Chapter 999: Presenting a Ceremony in Accordance with Old Rules

Chapter 999: Presenting a Ceremony in Accordance with Old Rules

Chapter 999: Presenting a Ceremony in Accordance with Old Rules

The lobby door opened and an old martial artist in his seventies, dressed in old-fashioned crimson martial arts uniform, walked in.

The man had a white and plump face and looked very amiable. When he arrived in the hall, he straightened his back and bowed to Cheng Zhou in an old-fashioned manner.

"Mr. Cheng, I am Tang Xun, and I am here on behalf of my teacher to wish you a happy birthday. My teacher has specially prepared some small gifts for you. I wish you a long life, happiness and longevity, and that the Cheng family will prosper for generations to come, and enjoy peace and happiness."

When everyone heard the name, they couldn't help but look at him. This person was a disciple that Yu Hongming valued very much.

In the past, the Tianshu Gang had some involvement with the Municipal Council, but since the Municipal Council was dismantled and reorganized, this person is now mainly responsible for the gang's internal and external affairs. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the deputy gang leader now, but this person was not very prominent in the past, so his reputation was not very loud.

Cheng Zhou had stood up when he came in just now, and now he bowed and returned the greeting, "Thank you for your kindness."

At this moment, someone came forward, took the gift list and handed it to him. He opened it and took a look. After a quick glance, he knew that they were all valuable gifts.

He bowed solemnly and said, "Master Tang Wu, thank you for the gift your gang sent today. Please thank the gang leader on my behalf. I will remember this favor and will definitely give you a gift in return in the future."

Tang Xun smiled and said, "Mr. Cheng is too polite. I will bring back every word you said to my teacher."

Cheng Zhou raised his hand and invited, "Master Tang Wu, please take a seat. I have only prepared some simple food today, please don't mind."

Tang Xun bowed again, and then, at the invitation of a Cheng family disciple, he went to sit at an empty table on the side.

He knew the old etiquette, so he only kept a peer who accompanied him by his side. The other disciples and juniors who came to give gifts all sat outside the hall.

Cheng Zhou returned to his seat. The elders from the Cheng family on both sides looked at him and asked questions, but he shook his head, and no one asked any more questions.

The behavior of the Tianshu Gang is somewhat puzzling, but once the Municipal Council falls, the gang may not be having an easy time as before. It is understandable that they are sending a gift here now, and they will not get too deeply involved with the other party just because of receiving a gift.

However, there may be some other reasons. Many people have guessed it in their hearts, but are unwilling to say it out loud.

Another birthday greeting message came from outside, saying that Qiao Weiting, the commander of the Central City garrison, sent a servant to deliver a gift.

Cheng Zhou felt a little surprised.

They have a long history of having many disciples and nephews who have joined the garrison, but most of them are middle and lower-level officers. There are very few high-level officers. Because of their terms of office, and some taboos between the upper class and the local clans, they usually don't have much contact. But this time, they suddenly sent him a gift on his 80th birthday...

He raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Take good care of the guests who brought gifts. Also, send a proper thank you letter for me."

Cheng Zicheng had been standing aside, and when he saw that his elder was free, he walked over and prepared to talk to Cheng Zhou in private. However, after he walked aside and before he could open his mouth, he received a message from the world.

He was startled at first, then showed a hint of surprise. Just then, a young man from the Cheng family came running in breathlessly, saying loudly, "Third Grandpa, Second Grandpa, uncles, aunts, and grandmothers, Secretary Qiao from the Government Affairs Office is here."

After Cheng Zhou heard this, his expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Open the door to welcome you!"

"Yes!"

The younger generations who were in charge of serving tea and water came up immediately and pushed open all the seven doors of the lobby.

Cheng Zhou straightened his sleeves and collar, and stood at the door of the hall with a group of older members of the Cheng family. When the younger people outside saw this, they immediately guessed that some important person was coming, and then someone came over to remind them, and they all stood up from their seats one after another.

Not long after, an old man in charge of reception from the Cheng family walked in with a man in his forties who wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked very gentle and elegant.

There were people on both sides who knew him, and they all looked a little surprised and couldn't help but exchange glances.

Qiao Yang walked to the front of the main hall, his eyes fell on Cheng Zhou, he smiled slightly and said, "Is it Mr. Cheng?"

Cheng Zhou took the initiative to step forward, bowed and said, "Secretary Qiao, I am honored."

Qiao Yang bowed and smiled, "How are you, Mr. Cheng? I heard that you are celebrating your 80th birthday. Chief Qi is grateful for your past achievements. The Cheng family has always been upright in all weather conditions, which is rare. So he asked me to bring you some gifts as a token of my respect. Please accept them, old man."

Cheng Zhou responded with a straight face, "Chief Qi is very busy, but he still thought of me. I am very grateful. I would like to ask Secretary Qiao to convey that Cheng Zhou and my family thank you for your regards. My family has been rooted in the Central City for a hundred years, and has prospered and flourished with Jibei Province. This has been the case in the past and will continue to be the case in the future."

Secretary Qiao smiled and said, "Although Mr. Cheng is very old, his heroic spirit has not diminished at all. I will pass on his words. Oh, I also want to say a few words on behalf of the director. Thank you, Mr. Cheng, for giving birth to a good son. If I have the chance, I can also express my gratitude to you. I wonder who here should say it?" As he spoke, he looked around.

The people around couldn't help but look at each other, with subtle expressions on their faces.

After Cheng Shang saw this, he immediately came over, made a gesture, and said, "Secretary Qiao, please take a seat first?"

Secretary Qiao glanced at him, then looked at everyone meaningfully, smiled and said, "No need to sit down, I still have a lot of official business to attend to. Since I have already conveyed your message, I will not stay any longer. Mr. Cheng, I will take my leave first."

Cheng Zhou bowed and said, "Secretary Qiao is very busy with official duties, so I will not dare to keep you. Please forgive me for the poor hospitality." He then said to Cheng Shang, "Second brother, please see Secretary Qiao off for me." Cheng Shang said okay.

After sending the person away, Cheng Zhou returned to the hall, sat down, and closed the door again. He looked at Cheng Zicheng who was walking over and asked, "Where is the person?" Cheng Zicheng paused, then lowered his voice and said, "Uncle San, the person is in the east front yard."

"Call him over."

Cheng Zicheng couldn't help but look up: "Third uncle?"

Cheng Zhou said, "Why? I miss my son. Can't I see him?"

"Yes, Uncle San, I'll go call him right away."

Cheng Zicheng quickly left the main hall and came to the east front yard, where he saw Cheng Zitong and Xiao Ke leisurely drinking dew and eating vegetables.

He said, "Third brother, Third uncle is looking for you."

Cheng Zitong put down his chopsticks and said, "Xiao Ke, what did I say? There is no need to leave this door. I can still see the old man because someone will come to invite us."

Xiao Ke said: "Yes, Brother Tong, you are right."

Cheng Zicheng remained silent.

Cheng Zitong put down his chopsticks, stood up, and called out, "Let's go."

He took Xiao Ke out of the side courtyard and followed Cheng Zicheng towards the main hall.

At this moment, Ni Qianqian was talking to someone at the next table. Suddenly, she patted Captain Li on the shoulder and said, "Old Li, look, look quickly."

Captain Li looked over and whispered, "Manager Cheng?"

"Isn't it?"

Ni Qianqian said excitedly: "Just wait and see."

When these people came over, no one paid much attention to them at first. There were many people giving gifts at this time, some known and some unknown. However, when Cheng Zitong appeared, many people felt that the atmosphere around them was a little strange, and they turned around to look.

Those who didn't know the situation were a little surprised, those who knew were whispering, and some even inquired about the identity of the visitor. There are always people who like to gossip, so I explained the whole story, and immediately many people understood and showed expressions of anticipation for a good show.

Cheng Zitong acted as if nothing had happened and followed Cheng Zicheng all the way to the main hall. Looking at Cheng Zhou who was sitting upright, he took a few steps forward and bowed.

"Dad, your son has come all the way to wish you a happy birthday!" Xiao Ke, who was a junior, also joined in the congratulations.

Everyone in the hall exchanged glances as they watched this scene.

Cheng Zhou said: "It's been so many years, you are not young anymore, and you have gained weight. But you haven't made any progress in your skills in all these years."

Cheng Zitong said with a smile: "This is how my son's life will be. He won't be able to improve himself."

Cheng Zhou said slowly: "It's up to you whether you want to change it or not. You have settled down on your own and I can't control you anymore. What did you bring this time? I don't want it if it's not good."

Cheng Zitong said, "Do you remember that you liked Yangzhi's purple golden dates the most? This time I brought you a large basket, each of which I picked by myself, all of which are from this season, enough for you to eat slowly. I asked Xiaocheng to bring them in just now. Why, didn't you keep any?"

Cheng Zicheng quickly clicked on the world pass and sent the gift he had just received. Cheng Zhou looked at the display on the world pass and said, "Well, it's a good thing, you put a lot of effort into it, I'll accept it."

He said caringly, "Since you are here, stay here and sit aside. You can talk to me after the banquet is over."

Cheng Zitong said okay, he walked to the side and was about to sit down at an empty table.

Cheng Zhou shook his head and said, "I'm not asking you to sit here." He gestured outside, "You are not of high enough generation, and you haven't reached the state of breaking delusion, so you can only sit there." He said in a deep voice, "You have to understand the rules."

Cheng Zitong paused and looked at Cheng Zhou. He moved his lips a few times, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing. He just slowly put on his decorative sunglasses and said with a smile, "I know the rules, old man. Then I'll go out and sit down?"

Then he patted Xiao Ke on the shoulder and said, "Don't just stand there. This is not the place for us two brothers to stay." After walking out of the main hall, Xiao Ke asked, "Brother Tong, are we going out like this?"

Cheng Zitong said, "Come out? Just stay outside for a while and get some fresh air. It's good. It looks good. How did you get out? We will have to invite you in later."

……

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(End of this chapter)