Chapter 11 Turbulence

The Qiu’s family house. After Ye Fan and Qiu Mu-Cheng’s departure, the remaining guests carried on with their feast. Except for Qiu Lei. The atmosphere at the feast had gotten too uncomfortable for him after his daughter’s row with the family. So he made up an excuse and left. “Lei’s family are totally useless.” “His daughter is too wilful and his son-in-law is a useless piece of trash. They have completely shamed us.” After Qiu Lei’s departure, Qiu Guang, the eldest Qiu brother, continued to sneer at his younger brother’s family. “Brother-in-law, why mention them? Today is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let’s not dampen our mood.” Wang Qiao-Yu joined in the conversation and tried to change the topic. Then she smiled warmly at her son-in-law, Chu Wen-Fei. “Wen-Fei, don’t you have some more gifts for your grandfather? What did you buy? Tell us about it. Your grandfather will be happy too.” “Yes, Wen-Fei, we are all curious. Tell us about it.” The youngest Qiu brother smiled as he looked at Chu Wen-Fei. The other relatives went with the flow and also prodded him for information. “Haha, uncle. Just wait and see. The gifts are on their way here. Once they have arrived, you will find out.” “I promise. Grandfather will receive a huge surprise.” Chu Wen-Fei said confidently and Qiu Mu-Ying hugged his arm coquettishly. Since they did receive many valuable gifts from the Chu family yesterday and those gifts did add significantly to her prestige, Qiu Mu-Ying was extremely satisfied with her fiancé. The atmosphere at the Qiu’s family house was slowly getting festive and the sombre mood caused by the argument earlier was swept away. “It looks like Wen-Fei is feeling confident in his gifts. Well, are you confident enough to beat your brother-in-law? That year, he gave us a valuable painting painted by a famous artist. Your grandfather was all smiles for several days. Now, the painting is hanging in his study. Your grandfather enjoys looking at it every day.” Qiu Guang said with a smile. Chu Wen-Fei just shook his head. “Uncle, don’t say that. A gift should not be judged by how valuable it is. It’s just a token of my appreciation for grandfather. As long the thought is there, no matter what I give, I am sure grandfather will be happy with it.” “Haha, you are right, Wen-Fei. I am too shallow.” Qiu Guang replied with a laugh. The other family members also praised Wen-Fei for his eloquence and high emotional quotient. But although they said that, they were still competitive when it came to such things. This was especially true for a vain woman like Qiu Mu-Ying. She had already told Chu Wen-Fei that he had to give something valuable or she would lose face in front of her relatives. “Wen-Fei, it’s fine as long as the thought is there. Forget about the gift. Don’t go to expense on my account. You becoming my grandson-in-law is already the best gift you can give me.” Master Qiu had already composed himself and now he had a smile on his face as he exchanged pleasantries with Chu Wen-Fei. “How could I do this. I have to give a gift or I wouldn’t be doing my duty as a grandson-in-law.” “Grandfather, just take a seat. My surprise will arrive soon.” Chu Wen-Fei was confident. When the others heard this, they started another round of praises for him. “Wen-Fei is so thoughtful~” “He’s from a rich family and so filial. Luo, your family is so lucky to get a son-in-law like him.” “Ying-Ying has found a good husband!” “Fei-Fei, look. When it’s time for you to find a husband, you must find someone like Wen-Fei. He’s good-looking, talented and a promising young man.” “Come, let us give Wen-Fei a toast~” In the courtyard, the Qiu family members were having a merry and harmonious time. Things had gotten lively as the guests talked and laughed among themselves. Chu Wen-Fei was smiling proudly in the face of everyone’s praise, and Qiu Mu-Ying’s vanity had been satisfied so she was contented. At this moment, both Chu Wen-Fei and Qiu Mu-Ying, who had been placed on a pedestal by their relatives, felt infinitely glorious as if they were standing at the pinnacle of life. When he looked at his outstanding son-in-law, Master Qiu smiled so much that he barely had time to shut his mouth. It was a scene of domestic bliss. As everyone was enjoying themselves, the butler came in and announced that a car had just arrived. “Haha~” “It’s here, grandfather. The gift your grandson-in-law prepared for you is here.” Chu Wen-Fei stood up with a smile and hurriedly ordered the servants to bring his gift in. “Whoa, it’s huge!” “Wen-Fei, what is it?” “Don’t tell me you’ve got a pretty woman in there. You even covered it up with a red cloth.” A short while later, several able-bodied men carried the gift into the hall. When the assembled guests saw this, they were stunned. The gift was around two meters wide and half-a-meter tall. It looked like a rectangular box but, as it was covered with a piece of red cloth, they couldn’t tell what it was. “Wen-Fei, don’t tell me it’s really a beautiful woman. Your grandfather is already an old man, so he won’t be able to use your gift.” Qiu Guang joked around with Wen-Fei and caused everyone to laugh. Master Qiu also chided his eldest son light-heartedly. But as the Qiu family members were laughing, Chu Wen-Fei frowned. He thought there was something strange about the shape of the gift. “It’s probably just the gift box.” Chu Wen-Fei guessed to himself and then smiled in response. “Haha, uncle, stop guessing. Just wait. And I will reveal the answer to you.” And then, under the curious gazes of their relatives, Chu Wen-Fei grabbed Qiu Mu-Ying and led her to the front. They bowed to Master Qiu who was seated at the seat of honor and said: “Thank you, grandfather, for raising Ying-Ying to be such an outstanding woman. Please accept a bow from your grandson-in-law.” “At the same time, to express my thanks, Ying-Ying and I would like to present grandfather with an evergreen pine tree from Nanshan. May grandfather enjoy immense fortune and live to a ripe old age!” Chu Wen-Fei and Qiu Mu-Ying bowed together. Master Qiu’s smile grew so wide that his lips nearly touched his ears. And he exclaimed: “Splendid~Splendid~Splendid~” “Wen-Fei, you are so thoughtful~” And everyone else followed his example and cut loose with yet another round of praises for the couple. Qiu Mu-Ying tilted her chin proudly and looked at her fiancé joyfully. Both Wang Qiao-Yu and Qiu Luo felt distinguished, as they basked in the reflected glory of their son-in-law. “Remove the cloth!” Amidst the praises of the guests and the happy laughter of Master Qiu, Chu Wen-Fei waved his hand and gave the order haughtily. But unexpectedly, when the red cloth was removed, it turned out that there wasn’t an evergreen pine tree underneath. Instead, they saw a coffin. A pitch-black and heavy coffin laid quietly on the floor. Whoosh~ All of a sudden, the door to the hall opened by itself and the cold wind howled like a devil. As it passed through the hall, the wind lifted up the piece of red cloth and caused it to flap about noisily. Pitch-black coffin. Bright red cloth. At this moment, within the hall, everyone was scared witless. Wang Qiao-Yu’s eyes were wide opened with fear. Qiu Mu-Hong and her family screamed in terror, while the children simply burst into tears. And Chu Wen-Fei was rooted to the spot as he stared unbelievably at the scene before him. It was supposed to be an evergreen pine tree, so how did it change into a coffin? As for Master Qiu, he was scared witless the moment he saw the coffin when the red cloth was removed. He trembled violently and his face turned pale as a ghost. When he opened his mouth, frightened growls could be heard. “You… You...” “You are trying to curse me to death~” Master Qiu’s body went limp and he started screaming in fear. Chu Wen-Fei actually sent him a coffin on this day of celebration. Even a youngster like Qiu Mu-Hong found it hard to accept such a twist in the plot, let alone a senior citizen like Master Qiu. Finally, Master Qiu fell off the chair he was sitting on and landed on the floor, where he laid gasping for breath. “Grandfather!” “Father~” “Quick, call 120!” The Qiu family members were in a state of confusion as they ran towards their patriarch to help him up. The eldest Qiu brother, Qiu Guang, was so angry that he sent Chu Wen-Fei flying to the ground with a kick. “You bastard. If anything happens to my father, I will kill you.” “Get lost. Look at what your son-in-law has done.~” After berating Chu Wen-Fei, Qiu Guang turned to Wang Qiao-Yu and pushed her away. “Grandfather, I… I… really don’t know what’s going on.” Chu Wen-Fei was overwhelmed with confusion. After he was kicked to the ground, he could only lay there quivering as snot and tears streamed down his face. He truly had no idea what had just happened. He had prepared an evergreen pine tree, so how did it turn into a coffin? There is this saying. Good fortune never comes in pairs and trouble never travels alone. And so, just as the Qiu family members were milling about in confusion, the butler came in with more bad news. “Master, there’s trouble. There’s big trouble.” “Our Qiushui Logistics is under investigation.” “Our ten warehouses have been sealed!” “The Qiu family assets have been frozen~” “The company executives have been taken away by the police for questioning~” “It’s over. It’s all over for Qiushui Logistics!” What? All of a sudden, the thunderstruck family members stood rooted to the ground. Fear and shock were growing in their wide opened eyes. What was happening to their family? Could it be punishment from the gods? However, as they were still struggling in a state of panic, several police cars had already stopped outside the Qiu’s family house. Several police officers got out of the vehicles and pushed open the gate to the house. Once inside, the officers produced their identifications. “Good evening, we are from the Yunzhou City Public Security Bureau.” “Qiushui Logistics is under suspicion of committing economic crimes, illegal business conduct and other offences. We would like General Manager Qiu Luo and Chairman Qiu Guang to follow us and assist in our investigation.” When they heard this, Qiu Guang’s face turned pale and Qiu Luo’s collapsed right on the floor as his legs had already turned to jelly. “I won’t let you take my husband~” Wang Qiao-Yu cried and pulled on Qiu Luo and refused to let go. But her efforts were futile. Finally, both Qiu Guang and Qiu Luo were taken away by the police. In just one night, nearly all the pillars of the family had fallen. Master Qiu was admitted into the hospital. The two most capable brothers were taken away by the police. Their warehouses had been sealed and Qiushui Logistics was in a state of paralysis. The Qiu family had fallen in just one night. Who would have thought that a celebratory banquet would end with the death knells of the Qiu family. The previously haughty Qiu Mu-Ying and Wang Qiao-Yu were now like defanged tigers and the splendor of their former selves had completely vanished. “Who did we offend?” “Why, why did the heavens treat us this way?” In the Qiu’s family house, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. The whole family was in a state of grief. But all these happenings were unknown to Qiu Mu-Cheng. After she had been chased out of the family house last night, she went home and slept. And after the troubles had hit the Qiu family, a text message was sent to Ye Fan’s phone. “Young Master Chu, the Qiu family has fallen. Those who have offended you have been punished.” “Are you satisfied with my gift?” Before the French window, Li Er smiled as he admired the wine glass in his hand. Outside the window, the sky was dark and the clouds were billowing as the wind blew. It looked like a storm was coming.