“Shock! The founder and current chairman of Sheng’an Group, Yao Shengan, went to the Song family’s grave to worship on the morning of the first day of the new year, but was driven away with a stick!”

“The chairman of Sheng’an Group sincerely repents, but the Song family refuses to accept it!”

“There is a video and the truth. The founder of Sheng’an Group stood guard at the Song family’s ancestral tomb at four o’clock in the morning on the first day of the new year, and waited for more than two hours, but the heir of the Song family scolded and beat the other with a stick. Mr. Yao was forced to leave in embarrassment..…”

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Clicking on the video, one could see Yao Shengan’s desolate figure supporting his old and sick self appearing alone at the end of the twelfth lunar month, which was full of New Year flavor, laughter and family reunion everywhere. However, Mr. Yao, who was in his old age, had to leave his warm and comfortable home and rush to the cold Beijing to fulfill his promise.

In the video, Mr. Yao arrived in the capital and checked into the hotel alone. After settling down, he first made a phone call to report his whereabouts to Tao Mu. He expressed his wish that if the Song family wanted to, he could even kneel before his teacher’s grave for a day and a night. Sure enough, Song Daozhen refused.

On the screen, one could clearly hear Song Daozhen on the phone telling Yao Shengan to go to the Song family grave at four o’clock in the morning on the first day of the new year. As a result, Yao Shengan came to the appointment. In the cold night, when thousands of households were enjoying the happiness and beauty of the festive reunion, a lone figure waited for more than two hours in the cold darkness. It wasn’t until the light of dawn appeared in the sky that the Song family finally arrived.

Of course, the edited video would not contain Song Daozhen’s rebuke of Yao Shengan’s dishonesty. Only Yao Shengan, who was coldly treated, kowtowing behind Song Daozhen and offering incense, expressing sincere shame and that he was willing to give the recipes he developed to the Song family to atone for his sins, only to be expelled by Song Daozhen with a cudgel and curses.

“Is it my illusion? Why do I think Mr. Yao in the video looks pitiful? He is already so old, yet can’t peacefully celebrate the New Year at home, and instead has to rush to the capital to apologize to the Song family. Only to encounter such an embarrassing situation.”

“Upstairs +1. I really think Mr. Song went too far. Although the Song family ended badly because of Yao Shengan’s report back then, but think about it carefully, Yao Shengan didn’t really do anything at the time. He just did what most people in that era would do. After all, he didn’t personally kill anyone. And he also regrets it now. Even if the Song family doesn’t want to forgive him, they don’t have to beat him with a stick and scold him so badly.”

“In any case, he’s in his 70s. Leaving his hometown on the first day of the new year to come to the capital all by himself to kowtow and make amends. And he was almost even injured by the Song family. Seeing Yao Shengan’s hurriedly leaving back, why do I feel so uncomfortable?!”

“Of course Yao Shengan was wrong back then. But he can give 20% of the shares of Sheng’an Group to the Song family, and he is willing to kowtow to the Song family’s grave on the first day of the new year to make amends. How can it be said that he is sincere? Even if the Song family doesn’t accept it, they shouldn’t treat Yao Shengan like this.”

“I watched the video and Mr. Tao was standing behind Mr. Song the whole time. Why couldn’t he persuade Mr. Song!”

“It’s too much.”

“Forget about Mr. Song. After all, the Song family was really hurt by Yao Shengan. I can understand his feelings. But I can’t understand why Tao Mu didn’t persuade Mr. Song. After all, Yao Shengan is in his seventies. He is also an old man of his grandfather’s generation. How can he watch Yao Shengan being driven away by Mr. Song with a stick. I really didn’t expect the person I like to be so vicious, I am so disappointed.”

“I’m very suspicious, are there really Tao Mu fans upstairs? Have you forgotten how the Yao family bribed the media and Tao Mu’s adoptive parents to discredit Tao Mu? Now they just want to whitewash themselves with this video. It’s so funny, right? Also, the netizens who said Yao Shengan has sincerity, don’t forget that Yao Shengan didn’t willingly apologize to the Song family. Clearly it was them who was forced by CEO Tao to a dead end, and that they would go bankrupt if they don’t make amends, and in the end had to admit defeat and make amends under the mediation of the Shanghai city officials, right? How come you say that this is Yao Shengan’s sincerity in making amends??”

“That’s right. Some people’s remarks are really inexplicable. When did losing and being forced to admit defeat become whitewashed into sincerity? It almost made me think I went insane. I thought that the big melon I was eating a few months ago was my memory loss!”

“And that video, anyone with a discerning eye would know that it was edited. I’m puzzled, if Yao Shengan really had the sincerity to kowtow and make amends, why did he have the extra mind to bring a cameraman over with him? The narrative perspective of watching this video is clearly from Yao Shengan’s standpoint, right? If Yao Shengan is not fishy at all, why doesn’t he dare to release the whole video? Who is he going to fool with such an edited video?”

“The people upstairs are Tao Mu’s fans, right? Your words don’t even make sense. Mr. Yao left Shanghai in the morning of New Year’s Eve and arrived at the Song family’s ancestral grave in the early morning of New Year’s Day to make amends. There were nearly a dozen hours in between. How can the video be uploaded without editing it? Of course, the key points must be extracted and released while the less important points are cut out. This is the case even when shooting TV dramas. It is impossible to upload all the material.”

“You also know that making TV is different from real life? But Yao Shengan really wants to turn his life into a TV series. If he loves acting so much, why didn’t he enter the entertainment industry as an actor?”

“…..”

Not mentioning how Tao Mu’s fans refuted what some netizens said. In FlyNews.com’s technical department, seeing that their boss was smeared by a group of unidentified netizens, the director of the technical department couldn’t help but suggest: “Mr. Tao. Many of these remarks are sent by proxy IPs. Shall we check it? At least ban a batch of puppet accounts?”

Tao Mu waved his hand: “Don’t pay attention to these remarks. You just need to identify which accounts are water army. Let them say whatever they want. Anyway, the more fun they have, the more heat they bring, the higher the website traffic. Why, they are also generating income for our FlyNews.com! So don’t be too harsh on them.”

“But they are leading on the netizens and smearing your name, which is also very detrimental to FlyNews.com’s image.” The public relations manager of FlyNews.com frowned. Although he had long realized his own boss’s bloody storm attracting physique. But he never imagined that Tao Mu would make the headlines on the first day of the new year. Now half of the people on the entire network are criticizing Tao Mu. If it went on like this, he was afraid that only more netizens would be affected.

“Don’t worry. Controversy leads to traffic. Look at the lively discussions they have online, almost half of them say they hate me. But you look at the background data of FlyNews.com. Are there really people who deregister from FlyNews.com because they hate me?”

The manager of the public relations department was taken aback for a moment. Of course no one deregistered and left. Not only that, there were more and more netizens registering on FlyNews.com in the past two days.

“You see.” Tao Mu smiled slightly, and said calmly: “Young people, don’t be impatient. Besides, you clearly know that those people were hired by the Yao family to smear me. Yet at the juncture you choose to ban accounts. Aren’t you afraid that they will continue to set the rhythm and even attract the fire to FlyNews.com?”

Everyone was stunned when they heard these words.

Tao Mu crossed his arms across his chest and smiled at the soaring background data. It had to be said that Yao Shengan, that old fox, really understood the human hearts very well. First, he made such an ambiguous video clip and uploaded it to the Internet——and it was also on FlyNews.com and BulletScreen.com created by Tao Mu himself. Putting on a frank and fearless look that stated they were not afraid that Tao Mu would delete the water army accounts on the two websites.

In fact, Tao Mu could guess darkly, maybe Yao Shengan was expecting him to do so. At that time, not only could the water army lead the rhythm of smearing the Song family and Tao Mu himself, but they could even slander FlyNews.com and accuse the sight of disregarding human rights by refusing to let its competitors speak up; that Tao Mu in order to shield Song Daozhen, indicated FlyNews.com to take an unfair position of blocking and banning differing views. The so-called raking grass and beating rabbits, they put on a pitiful act while pouring cold water on the super popular FlyNews.com.

Unfortunately, Yao Shengan also miscalculated Tao Mu’s tough skin. In his last life, he had had the experience of being rhythmically slandered by people all over the Internet. To him, this bit of rain was like summer drizzle. Other than reducing dryness, it was completely useless.

Was Tao Mu the kind of glass-hearted person who was afraid of being scolded by others? Obviously not. This dude had thick skin as thick as a city wall. Even if you point at his nose and scold him to his face, he could take it all with a smile so long as there was benefit in it, not to mention the words of strangers on the Internet that neither hurt or itch. Separated by a layer of computer screen, who knew whether you are a human or a beast?

Think about it from another angle. On the first day of the new year, they don’t play mahjong with their family, and instead act indignant on the Internet to fight injustice for the perpetrators. How miserable and pitiful they must be in real life. So long as you think about these objective conditions, even if those netizens genuinely hated Tao Mu and hated him from the bottom of their hearts, Tao Mu was too lazy to get angry with them at all.

You have the time to feel sorry for Yao Shengan? It’s likely that this group of keyboard warriors with goldfish brains had forgotten that Yao Shengan, no matter how pitiful, was worth several times more than these people could ever earn in a lifetime. Besides, the only way they could express their hate for Tao Mu was to sign up for a FlyNews.com account and keep posting comments and contributing to traffic…..

With the facts in front of him, Tao Mu didn’t want to say anything superfluous.

The FlyNews.com employees, who were originally angry and indignant, didn’t want to say anything superfluous either when they heard their boss’s words.

Okay. We actually had the time to sympathize with the boss and fight for the boss. How could we forget that no matter how pitiful the boss was, this dude created FlyNews.com, the most influential social platform on the entire network. This dude was worth was at least hundreds of millions of dollars, which was a wealth that they couldn’t catch up to in their whole lives——oh, by the way, thanks to the whole network slandering their boss, these poor little fellows have to go back to the company to work overtime during the Chinese New Year. They didn’t even have the chance to squat with their family to play mahjong!

Not noticing that his words shattered several glass hearts on the ground, Tao Mu quietly waited for the video to ferment. As expected, after Yao Shengan tentatively posted a clipped video on the Internet and Tao Mu did not make any clarification, Yao Shengan seemed to become certain that Tao Mu did not take reporters to the Song family cemetery, so he also couldn’t provide strong evidence to refute his video. After that, Yao Shengan’s actions became indeed much more audacious. Not only did he buy the entertainment broadcast programs of major TV stations, but he even dared to accept interviews from major print media and entertainment magazines. And in front of the media, he packaged himself as a poor old man who was old but repentant, wanting to build the character image of “the prodigal son returned home is more precious than gold”. (TN: saying that means those who turn over a new leaf is rare and therefore deserve to be accepted with open arms)

——It must be said, Yao Shengan’s acting talent was really good. If he had not founded Sheng’an Group and immersed himself in the catering industry, but had entered the entertainment industry, with his acting skills, it should not be a problem to win himself a best actor award.

Anyway, for a while, the media and netizens who spoke and interceded for Yao Shengan sprang up like mushrooms after a rain. Tao Mu was sitting at home watching TV, and he could see the media’s follow-up reports on this incident on any random channel.

“Recently, the founder of Sheng’an Group went to Beijing to perform the contract. However, in reality, there was no laughing off and forgiving old grudges…..”

“The old grudge between Yao Shengan, founder of Sheng’an Group, and Song Ji in Beijing had always moved people’s hearts. Later, under the mediation of concerned people, the two reached a settlement. Song Ji requested that the founder of Sheng’an Group, Mr. Yao Shengan, worship and make amends to the Song family ancestors on the Chinese New Year. At four o’clock in the morning yesterday, Mr. Yao arrived as promised. However, after waiting for two hours, he was scolded and violently expelled by the Song family. Before that, the chairman of Sheng’an Group, in order to obtain the understanding of the Song family, once returned the private recipes that he had worked so hard on over many years, together with the Song family recipe book, back to the Song family…..”

“Mr. Yao was interviewed by this newspaper and said that he understood the feelings of the Song family very well…..”

With a “clack”, Mr. Song angrily turned off the TV and threw down the remote control. He asked Tao Mu with a stern face: “How long are we going to endure him? Didn’t you also record a video? Why don’t you release it to refute them? Instead, letting that Yao Shengan talk nonsense on TV and deceive all the netizens who don’t know the truth.”

Tao Mu cut the apple into pieces and poked one with a toothpick and handed it to the old man while comforting: “Don’t be angry. You just consider it as watching a big show. It is rare that Yao Shengan, the chairman of a group worth tens of billions of dollars, is willing to go to such an extent to put on a big show for you. You have to be happy and appreciate it to your heart’s content. It won’t be too late for us to deal with him later.”

“I’ve appreciated it enough now. Hurry up and use what trick you have up your sleeve. I don’t want to see him again. If it goes on like this, I won’t be able to have peace this year.”

“Okay.” Tao Mu nodded in agreement with a smile. Anyway, three days have passed, and everything was almost fermented. The first wave of enthusiasm from netizens was almost vented, and it was time to reverse the tide.

And Tao Mu’s method of reversing was actually very simple. It was so simple that it was practically boring——he just uploaded the video of the day they went to worship ancestors by a reporter from FlyNews Entertainment on BulletScreen.com.

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

When uploading the video, Tao Mu even felt a bit sorry for Yao Shengan. Say, this old man was in his seventies this year, even if his skin had become hard and thick after years of honing, and even every wrinkle revealed a trace of shamelessness. But in any case, this fellow was at least an old man in his seventies. After such big ups and downs, strong winds and waves, he hoped that Mr. Yao was healthy enough to not pass out after seeing the full version of the video.

They all say that Tao Mu didn’t know to have respect for the old and tenderness for the young. But Tao Mu was actually very sympathetic——but usually, his sympathy was not worth a penny _(:з)∠)_

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In fact, old man Song didn’t sleep for long before Tao Mu carefully woke him up.

“Grandpa, we have to go to the grave.”

According to the rules of the Song family, the ancestors would be brought home on New Year’s Eve and then sent off on the first day of the new year. When sending off the ancestors it must be directly according to the auspicious times, and before sending off the ancestors, thirty-six dishes must be made by the Song family to pay tribute to the ancestors. In order to prove that the Song family line had been inherited continuously, so that the ancestors could go back with confidence.

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To make thirty-six dishes, it naturally took some time. Although before this, the basic preparatory work had been done. But it still took at least an hour or two on the stove alone. If it was before, when there were many children in the Song family, each person may only have to be responsible for one or two dishes, and it would be faster. But now there were only the old man and Tao Mu, and the old man had to cook twenty-eight dishes by himself. This was a big project.

When Song Daozhen was woken up, he felt a little dazed. After being dazed for a long time, he came back to his senses.

Tao Mu turned on the hot air conditioner, placed the jacket hanging on the radiator over the old man, and pulled out the cotton trousers covered by the quilt. When putting on shoes for the old man, he frowned and said, “Why is this room still so cold? Should we hire someone to set up floor heating?”

“Don’t bother with such an old house.” Song Daozhen waved his hand. This ancestral house of the Song family was handed down since from the Qing Dynasty. It was said to be an antique, and it indeed looked very impressive. But whoever lived in it knew what it was truly like. Cold in winter and hot in summer, and in addition the lighting was not good either. A few years ago, the water, electricity and heating was finally set up with difficulty, but over the years, the pipes had aged, and there were always problems.

Last year, Tao Mu made money in H Town, and when he came back, he overhauled the pipelines of the orphanage and the Song family residence. In particular, the east and west wing rooms of the Song family residence. He also specially went to Liulichang Cultural Street to hire an engineering team that repaired cultural relics and historic sites. From the windows and walls to the interior decorations. At that time, the yard was full of chaos and noise, annoying Mr. Song terribly.

He survived that period with great difficulty, and he was not willing to suffer it a second time.

“But you don’t like the hot air conditioner.” Tao Mu squatted on the ground and put on the old man’s shoes for him: “Electric hot air is an open flame, which is too unsafe. And after a long time, you’ll feel dry in the mouth. We should at least find a way to warm up the house.”

“Blowing the air conditioner makes me sick.” Old man Song waved his hand. He was too old to enjoy the blessing of the air conditioner: “Besides, it’s quite warm in this room. I’ve been here for so many years, and I’m used to it. It’s all you young people, who look very strong and hotblooded, but in actuality are not resistant to the cold at all.”

As old man Song spoke, his eyes fell on Tao Mu’s long, slender and straight legs. Only a thin pair of jeans wrapped Tao Mu’s legs, giving him a shockingly out of place thin look. Old man Song frowned and found that things were not that simple: “You are not wearing cotton pants again?”

“We are taking the car when we go out, and there is heating in the house.” Tao Mu blinked, pointed to the basin of warm water on the washbasin rack, and said, “I’ve filled it up with wash water. I’m going out now——”

“Stinky boy, not wearing cotton leggings in winter, and it’s minus fifteen or sixteen degrees outside…..why don’t you freeze to death!”

Tao Mu hurriedly fled but still could not avoid the scolding. The loud scolding from Mr. Song standing at the door directly awakened the others in the courtyard. Everyone grinning and wrapped in down jackets and large cotton-padded jackets to stand on the veranda to watch the scene.

When the old man finished washing and entered the kitchen, Tao Mu was still squatting in front of the stove, silently guarding his dignity as an idol——resolutely refusing to wear cotton leggings.

“It’s minus fifteen degrees outside, and the northwest wind is blowing harshly. If you don’t wear cotton leggings today, we won’t send off the ancestors.” Old man Song angrily stood on the other side of the stove: “I imagine the old Song family ancestors also don’t want to see the direct disciple of the Song family freeze to death outside because of their stinky vanity.”

“We’re taking the car when we go out, and there is heating in the house…..” Tao Mu still said, “I don’t feel cold either.”

And besides, how could celebrities wear cotton leggings to keep warm? Do you still have the dignity of an idol? Especially when walking the red carpet or watching a fashion show, how could you put on a layer of cotton leggings because of the cold? Those female stars even bare their thighs and show their shoulders. Us men were already much better off, alright?

“And I have heat packets inside my jacket.” Tao Mu said cleverly, “It’s really not cold.”

“You know that old Liu at the entrance of the alley, who drank too much outside on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, stumbled and slept by the street lamp, that drunkard?” Mr. Song gave an example to tell Tao Mu of the consequences of not wearing cotton leggings in the north: “When the street sweeper found him the next morning, he was already frozen to death, purple and blue all over. Frozen stiff and didn’t look good at all.”

“Also, Principle Yun came to Song Ji for dinner two days ago, and told me that some little girls are now learning to dress up like those in Korean dramas, wearing cotton clothes on top, no cotton leggings underneath, just bare legs and skirt. In the end freezing so bad they urinated blood…..”

Tao Mu was about to explain that he was different from them, only to look up and see old man Song’s firm gaze. Got it. Nothing to say now.

“I’m going to wear cotton leggings.” Tao Mu went back into his room gloomily, and pulled out a pair of thin cotton leggings. Old man Song followed and stared: “Wear thicker ones.”

Tao Mu was even more unhappy. When he put on thick cotton leggings with jeans, he felt very bloated. This time, old man Song was satisfied: “That’s right. In winter, you have to wear thick clothes that will make people feel warm just by looking at them.”

Despite his desperate struggles he still failed to keep his idol’s dignity of never wearing cotton leggings. Tao Mu turned on his phone gloomily. He had always been a person who liked to share his bad mood with others. This new year, he originally wanted to show kindness and turn a blind eye to the actions of a certain old bastard. But now…..this baby was not happy anymore, so what did he still care if the old bastard was happy or not?

Tao Mu harrumphed twice and messaged FlyNews Entertainment to send two reporters to squat outside the Song family’s ancestral tomb. By the way, he also had drother Da Hui go over in advance to make some preparations as well. Although it was New Year’s Day, the entertainment industry always celebrated the New Year when there was gossip, and not when there was no gossip. Therefore, entertainment reporters, gossip magazines and paparazzi were also the same as the special types of work in the country. They only have shifts and no holidays. Of course, as a CEO who was keen to go home for the New Year, Tao Mu treated those who couldn’t go home for the New Year, or who couldn’t rest during the New Year, such as the employees of FlyNews Entertainment who need to always devote themselves to the cause of gossip very well. The overtime pay for the New Year’s holiday, which was ten times the daily salary, and the luxury New Year’s Eve dinner delivery ordered from a five-star hotel were provided, and as a result the reporters of the FlyNews Entertainment Department nearly fought over who could take the New Year’s holiday shift——

So long as your family was by your side, you could celebrate the New Year every day. But ten times the overtime pay was only available for a few days of the year!

Not knowing that his grandson wanted to find someone to vent his annoyance, old man Song supervised as Tao Mu changed into the thick cotton leggings, and only then did he slip back to the kitchen to prepare dishes for ancestor worship in peace.

When the dishes were ready, one old and one young solemnly placed thirty-six Song family dishes one by one in front of the ancestral tablets, making three bows and nine kowtows, and then respectfully invited the ancestors to have a taste. After that was the journey to send the ancestors back to the ancestral grave.

Tao Mu noticed that old man Song also held a red sandalwood box containing the “Song Family Cookbook” and felt a little curious.

Facing Tao Mu’s curiosity, old man Song didn’t say anything. He sat in the back seat with a gloomy face, the shadows on both sides of the driveway flickering past and causing old man Song to look like he was about to melt into the darkness.

By the time Liu Yao and Meng Qi drove them to the Song family’s ancestral tomb, it was already more than six o’clock in the morning. There was a smear of white in the sky.

Yao Shengan, who arrived at the Song family’s ancestral tomb on time at four o’clock, waited in the car for more than two hours before seeing their car. Immediately, he got out of the car with a dark face: “Didn’t you say four o’clock?”

Old man Song held the ancestral tablet and glanced expressionlessly at Yao Shengan, who had a very ugly expression on his face: “Didn’t you say that you want to kneel in front of my father’s grave for a day and a night? I’m worried that your old bones won’t be able to stand it, so I prepared for you to kneel for two hours. Yet you didn’t kneel in the end at all.”

“Then why have you come here so early?” Song Daozhen looked at Yao Shengan with a puzzled expression.

Yao Shengan was almost angered to death by Song Daozhen’s remarks. He almost forgot, Song Daozhen had always been such a person who liked to make bogus accusations since he was young.

At that time, the Song family hadn’t fallen yet. The patriarch of the Song family accepted a total of two disciples, one was him, and the other was Wang Yipin. Song Daozhen was the only son of the old patriarch of the Song family, and the only heir of the Song family’s generation. His age was also young, so he was naturally spoiled by everyone. Therefore, Song Daozhen was also a hell child since childhood. He had a lively personality that did not allow him to sit still. He was always full of bad ideas and tricks, often angering the Song patriarch into using the family punishment on him, punishing him to kneel in the ancestral hall.

Later, after going through that special era, the whole Song family died out or scattered, and Song Daozhen was hit hard and unable to recover after many years.

Thinking of these past events, Yao Shengan couldn’t help but sigh: “I didn’t expect you to think so. If you explained it to me, I would naturally keel here willingly and ask my teacher for forgiveness.”

Song Daozhen sneered: “What I think is my business. It has nothing to do with your actions. If you truly have the heart, since you have arrived in front of the Song family’s grave, you should kneel and cry for forgiveness. It’s not like the ancestors of the Song family would jump out from their coffins to stop you. Why do you still need to ask for permission?”

Song Daozhen, when either speaking or doing things, never bothered to show face to others. Speaking whatever was on his mind: “You insist on kneeling in front of others to apologize, and have others watch you kowtow and offer incense. Whether you really have the heart to apologize or this is all just a pretense, you know it yourself.”

Song Daozhen said, looking coldly at the two reporters who got out of the Yao family’s car carrying cameras: “It seems like it is me who thought too highly of myself. Looks like it is not me you want to put on an act in front of.”

Song Daozhen placed the tablets of the ancestors of the Song family on the grave. In front of the ancestors, he returned the sandalwood box that Yao Shengan had sent back: “When I was sorting out the “Song Family Cookbook”, I found that there were more than ten extra recipes in the back, which should not belong to the Song family. Now what should be returned is returned to the rightful owner.”

At that time, when patriarch Song was still alive, Song Daozhen had not inherited Song Ji, so he was not qualified to read the ancestral recipes. Song Daozhen based it on the time——the day Yao Shengan took someone to seize and confiscate the Song family, stealing the ancestral recipe. From that day onwards, Mr. Song tore off all the dishes recorded in the “Song Family Cookbook” and returned it to Yao Shengan together with the sandalwood box.

“In the Song family’s teachings, what is not my Song family’s things, we must not be greedy and covet it. If there are descendants in the family who studied outside the art of culinary, and want to record the dishes they have learned in the “Song Family Cookbook”, they must obtain the consent of the other party. Either exchange recipes, or buy them with money, and if necessary, they could provide for the other party’s retirement. If in the future, the descendants of the person who gifted or taught them the recipe lost their ancestral recipes and asked the Song family for it, the Song family can’t shirk the request. They must not hold an overly sentimental attachment to it. They must remember their gratitude…..”

Song Daozhen stood in front of the Song family’s ancestral tomb and recited a paragraph of the Song family’s family motto. Then he looked at Yao Shengan with a blank expression: “Mr. Yao had betrayed his teacher to set up his own business. Since then, he is no longer a member of the Song family. The Song family also doesn’t want to have a good relationship with Mr. Yao, nor do we want to hold gratitude towards you for passing on your art. So I return to you everything that belongs to Yao Shengan. You can check it over yourself.”

Yao Shengan looked at Song Daozhen with a complicated look. This was the character of the Song family. Even if they had been ravaged by wind and rain, they would never veer off from its original intention.

“This is my kind regard. It is also my compensation to the Song family. I hope you can accept it.” Yao Shengan smiled in self-ridicule when he said this: “After all, I also learned this skill from the Song family.”

“I already said, so long as the Song family’s recipe collection is completely returned. Since it is complete, whether it is one dish missing or a dozen new dishes added, it will not be complete.” Song Daozhen’s mindset were very clear: “Although your cooking skills are learned from the Song family, you also betrayed your teacher and deceived the ancestors. Therefore, there is no longer any kindness between you and the Song family. If you want to mention the word relationship, then this relationship is that of enmity. “

“If you still have face and conscience, you should stop using the Song family recipes to benefit your Yao family. After all, you have established your own business. Instead of continuing to use Song family recipes like a thief, you might as well find a way to promote the Yao family cuisine, which can also be considered as proving your Yao family name.”

Song Daozhen lit three sticks of incense while talking: “Now, kowtow to make amends. After kowtowing, you can leave.”

Yao Shengan didn’t expect that Song Daozhen would actually respond like this before he could even find a chance to make scene. In just a few words, all his previous plans were shattered.

That was why he hated people like the Song family the most. No matter what the temperament of the family’s descendants was like, they all possessed such an old-fashioned and sour temperament down to their bones. Everything had to be according to the family rules. Please, what era is it now? Everyone paid attention to interests and profit first, yet Song Daozhen holding the “Song Family Cookbook” and guarding such a Song Ji that had fallen to disrepair, what kind of accomplishment could he even achieve?

After another ten or eight years, when Song Daozhen also died, the Song family would face the danger of losing the family art and the breaking of the family bloodline. Instead of watching these things get lost, why not let him use them instead. It could not only solve the crisis of the Sheng’an Group, but also promote the Song Ji brand.

What was more, Song Daozhen was now a major shareholder of Sheng’an Group. It was useless for him to guard an empty Song Ji, and it was better to leave it to the Sheng’an Group to take care of it instead. Else the brand of the Song family also completely declined with the end of the Song family bloodline.

Song Daozhen didn’t expect that Yao Shengan still had plans on Song Ji, and immediately became angry: “Get out of here!”

Song Daozhen picked up a stick and directly beat Yao Shengan and the bodyguard and reporter he brought with him out of the Song family’s ancestral tomb. Watching Yao Shengan hide pathetically behind the bodyguard.

“Think about it. Don’t be so impulsive when you are already at such an advanced age. Although you hate me, you don’t want Song Ji to disappear in your hands, do you? When the time comes, you will have no face to meet the ancestors of the Song family. How will you explain to the ancestors of the Song family!” Yao Shengan knew Song Daozhen’s weakness, and every word he spoke stabbrd at Song Daozhen’s heart.

Yao Shengan saw that Tao Mu didn’t bring reporters here, and the only two cameramen present were those he brought with him and were naturally on his side. So his speech and demeanor instantly relaxed a lot. In front of Song Daozhen, Tao Mu and the others, he brazenly said some harsh words, and then got into the car surrounded by bodyguards and drove away.

Song Daozhen clutched his chest angrily and cursed loudly. He had never seen such a brazenly shameless person. He ruined the Song family, and now he still had the nerve to covet Song Ji. Even if he brought the plaque of Song Ji into the coffin with him, he would never let Yao Shengan succeed.

“Grandpa, don’t be angry. That old bastard won’t succeed.” While Tao Mu comforted his old man, he looked at the two FlyNews Entertainment reporters who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as well as brother Da Hui, who came to make arrangements ahead of time.

“Everything was filmed?”

The two reporters nodded viciously. Yao Shengan really was a shameless bastard. Even two onlooking outsiders like them couldn’t stand it any longer.

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Da Hui walked behind the Song family’s ancestral tomb, and took out a few pinhole cameras hidden in the corners that had been secretly recording everything. The sky was still hazy, and it was dark everywhere. Yao Shengan and his people didn’t notice these “mechanisms” at all.

Tao Mu sneered. His days had been spent too happily, and he had been more willing to put on a kindly appearance, so it seemed some people forgot and really regarded him as a holy father.

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Recently, Tao Mu had been living his days quite happily. So much so that when he received a call from Yao Shengan on New Year’s Eve, Tao Mu almost didn’t react at all.

“I’ve already arrived in Beijing.” On the phone, Yao Shengan’s voice was dry and heavy. He knew what he was going to face.

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“Today is New Year’s Eve. According to the old rules of the Song family, we have to go to the grave to invite the ancestors home for the New Year. And prepare dishes for ancestor worship. Should I go there today?”

At that time, Tao Mu was in Song Ji, and together with Mr. Song, he was preparing various incense candles and offerings that they would use when they went to the grave to worship the ancestors. Hearing these words, he frowned: “Didn’t I say to come over on the first day of the New Year?”

The Song family did have a rule of inviting their ancestors home for Chinese New Year on the New Year’s Eve. But the old man said that the ancestors of the Song family have been suffering for so many years and it was with much difficulty that they could raise their heads high so this New Year’s must be celebrated well. On the first day of the New Year, after the ancestors were sent back home, it would not be too late to let Yao Shengan, the bastard who betrayed his teachers and deceived his ancestors, kowtow to make amends.

Of course, Yao Shengan could also guess the old man’s thinking. If it had been a few months earlier, Yao Shengan would not be willing to come over——he cared about face the most in his life, but Tao Mu forcing him to kowtow in front of the Song family’s ancestral tomb was practically the same as completely tearing off Yao Shengan’s and even the Yao family’s face and stomping on it hard with his feet.

But the current situation of the Yao family was not the same as before.

Ever since Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng attacked Sheng’an Group in the stock market, forcing the Yao family to take out 20% of the shares for a settlement. The Yao family’s control over the board of directors of Sheng’an Group was not as good as before. Later, the media exposed the scandal that the son-in-law of the Yao family used waste oil to embezzle the procurement funds because he owed huge debts to loan sharks, which caused the reputation of Sheng’ann Group to plummet. The stock price fell sharply, and its vitality was greatly damaged.

The board of directors would naturally have the management level account for the damage. The first to bear the brunt was the Yao family who once held important positions in various important departments of the Sheng’an Group. After all, Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng attacked Sheng’an Group in the stock market because of old grudges between Yao Shengan and the Song family, and the party involved in the waste oil incident was the Yao family’s eldest son-in-law.

Some shareholders believed that the Yao family was to blame for the reason why Sheng’an Group had fallen into today’s situation. Some people wanted to hold the Yao family accountable, so they forced Yao Shengan to resign as chairman on the grounds that his virtue did not match his position. As for the eldest son-in-law of the Yao family who dared to embezzle public funds and use waste oil, he should be handed over to the relevant departments and be severely punished by the law.

Those who could make this kind of suggestion were naturally the victims who were forced by Yao Shengan into bankruptcy and left their hometowns by means of unfair competition. Because of Mr. Song’s decision, these people now also held 10% of the shares of Sheng’an Group. This was not a small amount, at least enough to initiate a shareholders meeting.

Karma is always paid back. When Yao Shengan drove these defeated losers out of Shanghai City, he probably never thought that these people would be able to come back, or even enter the Sheng’an Group, and sit grandly at the shareholders’ meeting.

However, winners take all, when Yao Shengan could no longer control the overall situation, the former losers and victims naturally want to step forward and take revenge.

They want Yao Shengan to be met with misfortune and the Yao family to be driven into decline. Therefore, whatever decision Yao Shengan insisted on, these people would definitely oppose it. Later, it was natural to join other shareholders to remove Yao Shengan as the chairman. And all the rest of the Yao family were kicked out of the management level.

As soon as the victims’ fortune changed for the better, they were naturally qualified to beat the wet dogs.

Many shareholders of Sheng’an Group were originally old friends of the Yao family. However, the attitude of the Yao family was really disappointing. Shares of Sheng’an Group fell sharply. The catering chains were empty of customers. The loss of business meant naturally the loss of interests of the shareholders. As the saying went, wealth shook people’s will. After several exchanges, some people were naturally persuaded by the new shareholders that Yao Sheng’an and the Yao family should indeed be responsible for the current state of the Sheng’an Group. They want Yao Shengan to take the blame and resign. Even a general meeting of shareholders was launched for this purpose.

At the critical moment, it was actually the Shen family who stood up and temporarily retained Yao Shengan’s seat——one had to admit that although the Shen family had ill intentions in the matter of the Sheng’an Group, they also knew Yao Shengan’s ability better than anyone. With the current situation of the Sheng’an Group, if there was no Yao Shengan to stabilize the situation, even if the Group did not fall apart, it was very likely that it would fall out of the ranks of the top food groups in Shanghai.

The father and son of the Shen family went to so much effort and made so many calculations to take 25% of the shares of Sheng’an Group. So they didn’t want to see their money being wasted. They had already suffered heavy losses because of Xiaoheng Capital’s sniping at Sheng’an Group’s stocks. The Shen family didn’t want to deal with any more trouble.

Therefore, Yao Shengan’s seat must be temporarily retained. At least until the Sheng’an Group re-consolidated its status as a Shanghai catering giant, Yao Shengan, the chairman and founder, could not leave. As for the idiot who embezzled public funds to pay usury, naturally no one would care about him.

However, while Yao Shengan’s chairman seat was temporarily retained, he also had to show his ability to the shareholders, turn the tide, and reassure the board of directors trust in him.

But Sheng’an Group’s reputation had become so bad, Yao Shengan couldn’t think of how to turn things around at all. He locked himself in the office for a long time. After thinking about it, the only way for the Sheng’an Group to find a means of survival depended on the Song family.

At this moment, Yao Shengan was very grateful to himself for his soft-hearted moment, inexplicably writing the recipes he had created over the many years into the “Song Family Cookbook”, and returning it together with the “Song Family Cookbook” to the Song family.

Back then, the old patriarch of the Song family taught his children to “do good deeds, don’t ask about the future”, Yao Shengan used to sneer and disapprove. Thinking about it at this moment, it really was true that there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps the reason why the old grandfather of the Song family taught his children “do good deeds, don’t ask about the future” was to enjoy this moment of joy in finding a life-saving rope in a desperate situation.

Yao Shengan wanted to pin his hope of whitewashing the Yao family’s reputation on his journey to kowtow to the Song family’s grave to make amends.

Tao Mu was naturally aware of this kind of thinking. Although after his visit to Shanghai, Tao Mu seemed to no longer pay attention to the Sheng’an Group and the Yao family. But the victims who had received the kindness of old man Song had always been thinking about repaying Tao Mu and old man Song for their kindness——of course, as well as show good will to Li Xiaoheng who stood behind Tao Mu. Therefore, it was understandable that they would make calls from time to time to report the current situation of the Yao family.

Thus, Tao Mu also knew the current situation of the Yao family very well. Judging others with himself, he could think of why Yao Shengan was so active to make amends. If he was Yao Shengan, it was likely that he would not miss such a good opportunity to whitewash himself and gain sympathy from others.

He said before that the world admired the strong and pitied the weak. This was actually not necessarily a good thing. Tao Mu had used this human habit himself, but now that Yao Shengan met a similar situation, this old bastard would naturally not let go of such an opportunity. He was sure that there would always be some keyboard holy mothers on the Internet who did not know the truth but still always stood indiscriminately on the side of the weak.

For example, the Tao Haiguo couple who tried to force Tao Mu using the moral high ground at the beginning. Another example was Yao Shengan, who was now a ‘hero in his old age’.

He still remembered when the Sheng’an Group bullied Tao Mu and the Song family. At that time, the Sheng’an Group was one of the top catering giants in the country. Tao Mu and the Song family were in a disadvantaged position. So a group of people sympathized with Tao Mu and the Song family while scolding the Sheng’an Group.

Today, the Sheng’an Group’s vitality was nearly completely damaged and barely holding on. Yao Shengan was also an old man, dragging his white-haired and sickly body over thousands of miles from Shanghai to the capital, just to kowtow to the Song family’s grave to make amends. It was likely that if someone saw this scene, they would forget the many lives of the Song family who died tragically in the past, as well as Yao Shengan’s endless dirty methods. And then easily begin to sympathize with Yao Shengan’s difficulty in his old age.

What was more, even if no one came out to sympathize with Yao Shengan, the Yao family could hire a water army to lead the discussion online.

Tao Mu, who had fought against Yao Wenxiao countless times in his last life, could almost think of what Yao Shengan could do even with his eyes closed. He was afraid that Shen Yu’s brain-dead guess earlier might really come true. It was just that the person who brought a camera to film the scene of Yao Shengan kowtowing and making amends was Yao Shengan himself.

Sure enough, after hearing Tao Mu’s question, Yao Shengan was silent for a moment, and then said in a dry voice: “I just want to say, if Mr. Song can forgive me, I am willing to kneel before my teacher’s grave for a day and a night.”

In such low temperatures, yet you want to kneel in front of the Song family’s grave for a day and a night. What are you planning?

Going to such an extent in order to act out such a dramatic scene!

Even though Tao Mu was prepared, but at this moment he couldn’t help but laugh in anger: “Grandpa, Yao Shengan said that he want to kneel in front of the Song family’s ancestral tomb for a day and a night to express his repentance to the Song family?”

Because he was going to pay homage to his ancestors, Mr. Song was packing incense candles and offerings while discussing with everyone enthusiastically the New Year’s Eve dinner and the dishes to be sacrificed to his ancestors in the morning. Liu Yao, Meng Qi, dean Tao, Feng Yuan, Gou Rixin and his mother, Qin Miaoru and her brothers were all in the courtyard. The large group of people were busy packing up the things, and they were discussing how many tables of mahjong they would need while watching the Spring Festival Gala in the evening, only to hear such mood dampening words.

The atmosphere of the whole Song Ji sank slightly, and they all looked at the old man inadvertently.

In order to set off the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year, everyone pasted new couplet blessings outside the door early in the morning, and hung all kinds of red lanterns in the restaurant. The old courtyard had high beams and deep eaves, and the lighting was not very good so Tao Mu asked people to light all the lanterns. The antique styled nine-grid palace lanterns swayed above their heads, and half of old man Song’s face was immersed in the red light, seemingly frozen for a while.

After a long silence, old man Song said slowly, “Have him go directly to the Song family’s ancestral tomb at four o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Tao Mu responded and conveyed the meaning of old man Song through the phone.

According to Yao Shengan’s thinking, he actually wanted to visit Song Ji with a camera. It would be even better to record the scene where he endured humiliation to plead for forgiveness only for the Song family to refuse to forgive. But he also knew that according to Song Daozhen’s temper, he would not accept his visit anyway. More importantly, Yao Shengan was not sure whether Tao Mu would let Song Daozhen fall into his calculations. Yao Shengan had a headache when he thought of that tough little bastard.

Now, the Yao family was already at risk and cornered from all sides. At this juncture, Yao Shengan was not afraid of being snubbed. But he also didn’t want unexpected troubles cropping up either.

So, after hearing Song Daozhen’s instruction, Yao Shengan waited obediently at the hotel, preparing to go to the Song family’s ancestral tomb early the next morning.

Because of this phone call, Mr. Song’s mood had dropped significantly. Just now he was telling everyone that he would also play two rounds of mahjong this New Years Eve. But now he did not speak a word, squatting in the kitchen and staring silently at his pots and pans instead. The fire on the stove was burning quietly, emitting a faint blue flame that illuminated people’s faces.

The large group of people looked at each other in dismay, and it was Tao Mu who went into the kitchen to coax the old man, and finally made the old man happy.

That’s right. Injustice would be revealed, and great hatred would be avenged. From now on one should live one’s days happily. There was no need to spoil one’s own New Year’s mood just because of a beast.

Whether he really thought it over or just didn’t want the youngsters to worry about him. Anyway, when Liu Yao took old man Song and Tao Mu to the grave to invite the ancestors, old man Song was very calm. When they came back for the New Year’s Eve dinner, the old man was also very happy. After playing mahjong, Tao Mu and his Yao Dad and Xiao Qi Dad joined hands and cooperated unabashedly to help the old man win.

In the end, the old man became embarrassed himself and no longer wanted to share a mahjong table with the three of them, insisting on a fair game. As a result, he went to Qin Miaoru and Gou Rixin’s table, only for the three young people who didn’t know how to respect the elderly win all his spare change.

But the old man was still very happy. Until the bell of the Spring Festival Gala rang, the old man barely even reacted. After being stunned for a while, he came back to his senses under the commotion of the group of youngsters making dumplings. It turned out that midnight had passed.

The old year was finally over and a new year was about to begin. In the room full of steaming delicious scent of dumplings, the old man silently drank two cups of warm wine.

This year had gone by so fast. The old man still remembered that in the summer, he and Tao Mu were angry with each other, this little bastard, worried that this kid was walking off the right path and would not have a good future. Who would have thought that the stinky boy came back from H Town, and not only started his own company, but also found two fathers for himself. Now, he had both a family and a career, and even got back the recipe book for the old Song family.

Why, it was like a dream.

When Mr. Song was helped by the youngsters to sleep on the bed in the main room, he was feeling a little tipsy. He remembered that at this time in previous years, he was alone in the empty courtyard with just the old TV as company, faced with the long night that would never end. On the TV, the whole family was reunited, year after year, but he was the only one left in the Song family, watching the New Year’s Eve dinner going from steaming hot dishes to cold dishes and cold bowls on the table.

The sound of falling snow rustled outside the window, the northwest wind whistled by, making howling sounds as it passed through the branches of the old locust tree, rolling the remaining snow on the branches, seeping into the old window cracks, to be swallowed along with the cold white wine down the stomach, causing the heart to also feel empty.

But this year, the courtyard, which had always been lonely and deserted, was full of people. A large group of shameless lads squatted outside to throw snowballs and make snowmen. A large group of people gathered around the dinner table to make dumplings. In previous years, the New Year’s Eve dinner, which was set out on the table as steaming hot only to grow cold, was now almost not enough for everyone to eat this year. The originally long and lonely night passed quickly in the time it took to play two rounds of mahjong. Even the wine he drank every year was now warm and steaming.

Warming the heart and bringing on a sense of intoxication.

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 was half lying on the carved wooden bed. Feeling the warm wet blankets rubbing gently on his face, neck and hands. A teardrop tumbled down and disappeared into the gray temples.

Truly, he had become old. Getting drunk with so little alcohol. So drunk that he never wanted to wake up from this dream.

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