Chapter 478 - 264: Not in the Same League

You can lose the fight, but not your presence.

"What’s the big deal about a car? It’s just a tool for getting around."

Zhou Hui insisted stubbornly, "A house is what’s really important. Our Gu Yan and Gu Xing bought a 179-square-meter luxury flat at Vanke Emerald Cloud Platform. With renovations, it cost four million yuan!"

"Oh, so expensive? The house my boyfriend gave me only cost ten million."

Wu Chuchu curled her lip. "Oh, and that’s not even counting the three million for renovations."

"Chuchu!"

Seeing Zhou Hui’s expression grow darker, He Chunmei couldn’t help but glare at Wu Chuchu.

"I’m not the one who started it."

Wu Chuchu ducked her head and hid behind Qi Sheng.

Besides, she was just telling the truth.

Qi Sheng really had bought her and her sister a luxury lakefront flat in Chengdu.

If she didn’t love sticking to her sister so much, Qi Sheng would have even considered buying them each a separate place.

Seeing Zhou Hui showing off, she couldn’t resist clapping back.

’A house that costs only four million, renovations included?’

’For her and her sister, that was just two months’ worth of pocket money.’

’Besides, about Gu Yan and Gu Xing’s place...’

’...it’s doubtful they even paid in full.’

’They most likely just made a down payment.’

’Not everyone could buy houses like they were buying groceries, the way Qi Sheng did.’

...

Back in the car, Zhou Hui sat in the passenger seat, muttering incessantly, absolutely furious.

"Those two girls are too much! They’re not even family yet and they’re already this arrogant!"

"Mom, why don’t we just drop it?"

Gu Xing, sitting in the back, had a more zen-like attitude about it.

’Anyway, I definitely don’t stand a chance.’

’Their boyfriend is tall, handsome, and incredibly generous.’

’Giving them a luxury car, then a luxury mansion.’

’There’s just no comparison!’

As for his older brother, Gu Xing felt his chances weren’t great either.

From beginning to end, Wu Qingqing’s gaze had barely landed on his brother.

But when she looked at Qi Sheng, her eyes were filled with an undisguisable affection.

’I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking it.’

’But I keep getting the feeling that both sisters have fallen for that guy.’

...

On the shores of East Lake, every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.

A three-story villa on Huangli Road was home to the recently opened Yu Tu Restaurant.

It brought a profound shock to the taste buds of Wuhan’s wealthy elite.

High-end Cantonese cuisine, combined with the essence of Hubei dishes.

Without breaking a sweat, it had become the top-tier restaurant for business banquets in Wuhan.

The cheapest "Select" tasting menu at Yu Tu started at 1,500 yuan.

The next level up, the "Chef’s" tasting menu, was as much as 3,000 yuan.

Although expensive, it was worth every penny.

Treating someone to a meal here also gave one a great deal of face.

Yu Tu’s decor, much like Zifei’s, spared no expense.

Jie Chao, who had just taken office as the general manager of Zhuangyu Catering, had specially invited an expert in ancient architecture from the Capital City to transform the villa into the style of a Ming-Qing dynasty mansion.

The renovation costs for the restaurant alone reached 15 million yuan.

The vermilion and dark gold walls exuded a visible sense of luxury and avant-garde style.

It used original paint imported from Italy, the kind that villa owners were usually only willing to use on a single TV accent wall.

The entire restaurant was coated in this paint.

This item alone cost two million yuan.

A line of young male waiters, all over 180cm tall, stood with ramrod-straight posture.

They were all uniformly dressed in suits, wearing black gloves to welcome guests.

The female waitstaff were similarly all over 165cm in bare height, dressed in form-fitting black qipaos.

Each rated at least a 70 on a scale of 100 for appearance.

Handsome men and beautiful women are inherently pleasing to the eye.

The high-class atmosphere of the restaurant was overwhelming.

When Gu Yan and his family got out of the car, they couldn’t help but be stunned.

"Do you have a reservation?"

The male waiter bowed slightly, asking them with a polite smile.

"Yes, the Carefree Travel private room."

Zhou Hui stated the room’s name, feeling a little self-conscious.

"This way, please."

Hearing the name of the private room, the waiter’s smile immediately became even more enthusiastic.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

The waiter didn’t push the door open directly, but knocked first.

"Come in."

Only after receiving permission from inside did the waiter push the door open.

He bowed slightly to Qi Sheng, who was at the head of the table. "Boss, the guests have arrived."

"Mm, you can go back to your duties."

Qi Sheng smiled and waved his hand, then greeted Zhou Hui and the others.

"Aunt Zhou, and you Gu brothers, please sit. Uncle Gu, please sit next to Uncle Wu."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Zhou Hui subconsciously followed Qi Sheng’s instructions, her mind still struggling to process the situation.

’On the way here, she’d heard Gu Yan talking about how high-end this place was.’

’A casual meal here could easily cost over ten thousand.’

’It was a high-end restaurant that ordinary people simply couldn’t afford.’

’And it turns out the owner of this restaurant is that girl Wu Chuchu’s boyfriend?’

"Old Wu, is this Chuchu’s boyfriend?"

After sitting down, Gu Jianhua curiously tried to get some information from Wu Tao.

"I suppose so."

Wu Tao shook his head with a wry smile, too embarrassed to explain their real relationship.

"Ah, I was originally hoping our two rascals could get together with your two girls and make a pair of matches. Looks like that’s off the table now."

Gu Jianhua had been in business for many years. While he wasn’t fabulously wealthy, he was much better off than the average person.

The down payments and renovations for his two sons’ apartments had cost him a combined three million, nearly wiping him out.

But compared to a successful young man like Qi Sheng, he was clearly leagues behind.

’Just this restaurant alone, with business booming every day...’

’...its annual profit must be in the tens of millions, at the very least.’

And this was no exaggeration; if anything, it was an underestimate.

After all, Yu Tu had a high price per customer and its table turnover rate wasn’t low either.

Using the term "table turnover rate" for such a high-end restaurant was a bit strange.

Just managing to fill all the seats was already a difficult feat.

But somehow, Yu Tu possessed that kind of magic.

"Whoa, Old Wu, you’re really living large now, huh? Smoking Fuchun Mountain Residence and even drinking aged Moutai?"

Gu Jianhua was surprised to see that the cigarettes Wu Tao placed on the table had been switched to the somewhat familiar Liqun Fuchun Mountain Residence.

’Wait a minute, is that Moutai on the table over 30 years old?’

’Damn, Old Wu is really doing well for himself!’

"Are these cigarettes expensive?"

Wu Tao paused, a little confused.

Although he was a long-time smoker, he usually only splurged on Nanjing Xuanhemen.

"Tsk, ’expensive’ doesn’t even cover it. A carton costs over twenty thousand."

As soon as Gu Jianhua finished speaking, he watched Wu Tao deftly stuff the cigarettes back into his pocket.

Then, like a magician pulling a trick, he produced a pack of Nanjing Xuanhemen.

"Alright, alright, I’m being open with you, my brother, and you’re playing games with me?"

Gu Jianhua quickly opened the bottle of Moutai on the table.

He poured a glass for Wu Tao and himself, then took a long, appreciative sniff.

"Thirty-year-old Moutai... now that’s smooth!"

"Thirty years?"

Only then did Wu Tao take a closer look at the opened bottle, realizing it did indeed look different from ordinary Moutai.

"Old Wu, with a son-in-law this amazing, what’s there to be stingy about!"

"In the future, drinking Moutai like water won’t be a problem."

Gu Jianhua was open-minded about it, teasing with a laugh.

’His family just wasn’t fated to marry Old Wu’s two daughters.’

As a shrewd businessman, he wasn’t about to offend a young man who was so wealthy, powerful, and had an unknown background.

There were plenty of beautiful women in the world.

His own family’s circumstances weren’t bad either, so why insist on fighting for the Wu family’s twin beauties?

When the kitchen started sending out the dishes, the 3,000-yuan-per-person Chef’s tasting menu left everyone at the table satisfied and full of praise.

As the banquet was nearing its end, the head chef, Fu Yueliang, came over to greet them, primarily to ask for the boss’s opinion.

"Is it stressful, taking on the lead role here by yourself?"

In front of the others, Qi Sheng naturally wouldn’t find fault with Fu Yueliang.

"There’s definitely pressure, but I’m confident that my team and I can deliver results that will satisfy both you and the group!"

Fu Yueliang was full of confidence as he answered.

Since its opening, the restaurant’s reputation had been maintained at a very high level.

His culinary skills were also highly acclaimed.

At the very least, the 3,000-yuan-per-person Chef’s tasting menu gave many diners the feeling that their visit was more than worthwhile.

The 4,500-yuan-per-person Master’s Omakase was also drawing considerable attention from many diners.

But currently, within the entire Zhuangyu Catering Group, the only one who had reached the Master Level in Cantonese cuisine was Huang Zhihui.

The Hangzhou branch couldn’t spare him for the time being.

They could only see if there would be a chance in the future to invite Huang Zhihui over for a temporary residency of a few days.

Qi Sheng chatted with Fu Yueliang for a bit longer before sending him back to the busy kitchen.

After the grand meal, the relationship between the two families had become much more amicable.

Even Zhou Hui had come around, chatting and laughing with He Chunmei.

’It was true her two sons were outstanding.’

’But the Wu family’s two daughters were national beauties.’

’In ancient times, a commoner family like theirs wouldn’t even have been qualified to glance at them.’

After seeing the Gu Jianhua family off, Wu Tao looked at Qi Sheng with a rather complicated expression.

To say he wasn’t dissatisfied would be a lie; he certainly had some reservations.

But thinking of the lavish gifts Qi Sheng had given, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything to refuse him.

That bottle of aged Moutai they had drunk alone was worth over a hundred thousand yuan.

It was a good thing he’d reacted quickly, or that old rascal Gu Jianhua would have definitely opened another bottle.

Wu Tao was too embarrassed to speak, so he shot He Chunmei a meaningful look.

He Chunmei rolled her eyes at her husband, then asked with a smile, "Ahem, Ah Sheng, have you booked a hotel for the night?"

"I actually haven’t booked a hotel."

Qi Sheng understood what He Chunmei and Wu Tao were getting at, which was their tacit approval of his relationship.

It wasn’t like they could disapprove, anyway.

One of their daughters had been disobedient since she was a child, and the other was stubborn.

Add to that the fact that Qi Sheng was so young and already so successful, Wu Tao and He Chunmei had come to accept the absurd relationship between their two daughters and Qi Sheng a little more.

"Well... if you don’t mind, you could just make do on the sofa at our place tonight."

He Chunmei glanced at her husband. They couldn’t just let Qi Sheng go looking for a hotel at this hour.

"I was just joking with you, Uncle and Aunt. I really didn’t book a hotel, but that’s because I have a house here."

Qi Sheng had no intention of sleeping on a sofa and decided to stop teasing the old couple.

"What?"

He Chunmei was stunned for a moment. "Ah Sheng, you have a house in Wuhan?"

"Heaven and Earth Cloud Court. Uncle and Aunt, you’ve probably heard of it, right?"

Qi Sheng said with a smile, "I had someone buy a place there for me. I’ll be heading over to stay there later."

"Heaven and Earth Cloud Court?"

Wu Tao and He Chunmei both couldn’t help but swallow hard.

As locals, how could they not have heard the name of Wuhan’s number one luxury residence?

In fact, the name was thunderously famous.

As an out-and-out, first-tier river-view luxury residence in Wuhan’s inner ring, Heaven and Earth Cloud Court was just a few hundred meters in a straight line from the riverside.

Heaven and Earth Cloud Court was to Wuhan what Tangchen Yipin was to Shanghai.

In Wuhan, where the average housing price was around 15,000 yuan per square meter, the average price for a pre-owned unit at Heaven and Earth Cloud Court had long since broken the 50,000 yuan mark.

It was even approaching the sky-high price of 60,000 yuan per square meter.

A price of 50,000 per square meter in Wuhan was equivalent to 150,000 per square meter in Shanghai.

A luxury complex that could command such an average price was definitely in the absolute top tier.

Compared to Heaven and Earth Cloud Court, the Vanke Emerald Cloud Platform apartment that Zhou Hui’s two sons had bought, which she was so proud of, was utterly insignificant, not even in the same league.

With prices easily hitting ten or twenty million, even newly minted tycoons with assets just over one hundred million couldn’t afford a place in Heaven and Earth Cloud Court.

Even the pickiest of elders would find it hard not to favor a golden son-in-law who owned property in Heaven and Earth Cloud Court.

’They had heard from their daughters that Qi Sheng’s business was primarily centered in Chengdu.’

’Buying a place in Heaven and Earth Cloud Court was clearly for their daughters.’

The old couple exchanged a silent glance, growing more and more satisfied with this prospective son-in-law.