Chapter 54 - 54: Gao Manor Banquet
Once again, several weeks passed just like this and soon a month had gone by.
During this time, Lin Fan had been slowly gathering more and more points, as well as slowly cultivating himself and his pets.
But that wasn't all that happened because during this time, Boss Gao had also been coming over with his pets, spending large amounts of crystals to train them.
He didn't forget to complain to Lin Fan each time he did, but he was still shocked by the progress that his pets had made. Lin Fan had kept his promise and in just a single month, he had turned Boss Gao's pets into Gold Realm pets.
It was a bit special when Boss Gao came in today because he didn't want his pets trained, rather he came to invite Lin Fan to a banquet at the Gao Manor.
Lin Fan was surprised to see the invitation, but then he asked Boss Gao, "Are there any other guests that are coming tonight?"
Boss Gao slightly knit his brows as he said, "It's a bit troublesome, the great elder said that he would be announcing something at tonight's banquet and he told me to invite you, so he's clearly planning something."
Lin Fan's eyes turned a bit cold at this, "It doesn't matter what he's planning, he won't be able to back it up."
But Boss Gao still knit his brows, "It doesn't seem that simple. The great elder has also invited several other noble families and they seem to be sending some important members. It seems like he's already been busy recruiting different allies."
Still Lin Fan's eyes were cold, "I haven't been idle either. You'll see what I mean tonight."
Boss Gao looked at Lin Fan with doubt, but still he didn't say anything. Boss Gao just gave a sigh and hoped that everything would turn out alright tonight.
…
Once the store was closed, Lin Fan went with Boss Gao to the Gao Manor.
This time, instead of leaving Brainy behind, he brought Brainy along curled up in his sleeve.
Brainy through hard training during this period had finally reached the Gold Realm.
Previously it had been the only one of Lin Fan's pets that hadn't reached the Gold Realm which had left a bad taste in its mouth. Even if Lin Fan obtained the Aegean Giant afterwards, the Aegean Giant had grown at an incredible rate which had put quite a bit of pressure on Brainy.
So Brainy found the motivation and began focusing on training, pushing itself from the peak Silver Realm into the Gold Realm.
But still compared to the rest of Lin Fan's pets, Brainy's progress was considered quite slow.
After being driven by Boss Gao for a bit, they arrived at the Gao Manor.
Lin Fan looked around and was surprised to see that Mei Rou wasn't there, so he asked, "Where's sister in law?"
Boss Gao knit his brows and said, "I know how dangerous tonight is, you really think I'm going to bring her along?"
But Lin Fan countered, "But it would be strange if you didn't bring her along, don't you think?"
Boss Gao had to admit he was right, but he still said, "It's just a small thing, they'll pay more attention to you tonight."
Lin Fan revealed a smile, but his eyes were cold, "I'm just afraid they won't pay attention to me."
Boss Gao's heart skipped a beat from this, but he didn't say anything in response. He really just hoped that everything would turn out well.
As they slowly came to the entrance, there were several other people that they saw also arriving. Once those other people saw Lin Fan appear, several of them came over to talk to him.
"Owner Lin, I never expected that you would be here as well."
"Owner Lin, it really is rare seeing you out of your store."
Even though they said that, it was mainly out of courtesy. Lin Fan could actually tell that most of them seemed like they already expected Lin Fan to be there.
Lin Fan just smiled at them and nodded, but he really didn't say anything.
He was here for one reason tonight, so he was completely focused on this.
The other guests didn't seem to mind that Lin Fan didn't talk to them, they just gathered around him and walked in with him, talking among themselves as he smiled and nodded.
Eventually they all came to the hall of the Gao Manor where the elders led by great elder Gao had been waiting.
Great elder Gao saw that everyone was gathered and a faint smile appeared on his chubby face. He came forward with outstretched hands and everyone moved aside as he moved towards Lin Fan.
Great elder Gao came up to Lin Fan and said, "Little friend Lin, it truly is an honour that you came tonight. Come, come, we have much to discuss." After saying that, he led Lin Fan to the banquet hall.
Lin Fan just kept nodding and smiling as he followed great elder Gao.
The banquet began once Lin Fan had arrived and the mood was quite harmonious as everyone talked among themselves, but it seemed like most people were paying attention to Lin Fan.
After a while, great elder Gao raised his glass and tinked it to get everyone's attention before saying, ��I am honoured that all of you have gathered at our Gao Manor tonight, it brings me great joy that we can gather together like this. But of course, there is also something very special to announce tonight."
Great elder Gao turned over to Lin Fan and pointed his hand at him, "As many of you know, little friend Lin here owns quite the wondrous pet shop. We have been in discussion during this time and we would like to announce that little friend Lin here will officially be working with our Gao Family to develop his shop."
Everyone else was a bit surprised to hear this, but they had already expected it when they heard the Gao Family was hosting this banquet with Lin Fan as the guest of honour.
There were even a few people who wanted to figure out how to get closer to the Gao Family. While there were also a few people who had been talking to the Gao Family during this month, so there were some alliances that were already formed.
As for Lin Fan, he crossed his arms and while he had the same smile on his face, the temperature in his eyes had dropped by several degrees.
When great elder Gao was about to continue with his announcement, he was suddenly cut off by Lin Fan's cough. Once everyone's attention was on Lin Fan, he said, "I don't mean to interrupt great elder Gao, but I'm curious, when did we come to this agreement?"
The smile on great elder Gao's face dimmed a bit, but he still said in a calm voice, "Doesn't little friend Lin remember? We discussed this last time our little Fu Shuai brought you to visit. You even said that your master would agree to this."
Lin Fan said, "I remember that, but I'm pretty sure that I said that I would talk to my master about it. My master still hasn't decided during this time, so I'm not sure that there's a cooperation to talk about right now."
The smile on great elder Gao's face dimmed even more and it was now turning a bit dark, "But little friend Lin, since you're so close with our little Fu Shuai, you can already be considered a part of our family. Your master will definitely agree to this, so there's nothing to worry about if we announce it now."
At this point, Lin Fan finally stopped smiling as he looked right into great elder Gao's eyes, "Are you sure you can speak for the entire Gao Family on this?"
Great elder Gao's smile also disappeared as he said, "I'm certain that I can speak for the Gao Family. Does little friend Lin have some doubts?"
Lin Fan turned his eyes to the side as he said, "Well, I'm certain that there are a few members of the Gao Family who don't agree with you."
Great elder Gao followed his gaze and then said, "Oh, so there are still a few ants who won't give up without a fight."
Great elder Gao was currently looking at Boss Gao and his dad standing on the side.