Chapter 322: Chapter 191: Restaurant Banquet (2)

Xu Tieshan didn’t stand on ceremony, taking the lead and sitting down at the center of the table.

Following close behind were the Ding Family, the Qiu Family, the He Family, and the Liu Family.

Lu Yan of the Lu Family, the last to be seated, walked up to Cheng Zongyang. Thanks to the difference in their heights, Lu Yan stared down at him, a smirk playing on his lips:

"Are you very surprised that I came?"

Cheng Zongyang didn’t care where they sat. He looked at Lu Yan and smiled faintly. "I am, actually. I thought Patriarch Lu would be too stubborn to show up."

Though he was only sixteen, his height had shot up over the past year thanks to his Martial Arts Training, and he was now almost 175 centimeters tall.

But before Lu Yan, who stood one-point-nine meters tall, he could only look up.

Lu Yan, however, wasn’t as quick to anger as before. He merely sneered at the sarcasm in Cheng Zongyang’s words, then immediately sat in the seat Cheng Zongyang had previously occupied.

It was a clear message to Cheng Zongyang about what this meant.

Cheng Zongyang simply shook his head, having no intention of getting into a petty squabble. It was meaningless on an occasion like this. He also gestured for Li Lu to sit down.

There were eight chairs placed around the table. As everyone sat down, the remaining three men and one woman stood behind their respective fathers.

Among them, Qiu Wan’Er kept staring at Cheng Zongyang, as if trying to figure something out about him.

Cheng Zongyang was, of course, aware that the woman was looking at him. ’I don’t know why Qiu Fengxing brought his daughter.’

’But remembering her calm attitude that night, it’s clear she has a rational mind.’

Cheng Zongyang ignored her completely. It made no difference to him whether a woman was clever or not.

’If she pushes me, I’ll just kill her. I’m not one to show mercy just because she’s a woman.’

’The smarter the woman, the less you can afford to hold back!’

After sitting down, Cheng Zongyang spoke up. "Everyone, shall we eat and drink first, or get straight to business?"

As he spoke, Cheng Zongyang’s gaze swept over them.

Everyone remained silent, their eyes fixed on Cheng Zongyang.

Just when Cheng Zongyang thought no one was going to speak, Xu Tieshan finally broke the silence.

"If you have something to say, then say it. As for this food and drink, we all know what’s what. It’s not necessary."

Cheng Zongyang shrugged, unconcerned.

’It’s normal for them to be wary.’

But Cheng Zongyang wasn’t going to hold back. He had only eaten a single bowl of porridge that morning, and his stomach was empty.

So, he began to eat by himself.

However, Li Lu, standing to the side, did not share Cheng Zongyang’s casual mindset. He kept a close watch on everyone’s movements.

As he ate, Cheng Zongyang said, "I invited all of you here for one reason: the development of the County Town. Steward Li has granted us full authority, which means all affairs in the County Town are now our responsibility.

The food and drink for nearly forty thousand people, the restoration of the County Town’s living environment—all of this needs to be handled by us.

It will be May soon, leaving only seven or eight months until the year-end tribute must be paid. Surely none of you want to see only money going out and none coming in, right?"

The County Town’s current population is still far from what it was in its prime. We’re short at least ten to twenty thousand people to restore it to its former size.

In his view, as long as the County Town recovered, an outside population would naturally be drawn to it.

"So, your idea is for everyone to cooperate?"

The speaker was He Shujun. He looked at Cheng Zongyang with a surprised expression. "And why would you think we would cooperate with you? Even if we were to cooperate, it would be among us six families, not with you, correct?"

Hearing the young man’s words, Cheng Zongyang asked a question of his own. "I don’t believe I know your name? In fact, aside from Patriarch Lu and Patriarch Qiu, I don’t know the names of the others here. How about we introduce ourselves first?"

The mood changed instantly.

The originally tense atmosphere relaxed, and the meeting turned into a round of self-introductions.

After everyone had given their names, Cheng Zongyang finally smiled. "There, that’s better. What’s the point in being so tense?"

The others were speechless.

The young men frowned at Cheng Zongyang, the disgust in their eyes intensifying.

’This kid is a complete fool.’ ’Does he not understand the gravity of the situation?’

"Kid, what the hell are you playing at?!" Lu Yan could no longer stand it. "We don’t have time to waste on this nonsense!"

Cheng Zongyang looked at Lu Yan, his smile vanishing as his eyes narrowed. "If you don’t want to stay," he said coldly, "you can get out."

’This guy is always trying to stir up trouble. Does he really think I’m a pushover?’

"You..."

"If you dare to slam that hand down and ruin this food, I guarantee you won’t be leaving this Restaurant today!" Cheng Zongyang’s tone was grim as he stared at the hand Lu Yan had raised to slam on the table.

"You brat, do you really think you’re invincible just because you have that saber!" The young man behind Lu Yan stepped forward.

Cheng Zongyang completely ignored the young man, his eyes still fixed on Lu Yan.

The atmosphere in the room instantly grew tense again.

Li Lu, at his side, also prepared for a fight. Although his injuries hadn’t fully healed and he knew he couldn’t win, he could at least hold one person back.

’Of course, the last thing he wanted was a fight to break out!’

"Enough," Xu Tieshan interjected. "Stop wasting time. Just say what you came to say."

Having been given an out, Lu Yan took it. But instead of staying, he snorted coldly and rose to his feet.

"Cooperation? In your dreams! Gentlemen, rather than waste our time here, let’s just divide up West City later! This snot-nosed kid wants to talk cooperation with us! Not unless he gives half of West City to my Lu Family. Hmph!"

With that, he turned and walked out.

Cheng Zongyang watched him leave, his expression calm.

Just then, Qiu Fengxing stirred, but as he prepared to rise, he felt his daughter subtly stop him from behind.

Cheng Zongyang’s gaze flickered in their direction.

Qiu Fengxing nonchalantly adjusted his posture and settled back into his seat, still not saying a word.