Then let them offer their loyalty!

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Chapter 261 (10,000 words, please vote!)

Upon hearing what Elder Lu said, Qiu Tu embraced the slender waist of the girl in front of him and then looked up.

Old Lu's expression was somewhat amused, as if Qiu Tu's next answer was extremely important.

Qiu Tu's mind raced, and after a moment, he said with a smile, "What fiancée? Old Master Lu is joking."

"She's just my roommate."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, the five elders couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Among the group, Xie Lao, who was the weakest, chuckled and joked, "What a wonderful roommate! Minister Qiu is indeed a remarkable person."

They all knew Qiu Tu was joking, but that was enough, because they knew Qiu Tu had guessed their purpose and given a "positive response".

No matter how ridiculous or nonsensical this response may be, it still demonstrates Qiu Tu's attitude.

All six of them are shrewd old foxes; some things don't need to be said too explicitly.

Thinking this, Old Lu glanced at Old Fang beside him. Old Fang nodded knowingly.

Then he said to Qiu Tu, who was still immersed in the tenderness of the girl in front of him, "Minister Qiu, the most important thing for a man is to settle down and start a family."

"Now that you've established your career, it's time to find a good partner and start a family."

"We old men happen to have a few granddaughters who are about your age. How about... you introduce them to them?"

While Old Fang was speaking, Qiu Tu's head was still buried in the face wash of the girl in his arms.

He seemed to be enjoying the scent and touch, but his mind was far from clear.

The five elders suddenly brought up his marital problems, clearly not out of genuine concern for him, but rather to discuss conditions.

In other words, the condition for Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei to get the five elders' help was—a marriage alliance.

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but find it a little funny.

Indeed, in any world, power, like AIDS, can only be transmitted through blood, mother-to-child transmission, and sexual contact.

Only if he marries their daughter and becomes part of their family will they truly help him wholeheartedly.

To put it bluntly... they are not content to be used as pawns, but want to be the players, to place heavy bets on themselves.

The only tragic thing is... the woman who was sacrificed.

This can be seen from the fact that several of them were still embracing this scantily clad, broad-minded girl while discussing such an important matter as marriage—in the eyes of the five elders, their granddaughter was merely a tool.

If his family doesn't care, why should I care?

Thinking this, Qiu Tu also raised his head, then smiled and agreed, "Old Fang, don't be so kind... I've really been thinking about starting a family lately."

"So, meeting these young ladies and seeing if we have a chance to meet is not a bad idea."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, the five elders exchanged glances. Then, Elder Fang gave Elder Xie a look.

Old Xie quickly smiled and said, "That's great."

“Perfect timing… Our granddaughters are having a gathering next door, I’ll have them come over.”

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu had a guess in his mind: It seems that... the Five Elders had planned everything all along tonight, otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen?

As he was thinking this, Old Xie waved to someone behind him.

As he waved, a man in a suit immediately walked over and respectfully handed him a communicator with both hands.

Old Xie picked up the communicator, made a call, and then chatted for a few minutes.

After a moment, he smiled and put down the phone, then said, "Jingjing and the others will be here soon."

Upon hearing what Elder Xie said, Elder Lu clapped his hands with a serious expression and then shook his head.

Upon seeing his actions, the dozen or so girls quickly climbed off the six men, bowed respectfully, and then walked out in a line.

Clearly, although the five elders didn't care much about their granddaughters, they knew it wasn't appropriate to do these things in front of them.

After finishing the face wash, Qiu Tu felt a little reluctant to leave.

He leaned back on the sofa, then looked at Old Master Xie and asked curiously, "Old Master Xie, I wonder how many young ladies I will be able to meet later?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Old Xie chuckled and said, "Five people. One for each of our families."

Qiu Tu nodded, then asked curiously, "How many can I choose?"

Mr. Xie: ....

The other four elders: .....

At this moment, Old Lu quickly replied with a smile, "Minister Qiu is joking. Of course, one can only have one wife."

Qiu Tu nodded upon hearing this, somewhat disappointed...

He thought that the five elders were planning to send all the wealthy socialites to his side in order to keep him by their side.

In the end, they only gave one?

They weren't afraid that the only woman they favored was unreliable.

Just as Qiu Tu was thinking this, a moment later, five beautiful women walked in from outside.

They ranged in age, the youngest being only eighteen or nineteen, while the oldest looked to be twenty-six or twenty-seven.

Because they were born into wealthy families, they had ample time and money to maintain and dress up, and with the added benefit of the beautiful genes from their mothers, they all have good looks, delicate skin, and fashionable style.

Their parents had clearly already given them a heads-up, and they knew what they were going to face tonight.

So, upon entering, they first glanced shyly at Qiu Tu, then gave the five elders a slight bow and sweetly called out, "Grandpa~~"

The five elders' expressions didn't change much when they saw them.

It's understandable, really. For those who once ruled the New Territories, women were countless, and they went through countless relationships. Hence, they had many children.

And those numerous children have given birth to countless grandchildren.

Among them are some important successors, whom they might frequently come into contact with, but as for these granddaughters used for marriage alliances, it's hard to say how many times they've met them before today...

Therefore, faced with this situation, Qiu Tu didn't even wait for the five socialites to introduce themselves, including their names, ages, and hobbies, before saying directly, "Mr. Xie, let's have another batch. I don't like this one."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, the atmosphere at the scene momentarily froze. The expressions on the faces of the girls all became somewhat embarrassed.

The youngest one even had slightly red eyes.

If the five elders hadn't been there, they probably would have started cursing or crying.

At this moment, the expressions on the faces of the five elders were not good either.

After all, Qiu Tu's somewhat insulting words, though directed at their granddaughter, were also a slap in their face.

Therefore, the expressions on their faces darkened slightly.

Old Xie tentatively glanced at Old Lu, who was at the head of the group. Old Lu glanced at Qiu Tu, who was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, seemingly unaffected. His expression changed a few times before he finally nodded slightly to Old Xie.

Upon hearing this, Elder Xie smiled and said, "Alright then. Since you're not meant to be, you can continue with your gathering."

Upon hearing Mr. Xie's words, the five socialites left the living room with grim expressions.

Throughout the entire process, they didn't dare to show even the slightest dissatisfaction.

At this moment, Qiu Tu, with his legs crossed and head looking at the ceiling, had a slightly unnoticed smile on his lips.

He wasn't intentionally insulting the five young ladies, nor was he deliberately provoking the five elders. He was testing them...

The five elders tonight were clearly well-prepared.

From the carefully prepared socialite gathering to probing the relationship between Qiu Tu and Shen Lingshuang, and their understanding of the Investigation Bureau and Qiu Tu, it's clear they did a lot of preparation beforehand.

Moreover, from the moment Qiu Tu began to interact with the five elders, he discovered that they had a clear division of labor:

Old Lu was the leader of the five people and also their last line of defense, so he rarely spoke, but simply guided the entire process tonight.

This not only proves his central position, but also adds an insurance layer to all the negotiations tonight—as long as he doesn't speak, there's always room for maneuver.

Old Fang is Fang Ming's grandfather and has the closest relationship with Qiu Tu. In addition, due to Fang Ming's affection, he is chosen to play the "bad cop".

He brought up all the sensitive topics that might offend Qiu Tu or cause him to reject them. For example, "Yan Chen's revenge" and "arranged marriage."

As for Elder Xie, since he was the lowest in rank among the five, he played the "good cop," behaving gently, smoothing things over, and flattering Qiu Tu.

Even the silent Elder Tian and Elder Wei were their last resort: if the negotiations really broke down, they could use the opportunity of seeking refuge with Qiu Tu to make a final effort to make amends.

Having seen through all of the Five Elders' plans for tonight, Qiu Tu suddenly realized that... the Five Elders seemed to value tonight's negotiation even more than he and Tang Feifei did.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken so many precautions.

Having figured this out, Qiu Tu suddenly grasped the essence of tonight's negotiations.

But he wasn't sure if he had guessed wrong, so he used this method to test the Five Elders' bottom line.

As he had predicted, everything unfolded exactly as he had analyzed: the five elders valued this negotiation more than he had anticipated...

At this moment, the five elders were unaware that Qiu Tu had discovered their trump card with just a simple test.

After exchanging a few glances, Old Xie spoke up again, "By the way, Minister Qiu, I just heard from Jingjing that she and a few of her sisters are playing cards there too."

"Or, should I call them over for a chat?"

Hearing what Elder Xie said, Qiu Tu, who felt confident, smiled and nodded, "Then I'll have to trouble Elder Xie."

Seeing that Qiu Tu agreed again, Old Xie breathed a sigh of relief.

He took out his communicator again and made a call.

Before long, five more wealthy young ladies arrived in front of Qiu Tu.

Having already tested the waters, Qiu Tu patiently listened to the five girls introduce themselves and then asked a few more questions before shaking his head at Elder Xie.

Clearly, none of the five girls were to his liking.

Although Qiu Tu still rejected them, the five elders weren't angry, perhaps because Qiu Tu behaved normally this time.

This "marriage alliance" is indeed different from other normal marriage alliances.

In a normal marriage alliance, the two parties are at least of similar strength and are likely to help each other in the future.

Therefore, feelings are not important, and neither is the choice of person. Just pick anyone.

But their marriage to Qiu Tu was different.

Although they can still make deals with Qiu Tu now, it's only because of their past influence.

Qiu Tu, on the other hand, was a political deputy minister in his early twenties with an incredibly promising future.

They and Qiu Tu are like one going down a mountain and the other going up. As time goes by, the gap between them will widen, and Qiu Tu will have more and more women around him.

In this situation, if they are merely tools for a marriage without any emotional connection, Qiu Tu can kick them out at any time.

Therefore, it would be better to put in more effort and let Qiu Tu choose a girl he likes.

Even if there's a huge gap between them in the future, as long as the girl stays by Qiu Tu's side, there will still be some lingering affection between them.

If Qiu Tu really likes that girl, and she whispers sweet nothings in his ear, the five families might just be able to have a second spring in their lives with Qiu Tu.

So, next, Old Xie began to introduce Qiu Tu to girls from five different families, one after another.

To be honest, Qiu Tu's eyes have been opened.

He knew all along that in chaotic times, local tyrants and old warlords were the most carefree: they made their own rules and were unrestrained.

In the New Territories at that time, it was indeed common to hear that the Five Elders would coerce, bribe, or even forcibly take any girl they fancied into submission.

Now, seeing the five elders' granddaughters of varying ages, Qiu Tu believed it: it wasn't fake, it was real.

These five old men had a really great time when they were young! They certainly didn't waste those decades!

And so it went on for seven or eight batches, until Qiu Tu got tired of the changes and the five elders began to doubt Qiu Tu's sincerity.

The next batch of granddaughters were also called in.

Perhaps because all the direct granddaughters had already been seen, this time five girls from collateral branches of each family were presented.

When the group of granddaughters were brought up, Qiu Tu's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the last of the five girls.

She looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, with a small oval face, big eyes, and lightly drawn eyebrows, giving her a pure and lovely appearance.