Chapter 997 Huihu Birthday Banquet
December 23rd, Wuding District, Huihu Mansion.
Today is the 80th birthday of Cheng Zhou, the former deputy director of the Processing Bureau and now the senior consultant of the Processing Bureau. Since morning, there has been a constant stream of people coming and going in and out of the mansion.
The Cheng family was originally from Yangzhi. Their ancestors had passed down the martial arts tradition since the old times. A hundred years ago, the Cheng family ancestor led a group of disciples to join the punitive army to overthrow the old imperial family. Many people suffered casualties, and later they took root in the central city of Jibei Road.
When Mr. Cheng was young, he worked as a teacher in both the local and Central City Wuyi Colleges. He also had a family-run fighting gym, and he had many students. Among them, there were at least a hundred outstanding disciples, who now held important positions in the Central City Processing Bureau, the army, Wuyi, and even the surrounding cities.
There are many families in the central city that practice martial arts and pass it down from generation to generation. Some of them help each other and the Cheng family, while others gather together or depend on the Cheng family. They are indeed a force that cannot be underestimated in the central city.
It's just that the Cheng family has a strict family tradition and acts in a low-key manner. All their disciples and followers are very particular about the rules, so their presence in the outside world is not very strong.
Because it was not a holiday, the birthday banquet was held at night. But after noon, many married sons, nephews and relatives rushed back from other places to celebrate the birthday.
Liu Yin followed the elders into the mansion. As the most outstanding young man in this generation, he was qualified to join the elders in celebrating the birthday.
According to Yangzhi's old customs, before celebrating a birthday, the younger generation must wait outside until the elders have finished their greetings. After the banquet officially begins, the elders will give their congratulatory speeches first, and then the younger generation will stand up together to congratulate.
But he is different now. He is now a third-level fighter, so he is qualified to have an extra seat in the hall.
However, he was unwilling to stay with a group of serious and rigid elders who had to follow rules and regulations and dared not even breathe, especially since Mr. Cheng was a very disciplined person and he could not make any mistakes.
So after delivering the congratulations to Mr. Cheng, he went outside. In the past, some people might be dissatisfied, but the third-limit fighters are so tough, they are much freer in doing things and no one thinks there is anything wrong.
After turning outside, he saw Xiao Jing waving at him, "Brother Liu Yin, this way." He looked and saw that several familiar friends, including Han Kuang, Ren Qiao and others were there, so he walked over and sat down in the empty seat specially reserved.
Xiao Jing said, "Brother Liu Yin hasn't played with us for a long time."
Liu Yin smiled and said, "We often have missions in the bureau, and everyone in the team works very hard. The competition is fierce, forcing me to exercise hard even on my days off to avoid being left behind."
Han Kuang patted his shoulder and said enviously, "You've made it big now and don't have to worry about your family's mood anymore."
The younger generations at the table all nodded because Liu Yin did not listen to his family's arrangements and made his own way. He is doing quite well now. I heard that he has joined the most elite execution team of the processing bureau and is still in the second action team of the investigation director Xu Chan.
With this qualification, in the next 20 to 30 years, it is possible for him to move up from an executor to become an executive team leader, then take the position of investigation supervisor, or even become a deputy director like Mr. Cheng in the future. For people like them, it would be good enough to be an executor at most.
In fact, with the example of Liu Yin, they were also eager to do something, but they didn't have the courage, and they knew they didn't have the talent, so they could only think about it in their heads.
Xiao Jing and other friends were curious about his work in the bureau, so Liu Yin just talked about the non-critical and non-sensitive things.
As he was speaking, Xiao Jing suddenly tugged at his sleeve and said, "Brother Liu Yin, look at that."
Liu Yin looked over and saw a young man following an old man into the hall. He said, "Is that Uncle Qiao? That young man, is he Uncle Qiao's disciple?"
"Well, I heard that Master Qiao brought someone from Yangzhi who is very talented, but I don't like him. He speaks in a very formal way, like an old man.
If it were a few years ago, they might have looked down on people coming from Yang Zhi, but with the previous example, they dared not underestimate him. Moreover, the enthusiasm of this person in practicing martial arts was so strong that they could hardly bear it.
Originally, they wanted to invite someone of similar age to come out and play together and get to know each other, but it turned out that this person never had any entertainment activities and practiced martial arts whenever he had free time, which put a lot of pressure on them. The elders in the family often used him as an example.
Xiao Jing said, "I really can't stand it. It is said that this guy practices martial arts non-stop except for eating, sleeping and going to the toilet. If a person reaches this point, is he really going to live?"
Ren Qiao whispered, "I heard that Master Qiao didn't teach his students like this before. It seems he was inspired by Master Cheng..."
Liu Yin nodded. It wasn't just Uncle Qiao who was stimulated by Uncle Cheng. All the elders in their family were more or less the same. However, he felt secretly happy in his heart.
In the blink of an eye, it was evening and more guests arrived. All of them were middle and upper-level officials from the City Patrol Bureau, including some of Wu Yi's teachers. Firecrackers were lit and lanterns were lit, and the mansion inside and outside became extremely lively.
The square in front of the mansion was now full of parked vehicles. At this time, a very inconspicuous off-road vehicle drove over and parked.
Cheng Zitong and Xiao Ke walked over from the car together.
Xiao Ke went to the trunk to get the gifts he brought. Seeing so many well-dressed and well-known people at the door, he couldn't help but feel a little scared. He said, "Brother Tong, you, your student, didn't come with you?"
"A brief biography."
Cheng Zitong said nonchalantly, "Xiao Chuan is on a mission overseas these days. He was busy with the Skyline Connection yesterday. How can I, as a teacher, hold him back?"
Xiao Ke thought about it and realized that the Skyline was a very important thing. Even if he took an airship, it would take at least three days to get back to Central City from Haidong Road. He probably wouldn't be able to make it back today, and he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
Cheng Zitong patted his shoulder and said, "Don't think too much. We are here to celebrate the old man's birthday today. Cheer up."
"Okay, Brother Tong."
The two men, carrying gifts, walked to the door, where several younger members of the Cheng family were standing to greet them. Among them was a man in his thirties who obviously knew Cheng Zitong. He was stunned for a moment, "Third Uncle, it's you, you... why are you here?"
Cheng Zitong snorted, "How can you talk like that? Is that what your father taught you? It's the old man's eightieth birthday, isn't it okay for me, his son, to come and celebrate?"
"Uncle San, I, I didn't mean that." The man gave a look, and a junior behind him turned around and ran out.
Cheng Zitong was about to go in when the man took a step forward awkwardly and said, "Uncle San, wait a moment."
"What?"
"Uncle San, an invitation." The man said, "You have to give me an invitation."
Cheng Zitong was surprised and said, "What a novelty! I, as a son, need an invitation to celebrate a birthday?"
"No, Third Uncle, you know that our family has strict rules. That's what the higher-ups have decided. No matter how unreasonable it is, we, the younger generation, have to follow them, right?"
Cheng Zitong looked at him and said, "Okay, I won't make things difficult for you. I, your third uncle, have also suffered from the rules. Have you gone to call someone? I'll wait."
Just as the two were talking, an off-road vehicle from the processing bureau drove over.
Ni Qianqian was sitting in the back seat. She had changed into a red stand-up collar, double-breasted gown, and a light pink pleated skirt. Sitting next to her was a female colleague of hers. Before getting off the car, she took out a mirror to check her makeup.
At this moment, she caught a glimpse of the people standing at the gate of the mansion. Her expression changed, and she reached out and patted the shoulder of the action team leader in front of her. "Hey, Lao Li, there's something interesting going on."
After hearing what she said, the action leader turned around and looked over, "That's..."
"That's Mr. Cheng's son, Director Cheng Zitong."
"...Sounds familiar," Captain Li suddenly shuddered and asked in a low voice, "Director Chen's teacher?"
Ni Qianqian nodded: "Yes, this is the one."
Captain Li remembered that the relationship between this man and Mr. Cheng was not very good. A subtle expression appeared on his face. He suddenly became alert and looked towards the door. It was quite interesting.
After taking a few glances, he couldn't help but ask, "By the way, what's the conflict between Director Cheng and Old Man Cheng?"
Ni Qianqian said excitedly, "This involves an obsession of the Lao Cheng family. Captain Li, don't you know?"
Captain Li looked at her speechlessly, his face clearly showing that she was going to ask me something, but there was nothing he could do, as he also wanted to have a taste of this melon.
So he turned sideways and said, "Well, Sister Ni, you are kind-hearted and well-informed. Why don't you tell me something so that I, Li, can broaden my horizons."
Ni Qianqian was very satisfied after hearing what he said and looking at the shining eyes of her female colleague next to her, she coughed, cleared her throat, and said, "The Cheng family has always wanted to produce a transcendent warrior since the last generation."
"Hey, who doesn't want this?" Captain Li thought to himself, his Li family also wanted this.
Ni Qianqian crossed her arms and squinted at him, "Captain Li, do you think you have a chance?"
Captain Li sighed and said, "Don't expose people's shortcomings." The female colleague next to him covered her mouth and laughed.
Ni Qianqian hummed and said, "It's a family of old age, but every generation has someone who has reached the third limit, and there are more than one. This is not easy."
Captain Li nodded. It's not just about relying on resources of martial arts. How to teach people is also a science. Talent is something that cannot be passed down through blood without additional technical support. The previous generation may have high talent, but the next generation may not. This is why many of the upper class are supporters of the implant faction.
He said, "Yes, I don't know about the earlier period. Since a hundred years ago, the Laocheng family has produced many outstanding people from generation to generation. This is not easy."
My female colleague also agreed with this. There are strong people in every generation, and it is indeed rare to find a mature family in the central city.
Ni Qianqian said, "But what's better than having a martial artist? Do you know the Bai family in Shannan Road? It turns out they have similar origins to the Cheng family. They also actively responded to the call of the time and participated in overthrowing the old imperial family. But because of Senior Bai, they became a top martial artist family.
Originally, Mr. Cheng could have done it, but for some reason it didn’t work out, so he placed his hopes on his eldest son…”
As she spoke, she saw a middle-aged man with a square face and a burly figure walk out. She suddenly became excited and patted the back of the seat in front of her, "Look, Lao Li, someone is coming out. It's going to be a good show."
…
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(End of this chapter)
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