Chapter 117: A forced deal
The white-haired old man sat in his wheelchair, gazing at the pond and courtyard, slightly lost in thought.
Su Can came up to him and smiled. "Grandpa Xu."
Old Xu turned toward Su Can and gave a dry chuckle. "Oh, Su Can. Jianchuan told me a few days ago you were coming. Come here, let me have a look at you. You've grown quite a bit since I first saw you. You've filled out now."
Old Xu squeezed Su Can's arm, feeling the bones beneath. His grip was strong enough to hurt a little.
But Su Can knew Old Xu was extremely stern with everyone. Part of the reason he treated Su Can this way was that illness had somewhat weakened his resolve. The other part was Su Can's special circumstances.
After Su Licheng became a deputy general manager of Big Banyan Construction, their interactions were not shrouded in the deep apprehension other children in the compound felt. To those children, Old Master Xu was always the sternest figure at every banquet, the man who would lean on his cane in summer and scold employees' children for climbing trees in the company grounds to steal white champak flowers. In many Big Banyan Construction children's private recollections, he was the great demon from Japanese cartoons like Mashín Eiyūden Wataru.
Others found Old Xu frightening, but in Su Can's eyes, he was merely strict.
"As far as I'm concerned, out of all the good-for-nothing children in this compound, Su Licheng's son is the only one I think anything of! Aren't the Americans always bragging about how amazing their students are? Yet you went over there and brought them all into line. Your father told me all about how you did at school. You're his pride and joy.