Chapter 561 An Expensive Gift
A modern engagement ceremony for young people should be full of romance, but with so many elders present, it's impossible to be romantic. Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing followed the host's instructions like robots, proceeding according to the program.
The engagement ceremony is not much different from the wedding ceremony. The first people to be bowed to are Ouyang Gang and his wife. They are the most senior and noble people in the room, so they are naturally ranked first.
"Come here, you two..."
After Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing bowed three times to the two elderly people sitting in the chairs, Grandpa Ouyang waved to his grandson.
"Here, take this. This girl is really pretty; she'll definitely give birth to a big, healthy son..."
The old lady pulled Qin Xuanbing over, took off a bracelet from her wrist with a kind expression, and was about to put it on Qin Xuanbing's hand. Zhuang Rui, who was listening nearby, broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the old lady did not say anything about a slim waist and round hips.
"Grandma, this is too much, my mom gave this to you..."
Upon seeing the bracelet, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but reach out and pull Qin Xuanbing's hand back.
“My daughter gave it to me, and I’ll give it to my granddaughter-in-law. What’s wrong with that…”
Seeing the old lady insist on putting the blood jade bracelet on Qin Xuanbing's hand, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but laugh and cry. After all this, the thing he gave away had actually been returned.
"Well, Grandpa didn't have anything to give you, so I'll return your jade fruit plate to you..."
As Zhuang Rui was pondering this matter, the old man beside him spoke up, and a guard placed the fruit platter ornament on the table in front of Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui wasn't afraid of the old man. He leaned forward and whispered, "Grandpa, this is a gift for your birthday. By the way, back when you were fighting those landlords, didn't you keep a couple of those old paintings you used to wipe your butts with?"
"Get out of my way. You think I don't know anything? That's an antique. Even if I had one, I would have donated it to the country. Why would I leave it to you, kid?"
The old man glared at Zhuang Rui, paused with his cane, but realized his gaze had no effect on his grandson. He shook his head and said, "Grandpa doesn't have many years left. I've mistreated you and your children in the past. These things are just material possessions. It's better for you to have them than for them to stay with me..."
"Thank you, Grandpa..."
Zhuang Rui could clearly feel his grandfather's love for him, and he bowed to the old man with all his heart.
"Mr. Ouyang, I also have a gift for you..."
Just as Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing stepped back and the two elderly people were about to get up, Hu Rong from Myanmar walked out of the crowd, carrying a large travel bag.
"Oh? You're from the Hu family in Myanmar, right?"
The old man has a very good memory. Yesterday, when he was at Yuquan Mountain, he met with the Qin family from Hong Kong, including this man named Hu Rong.
"Yes, my grandfather has long admired Mr. Ouyang and specially asked me to bring a tiger skin to keep him warm. He also wishes Mr. Ouyang and his wife good health and that the tiger's roar in the mountains will continue to be a majestic sight!"
As Hu Rong spoke, he opened his travel bag. Since everyone who entered the courtyard had been checked by the guards, the travel bag was no exception, so no one stopped Hu Rong from doing so.
Hu Rong asked Qin Haoran for help, and the two of them spread out a tiger skin in mid-air. Hu Rong even held the tiger's head high above his own head, and a colorful tiger several meters long appeared before everyone's eyes.
This tiger skin is even larger than the one Hu Rong gave to Zhuang Rui. The smooth tiger fur shines brightly in the sunlight, with its yellow, white and black colors complementing each other. The "king" character on its head adds to the tiger skin's majesty. Most importantly, there is not a single eye-catching flaw on the entire tiger skin.
"Wow!"
"This is a great find! You can't find this kind of item in the country anymore..."
"Yes, judging from the color of the fur, it must have been tanned and preserved for decades..."
After Hu Rong put the tiger skin on his head, the onlookers began to murmur among themselves.
The layman might just see the spectacle and think the tiger skin is beautiful, but the expert, like Uncle De, judges its value by the condition and state of the skin.
"Alright, I'll accept this tiger skin..."
The old man's eyes lit up when he saw the tiger skin. Although he was already mostly buried, the majestic tiger skin reminded him of his glorious days of war. So he made an exception and accepted this valuable gift.
Before he retired, he had to report to certain departments when accepting gifts from foreign friends. However, the old man was no longer in office, and now it was just a private gift. Therefore, he was not afraid of what others would say and had his guards put away the tiger skin.
Because there were too many people here, which was not conducive to security, Ouyang Gang left the courtyard with guards after blessing his grandson and granddaughter-in-law and putting away the tiger skin.
After the two elderly people left, the courtyard truly became lively. Just now, when the old man was here, no one dared to make a loud noise, but now they all started teasing the two people involved, making Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing suffer terribly.
Zhuang Rui vowed in his heart that when he got married, he would not announce it to the public and would just hold a small banquet at a hotel.
Both Qin Haoran and his wife gave gifts to their daughter and future son-in-law. The Qin family is considered a wealthy family in Hong Kong, so the gifts they gave were naturally quite valuable. Qin Haoran gave his future son-in-law a limited edition watch from overseas, and gave his daughter a diamond necklace.
When it was Ouyang Wan's turn, she didn't give her son a gift. Instead, she took out a jewelry box, opened it, and took out a jade necklace, which she then put around Qin Xuanbing's neck.
Qin Xuanbing had changed her clothes and was now wearing a low-cut cheongsam, revealing her collarbone and long neck. When the necklace that emitted a faint purple light was placed on Qin Xuanbing's fair neck, everyone in the room who could see the necklace gasped in surprise.
This is a necklace made of purple gemstones, each bead being exactly the same size. Under the sunlight, every gemstone on the necklace shines with an endless and alluring purple light, like the eyes of a lover.
It's absolutely true that beautiful women need exquisite jewelry to adorn themselves. With her fair and delicate skin, firm and high breasts, and noble and dazzling violet color, Qin Xuanbing looked like a goddess, exuding endless charm with every gesture.
"What kind of gemstone is that?"
"Oh my god, it's so beautiful..."
"Honey, I want some too..."
"Is it jade? It's unlikely..."
On Earth, it's estimated that no woman could resist such captivating jewelry. In an instant, the courtyard was filled with exclamations of amazement, mixed with the coquettish voices of some women. Of course, whether their husbands could afford such things was not a concern for these women.
"Yes, if this were jade, it would definitely have purple eyes. But purple eyes are rarely seen. Who would have so many to polish a necklace?"
"I think there was a purple-eyed jade necklace at the international jewelry fair in the UK last year, right? And that necklace should have belonged to the Qin family, so how did it end up in Ms. Ouyang's hands?"
Among the crowd were many experts in the jewelry industry. Soon, someone recognized the origin of the necklace, and many more people began to inquire. Even if they couldn't get their hands on it, knowing what the necklace was all about would give them something to brag about in the future.
"That purple eye necklace won a gold medal at last year's jewelry fair in the UK. At that time, an American offered 18 million euros to buy the necklace, but the Qin family refused. Could it be that Mr. Zhuang bought it in the end?"
The speaker was Zheng Hua. He had also attended the international jewelry expo last year and knew that the Qin family had shone brightly at the expo. Their purple-eyed jade necklace had stolen the limelight from all the other jewelry on display. Now it seemed that the reason the purple-eyed necklace wasn't sold was because Zhuang Rui had bought it.
"My God, 18 million euros, isn't that almost 200 million RMB?"
Those who heard Zheng Hua's explanation couldn't help but stare in disbelief. Although their circle consisted of top-tier wealthy individuals, jewelry worth 200 million yuan was truly rare in this domestic circle.
Some female celebrities in China, when attending important occasions, wear jewelry worth millions of yuan around their necks and act all high and mighty, wanting the media to write about it extensively, as if they want the whole world to know.
However, compared to people like Zhuang Rui who subtly reveal their immense wealth, those so-called businessmen and celebrities are practically no different from vegetable vendors at the market—they're simply not presentable.
In China today, there are quite a few people with a net worth of over 100 million yuan. Some of the top-ranked people on the Forbes rich list even have net worths of tens or hundreds of billions of yuan, but those are all fixed assets or the total assets of the entire company or group.
There are probably very few people in China who can afford to spend more than 200 million yuan on a single gift like Zhuang Rui.
Of course, these people didn't know that the necklace originally belonged to Zhuang Rui.
After attending the British Jewellery Fair last year, Zhuang Rui learned the true value of the jade necklace. At that time, his financial difficulties had also been alleviated, so he did not agree to sell the purple-eyed necklace and kept it.
After all, once you miss out on such a rare gem as a purple eye, it's hard to get it again.
Chapter 562 After Drinking
Miao Feifei, standing in the crowd, had a look of disappointment in her eyes. Although she never wore jewelry, she couldn't help but feel a strange mix of emotions at that moment.
At this moment, Miao Feifei even hated herself a little. With her usually flamboyant personality, why didn't she take the initiative to pursue Zhuang Rui sooner?
"You're only engaged, not married yet. I'll definitely make sure you give me an even better necklace than this someday..."
Miao Feifei glanced at the two people in the room and quietly left the courtyard.
The people in the courtyard were still in shock at the jade necklace that Zhuang's mother had given them, and no one noticed Miao Feifei's departure. Zhuang Rui, however, seemed to sense something and glanced in the direction Miao Feifei had left, but of course, he saw nothing.
After making a ruckus in Zhuang Rui's courtyard house for a while, the group left the courtyard and boarded several buses that had been arranged beforehand, heading to the hotel.
The engagement ceremony can be held at home, but the meal must be arranged at a hotel. It's not like twenty years ago when weddings and banquets were all held at home and neighbors would come to help. Zhuang Rui has been living here for almost half a year and has never even seen what his neighbors look like.
Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing were exhausted that morning. They hadn't sat down since they got up. Zhuang Rui was alright, as long as his spiritual energy wasn't completely depleted, he could always make up for the physical exertion. But Qin Xuanbing was standing the whole time in high heels, and after arriving at the hotel, she was so tired that she didn't want to get up from her chair.
Although he wanted to help his future wife treat her foot pain, Zhuang Rui had sworn that he would never tell anyone the secret in his eyes. So, for now, he could only help Qin Xuanbing fend off the drinks. After toasting around the dozen or so tables, Zhuang Rui's face was flushed and he was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.
"Brother Zhuang, come on, let's have a drink. Fatty Ma and I have some things to attend to, so we'll take our leave now..."
Just as Zhuang Rui finished toasting and sat down, Song Jun and Fatty Ma came over with several glasses of baijiu.
"Brother Song, Brother Ma, I'm so sorry for the poor hospitality..."
Zhuang Rui quickly took the wine glass. These two old men were quite honest; they used small cups, about six qian a cup, instead of the wine glasses. This amount of wine was no problem for Zhuang Rui.
However, many of those who came to Zhuang Rui's engagement ceremony today were busy people. As soon as someone led the way in leaving, after about twenty or thirty minutes, when they felt that the formalities were about right, they all took their glasses to toast and say goodbye.
One or two people wouldn't matter, but Zhuang Rui couldn't handle a large group. Before long, he was already drowsy and drunk. Whenever he saw someone walking over with a wine glass, he would definitely drink the glass dry.
Yue Jing, who had just felt he could hold his liquor well and volunteered to drink for Zhuang Rui, was now in an even worse state than Zhuang Rui. After being flattered by several female guests, he had downed several glasses of baijiu in a row and was now slumped on the table, snoring.
"Youngest, how did your older brother treat you when you were in college?"
As the meal drew to a close, several classmates came over, with the fourth brother carrying two glasses filled with baijiu (Chinese liquor).
"Brothers... all my brothers have been very good to me, it's just that I'm the youngest..."
When Zhuang Rui saw Lao Si's posture, he immediately understood what was going on. Well, he decided to play along today. He took the liquor, which was more than two ounces in size, from Lao Si's hand, clinked glasses with Lao Si, and tilted his head back to gulp it down. Instantly, a spicy sensation shot up from his lower abdomen.
"Hey, Fourth Brother, your alcohol tolerance seems to have increased..."
Although Zhuang Rui's face was flushed, he was still clear-headed. Lao Si was from Guangdong and would usually pass out after just one or two ounces of baijiu. Why was he drinking two ounces in one go today?
"Damn it, fourth brother, you're not going to stop until you've got me completely drunk today..."
Zhuang Rui snatched the wine glass from Lao Si's hand and drank the rest of the wine. Only then did he realize that Lao Si had been trying to outdrink him with mineral water.
However, Zhuang Rui's drinking capacity had reached its limit. After saying that, he felt dizzy and disoriented, unsure of what would happen next. If Zhuang Rui knew that Lao Si had come specifically to seek revenge because he listened to Yue Jing's advice and knew that he had been implicated by Zhuang Rui and had been kicked by Officer Miao, what would Zhuang Rui think?
"Water, water, I'm dying of thirst..."
After an unknown amount of time, Zhuang Rui woke up from his sleep with a splitting headache and a parched throat, feeling as if his throat was filled with sand. He barely managed to open his eyes and found himself back in his bedroom in the courtyard house.
"Rui, you're awake! Wait a minute, I'll go get you some water..."
Qin Xuanbing's voice rang in Zhuang Rui's ears. His eyes were still not fully awake, and he vaguely saw a slender figure walk to the bedside, sit down, and lift Zhuang Rui's head to rest on a soft surface. A steaming cup was then placed to Zhuang Rui's lips.
Qin Xuanbing was very caring; the water in the cup was half hot and half cold. After drinking the water, Zhuang Rui's senses slowly returned to his body.
Although the spiritual energy in Zhuang Rui's eyes could heal illnesses and injuries, it had no effect on alcohol. The drinking session at noon was truly the most intoxicated he had ever been in his life.
After drinking the water, Zhuang Rui fell into a deep sleep again. In his dream, two figures appeared intertwined. One moment it was Qin Xuanbing, but the next it was Miao Feifei. It was like a dream, and Zhuang Rui didn't know whether it was real or not.
"Xuanbing, Xuanbing!"
In his dream, Zhuang Rui seemed to be hugging Miao Feifei and doing something shameful. Qin Xuanbing saw this and left angrily. Startled, Zhuang Rui woke up calling out Qin Xuanbing's name.
"Rui, what's wrong? You're not having nightmares at your age, are you?"