Chapter 5 A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire

Night had fallen. The watery moonlight glimmered and a cool breeze sang softly through the air. A young man stood quietly on the misty bank of the lake. His gaze was deep as he looked at the ripples forming across the lake. Yunzhou was a water city. Since time immemorial, it was known for having more water than land. And Yunwu Lake was Yunzhou city’s largest freshwater lake. Because it was covered with mist all year round, it gained the name of “Yunwu” (Misty Cloud). “Young Master, I have kept you waiting.” From behind him came the voice of an old man. It was Han. If anyone from the Chu family was here, they would be shocked to see the head butler of the Chu family, the most favored retainer of their family head, behaving so servilely towards this young man. “Has he left?” The young man asked lightly as he continued to stare at the lake. “Yes, Young Master. The family head has already left. And he told me to look after you in secret. So it will be more convenient for us to communicate in the future. Even if we are discovered, no one will find out my real identity.” Ye Fan nodded and spoke slowly: “Han, for my sake, you had to shoulder a heavy burden and endure sufferings at the Chu family. Thank you for your hard work.” “Young Master, you are too kind. If you had not saved me back them, I would have aleady died in the wilderness. From that time onwards, I have pledged my loyalty to you. Never mind ten years, I will gladly endure a hundred years of suffering for your sake. As long as I can help you fulfill your long-cherished wish, I will have no complaints.” Ye Fan smiled lightly and patted Han’s shoulder. “Thanks.” “Young Master, words of thanks are not necessary. I owe everything I have to you. And all these years, I have followed your orders and secretly supported various powers throughout Great China. After ten years, our efforts have borne fruit. There’s the boss of Yunzhou city, Li Er. And the Wang family of Beiquan city. And...” The old man excitedly recited the result of his hard work to Ye Fan, as if he was a gardener showing off his prized flowers to his master. “Young Master, when are you returning to the Chu family? I believe, when you return, all those people who have looked down on and humiliated your mother will regret what they did.” Han looked at Ye Fan, a light of hope glimmering in his eyes. He had the air of an undercover soldier who was praying for the triumphant return of his king. Ye Fan shook his head. “Han, it’s not time yet. Operation Spark needs more time. But it’s near completion. When I return to the Chu family, this spark will ignite a prairie fire!” Ye Fan clenched his hand and his eyes shone with an unfathomable light. Profound respect rose up within Han as he looked at the twenty-something young man standing before him. Most probably, even the Old Master did not think that the “low-born” person despised by the Chu family was a dragon among men. Ten years ago, Ye Fan was just a teenager, with an air of childlike innocence still about him. But what the Chu family did to Ye Fan and his mother had left him with a temperament beyond that of other men. During those years at the Chu family, Ye Fan had managed to recruit many servants to his side. Han was just one of them. After they were driven out of the family, Ye Fan came up with Operation Spark. He had given his mother’s dowry to Han. Through the old man and the influence of the Chu family, they had invested in various down-on-their-luck people throughout Great China. “The best investment is in people!” “At first, they may be only sparks. Weak and unknown. But I believe, given enough time, the sparks will ignite a fire that will burn across the prairie!” Most likely, nobody would think that the speech was made by a teenager. When he had first heard the speech, Han had been deeply impressed by Ye Fan’s far-sightedness and the maturity that was beyond his years. And now, ten years had passed and Ye Fan’s plan had borne fruit. And this deepened Han’s respect for Ye Fan. It wasn’t just gratitude that Han was feeling, but also deep admiration for the far-sightedness of Ye Fan’s plan! “Yes. When the time comes, I will throw open the gates of the Chu family and welcome you, Young Master. I await the return of the king!” Whoosh~ The piercing cold wind blew and countless ripples formed across Yunwu Lake. At this moment, Qiu Mu-Ying and Chu Wen-Fei had already moved to another restaurant for their engagement banquet. After all, the banquet must go on. And they had yet to officially announce their engagement, so there was no way Qiu Mu-Ying and her family would let the guests leave. But, even though it wasn’t their fault, getting chased out of Haiyuan Pavilion while the banquet was still in progress had caused Qiu Mu-Ying’s family to lose face. And this hit Qiu Mu-Ying especially hard. She had planned to show off in front of her relatives, but the unforseen event had caused her to lose face instead. And so, she placed the blame on Chu Wen-Fei. “Ying-Ying, that was not my fault, right?” “Who would have thought a VIP would suddenly appear in Yunzhou?” “It wasn’t my fault. Look, even that director and the president of Qianyi Group were thrown out as well. There was nothing I could have done. Your family will understand.” Outside the private room, Chu Wen-Fei was doing his best to console Qiu Mu-Ying. But Qiu Mu-Ying remained unpacified. “Hmph. Even if I forgive you for what happened at Haiyuan Pavilion, it still remains a fact that you have embarrassed me in front of my family. I don’t care. Later, your family will have to give lots of expensive betrothal gifts to make up for my loss of face. Yes, I want a million and one in cash as well. Or I will divorce you!” When her cousin, Qiu Mu-Hong, had gotten engaged, her in-laws had given her ten thousand and one in cash. The meaning behind the gift was “one in a thousand”. Now that it was her turn, she wanted to one-up her cousin with a “one in a million”. “Relax, Ying-Ying. When the betrothal gifts arrive, they will definitely make you look good in front of your family.” Chu Wen-Fei assured her confidently. “Alright then.” Only then did Qiu Mu-Ying decide to let Chu Wen-Fei off the hook. She returned to the private room and joined her family. Chu Wen-Fei then proceeded to a deserted corner to make a phone call. “Dad, have you prepared the betrothal gifts? Make sure they are expensive. The more expensive the better. Add a million and one in cash too. The people from the Qiu family are here. The Chu family can’t afford to lose face in Yunzhou. If people talk about the gifts, you will be the one to lose face.” Chu Wen-Fei laughed cheekily. “Piss off, you unfilial son. And don’t call me dad!” “You stole the household register and got married in secret. You really have got guts.” “Since you are so capable, go handle your engagement and wedding by yourself.” A man howled in anger from the other end of the line. “Dad, I only wanted to give you a grandson, to continue our family line.” Chu Wen-Fei replied timidly. “Screw you! Everyone in Yunzhou’s high society knows with the exception of Qiu Mu-Cheng, all the daughters of the Qiu family are petty gold-digging bitches! How dare you marry a woman like that? You have brought shame upon our family!” “And she wants betrothal gifts? A million in cash? Screw you. Tell this to the gold-digging bitch. Even if I die, she will not get a single cent of our money!” “Betrothal gift? I won’t give a single penny!” “I don’t want a gold-digging bitch like her to be my daughter-in-law! Not even if they are giving her away for free!” And with a slam, the call ended. Chu Wen-Fei was troubled. What could he do? He had just promised Qiu Mu-Ying that he would get her expensive betrothal gifts. If he could not come up with anything, there would be hell to pay.