In the living room, Sheffield handed a brocade box to Miranda and said, "Grandma, this is a rutilated quartz bracelet consecrated by an eminent monk. Evelyn and I bought it for you in a temple. We wish you health, fortune and happiness." The bracelet was made of red, green, and yellow rutilated quartz beads. Red ones represented happiness and longevity, while green and yellow ones represented fortune. Rutilated quartz was regarded as the symbol of happiness, fortune and longevity.
Miranda's eyes widened and she broke into a smile so cheerful that it lit up her entire face. The excitement in her eyes was palpable as she put the bracelet on her wrist and reveled in its extravagance. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Sheffield!"
"I'm glad you like it, Grandma. It isn't expensive, but it's the token of my respect for you."
At this age, Miranda had seen all kinds of things. It was the thought that went behind the gift that was more important than the gift itself. "I really like it!" she said.
Then, grabbing another gift bag, Sheffield took out an even bigger square brocade box. He handed it to Carlos and respectfully said, "Uncle Carlos, this boccaro ashtray is for you. Happy New Year! May you be prosperous and healthy forever!"
Although Carlos had long reduced his smoking habits, he would still indulge in a cigarette or two on some occasions. As such, an ashtray was a thoughtful gift for him.
"Humph!" Carlos looked away, crossing his arms over his chest and continued, "You think you can fool me with a cheap ashtray?"
Sheffield knew it wouldn't be easy to deal with Carlos. With a mysterious smile, he opened the brocade box and produced a special-shaped boccaro ashtray, dark purple in color with a tinge of blue.
Instantly, the ashtray caught Carlos' attention. After he had been staring at the ashtray for a long time, he raised an eyebrow at the young man, who was even calmer than him, and said, "Are you telling me that this ashtray is made out of azure mud?"
It was said that amongst all the different types of arenaceous mud, azure mud was the most sought after.
It was considered to be one of the most expensive and rarest materials in the whole world.
Glancing shortly at the ashtray in the box, Sheffield nodded. "Yes."
"Azure mud was produced in the middle stage of the Qing Dynasty, no one has seen it since then. Do you take me for a fool?" Carlos couldn't take his eyes off the ashtray while he spoke.
Sheffield's lips broke into a smirk and he said, "Uncle Carlos, how can you be so sure that no one knew where to find them?"
Carlos didn't answer his question. Indeed, there was no way he could be so sure about that.
Matthew took the ashtray from Sheffield and examined it under the light. After a while, he expressed his conclusion with a simple response. "What a waste." It was indeed a waste to make an ashtray of such a rare material. It would have been better to make it into a teapot.
However, it would be a completely different case if it were to be kept in its pristine condition as a part of a collection. After all, it would have more value as a collectible.
Carlos nonchalantly took the ashtray from Matthew's hand and said, "Since Sheffield was able to get an ashtray made out of azure mud, he should also be able to get a teapot made out of it."
Sheffield slowly closed the brocade box and modestly said, "Actually, that would be quite difficult. They may have found new ways to mine azure mud, but in reality, there isn't a lot of it to be mined..."
Observing the brocade box, Carlos casually said, "It all depends on how strongly you feel about Evelyn." Carlos found himself enamored with the ashtray. The young man had a way with surprises. Despite his feelings of apprehension about Sheffield, Carlos liked that about him.
Everyone else was rendered speechless by his words. The almighty, arrogant Mr. Huo was actually asking something of a young man who he claimed he didn't even like. What was the world coming to?
Sheffield and Evelyn looked at each other and her eyes displayed the worries of her heart. Sheffield winked at her with a reassuring expression and then said, "Uncle Carlos, since you have asked for it, I'll try my best to get you one."
"I didn't say I wanted it," Carlos snorted.
Everyone felt puzzled by his words again.
Sheffield suddenly remembered something Evelyn had told him about her father in the past. He couldn't agree with her more. The older Carlos was getting, the more arrogant and childish he was as well. So the easiest way to win his approval was to shower him with flatteries. "I know you didn't say it, but I want to give it to you to make you happy." After all, Carlos was his future father-in-law. In fact, Sheffield respected him more than he did his own father.
Soon after, he grabbed the other bags and distributed the gifts he had bought for the rest of the Huo family, including the servants and carers of the house.
Sheffield didn't cut corners, making sure that the gifts he had bought for the servants were from famous brands. Just like that, even though Sheffield hadn't married Evelyn yet, he had won the hearts of the members of her family.
When it was time to give Matthew his present, Sheffield walked up to him empty-handed and sat down next to him. "Brother-in-law," he said.
All the while, Evelyn couldn't stop worrying about Sheffield and when she saw him talking to her brother, she tried to intervene, but he smiled at her and eased her worries with his comforting expression.
In spite of that, Evelyn still seemed uncomfortable because apart from Carlos, Matthew was the most difficult person to handle in this family.
Sure enough, Matthew responded, "I don't have a brother-in-law yet." Matthew had a reputation for being unapologetically blunt.
"Matthew," Sheffield called him again, seemingly not offended by his rude attitude.
"I'm not used to being called by a man that intimately," added Matthew.
Needless to say, he was just trying to make things difficult for Sheffield, but Sheffield wasn't going to admit defeat so easily. "Mr. Huo?"
Matthew fell silent.
However, deep down in his heart, Sheffield was yelling, 'This is harder than I thought!' He continued, "Didn't you say that we would be friends if I could hack into the ZL Group's defense system?" Sheffield wanted to grant Matthew's request as a New Year's gift.
Casting a sideways glance at him, Matthew snorted, "You want to marry my sister and make friends with me. You're being too wishful, aren't you?"
Sheffield grinned and replied, "Well, I haven't married your sister yet. So why don't we try being friends first?"
Matthew stood up with his hands in his pockets. "My laptop is upstairs."
Understanding what he meant, Sheffield stood up as well.
Evelyn wanted to grab Sheffield's hand, but she didn't have the courage to do it in front of Carlos. She grabbed Sheffield's sleeve instead and whispered, "Where are you going?"
Hearing her worried voice, Matthew turned around and asked, "Evelyn, are you afraid that I will eat him up?" His voice had a rare playful tone.
Feeling embarrassed, Evelyn blushed and rolled her eyes at him.
With a smile on his face, Sheffield patted on the back of her hand to comfort her. "You stay here and keep Grandma company. I'll be back soon."
Evelyn nodded, reluctantly letting go of his sleeve.
Soon, the two men, one dressed in black and the other in white, went upstairs.
Matthew stopped in front of the study and said, "Inside!"
Knowing what he had meant, Sheffield opened the door and stepped into the study first.
After leaving him in the study, Matthew went back to his room to fetch his laptop.
The study was full of trophies and awards for achievements in business; philanthropy and education. Therefore, Sheffield assumed that this was Carlos' study.
There must have been at least a hundred awards in that room. As an entrepreneur, the man was indeed outstanding.
When Matthew came into the room, he noticed Sheffield pensively staring at the family portrait on the wall.
Unlike the one at Evelyn's apartment, there were two elderly members in this photo.
Matthew was a taciturn man, and thus, Sheffield didn't ask him who they were. However, since they looked much older, Sheffield assumed that one of them might have been Evelyn's great-grandmother. Noticing the old man standing next to Miranda, he assumed that he was Evelyn's grandfather.