jdhmnovel Chapter 160 Engagement (Part 2)
Chapter 160 Engagement (Part 2)
Amidst the attention of everyone, Xie Junfei appeared in a light pink cheongsam. Her elegant attire made her look like a lotus emerging from the water, and even Huo Shen, who often spent time with her, was somewhat stunned.
Xie Junfei held a round fan embroidered with orchids, shyly covering the lower half of her face, her clear almond-shaped eyes smiling as she looked at her lover.
Seeing her son standing beside her, frozen in place, Mrs. Huo secretly nudged him with her elbow, warning him with a smile:
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go get them! Be careful not to make us late."
This was an auspicious time that I paid a lot of money to have someone calculate!
Xie Junfei was unaware that Huo Shen was mesmerized by her. She slightly raised her eyes, which were not covered by the fan, and met the gaze of the man in front of her.
The man was very different from usual; he possessed a sharp, handsome quality, like a blade forged through countless trials, a fierce and resilient force that would cut even the slightest touch.
Being stared at so intently by such an outstanding man, even though they had just woken up in the same bed this morning, Xie Junfei still felt a bit shy like a young girl. A blush rose on the tips of her ears, and with her thin eyelids drooping, she slowly walked up to him.
Huo Shen only snapped out of his daze when the girl walked right up to him, and quickly took her soft, delicate hand in his.
Amid cheers from the crowd, the two exchanged a smile and walked to the center of the carefully constructed stage.
Engagement is different from marriage; it is a small pre-wedding ceremony with no fixed procedures, and some ordinary families may even skip this step.
The engagement banquet is equivalent to the ancient "betrothal ceremony," where the groom's family sends valuable betrothal gifts and money to the bride's family to ensure the marriage is legally binding.
The Huo family tradition is to publicly announce the list of betrothal gifts for the bride's family. This serves two purposes: firstly, to verify the gifts in front of everyone and avoid any omissions; and secondly, the more gifts a family gives, the more they value the bride's family and the more the guests at the ceremony will know about the Huo family's wealth and power.
Not wanting to wrong Xie Junfei, Mrs. Huo arranged the betrothal according to the standards she had set back then, adding some things out of her own selfish motives, resulting in an exceptionally generous dowry and betrothal gifts.
The matchmaker, holding a long, gold-flecked invitation, read it aloud until his throat was dry. The onlookers grew increasingly astonished as they listened, and even Xie Junfei's eyes widened slightly.
Not to mention the 188 pairs of pure gold monkeys (Huo Shen, with a twisted sense of humor, made them all look like Sun Wukong, and was unilaterally beaten up by Xie Junfei), two whole boxes of antiques and paintings, countless properties and shops, prime real estate in the city center, colorful embroidered brocade, satin, gauze, and silk, jade and jewelry, as well as the shellfish, abalone, shiitake mushrooms, sea cucumbers, shark fins, black moss, and so on, as stipulated in the clan rules.
As the matchmaker read out the list, Xie Junfei's mind wandered slightly:
No wonder Mom said she wanted to set up the third floor to store the betrothal gifts; I didn't expect there to be so much stuff.
The list was so long that by the end everyone was somewhat numb to the boasting, and the rumors in the capital that Xie Junfei was not valued by the Huo family were also disproven.
After all, who would go to such lengths and spend so much money to marry a worthless pretty face? They're rich, not stupid!
If we're really going to be serious, this is even more valuable than the gift Huo Mingqian prepared when he proposed to Huo's mother!
A few minutes later, the matchmaker finally took a deep breath and finished reading the last gift.
Just as she was about to say a few more auspicious words and step down from the stage, Mrs. Huo suddenly whispered a few words in her ear.
The matchmaker immediately widened her eyes, as if she hadn't understood, and repeated to confirm:
"Are you sure? Would you like to say it to me again?"
The sudden turn of events instantly piqued everyone's interest, which had been somewhat numb.
The reporters all looked up, wondering what the well-informed matchmaker had heard that made him so surprised.
Mrs. Huo repeated it with a smile. The matchmaker listened carefully, then straightened up with a complicated expression and repeated loudly:
"News just came from the Huo family: Huo Mingqian will unconditionally gift two percent of the Huo Group's shares to Miss Xie as a dowry. The shareholders' meeting has just passed this resolution. Congratulations, Miss Xie."
These words were like a torpedo thrown into the once calm sea. Every business move of a large group like the Huo family can create huge waves in the industry, let alone such a big move as the granting of shares!
The entertainment channel immediately switched to financial news.
This is breaking news! Grab it while you can!
The reporters' eyes lit up, like wolves spotting meat, and they disregarded any semblance of dignity and status, raising their cameras to take pictures.
Xie Junfei was also shocked by the news, her almond-shaped eyes widening in disbelief.
We're all business people; everyone knows how valuable those two percent of shares are!
Leaving aside the priceless value of these shares, the power they wield is already immense.
This means that Xie Junfei will be completely bound to the Huo family. She will even be able to directly enter the Huo family's decision-making level, transforming from an outsider into a source of capital and completely influencing the future of the Huo family.
Even after Huo Mingqian completely retires, Xie Junfei may still have the opportunity to co-manage the Huo family business with Huo Shen.
How could such news not be surprising!
Suddenly entrusted with such an important task, Xie Junfei was still just a child. She tugged at the sleeve of the person next to her with some unease, trying to find some sense of security.
Huo Shen, being part of the decision-making team, already knew about this matter, and gently put his arm around her waist.
The large, well-defined hand pressed against her waist, its warmth seeping into Xie Junfei's body through the thin fabric, inexplicably giving her a surge of strength and suddenly boosting her courage.
But since it was ultimately a Huo family property, she still felt somewhat uneasy.
"This is too valuable, I cannot accept it."
Huo Shen turned his head slightly and whispered:
"This is also a token of my father's goodwill. The old man is shy, and it's not easy for him to give his daughter-in-law something. We shouldn't let down our elders."
Xie Junfei recalled that every time she saw Huo Mingqian, her father-in-law always had a stern face and wouldn't say a word.
She was initially worried that Huo Mingqian didn't like her, so she went to ask Huo's mother. Huo's mother patted her chest and laughed, telling her not to worry about it. Little did she know that Huo Mingqian would be here waiting for her now!
As expected of the former head of the Huo family, when he does make a move, it's always an incredibly extravagant display that shocks everyone.
The letter of engagement was given to Xie Wenzhou, who represented Xie Junfei's elders. The matchmaker left the stage, and no matter how shocked everyone was, the process was considered complete.
The rest of the time was to be treated as a small cocktail party, allowing the wealthy families to exchange pleasantries.
Mrs. Huo walked over to Xie Junfei, patted her on the shoulder, and smiled:
"How about that? Your dad is just not good with words, but he really loves you like a daughter."
Huo Shen was also somewhat helpless:
"There's nothing I can do. My father always wanted a daughter, but unfortunately, I'm his only son. He finally got a daughter-in-law, so he's not going to treat her like a precious gem."
"Now that you're here, my days at my home are going to be much harder."
Hearing Huo Shen say that, Huo's mother rolled her eyes at him without any mercy:
"Come on, in our family, the current ranking is: Xiao Xie first, Xiao Lan second, me third, your dad fourth, Robert fifth, and you last."
Robert, who had been eavesdropping on Huo Shen's phone:
"Hahaha, did you hear that, Daddy! My status is higher than yours!"
"Thank you, Grandma! I love you the most!"
Seeing that Robert was still rubbing salt into his wounds, Huo Shen expressionlessly turned off his phone and manually muted Robert's microphone.
Xie Junfei seemed to have discovered something:
"Wait, what has Holland been doing all this time? I haven't seen her anywhere."