Chapter 147: The Tang Family of Heshan Prison!

Chapter 147: The Tang Family of Heshan Prison!

In the spacious and luxurious conference room, a group of people gathered—some sitting, some lounging—drinking and chatting.

There were men and women among them. Some were clearly successful figures at the pinnacle of the social pyramid, dressed in extraordinary attire, while others were understated students wearing expensive tortoiseshell glasses paired with casual Nike or Jeanswest outfits costing only a few hundred yuan.

A few of the women were competing in elegance, dressed in limited-edition Gucci or Chanel dresses and jackets, wearing Dior perfume and La Mer face cream. They carried themselves with grace and spoke with gentle refinement; one could tell at a glance they were well-bred young ladies from prestigious backgrounds. Women of this caliber never treated themselves poorly—they would dress up meticulously even just to go out and buy a couple of cabbages.

"So, what’s the plan? Are we just going to keep waiting? Life is short, my friends; we should seize the day," a chubby man said, his entire body sinking into the sofa. He held a stemmed glass of red wine, swirling it gently to let the alcohol breathe and interact with the air.

"Rice-worm, you can afford to spend your days in Mingzhu indulging in luxury and waiting for death, coming and going as you please, but we can't. I specifically rushed back from Yangcheng. If I don't get to see the President, hasn't this trip been a total waste?" a short man said with a chuckle, holding his glass while flirting with two young women.

"Sigh, true. When it comes to figures, Southern beauties lack the height and long legs of Northern ones. When it comes to temperament, they lack the agility and grace of Jiangnan beauties. When it comes to technique, they aren't as open and passionate as the girls from Chuxiang... Tsk tsk, Brother Mouse, as the former 'Number One Lecherous Dragon' of Nanda, your life must be agonizingly difficult right now, right?"

"That’s a bit uncalled for. Let me tell you, Southern beauties are no worse than beauties from anywhere else. It’s not that the world lacks beauty, but that it lacks eyes to discover it—at least, you won't find those eyes on a 'Rice-worm' like you. Of course, once any beauty stands before our President, they all become nothing more than weeds and wildflowers," said Mouse Pang Ai with a laugh.

"How can you say that? Are we not beauties?"

"Exactly. And what we have, the President might not necessarily possess."

The two women chatting with him immediately turned hostile. One nearly couldn't resist splashing her wine on him—had it not been for the fact that his father held the lucrative position of Director of the Logistics Department in a certain Southern military region.

The man dubbed 'Mouse' by the fat man immediately surrendered, fawning, "In my eyes, wildflowers are the most beautiful flowers. Otherwise, why would people always say that home-grown flowers aren't as fragrant as wild ones? Am I right?"

The two women shifted from anger to joy, their moods lightening. In this circle, who didn't keep a few masks ready? Who didn't know how to act?

A man in small glasses sat alone by the window, drinking, not participating in the banter. He kept a straight face, appearing completely out of place with the others.

*Clang—*

The thick door with leather trim was pushed open. A man in a black suit and white shirt, possessing an outstanding temperament and handsome features, walked in. He scanned the room and said with a smile, "Everyone arrived quite early."

Seeing Lu Junzhuo walk into the room, the women's eyes lit up.

The girl who had just been chatting with Mouse poured a glass of red wine and brought it over, saying in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Young Master Lu, you've finally arrived. It’s been a while since we’ve seen you. I called you so many times during the Beidaihe gathering, but you didn't answer. You made me so sad."

Lu Junzhuo thanked her, took the wine, and said, "Beidaihe is just a place for old men and women to recuperate. Why would we want to join that crowd? If the next gathering is in Macau or Europe, I would be happy to risk my life to accompany the beauties."

Lu Junzhuo had two habits: he loved fine wine, and he loved high-stakes gambling. Macau housed the world's largest gambling groups, and Europe produced the world's most famous wines. Naturally, these were his favorite places.

"Fine then. Let’s go to Europe next time," another round-faced girl said, walking over with her glass. "I bought a small winery in the Médoc region of France and planted a few acres of vineyards. You can all come and taste the wine I made myself."

"Farmers, spring water, a few acres of land," Lu Junzhuo praised. "Xinyue is becoming more and more grounded."

"A few hundred years ago, which of our ancestors wasn't a farmer?" Xinyue said with a smile. Seeing that her winery had caught Lu Junzhuo's attention, she felt very pleased.

The third young master of the Lu family—the 'Cold-Faced Monarch' in their eyes. Every girl present had at least a little interest in him. Some liked his family background, others liked his looks. There was a certain sense of anticipation in the idea of pinning such a handsome man beneath them.

Miller, who was less than 1.7 meters tall but weighed 200 pounds, struggled to climb out of the sofa. He brought his glass over to clink with Lu Junzhuo's and asked, "Young Master Lu, what is the theme of this Red Eagle gathering? You have to give us a hint. It would give us something to look forward to while we wait, wouldn't it?"

"I’m introducing a new friend to you all," Lu Junzhuo said with a calm smile.

"Oh? A new member? Where are they from?" Mouse Pang Ai also gathered around.

"A weed with no roots," Lu Junzhuo said with a cold sneer. "No traceable origin."

"Oh?" Miller looked at Lu Junzhuo in surprise. "Then how did they pass the vetting? We don't want to be 'brothers' with a weed."

"I didn't vet them. The President did." Lu Junzhuo’s expression grew even gloomier at the question.

"The President?" Mouse sneered. "Is the President opening a backdoor? When we were vetted, we were picked through a fine-tooth comb. How did things deteriorate like this? It hasn't even been three years, has it?"

"Who knows?" Lu Junzhuo shrugged. "You should prepare yourselves. He isn't just a Red Eagle member; he might even be our new Vice President."

Everyone stared at Lu Junzhuo in shock, wondering if he was losing his mind or if Su Shan was. She wanted to push a grassroots nobody into the position of Vice President? How could that be possible?

Every circle had its class distinctions, even if many refused to admit it. The friends of a millionaire were millionaires, and billionaires had their own circles. Among the twenty-something people present, the son of a ministry-level official certainly felt a sense of superiority over the children of bureau-level officials, even if they were collectively dubbed 'the sixth generation of officials' by commoners.

"I don't accept this," Miller sneered.

"Neither do I," Pang Ai said with a forced smile. "But I am curious what excuse the President will use to push him up—she has to convince us, after all."

The Red Eagle currently had only one President and one Vice President. The President was Su Shan, the founder. The Vice President was Lu Junzhuo, whose background and status made him a natural choice. But if the new Vice President were a rootless drifter, what reason would Su Shan have to promote him?

Furthermore, a new Vice President would naturally steal Lu Junzhuo’s spotlight and resources. More importantly, Lu Junzhuo’s pursuit of Su Shan was common knowledge. How could he be happy about her forcing a newcomer upon them?

What Tang Chong didn't know was that while the women present appeared to side with Lu Junzhuo, they were secretly cheering him on, hoping he would defeat Lu Junzhuo and "conquer" Su Shan—so that they could then successfully take over Lu Junzhuo themselves. Was there any creature in this world more vicious than a woman?

"We aren't willing to accept this either," Xinyue said righteously. "We should hold a full membership vote. If the votes don't pass the majority, we have grounds to reject his membership."

*Creak—*

The door was pushed open again. Su Shan, dressed in a black top and white skirt, walked in and asked, "Who doesn't accept it?"

No one answered.

It wasn't that they were afraid of offending Su Shan; they just didn't want to be the first one to stand out. Their environment had long taught them that the nail that sticks out gets hammered. Everyone present was dissatisfied with Su Shan’s decision to promote a rootless person as Vice President. However, if you were the first to stand up in opposition, Su Shan would focus all her resentment on you alone. They didn't like to suffer losses, and they liked it even less when someone else got a bargain. This was psychology, present everywhere in a society governed by human sentiment.

"I seem to be quite unpopular," Tang Chong said, turning to Su Shan.

"A 'Mouse' doesn't care what kind of person their friend is, but a 'Tiger' definitely cares if their friend is their equal," Su Shan explained, giving these people a way to step down. "They are elites. That is why they are stricter with their partners."

"President, won't you introduce him to us?" Miller looked Tang Chong up and down while speaking to Su Shan.

"Tang Chong," Su Shan said. "The 'Tang' of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the 'Chong' of weight..."

Su Shan tilted her head to look at Tang Chong and asked, "That is how you introduce yourself, isn't it?"

"Correct," Tang Chong nodded with a smile. "Actually, there’s one more sentence. It’s not the 'Chong' of repetition. I don't like doing repetitive things, and I don't like doing the same thing twice."

"Young Master Tang looks unfamiliar," Pang Ai said with a chuckle. "Where are you from?"

This was the question about his origin and background. What Tang Chong had to do now was state his family name.

"The West," Tang Chong said.

"The West?" Pang Ai thought for a moment and said, "The Yang family?"

"No."

"The Li family?"

"No."

"The son-in-law of General Luo seems to be surnamed Tang—"

"That has nothing to do with me," Tang Chong interrupted. "I come from the Tang family. The Tang family of Heshan Prison."

With that, everyone looked at Su Shan with strange expressions. The Tang family of Heshan Prison? They had never heard of it. One had to realize that only a very few families could truly be called "The Family."

"Sigh," Tang Chong sighed, turning to Su Shan. "I knew this would be difficult. Do you have any way to convince them to accept me? If you say I am cultured and martial, a man of immense talent, they might not believe you, would they?"