Best Young Master
Chapter 423 - 376: In the Ascendant

Chapter 423: Chapter 376: In the Ascendant

The Jiuzhou International Hotel was one of Nanming’s most famous five-star hotels, renowned for its luxurious decorations and pleasant environment. Whether it was the dining or hotel services, it ranked among the top of all five-star hotels in Nanming and was a favorite among officials, the wealthy, and the powerful.

As dusk fell and the light rain gradually ceased, the evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, and a stream of luxury cars and official vehicles arrived one after another at the parking lot beneath the Jiuzhou International Hotel.

Among them, the Audi A8L driven by Ye Fan was inconspicuous compared to the many luxury cars, especially when placed side by side with Bentleys, Maybachs, and Rolls-Royces in the parking lot, where it appeared somewhat inferior.

The car halted, and Ye Fan, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, alighted from the vehicle. He walked alone to the hotel’s entrance where, under the enthusiastic welcome of the reception staff, he entered the hotel and took the elevator straight to the Chinese restaurant on the seventh floor.

As the saying goes, "seventh up, eighth down."

The hotel’s owner placed the Chinese restaurant on the seventh floor, partaking somewhat in superstition, with the implication that the guests dining there would all ascend to higher levels—meaning their businesses would thrive and their official ranks would increase.

"Sir, may I ask which private room you have reserved?"

When the elevator reached the seventh floor and the doors opened, a supervisor greeted Ye Fan with a smile and asked him respectfully.

"The Southwest Hall."

"Is it reserved by Mr. Wu?"

"Yes."

Ye Fan nodded. Although he had already been in Nanming for several days, his understanding of Nanming could not compare with that of Wu Qianshou, Dao Sect’s leader in the Southwest. Therefore, he had asked Wu Qianshou to help book the restaurant and private room for tonight’s dinner, hosting Ma Chaoyang and Li Zhongde, the standard-bearer of the Ye Family Camp in the Southwest.

The former had been of immense help to him, whereas the latter, though never having met or communicated with him in person, had also provided great assistance from the shadows.

Had it not been for them, it would have been impossible for him to disintegrate Qinghong’s strength in the Southwest in just one week.

Ordinarily, Ma Chaoyang would arrive right on time to any feast he was invited to, as a way to display his status and position.

But today, he, now out of his police uniform and wearing a suit, arrived twenty minutes early to the private room.

On one hand, today’s host was Ye Fan, so he neither dared nor wished to put on airs; on the other hand, one of the guests Ye Fan was hosting was Li Zhongde—the flag bearer of the Ye Family Camp in the Southwest. If anyone had the right to put on airs, it was Li Zhongde, who had more confidence and qualification than him.

Li Zhongde also didn’t put on airs by arriving right on time but instead arrived ten minutes early.

"Uncle Li."

At the elevator entrance, Ye Fan, who had been waiting specially for Ma Chaoyang, greeted Li Zhongde with a smile as he stepped out.

"Xiao Fan."

Upon seeing this, Li Zhongde’s face broke into a wide smile, yet his heart was filled with surprise.

Yes...

Surprise!

Whether it was through how Ye Fan had acted in Hanghu, Donghai, or Yanjing, he thought Ye Fan to be an extremely arrogant person!

The change of power in the Southwest further confirmed this!

Owning to this preconceived notion, he believed that Ye Fan’s invitation to him and Ma Chaoyang for dinner was merely a formality, rather than a sincere expression of gratitude.

Under such circumstances, the surprise he felt from Ye Fan’s gesture of waiting for him at the elevator door was undoubtedly immense.

After the surprise, with a slight nod to Ma Chaoyang, Li Zhongde followed Ye Fan into the private room of the Southwest Hall.

When the three of them entered the room, the waiter, upon Ye Fan’s indication, began serving the dishes.

Soon, the waiter brought out four cold dishes to the table—two meat and two vegetables, matched appropriately, yet the quantity seemed somewhat modest compared with other banquets Li Zhongde and Ma Chaoyang had attended.

After the cold dishes were served, Ye Fan smiled and said, "Uncle Li, Uncle Ma, my father has always disliked extravagance and waste. I think he makes a good point, so I only ordered eight dishes, four cold and four hot, plus one pastry and one soup. If it isn’t enough, shall we order more?"

"Alright."

Hearing Ye Fan’s words and looking at the four cold dishes on the table, both Li Zhongde and Ma Chaoyang were somewhat taken aback. After the brief surprise, Li Zhongde, being the older and higher-ranked of the two, agreed to Ye Fan’s proposition.

Seeing this, Ye Fan dismissed the waiter who was about to uncork the wine and stood up to open a bottle of Moutai himself, personally pouring it for Li Zhongde and Ma Chaoyang.

Hmm?

Watching this unfold, a flicker of surprise crossed the eyes of Li Zhongde and Ma Chaoyang, their astonishment turning into shock—they had never dreamt that Ye Fan would personally serve them by pouring drinks!

"Uncle Li, Uncle Ma, thank you for everything you have done for me."

After pouring the drinks, Ye Fan returned to his seat, filled his own cup, and then, taking the lead, raised his glass and stood up, saying, "I’d like to propose a toast to you both!"

"Xiao Fan, you’re too polite."

"Yeah, Xiao Fan, why stand on ceremony with me and your Uncle Li?"

Upon hearing Ye Fan’s words again, Li Zhongde and Ma Chaoyang each picked up their glasses and responded in turn, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

Those emotions stemmed from seeing a Ye Fan who, in their eyes, exhibited no arrogance at all but only humility and gratitude.

Humility?

Or arrogance?

After their reflections, the two men tilted their heads back and drank up, each quietly questioning themselves.

In full bloom!

The next moment.

Both came to the same conclusion in their hearts without having to say a word to one another.

The true nature of a person is revealed over time.

In their brief encounter, they could not see through Ye Fan, nor could they determine whether Ye Fan was deliberately acting in such a manner or if he always treated his elders like this.

But—

One thing they were certain of was that after the upheaval in the Southwest, Ye Fan, the new top scion of Huaxia, would truly be in his prime, becoming the nightmare of Nanqinghong and, at the same time ... instilling fear into those so-called elite scions!

At nine o’clock, when the dinner ended, Ye Fan personally saw Li Zhongde and Ma Chaoyang off to their respective official cars, sending them off with a wave, impeccable in every detail.

In one of the red flag H7 sedans with a provincial ~ committee license plate, Li Zhongde rubbed his Taiyang point and then took out his cell phone, called Ma Chaoyang, and got straight to the point, "Chaoyang, what do you think of Xiao Fan?"

"If he wasn’t involved in the underworld and pursued martial arts, but instead took the path of officialdom and the military, he would become the future standard-bearer of the Ye Family Camp!" Ma Chaoyang hesitated for a moment but finally voiced the deepest evaluation in his heart.

"Yeah, if all that you said could be realized, then the Ye Family wouldn’t have to worry about lacking a successor."

Hearing Ma Chaoyang’s evaluation of Ye Fan, and thinking of Ye Fan’s deeds and all that he had done tonight, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the contrast between them.

Of all this, Ye Fan was unaware. After seeing off Li Zhongde and Ma Chaoyang, he then got into an Audi A8L.

"Buzz~"

Before Ye Fan could start the car, the vibrating sound of his mobile phone rang out.

Ye Fan took out his phone and saw it was a call from Wu Qianshou, the person in charge of the Dao Sect in the Southwest. After a moment’s thought, he pressed the answer button.

"Mr. Ye, have you finished your meal?" The call connected, and Wu Qianshou asked respectfully.

"Mmm, just finished."

"Are you satisfied with the environment and food at Jiuzhou International Hotel?"

"It’s quite good, thank you, Boss Wu."

"Mr. Ye is too polite. It is my honour, Wu Qianshou, to be able to run errands for you," Wu Qianshou said ingratiatingly while waiting for Ye Fan’s ’compensation’.

As if guessing Wu Qianshou’s thoughts, Ye Fan broke through the pretence, "Boss Wu, you put in a lot of effort for this matter and also bore quite a bit of risk."

"Mr. Ye, you are being too formal..." Wu Qianshou’s heart leapt with joy, but he pretended to decline.

"Boss Wu, to express my gratitude to you and the Dao Sect, the drug trade in the Southwest, and even the whole of Huaxia, will be handled by you," Ye Fan said after some thought.

"Mr. Ye, this..."

Upon hearing the so-called compensation, Wu Qianshou was initially excited, then felt the difficulty and hesitated.

"I promise you that Nanqinghong will not compete with the Dao Sect for the drug trade on the mainland," Ye Fan stated earnestly. "Without the threat of Nanqinghong, the difficulty of engaging in the drug trade will be greatly reduced. Whether you can succeed or not will depend entirely on your own abilities."

"Thank... thank you, Mr. Ye!"

Wu Qianshou was overjoyed. In his view, without the threat of Nanqinghong, it would not be difficult for the Dao Sect to engage in the drug trade. The enormous profits from the drug trade far exceeded the current income of the Dao Sect.

"How will Ye Fan manage to make Nanqinghong give up the extremely profitable drug trade?" After his elation subsided, Wu Qianshou regained some composure and couldn’t help but silently question himself.

"Beep... beep..."

Without an answer and listening to the busy tone coming through the receiver, thinking of Ye Fan’s actions in Hanghu, Donghai, Yanjing, and the Southwest, Wu Qianshou murmured to himself, "If he says he can do it, he definitely can!"

As the words were spoken, Wu Qianshou slowly put down the phone, inwardly celebrating his partnership with Ye Fan rather than becoming his enemy!

Otherwise, he had a thousand reasons to believe that it would become a nightmare for him and the entire Dao Sect!

...

While Wu Qianshou felt fortunate, on the other end of the phone, after hanging up, Ye Fan thought for a while and then dialed Pan Jueming’s number.

"Mr. Ye."

It seemed that Pan Jueming was always waiting for Ye Fan’s call, as the call was immediately answered.

"How’s your injury?" Ye Fan asked.

"Uh..."

Knowing the changes in the Southwest, Pan Jueming didn’t expect Ye Fan’s first words to be of concern for his injury. He was taken aback for a moment, then felt a touch of warmth in his heart, "Thanks for your concern, Mr. Ye, I have fully recovered."

"I’m sure you’ve heard about the situation in the Southwest. As of now, with Wu Hu at the helm, all the core members of Nanqinghong’s Southwest branch are dead, and the police have delivered a devastating blow to Nanqinghong’s Southwest influence, almost completely dismantling it."

Having learned that Pan Jueming’s injuries had fully healed, Ye Fan pondered and then said, "Since your injuries are healed, take your men to the Southwest immediately to seize the territory and eradicate the remnants of Nanqinghong!"

"Yes, Mr. Ye!"

Pan Jueming immediately accepted the command, his tone filled with excitement, wishing he could fly to the Southwest right away.

"Currently, the Yanhuang Organization is keeping a close eye on Nanqinghong. Lin Tianyi would not dare to send people to the Southwest to stabilize their position, and the other underworld forces in the Southwest region won’t dare to compete with us for territory. At the same time, the police will turn a blind eye."

As Ye Fan added more details, he made his expectations clear, "This means that the resistance you will face in this operation will be very small—you must complete this operation in the shortest possible time!"

"Please rest assured, Mr. Ye, Jueming will not let you down!"

Pan Jueming solemnly swore, but inwardly he couldn’t help but marvel: without a single soldier, in just a snap of the fingers, to annihilate Nanqinghong’s Southwest branch, in the vast underworld of Huaxia, only Ye Fan could achieve such a feat!

Following his exclamation, he felt even more fortunate to have chosen to follow Ye Fan.

Because.

Time and time again, the facts had proven that it was the most correct decision of his life!

...

...(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket, Monthly Ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)