Rebirth of the Godly Prodigal

Wang Daoming felt like laughing from the very mention of this. “Right? At that time, I had no idea he was your grandson. I just felt that this young master seemed like quite a nice person. He didn’t have airs like the sons of some other influential families, was amicable, and did not make things difficult for people. After some conversing, I thought it would be good to follow him. Working in a hair salon is rather uninteresting. The truth was, I was strapped for cash.”

Hong Tu shook his head. “This kid actually has pretty good luck. Just as well, he’s someone who can enjoy that luck.”

Hong Wei and Hong Ying both nodded simultaneously.

Wang Daoming sighed again. “Everyone says he’s a wastrel. The way I see it, he’s smart. He’s got smarts not in the little things, but in his attitude towards life. As the saying goes, one must allow others to take advantage of them sometimes to be able to enjoy life. One must be willing to give up some things so as to gain others. I have only begun to understand what that means at such a ripe old age, and the kid already knows that.”

Hong Tu smacked his thigh and laughed after hearing what Wang Daoming said. “Hahaha. So that’s what happened. This kid is pretty smart. Otherwise, I would not dote on him so much.”

Wang Daoming smiled. “Why do you think everyone around him is so nice to him?” Suddenly, he asked, “Speaking of which, I sense that you are not so friendly towards that father and son pair over there. Why is that?”

Hong Tu sighed in resignation. “You’re referring to Jianye and his son? Both he and Weiguo are my sons. I should treat both fairly by right. Unfortunately, even if a dragon has nine sons, each will be different. Weiguo is generous and treats people well. Jianye is the complete opposite. He is small minded and holds grudges. In the past, Weiguo had more aptitude for business, so I gave him more funds to play with. Jianye has never forgotten that slight.

“His son, Anbao, has the same character as his father. The two of them would never amount to much. They’re boastful and yet calculative. Sigh, there is nothing I can do about it. It’s hard because their character is such.”

This was their family matter and not something Wang Daoming should be interfering with, so he changed the subject. “You’re right. It’s true. It’s hard for a leopard to change its spots. It’s no wonder you are biased towards Dali. Family matters are hard to resolve. I have troubles of my own too. You see, I have a junior fellow disciple. He keeps wanting to challenge me to see who is stronger, but neither of us old ones has been able to win against the other. In the end, he said that we should pit our disciples against each other to see which is better. I have been worrying that his disciple will create problems for Dali.”

Hong Tu tried to remember, and suddenly exclaimed, “Your junior fellow disciple? Long-Armed Ape?”

Wang Daoming said, “Right, that’s him. His disciple’s nickname is Iron Bear. He has pushed the limits of his body to become proficient in the skill Iron Vest. In all honesty, he cannot win against me. But if I were barehanded, it would not be easy to counter him. You have to understand that when defense skills have reached a certain level, they’re able to compensate for the user’s other weaknesses. I’m worried that he will make things difficult for Dali.”

Hong Tu shook his head and said, “Hopefully, nothing bad will happen. Dali’s physique is not up to such challenges.”

“I know, which is why I deliberately took in a disciple. His name is Mu Zixiao. Hopefully, he will be of some help.” Wang Daoming laughed. “We will just do what we can and hope for the best. I think that’s all we can do now.”

Hong Ying, who was beside them, advised. “Keke, okay. The two of you should stop talking about such depressing matters. Have some tea. It’s getting late and we should rest early.”

…

In one of the spacious guest rooms of the Hong family estate, Hong Anbao was throwing a tantrum. Flinging pillows around in a fit of anger, he said vehemently, “I’m furious! Furious! Why does everyone side with that wastrel Dali? Why? In what way am I inferior to him?”

With his hair slicked back, Hong Jianye frowned. “Anbao, Dali is in the running for Best Youth in the Family. How confident are you of winning against him? Everything the kid dabbled in recently seems to be doing well.”

Hong Anbao groused. “He’s my greatest competitor at the moment. I had thought that after the spectacle he made of himself today, he would be disqualified. Who would have known that he had attended today with the intention of withdrawing from the competition, only to change his mind? Old Elder is also on his side. He just turned a blind eye to his antics. Otherwise, he would have been kicked out because his lackeys barged into the estate.”

Hong Jianye said slowly, “All right, stop dwelling on it. What happened has already happened, there’s no point talking about it. Tomorrow is the day when the most outstanding descendant will be chosen. Do your best. I have already secretly doctored the accounts for you. The first prize is 100 million in investment funds. The second prize is 80 million. You won’t have much chance to win those. The third prize is 50 million, that should not be a problem for you. The prize following that is 20 million, the difference is too big. Hence, we have to try hard!”

“I know, I have prepared the proposal for the Fierce Bull Beverage. All I have to do is present it properly when the time comes and everything should be fine.”

“Yes, Dali definitely will not have things like business proposals. You stand a very good chance.”

“I know.”

“Alright. Go to bed now.”

…

Confined room.

It may be called the confined room, but Hong Tu didn’t mistreat Wang Mingyu and the others. They were at a huge isolated two-story guest house situated on the north-east corner of the estate grounds. It had all the basic amenities. One could not leave, but it was a rather comfortable place to be.

Hong Tu did say that it was a reward for protecting their master loyally, but a punishment for barging into the estate uninvited. The confinement was the punishment, and the idyllic surroundings were the reward.

Sitting on the bed, Tang Muxin said angrily, “Dali, they will be selecting the most outstanding descendant tomorrow. How come you are not nervous at all?” The young girl was competitive and naturally was feeling anxious for Hong Dali.

Of course, she was just saying those things in passing. It was unlikely that Hong Dali would change his attitude because of her words unless the sun rose from the west.

As expected, Hong Dali laid with his head on Li Nianwei’s lap. He showed no signs of stress over the impending family meeting. He just munched leisurely on sunflower seeds and said, laughing, “I didn’t plan to join the competition, anyway. Why should I be nervous?”

Tang Muxin protested feebly, unable to come up with anything. “But… but…” Li Nianwei, however, understood. She smiled and said, “Young Master has no selfish desires. He is neither interested in fame nor fortune. Therefore, he has no need to be nervous. Xinxin, you should stop being anxious too. There is no point.”

Tang Muxin gave it some thought and realized there was nothing she could do about it, so she sat back down. “That’s true.”

This time, Hong Dali spoke. “Actually, I’m not anxious about anything. On the other hand, Sister Nianwei and the rest can only leave here after three months! What will I do during these three months?”

When she heard Hong Dali’s grouse, Tang Muxin’s eyes lit up. “I got it! Dali, say, if you managed to win a good position in the family competition, won’t you have some leverage?”

Upon hearing that, Hong Dali sat up in one fluid motion. He said happily, “Eh? I think you might actually be right. Tell me, what should I do?”

Tang Muxin thought about it, but her mind was suddenly blank. “You should… Forget it. I don’t know what to do, either. Just let nature take its course.”

“Erm…” Just as Hong Dali was listening with his mouth agape and everyone was having trouble coming up with any good ideas, Hong Dali’s mobile phone rang. Hong Dali picked it up, looked at the screen, and his face broke into a smile as he answered the phone. “Hello, Dad. Where are you? I’m here already.”

On the other end of the line, Hong Weiguo chuckled. “Dali, is everything ok? I didn’t tell you about the family meeting earlier as I did not want you to get nervous. All you need to do is just show up, there’s no need to worry. By the way, did anyone bully you?”

Hong Dali answered definitively. “No! They’re lucky I didn’t bully them. Dad, when will you be here?”

Hong Weiguo said from the end of the line, “I should be there tomorrow evening. There are a few important meetings I have to attend at the company. The meeting for my generation is the day after tomorrow, that’s why I didn’t go today. You take care of yourself there. If anything happens, call me immediately. Understood?”

Hong Dali sniffled. “I understand.” He had planned to ask about the selection criteria for the most outstanding descendant, but after some thought, decided that there was no point in asking. He wouldn’t have the time to prepare even if he knew. What he didn’t know would not trouble him. “Things are good here. Don’t worry, Dad.”

Hong Weiguo reminded him again. “Okay. Rest early, then. Remember, don’t argue with others. There’s no point to it.”

“Okay, I got it.”

I will not argue with anyone. I will just have everyone in a free-for-all fight. Yeah.

After hanging up, Hong Dali shrugged his shoulders. “Ok, that’s that for now. Everyone go do whatever you are supposed to be doing. I’m going to bed.”

And so, everyone went back to their rooms for a good rest.

It was a quiet night.

…

The next morning, all the other families’ youths had gotten up extra early to get ready their material for the meeting, hoping to gain an advantage over the others and win more funds for investment. Hong Dali’s party, however, continued sleeping.

Hong Dali opened his eyes groggily and surveyed his surroundings. “What time is it… Oh, right, this isn’t home.”

He lifted his head to take a glance at the gold plated clock hanging on the wall and flopped back onto the bed. “It’s only nine-thirty. I’ll just take a short nap. Ah, it’s hard to sleep well because this isn’t home…”

Just as he was preparing to go back to sleep, he heard the door to his room being knocked. Tang Muxin’s voice called out, “Dali, wake up and have breakfast. After breakfast, we have to get ready for the family meeting at two this afternoon!”

Family Meeting? Hong Dali was confused for a moment. Then, he remembered.

He was here to participate in some family meeting or something. Sigh, he really did not wish to attend. Such functions had nothing to do with his prodigal activities. They were bound to laugh at home. Furthermore, he had raised such a ruckus yesterday and offended so many at the meeting.

Hong Dali replied listlessly, “Can I not go…”

Tang Muxin said. “What do you think? Hurry up and wake up. Let’s just go for a walk outside after eating.”

Hong Dali got up sluggishly and got changed. “Okay, I’m coming, stop rushing me… ”