Chapter 356: Transfer of Authority
Tang Xiu was silent for a moment, before he slowly nodded and said, “Since the Bai Family is our people, we can’t sit idly by and do nothing. I’ll go to Fukang to visit the Huang Family personally. Wait for my news.”
“I’ll go with you!” Tang Yunpeng quickly said, “Though I have no friendship with Huang Jinfu, I’m, after all, the governor of Xusu, so he would at least give me a little face.”
“Big Uncle, how long have you been in Guangyang?” asked Tang Xiu.
Tang Yunpeng was surprised for a moment as he said, “It’s the third day today.”
“Big Uncle, if you trust me, I think you should go back to Xusu. The Yao Family only sent Yao Xinhua while our Tang Family made you come here personally. Thus, I feel like we’re thinking too highly of them. Since we and Yao Xinhua are the younger generations of our respective families, then let it be our contest.”
"You…" Tang Yunpeng’s mouth opened, yet he swallowed back what he was about to say.
“I’m not proud nor impudent, neither am I taking the enemy lightly.” Tang Xiu confidently said, “The Yaos and the Tangs have yet to fully lose all decorum. I believe they also have some scruples since they opted to hit us in Guangyang and Fukang. Hence, let’s think of these two provinces as a battlefield. If we fail, it shows that we do have some shortcomings. But if we win, on the one hand, we can crack down the Yao family; and on the other hand, we can also prove that the younger generation of our family are better than the Yao’s.”
Frowning, Tang Yunpeng said, “Tang Xiu, I don’t know how much you know about the top families in the country, but the manpower and businesses in Guangyang and Fukang are very important to our Tang Family. Were we to be defeated here, the strength of our Tang Family will be weakened to one-fifth.”
“If the Yao is the defeated?” asked Tang Xiu.
“If the Yao is defeated, their situation would about the same as ours. The Yao family is more powerful than our Tang Family; hence, their actual strength is several times of ours.” Said Tang Yunpeng.
“So, if the Yao is defeated, our Tang Family can tie them up?” asked Tang Xiu.
Tang Yunpeng contemplated for a while before saying, “Even if we can tie them up, there’s not much difference I think. As long as those figures with real power in the Yao Family are not stupid, they wouldn’t act against us again temporarily. What our Tang Family really needs the most now is time. If we can have some more time, our strength will drastically increase.”
“Big Uncle, you appear to be very confident. Why?” asked Tang Xiu as he knitted his brows.
“It not stem from my self-confidence. It’s because of our old head’s sickness. The reason as to why the Yao family moved on our Tang Family now was like casting stone to clear the road to probe us. When father’s sickness was cured by you, only a few people learned about it. Hence, outsiders are clueless about the old man’s recovery. A few days ago, father personally ordered the core members of our family to start a development plan for the next five years. Once the plan succeeds, the strength of our Tang Family will go back to the top, and we’ll be in the top three families of the country.”
“How do we start the development?” asked Tang Xiu, surprised.
A smile outlined on Tang Yunpeng’s mouth as he said, “By pouring the money we’ve accumulated for the past decades into the plan.”
Startled inwardly, Tang Xiu contemplated for a while as he slowly said, “Let’s first not speak about the family development for now. Just leave the battle for Guangyang and Fukang to me! I can’t guarantee a steady victory, but if we were to defeat them, I have the confidence to make the entire manpower of the Yao family in these two provinces to completely disappear.”
Tang Yunpeng stared blankly.
Completely disappear?
If all of the Yao Family’s manpower here were to disappear, isn’t it tantamount to having them as mutually defeated and wounded as the Tang family?
As Tang Yunpeng thought quietly, all sort of thoughts were churning in his mind. After a long while, he then slowly said, “Go out first! I’ll give you the answer after dinner.”
“Alright!”
Tang Xiu got up. He knew that Tang Yunpeng wanted to report to his grandfather—Tang Guosheng for instruction, thus he didn’t give him the answer now. However, Tang Xiu was confident that the old head of the Tang family would agree. After all, he had revealed a lot of the cards in his hand already.
Quickly, Tang Xiu, Tang Wei, and Xue Jie went to the first floor.
With a curious face, Tang Wei finally found the opportunity to ask, “Brother, you said that the Huang Family’s head owes your subordinate a big favor. Is your subordinate a great figure or something?”
Xue Jie also perked up her ears.
“I told you that I don’t know about it, no? Just wait until the time is ripe, then I’ll explain it to you.” Tang Xiu laughed.
A tinge of disappointed on his face, Tang Wei didn’t give up and asked, “But you can say what he does, right? Someone who’s able to make the Huang Family’s head owe them a favor should be someone remarkable. Could it be Kang Xia?”
“It’s not her.” Tang Xiu shook his head and said, “Rather, it’s the one managing the restaurant business.”
Restaurant business?
Tang Wei didn’t believe Tang Xiu’s words. But since Tang Xiu really didn’t want to tell him, he had to hold down the question in his heart.
Beijing, Tang Family’s ancestral house.
Tang Guosheng was enjoying the cool air outside. Beside him were Tang Yunde and Tang Min.
“Yunde, we won’t stop Xiu’er from going to Guangyang since he wants to do so. Besides, it’s a good thing for the young to have experience. I believe you also have seen his actions before. He’s skillful and fierce. After having gone through this family’s battle, it will make him mature faster.” Tang Guosheng smilingly said while holding a teacup.
“That kid seems to be like me,” Tang Yunde nodded and smilingly said, “If he decides to go, go he will! He can set up an enterprise by relying on himself and his own hard work. Evidently, he has the brains for that. He hopes he can give us a little hand in Guangyang Province.”
“I’m asking him to help out, though.” Tang Guosheng laughed, “As long as he doesn’t come across any danger, it’s fine with me. As our Tang Family is battling with the Yao family, he can stay in the back to see and smell the bloody battles. That in itself will let him know the cruel and brutal game between the big families.”
“Well, I think Tang Xiu isn’t bad already.” Tang Min laughed and said, “I’ve sent someone to buy a real estate in Shanghai for him. He stayed there for two nights, but I got the news that he didn’t drive those four luxury cars to his campus. He didn’t act arrogantly like those arrogant silk-pants young masters in campus. On the contrary, he played very low key, and got along well with his new classmates.”
“You sent someone to investigate him?” Asked Tang Guosheng with knitted brows.
“It was not to investigate him, but to protect him in secret. However, when I sent someone to to Shanghai, he and Tang Wei went to Guangyang Province. The news I got was sent by the man I sent through the investigation, and I slowly learned about it from him.” said Tang Min.
Tang Guosheng nodded silently.
Ring, ring, ring...
At this moment, a mobile phone’s ringtone rang.
Tang Guosheng’s brows raised. He took out his mobile, look at the screen and directly pressed the answer button. He then said in a deep voice, “What’s up? Have you rescued the man?”
“Yeah, he’s been rescued, Father. Also, we won big.”
"Tell me!"
“Well, this rescue operation was, in fact, under Tang Xiu…”
As Tang Guosheng quietly listened to this son—Tang Yunpeng’s report, the more he listened, the more intense the astonishment on his face grew. In the end, his astonished expression become a shocked one.
“Agree!”
After hearing Tang Yunpeng’s report, Tang Guosheng replied resolutely.
“In that case, I’ll go back to Xusu Province. Then Tang Xiu will be taking full authority here.” Said Tang Yunpeng.
“OK!”
Tang Guosheng replied and hung up the phone. Yet, the shocked expression on his face didn’t fade away for a very long time.
Tang Min and Tang Yunde glanced at each other as she immediately inquired, “Father, what happened? Has the deputy director of the Starlight Group been rescued? What did eldest brother tell you?”
Tang Guosheng’s facial expression slowly changed, as a smile climbed up on his face. He then extended his hand and heavily patted Tang Yunde’s shoulder, earnestly saying, “Yunde, you gave life to a good son, and you have given me a good grandson!”
Puzzled and confused, Tang Yunde asked, “What did Xiu’er do, father? What happened?”
Tang Guosheng laughed loudly and then said, “The Yao family have been suppressing our Tang Family in Guangyang so much that we were unable to gain ground there, nearly abandoning it completely. I’ve never thought that Xiu’er, who just arrived there, would be able to achieve a great accomplishment within just one night!”
Quickly, he told the matter in Guangyang Province and finally sighed, “Were it only these matters, I absolutely wouldn’t agree nor allow Yunpeng to leave. But… the cards in Xiu’er’s hand, I’m afraid it’s much powerful than we had thought.”
With a shocked as well as ecstatic expression, Tang Min quickly asked after hearing her father’s last sentence, “Father, what kind of card does Tang Xiu have in hand?”
“Do you know about Fukang’s Huang Family?” asked Tang Guosheng.
“I know! They are one of the big families in Fukang Province.” Tang Min nodded and said, “They are independent and neutral, rarely involved in family battles. Additionally, the old head of the Huang Family is also still alive. It seems he’s 106 years old now! He’s also a hero who has rendered a meritorious service for the country in the past.”
“Yeah, I used to a member of the Huang Family when I was in the army. His name is Huang Jinming.” Tang Yunde also nodded.
“This Huang Jinming you know of is also a great figure with high rank now. He could shake the entirety of Fukang Province were he to stamp his feet.” Tang Guosheng exclaimed.
“Father, listening to your words, it seems like there’s a bit of relationship between Xiu’er and the Huang Family?” asked Tang Yunde.
Tang Guosheng laughed, “It’s much more than simply related. Rather, they have a deep relationship. Xiu’er told your eldest brother that the Huang Family’s head owes a favor to Xiu’er’s subordinate. Think, what kind of identity does the Huang Family’s head have? Yet, he unexpectedly owes Xiu’er’s subordinate a favor. I’m now getting more and more curious about the cards in Xiu’er’s hand.”
Tang Yunde and Tang Min stared blankly for a moment after hearing it, as a pleasantly surprised expression was immediately written on their faces.
The Huang Family was very powerful! Though they were not on par with their Tang family, if the Huang family were to help the Tang family in the fight against the Yao family in Guangyang and Fukang Provinces, their odds of victory would be greatly increased.
“Xiu’er wants your eldest brother to leave. He wants to take the authority of the battle between the Tangs and the Yaos. And I have agreed.” Tang Guosheng laughed.
“Father, this is no trifling matter.” Tang Yunde promptly said, “Xiu’er is still young. Can’t you consider it more carefully?”
“No need!” Tang Guosheng laughed and said, “The Yao Family didn’t sent their core members. They only sent that kid, Yao Xinhua! Since Xiu’er is confident, then let him do it. Even if we were to lose the battle over there, I’ll accept it as long as it can make him grow up quickly.”