Hong Kong: Rise of the Kings.

Chapter 984 0969 [Family Gathering]

The call was from Guan Jiahui.

It turns out that Guan Jiahui's father Guan Yueshan and mother Zhang Bingqian have been worrying about their daughter's coming-of-age ceremony these days.

Coming-of-age ceremony was a custom of wealthy families in the old society. The Guan family used to be a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner during the Qing Dynasty and was a wealthy family.

Guan Yueshan's father was the deputy commander of the Liaodong District before liberation, and he was also in a high position of power.

Large families like this one have always had the custom of holding coming-of-age ceremonies for their children. Even when the family moved to Hong Kong, this custom was still preserved.

Guan Shan has seven brothers, and he is the third. In Hong Kong, he has the eldest brother, the second brother, the fourth brother, the fifth brother and the sixth brother. The seventh brother died young.

According to Guan Yueshan, Guan Jiahui is the most promising child in their lineage, so he asked Guan Jiahui to be prepared. When the whole Guan family gathers together, as children of the Guan family, there will be banquets and gifts to receive, which is also a way to demonstrate their own connections and abilities.

However, Guan Yueshan was also very worried. When he was a big star, he had a wide network of contacts. But now his career was bleak. He could not compare with his eldest brother, second brother, or even his three younger brothers in terms of connections and wealth. He might make a fool of himself this time.

Guan Jiahui was instilled with a sense of "family honor" by her parents since she was a child. She knew that she was born into a noble family, from the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, and that a lean camel is bigger than a horse. She had to maintain aristocratic demeanor at all times, especially at family gatherings, to bring honor to her parents.

Now that the coming-of-age ceremony is about to begin, Guan Jiahui feels under tremendous pressure, so she calls Du Yongxiao, hoping to get some comfort from him.

After listening to Guan Jiahui's story, Du Yongxiao scoffed at this kind of coming-of-age ceremony in the old society, but he could not show it.

It was not until Guan Jiahui told Du Yongxiao that she didn't know why she felt a little nervous about this family gathering and didn't know how to deal with it.

Du Yongxiao spoke on the phone, telling her to go with peace of mind, as he was behind everything.

Hearing Du Yongxiao's comforting words, Guan Jiahui felt inexplicably calmed down.

snap,

Du Yongxiao hung up the phone and rubbed his temples with his fingertips.

Da Tou Wen and Zhuang Dingxian looked at each other and said, "Brother Xiao, do you want us to do something?"

Du Yongxiao smiled and looked at them: "What do you want to do?"

Datou Wen stepped forward and said, "At least give Miss Guan some face!"

"Yes, it's her coming-of-age ceremony after all, so help her prepare some gifts first!" said Zhuang Dingxian.

Du Yongxiao exhaled: "You guys make the arrangements, I'm a little tired."

"Yes, Brother Xiao! Don't worry, everything will be arranged properly by then."

Du Yongxiao nodded, picked up his coffee, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked out at the bustling streets of Hong Kong.

Flowers are blooming,

The sun is like fire.

……

After the Guan family moved to Hong Kong due to the war, they have been settling in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Guan Yueshan's elder brother Guan Yuejun came to Hong Kong with his savings, bought properties, and invested in the tobacco and clothing industries, making considerable profits. He can be said to be the undisputed head of the Guan family today.

However, the only person Guan Yuejun respects is his mother, Mrs. Zeng.

Mrs. Zeng is 73 years old this year. She has experienced the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and the current period of liberation, and has given birth to seven sons and three daughters.

Especially after her husband passed away, Mrs. Zeng took control of the family. She sold off her property and antiques to invest in her sons' businesses, which enabled the Guan family to live a decent life in Hong Kong.

The Bordered Yellow Banner is gone, but the prestige of their Guan family remains, and all of this is supported by Old Lady Zeng alone.

For everyone in the Guan family, Grandma Zeng is the backbone and pillar of the family, and is the object of respect and admiration of everyone.

The Guan family mansion is located in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of ​​Kowloon. Although every inch of land here is valuable, the Guan family was able to build a thousand-square-foot house here. This shows that the strength of this generation of the Guan family should not be underestimated.

At this time, in the hall of the Guan family's mansion, Guan Yuejun, a man with a broad chest and a broad mouth, was wearing a long robe and standing respectfully beside his mother, Mrs. Zeng, listening to the old lady's lecture.

Mrs. Zeng, who is 70 years old this year, has a youthful face and white hair, and looks energetic. She wears a red jacket, a phoenix hairpin and pearls in her hair, and is dressed like the old princesses of the Qing Dynasty.

In addition to the eldest son Guan Yuejun who accompanies Grandma Zeng, the ones in the lower positions are the second son Guan Yueqing, the third son Guan Yueshan, the fourth son, the fifth son and the sixth son.

Below them are the younger generations of the family, including Guan Jiahui, all of whom are the grandchildren of the great-grandmother, almost dozens of people.

Clearing her throat, Old Lady Zeng said, "Tomorrow is the coming-of-age ceremony. How are you all preparing?"

"Mom. Don't worry, everything is ready."

Guan Yuejun, the eldest son of the Guan family, spoke first, "I have sent out all the invitations, and I personally went to Taibai Seafood Restaurant to invite the chef there to come over and prepare a banquet for a hundred people tomorrow. In addition, I also specially invited several bigwigs from the Chinese business to attend the event to support my son Guan Jiajun. When the time comes, all the guests will be here, and I will definitely not let you down."

Zeng Peihong nodded with satisfaction. Guan Jiajun can be regarded as the leader among the younger generation of the Guan family. He has now started to do business with his father, focusing on tobacco. Not long ago, he also became the agent of a tobacco brand from Singapore and promoted its sales in Hong Kong.

It can be said that Guan Jiajun is the grandson most favored by the old lady.

Old Lady Zeng looked at her second son Guan Yueqing and asked, "What about you?"

Guan Yueqing smiled and answered confidently: "You know, my daughter Jiamei just came back from studying abroad in the West and met many foreign friends. Tomorrow we specially invite these foreign guests to attend our Jiamei's coming-of-age ceremony. Many of them come from prominent families, and their parents are either bankers, lawyers or doctors..."

After a pause, he continued, "Anyway, I will dress up our Jia Mei beautifully and let her attend the event in her best attire. She will definitely stun the crowd. Maybe she can even get to know those rich young men and become our Guan family's future son-in-law."

Mrs. Zeng nodded with satisfaction, then looked at her third son, Guan Yueshan, and her face darkened: "Third son, what about you?"

Guan Yueshan looked up blankly: "I..."

"Third brother, you didn't prepare anything, did you?"

The eldest brother Guan Yuejun frowned and said somewhat unhappily.

"Third brother, if you need anything, just ask me. I can still help you with some money." The second brother Guan Yue said with a wry smile.

"Ahem, how can you say that?" Guan Yueshan was obviously embarrassed, but he couldn't argue. Everyone shook their heads and looked at Guan Yueshan as if he were a fool.

The eldest brother Guan Yuejun's expression was one of anger at the lack of fighting spirit and disappointment at the failure of his son to make progress.

The second oldest, Guan Yueqing, had a sarcastic expression on his face. He thought that Guan Yueshan had played a good hand badly and there was no hope for him.

The fourth brother and others shook their heads and sighed, feeling that it was truly sad and lamentable to have such a cowardly brother.

In fact, everyone, including Old Lady Zeng, thought that the third son was not very ambitious.

The Guan family is a wealthy family after all. They were formerly the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, which is more simply the royal family of the Qing Dynasty.

No matter how poor or miserable you are, you cannot become a low-class actor.

But the third son, with the money he got from selling antiques at home, did not use it to learn business and investment, but instead went to the Shaw Brothers Studio to learn how to make movies.

No matter whether you are a big star or a famous person in the movie industry, aren't you still an actor in the end?
Actors are despised and looked down upon in their royal circle!

The third brother has brought complete disgrace to the Guan family.

Old Lady Zeng looked at this useless son with mixed feelings. To be honest, she used to love the third son the most because he looked most like his father and was also one of the few handsome men in the Guan family. Unfortunately, such a handsome face did not bring honor to the Guan family, but instead brought shame to the Guan family. Is filming a good thing? Is it something that people from the royal family can do to be in the spotlight?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. The old lady said, "Third brother, what did I say back then? I told you not to film, I told you not to film, but you refused to listen! It's fine if you film yourself, but you married an actress! Hehe, now look, your eldest brother and second brother are both successful in their careers, and your three younger brothers, although not as good, at least have some family assets, but what about you? What do you have? I heard that you can't even film now, and you can't even pay the water and electricity bills..."

"Ahem, Mom, stop talking! I'm not that serious yet—" Guan Yueshan said awkwardly, "I'm just taking a break. Many crews are inviting me to be the leading actor..."

"The male lead? I think you've been blinded by greed! We are members of the imperial family, members of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Why would we be actors or play the male lead? Back when the Empress Dowager was alive, she said that actors and singers are all of the lowest class! They are not worthy of being on stage!"

The old lady couldn't bear it any longer and bombarded the third son.

Guan Yueshan's face turned red from being scolded, but he didn't dare to refute.

At this time, Guan Yuejun, as the eldest brother, couldn't stand it anymore. Even if the third brother was useless, he was still a member of the Guan family and his own brother. As the eldest brother, he still had to protect him.

"Mom, please calm down first!" Guan Yuejun said, "Although the third brother has taken the wrong path, at least you still have a good granddaughter. Jiahui is young and beautiful, and is considered a leader among the younger generation. If things go well, we can find her a husband with a good family background. Maybe we can change the style of the third brother's family..."

"Yes, third brother! The eldest brother has already said that your lineage is finished now. You can't support the Guan family. It's better to put your hope on your daughter Jiahui. With her beauty, she may be able to help you find a rich husband!" The second brother said sarcastically.

Guan Yueshan was so embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole to hide in. He didn't expect the second brother to say this to him. He immediately said angrily: "Second brother, what do you mean by this? Do you want me to sell my daughter in exchange for wealth and glory? Even if I am poor, Guan Yueshan will never do this! Jiahui is my baby. She can decide who she likes and who she doesn't like. We as parents will only give her advice and will never interfere!"

"Haha, that sounds nice!" The second oldest, Guan Yueqing, sneered, "I don't know who took my daughter to a celebrity charity auction last time, hoping that she would get to know the big guys there—"

"You, you, you are talking nonsense!"

"Am I talking nonsense, or are you refusing to admit it?"

Guan Yueshan was so excited that his face turned red, and the second brother Guan Yueqing became more proud when he saw him like this.

He also had a daughter, Guan Jiamei, but unfortunately she was not as pretty as his third brother's daughter, Guan Jiahui. No matter how hard he tried, Guan Jiahui would always steal the limelight from his daughter during every family gathering, making his daughter very sad every time.

As a father, he saw it all and felt heartbroken, so of course he had to find an opportunity to take revenge on the third brother's family.

Seeing the second and third sons bickering, the old lady couldn't bear it any longer and slammed the table and said, "Enough!"

Everyone was shocked.

The boss Guan Yuejun signaled everyone to shut up.

The second and third children also looked at their mother.

Old Lady Zeng looked at her sons and snorted coldly, "You have all become successful and powerful! You dare to quarrel in front of me. You really don't take me seriously!"

"I'm sorry, Mom, I was wrong!"

"Mom, please calm down."

Several sons hurried to comfort him.

The old lady was still furious, and finally said: "Anyway, there will be many distinguished guests tomorrow. If you continue to behave like you did today and bring shame to our Guan family, I will never let you off easily!"

"Yes!"

Everyone bowed.

……

Today is the grand day for the Guan family to hold their coming-of-age ceremony. The entire Guan family mansion is decorated with lights and is extremely lively.

Guan Jiahui followed her parents to the family mansion and met with Grandma Zeng, her uncle and others.

Old Lady Zeng had met Guan Jiahui several times, and every time she saw her, she felt that the girl had become more beautiful, especially now. She became even more beautiful, with skin as smooth as a baby's and a face as bright as the moon. She was simply a porcelain doll.

"Hey, if the Guan family hadn't declined, this girl would have been the most beautiful princess in the Qing Dynasty! With her status, position, and peerless beauty, she might even be chosen by the emperor. By then, she might even become the queen and the mother of the country..."

Uncle Guan Yuejun looked at Guan Jiahui and sighed, "Why are the genes of my third brother so good? My third brother is handsome, and his daughter is also so outstanding!"

Second uncle Guan Yueqing looked at Guan Jiahui and compared her with his daughter Guan Jiamei. He couldn't help but shake his head. His daughter couldn't compare with her in terms of beauty. Fortunately, his daughter studied hard and was an international student. At least she was more talented than Guan Jiahui.

Looking at the other younger generations of the Guan family, they were also amazed by Guan Jiahui's beauty, and each of them showed a look of surprise.

Guan Jiamei, in particular, felt sad when she looked at Guan Jiahui.

As soon as Guan Jiahui arrived, she was outshined. In front of Guan Jiahui, she was like a bird looking up at the phoenix.

But soon, Guan Jiamei sneered at Guan Jiahui's beauty. What's the point of being beautiful? This girl didn't even get into college. She has beauty but a lot of nonsense! Unlike her, who excels in academics and wants to be a lawyer in the future!
Yes, a woman cannot rely on her looks to make a living all her life, only talent is lasting.

When Guan Jiamei thought of this, she felt that her spiritual realm seemed to have been elevated a lot.

The old lady here gave the order, asking all the grandchildren to go down and prepare. They are the protagonists of the coming-of-age ceremony today, so they must dress up beautifully and not be rude in front of the guests.

(End of this chapter)