Chapter 414 - Really Something (1/2)

If it wasn’t for the difficult dealings between the Zhu Family and Qin Family, the two families could have sought hegemony through joint efforts, leaving the rest of the famous families far behind. Yet every coin has its two sides. The case with the two families was actually an advantage for both of them because they didn’t need to take extra things into account when making decisions, at least, they wouldn’t become an impediment to each other.

Strictly speaking, there were actually two branches of the Zhu Family, one of which was led by the old lady, the other was led by Zhu Qingwen’s husband. That explained why her children had all adopted the surname Zhu, rather than her husband had married into the bride’s family.

Qin Changan was on top of the commercial world while Zhu Weiguo was in the army. And the real and authentic replacement for Old Master Zhu was Zhu Qingwen’s husband, who had been smashed all his way up for a promising future through ups and downs, establishing a solid foundation in politics for the Zhu Family.

The two families advanced side by side. Though there had been discord, things were getting better after Qin Sheng came back.

It was hard to tell whether the harmonization meant anything to the rest of the family members, but it did mean a lot to Qin Sheng, a small nobody who just came back to a big family. As long as Qin Sheng wanted his revenge, he was in great need of his identity and resources for sure. The more profound their powers got, the easier he could achieve the goal.

The only problem was that Qin Sheng was still unclear about these family issues, hence he might have to uncover them one after another as time went by. And today would reveal the identity of his uncle-in-law. For now, the only information he got was that his uncle-in-law was working in Shanghai, and he totally had no clue about the exact details. However, according to his sister, he now could go take a wild guess.

Except for the old lady who was holding Nao Nao in her arms, all the others were heading out to meet the head person who had just been promoted to another level. Throughout the whole two families, the only two people that could be as his equal were Zhu Weiguo and Qin Changan. The middle-aged man was loaded with more work affairs than usual during the Spring Festival, so it was not easy for him to make time for this family gathering. Anyway, family bonding always came first. In particular, the juniors had come all the way from Beijing to pay their respects, so his presence was obviously necessary.

The man’s car was an ordinary Audi A6L with a common license plate. The driver and the secretary were sitting in front, while he and Zhu Qingwen in the back. As the car parked, the power couple then stepped outside and strolled back to the bungalow, leaving the driver and the secretary where they were.

The man was a good father, whom Zhu Jiayou and Zhu Yi both felt proud of. Family time was always a luxury that he couldn’t afford, but his children seemed to be quite used to it and showed their profound consideration. It was never easy for them to see their father come back from work so late at night, yet they couldn’t do anything to help. Then the only thing they could do was be good enough not to be a distraction to him.

At the sight of this man, Zhu Qingyuan seemed to be quite related to his uncle-in-law, for he too, chose a career in politics, in which he had hard decisions to make and hard nuts to crack. Besides, the case was even worse with his own father Zhu Weiguo, who had even more work affairs to deal with and much less time for family.

The moment he showed up, the middle-aged man was greeted by all the others, yet Qin Sheng chose to stand by the side, silently observing the man who seemed to have this streak of superiority going on. Thanks to his frequent contact with those power people recently, he might manage to figure out their social status through their manners and subtle expressions.

“Uncle-in-law, it’s really a surprise to see you this year.” Qin Ran came forward to extend her greeting to her uncle-in-law after the seniors finished theirs. She was quite familiar with him since she had spent all her childhood vacations in both her grandma’s and aunt’s house in Shanghai.

When he was at work, he was on top of his game, but when it came to family, he seemed much more approachable. On hearing Qin Ran’s words, he replied with a caring smile, “You kids have come all the way from Beijing to see me, how can I let you down?”

At the moment, Zhu Qingwen patted her husband on his arm and winked in Qin Sheng’s direction, indicating something they had previously shared. She had told her husband the young man’s story as soon as she met him, but the latter didn’t believe it at all. Anyway, it did come out of the blue to see a young man lost for more than 20 years and pop out all of a sudden. He was still dubious about it even after his wife’s explanations. The facts didn’t sink in until he finally met Qin Sheng in person right now.

His name was Zhu Changshun, wearing a T-shirt and jacket that were the typical style of a government official. In the eyes of everyone, he walked slowly toward Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng felt a bit intimidated by the fierce look in the man’s eyes, and he addressed him uncertainly, “Hello, Uncle-in law.”

The greeting seemed to have softened Zhu Changshun a bit, and he replied with a slight nod, “Honestly speaking, I didn’t believe that you were back when your aunt told me at first. You know, it’s been over 20 years, and who else would keep you in mind? I know it sounds harsh but most of us might have lost hope in finding you again, I’m afraid.”

Zhu Changshun put out these words in a burst of emotions rather than courtesy, for the reason that the young man’s mother had been really nice to him and his wife back in those days. At that time, he was in bad shape when studying in Beijing. Treatment was required but he couldn’t make time for that, and besides, his wife was far away in Shanghai. It was Qin Sheng’s mother who urged him to go to the hospital, prepared the medicine, and delivered it to where he studied through public transportation for a whole month, let alone those small little caring moments. Her kindheartedness moved him so deeply that he paid her back by taking very good care of Qin Ran ever since.

Therefore, the unexpected passing away of that kind lady shocked him no less than his wife. It took a long time for Zhu Changshun to come around. He questioned God as to why good people are always taken first, but he received no answer.

Qin Sheng found it hard to say anything, and after a short consideration, he replied, “Uncle-in-law, I’m sorry to have kept you concerned all these years.”

“Qin Sheng, don’t be. You are actually the innocent one. It’s us here who owe you an apology that was late for over 20 years. We found you too late. And we are sorry for the sufferings you’ve gone through.” Zhu Changshun sighed with emotion while patting him on the shoulder.

Qin Sheng said with an ironic smile, “Honestly speaking, I thought that I was an orphan for quite a long time until I was found. It turns out that I have so many people who love and care about me.”

“Well, enough sentimental talk. The past is past, and as you’re back, we’ll make it up to you later on. You were taken away as a small boy and come back as a big young fellow. But some things will never change with time, like you have your mom’s eyes and your dad’s nose,” Zhu Changshun said, with a little smile touching his face. He reckoned that the ladies in the house might have cried at the reunion and it was better not to get too sentimental at the moment when happiness was supposed to be in control.

Thinking that it was almost time, Zhu Qingwen called a stop to it and suggested with a smile, “It’s really cold out here, let’s go inside and then talk. The old lady might have been waiting for too long.”

The others shared a laugh and then walked into the room one after another.