TN: bonus chapter!💕

After half a lifetime, old man Song could finally hold the long lost recipe book, and was unable to speak for a long time.

Tao Mu and the others could somewhat understand the feelings of the old man and let the old man walk around in the bedroom with the recipe book all night. The small table lamp placed by the bedside was on all night, and the warm orange light sneaked out from the gap in the door, just like the huge rock that had been pressing on Song Daozhen’s heart, now finally and silently moved away.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Early the next morning, Song Daozhen asked Tao Mu to accompany him to the Wenwan Restoration Shop in Liulichang, and wanted to rebind the Song family’s recipe book. (TN: Liulichang is a district in downtown Beijing that is known for a series of traditional Chinese stone dwellings selling various craftwork, artistry, and antiques. It is one of Beijing’s traditional old quarters)

Tao Mu noticed that the “Song Family Recipe Book” that Mr. Song brought out was thinner than the one he brought back and raised eyebrows unconsciously.

Song Daozhen noticed Tao Mu’s puzzlement, and slowly said, “What I want back is the “Song Family Recipe Book”. Since it should be returned intact to the owner, whether it is less or more, neither will count as complete.”

Tao Mu suddenly realized what Song Daozhen meant.

He didn’t say anything and just accompanied the old man to rebind the “Song Family Recipe Book”. And then accompanied the old man in preparing for worshipping the ancestors.

Though it was said that the ancestor worship would take place on the first day of the Lunar New Year, before the ancestor worship, there were actually a lot of things to do. The Song family ancestor’s grave had been passed down to the present, and had a history of more than 100 years. In the past, Mr. Song had felt ashamed to face his ancestors, and he was also afraid of being reminded of the painful past, so he did not dare to go grave sweeping often. At most it was just once every year during the Qingming Festival to burn some paper money and incense sticks as well as confess to his ancestors about his incompetence and weakness in being unable to avenge the Song family.

And when he came back he would always fall seriously ill.

But now, the “Song Family Recipe Book” was finally back and the Song family inheritance also returned. Song Daozhen felt that he was still incompetent, but finally he was not ashamed to face his ancestors. At least if he closed his eyes for the last time in this life now, he had the confidence to face his parents and grandparents in the afterlife.

So this year’s New Year, Song Daozhen could finally follow the family tradition to worship the ancestors——according to the Song family’s rules, they must cook 36 Song family dishes when worshiping the ancestors. Among them, the patriarch would cook eight dishes, while the other descendants and disciples cooked the 24 dishes together.

However, the Song family having passed down to now, only Song Daozhen, a lonely old man, and Tao Mu, an irresponsible direct disciple, remained. So Song Daozhen decided to cook 30 dishes by himself, and let Tao Mu cook the remaining six dishes.

Before cooking to worship the ancestors, the ancestral tomb had to be specially repaired. For various reasons, the tomb of the Song family had not been repaired for many years. Although the tomb head and tombstone were not incomplete, they look dilapidated. There were signs of aging and fading everywhere due to wear and tear. It was the scars left from the wind and rain during the long years.

Just like what happened to the Song family over the decades.

Tao Mu knew the wish of Mr. Song and decided to take over the work of repairing the grave. Chinese people pay a lot of attention to this kind of grave repair and burial rites. Tao Mu didn’t understand the inner workings, so he simply invited a Feng Shui master to come over.

After looking at Feng Shui, calculating days, buying candles, paper money, various stones and wood, they must also hire people to do the work. Fortunately, Liu Yao and Meng Qi helped out, or else Tao Mu, who still had to go to school during the day, wouldn’t have been able to oversee it all.

On the second night after returning to Beijing, Tao Mu called Li Xiaoheng and asked him to come out so he could thank him in person——this time dealing with the Sheng’an Group, if there was no Li Xiaoheng behind his back, it would likely not have gone so smoothly.

So reasonably and emotionally, Tao Mu should treat the other to this meal.

Tao Mu felt that the meaning of this meal was very formal, so he didn’t cook it at home. Instead, he invited Li Xiaoheng to Song Ji, and the old man personally cooked it himself. Yao Dad and Xiao Qi Dad also accompanied on the side. It could be considered their family of four thanking Li Xiaoheng together.

Li Xiaoheng went to the appointment with pleasure. After accepting the warm gestures of gratitude from the family of four. At noon the next day, Tao Mu was invited to dinner at a Cantonese restaurant opposite Beijing Film.

This time it was just the two of them, sitting in an elegantly decorated small enclosed private room.

Li Xiaoheng poured a cup of tea for Tao Mu and asked: “I want to shift the focus of Xiaoheng Capital’s work to China. Recently, the venture capital department organized an inspection group that focused on several projects. Help me take a look. “

Li Xiaoheng said, handing a few thick folders to Tao Mu.

The two would talk about business affairs every time they met so Tao Mu was not surprised either. He picked up the files and looked at them one by one.

It must be said that the venture capital department of Xiaoheng Capital was very capable indeed, their investment vision was very accurate. At least of the projects Tao Mu saw, they were all very profitable projects for later years. Among them, new energy and environmental protection projects would be supported by the state in the next few years. There was also the research and development and use of artificial intelligence in the logistics and production lines, which would also be particularly popular in the future, and especially had a market.

Of course, in addition to this, Tao Mu felt that the development prospects of the entertainment industry were also good.

Combining the development direction of future years, Tao Mu spoke his own thoughts carefully and seriously to Li Xiaoheng. This chat took more than an hour. Tao Mu spoke until his mouth was dry, and Li Xiaoheng sat next to him, helping him pour tea.

Tao Mu, who had drunk a lot, went to the bathroom three times.

When he came back for the last time, Tao Mu smiled at Li Xiaoheng and said: “…..When I went out, the waiter kept looking strangely at me. Maybe he was thinking that despite my young age I already had kidney problems.”

Having said that, he couldn’t help taking another sip of tea.

Li Xiaoheng chuckled and gave Tao Mu a shumai filled with shiitake mushrooms, shrimp and glutinous rice: “It’s all my fault.”

“What does it have to do with you.” Tao Mu swallowed the shumai in one bite, and his eyes lit up at the delicious taste: “It’s good.”

Li Xiaoheng curved the corners of his mouth upwards, and his expression became a little eager: “Actually, I have been at home for a while, and I have also learned a few dishes at home. When there’s a chance someday, I will cook it for you.”

“Then I won’t be courteous with you. I must definitely try the craftsmanship of the boss.” Tao Mu smiled, but didn’t take it to heart.

He knew that Li Xiaoheng was too busy at work and didn’t even have time to eat. How could he waste time studying cooking? It was just the normal social niceties, so whether it was true or not it was not important, so long as the words sounded pleasant then that was enough.

But Tao Mu was slapped in the face just a few days after. Because Li Xiaoheng came over again with two bags of ingredients on the third night of his return to Beijing. The two met in the small apartment opposite Beijing Film. Li Xiaoheng personally cooked Tao Mu a dish of sweet and sour pork ribs, a dish of garlic vermicelli steamed shrimp, a dish of steamed fish, and a pot of seafood porridge.

The taste was actually pretty good as well.

Tao Mu was instantly a little delighted. He gave a thumbs up to Li Xiaoheng: “As expected of the big boss. Learning everything very fast.”

Li Xiaoheng curved his mouth upwards with satisfaction. As if he had forgotten the fact that he almost blew up the kitchen when he was learning how to cook——twice in fact.

“By the way, I want to withdraw one million from my Xiaoheng Capital’s account. Don’t know if it is convenient or not?” Mr. Song’s matter had been mostly resolved. Tao Mu was no longer as busy and finally had the mind to deal with another matter.

Li Xiaoheng smiled slightly: “Of course it’s no problem.”

Immediately after a pause, he asked a little hesitantly: “Then I don’t know if it is inconvenient for me to ask, what are you eager to use the money for? Is there a problem with the operation of FlyNews?”

“Oh, no.” Tao Mu shook his head: “Didn’t the old man set up the Song Huai Fund with 10% of the shares of Sheng’an Group. I am also deeply inspired. Anyway, I am not short of money, so I want to take out the one million yuan to also set up an education fund within our orphanage. As you know, few of the children from orphanages can go to college. Most of them just go out to work part-time jobs in society after the nine-year compulsory education ends. And because of their low academic qualifications, they can only find manual labor, and there is almost no development of future prospects. I was lucky, I have a handsome face and met good people like my old man, Yao Dad and Xiao Qi dad. I also had the opportunity to study in Beijing Film. In truth, my college entrance examination score is also not that high, just 500 points. But that is the highest score in our orphanage in more than ten years.”

“In fact, some children in our orphanage are really smart. If they can devote themselves to their studies, maybe they will be able to produce a few 985 and 211 high-achieving students in the future.” (TN: 985 and 211 are constructive projects for founding elite universities conducted by China’s government in the 21st century)

Of course, only half of what Tao Mu said was sincere. The other half wanted to take this opportunity to dig out the poisonous snake hidden in the orphanage that would be bribed by a developer in the future and framed dean Tao, and thrown them into prison.

Li Xiaoheng didn’t know Tao Mu’s real plan. Hearing this, he sighed: “I didn’t see it before, but it seems you really like children.”

“You didn’t see wrong.” Tao Mu sneered, “I’m most annoyed with children. Except for crying and screaming every day, there is never a quiet moment. If you even looked the other way, they might be able to stir up a mess that you have to clean up. And they are especially talented at bullying the weak and fearing the strong. They are all little devils.”

“But the children in our orphanage are afraid of me. No one dares to make a mess in front of me and they all pretend to be very good in front of me. They are afraid of being beaten.” Tao Mu said naturally.

However, what he didn’t know was that the children in their orphanage were not only afraid of him, but they all also admired him. Because Tao Mu was the first child in the orphanage to go to college, and because Tao Mu could make money since he was a child and always took some of this money to subsidize the orphanage.

Although Tao Mu was not averse to giving them a beating——most of the time it was because the children in the orphanage stole Tao Mu’s hidden snacks, pocket money or Tao Mu’s clothes. Tao Mu had always been possessive since he was a child. He didn’t mind giving others what he didn’t want, but he never let others touch things that he didn’t give away. If anyone dared to touch, they could just expect a beating.

Sometimes when Tao Mu couldn’t beat a child older than him, he would use insidious tricks, or bribe the hoodlums in the alley to help him beat others. Sometimes the beaten child would cry and complain to the dean. Dean Tao would call Tao Mu to lecture him patiently and reason with him. Tao Mu was not convinced, but he didn’t say anything in front of dean Tao, and continued to beat people secretly. And even more ruthlessly. The little bastard who he up beat would then no longer have the daring to tell on him again. In the end, all the children learned to submit to him.

But under normal circumstances, after Tao Mu beat someone, he would also treat the beaten child to eat delicious food, or give them a toy as compensation. After a slap on the wrist a sweet date was given. Generally, children with families would learn such a truth and social tactic of maneuvering in society after they graduated from college. But Tao Mu seemed to be born knowing this. Later, when he was a little older, Tao Mu knew how to put on a pretense, and he didn’t do much of the dirty work himself. It all became insidious tricks and calculations behind the scenes.

Which was why people who had been in contact with Tao Mu say that he was very calculating, manipulative and ruthless. But they were not wrong. Because the environment he came from was like that.

——Anyway, in Tao Mu’s eyes, all children were ungrateful wretches. Especially those that come out of the orphanage. They might not know that you are good to them, but if you are not good to them, they would definitely remember you for the rest of their life. Pretending to be docile in front of you, but scheming ruthlessly behind your back. They had strong jealousy, were prone to being two-faced, had a sinister mindset, and fought viciously for every bit of benefit in sight.

Tao Mu himself was such a person. Those who came out of the orphanage, never grew up in a normal family since childhood, without the love of parents, so insecurity was unavoidable. The personality defects caused by the shadow of childhood caused them to hold on tightly to any bit of thing in their possession, to not trust anyone, and easily go to extremes.

Before now, Tao Mu would never dare to tell others about these past events. In his previous life, he was criticized by others and was afraid of being scolded by others. The psychological shadow left on him was too great, and even after rebirth, he would rather pretend to be weak and act on his own instead of revealing his nature. Therefore, even if he acted like he didn’t care about what others say, he would subconsciously pretend to be slick and tactful in front of others, and he did not dare to argue with others. Not only was it due to a lack of confidence, but also due to the inferiority and cowardice hidden in his bones.

After experiencing the incident of the Yao family, not only Mr. Song’s sore point healed, even Tao Mu felt that he had untied a knot in his heart.

So what if he was scheming and calculating with ruthless and vicious tactics? By letting others know that he was not easy to provoke or that others should not dare to provoke, he was more able to protect those around him.

Like a very sharp knife, it was easy to injure others but also easy to protect others. If the purpose of hurting someone was to protect someone, then show the knife first. Those who had bad intentions in their hearts would naturally weigh the pros and cons. And as a result, some troubles could be avoided before they even begin.

Tao Mu sometimes also found it strange. There was a saying handed down from the ancestors, a lifetime of integrity is lost in later years. It meant that good people had done good things for a lifetime, but because they did a bad thing when they were old, their life’s value was denied by others. There were also the sayings, a prodigal son returned home is worth more than gold and putting down the butcher knife to become a Buddha on the spot. These two sayings meant that a bad person had done a bad thing for a lifetime, but if he did a good thing when he grew old, he would become a good person instead. It seemed that the bad things he had done before could all be wiped out.

Really f**king bullsh*t.

It could be seen that human nature was to bully the weak and fear the strong. Wasn’t it because you knew that good people don’t take the initiative to hurt others, so you could point your fingers unscrupulously and that bad guys were not easy to provoke, so even if the other did a good thing on a whim, you couldn’t wait to sing praises. Because you knew that bad people doing good or bad things was just a matter of thought. Bad people doing good deeds might not be able to benefit you, but if they did bad things, it would definitely be a threat to you.

If it was like this, Tao Mu would rather be the bad guy in the eyes of others. If they knew to be afraid, they would not easily attack the people around Tao Mu. There would be no such thing as a threat being made on family members. If anyone dared to move against Tao Mu, Tao Mu would only fight back viciously. Just like the Sheng’an Group, which was a very good example.

Especially as Tao Mu would be entering the entertainment circle in the future, so he must sound the alarm for those marketing accounts who could only see money. If they want to bully him and his family like in the last life, it would no longer work!

Tao Mu secretly bared his teeth and sharpened his claws in his heart. But in Li Xiaoheng’s eyes, he only felt that Tao Mu had gradually let go of his heart’s defenses, and had slowly revealed his true side when getting along in private.

Sure enough, his previous course of action was correct. He must start with the people around Tao Mu, taking a subtle route that eventually surrounded the center.

The meal passed in good spirits.

Anyway, the big boss’s filters when looking at a certain someone had become deeper and deeper.

After the Song family’s ancestral tomb was repaired, it was already the end of January 2009. The twelfth lunar month was over, and it would be the first month of the lunar new year.

Tao Mu had yet to wait for Yao Shengan’s arrival in Beijing to make his apologies, but another couldn’t sit still.

With an ingratiating smile on his face, Zhang Dafu went to Tao Mu’s school again, and begged the old doorman to call Tao Mu’s dorm. When learning that Tao Mu was not in the dorm, he then begged Tao Mu’s roommate to call Tao Mu who was reading materials in the library.

“Why are you here again?” It was the deep winter, Zhang Dafu was wearing a thick military coat, sitting in the doorman booth with a small fire under the kang and drinking the old doorman’s tea.

Seeing Tao Mu, he smiled ingratiatingly and said: “Aren’t I here for business. Proper business.”

Tao Mu also guessed why Zhang Dafu came here. He glanced at Zhang Dafu with a half-smile, and led Zhang Dafu to the coffee shop opposite the school.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Before he left, he didn’t forget to pass a box of kidney bean cakes to the doorman uncle: “I made it myself. Please have a taste to see if it is authentic.”

Tao Mu was learning the dishes for ancestor worship with Mr. Song recently. As there were too many things made, it couldn’t be finished by just themselves, everyone was in luck. Including the employees of FlyNews and Night, as well as the teachers and students of Beijing Film, they had all tasted his craftsmanship. Most people didn’t know whether it was authentic or not, they just knew that Tao Mu’s cooking was very delicious.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

Hearing what Tao Mu said, everyone in the Yao family, including Yao Shengan, fell silent.

Because they all knew that Tao Mu was serious. If they dared to answer “yes” today, based on Tao Mu’s intelligence and scheming as well as his cruel and ruthless methods, the Yao family going bankrupt at least was definitely possible if not completely ruined.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Yao Shengan slowly went down the stairs holding the recipe book. He handed the recipe book to Tao Mu along with the red sandalwood box it was placed in.

Tao Mu opened the lid of the box, and saw the Song family’s recipe book that had been passed down for generations. Even if it was carefully kept and maintained, the pages and papers of the book were already yellowed with age. The spine was bound with thick thread and Tao Mu couldn’t help but sneer when he looked at the big characters “Yao Family’s Recipe Book” written on the cover.

“Mr. Yao is really at ease with yourself.” Tao Mu opened the recipe book and saw that on the yellowed pages, various recipes were written in classical calligraphy script. Each dish was learned by the ancestors of the Song family from all over the world with much effort. There were also special dishes developed by the Song family’s ancestors after they became famous.

The experience of ancestors from generation to generation was now being stolen unceremoniously, and even blatantly labeled with the thief’s name.

In front of everyone in the Yao family, Tao Mu directly tore off the cover with the big characters “Yao Family Recipe Book”, and then carefully put the recipe book back into the red sandalwood box.

With distress, Yao Shengan leaned down and picked up the cover Tao Mu had ripped and thrown on the ground. He seemed to appear ten years older in an instant.

His lips trembled a bit and he wanted to tell Tao Mu that he knew that the recipes of the Song family were handed down. The ancestors would record the recipes they learned and created in the ancestral recipe book and leave them to the younger generations to study. He wanted to say that although he had betrayed his teacher, he had painstakingly studied the recipes for so many years, and he had also added a lot of new dishes…..

But Yao Shengan didn’t say anything in the end. He just sat on the sofa with a lonely look, staring blankly at the crumpled cover written with the “Yao Family Recipe Book”.

Practically the image of a hero who had met a sad end.

The father and son pair of the Shen family who stood on the side exchanged looks without a trace. Even though it didn’t show up on their faces, they admired Tao Mu’s ability to actually force Yao Shengan, the old fox, to such a situation despite his young age.

When everyone in the Yao family saw this, they couldn’t bear it anymore, glaring at Tao Mu with the same hatred one would direct at their enemy: “Enough. You got the recipe book, and the shares. You should be satisfied, so why won’t you leave now? Do you want to keep staying to ridicule us as well?”

Recalling that the Yao family’s defeat today was planned by Tao Mu, and thinking about the embarrassing situation that Yao family would face after the news that Yao Shengan went to the Song family’s grave to kowtow and apologize, everyone in the Yao family was full of grief. Their eyes that looked at Tao Mu were red and bloodshot.

However, Tao Mu was very hard-hearted, and refused to be the slightest accommodating: “Since the recipe book has been obtained, I will not stay anymore. Mr. Yao, please remember to arrive on the first day of the Lunar New Year when the Song family worships the ancestors. I hope Mr. Yao will show up on time. I believe that with the matter having become like this, neither of us wants to have any more complications.”

Yao Shengan was silent.

Yao Wenxiao walked towards him with a bruised and swollen face: “What else do you want to do?”

“I just want to remind Mr. Yao not to maintain any wishful thinking.” Tao Mu said with a blank expression: “The Yao family has already returned the “Song Family Recipe Book”, that is to say, the Yao family recognizes that most of the signature dishes of the catering company under the Sheng’an Group come from Song Ji. If I do not see Mr. Yao in front of the grave on the day of the ancestor worship on the first day of the Lunar New Year, then more than half of the signature dishes of the catering company under the Sheng’an Group would probably have to go off the shelves.”

“You——” Everyone in the Yao family didn’t expect Tao Mu to have such a cruel means, and they all glared at him.

However, the Yao family members could do nothing but just glare at Tao Mu.

Tao Mu looked at Yao Shengan, who was silent and pretending to be pitiful, and warned in a cold voice: “I have said my piece here, and Mr. Yao should keep it in mind.”

“CEO Tao can rest assured.” Yao Shengan stood up slowly, his turbid eyes suddenly widened, and said solemnly: “Although Yao is old, I have a good memory. I will be there on the first day of the New Year’s. At that time, I will make my three bows and nine kowtows, and apologize to the old Mr. Song family.”

Hearing these words, Tao Mu didn’t say anymore, turning around and leaving with the recipe book in his hand.

Everyone in the Yao family originally thought Tao Mu would throw out one or two ruthless words but was caught off guard when he simply just left. They finally reacted after watching Tao Mu walk out of the Yao family mansion.

Yao Shengan couldn’t hold on anymore, clutching his chest and falling on the sofa with a painful face.

“Dad!”

“Grandpa!”

“Mr. Yao!”

“Call the doctor now…..”

All of a sudden, the Yao family’s mansion was in chaos. The father and son pair of the Shen family looked at each other, and left with Shen Yu on the grounds that the Yao family had too many matters to take care of and they should not disturb them.

The Shen family’s father and son pair wanted to chat with Tao Mu, but Tao Mu didn’t have the patience to chat, much to the regret of the Shen family’s father and son pair. But at the insistence of Shen Yu, Tao Mu was sent to the airport on the grounds of showing hospitality.

Tao Mu and Lawyer Zhou took the plane that night and flew back to Beijing overnight. Before boarding the plane, Shen Yu tugged Tao Mu’s sleeves and said with an earnest face: “You just questioned me, and I really thought about it. If it was me, if it was the Shen family that was ruined. Although I don’t have the ability like you, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to avenge my family. But I will definitely find a way to find someone to help me avenge. I will not forgive the person who harmed my family. Even if this person spends more than a billion yuan to beg for my forgiveness.”

Tao Mu: “…..”

Tao Mu really didn’t expect that the reason Shen Yu had been silent all the way was because he was pondering such a thing.

But Tao Mu never had hope for Shen Yu’s head. Because Shen Yu’s brain circuits had always been different from that of ordinary people.

Sure enough, he heard Shen Yu continue to say: “But Grandpa Yao’s situation is not the same. Grandpa Yao had done wrong, but he didn’t kill anyone in the Song family. I can only say that the world is difficult, I did not kill them, yet they died because of me.”

“Grandpa Yao was brought up by old Mr. Song and it’s reasonable for him to go kowtow at the Song family’s grave. But I hope you don’t spread the video of Grandpa Yao’s visit to the Song family’s grave online, as Wen Xiao said. I hope you can leave this last bit of face to the Yao family.”

Shen Yu’s reasoning was very peculiar. He thought Grandpa Yao was wrong, and of course he should admit his mistake. But the others in the Yao family were innocent. They shouldn’t be condemned by outsiders because of the mistakes made by Grandpa Yao when he was young.

“In that case, it would be too cruel to them.” When Shen Yu said this, his eyes couldn’t help but tear up, looking like the image of pureness and kindness.

Upon seeing this, Lawyer Zhou looked over with a distressed expression on his face.

Tao Mu expressionlessly pulled off Shen Yu’s hands holding on his sleeve, and called Lawyer Zhou to go through the security check.

After the two boarded the plane, Lawyer Zhou said, “How was this young master of the Shen family even brought up? I feel like Chairman Shen and Mr. Shen are quite normal. But why is this young master like that? Does he actually think that he is very kind, very pure, very innocent and lovely, just like a white lotus flower that grows out of the mud but does not stain, and even if it is swaying in the cold storm and snow, it is still a lovely white lotus that invokes affection and pity?”

It must be said that those who were lawyers were quite eloquent.

Tao Mu looked at Lawyer Zhou with a half-smile. Lawyer Zhou’s spirits were lifted and he immediately became curious: “I heard that Mr. Tao and this young master of the Shen family are actually old acquaintances. Is he usually like this?”

“Are you curious about him?”

“Curious! Of course I’m curious! I must be curious!” Zhou Shenxing slapped his thigh, and said seriously: “Such a weird person, it is usually difficult to meet. At least I have lived for 30 years, and I haven’t met a second one. But why is Mr. Tao looking a bit unhappy?”

“Do you think I should be happy?”

“Why aren’t you happy? Think about it from another perspective. There is such a person who puts on a show in front of me every day, and lets me watch a reality show for free. One must also have entertainment occasionally after work to change the mood.”

“Mr. Tao, think about it, if you are always surrounded by incredibly smart people who speak with nuances in their every word, how tired would you be! Sometimes you have to talk to oddballs to adjust your mood.”

Zhou Shenxing saw that Tao Mu had become more upset after meeting Shen Yu. But he and Tao Mu have not known each other for too long, and it would not be good to talk too in depth about things so as to avoid embarrassment for both parties. So he could only joke and try and lighten up the mood.

Sure enough, Tao Mu smiled when he heard these words and said, “You are able to take it to heart.”

“What’s there to take to heart.” Zhou Shenxing said with a smile: “I am a vulgar person. I only know how to work hard and make money. As for other things, as long as I don’t lose out, I don’t care how others behave. Don’t you think so too?”

“Just treat it as watching a show. Tao Mu, aren’t you an actor? You can just treat him as a plot character, and when you talk to him just treat it as if you are acting from a script. The way I see it, he talks and does things like a Taiwan idol drama. Do you know those 8pm soap operas? So long as the plot is pleasing and exciting, complicated and bizarre, the more dog blood the better, there is no need to consider logical common sense at all.”

Tao Mu stopped smiling immediately. He looked at Zhou Shenxing thoughtfully: “Lawyer Zhou is actually a fan of the 8pm dog blood dramas?”

“Just passing the time when I’m idle. It doesn’t take up much brainpower or kidney strength.” Zhou Shenxing said this, and then suddenly wriggled his eyebrows at Tao Mu, scooching over mysteriously: “Of course. I usually prefer to watch those kinds of romance action movies that take up kidney strength.”

Romance action movies that use kidney strength. Tao Mu instantly chuckled.

It takes only a few hours to fly from Shanghai to Beijing. Tao Mu didn’t think it was a long time because of Lawyer Zhou, the two talking about gossip and work the whole way. When they arrived in Beijing, it happened to be snowing heavily.

Liu Yao and Meng Qi came to pick him up at the airport. The first sentence when they saw Tao Mu was: “Did it go well, did you get the recipe book? Did they make it difficult for you?”

“No. Boss Liu, you underestimate our little CEO Tao. Don’t think that because Tao Mu is young he isn’t capable. When he got there, he really showed them up…..” Before Tao Mu could speak, Lawyer Zhou, who still hadn’t talked enough despite the hours long chats on the plane, took over the conversation, accompanying his words with descriptive gestures.

Those gesturing hands and that descriptive storytelling ability, it really was a waste that he became a lawyer.

Instead, he should set up a stand under the bridge and become a storyteller.

Wasn’t it said that all first-class lawyers billed by the minute? Why didn’t this Lawyer Zhou have similar professional ethics?

Tao Mu shook his head. Amidst the eloquent storytelling of Lawyer Zhou, everyone sent Lawyer Zhou home first.

Lawyer Zhou got out of the car carrying his exquisite and compact suitcase. Before going upstairs, he didn’t forget to wave his hands at Liu Yao and Meng Qi who were sitting in front: “Many thanks for sending me back. I won’t charge you for my storytelling fee today. It is now considered even.”

Meng Qi rolled down the car window and teased with a smile: “You call this even? It’s dozens of kilometers from the airport, so it is at least a few hundred yuan for the gas. Aren’t you going to treat us to a meal as thanks?”

Lawyer Zhou said with a bitter face: “You all are my bosses. How can the boss ask the employees to do the treating. Besides, I don’t have any money. This house has only been bought a few years ago, and I have to pay the mortgage every month. And there’s also my car, the oil money loan insurance all add up to another big sum of money every year. How about this? When you’ve all got the time to come to my house, I will cook you all some noodles. My ancestral roots are in Shaanxi, and our noodles there are very good.”

Tao Mu and the others were both amused and vexed, they couldn’t help saying, “How can you be so stingy. Even inviting us to eat noodles. If you are from Zhenjiang, do you plan to treat us to vinegar? Don’t shame your fellow Shaanxi people alright? I heard that there have been many heroes that come from Shaanxi since ancient times so how can heroes be so stingy?”

“Why can’t a hero be stingy? Haven’t you heard that a penny can stump a hero? It can be seen that this hero may not be so generous.” Lawyer Zhou replied with a smile. He had just returned from Shanghai and only wore a three-piece suit. After standing outside for a while, he shivered and sneezed several times.

Upon seeing this, Tao Mu hurriedly persuaded Lawyer Zhou to go upstairs quickly. Lest he managed to come down with a fever and couldn’t bear to even go to the hospital.

“What need is there to go to the hospital? I’ll just cook some ginger soup at home. You don’t know how to live wisely.” Lawyer Zhou sniffed and asked Tao Mu one last thing before leaving: “…..I am now a staff member of FlyNews. Starting from tomorrow, can I go to FlyNews’ cafeteria for my meals?”

Since FlyNews invited Mr. Song to record the show and Mr. Song saw that the young guys of the company worked hard everyday and had to stay up late at night to work overtime, he felt very distressed. So he now often used the kitchen at FlyNews headquarters to cook some snacks for everyone. Occasionally, he would boil some soups for health and brain invigoration to give everyone an after supper snack. Mr. Song’s craftsmanship was of the royal chef level and it was without question that he conquered this group of white-collar computer code farmers who were always busy and just took care of their meals with buns and burgers.

Now the signature banner of FlyNews was no longer that of their rich and handsome CEO who always went on headlines and stirred up storms on the Internet, but that of Mr. Song, luring all elite foodies from all over the country.

Not to mention, with the promotion of “Life in the City”, now at least half of the people who surf the Internet in the country know the name of Mr. Song. Knowing that the cafeteria of FlyNews was fortunate enough to invite this old man to cook in person every week, there were now many elite foodies who handed in their resumes.

Such enthusiasm almost exploded the official recruitment mailbox of FlyNews.

Even the personnel department that had been prepared was shocked. They really didn’t expect that Mr. Song’s appeal would be so great. This was also not the annual graduation season and school recruitment time. It was estimated that the recruitment at FlyNews would be even easier in the coming summer vacation.

Sure enough, having an elder in the family was the same as having a treasure in the family.

Upon seeing this, Liu Yao and Meng Qi also joined in the fun. A discount card to Night was issued to the employees of FlyNews. So long as one held a card to spend at Night, one would get a 50% discount. Now the employees of FlyNews were even more fanatic.

It was no wonder that Zhou Shenxing, the lawyer who was never willing to lose out on any benefits, would place his calculations on the cafeteria of FlyNews. As for Night’s discount card, Lawyer Zhou expressed that a 50% discount would still cost money. He had no money.

Tao Mu especially wanted to laugh, and he could only agree, “Come, come. But don’t just eat and do nothing. It just happens that FlyNews is about to expand the recruitment of staff. You can discuss with the staff of the Administration Department and the Personnel Department and re-determine the rules system and recruitment contract.”

FlyNews had just been created less than half a year ago, and various departments were still in the initial stage. Now that he was taking steps from just starting up to formalizing the company, with Zhou Shenxing, a lawyer who was proficient in economics and law, helping him, Tao Mu could also relax.

Zhou Shenxing couldn’t help but sigh at his “unused talent”. His salary was tens of millions, but Tao Mu only told him to do these basic things.

But it was okay! There was food, drink, money, and free shows to watch. With such a good job, such a good boss, he’ll do whatever was told of him. What more could one ask for?

After seeing Zhou Shenxing off, the three also drove home in the heavy snow.

Mr. Song had been waiting at home for a long time. Since hearing that Tao Mu got on the plane in the afternoon, he had been waiting. He had been fidgeting and wandering around the house for several hours. But it was not until the sky darkened, when he finally heard the movement at the door.

With a twitch of his ears, Mr. Song immediately rushed to the hallway to open the door with great agility for his age.

Outside the door, Liu Yao was still trying to find the right key with great difficulty. In winter, people wear thick clothes, so it was easy to find the key in the bag. The two were looking for the key through the lights in the corridor when they saw old man Song suddenly open the door. He glanced past them and fixed his eyes directly on Tao Mu——to be precise, on the red sandalwood box Tao Mu was holding in his hands. His lips trembled for a long time before squeezing out a few words from his throat.

“The recipe book…..is brought back?”

This whole way, he had really waited too long.

It had been so long that he thought that in this life, he might not be able to wait for it at all.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Old man Song took the sandalwood box with his dry and rough trembling hands. He held the sandalwood box firmly in his arms, and tried to open the lid with a trembling hand. Because he was too excited, old man Song tried several times but still couldn’t open it. When opening it for the last time, old man Song finally looked at the Song family recipe book lying quietly inside.

Instantly, tears streamed down from his aged eyes.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

After the negotiation, the father and son pair of the Shen family offered to invite Tao Mu to have a casual meal in the name of hospitality.

Tao Mu directly rejected it.

With the experience of the previous life, Tao Mu had no good feelings about Shanghai. If it wasn’t for getting justice for the Song family this time, Tao Mu wouldn’t even want to set foot in Shanghai.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

“I’m a bit tight on time, Grandpa Song is still waiting for me in the capital.” Tao Mu nodded at the Shen father and son pair, and asked Yao Shengan: “Let’s get the recipe book now.”

So as to avoid any unexpected circumstances cropping up, Tao Mu asked Yao Shengan to hand in the recipe book that day of the negotiation. He would then return to the capital with the recipe book overnight. As for Yao Shengan, he could just be there and kowtow on the day of the Song family’s ancestor worship. As for other times, the old man probably didn’t want to see this ungrateful enemy who was responsible for the ruin of the Song family.

It was New Year’s and Tao Mu didn’t want Mr. Song’s emotions to fluctuate too much. When people get older, too much anger would hurt their bodies.

Yao Shengan was half sullen and half conflicted, but he dared not speak. He had no choice but to agree with Tao Mu to go back to the Yao family’s house with him.

The several other shareholders of Sheng’an Group saw this, and they inevitably thought to themselves——as expected of a young man, young people were prone to impulsiveness, actually even daring to break into the tiger’s den alone. Wasn’t he afraid that the Yao family might use violence on him in anger?

Of course Tao Mu was not afraid. He grew up in an orphanage, and later worked in Night. When he was in high school, he naturally wandered through the major alleys of Beijing. He even learned to fight with brother Da Hui. If there really was a fight, the pampered Yao family might not be able to beat him at all.

In order to show goodwill to Tao Mu, the father and son pair of the Shen family decided to accompany Tao Mu to the Yao family’s house.

“You and Xiao Yu are also friends. Xiao Yu has been spoiled by us. He only knows how to think about things from his own point of view, and he doesn’t know how to think in other perspectives. It is inevitable that he is sometimes too naive and confused. But he really values ​​you as a friend. So we will also treat you as our younger generation.”

Father Shen smiled kindly, and when he looked at Tao Mu, he looked like a loving elder.

Elder brother Shen still had the same expressionless face, and he said expressionlessly: “Xiao Yu is also at the Yao family’s house. We will pick him up when we pass by.”

He once again invited Tao Mu: “I wonder if Mr. Tao has time to come to the house for a light meal. Last time I said that I want my sister and Xiao Yu to apologize to you face to face, but we have never had a chance.”

Tao Mu refused again: “I have booked a flight for the evening. After getting the recipe book from the Yao family’s house, I will be going directly to the airport with Lawyer Zhou.”

The ruthless Lawyer Zhou nodded and smiled at the Shen family father and son pair: “CEO Tao will transfer 10% of the shares of Sheng’an Group to other victims, and the remaining 10% will be used to establish the Song Huai Fund to be handled by me in their place. If Chairman Shen and Mr. Shen have any needs, you can contact me directly in the future.”

As Lawyer Zhou spoke, he handed over his business card with both hands.

After the unremitting efforts of Lawyer Zhou during this period, he had successfully become the legal counsel of FlyNews and the private lawyer hired by Tao Mu himself. The follow-up development was also as he expected——based on the various lawsuits that Tao Mu had experienced in the recent period, he finally reached the road of life winner who could eat endlessly for three years straight without taking another case.

After Lawyer Zhou’s words, the Shen family’s father and son pair’s kind intentions were subtly hinted to just be a desire to win over Tao Mu, the new major shareholder. Instantly, they were a little speechless.

Yao Shengan squinted at the Shen family’s father and son pair coldly, and snickered unceremoniously.

The two families have completely placed their hostility out in the open due to the sudden change of the Sheng’an Group. It was just that due to their manners and self-restraint, you would not see them swearing at each other in public.

However, Yao Shengan probably wouldn’t ever forget how the Shen family father and son pair took advantage during the Yao family’s most difficult time and when they most needed help. As the saying went, what goes around comes around. He had destroyed the Song family because of his coveting the Song family’s recipe book. Now he had also tasted the feeling of being betrayed and helpless.

However, Yao Shengan was not Mr. Song, and the Shen family was not Yao Shengan. Both of them knew that the battle between the two families had just begun. Yao Shengan won’t let the Shen family throw a knife behind his back. He was like a poisonous snake laying in wait, hiding in a dark corner waiting for an opportunity.

The Shen family also knew clearly about Yao Shengan’s nature. Therefore, they would not let Yao Sheng’an and the Yao family continue to stay in the Sheng’an Group to enjoy their wealth. The so-called unsuccessfully hitting the snake will result in harmful consequences, the Shen family had done something wrong, so naturally they dared not imagine that they could still repair their relationship with the Yao family. Since the relationship could not be repaired, suppressing the Yao family directly and preventing the Yao family from turning over forever was naturally the safest way to protect the Shen family.

But these had nothing to do with Tao Mu. He didn’t bother to care about how the Shen family and the Yao family would fight in the future. Either way, it was just a dogfight between his enemies.

The three groups of people got in the car with different thoughts, and they were silent all the way. It was noon when they arrived at the Yao family mansion.

Yao Shengan had always been grateful that Tao Mu had published an article on the waste oil incident to speak for him, so he wanted to invite Tao Mu to lunch.

Tao Mu knew that Yao Shengan’s invitation came from the heart——this old bastard’s gratitude was probably only worth a meal. But he did not dare to trust the IQ and methods of the others in the Yao family. Especially Yao Wenxiao, who might maybe even hint to the chef to poison the food.

Tao Mu didn’t want to use his own life to test the Yao family’s intelligence. After entering the Yao family’s mansion, he didn’t even drink any water. He waited for Yao Shengan to bring over the recipe book so that he could then turn around and leave.

The Yao family did not expect that after this negotiation, the Yao family would lose 20% of their shares. And that Yao Shengan, the head of the Yao family, had to rush to the capital during the Chinese New Year to kowtow and apologize in front of the Song family grave despite his advanced age.

They immediately glared at Tao Mu, wanting nothing more than to swarm over him to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

“CEO Tao right? Aren’t you too much? Our Yao family had no grievances with you in the past, but because of some old things that happened to the Song family, you actually took 20% shares of the Sheng’an Group. Not only this, what gives you the right to request my father to go kowtow and apologize at the Song family’s grave? My father is already at such an advanced age, and he is considered a prominent figure in Shanghai. How can you just humiliate him like this? Don’t you have any conscience?”

“Mom, don’t talk nonsense with him. Just call over people to beat him out. Our Yao family doesn’t welcome this kind of people.” Yao Wenxiao interrupted his mother directly and rushed forward, grabbing Tao Mu by the collar and wanting to throw him out.

In the next second, everyone only heard a pained screech, and they only saw their vision blur in front of them. Yao Wenxiao, who originally looked so aggressive, was kicked three meters away, and the exquisite tea utensils and small ornaments placed on the coffee table all fell to the floor and shattered to pieces.

Tao Mu retracted his foot, patted his clothes carelessly, and sat down again: “Speak if you want, but don’t think of resorting to violence. If you really want a fight, I’m not afraid even if your whole family team up together.”

The security personnel who had been guarding the outside of the mansion came in at this time. Yao Wenxiao climbed up from the ground, half of his face red and swollen where it hit the floor. There was a clear footprint on his chest, and he looked particularly sorry looking: “Grab him and throw him out.”

Several security personnel all instantly looked at Tao Mu. The father and son pair of the Shen family had the heart to persuade them to make peace. But before they could even speak, Shen Yu spoke first: “Wen Xiao, don’t be like this. No matter what, Mu Mu is the guest that Grandpa Yao brought back, if you just drive him out like this, will Grandpa Yao be unhappy?”

Shen Yu judged others with his own experience. If he dared to drive away the guests invited by father Shen and Shen Chen in the Shen family mansion, even if he was loved by his family, his father and brother would not easily indulge him.

“Why are you still talking for him?” Yao Wenxiao looked at Shen Yu incredulously: “He stole 20% of our family’s shares and requested my grandfather to kowtow and apologize to the Song family. Look at how he is bullying our Yao family, in our Yao family’s home, acting so arrogantly and even hitting me like this. Shouldn’t I send him out? Why should I keep him as a guest at the Yao family?”

“Xiao Yu, don’t be confused by that face of his, he is not a good person at all. He has a vicious heart!”

Shen Yu disagreed. Although he was pure and simple, he had also heard about Yao Shengan’s ingratitude to his teacher under the intentional disclosure of the Shen family. In Shen Yu’s view, Grandpa Yao did wrong on this matter so it was only natural that half of the Yao family’s wealth should be distributed to the Song family. What was more, what Tao Mu and the Song family wanted was not half of the Yao family’s property, but only 20% of the shares of Sheng’an Group.

“Why are you getting so excited about something that Grandpa Yao already agreed to? Do you think that Grandpa Yao framing the Song family in order to get the recipe book back then was right?” Shen Yu also looked at Yao Wenxiao with an incredulous expression. He never knew that his childhood friend was such an unkind person.

Yao Wenxiao choked upon hearing this. Of course he didn’t dare to say that Yao Shengan’s original approach was correct. Even if he was arrogant and domineering, he still had the basic moral values and three views.

“But Tao Mu even asked my grandfather to go kowtow and apologize to the Song family’s grave on New Year’s. Is this also not wrong?” Yao Wenxiao said angrily, “My grandfather is already at such an advanced age so why must he be humiliated like this just because of what he did when he was young? Hasn’t he done many good deeds for charity in his life? Why do you all wipe out all the good things my grandfather did because of that bad thing back then? Forcing him to rush to the capital to kowtow to apologize despite his advanced age? Are you even planning for your FlyNews to record this scene and upload it to the Internet for everyone to see?”

As soon as these words came out, the rest of the Yao family instantly became angrier. Yao Shengan was the pillar and face of the Yao family. If the video of him going to the Song family to kowtow and apologize was indeed spread all over the Internet, what kind of face would the Yao family have to continue maintaining their foothold in Shanghai in the future?

Thinking of this, the rest of the Yao family also glared at Tao Mu, becoming more determined to never let Tao Mu succeed. Yao Wenxiao’s father stretched out his hand to pat the bruised Yao Wenxiao. He was both distressed about his son and worried about his father. He immediately said: “I must please ask Mr. Tao to leave here. Our Yao family does not welcome you.”

A group of Yao family bodyguards walked in front of Tao Mu at the signal of Yao Wenxiao’s father: “Mr. Tao, please.”

Tao Mu did not move, and reminded them politely: “Let me remind you that I came to Shanghai this time because the Sheng’an Group begged me to come to negotiate. The results of the negotiations are fairly satisfactory. But if your Yao family continues to make trouble further, I might not be so satisfied.”

Everyone in the Yao family paused.

Tao Mu sneered and said, “If I am not satisfied, it is your Yao family who will be unlucky. If you don’t believe me, you can give it a try.”

Lawyer Zhou gave a light cough and very kindly helped to translate: “My client means that if he is not satisfied, what the Yao family will pay next is not just a mere 20% of the shares. I can understand your feelings. But don’t forget that the share price of the Sheng’an Group has been continuously falling due to scandals. If you are not afraid of delays that will result in the Sheng’an Group’s losses becoming even more serious, and the Yao family arousing public outrage at the shareholders meeting, then please continue remaining foolish.”

“May I also remind you that the Yao family now only has 20% of the shares in the Sheng’an Group and is no longer the largest shareholder of the Sheng’an Group. In fact, if a shareholder meeting was held due to the shareholder’s anger with the Yao family to elect the new chairman and executive CEO of the group. By then, no one can guarantee whether your Yao family can still keep your seats on the board of directors.” And Tao Mu happened to own 10% of the Sheng’an Group’s shares.

Everyone in the Yao family exchanged looks. Suddenly, they all felt at a loss at what to do next. Although looking at Tao Mu with angry glares, they really didn’t dare to make any more moves.

The Shen father and son pair had been waiting for the opportunity to show goodwill to Tao Mu when he was given difficulty by the Yao family. It would be even better to wait for Tao Mu to be thrown out in embarrassment under the persecution of the Yao family, and then stand up and speak justice for Tao Mu. But in the end, because of Tao Mu’s various tough methods, the father and son pair of the Shen family had no chance to speak at all. They could only smile bitterly at each other, and once again experienced the youthful spirit of this little CEO Tao.

Father Shen sighed, stood up and said, “Brother Yao, Mr. Tao is right. It’s better for the Yao family to not act rashly lest more trouble comes.”

Yao Wenxiao’s father waved his face with a dark face, waving away the bodyguards. Though he still continued to glare at Tao Mu.

Tao Mu himself didn’t care, he had been accustomed to being treated with hostility and being condemned by everyone in his previous life. Even his own parents, brother and sister could watch him die, not to mention some irrelevant outsiders. There was no question to how resilient he was under psychological duress. Not to mention that this group of people just gathered together to look at him. Besides, even if they really threw themselves over for a fight, Tao Mu was not afraid.

Ruthless Lawyer Zhou often encountered this kind of scene when he was helping others in a lawsuit. He even experienced being blocked in an underground garage and being threatened with a knife on his neck. Even that didn’t make him give up winning the lawsuit and enjoy the huge benefits of maintaining his professional ethics. Needless to say, the glares of the Yao family were as effective at hurting them as drops of water.

The both of them sat calmly and unperturbed in the spacious, bright and luxuriously decorated living room of the Yao family’s home, waiting for Yao Sheng’an to take out the Song family’s recipe book.

Shen Yu, who had just now been standing on Tao Mu’s side and speaking for Tao Mu, walked up and asked: “Mu Mu, do you really want Grandpa Yao to go to the capital to kowtow and apologize?”

“Grandpa Yao is already so advanced in age. Even if he did something wrong before to the Song family, Grandpa Yao has already promised to give 20% of the shares of Sheng’an Group to the Song family. He also promised to return the recipe book, so can’t you let Grandpa Yao go? Do you have to humiliate an elder like this?”

Tao Mu sneered and tilted his head to look at Shen Yu. After examining him to the point where Shen Yu felt inexplicably guilty, he asked, “Which standpoint are you telling me this from?”

Shen Yu was just about to speak when he heard Tao Mu continue to say: “Yao Shengan was just an abandoned baby left by the side of the road. He was picked up by the old Mr. Song who raised him and personally taught him cooking. Emotionally, the old Mr. Song is also Yao Shengan’s adoptive father. This life-saving grace, nurturing grace, and teaching grace, in your eyes, is not worth asking Yao Shengan to kowtow in front of old Mr. Song’s grave; Reasonably, Yao Shengan ruined the Song family for the recipe book, and several lives were lost. Isn’t such a blood debt worth Yao Shengan’s kowtow in front of the Song family’s grave?”

“I’m speaking to you about kindness, reason, and life. Yet you tell me that for the sake of Yao Shengan and the Yao family’s face, I should not have him go to the capital to kowtow and apologize.” Tao Mu stared at Shen Yu with scorching eyes, and then turned to look at the Yao family, saying expressionlessly: “Where is your shame?”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

“Do you think that 20% of the shares of the Sheng’an Group will be able to repay the Song family’s kindness in raising Yao Shengan, and will be able to repay the blood debt of Yao Shengan for ruining the Song family?”

“Let’s not mention how much the 20% shares of Sheng’an Group are even worth now. And also don’t mention that the recipe book originally belonged to the Song family and it was only taken by Yao Shengan for these many years.” Tao Mu stood up and looked at Yao Shengan, who had appeared next to the stairs on the second floor, and said coldly: “If I, Tao Mu, killed and caused the complete ruin of your Yao family today. Then thirty years later, I spent a few hundred million to make up for the few lives of your Yao family, so I can feel at ease. Will you, Yao Shengan, be willing to accept it?”

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

“What a dreadful fellow!”

The Shen family house.

Father Shen and Shen Chen were in the study, looking at today’s closing market price displayed on the computer screen and unconsciously sighed silently.

Shen Chen was silent for a while, and then slowly said: “What a waste for all that effort. I thought that by going back to Shanghai to make arrangements in advance, I would take the lead, but I didn’t expect Li Xiaoheng to be the oriole in the back while the mantis stalks the cicada.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

With Li Xiaoheng’s trading skills, if he deliberately hid his trace, no one could see that the attack on the Sheng’an Group was from Xiaoheng Capital. And in reality this was exactly what happened. Xiaoheng Capital’s attack on the Sheng’an Group was carried out for three to four days, and the people of the Sheng’an Group and the Shen Group were still being beaten silly. In the end, the breakthrough could only be found on Tao Mu’s side, as Tao Mu’s circle of friends included Li Xiaoheng.

But if it came to conclusive evidence, the Shen family still didn’t have it. But even so, Shen Chen still concluded that Li Xiaoheng was the one who attacked the Sheng’an Group——apart from him and his team, it was estimated that no one in China possessed such neat and traceless trading skills.

“But there is one thing I’m very puzzled about.” Father Shen frowned: “This Li Xiaoheng, didn’t he always trade in the international financial market before? I have never heard of him being interested in the domestic stock market. Why did he suddenly make a move this time? And it is aimed at a catering corporation that has nothing to do with the financial industry? Is his personal relationship with Tao Mu really so good?”

Shen Chen was silent for a moment, and said, “Probably so.”

“Oh?” Father Shen raised his eyebrows, he then subconsciously thought of their family’s Shen Yu: “You are saying, is it possible that this Li Xiaoheng has feelings for Tao Mu, so he took this action to win the favor of the beauty?”

Shen Chen frowned, inexplicably displeased: “It should not be. I sent someone to investigate Tao Mu and found that Tao Mu not only made a name for himself in the IT field, but is also Li Xiaoheng’s private investment consultant. The two have partnered to short oil in the international futures market and Li Xiaoheng seems to value his partner very much. When Yao Shengan first entered Beijing, he wanted to use the strong capital of the Sheng’an Group to overwhelm Tao Mu. But Li Xiaoheng appeared in time for the out of court settlement which dispelled this intention of Yao Shengan. In the end he obediently paid 150 million yuan in compensation and settlement.”

Father Shen instantly understood. Immediately, he then frowned and pondered: “So, this Tao Mu not only founded FlyNews.com, but also has talent in the financial field. Then do you think that Li Xiaoheng attacking the Sheng’an Group so vigorously in the stock market be something the two of them negotiated?”

Shen Chen used himself to judge others and analyzed: “For such an important matter, they must have discussed it. However, the two of them may not have expected that the Shen family would step in. The Sheng’an Group had been suspending trading the whole time before, and even if Li Xiaoheng wanted to do something there was no opportunity to operate. He could only launch an attack after the resumption of trading. As for the Shen family, we can only be said to have been implicated.”

“Really?” Father Shen shook his head slightly regretfully: “I really didn’t expect that the young people nowadays are all so capable.”

Shen Chen remained silent. People like them who work in industry management were naturally very well-off normally. But once they encounter a powerful trader who sniped them in the stock market, they could do nothing.

——Fortunately, their Shen family’s capital chain was functioning well, and major projects were also developing smoothly. They were not yet in a situation where they were as helpless as the Sheng’an Group.

Father Shen sighed, “One loses when careless”, and then asked Shen Chen: “How is Xiao Yu’s relationship with that Tao Mu? Can he ask Tao Mu for some lenience——”

“It should not work.” Shen Chen slowly shook his head, not all men in the world appreciated Shen Yu’s innocence. At least in Tao Mu’s eyes, the trouble Shen Yu brought him far exceeded the benefits that the Shen family could give him.

Father Shen paused for a moment, and then asked, “Is there a way for Xiao Yu to get acquainted with Li Xiaoheng?”

Even though Shen Chen had always respected his father, at this moment, he couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed: “Li Xiaoheng is Tao Mu’s business partner. The two have tens of billions of dollars in trading in the international oil futures market together. Father really feels that Xiao Yu’s charm can be compared to these tens of billions of capital?”

Father Shen was slapped in the face by his most important son, and he was a little embarrassed at the moment. He said sheepishly: “I mean, we can let Xiao Yu socialize with them. They are all around the same age, so they should have things to talk about.”

Shen Chen frowned: “Father, not everyone likes to go to great lengths for a beauty’s smile. The cooperation between Li Xiaoheng and Tao Mu involves tens of billions of dollars. Tao Mu’s dislike of Xiao Yu is even more widely known. If the Shen family really wants to show goodwill to Li Xiaoheng, don’t do things that will put Li Xiaoheng in a difficult spot. Believe me, between the tens of billions of dollars and various other options, no clear-headed man would choose the latter. “

Father Shen became more embarrassed and even a little bit angry from the embarrassment: “Then what do you say we do now? Li Xiaoheng attacked Sheng’an Group in the stock market, causing the stock price of Sheng’an Group to drop for several days. Moreover, the Sheng’an Group has just resumed trading, and within a short period of time, for at least three months, there is no possibility of trading suspension again. Are we going to watch the Sheng’an Group go bankrupt due to the stock price plummeting? What about the money our Shen family invested? How should we explain to the Shen Group’s shareholders?”

Shen Chen looked at father Shen in exasperation. He suspected his father might have been in contact with Shen Yu for too long a time, which was why his thinking had also become so inconceivable.

“The Sheng’an Group is a leading company in the catering industry in Shanghai. It has provided tens of thousands of jobs for Shanghai, and is also a large local taxpayer in Shanghai. Officials will not sit back and watch the Sheng’an Group go bankrupt. Moreover, the Sheng’an Group is far away from reaching the point of bankruptcy. The top priority now is to have the government help mediate. The reason why Tao Mu targeted the Sheng’an Group is entirely because of the old grievances between the Yao family and the Song family, but the Sheng’an Group is not the private property of the Yao family. Now that we know the demands of Tao Mu and the Song family, everyone can sit down and talk it out until a satisfactory result is reached.”

Hearing what his son said, father Shen instantly understood. Immediately, he said: “Okay. I’ll go to ask someone to come forward to mediate.”

Shen Chen nodded. Shen Chen very much trusted father Shen’s position and influence in Shanghai. After hesitating for a moment, Shen Chen said: “Father, you should stay with Xiao Yu as little as possible these days.”

Father Shen was startled when he heard the words, and immediately came to his senses: “Have I been affected?”

Shen Chen looked at his father with a complicated expression. The two of them had discovered one thing as early as when Shen Yu was very young. That was, as long as people stay with Shen Yu for a long period of time, they would become inexplicably weird——emotional fluctuations would become particularly large, their thinking patterns would become more straightforward and shallow, and even their style of behavior would become more extreme and blind——of course the most important change was that they would feel that Shen Yu was the loveliest person in the world, and he should be pampered and held in the palm of the hand. If someone dared to treat Shen Yu badly, they must crazily retaliate in revenge.

It was like having been bespelled.

Shen Chen discovered the signs when he was in junior high school. Before that, Shen Chen had been with his family day and night without realizing that there was anything wrong. Until the year when he entered junior high school, Shen Chen was sent abroad by father Shen to a field summer camp that was expensive but had a good training quality and allowed him to be able to make friends with many outstanding like-minded friends. After about a month or so, Shen Chen flew back from abroad, and when he watched the interaction mode between his family and Shen Yu, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Later, he consciously stayed away from Shen Yu and even told father Shen about his suspicions. At that time, father Shen was still the chairman and executive CEO of the Shen Group. He traveled all year round to negotiate projects, or stayed in the company to work overtime so there were very few opportunities to be with family members. Hearing these weird words from Shen Chen, at first he felt that Shen Chen was a child with wild imagination. But later, when father Shen took the time to observe Shen Yu’s interaction with the people around him, he also faintly noticed something was wrong.

At the beginning, father Shen wanted to correct this situation. However, it didn’t take long for father Shen to discover that this characteristic of Shen Yu was actually beneficial to the Shen family from a certain angle. Especially those business competitors who had a bad relationship with the Shen Group, but because of contact with Shen Yu, these people gradually changed their views on the Shen Group, and even changed their sides to become partners of the Shen family. Even those competitors who had always been hostile towards the Shen family, because of contact with Shen Yu, became inexplicably simple-minded and even made frequent mistakes in the company’s operations. It was then easy for the Shen Group to surpass the other in land bidding or other aspects.

This effect was more immediate than painstakingly cultivating an heir. Father Shen had tasted the sweetness a few times, and immediately gave up his plan to transform Shen Yu. He even deliberately spoiled Shen Yu, keeping Shen Yu naive and ignorant of the world. Because he found that the more innocent and pure his youngest son was, the more lethal he was.

Only since then, father Shen had consciously put his eldest son by his side to personally raise him. This was in order to avoid the heir of the Shen family staying at home all year round and becoming affected by Shen Yu. To the outside, this was explained away under the guise of busy company affairs and regret for being unable to accompany his family often. Because the phenomenon in this circle of theirs was like this, the actions of Shen father and son pair did not attract the attention of others at all.

After so many years, father Shen had become accustomed to using Shen Yu to solve the competition or difficulties encountered by the Shen Group. Once he encountered an outsider who didn’t fall for Shen Yu, he would become inexplicably frustrated.

Father Shen smiled bitterly and shook his head. He wanted to spend a good New Year’s with his family. Now it seemed that it was better to go back to the company and work overtime.

As Shen Chen said, the Sheng’an Group was one of the largest taxpayers in Shanghai, and it had solved nearly 10,000 jobs for Shanghai and other first- and second-tier cities in China. The government certainly could not ignore the situation of the Sheng’an Group.

Although there was no conclusive evidence that Li Xiaoheng attacked the Sheng’an Group, Shanghai officials still tried to get Tao Mu and the people from the Sheng’an Group together for a meeting. In the eyes of the Shanghai officials, the reason why Xiaoheng Capital would inexplicably target a catering corporation that had nothing to do with the financial sector was to vent the anger for his business partner. As the saying goes, in order to untie the bell, the person who tied it is required. So long as Tao Mu was calmed down, Xiaoheng Capital would not be too excessive.

Tao Mu of course knew that a large company like Sheng’an Group which provided nearly 10,000 jobs and tens of millions of high taxes every year was absolutely impossible to “go completely bankrupt” as written in mary-sue novels. After all, this was not only the grievance between the two families, but also the issue of social stability.

He was willing to talk. So long as the Yao family were willing to pay the price.

Before the negotiation, Tao Mu also specially found Mr. Song and asked Mr. Song what he wanted. Song Daozhen probably never thought that the Song family would actually get their vengeance in this life. Suddenly, excited tears burst and fell down his old face. He didn’t ask for anything. He just wanted the return of the Song family’s ancestral recipe book: “That’s the Song family heirloom. The Song family has passed it down for several generations but it was lost in my father’s hands. Now it is my generation, yet it was still now returned. For so many years, I dare not go to worship my ancestors, for fear that my ancestors will ask me why I haven’t returned the recipe book…..”

“If we can get the recipe book back this time, let’s go sweep the grave on New Year’s Day. I will put the recipe book on my father’s grave and tell him that this recipe book has finally returned. It was his great-grandson who helped him get it back. Our Song family’s hatred has finally been avenged…..”

The old man Song rambled on, his only obsession being the Song family recipe book. Apart from this, there was nothing else. However, Tao Mu would not let the Yao family go so easily.

“Yao Shengan studied under the Song family. His craftsmanship was handed over by the Song family. Of course, there were some dishes that he invented by studying the recipes of the ancestors of the Song family. But anyway, without the Song family, there would be no Sheng’an Group. So I want the Yao family to give over half of their shares in the Sheng’an Group. It can be regarded as the technology investment by the Song family. This is no problem, right?”

At the negotiating table, Tao Mu directly threw down his bottom line: “The recipe book and half of the shares, and Yao Shengan himself must go to the old Mr. Song’s grave to confess his guilt and kowtow when we go sweep the grave on the first day of the New Year’s. If you agree then we reconcile. If you don’t agree then there is no other way.”

Although it was Li Xiaoheng’s work in attacking the Sheng’an Group in the stock market. But considering various factors, Tao Mu still didn’t let Li Xiaoheng appear at the negotiating table in Shanghai with him——he didn’t want Li Xiaoheng to be involved because of him. Many things should just remain tacitly understood. As long as there was no evidence, many things could only stay on the level of speculation forever.

Given the bad habit of certain departments in China, Tao Mu couldn’t guarantee that if Li Xiaoheng did appear at the Shanghai negotiating table, there wouldn’t be someone who would directly accuse Li Xiaoheng of “malicious manipulation of the stock market.”

So Tao Mu brought the ruthless Lawyer Zhou to the meeting alone, and his attitude was very tough——anyway, he was only 18 years old this year and was young and vigorous, an age where he should have sharp-edges.

“CEO Tao is too excessive.” Yao Shengan frowned when he heard Tao Mu’s request: “Do you know how many shares of Sheng’an Group the Yao family owns? The total is 40%. And you want half, making it 20%. Do you even know how much this 20% is worth, and you dare to have such a big appetite?”

Tao Mu raised his eyebrows, and asked quietly, “Do you know how much the lives of the Song family are worth?”

Yao Shengan became angry: “I have said that the tragedy of the Song family was caused by the times, and it has nothing to do with others. You say that the lives of the Song family are worth money. Then I will ask you, which life of the Song family was lost by my hands?”

Tao Mu tit-for-tat: “Mr. Yao was just an abandoned infant abandoned by the side of the road. Without the kindness of old Mr. Song, Mr. Yao would have starved to death by the side of the road and become a pile of unnamed bones. How could there still be a chance to betray the teacher and create the Sheng’an Group from scratch? Mr. Yao’s life was saved by old Mr. Song, Mr. Yao’s craftsmanship was taught by old Mr. Song. In the eyes of Mr. Yao, the few lives of the Song family are not worth a penny. I wonder how much Mr. Yao’s life and skill are worth then?”

Yao Shengan was speechless.

Accompanying them at the negotiating table were officials from the Shanghai City, as well as the Shen father and son pair and several other major shareholders of the Sheng’an Group.

Because Tao Mu only wanted half of the Yao family’s shares, it had nothing to do with anyone else. So other people were happy to just stand by the side and take a lofty stance.

“Everyone calms down. Let’s just talk about the matter. Don’t be angry.” The official representative of Shanghai City gave Yao Shengan a glance. He was entrusted by the Shen Group to mediate and hold this negotiation. The purpose was naturally to enable the Sheng’an Group to make a smooth transition from this crisis.

So he didn’t care who owned the shares of the Sheng’an Group. He only needed to ensure that the Sheng’an Group could pass through this hurdle smoothly, and then open business again.

Several major shareholders of the Sheng’an Group felt the gaze of the official representative of Shanghai City, and they all spoke: “Lao Yao. It’s not that I am criticizing you. The things you did to the Song family were really not moral. No matter what, you were the big apprentice personally taught by old Mr. Song. There is an old saying in China that says that a teacher for a day means a father for life. Then you are also considered the adopted son of the Song family. The Song family’s kindness in nurturing you and imparting upon you your cooking skills must be acknowledged. Moreover, you even took the ancestral recipe book of the Song family for so many years, and harmed the Song family so miserably. For sentiment and reason, your Yao family should take out half of the shares to compensate the Song family.”

Other shareholders also echoed: “What’s more, with the current situation of the Sheng’an Group, half of your Yao family’s shares may really be worthless. If you really disagree, Mr. Tao will be angered and our negotiation will collapse. At that time, the Sheng’an Group might really go bankrupt.”

“Chairman Shen and CEO Shen, what do you think about this matter? The Shen Group is now a major shareholder of the Sheng’an Group! Your suggestions are still very important.” Another person threw the ball to the silent Shen father and son pair.

The Shen father and son pair intend to show goodwill towards Tao Mu, but they also didn’t want to be too obvious, after all the Shen family was still family friends with the Yao family in public.

Father Shen pondered for a moment, and slowly said, “Even an upright official finds it hard to settle a family quarrel. Mr. Tao just wants half of the Yao family’s shares. We as outsiders, no matter what we say, will be suspected of easily talking on the sidelines so I won’t say anything. At most, the funds invested by the Shen Group in the Sheng’an Group will just be in vain.”

As soon as these words came out, the others were fine, but several other shareholders of the Sheng’an Group felt their hearts squeeze severely. Their desire to persuade Yao Shengan became even more urgent——they didn’t want their own money to be spent in vain.

Yao Shengan’s facial muscles twitched fiercely, and he naturally knew the viciousness hidden in father Shen’s words.

It was to put their Yao family on the fire and roast them!

Truly possessing a wolf ambition!

However, the matter being as it was, even if Yao Shengan struggled in vain, he was helpless. In the end, Yao Shengan had to agree to Tao Mu’s request under the painstaking persuasion of everyone. The recipe book and half of the shares of the Sheng’an Group held by the Yao family, 20%, were handed over to Tao Mu.

Long before Tao Mu came to Shanghai, Mr. Song violently stated that their Song family would never take a cent from the Yao family. The lives of their Song family were definitely not something that could be bought with this money. He would never forgive Yao Shengan in his life. Nor would he want shares of the Sheng’an Group.

So after discussing with the old man, Tao Mu decided to divide the 20% of the shares into two parts, of which 10% was given to the families of the catering businesses that had gone bankrupt because of Yao Sheng’an and Sheng’an Group——these people in the previous life accepted the compensation from the Sheng’an Group and did not pursue the past grievances. Of course, there was likely a part that came from the mindset that businessmen valued profits, but some of the victims were indeed in terrible conditions, and even had problems maintaining their daily living.

Tao Mu didn’t want his presence to butterfly away this group of people’s opportunity for a change of luck. After two lifetimes of experience, Tao Mu knew better than anyone that the opportunities that money could bring to people were far more than one’s steady and conventional efforts.

Since the damage was irreversible, then giving money to make up for the victim’s suffering, while vulgar, was also the most practical and effective means of compensation.

As for the other 10%, Tao Mu decided to set up a charity fund in the name of Mr. Song, or that uncle of his who died young. It was a charity dedicated to donating to children in poor and remote areas to receive education and health benefits, as well as to support widows and elderly who were alone and had no support.

Mr. Song stayed silent for a long time, and finally agreed to Tao Mu’s suggestion. He named this charity fund “Song Huai Fund”. It was neither his name nor the name of his son. It was the name of the ancestor of the Song family, who was also an abandoned baby at the time. He was adopted by kind people who taught him his craftsmanship. Later, he founded Song Ji from scratch.

However, unlike Yao Shengan, Song Huai remembered his orphan’s life experience, and was grateful to the teacher who picked him up for adoption. Under these circumstances, after establishing Song Ji, he wrote down the Song family teachings that decreed that in every generation, so long as the Song family had the means, must adopt an orphan or abandoned infant and teach them skills that could support their livelihood.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

So old Mr. Song adopted Yao Shengan, and Mr. Song adopted Tao Mu…..Even if the world was difficult and people’s minds were unpredictable, some people always remember the truth that one must “maintain goodness when you are poor, and share with others when you are rich.”

They would not refuse to lend a helping hand because of family difficulties, nor would they no longer believe in the goodness of people after being hurt.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

The reputation of the Sheng’an Group on the Internet plummeted again.

But Yao Shengan could also be considered a generation’s formidable character. He was able to establish the Sheng’an Group from scratch, so he had been accustomed to big storms over these many years. Naturally, he would not surrender because of Tao Mu’s single move.

Although he had fallen into a desperate situation, Yao Shengan could still fight back.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

He directly ordered all chain restaurants under the Sheng’an Group to offer a 50% discount. It had to be said that even if Yao Shengan’s character was something to be criticized, his cooking skills had always been good and his management of the restaurants was also very strict. The reputation of the restaurant chain under the Sheng’an Group had always won the trust of people in Shanghai.

It was just that before that, the Sheng’an Group had always been in the mid-to-high-end price. In 2008, going to a restaurant chain under the Sheng’an Group to eat would cost more than 1,000 yuan for a table without drinks. Therefore, even if many people in Shanghai had heard of its name for a long time, they had never eaten the dishes of the restaurants under the Sheng’an Group.

This time, the Sheng’an Group directly launched a half-price event——the common people didn’t care about the grievances between corporations. Of course, they would swarm over after seeing the cheap prices. So the Shanghainese, who had never tasted high-end dishes, took their families to patronize the restaurants under the Sheng’an Group. All of a sudden, the restaurant chain that was originally affected by the scandal was full of business again.

In addition, Yao Shengan also had the restaurant chain under the Sheng’an Group launch a white-collar meal delivery event——combining the most distinctive dishes of the Sheng’an restaurants, the total being three dishes and two bowls of rice to form a box lunch set. Each box lunch was at a special price of 38 yuan, and it also included door-to-door service. Yao Shengan directly hired social idlers to form a meal delivery team, directly providing nearly a hundred jobs for Shanghai.

Under Yao Shengan’s operation, this move was directly praised by the government.

The business of Sheng’an Group was booming again, and its reputation had been reversed. Yao Shengan could finally breathe a sigh of relief and have the energy to discuss with the Shen family about the specific issues of borrowing funds to solve the stock market problem. After all, the Sheng’an Group was a listed company and could not be suspended for too long. Taking advantage of the current hot momentum to hold the market (TN: the practice of placing active or pending orders for a security into a market where the price is dropping rapidly in an attempt to “hold” the price of the security steady, or create a floor in the security), he would then operate some more on the court side, and discuss an out-of-court settlement with those catering groups. Businessmen valued profits. There was nothing that money could not solve. If there was, then that was just because the money was not enough.

When the Sheng’an Group reached a settlement with the several other catering companies and their bank account was unblocked, then this crisis would pass. Although there were damages, there was no more danger.

As for Tao Mu and his FlyNews, Yao Shengan sneered. It was never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. A mere newly established website, Yao Shengan really didn’t have much regard for it in his eyes.

However, Yao Shengan’s calculations were good, but things were not willing to develop in the direction he hoped.

On the day Yao Shengan approached the Shen family for help, a newspaper in Shanghai suddenly broke the news about the use of waste oil by the Sheng’an Group. (TN: cooking oil that has been used and discarded and, in China, sometimes illegally recovered from gutters and sewers, reprocessed and sold back to restaurants)

Although Chinese people didn’t pay much attention to hygienic food safety, and even the older generation often had the mentality of “not eating cleanly and not getting sick”. However, there was still an inseparable gap between “not clean” and “getting sick after eating.”

Everyone knew what waste oil was. Even some people who didn’t know would know clearly after a certain newspaper reported in detail the manufacturing process of waste oil and its harm to the human body.

FlyNews had been following all news related to Sheng’an Group. Seeing this news——especially the report from a certain newspaper. In order to demonstrate the authenticity and accuracy of the news, they had attached a large front page picture, which clearly showed waste oil hawkers sending waste oil to the restaurants and hotels under the Sheng’an Group.

The evidence was conclusive! Excited, Liu Yao slapped his thigh and applauded as he signaled FlyNews Entertainment to repost and frantically push it on the Internet. In less than half an hour, the hot news about the purchase of waste oil by the restaurant chain of Sheng’an Group had spread all over the Internet.

Ensuring that it could be seen in all of China’s 9.6 million square kilometers where there was internet connection.

If it was said that the various nasty methods used by Yao Shengan and Sheng’an Group in their business competitions were all after dinner chat material and no one really cared. Then the news of the use of waste oil in the restaurants and hotels under the Sheng’an Group that came out at this time truly affected the hearts of the people. It would also shake the foundation of the Sheng’an Group.

The people of China believe in “food is the God of the people” (TN: people view food as the primary need), and such a proverb passed down by our ancestors thousands of years ago would not be wrong. The common people might not care whether Yao Shengan was a good person or what kind of business methods the Sheng’an Group used in commercial competition, but they absolutely cared whether the things made by their restaurants could cause health problems.

Shen Chen handed the newspaper to Yao Sheng’an, and calmly refused: “Grandpa Yao, I sympathize with the current situation of the Sheng’an Group. But the scandal facing the Sheng’an Group is really too fatal. If you can’t solve this issue, then the Shen Group dare not lend a huge amount of money to the Sheng’an Group. We doubt whether the Sheng’an Group has the ability to repay the money.”

After a pause, Shen Chen looked at Yao Shengan and said apologetically: “I’m sorry, Grandpa Yao. The Shen Group does not only belong to the Shen family. We must consider the views of the shareholders as well.”

Of course Yao Shengan understood this. But what he didn’t understand was how the Sheng’an Group had anything to do with waste oil. The one who was in charge of purchasing things for the restaurants and hotels was his most loyal and trusted son-in-law. This son-in-law was loyal and had always been steadfast in doing things. It was impossible for him to do such shoddy things.

Yao Shengan’s face was pale, and he left the Shen family’s house without saying a word. The top priority now was investigating this matter clearly. See if the problem came from themselves, or someone was deliberately framing them——

When something like this happened, Tao Mu was the first person Yao Shengan suspected. Nor could he be blamed for this. It was because Tao Mu impressed him too deeply. Even though Tao Mu was frank and candid in this whole incident, both of them knew that Tao Mu was definitely a ruthless person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

Yao Shengan could be sure that if necessary, Tao Mu definitely had the capability to carry out this kind of deliberate framing.

But Yao Shengan really wronged Tao Mu this time. Tao Mu, who was far away in Beijing, was also puzzled: “The catering under the Sheng’an Group used waste oil for cooking? This is impossible, right? Yao Shengan should not be this kind of person.”

It must be said that because of the grievances that stretched back to the last life, Tao Mu knew very clearly about all of Shen Yu’s admirers, including their family members. In Tao Mu’s impression, although Yao Shengan’s character was not very good, he still had professional ethics. He would never do such a thing as adding waste oil to his dishes to destroy his reputation. Even the manager in charge of procurement in the catering department under the Sheng’an Group, the son-in-law of the Yao family, was also an honest person. Such an honest and conscientious person couldn’t do this kind of thing.

“It wouldn’t be that he provided black material to smear himself, and then think of a way to reverse the tables and whitewash himself?” Tao Mu could not be blamed for guessing so. The media revelations that could be compared to the plot of TV series in his previous life really left a deep shadow on him. Even the general melon eating public had become accustomed to the melon eating rhythm of “waiting three days after seeing the news, three days later there will definitely be a reversal”.

Yao Wenxiao’s Yuxiao Media used to do such things in his previous life and Tao Mu had become quite used to it. It was no wonder that when he saw this news, he subconsciously wondered if Yao Wenxiao had learned to do this kind of thing again.

Most people sympathize with the weak and also possess a certain degree of rebellious psychology. Now the whole Internet was blacking the Sheng’an Group, and the media was also following suit to report various black materials of the Sheng’an Group. Tao Mu paid attention to the gossip newspapers in Shanghai. Some people even said that the Yao family was arrogant and domineering in public places. Of course, most of the media who dared to target the Yao family’s main branch were instigated by Yao Wenxiao. The purpose was probably the final reversal in Tao Mu’s conjecture. It was just that under Tao Mu’s conscious control, few people paid attention to this kind of small gossip.

But the breaking news that the Sheng’an Group’s restaurants used waste oil was different. Once the Sheng’an Group reversed this matter and whitewashed themselves, it might really arouse the rebellious psychology of netizens. At that time, if Yao Wenxiao lead the public to believe something——for example, slandering Tao Mu and accusing him of instructing people to make up black materials to discredit the Sheng’an Group, maybe he would really manage to splash a basin of dirty water on him and FlyNews.

Liu Yao and Meng Qi also felt regret after hearing Tao Mu’s analysis. Meng Qi frowned and said, “Then what should we do now? It’s my fault, I was too anxious. If only I came to discuss with you first.”

“It’s okay. Since Yao Wenxiao has already handed us the ladder, If I don’t take this opportunity to create a persona, it would be a waste.” Tao Mu wiggled his fingers, even if Yao Wenxiao was a prodigy in the media industry, in front of an old veteran like him who had been slandered for ten years, this capability was not enough.

Taking advantage of Yao Wenxiao’s reversal having not yet begun——Tao Mu estimated that Yao Wenxiao wanted to wait for this period of scandal to brew for a period of time, preferably until a day later when the entire Internet was talking about this. And then tomorrow morning, he would do the reversal and carry out the face-slapping. From the perspective of communication studies and communication psychology, this pattern was the most appropriate. When the time came, all he needed to do was to sell a pitiful act, and create a tragic image of a hero’s end, the tree toppling and the monkeys scattering, and everybody giving a push to a wall about to collapse. Selling a miserable image plus grabbing the people’s hearts, and on the way, splashing dirty water on him and his FlyNews.

——However, there was no use. Tao Mu, who had consciously seen through Yao Wenxiao’s performance, directly opened the document writer, typed out a large piece of text, and uploaded it to his FlyNews account.

Tao Mu’s main purpose of writing this article was to express that although he despised Yao Shengan’s character, he still believed in Yao Shengan’s professional ethics.

“…..Even if Yao Shengan is all kinds of immoral, I still believe in the family education of the Song family. After all, Yao Shengan was the big apprentice personally taught by the patriarch of the Song family. Even though this person is extremely shameless in betraying his teacher, I still believe that Yao Shengan will not fool the diners on such things as the ingredients used to make the food. Because “food is the God of the people” is the family motto carved into the bones of the Song family. I believe that it is not only the Song family, but also all people who work in catering with a little conscience and moral integrity will follow the relevant food safety regulations. They will not do stupid things like self-destroying their reputation.”

In the sight of the universal condemnations and cursing from the public, Tao Mu was able to defend Yao Shengan against the scolding of the people——although this article was full of bias and shameless self-praise that was simply arrogant to the extreme. In fact, if this was posted in the fan circle it would definitely be ridiculed by fans from all walks of life, and then directly blacklisted. However, the unequivocal trust in Yao Shengan’s professional ethics still made Yao Shengan instantly feel a little bit of the emotion “people die for confidantes”.

However, there was no use. The so-called cutting off one’s livelihood was like killing one’s parents. After this brief moment of being touched, Yao Shengan gritted his teeth with hatred towards Tao Mu. The kind that wished nothing more than to flay off his skin if he ever got the chance.

Tao Mu posted an article in time to make sure that he and FlyNews would not fall into a situation where he and FlyNews would have dirty water thrown on them. The disadvantage was that some people now insist with stubbornness that he was a “pure and beautiful, white lotus flower”, and some antis criticized him for “being hypocritical and pretentious.” But these had nothing to do with Tao Mu and he could finally eat melons at ease.

However, what Tao Mu did not expect was that the waste oil incident regarding the Sheng’an Group was really not Yao Wenxiao’s attempt to do a reversal and then whitewash——it was the doing of the head of the catering procurement department of the Sheng’an Group——the son-in-law that everyone had believed to be honest and conscientious but had actually secretly lost a lot of money in gambling and then borrowed from loan sharks and was now unable to pay pack the high interest but did not dare to reveal this to anyone.

Because what Yao Shengan hated most in his life was gambling and drugs, and the Yao family’s family teachings decreed that they must absolutely not partake in either of them. The son-in-law was cowardly, and he originally could not hold his head up high in the Yao family. What was more, he was highly regarded by Yao Shengan, and was the head of the procurement department, which made the rest of the Yao family jealous. They wanted nothing more than to grab his weakness and push him down to replace him with themselves.

This son-in-law tried his hardest to keep it secret and in the end was forced to find a way to gather money through the procurement channels. What he originally wanted was to cut corners and be shoddy on the ingredients for a few months, and once he had paid the loan sharks the waste oil would immediately cease in use. But who knew that at this juncture, the Sheng’an Group met with trouble.

Yao Shengan really did not expect that he would trip up in the hands of his most trusted son-in-law. Immediately learning this, he almost had a heart attack from the anger. The Sheng’an Group waste oil scandal was now verified with solid proof. The reputation of the corporation plummeted, and many shareholders also wanted to withdraw their capital.

At this critical juncture, Yao Shengan could only find the Shen family again for help. Shen Chen, on behalf of the Shen Group, agreed to Yao Shengan’s request. But the conditions were different now——instead of lending funds for the Sheng’an Group to hold the market, the Shen Group wanted to directly invest in the Sheng’an Group.

The Shen family’s purpose was clear, and it was at this time Yao Shengan suddenly came back to his senses: “Luring Wen Yuan to become addicted to gambling and doing something like borrowing from loan sharks, and then instigating him to secretly switch to waste oil to pay back the money is your doing, isn’t it? You Shen family members really have wolf ambitions. All this time, I actually didn’t see through this at all.”

Shen Chen lowered his eyes, and said softly, “Grandpa Yao, you misunderstood. The Shen family and Yao family are family friends. How could our Shen family do such a thing? I understand you, the Sheng’an Group has encountered such a big incident, and you are mentally exhausted. But I hope you won’t damage the friendship between our two families.”

Yao Shengan realized with shock. At this point, regardless of whether the Shen family did it or not, he couldn’t directly become hostile with the Shen family.

Yao Shengan’s face eased slightly, and he said apologetically, “You’re right. I’ve been so stricken by these things recently, and felt that everyone I see wants to harm the Sheng’an Group. Grandpa is old and lacks energy, so occasionally I get confused too. Don’t mind me.”

“Of course not. Our two families are family friends.” Shen Chen casually hooked up the corner of his mouth, and soothed: “Grandpa Yao, don’t blame our Shen family for taking advantage. It is really because the amount of funds that the Sheng’an Group wants to borrow is too large. The Sheng’an Group is now in such a situation, so if there is not enough interest, I have no way to convince the board of directors.”

“You are right.” Yao Shengan said in a deep voice, “Then, if I agree to the capital injection of the Shen Group, how many shares do you want?”

“The Shen family and the Yao family are family friends. Of course, we will not touch the cake of the Yao family. Don’t the shareholders of Sheng’an Group want to divest? We can directly use the money to buy this part of the shares. As for the funds to hold the market, this part of the funds will be in accordance with the ratio of our two families’ capital contributions to exchange shares.”

Yao Shengan’s face sank. Sure enough, the Shen family was very ambitious and wanted to take control of the Sheng’an Group.

Shen Chen looked at Yao Shengan’s shifting expressions, and slowly said, “Grandpa Yao, don’t worry. Our Shen family has a good reason for doing this. As for after the injection of capital into the Sheng’an Group, the Shen Group will never interfere with the Sheng’an Group’s day-to-day operation and management of the company. Grandpa Yao can continue to be your group chairman. And we will only add some of our own financial staff.”

Yao Shengan sneered. Of course the Shen family would not participate in the normal operation of the Sheng’an Group. Did anyone in their Shen family even know how to cook and understand restaurant management? Saying these words was nothing but nonsense that didn’t cost anything.

Shen Chen paused, and then said, “In fact, think about it from another angle. At this time, the Shen Group’s injection of capital into the Sheng’an Group is also a boost for the Sheng’an Group. The reputation of the Sheng’an Group is too terrible now. If there is our Shen Group to provide some help at this time, I believe it will be easier to resume trading.”

The matter being what it was, even if Yao Shengan was not reconciled with it, there was nothing he could do——if there was no capital injection from the Shen family, it would be difficult for his Yao family to survive this hurdle.

Upon seeing this, Shen Chen knew that Yao Shengan had temporarily compromised.

The news of the Shen Group’s capital injection into the Sheng’an Group soon spread in the Shanghai city business circle. Following the press conference jointly held by the two major groups, the Sheng’an Group finally chose to resume trading in the stock market. As Shen Chen said before, the capital injection of the Shen Group had indeed become a booster for the Sheng’an Group. After the press conference, the stock price of the Sheng’an Group, which resumed trading directly, stabilized and even grew slowly a little bit.

At the same time, the share price of the Shen Group, which directly injected capital into the Sheng’an Group, increased significantly. Seeing that the situation improved, Yao Shengan and the Yao family, who had been worried, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, such a good momentum did not last long. On the second day when the Sheng’an Group resumed trading, an unknown force suddenly appeared on the stock market to attack the Sheng’an Group’s share price. This group of people was very precise in their trading, and their methods were very powerful. It could be seen that they should be a professional trading team.

Under the operation of this group of people, the stock price of the Sheng’an Group plummeted again. Even the Shen Group, which had just injected capital into the Sheng’an Group and took out a huge fund to hold the market, were affected and suffered heavy losses.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Li Xiaoheng, who had not made a move the whole time until now, watched the stock price of the Sheng’an Group plummeting like a bungee jumper, and pushed up the gold rimless glasses on the bridge of his nose.

He had said at the outset that if the Sheng’an Group affected the interests of Xiaoheng Capital because of their targeting of his personal consultant, he would never tolerate it.

Adults must speak credibly. If he said that he would teach you to be a person in the stock market, then he must not break his promise.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev

With a crisp sound, the exquisite tea cup with the logo of a five-star hotel was smashed to pieces on the expensive ceramic tiles that one could see one’s own reflection on.

“What nerve!” In front of outsiders, Yao Shengan had always comported himself with good breeding. But now the muscles on his cheek twitched fiercely, and he gritted his teeth as he cursed: “This Tao Mu really has some nerve.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

“Grandpa.” Yao Wenxiao hesitated. He was Yao Shengan’s favorite grandson. When he was born, Sheng’an Group was already one of the few big corporations in Shanghai, and Yao Sheng’an was also a well-known big entrepreneur in Shanghai. Naturally, no one would talk about Yao Shengan’s past in front of the Yao family.

Therefore, Yao Wenxiao didn’t know about Yao Shengan’s past of studying under the Song family and then ruining the Song family.

“…..Is the news that Tao Mu broke on the Internet true?” Yao Wenxiao hesitated, and then finally asked.

“Why?” Yao Shengan was furious, and unreservedly vented his emotions on Yao Wenxiao: “You also want to condemn your grandpa for what I did in the past?”

Faced with such overly violent anger, Yao Wenxiao subconsciously startled. Looking at Yao Shengan, who looked like an enraged lion, Yao Wenxiao shook his head quickly: “Of course not. I just think that if this kind of thing is revealed by Tao Mu, we will be very passive. Moreover, it’s like he is afraid that others will not know, so he specially turned it into a program. Now many netizens are infected by the program and are very emotional. They are all calling for boycotts of the hotels and restaurants under the Sheng’an Group on the Internet. The stock price of the Sheng’an Group has also fallen by two percentage points, the business of all the hotels and restaurants is very bad now. The situation is very unfavorable for us.”

Some idle young netizens who had nothing better to do even went to the entrance of the hotel under the Sheng’an Group to pull up protest banners. When they encountered customers coming to dine, they would pull them aside to promote Yao Shengan’s ungrateful and shameful past. They were all teenagers and underage children who used their weekend breaks to act as tap water (TN: Internet slang term that refers to the Internet users who voluntarily post laudatory remarks online to promote a brand). There were even media reporters who were attracted to the scene of these children’s boycott of the Sheng’an Group as a news hotspot. The hotel security guards watched all of this, daring to neither beat or scold, so they could only call the police.

However, this group of children stood fifty meters away from the hotel to pull up banners for publicity. They did not occupy the hotel’s grounds, nor did they act excessively. The police couldn’t do much when they arrived.

All in all, the Sheng’an Group had now become a sewage rat that everyone shouted and beat at. The Yao family members who were still in Shanghai hardly dared to go out in public now. Not a small number of them complained secretly about their old man’s immoral actions.

Even several other major shareholders of Sheng’an Group had quite the complaints about this matter.

Yao Wenxiao also felt a bit of resentment——it was not that he felt Yao Shengan shouldn’t do what he did back then. But Yao Shengan clearly knew that Tao Mu was going to make a fuss about this matter, yet he didn’t tell him in advance, and as a result, he was now caught off guard by Tao Mu. And no matter what he did now in response, he had already lost the initiative.

Yao Shengan’s face sank again when he was reminded by his grandson. Although he had expected that Tao Mu would definitely make a fuss about the Song family, thinking about it in his head, it was not the same as experiencing personally the feeling of being scolded by millions of netizens.

Since Yao Sheng’an had founded the Sheng’an Group he had been living pampered for so many years. He had never been scolded like this before. Fortunately, for so many years, he had been shaping the philanthropic reputation of the Sheng’an Group. Although its impact was usually not obvious, it should be able to play some role at this time.

Thinking of this and the fact that he would need to make use of his grandson’s Yuxiao Media in the future, Yao Shengan’s expression became a little more calm, and he said: “On the Song family’s affair grandpa has certainly been at fault, but more of it is the tragedy of the times. Grandpa can swear with a clear conscience that while the Song family’s tragic past was in part because of my reason, I never thought of having the Song family be ruined. I can only say that the world is difficult and at times, manpower cannot put up much resistance against it.”

“But people can’t always be immersed in the memories of the past. Grandpa was still young at that time, with reckless and extreme thoughts, even if I did something wrong, it can still be excusable. Moreover, for so many years, the Sheng’an Group has been enthusiastic about charity, and our Yao family has also sponsored many Hope Primary Schools and various charities. I, Yao Sheng’an, dare not say that I have a clear conscience, but I dare to say that the Sheng’an Group has not let down the expectations of society. You must know that, for these years, just how many jobs had the Sheng’an Group provided for society and just how much tax had been created for the country? How many charitable donations have been organized by us? We cannot always look at things from one side. We must look at the problem with investigative eyes.”

After a pause, Yao Shengan asked: “Now Tao Mu is relying on FlyNews to expose the old things of the past. The purpose is clearly to smear the Yao family and the reputation of the Sheng’an Group on the Internet. Aren’t you also part of the media industry? Can you think of a way to reverse the situation?”

Yao Wenxiao smiled bitterly: “Of course there are ways. But no matter what we do now, Sheng’an Group is on a very passive front. It would have been nice if Grandpa could have told me this in advance.”

Yao Shengan’s eyes flickered. He also knew that his actions back then were not appropriate. When one grew older one cared more about reputation, and of course he didn’t want his younger generation to have any kind of bad thought of him because of this. That was why he had procrastinated on speaking of the matter again and again. Thinking about it now, it was indeed only a difference in thought that let Tao Mu take the lead. Yao Shengan inevitably regretted it.

However, as a man who created the Sheng’an Group from scratch, he was not one to dwell in regrets. The matter being what it was, no matter how regretful he was, it wouldn’t help anything. He must find a way to solve the problem.

Thinking of this, Yao Shengan couldn’t help but think of the Shen family who had returned to Shanghai after the National School Beauty and Hunk Selection Contest was over and had not made any movements since: “Are you still in touch with Shen Yu recently?”

After the end of the selection contest, the Shen family returned to Shanghai on the grounds of busy year end company affairs. Yao Shengan had to stay in the capital because his grandson was detained. Later, he was worried about what Tao Mu might do, so he acted first and wanted to push Tao Mu down. But in the end, Tao Mu bit back, and he was now in a dilemma.

When Yao Wenxiao heard Shen Yu’s name, a gentle and doting look flashed across his face: “Yes. We talk on the phone every night. Shen Yu has been particularly interested in acting recently. So he took on another film under the arrangements of his family. In this movie, it is said that the lead actor is Yan Sheng. When New Year is over, they will go to Hong Kong to shoot.”

Yao Shengan let out a “hmm” and slowly said, “The Shen family and the Yao family are family friends. Now the Yao family is in trouble, and there may be some financial problems. It is inevitable to ask for help from the Shen family at that time. You have to maintain a good relationship with Shen Yu. The Shen family loves this young son the most. At that time, with him helping us, the Shen family should not refuse our request.”

Yao Shengan also faintly felt the dissatisfaction of the Shen family after losing the bid for that piece of land in Shanghai. Even though he regretted his eagerness for quick success, he also inevitably had complaints about the Shen family’s domineering behavior——how could it be that just because the Shen family had a high position in the real estate industry in Shanghai, his Yao family should not be allowed to get a piece of the pie too?

Back then when the Shen family bid for land to develop real estate projects, whenever they encountered a shortage of capital, they would borrow some funds from Sheng’an Group. Had Yao Sheng’an ever said anything about this? Now because his Sheng’an Group also wanted to enter the real estate industry, the Shen family was so resistant. It really was…..the nature of a profit chasing businessman.

Of course, Yao Wenxiao did not know Yao Shengan’s complaints, and even reproached directly after hearing these words: “Grandpa, what are you talking about? I grew up with Yu Yu, and our friendship is sincere. It’s not for profit or anything. If you say this, Yu Yu will misunderstand me.”

“Of course I know that you are sincere friends.” Yao Shengan’s expression became more relaxed and said: “That’s what Grandpa said. If the Shen family is unwilling, don’t forget to ask Shen Yu to help Grandpa say a few good words.”

“I know.” Yao Wenxiao nodded. He originally intended to discuss countermeasures with his grandpa. But these words evoked his longing for Shen Yu and at this moment, there were no more thoughts but to go into his bedroom to call Shen Yu.

Unsurprisingly, when Tao Mu broke the old grievances between Yao Sheng’an and the Song family, a group of netizens called for a boycott of the hotels and restaurants owned by the Sheng’an Group. Even the share price of the Sheng’an Group was affected. As a result, a press conference was held.

At the press conference, Yao Shengan, the gray-haired chairman of Sheng’an Group, did not shy away from his faults in the past. He admitted that he really was impulsive back then. But the tragedy of the Song family was actually caused more by that era, and not by people. After all, he had not personally harmed anyone in the Song family. No one in the Song family died directly because of Yao Shengan.

“In those days, there were actually a lot of such regrets. I don’t deny that I was really a coward at the beginning. Because I was also reported by others, I thought about ‘making up for my crimes with meritorious services’ and let myself live a little better. In fact, in those days, there were also many people like me. We were both perpetrators and victims.” In front of all the media reporters, Yao Shengan said sincerely and frankly: “I admit that it is my cowardice that indirectly caused the tragedy of the Song family. Today, I am willing to apologize to the Song family for my mistakes back then.”

When Yao Shengan said this, he bowed deeply. Then his tone changed: “However, the Sheng’an Group has been established for so many years, including Yao myself, we have been shouldering the social mission of greater ability meaning greater responsibility, and have taken keen interest in charity. For so many years, towards the number of Hope Primary Schools, Sheng’an Group has donated a total of…..the charitable funds donated have totaled…..”

“I believe that the good deeds done by Sheng’an Group will not be discounted by my actions in those years. The good deeds I have done will not change in nature because of the mistakes of the past. In this life, can one not make any mistakes? I hope that everyone can acknowledge the wealth created by the Sheng’an Group for society as well as the job positions provided, and have more tolerance and understanding for Yao. I, Yao Shengan, once again declare that I will spend my lifetime on philanthropy and contributing to society.”

As soon as this interview came out, some netizens were immediately persuaded.

“I feel that Chairman Yao is right. That era was very special. Chairman Yao just succumbed to the times and made choices that most people would make. As the saying goes, ‘look out for yourself, or heaven and earth will combine to destroy you’. Just how many people can stand up and be a hero when facing danger? Anyway, if it was met, I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“The tragedy of the Song family is the sorrow of the times. Of course, there are indirect factors from Yao Shengan, but Yao Shengan did not personally kill anyone, nor did he violate the law. Moreover, the Sheng’an Group has really been keen on charity for so many years. There is a Hope Primary School in my hometown and it was donated by the Sheng’an Group. The road from our village to the town was also donated and built by the Sheng’an Group. One person did one wrong thing and did 10,000 good deeds. How could it be because of this one wrong thing those ten thousand good things are obliterated?”

“When I watched the program “Life in the Market” when it first came out, many netizens were infected by the program and they were calling for boycotts of restaurants and hotels owned by the Sheng’an Group. The shops where business had been so prosperous that there were very long lines outside, now have no one entering. And in so many days, the stock price of Sheng’an Group has plummeted by nearly 10%. Even if it is punishment, this should be enough, right?”

That Yao Wenxiao could be hailed by the media as “the most promising young talent in Shanghai, the most anticipated business genius of this century”, naturally had his abilities. At least in matters other than Shen Yu, Yao Wenxiao was still quite capable.

A simple press conference, coupled with the constant misleading of the public carried out by the FlyNews accounts, instantly reversed the situation of “being universally condemned” created by Tao Mu.

Fortunately, Tao Mu, who had experienced his previous life, had long been familiar with all of Yao Wenxiao’s methods. After Yao Wenxiao triumphantly made his first move, Tao Mu’s response followed soon after.

Tao Mu once again broke the news that Yao Shengan was not reported on at all, but coveted the Song family’s ancestral recipe book and took the initiative to “expose and report against” the Song family. He found witnesses who still remembered the old events of that time and even directly participated in the whole thing and pointed out that Yao Shengan led a group of people to smash the Song family’s ancestral hall, and took advantage of the chaos to spirit away the Song family’s ancestral recipe book.

Evn to this day, the recipe book passed down in the Song family was still being detained by Yao Shengan. Yao Shengan spoke earnestly at the press conference, saying that he would apologize for his actions back then, but he never mentioned this ancestral recipe book. It could be seen that the apology that was mentioned was just an act. There was no sincerity at all.

In addition, Tao Mu also told FlyNews Entertainment to reveal that Yao Shengan had been targeting competitors for many years in order to get Sheng’an Group to gain a foothold in Shanghai, including instigating kitchen staff at competing restaurants to add medicine to the dishes and cause food poisoning to the diners. The restaurant had its reputation damaged and went bankrupt to compensate the customers and finally had to close down. However, Yao Shengan took the opportunity to buy the other restaurant at a low price. There were also other such nasty methods.

Tao Mu was forced out of the entertainment industry by Yao Wenxiao in his last life. But he had never been a person who sat around resigned to his fate, and naturally he would find someone to secretly investigate Yao Wenxiao and even the black materials of the Sheng’an Group. Yao Shengan was able to betray his teacher and benefactor back then, cruelly causing the death of the shifu who had raised him just for a recipe book, which showed that this person was not a good person at all. Yao Shengan’s success was not found upon righteousness, and had tasted the sweetness of crooked ways. Naturally, he would not stop using dirty methods.

Tao Mu found a lot of illicit materials about the Sheng’an Group. However, he was blacklisted from the Internet by Shen Yu’s admirers in his previous life, and there was no platform to speak on. In addition, his own image was very bad, and no one believed his words at all. On the contrary, the Sheng’an Group managed to wipe out these old things because of his actions that inadvertently alerted them. Basically, they used money to eliminate disasters, exchange benefits, and dropped heavy money in exchange for the forgiveness of the victims’ family.

The family members of the victims no longer mentioned the events of the past, and others naturally had no position to pursue them.

In this life, Tao Mu used the foresight of hisnrebirth to preemptively expose the black materials of the Sheng’an Group when FlyNews had the most presence and best reputation. He contacted several catering groups that had lost in the competition with Yao Sheng’an and had to move to other provinces but had preserved their strength, and jointly sued the Sheng’an Group. And they also applied to the court for property preservation measures to freeze the bank account of Sheng’an Group——

Tao Mu instigated those catering groups to sue Sheng’an Group in order to freeze the account of Sheng’an Group and cut off the capital flow of Sheng’an Group. As for whether the lawsuit was won or lost, no one cared at all.

Sure enough, the huge capital flow of Sheng’an Group was immediately cut off by this method. Coupled with the frequent scandals, Sheng’an Group’s stock market prices had also plummeted, the stocks having dropped to their limit down price within a few days and forcing Yao Shengan to apply to the Shanghai Stock Exchange for trading suspension.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tao Mu also did not let go of the few FlyNews accounts under Yao Wenxiao. Direct evidence proved that these FlyNews accounts were all water army raised by Yao Wenxiao. These water army accounts misled the public and spoke for the Sheng’an Group on the Internet, deliberately inducing the direction of public opinion. The pitiful netizens were once again played for a fool.

The kind-hearted netizens who were originally genuinely defending the Sheng’an Group once again felt the heartache of having their IQ treated with contempt. Under such grief and anger, a part of the netizens instantly went from passersby to antis and spared no effort in hating on the Sheng’an Group.

TN: Normally I dislike splitting chapters but this one is just too long to translate in one sitting. TBH, even though I chose to translate VCF and it is one of my favorite BLs, I have to agree with the reviews on NU that says VCF can be full of tedious and unnecessary details at times with long paragraphs and chapters. This flaw is even more obvious when translating it. But I’m the one who chose to translate it so even if brain cells die along the way I gotta finish it ╮(╯ ∀ ╰)╭

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev