In the Zhou Family’s west wing, Yi Jiefang, Wan Dayong, Ding Datou, and Geng Dasheng finished listening to Zhang Guoqing’s spiel, their eyes lighting up, grinning like thieves.

"Then hurry up and move, once school starts in a few days we won’t have time."

"Yeah! Come on, let’s plan this properly. If that bastard doesn’t shed a layer of skin this time, I, your little master Wan, will change my surname."

"Brother Dayong, the key is to grab that kid, don’t let him slip away."

"He’s pretty chummy with He the Third. I’ll get him to keep an eye on him, he wouldn’t dare say no." Wan Dayong waved his hand confidently.

"Dasheng, it’s no problem for you to find a few extras to fill the scene tomorrow, right?"

Geng Dasheng shook his head: "I’ve got plenty of buddies at the police station. You say how many, I’ll pull that many."

"Just escort five guys over. Ten total is enough. First we let them eat and drink their fill in another room, then when we’re almost done and getting to the point, we bring those five in."

"What about me, Brother Dayong?"

"Datou, you first tell me what you want to do?"

"Da Yi, you’re full of crafty ideas, say something. This kind of fun doesn’t come easy, I gotta get in on it."

"Don’t rush. First we figure out how many people to invite, where to set up the venue. Most crucial point: Liang Biesan’s level is too low—if we make it too grand, he doesn’t deserve it."

"Oh man, you don’t know, he’s always hanging his dear uncle-in-law on his lips, like he can’t wait to change his surname."

Yi Jiefang smirked wickedly: "Isn’t that even better? However many people want to smack him, that’s how much fun we get."

"Quit interrupting! Talk about the place first." Wan Dayong looked at the silent Zhang Guoqing and kicked him, "Hurry up."

Zhang Guoqing smiled wryly: "Bros, I haven’t even opened my mouth and you’ve already cooked up a full plan."

The few of them burst out laughing.

"As for people, I’m thinking we invite more. Whether they come or not is up to them, as long as we send word. As for a pretext, we’ll just make something up when the time comes."

"School hasn’t started yet, there’ll definitely be plenty of people wanting in on the fun. The place can’t be too small, and it needs to be quiet."

"Wrong! Most important thing, this meal counts as that punk’s apology. We can’t host it ourselves, we have to go to a restaurant. Then we just wipe our mouths clean and make him pick up the tab."

Zhang Guoqing thought, this Ding Datou is sharp! He hit the nail right on the head.

"Datou, how about that private place in the north of the city we always go to? You know a lot of people there, we’ll book the whole place that day."

"No problem."

"Hold on. We gotta decide what level we’re setting it at."

"Decide my ass! As long as it’s expensive, it’s fine."

Looking at the four guys who were afraid the world wasn’t chaotic enough, Zhang Guoqing could only smile helplessly. He had no choice but to speak up and put on the brakes: "Just keep it normal. If everyone we invite actually shows up, that kid would have to sell his blood and still couldn’t pay it off."

His good buddy Yi Jiefang spun on a dime: "Right, right, right, we’re going there to reason with him, we can’t be shameless about it. If the setup really outclasses a state banquet, every last one of us will get our asses kicked when we get home."

Other than Zhang Guoqing, the rest all gave him a contemptuous little hand gesture—like they didn’t know who just yelled "as long as it’s expensive"!

"Brothers, I’m thinking for your sake here. Besides, no matter how low we keep it, we can’t have no meat, right?" After Yi Jiefang explained himself, he gave the grinning Ding Datou a kick. "You’re in charge of this part."

"No problem. What day do we set it? Gotta book at least two days in advance, that rule I can’t break."

Yi Jiefang looked at Zhang Guoqing: "Three days from now? Just in time for the weekend."

Before he could answer, the few of them immediately decided on the third day. Everyone started spreading the word to their various circles and lining things up in advance.

Over the next two days, most people got Zhang Guoqing’s invitation to get together, one after another. The curious, the suspicious, once they started cross-checking... damn... this was going to be a mega gathering.

For a moment, getting invited actually felt like a bit of an honor. Some even called the Zhou Family directly asking for Zhang Guoqing to get them a spot, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

On top of that, quite a few people also said everyone could chip in for the costs, told him not to feel embarrassed to bring it up.

An unexpected invitation left Zhou Jiao with feelings of her own—this era really is starved for entertainment. Otherwise, who doesn’t know what this gathering is about?

A bunch of youngsters were kicking up a storm, and the elders at home had more or less caught wind of it. Before they could say much, the day finally arrived.

Early that morning, Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao slipped out of the Big Courtyard first and went to the private restaurant in the north of the city with Yi Jiefang and the other four.

Since they were expecting a lot of people, the courtyard was packed with tables. Luckily it was late summer; if it were winter, people would be frozen stiff out there. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After scheming for so long and about to pull the trigger, the masterminds were understandably pumped.

The gathering was set for noon, but before ten o’clock the courtyard was already full of small clusters of people standing around chatting, the atmosphere very warm and friendly.

That day, except for one private room where a uniformed officer was sitting with five guys whose faces were swollen and bruised, all the other private-room tables had been moved out into the courtyard.

Right at ten o’clock, when Zhang Guoqing saw that even Mr. Wu and his crew had shown up, and that even the girls who always liked to arrive fashionably late were there already, he checked for the culprit—sure enough, that idiot had shown up early and was bouncing off the walls.

Seeing that, he didn’t say much and just had the dishes brought up so they could start eating.

Four dishes and one soup per table, two meat and three veg. Braised pork with preserved mustard greens, stir-fried pig liver, two stir-fried seasonal veggies, and braised tofu soup. After the famous chef’s careful work, these five dishes really nailed color, aroma, and taste!

For the moment, no one stood on ceremony. They grabbed seats nearby and picked up their chopsticks to dig in. A few sharp ones noticed Zhang Guoqing hadn’t said any standard host’s words. They hesitated for a second, then decided to fill their stomachs first.

Halfway through the meal, Zhang Guoqing signaled to Ding Datou to have the alcohol brought out, otherwise the show to come wouldn’t play right. Without a bit of alcohol in their systems, how were they supposed to get people’s blood pumping?

Mr. Wu glanced at the buddies around him, then at Zhang Guoqing, and chuckled, "Xiao Wu, what play are you putting on here? We’ve been eating and drinking this whole time—shouldn’t the host be saying a few words by now?"

"Drink! Brother Wu, eat your fill first, we’ll talk later."

Beside him, Fang Fei cast a glance at Zhou Jiao and poured Mr. Wu a drink: "Don’t be impatient. It’s been a long time since it’s been this lively. Makes me want to bust out a few lines of poetry."

With him diverting the topic like that, the subject naturally shifted. And anyway, the sharp ones at that table had all seen through it—this was a Hongmen banquet. As for who it was aimed at?

Didn’t concern them, so they were happy to sit back and watch the show!

After three rounds of drinks, with ten-plus tables of people having eaten and drunk their fill and most of the small talk exhausted, things gradually quieted down.

At that moment, Zhang Guoqing picked up his glass and stood up.

"Hahaha... finally he’s going to talk."

"Xiao Wu, give us a few words..."

Brother Wu looked at the guys around him. As expected, everyone looked pretty eager to see what would happen.

"First, I’d like to drink a toast to all the brothers and sisters here. Thanks for giving me face and coming out today." Zhang Guoqing raised his glass to the crowd on all sides, then downed it in one go and tipped the glass upside down with a shake.

"For this second glass, I’ve got to apologize to everyone first." Zhang Guoqing refilled his glass, cupped his hands in apology to everyone, then raised it again and drained it in one shot.

"Enough with the scary formalities! What’s going on? We’re all brothers here, what can’t be said straight, why so solemn?"

"Yeah! If something’s up, spit it out, we’ll all brainstorm together..."

"What’s this about?"

"..."

Listening to the murmurs around him from the young men and women, Zhang Guoqing tapped his bowl.

His good buddy Yi Jiefang and the others immediately stood up and called for everyone to quiet down. Watching their coordination, Zhou Jiao almost burst out laughing.

"Before this third drink, I want to say a few things. Brothers and sisters, help me judge whether I’m in the right or not." Zhang Guoqing glanced around at everyone.