Guests who come to offer birthday felicitations are expected to arrive before the meal is served, as at least a show of respect to the host.
To arrive after the banquet has ended and then require the very household to come out and welcome them personally is quite another matter.
Song Heping concluded that these latecomers must be of no small significance.
Otherwise, they would never receive such treatment.
As Song Heping speculated about the identities of the arrivals, three off-road vehicles pulled up to the entrance.
From the vehicles in front and back, seven or eight armed bodyguards descended, chattering and laughing with their weapons at the ready as they spread out to occupy key positions in front of the building.
The people inside came out to greet them, with the leader warmly exchanging greetings with someone who got out of the co-pilot seat, evidently an old acquaintance, as their interaction appeared quite intimate.