Chapter 429: Xiaoyuan, Hurry Up and Thank Your Uncle
For a moment, the expressions on everyone’s faces turned a bit odd.
’Wasn’t Xiaokun making things a bit too difficult? Xiaoyuan just made it very clear that he’d rushed back from Nanjiang. How could he have had time to prepare a gift?’
Wu Xiuli quickly came to Cheng Yuan’s defense. "Xiaokun, your uncle and I are family with Xiaoyuan. We’ve already given your father a cash gift, so Xiaoyuan doesn’t need to prepare another one, does he? Besides, none of the younger generation prepared gifts!"
His cousin, Liu Qian, quickly stood up to smooth things over. "Auntie is right, none of us younger ones prepared gifts!"
A corner of Wu Kun’s mouth twitched upward. "Auntie, Qianqian, you’re both wrong. Dad just said that Xiaoyuan isn’t any ordinary junior! He’s married! Plus, for a long time, he was the one calling the shots for the Wu Family! It’s just not right for him to not prepare a gift."
Everyone nodded slightly at his words. It was true; Xiaoyuan couldn’t be treated like an ordinary junior.
All eyes turned to Cheng Yuan, wondering how he would handle the situation.
Cheng Yuan grinned. "Actually, I did prepare a gift for Uncle. It’s not a physical item, though. It’s a little surprise! I’m sure he’ll love it."
A little surprise?
Everyone exchanged confused glances.
Wu Kun wasn’t about to let Cheng Yuan bluff his way out of it. He pressed, "What kind of surprise?"
Cheng Yuan answered frankly, "I’ve invited two distinguished guests to come and congratulate Uncle."
Two distinguished guests?
The mood in the room instantly lightened, and people began to speak up in Cheng Yuan’s favor.
Cheng Yuan’s other uncle, Liu Zhengyun, was the first to speak up. "See? He’s right, Xiaoyuan really can’t be treated like an ordinary junior! Now *that’s* what I call connections! I bet even Xiaokun couldn’t pull in such high-level guests, could he?"
Everyone nodded, clearly in agreement with Liu Zhengyun.
Wu Kun nearly choked on his indignation. He stuck his neck out and retorted, "What connections could Xiaoyuan possibly have? It’s just Mei Xing’an, isn’t it? Oh, right. I heard Mei Xing’an and Gao Qingyuan are close. So the distinguished guests he’s talking about must be them, right?"
Mei Xing’an and Gao Qingyuan?
Those are some seriously important people!
For a moment, everyone’s gaze on Cheng Yuan was filled with awe.
’Even if Uncle has made it big now, he can’t afford to look down on Xiaoyuan. The consequences would be dire.’
Only Wu Renqing and his family remained unruffled.
They knew that Director Niu was holding a celebration banquet right next door, and that he would soon be bringing several other directors over to make an appearance.
What an incredible honor that would be!
In front of those directors, Mei Xing’an and Gao Qingyuan didn’t amount to a thing!
Yu Cuiping said coolly, "Xiaoyuan’s connections are decent for his age, but they’re nothing compared to Old Wu’s. In a little while, Old Wu and I will be going to offer a toast to Director Niu! And Director Niu will be bringing several other directors over to pay us a visit!"
Several directors?
The room fell silent. Everyone held their breath, staring at Yu Cuiping in utter shock.
Wu Renguang asked, looking a bit confused, "Big Brother, I don’t quite get it. You just became a Deputy Director. How do you command that much respect?"
Wu Renqing said calmly, "Director Niu is sixty. He’ll be retiring soon. Who do you think will take his place?"
It instantly clicked for everyone.
The directors weren’t paying respects to the Deputy Director, but to the *future* Director!
The entire private room erupted.
Everyone’s face was flushed red with excitement.
"Goes without saying, doesn’t it? Big Brother is definitely taking his place!"
"It looks like we underestimated the impact of the City Lord’s welcome banquet! The City Lord must really be planning to groom Big Brother!"
"If Uncle becomes a Director and then gets transferred to a regional post, wouldn’t that make him a County Magistrate? Oh my god, the Wu Family is going to have a County Magistrate?!"
Wu Renqing said with feigned modesty, "Becoming a County Magistrate is still a ways off. It would take at least a five or six-year transition."
The awe on everyone’s faces deepened. Only five or six years, and their uncle could become a County Magistrate?
That was just too damn incredible!
After all, a county was like a small kingdom!
And the County Magistrate was its supreme ruler!
If their uncle became a County Magistrate, the entire Wu Family would soar!
Everyone started frantically kissing up to him. Even Wu Xiuli kept shooting glances at Cheng Yuan, urging him to say a few nice things.
’So that his uncle would give him a good promotion once he became a County Magistrate.’
But Cheng Yuan remained unmoved. A mere County Magistrate was nothing to him; he could rearrange the City Lord’s career if he wanted to.
Cheng Yuan just kept wolfing down his king crab, as if he hadn’t eaten in a lifetime.
Seeing him act like this, Wu Xiuli was worried sick, but there was nothing she could do.
Wu Renqing watched Cheng Yuan gorge himself with great interest. He could understand his nephew’s ’frustration and humiliation.’
Wu Renqing had felt the very same way when Cheng Yuan bought Villa No. 1. For a time, Wu Renqing had been in despair, thinking he would never be able to hold his head higher than his own nephew.
After all, after twenty years of work, he was still just a junior clerk.
But now, in a sudden turn of events, he had become a Deputy Director. He could finally look down on his nephew from a position of power.
Wu Renqing tapped lightly on the table. The room fell silent, waiting for the future County Magistrate to speak.
But Wu Renqing didn’t lecture them. Instead, he looked at Cheng Yuan with a benign smile. "Xiaoyuan, what have you been up to lately? Why don’t you tell your uncle all about it? Maybe I can pull some strings for you. Even if I can’t, I can at least offer some advice."
Cheng Yuan didn’t want to bruise his uncle’s ego, but the truth was, Wu Renqing wasn’t even qualified to offer advice on the things he was involved in.
Cheng Yuan answered evasively, "Uncle, I haven’t really been busy with anything important. Just following Ruoxi around and helping out."
Wu Renqing replied in a gentle, paternal tone, "Xiaoyuan, I’ve told you before: a man needs to build his own career. You can’t rely on your wife, or you’ll never have any standing in your own home. How about this: start preparing for the civil service exam. I can look into creating a tailor-made position for you."
A tailor-made position?
Everyone looked completely dumbfounded.
Wu Xiuli asked curiously, "Big Brother, what’s a tailor-made position?"
"A tailor-made position is one where the requirements are specifically designed to match Xiaoyuan’s profile. Normally, any department Director has access to a few of these slots."
Wu Xiuli’s brow furrowed. "But Xiaoyuan has a prison record. Can he even take the civil service exam?"
Wu Renqing laughed. "My dear sister, haven’t you heard? Xiaoyuan’s conviction was overturned. His prison record has been completely wiped clean!"
What?!
Everyone was stunned, staring at Wu Renqing in utter disbelief.
’I can’t believe it. Uncle is that powerful!’
’He just became Deputy Director and he already got Xiaoyuan’s case overturned!’
’This means we’ll definitely be able to bask in his glory from now on!’
Wu Xiuli burst into tears of joy. "Thank you, Big Brother! Thank you so much for helping Xiaoyuan clear his name! SOB... I’ve waited so long for this day! I’m so happy! Xiaoyuan! Hurry up and thank your uncle!"