Hua Tuo shook his head and chatted with Wang Yao. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the hotel restaurant. The restaurant was packed with people, like a wedding was taking place. As soon as they saw Wang Yao and Hua Tuo approaching, someone called out.
"They're here! They're here! Mr. Wang and Dr. Hua are here!" With these shouts, a group of strangers greeted them with smiles and eagerly invited Wang Yao and Hua Tuo into the restaurant.
Wang Yao and his group had lunch in a private room, which meant they had to walk through the restaurant to get there. When they passed by, there were other people eating in the restaurant, but it felt rather deserted, unlike the lively atmosphere at night, perhaps because they arrived late.
The two walked in and saw a huge LCD screen embedded in one wall of the restaurant. In front of the LCD screen, there was a crescent-shaped platform made of wooden boards, about an inch off the ground.
At this moment, a circle of lush green orchids was placed around the edge of the platform, and several plastic lotus flower and leaf sculptures stood on the platform. At first glance, the platform looked like a small pond.
In the center of the platform, right in the middle of the pond, there was a large lotus-shaped futon, and behind it, an LCD screen displayed an image of a monk sitting cross-legged and chanting sutras.
Below the chanting monks was a line of large characters: "Master Huishuo's Miraculous Blessing Ceremony".
Wang Yao saw Hui Shuo sitting by the platform, holding a microphone. Upon seeing Wang Yao and Hua Tuo, he quickly stood up and looked at them with a beaming smile. Wang Yao thought to himself, "You've really gone too far. Let's see how you clean this up, all that blessing and preaching..."
He's just a country bumpkin who's never seen much of the world. Let's see what tricks he can pull.
Someone came and led Wang Yao and his companion over to sit at a table with Hui Shuo. Hui Shuo was quite shrewd and didn't call Wang Yao "father" and "mother" in public. He just smiled at the two of them and then looked at a burly man with several layers of flesh on the back of his neck, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt.
The big man had a shaved head like a monk, but he had left a small tuft of hair near his forehead, which looked like the soft, drooping tip of a large calligraphy brush, and looked quite cute.
The burly man wore a thick gold chain around his neck and a large gold watch on his wrist. He looked like someone who had recently achieved success and whose family was overflowing with money, the kind of person who didn't know what to do with it.
“Benefactor, this humble monk will first transmit the Dharma, then bestow blessings, and finally everyone can make their own arrangements. My two seniors have other matters to attend to tonight and will not stay long, so I will not delay or take up any more of your time,” Hui Shuo said softly with a smile.
"No problem, no problem. I've already transferred the money to your account. Since everyone wants to share in the Buddha's blessings, and the Master isn't afraid of hard work, what's money? It's just toilet paper, right? The key is that the Master is willing, isn't it? This... this is also a matter of fate, isn't it? What do you all say?"
Upon hearing Hui Shuo's words, the burly man laughed and loudly asked the people around him.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The men and women around them responded loudly.
"Your heart is devoted to Buddha. I pray for all of you here with my own strength. To me, you are a Bodhisattva. You are compassionate, charitable and generous. You will be blessed by Buddha, have a smooth career, enjoy happiness and longevity forever."
With a smile, Hui Shuo took the microphone and walked to the center of the stage. Standing beside the lotus-shaped cushion, he first gave the big man some auspicious words that cost no money, which were met with thunderous applause from the crowd.
"Boss Yu, right? I'm Jiang Yongshun from Huadu, Jiang Dafu's son. Let me discuss this with you. I'll cover the banquet tonight, and you can still pay for the master's meal. Let me share in the good fortune, okay?" A clear voice rang out from the corner of the restaurant before Hui Shuo could continue.
Hearing him loudly introduce himself as if the whole world should know about Jiang Yongshun and Jiang Dafu, Wang Yao didn't recognize either of them at all and was completely unmoved. However, he noticed Hua Tuo frowning to the side, and the crowd around him began to whisper among themselves.
"This... this guy surnamed Jiang... do you know him?" Wang Yao nudged Hua Gu.
"I've heard of them. Their family used to deal in grain, then they started a restaurant chain. Dafu Private Kitchen is one of their businesses. Now they're in real estate, Dafu Real Estate. Never heard of them? They're rich people in Huadu. We know them, but they don't know us," Hua Gu said in a low voice.
Wang Yao was a little puzzled. How come the business strategies of this Jiang guy and Wei Dafa are so similar? The Jiang guy has Dafu Private Kitchen and Dafu Real Estate, and Wei Dafa also has Lekoufu and Dafa Real Estate. It's like they were made from the same mold.
"Who's richer, this guy surnamed Jiang or Wei Dafa?" Wang Yao wondered, and then asked Hua Gu.
"Tch! How can Wei Dafa compare to the Jiang family? When the Jiang family made their fortune in the catering industry, Wei Dafa was still unknown in Huadu. The Jiang family made their fortune in catering before venturing into real estate, while Wei Dafa made their fortune in real estate before entering the catering industry. The two are simply incomparable." Hua Gu shook his head repeatedly.
"Compared to the Jiang family, Wei Dafa is just a nouveau riche. Wei Dafa started his business in construction, and he only became wealthy in the last ten years. The Jiang family, on the other hand, made their fortune in the catering industry ten years ago. Have you ever heard that popular saying from back then: 'In the countryside, people eat mutton; in the city, they drink imported liquor; and in the capital, they travel to foreign countries...'"
"Back then, the culture of excessive eating and drinking was rampant. At least half of the townships around Huadu gave their township government buildings to the Jiang family as payment for debts. This was reported in newspapers and on television, with headlines like 'I want money, not houses!' Jiang Yongshun's father, Jiang Dafu, cried so bitterly on television at the time."
"Who knew that suddenly, demolition and redevelopment booms would sweep through Huadu, and houses would become valuable! The Jiang family hyped things up, and whether they're the richest family in Huadu or not, I don't know, but their land and houses are incredibly valuable. They probably felt they'd lost money selling to others for development, so they got into real estate themselves..."
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
