The old madam’s face, however, showed no change.
“You father and daughter can sit at that table over there. These are all distinguished guests, so as not to offend them.”
She pointed with her hand to a corner furthest from the main table.
No one was sitting in that corner, and there were still several empty tables. The meaning behind her words was clear: they were to be given the cold shoulder.
Shao Zhenggang’s heart ached, his old face flushing red with embarrassment.
His mother, in front of everyone, showed no regard for his dignity, asking him to stay away from them. But he also bore the surname Shao!
Among the onlookers, some felt sympathy, while others treated it as a spectacle. But no one uttered a word.
“Mom, why don’t we let second brother and his daughter sit at those tables? With Uncle Gong’s family.”
Although Shao Qingqing wasn’t as pragmatic as her elder brothers, she wasn’t particularly close to her second brother either, especially given their significant age gap.
But after all, they were family. Her own second brother, being watched by so many people, looked quite pitiful.
And he was disabled.
Shao Qingqing tugged at the old madam’s hand. The old madam then frowned and said with an unfriendly tone, “Then you can go over there.”
Shao Zhenggang’s heart was cut like a knife. At this moment, he understood his own wishful thinking.
Even his closest brothers, sisters, and parents did not truly value him. They only cared about profit…
Just as Shao Zhenggang was feeling disheartened and about to leave, Shao Jun suddenly spoke.
“Uncle Er, don’t go. Since you’ve come to celebrate the birthday, you shouldn’t have come empty-handed, right?”
“You mentioned earlier that you brought a gift, so take it out.”
“If the gift is very valuable, I think Grandma wouldn’t be so angry.”
Shao Jun said with a grin, looking at the old madam. The old madam shot him a displeased glance, but after all, he was her most beloved grandson, so she naturally indulged him.
The old madam said impatiently, “What did you bring?”
Her tone clearly indicated that she didn’t believe Shao Zhenggang had anything good to offer her.
Shao Zhenggang then remembered about the gift. He quickly took out his briefcase from behind him and carefully retrieved two exquisitely packaged gift boxes.
“Whoa, what is it? Uncle Er cherishes it so much?”
Shao Jun’s voice was loud, attracting the attention of several nearby guests.
Shao Jun appeared to be brimming with excitement, but only he knew that he was merely casting bait, waiting for Shao Zhenggang and the others to present their gifts before he unveiled his grand finale.
If he pleased Grandma, perhaps he could even get shares in her company!
Shao Zhenggang, disheartened by the earlier scolding, handed the two gift boxes to the old madam, forcing a smile. “Mom, this is a top-grade ginseng king from Nanshan, which I asked someone to procure. It’s a birthday gift from Xiao Xu and me. This ginseng king will be good for your health if you consume it.”
“Ginseng?” The guests all looked curiously at the gift boxes.
Shao Jun’s expression was a little strange. He directly opened the gift box, revealing two ginseng roots with intact whiskers, plump like white radishes, before everyone’s eyes.
“Oh, this ginseng looks good.”
“It looks like it’s worth about a hundred thousand or so.”
“This second son really has a heart.”
Seeing the two ginseng roots, the old madam’s initially displeased expression softened slightly. “Second son, Mom knows that you have me in your heart.”
Seeing his mother’s attitude improve towards him, Shao Zhenggang quickly said, “Your son thinks of you every day.”
Just as the mother and son were sharing a moment of warmth, Shao Jun suddenly let out a cold snort. “Ginseng from Nanshan, of this quality, at most a hundred thousand yuan? Two hundred thousand?”
Shao Zhenggang nodded and truthfully replied, “I bought it for 180,000 yuan, and it was just harvested and sent over.”
“180,000 is not bad. This second son isn’t doing very well, but he’s willing to spend money on his mother.”
“If only someone would give me 180,000 yuan worth of ginseng…”
As the crowd whispered, the old madam was also somewhat satisfied. While 180,000 yuan wasn’t a lot for their Shao family, it wasn’t insignificant either, especially for the second son, it was quite a decent amount.
However, Shao Jun directly took out a gift box from behind him and said with a grin:
“Uncle Er, what a coincidence. I also bought a ginseng king from Nanshan, intending to give it to Grandma. Could you help me assess its quality?”
With that, he lifted the lid of the gift box.
A ginseng as thick as a child’s arm was revealed before everyone!
It was more than double the size of Shao Zhenggang’s ginseng, with intact whiskers, and it was almost shaped like a human. It was clearly no ordinary item.
Compared to this, Shao Zhenggang’s gift seemed rather inadequate.
“Wow, this is the real ginseng king, top-grade ginseng!”
“How much would this cost?”
Everyone’s eyes widened, looking at the ginseng with envy and longing, wishing they could reach out and touch it.