriarch Hou, and Patriarch Yan. Please come in!"
As he led the guests around, his eyes quickly swept over the gift boxes in the hands of the three people.
Liu Wenyuan's box was a red paulownia wood brocade box, Hou Wanjin's was a slightly flattened red wood box, and Yan Qinghe's was a dark purple wood box. They were all different sizes and had different packaging, so there wasn't much to tell.
After glancing at the humble attitude of the three families, Li Xiangnan was somewhat puzzled. Judging from this trend, it didn't seem like they would use the gifts in their hands to force a confrontation!
Seeing the three of them walking inside chatting and laughing, Li Xiangnan's mind never stopped thinking.
According to the original plan, they should have been entertained separately, but since they arrived together and were so cooperative, forcibly separating them would seem impolite to the host and might arouse their suspicion!
In a flash, Li Xiangnan's mind raced, and an even bolder, even somewhat mischievous, idea popped into his head.
Since all ten of you families are thinking of my Li family during your five holidays and want to get together, then... how about I grant your wish?
His smile remained unchanged, and he immediately gave Song Ziming a wink.
Song Ziming quickly followed and politely said to the nephews and nieces of the Liu, Hou, and Yan families, "Young masters, you can just hand over your gifts to me at the door to register and store them. Brother Nan will thank you all after the banquet! Please follow me!"
He pointed to the accounting table, and the three younger generation members were immediately drawn to it. Seeing that many people were queuing up to offer gifts in front of the accounting table, they turned their attention to their elders.
Song Ziming waved his hand at just the right moment, and Yang Weidong, Hu Yinglong, and Lu Chen immediately stepped forward, indicating that they should register the gifts for him.
Zhang Jingyang immediately announced, "A gift from the Liu family!"
Yang Weidong immediately took the red paper smeared with paste from Tao Zhengtie and stuck it on the gift box in Liu Wenyuan's son's hand.
The red paper reads "Congratulatory Gift from the Liu Family".
Liu Wenyuan glanced at Yan Qinghe subtly, and after seeing his signal, he waved his hand and said with a smile, "When in Rome, do as the host says!"
His son, Liu Jinhe, immediately released his grip, and Yang Weidong promptly took the gift box.
Following the same method, Hu Yinglong and Lu Chen quickly took the gift boxes from the Hou and Yan families and went straight to the rear warehouse with Song Ziming, without giving them a chance to inspect them.
Liu Wenyuan and the others had no objection to this, they just smiled and nodded, letting Song Ziming and the others take the gifts away, but their eyes all glanced intentionally or unintentionally at the brocade box that was quickly taken away.
These were all actions that Li Xiangnan had instructed them to perform, and they were being executed so smoothly, as if they had rehearsed them countless times.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Xiangnan led the way, saying in a natural tone, "There are many guests today, and the front courtyard is a bit noisy. The head of the Zong family and Master Qian are currently having tea and resting in the west wing. If the three of you don't mind the simplicity, why don't you also sit in the west wing for a while? It's quiet there, and you can catch up!"
With a bang!
Upon hearing this, the perfect smiles on the faces of Liu Wenyuan, Hou Wanjin, and Yan Qinghe almost simultaneously froze slightly!
West Wing?
Zong Wangshan and Qian Houjin are already inside?
Is Li Xiangnan trying to cram all five families from his five-year leave into one room?!