Chapter 1 Discord

Although the dragon chair was bought together by the three of them, Zhou Weiguo had taken all the credit, making Zhou Xingguo feel dissatisfied.

He winked at his son, urging him, "Zhou Tai, where is the gift you prepared for your grandfather? You've been bragging about it for days. Hurry up and take it out!"

Hearing this, Zhou Tai smiled and came to Zhou Zhishan.

"Grandfather, I wish you good fortune as immense as the Eastern Sea and a lifespan without end. I have prepared a gift for you. It may not be very valuable in terms of money, but you definitely can't buy it with money. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be magical!"

"Oh? What gift did you prepare for your grandfather that's so magical?"

Zhou Zhishan wore a kind smile. It was well known that he loved his grandson Zhou Tai the most because Zhou Tai's personality was forthright and direct, just like him when he was young.

In contrast, Zhou Wen was not so direct, with a deep scheming mind, and even a bit effeminate.

Although he was very capable, Zhou Zhishan still preferred Zhou Tai.

"Grandfather, take a look for yourself first and see if you can recognize it!"

Zhou Tai took out a sandalwood box and handed it over.

"Hehe, you're making me guess? Are you giving me a birthday gift or testing me?"

Zhou Zhishan smiled and took the sandalwood box. He opened it and saw a sea-blue pearl inside.

However, it looked ordinary. If there was anything special about it, it was that it was much larger than ordinary pearls, almost the size of a small egg.

Zhou Zhishan didn't see anything special about the pearl and couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Tai, you've stumped your grandfather. I don't see anything special about this pearl. Why don't you tell me about it so everyone can hear?"

As soon as Zhou Zhishan finished speaking, a mocking voice came from nearby, "Isn't this just a big pearl? What's so magical about it? You can buy a pot of them for a hundred bucks. Zhou Tai, are you so poor that you're trying to fool Grandpa with this kind of thing!"

The speaker was Zhou Fan. She had heard her brother say that the two of them were now competing with Zhou Tai, so she naturally wanted to tear down Zhou Tai's platform.

However, as soon as Zhou Fan finished speaking, Zhou Zhishan's eyes turned cold and he looked at her coldly.

What was the occasion today? Even if Zhou Tai really only gave Zhou Zhishan a broken pearl, she couldn't say it in public, wouldn't that make the guests laugh?

"Xiao Fan, don't talk nonsense!"

Zhou Weiguo quickly scolded in a low voice.

Zhou Tai, on the other hand, was not angry and said with a smile, "Sister Fan, you're wrong. This pearl of mine is no ordinary pearl. It has a great background! And my experience in obtaining it can be called legendary!"

"Oh? What's so legendary about it? Tell everyone quickly, don't keep us in suspense."

Zhou Xingguo urged.

Zhou Tai spoke eloquently:

"The story begins last month. One day, the weather was calm, and I invited three or five friends to travel to the Eastern Sea. When I was on the shore, I happened to meet a fisherman returning from fishing. Among the fish he caught, there was a seven-inch-long, golden carp. I thought it looked beautiful, so I took pity on it and bought it at a high price. I also felt sorry for it losing its freedom, so I released it back into the Eastern Sea."

"Then a magical scene happened. After I released the little golden fish, it didn't leave directly, but swam around me three times, as if bowing to me."

"I just thought it was interesting at the time and didn't take it to heart. When it got dark, and my friends and I returned from the sea, Grandpa, guess what?"

Zhou Zhishan was slightly stunned and quickly asked, "What happened?"

"It came back!"

Zhou Tai said with an excited expression, "That little golden carp actually swam back again, wagging its tail at me. I looked down and saw that it spat out a pearl from its mouth, which is the one I'm giving you!"

When Zhou Tai finished speaking, the people present exclaimed in surprise.

Although this sounded a bit far-fetched, no one would stand up and question the truth of the matter on this occasion.

"You thought that was the end of it?"

After a moment of pause, Zhou Tai said again, "Later, when I went to the Mazu Temple to offer incense and pray for Grandpa, I told Abbot Xuan Bei about this. When Abbot Xuan Bei heard this, he was immediately surprised."

"He told me that this is no ordinary pearl, it is a Hailan Zhu (sea-blue pearl), and that little golden carp is the Third Princess of the East Sea Dragon King!"

"Abbot Xuan Bei said that this Hailan Zhu can not only prolong life, but also strengthen the body with regular wear, and can also ward off evil spirits! He told me to keep it carefully!"

"When I heard that it was such a good thing, how could I keep it for myself? I immediately thought of you, Grandpa, so I took the opportunity of your eightieth birthday to offer this treasure, wishing you a long life and eternal happiness!"

Hearing these words, Zhou Zhishan immediately beamed with joy, "Good grandson, it's not in vain that Grandpa loves you so much. From now on, Grandpa will wear this Hailan Zhu on his body all year round!"

Seeing the old man so happy, the big stone in Zhou Xingguo's heart finally fell to the ground. He knew that this time it was stable!

He secretly gave Zhou Tai a thumbs up, thinking that this kid could really step up at critical moments. This story he made up, with the Third Princess of the East Sea Dragon King and eternal happiness... who could resist this? He had the old man in the palm of his hand!

Zhou Weiguo, on the other hand, was furious. Zhou Tai was clearly lying through his teeth, but he couldn't expose him!

He was both anxious and angry. Zhou Tai's series of operations could be said to have directly scratched the old man's itch. What kind of gift would his two children have to come up with to overwhelm Zhou Tai?

At this time, Zhou Fan also came forward with a gift box, "Grandpa, this is a gift from your granddaughter, I hope you like it!"

Zhou Zhishan opened the gift box, and inside was a mutton-fat jade bracelet.

The color of the bracelet was warm and full, and it looked very valuable, worth at least tens of millions.

If it were ordinary times, it would be a presentable gift.

But with Zhou Tai's highly exaggerated Hailan Zhu, this mutton-fat jade bracelet seemed a little too ordinary.

"Well, not bad, not bad, Grandpa likes it very much."

Although Zhou Zhishan still had a smile on his face, he was obviously uninterested, and his words were perfunctory.

Zhou Weiguo sighed in his heart, but fortunately, he didn't have much hope for Zhou Fan in the first place.

He pinned all his hopes on his eldest son, Zhou Wen. Whether he could make a comeback depended on what kind of gift Zhou Wen could come up with...