Age of Legends

Chapter 264 No Comparison

This garden restaurant features an artificially planted bamboo grove area with scattered transparent cabins. The cabins have wooden roofs with insulation to keep them cool in summer and warm in winter. They are surrounded by transparent glass windows with curtains to provide shade. Inside, there are mahjong tables, air conditioning, and even hot pot tables. This is the hot pot area, used for small gatherings and banquets. Often, a group of people will play mahjong in a private room for an afternoon and then eat hot pot.

Outside is a bamboo forest, but the view is not blocked; you can see the direction and activity of the main restaurant area through the sparse bamboo and trees.

These small houses are scattered around the main area in this crisscrossing pattern, a very well-designed layout. No wonder this place is a gathering place for dignitaries and a top choice for many business banquets; it's very popular in Fuzhou now.

In a private room, Qin Yu's wife, Feng Feng, was greeting Qin Yu's classmates and friends.

The room was filled with laughter and chatter, all revolving around Feng Feng. These classmates centered around Qin Yu's family, and they used to call Qin Yu "Young Master Qin" because of the influence of his grandfather. In fact, some of the people present had their current careers and positions secured by the Qin family's help, so they were showering Feng Feng with compliments, which made her quite comfortable.

"I owe my promotion to Brother Qin's help a lot..."

"Brother Qin, any projects coming up lately? Let's make some money together!"

"Last time we were at the Langqiao Restaurant, we ran into Brother Qin having dinner with President Zheng of China Merchants Bank..."

A group of people flattered him, all more or less benefiting from Qin Yu's influence. Qin Yu had always been a playboy, but even in his playboy ways, he had a loyal side. He would help many of his classmates whenever he could. Qin Yu himself believed that building a social network was a mutually beneficial thing; who knew, it might help him someday. Besides, the connections and paths he had used to help others—for example, if a classmate got a promotion to section chief in a government agency—were bound to be there to help them with any future introductions he made. These were all resources he cultivated.

Qin Yu was undeterred in expanding his network of connections that could benefit him. Those who surrounded him all understood that they were connected through Qin Yu.

"Brother Qin is here! Oh, he must have just picked up some people, all invited to Shen Nuoyi's birthday party... The one alone is..."

"That's the one……"

"Oh……"

"Hey! Who is Brother Qin greeting so enthusiastically..."

“That person… is Secretary Yin! Xi Mingrong’s secretary who works in the High-tech Development Zone! Xi Mingrong attended the last big meeting and I saw him there.”

The moment the title of the deputy mayor's secretary was mentioned, the room fell silent. Being a leader's secretary doesn't necessarily mean much, but some secretaries can often make decisions subtly, wielding a kind of invisible power. For those present, having connections with such a person could mean that many of the problems plaguing their workplaces could be resolved with a single word from them.

Even disregarding whether it was them or not, if Qin Yu and Yin Xiaoguan were truly on good terms, then all the old classmates present today would have to reassess their perception of "Brother Qin's" influence. Suddenly, everyone's eyes lit up with excitement, as if they could see their own promotions on the horizon, perhaps even rising to higher official positions. For those in business, many obstacles might be easily resolved, and they might even be able to openly use Qin Yu's influence at the dinner table.

Is this what they mean by "when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"?
This is not enlightenment; it's merely encountering a channel. But that's often how things are in this world. For these people, many things that are accomplished are not due to their own abilities, but purely to the closeness of their relationship with the person in charge. They inevitably value personal connections and status, and even regard them as something to be revered.

Seeing Qin Yu and the other person reluctantly parting ways, one of the classmates in the room remarked with emotion, "I didn't expect Brother Qin to know Yin Xiaoguan!"

Even Feng Feng was at a loss. She only remembered one dinner party where Qin Yu returned in high spirits. It was a high-profile event, and he excitedly mentioned seeing Yin Xiaoguan. Feng Feng added, "Did he remember you?" Qin Yu replied, "A big shot in front of the leaders, how could he possibly remember you?" At the time, Qin Yu was still self-aware, but Feng Feng was quite regretful, even blaming her husband for not seizing the opportunity. Who knew that today… could things have taken a turn for the better?

Feng Feng was beaming with joy.

At this moment, everyone saw that Qin Yu was leading Zhang Chen back towards them, and the classmates resumed their previous topic. "I think your niece Shen Nuoyi will be amazing in the future. Her grades are so good, and she's so beautiful..." "Hey, people say girls change a lot as they grow up, but Nuoyi is the kind of girl who showed her beauty from a young age. She was a beauty even as a child. If she becomes successful in the future, we uncles and aunts will be hoping that she'll remember us!"

Everyone was calculating in their hearts that if Qin Yu could get close to Xi Mingrong, and Shen Nuoyi had Pei Yan, the heir of Tai Xun, pursuing her, the Qin family's future prospects would be amazing. Everyone present knew the couple's personalities, and they all knew that if they had a piece of meat to eat, they would also have soup to drink. At this time, they had to maintain their relationship and support them.

As soon as Qin Yu and Zhang Chen entered the room, the enthusiastic conversations from before vanished. Everyone greeted Qin Yu, seemingly ignoring Zhang Chen, but in reality, each person pretended to casually scrutinize him from head to toe.

After all, he was the culprit behind the Pei Yan incident at Yude!
"Zhao Jun, Ma Xinyu, you two keep up the pace! Zhao Jun, go get the drinks!" Qin Yu didn't hold back and immediately started giving orders. His two classmates, who were called upon, got up with smiles, while Zhao Jun slowly walked out.

Qin Yu then said to another person, "Ma Xinyu, you take Zhang Chen and set up the inflatable archway, right in front of the venue. Zhang Chen, you come with Brother Ma!"

Ma Xinyu pushed a trolley to the wall. There were cardboard boxes on it containing inflatable arches, and there were inflation valves next to them. Ma Xinyu said to Zhang Chen, "Take that."

So Zhang Chen, carrying the slightly heavy air pump, followed Ma Xinyu to the grass outside. Ma Xinyu directed Zhang Chen to unfold the archway, then got an extension cord from the restaurant staff. He briefly taught Zhang Chen how to attach the air pump's valve to the archway's inflation port. He pulled the port, Zhang Chen inserted the valve, and as soon as the pump was turned on, the inflation valve hummed, and the archway began to inflate. However, the rope at the port wasn't long enough, so Ma Xinyu said, "Hold the port in place with both hands, I'll go find some rope."

Zhang Chen did as instructed, but Ma Xinyu was late in arriving. It wasn't until the inflatable arch was inflated to 70% that Ma Xinyu finally arrived with a rope and tied the opening shut.

Just as Zhang Chen finished arranging the flowers and before he could even get away, the flower truck arrived. Qin Yu came over from the side and called to the two of them, "Come on, help me move the flowers!"

Zhang Chen had no objection and stepped forward to move the flowers. They were relatively small potted plants, placed on both sides of the archway, delivered from the flower market. Ma Xinyu had just moved one pot when Qin Yu handed her a cigarette. Ma Xinyu took it and the two of them smoked and chatted leisurely, showing no intention of paying attention to Zhang Chen who was still moving the flowers.

While they were chatting, Ma Xinyu couldn't stand it anymore. She was about to put out her cigarette when she said to Zhang Chen, "I'll take care of the rest over there. You can rest for a bit."

To everyone's surprise, Qin Yu glared at him fiercely, then deliberately said, "Young man, if the young man doesn't do the work, who will? Let him carry it!"

He gestured with his eyes to block Ma Xinyu, then turned to that side and said, "Zhang Chen, can you finish moving all of these without any problem?"

Zhang Chen glanced at him, smiled, and continued moving the flowers.

Inside the room, Feng Feng and his group watched through the transparent glass as Qin Yu directed Zhang Chen around.

I saw Zhang Chen working there in the sweltering heat.

"Pfft!" Someone couldn't help but laugh.

"This kid is a complete idiot."

"He can't compare to Pei Yan..." someone muttered quietly.

(End of this chapter)