Chapter 19

"Big brother!" Qin Yi came up from behind and looked at the fruit on the stall. "What did you buy?"

"A watermelon, ten pounds of peaches, and a few muskmelons." Qin Rong turned around and looked at the soy sauce bottle in Qin Yi's hand. "Why is it filled to the top?"

"Huh?" Qin Yi looked blankly at the soy sauce bottle in his hand.

"How much did he charge you?" Qin Rong continued, frowning.

"Fifty cents!"

"..." Qin Rong pressed his lips together without speaking. He merely said to the stall owner behind the fruit stand, "Hurry up."

"Sure! That'll be six dollars and forty cents." The vendor grinned as he handed the already-weighed fruit to Qin Rong. Then he looked at the soy sauce bottle in Qin Yi's hand and suddenly said, "That bottle only holds three hundred milliliters. Even filled to the top, it's only a little over two cups of soy sauce. At most, that should be twenty cents, but he charged you for half a jin."

"..." Qin Yi rubbed his nose. So not everyone was good at buying soy sauce after all!

After they crossed the alley and headed home, Li Kaiwen, dressed in a suit, was still squatting pitifully by the door. That expression, that posture—he looked exactly like Big Black. Qin Yi could not hold back his laughter.

"Why don't you come in first?" Qin Rong frowned and spoke. The guests at home would not be leaving anytime soon, and Li Kaiwen's business concerned Andre. Although Qin Rong definitely did not approve of his little brother, who was like a white rabbit, signing with Shenma Entertainment Company, collecting Faith Power still had to be handled.

"Hey!" Li Kaiwen jumped to his feet excitedly and smoothly took all the fruit from Qin Rong's hands.

By the time they returned home carrying bags in both hands, the meal had already been prepared and laid out on the table. Tang Manru had just been about to speak when she suddenly spotted Li Kaiwen in his suit behind them. "And this gentleman is?"

"Someone I know. I'll tell you later," Qin Rong said lightly.

"Then sit down and eat first! You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Tang Manru casually invited him. When Li Kaiwen nodded awkwardly, she had Qin Rong take the guest to the bathroom to wash his hands.

Then Tang Manru turned to Qin Yi with a look of disdain. "I sent you out to buy soy sauce, and it took you this long. What else can you even do? Good thing I had another bag saved in the cupboard."

"..." Qin Yi gave Tang Manru a perfectly calm look and silently placed the soy sauce bottle in the kitchen. Behind him, Tang Manru was still chattering away. "Remember to wash your hands before you come out to eat..."

Qin Yi did not just wash his hands. He also cut open the watermelon, washed several peaches and muskmelons, put them on a plate, and carried them to the coffee table in the living room before taking his seat at the dining table.

Today's dishes included sweet-and-sour pork ribs, green beans stewed with bones, stir-fried pork with jelly noodles, tomatoes mixed with sugar, braised chicken, oil-braised prawns, peas stir-fried with cured meat, and a bowl of braised pork knuckle. They were all Qin Yi's favorites. He sat happily in his chair, looking at Grandpa Qin expectantly, waiting only for his command to start eating.

But Grandpa Qin did not tell them to begin. Instead, he solemnly asked Qin Zhenguo, "Youngest, how are things going with the arrangements for your business over there?"

"It hasn't even been a week yet!" Qin Zhenguo pursed his lips and said to Grandpa Qin with some difficulty, "Dad, didn't we agree to go to J City in two months?"

"I'm not rushing you about that." Grandpa Qin frowned and glared at Qin Zhenguo, seemingly blaming him for mistaking good intentions. "There'll be a clothing exhibition in J City in a few days. Several internationally famous fashion design companies will be attending. Doesn't your little company have its own brand in development? Why not use this chance to make a name for yourselves?"

"Us?" Qin Zhenguo's eyes widened in surprise. He turned to look at Tang Manru, who was equally stunned. "We're just a small garment factory from some remote area. How could we qualify for an international fashion expo of that scale?"

"Why not?" Hearing Qin Zhenguo's spineless words, Grandpa Qin immediately pulled a long face and declared firmly, "In China, as long as you have the ability, there's nothing you can't do!"

"Then what you mean is..." Qin Zhenguo had a faint guess in his heart, but he could scarcely believe it. Hadn't Grandpa Qin always opposed his refusal to work for the family, insisting instead on opening his own small clothing factory? Why would he...

"I've already had someone get you an invitation. But I won't help you with the designs. Since you swore you wanted to do fashion design and boasted that you would build a Chinese brand, surely you weren't just talking big?" Grandpa Qin said with a stern face. Yet the unnatural flush on his face was plain for everyone to see.

"Dad!" Qin Zhenguo stared at Grandpa Qin in astonishment, then turned to look at Tang Manru. Both of them wore utterly incredulous expressions.

"Is it really that surprising?" Grandpa Qin looked impatient. "Since you don't want to take part in the family business, then focus on your own affairs. That's better too—it'll save Dingbang from being put in a difficult position."

"Dad, I—" Qin Dingbang began somewhat unwillingly.

"I know you don't have any objections!" Grandpa Qin cut him off. "You two brothers have always been close since you were young. Whenever there was something good, you, as the elder brother, always thought of Zhenguo. Although something like that happened later... Since it's already in the past, there's no need to talk about it anymore. But you are still the family head now. There are matters where you truly need to consider the opinions of the family elders."

Hearing that, Qin Dingbang silently sat back down. Though he said nothing more, his expression showed that he had been moved.

After resting for a moment, Grandpa Qin spoke again. "Since you won't be involved in managing the family business, don't move back into the main residence yet. That way, no one can gossip later. I've already chosen a villa for you in the best area of J City. You can live there once you go over. Your mother and I are getting old, and we don't want to see you children scattered across the country. But we can't make things difficult for Dingbang either. The Qin family isn't just our branch. We also have to consider the attitudes of the second and third branches."

"Dad, I..." Qin Zhenguo was so agitated that he could not sit still. He pulled Tang Manru to her feet with him.

"Hey, sit down." Grandpa Qin waved his hand. "Zhenguo has been reckless and impulsive since childhood, never considering the consequences. But since it already happened, saying nothing but resentful words won't change anything. You're still connected by blood; break the bones, and the tendons remain. I truly don't want you brothers to become irreconcilable because of a woman."

"Dad, don't worry. I absolutely won't blame Zhenguo over this," Qin Dingbang also stood and promised.

"Words alone prove nothing. I'm already old. I won't be able to watch over you for many more years. I hope that after I'm gone, you can still remain as harmonious as you are now," Grandpa Qin said with a sigh.

"Dad, I, Qin Dingbang, swear here that I will never do anything to harm Qin Zhenguo for the rest of my life. Nor will I allow my family to do so. If I break this oath, may I immediately lose my position as family head." As he spoke, Qin Dingbang looked meaningfully at Fang Chengyue, who was seated nearby.

Fang Chengyue's expression immediately turned ugly.

"Big brother..." Qin Zhenguo looked at Qin Dingbang with deep emotion, while Qin Dingbang looked back at him with relief.

"Good! This is good!" Grandpa Qin looked at the reconciled brothers with great comfort. "Now I can rest easy."

As he spoke, the old man took a stack of contracts from his sleeve and looked at Qin Dingbang apologetically. "Dingbang, don't blame your father for favoring one over the other. You're now the head of the Qin family, while Zhenguo has already been removed from the family register. He's an ordinary person without any power now, so..."

Qin Dingbang understood perfectly. He accepted the contracts from the old man and looked them over. They merely put his earlier promise down in black and white. He nodded in understanding. "I understand."

With that, he took a fountain pen from his pocket and signed his name.

"Dingbang—" Fang Chengyue and Qin Zhenguo's couple both stood, trying to stop Qin Dingbang's actions.

"Don't move." Grandpa Qin stopped everyone with a shout. "The Qin family has done business for generations, so naturally we understand the importance of promises and trust. Verbal promises are worthless. There are three copies of this contract. You and Dingbang will each keep one, and I'll hold on to the last one for safekeeping, just in case."

"Dad—" Fang Chengyue cried out unwillingly.

"Chengyue, I know this is unfair to Dingbang. But when the family is harmonious, everything prospers. We're all family, so where can there be absolute fairness? Don't bring the Fang Family's ways of brothers turning against brothers into the Qin family, or I won't be polite with you." Grandpa Qin spoke coldly. Those words were rather severe, and Fang Chengyue immediately sat down meekly.

Qin Dingbang frowned as he looked at Fang Chengyue, then fixed his gaze on Grandpa Qin. "Dad, I guarantee Zhenguo will be safe."

"That's good." Grandpa Qin took the contracts and handed them to Grandma Qin. Then he said tiredly, "Eat."

As for the other guest at the table, Li Kaiwen, everyone deliberately or otherwise ignored him.

From beginning to end, Qin Rong held his chopsticks and watched coldly without saying a word.

Author's note: A good little update is here, mwah.

Everyone, please leave lots of comments, awooo~~

If the comments on a single chapter exceed double digits,

I'll post an extra update, okay?

Okay? Please?~~~

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Rolling around and begging for comments, awooo~~~~

PS: I saw this picture and thought it was so cute, so I wanted to share it with everyone.

Awooo~~~~

It feels so suggestive~ (≧▽≦)/~ la la la

The Origin of the Road of a Divine Swindler

Chapter 19

No talking while eating. The family quietly finished dinner, and only then did Grandpa Qin smile at Li Kaiwen. "Is this gentleman Zhenguo's friend?"

"No, I'm Li Kaiwen, an agent from Huayu Company." Li Kaiwen stood and respectfully handed his business card to Grandpa Qin. The Qin family of J City was an old and enormous family. Though they kept a very low profile in ordinary times, no one dared overlook the influence they possessed. Li Kaiwen's boss, the president of Huayu Company, was fairly capable, so Li Kaiwen had heard the president mention the Qin family on the mainland before.

Looking at Grandpa Qin sitting in the middle of the sofa with his legs crossed, Li Kaiwen had an exceptional headache. Would such a traditional and low-profile family allow one of its younger members to enter the entertainment industry?

"Huayu Company?" Grandpa Qin toyed with the business card in his hand and raised an eyebrow. "Why have you come to my son's home?"

"Your young master, Qin Yi, wrote songs for our company." Li Kaiwen spoke carefully. "Our president believes Young Master Qin is exceptionally talented. He sent me here this time to discuss a contract."

"You mean my youngest grandson is going into the entertainment industry?" Grandpa Qin asked with a frown.

"If the young master agrees, he only needs to give us the songs he creates, and we'll handle the packaging. We can guarantee that we will never force him to do anything he dislikes or anything that would damage the Qin family's dignity!" Li Kaiwen lowered his voice even further.

"...Zhenguo, what do you think?" Grandpa Qin fell silent for a moment before asking mildly. Zhenguo's family circumstances were rather special, after all, and Grandpa Qin did not want to interfere too much. He was old now and only wanted his children and grandchildren around him. It would not do if something so trivial made his grandson unhappy.