Chapter 408

"Who is it?" asked a somewhat bald man.

The middle-aged woman shrieked: "Jiawang, you run the Chinatown Bookstore—how don't you even know who this is?"

"A writer? I just sell books. I don't know anyone strange—that's normal." The bald man spoke with complete certainty.

"Not just a writer—he won a Grammy yesterday. He's a big musician, a little musician brother. Can I see your trophy?" The heavily made-up woman blinked.

Wei Ming spread his hands: "Didn't bring it."

Then the woman's eyes dropped to below his waist.

With just that one glance, Wei Ming felt dirty; Wei Lingling immediately pulled her nephew behind her.

Though she knew Xiao Ming might have more than one girlfriend, compared to Shi Jiahui's number and variety of boyfriends, he was as pure as a fresh melon.

At that moment, the oldest of the Shi nephews, Shi Xing, with a face full of muscle, asked the key question: "Auntie, where did you suddenly get a nephew's son? Didn't your older brother in Taiwan have no sons?"

Hearing this, the old lady looked at him with quiet authority: "Shi Xing, are you investigating me?"

Though the old lady smiled, Shi Xing broke into a cold sweat: "No, absolutely not—I just happened to hear about it from friends in Taiwan."

"Auntie, my big brother didn't mean it that way—he's just worried you've been tricked by some random poor relative," said the youngest Shi nephew, Shi Zhuang.

The old lady sneered: "Then you can rest easy—in terms of poverty, among all the relatives here, he's the richest."

At this, the four Shi family members were embarrassed, though inwardly resentful—luckily, the butler arrived to announce dinner, breaking the tension.

But before sitting down, Shi Xing used the excuse of using the restroom to pull his younger brother Shi Zhuang aside.

"Youngest, the old Buddha suddenly producing a blood nephew's son isn't a good sign."

"We need to find out how close this nephew's son is to the old Buddha—if he's a direct nephew's son, it's bad news," said Shi Zhuang, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses; he was only in his thirties, the most human-looking of the four.

Regarding the old lady's fortune, the Shi family took it for granted that it belonged to them—especially after their fathers had labored (begged) endlessly until the old lady finally let them join Zhiyuan Group, giving them the illusion they could inherit her vast fortune. After all, the old lady had no children, so they were her closest kin.

Then came Wei Lingling, a niece from Taiwan, a Stanford graduate, studying law!

This already strained the brothers' nerves, but since Wei Lingling was female, their response was merely to compete harder for the old lady's favor.

But Wei Ming was different—he was male. They feared the old lady might turn the Shi family's assets into the Wei family's—and they wouldn't allow it.

Shi Zhuang added: "Still, we must prepare for the worst. If she really entertains this idea, we can't afford to be soft. Big brother, you're close to the Zhigong Hall, right?"

Shi Xing, who had once been a gangster in his youth, nodded at the cold gleam in his brother's eyes: "I understand. If the old Buddha only has Shi relatives, the ownership of this billion-dollar fortune becomes simple."

Shi Zhuang nodded: "But we must investigate first—find out who's behind him. Like Wei Lingling—we were lucky we uncovered her Taiwan connections. If we'd acted rashly, we'd have been bitten back."

Their investigation revealed Wei Lingling was the illegitimate daughter of Wei Muchun and his sister-in-law. Wei Da's secrecy had been excellent; few knew of Wei Senhao's existence.

After conferring, both brothers decided not to provoke the old Buddha or antagonize Wei Ming—at least tonight's dinner must show friendliness.

But in the dining room, Shi Wang had already exploded: the old lady, who held their lives in her hands, had told him to leave the Chinatown Bookstore—its operations would now be handled by Gong Biyang.

"Why, Auntie? He's an outsider! You already gave him the publishing company—now you want to take my chain of bookstores too!" Shi Wang complained.

The old lady: "This is a strategic adjustment. The publishing house and bookstore chain must be unified under one management. If you don't want to leave, fine—go work under him."

"Me? Work under him?" thought the bald Shi Wang—who the hell does he think he is? Just a dog of the Shi family!

The old lady added: "You no longer manage the bookstore, but your share of profits won't be reduced."

"Ah? Then it's fine." Shi Wang was delighted. Gold-rimmed glasses Shi Zhuang wanted to scream: Foolish! You've just lost your power—you're now useless, disposable.

He exchanged a glance with his brother—absolute refusal to surrender control.

To avoid the old lady speaking further, Shi Zhuang changed the subject, turning to Wei Ming: "Xiao Wei, you look impressive—what university did you attend?"

Shi Xing immediately boasted: "My younger brother went to Harvard."

Wei Lingling sneered—how did you even get into Harvard? You know damn well you only got in because Auntie donated to Harvard in memory of her late cousin.

"Oh my, Harvard—a prestigious school! I can't compare—I'm from Peking University, but I'm a professor there."

"Peking University?" The men exchanged glances—Taiwan had Tsinghua, but did it have Peking University?

Shi Jiahui, who knew more, clarified: "It's the mainland's Peking University—the famous mainland scholar, right?"

Wei Ming humbly replied: "Scholar? I wouldn't dare. I'm just decent at literature, music, fine arts, and film."

Bald Shi Wang flicked his sparse hair: "So you're versatile. Dare to spar with me?"

Wei Ming rolled up his sleeves, revealing biceps that made Melinda swallow and Wei Lingling glance over—"I'm sworn brothers with Wu Bin, head trainer of the Beijing Martial Arts Team, and good friends with action star Cheng Long—I know a bit of kung fu."

Wei Ming spoke with confidence—Shi Wang was half a head shorter, and his pallor showed he'd been drained by women. Unlike him: yin-yang balanced, at his physical peak.

Shi Wang had only wanted to scare the bookworm—now the bookworm knew kung fu? Unforgivable!

Shi Wang was humiliated, but the old lady watched with delight—her nephew was outstanding. If Xiao Ning were still alive, he'd be just like this.

"Xiao Ming, why not stay in San Francisco a few more days? Spend time with your auntie," the old lady said.

The four Shi family members froze, watching Wei Ming tensely.

Wei Ming: "Auntie, I'd love to—but tomorrow I have a meeting with MGM about film adaptation rights."

The four exhaled in relief—good, you're leaving fast. Smart move.

Wei Lingling added: "Yes, we've already delayed once. This is Xiao Ming's chance to get his novel adapted by Hollywood."

The four smiled: Oh, you're leaving too!

Seeing the old lady's disappointment, Wei Ming added: "But don't worry, Auntie—my sister will soon come to San Francisco for university. I'll come with her. We'll have plenty of time together later."

Hearing this, the four Shi family members' thoughts grew more complicated—so you're coming back with a whole team? You're truly targeting our Shi family fortune!

Except for the young but calculating Shi Zhuang, the others' faces had turned openly hostile.

"Will your father come?" the old lady asked curiously.

Wei Ming: "My father is in Hong Kong now. If the chance arises, I'd certainly bring him to visit you."

The four: What? He has a father too?!

The old lady nodded—though she had issues with Wei Senhao, she longed to connect with these nephews. The Shis were nothing to her bloodline—but the Wes were truly kin, and each one had both virtue and intelligence.

"And your uncle—let him come too, if he gets the chance," the old lady added.

"Yes, my uncle said if the university sends him on official business to the U. ., he'll definitely come visit," Wei Ming said, thinking of Uncle Ping'an—he suddenly remembered something, but held back with outsiders present.

The four Shi outsiders exchanged glances—this meal was now unpalatable. He had a father, and now an uncle! Did his uncle have more relatives below him?

How could the Wei family have so many survivors? Their investigation clearly showed the old Buddha had no direct male descendants!

Now it was clear—even if Wei Ming vanished, it wouldn't help. They had to find out how many other Wes existed!

So after dinner, they didn't linger—left the estate immediately and found another place to plot.

The old lady told her nephew: "Sorry you had to see that—useless people, all of them."

Wei Ming spoke plainly: "The Shis may be merchants, but they run their household strictly. Their reputation in their hometown and Shanghai is good. These few, however, are worlds apart from their grandfather."

The old lady chuckled: "My late husband died early—he never came to America. Once here, in this glittering world, freed from old restraints and with some money, some people fall fast. These are all descendants of your uncle-in-law's brothers. But his younger brother's branch? Their family discipline is strict—they've done well. Zhiyuan's pharmaceutical company was co-founded by our two families."

Clearly, she favored her husband's younger brother's branch. She kept the Shi nephews around only to comfort her dead husband's spirit—they were penniless anyway. When she said Wei Ming was richer than them, she wasn't joking.

Wei Lingling knew exactly how much wealth Wei Ming had—she knew, and so did she.

To earn millions of dollars in just two years through literature and music—industries she'd once dismissed—had even made Wei Lindi reconsider the entertainment industry, leading to the decision to merge Tangren Publishing and Tangren Bookstore chains.

Next, she planned to reclaim Shi Jiahui's chain of audio-visual stores.

"Xiao Ming, what do you think of the current U. . financial market?" Wei Lindi asked. Zhiyuan Group's core, and the only industry she never delegated, was finance and insurance. She owned a bank herself, mostly serving the Chinese community, with branches in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto.

Wei Lingling smiled: "Auntie, he just got to America—he knows nothing about U. . finance."

Wei Lindi: "Just casual chat. You can talk too, little red-haired girl."

Melinda thought: I don't know stocks—I only know one thing: Ming's ass.

Wei Ming smiled: "I don't know much either. But I've made some money recently in Hong Kong stocks. In my view, if you stand on the wind, even a pig can fly."