When Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng arrived at Songji, Liu Yao, Meng Qi, dean Tao, Qin Miaoru, Gou Rixin and the rest were already all there. Even Da Mao and Xiao Pang specially came over for the feast.

Recently Mr. Song had been pondering over the recipes everyday, wanting nothing more than to make one dish a hundred or eighty times. The cooked dishes were too many to eat by themselves, so it all benefited this group of people. Especially Xiao Pang, who was prone to obesity and recently gained a roundness that could be discerned by the naked eye.

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

Seeing Tao Mu bringing someone back, Da Mao and Xiao Pang immediately brought over a plate of hydrangea scallops that Mr. Song had just made, and asked with a smile, “Brother Mu, have you eaten dinner? The dishes cooked by Mr. Song are really delicious. Do you want some?”

“I already ate outside with brother Li.” Tao Mu refused with a smile. He took off his coat and prepared for work.

Mr. Song glanced at Tao Mu and harrumphed: “Eating outside again? Are the dishes cooked outside better than at home?”

Tao Mu chuckled, leaning over to the side of the old man and declaring: “Of course it is not as delicious as your dishes. In my mind, my old man’s cooking is the best in the world. There is no one else better.”

“Little rascal!” Song Daozhen snorted, and gestured at Tao Mu: “There is a simmering pheasant and swallow’s nest soup on the stove. You and Mr. Li drink a bowl first to drive away the cold.”

Tao Mu happily responded and gave Li Xiaoheng a bowl of swallow’s nest soup. Li Xiaoheng sat on the side holding the bowl of swallow’s nest soup, gazing warmly and intently at Tao Mu’s bustling figure at the stove.

Tao Mu was preparing the chicken soup, and suddenly remembered something. He ran to the front and said to dean Tao: “Dean, brother Li has heard about our orphanage and wants to donate one million yuan to set up a charity education fund. To ensure the orphanage’s children are not affected by their livelihoods and can study at ease. However, brother Li doesn’t know much about the financial situation of our orphanage. I want to ask an auditor to check the accounts before donating.”

This was a great thing. Dean Tao immediately looked at Li Xiaoheng in surprise: “Mr. Li, is this true?”

Li Xiaoheng glanced at Tao Mu subtly, and nodded: “Yes. If dean Tao doesn’t object, I hope I can bring the auditor over tomorrow.”

“Of course it’s no problem.” Dean Tao was a little dizzy about being smashed with the one million yuan mentioned by Tao Mu. All she could think of was how much money one million yuan was worth——

After a child entered high school, the annual tuition and fees for books and board were…..After college, the annual tuition and boarding fees were…..Li Xiaoheng wanted to donate one million yuan to the orphanage, that was to say, at least XX children could finish their studies at university. Now their orphanage only had one college student, Tao Mu, because most of the children couldn’t afford to attend high school, so they went to work directly after graduating from junior high school.

If Li Xiaoheng really wanted to donate one million yuan to the orphanage, the children in the orphanage could just focus on studying in the future, and no longer need to rush out to work in a hurry to support themselves. If they could smoothly pass the high school entrance examination and enter university, they would definitely become more meaningful people to the country and society in the future. They would also have more choices in their own lives.

For the fate of these children, don’t even mention just checking the accounts, even if Li Xiaoheng wanted to take over the accounts of the orphanage, dean Tao would not refuse.

Dean Tao’s heart was beating very fast and felt like her brain had heated up from all the blood surging upwards in excitement. She opened her mouth and agreed directly, not even thinking at all about whether Li Xiaoheng’s proposal would have any adverse effects on her.

But dean Tao was indeed such a person. She was selfless, so she saw everyone as upright people like herself as well. She never guarded against the people around her, and never thought that someone would plant evidence and frame her because of greed.

It was true that as the dean of the orphanage, dean Tao failed to know the accounts and fund flow of the orphanage well——to be precise, she didn’t understand it at all. It was her dereliction of duty at work. But dean Tao, who dedicated most of her life to the orphanage, should not be framed and lose everything or even tragically dying in an ambulance because of this dereliction of duty.

They all say that one shouldn’t ask about the future when deciding to do good deeds. In the previous life, the good dean Tao didn’t get a good end. The accountant and procurement manager couple who embezzled the orphanage’s donations and pushed all the blame on dean Tao were able to buy a house and a car with the money they got from the black-hearted real estate developer.

In this life, Tao Mu would not let go of even a single one of these bad people.

Dean Tao, who was dizzy by the one million yuan that dropped from the sky, didn’t notice the slightest bit about Tao Mu’s thinking, and sat in front of Li Xiaoheng to ask questions. Li Xiaoheng patiently explained to dean Tao that he and Tao Mu would each invest 500,000 yuan to set up a charitable education fund to help children in the orphanage go to school to develop their skills, and send them to learn professional skills if they didn’t want to go to school. If the children got sick and needed to be hospitalized, the charity fund would also be responsible for funding the children’s medical expenses. Not only that, the family members of the employees of the orphanage were also within the scope of the funding.

“In this society, there are not many people who can devote themselves to public welfare undertakings like dean Tao. Therefore, we should not only do charity, but also encourage other ordinary people who are willing to do charity. And spread this kind of mentality of doing charity.” Li Xiaoheng said warmly: “In fact, I think we can cooperate with major colleges and universities so that students from colleges and universities can spare time to volunteer in orphanages. For example, use weekends to help tutor children in orphanages and/or teach children talents. And then find the media to promote and report these behaviors.”

“As long as more and more people in society pay attention to charity, devote themselves to charity, and are willing to do their part in charity, then our country’s public welfare undertakings will become better and better. For those volunteers, this experience can also become a qualification that they can talk to the recruiter when they apply for a job in the future. This is actually beneficial to both parties. If done well, it can lead to a virtuous cycle.”

Of course, the most important thing was that after more and more people begin to pay attention to this matter, those who seek personal gain under the banner of public welfare would be exposed to more people. Li Xiaoheng had a discussion with Tao Mu, and he had already deeply realized Tao Mu’s desire to punish that accountant couple.

Li Xiaoheng believed that he could not help much, but he could do a good job of contributing bricks and tiles and help throw stones at a person who fell down a well.

Tao Mu tacitly said with a smile, “Okay. Today is Thursday, how about this, let’s wait for this Saturday, and I will bring a group of Beijing Film students to volunteer. On the way, I will also notify FlyNews Entertainment to send two reporters over to do follow-up reports. At the same time it can help Xiaoheng Capital do some publicity.”

Li Xiaoheng knew that Tao Mu had understood the underlying meaning in his words. In a very good mood, he hooked up a corner of his mouth in a smile, feeling that he and Tao Mu were indeed the most tacitly cooperative partners, and that their hearts were really linked as one.

Li Xiaoheng nodded and replied: “That’s good. With the ability of Xiaoheng Capital Audit Department, I think the accounts of the orphanage can be checked in one day. If things go as expected, then we will directly announce the establishment of the charity education fund in front of the reporter. What do you think of this, dean Tao?”

Dean Tao certainly had no problems. She was so happy that her eyes were squinted from smiling so widely.

Liu Yao and Meng Qi, who once helped Tao Mu investigate the orphanage accountant, smiled at each other and waited for the good show to play out.

The next morning Tao Mu had an acting class. During the break between classes, Tao Mu mentioned to everyone about going to the orphanage as volunteers.

“You all know that I came out of the orphanage myself. Children in the orphanage are affected by the environment and generally do not learn very well. So I want to organize a volunteer activity for college students. Use the weekend breaks to tutor the children and teach them talents or something. Anyone who wants to volunteer can sign up. Those who are interested can come to me to fill out a form, which is just to briefly explain what you can teach. By the way, I will have FlyNews Entertainment keep tracking and reporting on this volunteer activity. And on Saturday, people from Xiaoheng Capital will also go to the orphanage for inspection.”

Tao Mu bluntly pulled out FlyNews Entertainment and Xiaoheng Capital to encourage these fledgling classmates who were eager to become famous. Like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey, the eyes of the students who had originally already intended to volunteer brightened even more.

As an actor in the entertainment industry what advantages could they rely on to increase their competitiveness?

Appearance, acting skills, popularity, level of national recognition and backing.

The first two were basically natural conditions, or they could be changed by relying on their own efforts. However, the latter three were not so easy to obtain.

There were as many handsome men and beautiful women in the entertainment circle as the crucian carp that crosses the river. Why should you stand out? Based on your works? Then fine, why should good work look for you? Based on your acting skills or your popularity?

So the question circled back.

Now Tao Mu was here to provide everyone with an opportunity to enhance their popularity, image and influence.

The classmates looked at each other, and immediately rushed to raise their hands: “I’ll go!”

“I can dance. I can teach the children to dance.”

“I can play the violin. I can teach them to play the violin.”

“…..”

Only Tao Mu’s three roommates were sitting on the ground next to Tao Mu calmly, and by the way helping Tao Mu with the registration. When the other students saw this, their eyes when looking at the three could not help but be jealous and envious. This was the advantage of a pavilion near the water. But towards this kind of luck, it was not something they could not get out of being envious.

No wonder these were students of the Beijing Film Acting Department, they were all very talented. Tao Mu noted down the names and talents of the enthusiastic volunteers with particular satisfaction. After class, he went to the Academic Affairs Office to report to the teacher——although there was actually no need to report this small matter. But Tao Mu was accustomed to doing things with sophistication. By notifying the school leaders he could not only seek support but also increase his good impression in their minds. Towards this he would not be humble and shrink back.

All in all, he would definitely never miss any opportunity to show his good side in front of the teachers.

A group of young and lively college students had their eagerness invoked under Tao Mu’s encouragement. Some people even took out their mobile phones and updated their FlyNews on the spot, expressing with excitement that they were going to volunteer at the orphanage on Saturday.

Soon, the classmates of other classes and other grades all heard the news. They ran to Tao Mu and condemned him for engaging in distance discrimination——why only recruit volunteers in the ’08 class 1? Class 2 and class 3 and even the sophomores and juniors also have the willingness to volunteer. Why weren’t they given a chance as well?

Gu Xun, a senior who had won the National School Hunk crown in the “National School Beauty and Hunk Selection Competition” before, had attracted a group of young fans as a result, and was currently busy with the end of term play rehearsal. Hearing this news, he took the initiative to find Tao Mu, expressing his willingness to also offer his part.

——Of course, Gu Xun’s original intention was not to promote his image or gain popularity, but simply his desire to pay back Tao Mu.

Tao Mu did not refuse, and said with a smile that he was welcome to volunteer with them in the orphanage.

Because of the FlyNews posts shared by the students of Beijing Film, the netizens who have been paying attention to the Internet gossip also noticed the news for the first time. Recently, Guo Yaning, who had been immersed in her album production, also took time out of her busy schedule to visit @ Tao Mu on FlyNews, saying, “To be able to see the place where Tao Mu grew up with my own eyes is really lucky, and I also want to be a volunteer”.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Boyuan also reposted Guo Yaning’s FlyNews. The joining of the two A-list superstars instantly pushed this volunteer activity in front of all melpn eating netizens.

The official account of FlyNews Entertainment also stepped forward and announced that it would shoot Saturday’s volunteer activities into a video and post it to BulletScreen.

When the Beijing Film students who had snatched this volunteer activity saw this, they were instantly overwhelmed with excitement. All of them began imagining in their minds about how they would behave in order to attract the attention of netizens. Some people couldn’t even sleep from the excitement, and stood in front of the mirror with their flashlight in the middle of the night to rehearse how they would comport themselves.

——Not afraid of ghosts it seemed.

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

But what they didn’t know, when the day of volunteer activities arrived, it would not be any of them that attracted the attention of netizens. But two unexpected people.

And the so-called social voluntary activities program almost became a legal program.

TN: Aiya! A new month of updates, I know you’re all hungry for it 😉 But this translator usually like to take the first week of the month off, for those of you who are wondering~

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The entire Zhang family had experienced Tao Mu’s methods before. Even if Tao Mu decided to be kind and teach them craftsmanship now, Zhang Dafu and his wife still did not forget how Tao Mu dealt with them back then.

So they must inform him of the matter regarding the Tao Haiguo couple. In case Tao Haiguo and his wife suddenly show up in front of Tao Mu to make trouble and as a result cause Tao Mu to take his anger out on them because of this.

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

Their days were finally looking up now, and Zhang Dafu and his wife really wanted to live their days well.

Before Tao Mu could speak, Zhang Dafu elbowed his wife from behind and said with an ingratiating smile: “The old Tao family is really not good people, but you can rest assured, Mr. Tao. I am the one who exposed the recording. Even if Tao Haiguo and his wife are really shameless and come to trouble you, I still have some methods to deal with him.”

Zhang Dafu only had one thought in his head now, that was, since he had received the benefits from Tao Mu he was even willing to be Tao Mu’s dog in this life if he had to. And what was the purpose of raising a dog? Of course it was to guard and look after the home. When a hostile guest came knocking it would pounce and bite the trespasser for its owner.

If Tao Haiguo and his wife really dared to trouble Tao Mu, they would have to get pass him first.

Zhang Dafu thought fiercely, proudly believing that his awareness was particularly high. Tao Mu glared at Zhang Dafu in irritation: “What are you thinking about. Let me tell you, this matter has nothing to do with you, and you shouldn’t get involved in it. When you gave me the recording I promised to give you a million yuan business. Now the storefront is also found for you, and the craftsmanship is handed over to you. From now on, you will do your business honestly. Don’t go out and fool around anymore.”

Zhang Dafu secretly glanced at Tao Mu and saw that Tao Mu was serious. He immediately bowed his back and smiled ingratiatingly, “Ai, I understand.”

Tao Mu was not completely reassured, and once again urged Zhang Dafu not to do things behind his back, especially not to use those shameless and underhanded tricks like intimidate Tao Haiguo and his wife. Only until Zhang Dafu really took his warning to heart did Tao Mu leave.

Before leaving, Zhang Dafu suddenly remembered something, and promised: “Mr. Tao, don’t worry. I will have Hanya resign from the restaurant where she works and return to school. If she can still be admitted to university in the coming year, I will pay for her studies.”

Tao Mu didn’t say anything, he didn’t even turn his head back.

After Tao Mu left, Zhang Dafu’s wife elbowed Zhang Dafu, winking and asking: “Why, does this CEO Tao have intentions towards our Hanya?”

Zhang Dafu sneered: “What are you thinking. What kind of person is Mr. Tao, what kind of beautiful girl hasn’t he seen. Just say Beijing Film, so long as Tao Mu shows any interest, don’t know how many of those future female stars would tush over at his call. Is your niece beautiful? Or is her figure good? Or does she know to dress up? Or can she speak well? She looks as plain as plain noodles and don’t even know how to make small talk. How could Tao Mu be interested in her?”

Aunt Zhang pouted: “Since he doesn’t have any interest in your niece, why are you still rushing to pay for that unlucky star to go to school?”

“That’s not an unlucky star we have here. It’s our family’s lucky star treasure.” Zhang Dafu was for once patient and explained: “If it wasn’t for our niece, would Tao Mu even know who I am? I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to work for him, right? Besides, when I went to Tao Mu I promised I would pay for her to finish college if he gave me the money. Now that Mr. Tao has fulfilled his side of the deal, we can’t assume that there is no such thing, right. “

Aunt Zhang curled her lips, disapproving: “I don’t think so. If Tao Mu really doesn’t have any interest, why would he even bother with you? It may be that he can’t put down his pride. As the saying goes, when girls chase boys it’s easy to get results. So long as it’s a male they will be interested in this kind of thing. In my opinion, don’t let Hanya go back to school. Let her work in our shop. Opposite is Beijing Film, like a pavilion near the water, such a good opportunity (TN: idiom meaning using one’s proximity to the powerful to obtain favor). Have Hanya appear in front of him now and then, while I then spread the news around in the shop. If she can seize this opportunity, she will be the wife of a rich man in the future. Isn’t that better than going to college?”

Their old Zhang family could also benefit from association.

Zhang Dafu became alert, and hurriedly said: “What nonsense! I think you have gone crazy thinking about money! Who do you take Tao Mu for? He will be an actor and a star in the future. Have you ever seen a big celebrity find an ordinary girl outside the entertainment circle to be his girlfriend? They find either a wealthy young lady or a female celebrity. It must be of the same status. I tell you, you must either do business honestly or go back and take care of the kids at home. Don’t you make trouble for me. Why don’t you even think deeper? If you dare to talk nonsense in the store and let those paparazzi hear it later, then that’s spreading rumors. What happened to the old Tao couple who spread rumors about Tao Mu, did you forget? Is your brain soaked in water?”

“If you really anger Tao Mu he doesn’t even need to do anything else, just take the shop back. At that time you can just expect to go back to suffering poverty all your life.”

Aunt Zhang also felt a little afraid after thinking of what happened to the Tao couple. She mumbled, “What did I say…..I just feel like he has that meaning…..”

“If he does have that meaning, it’s his own business. Anyway, you are not allowed to get involved in this, and you are not allowed to talk nonsense.” Zhang Dafu said, still not reassured: “Go home and make it clear to your sister as well. The way I see it, you two are idiots who are greedy for money but have no brains. Don’t think that you can climb up along the pole, turn into a phoenix just by flying up on a branch. A house bird is a house bird, don’t waste your energy daydreaming!”

There was something else Zhang Dafu didn’t say. Tao Mu had been working at Night since he was a child, and both of his fathers leaned that way. Under the influence, who knew if he didn’t have that preference too. You don’t even know if he liked men or women so what are you even doing daydreaming over there by yourself!

Tao Mu was completely unaware of the entanglement between Zhang Dafu and his wife. After school that night, Tao Mu called Li Xiaoheng again and asked him out for dinner.

“You want to open another account with Xiaoheng Capital, and also want to borrow an auditor?” Li Xiaoheng put the peeled braised prawns in Tao Mu’s bowl and said with a gentle smile: “Can I ask you what you want to do?”

“It’s about the orphanage.” Tao Mu swallowed the shrimp in one bite, a little embarrassed: “I bought a shop with that 1 million yuan I took out, situated right at the back door of our school. Now it is being used for Zhang Dafu to do business. So now the money to build a charity fund for the orphanage is gone. Besides, I was negligent before. Directly giving one million to the orphanage is not such a good idea after all as dean Tao doesn’t know how to invest. It’s better to leave it in Xiaoheng Capital, even the most conservative financial management is better than putting it in the bank for that bit of interest.”

“As for the auditor, I want to take this opportunity to check the accounts of the orphanage. You don’t know, towards money dean Tao is a little confused and unclear. Therefore, the accounts of our orphanage have been unclear for so many years. I had someone check the accountant who helps the orphanage manage the accounts, and found that she actually bought two houses within ten years. And her husband is also in charge of the purchase channels at our orphanage. I keep feeling that something is wrong. So I want a thorough check over.”

Li Xiaoheng understood, “No problem. Whenever you need the auditor, just call me directly.”

“Then tomorrow.” Tao Mu said: “This charity education fund, I am going to donate in the name of Xiaoheng Capital…..Don’t refuse. I am also trying to make it so that you have a logical reason to carry out the auditing matters. You don’t know, our dean Tao is very soft-hearted. That accountant and purchasing manager have been in the orphanage for more than ten years. If I donate in my name, and if they try to make a quibble, I am afraid that dean Tao will be fooled by them and following along in persuading me to keep things quiet. It’s better to be formal in the name of Xiaoheng Capital, so that they have nothing to say. Besides, Xiaoheng Capital originally had plans to shift the focus of investment to China. Establishing a charity fund in advance will also support the company’s future development and towards policy support there will also be advantages.”

Tao Mu liked to kill two birds with one stone when he did things, and his mindset was also very firm. The decision he made would not change easily. Li Xiaoheng didn’t intend to persuade him from it either. Not to mention that he liked to do things together very much, just to say that the establishment of a charity education fund itself was beneficial to the image of Xiaoheng Capital.

“Since the fund is established in the name of Xiaoheng Capital, I can’t let you take out the money yourself.”

Tao Mu frowned and was about to retort but Li Xiaoheng directly clamped a lotus root with his chopsticks to block Tao Mu’s mouth: “How about this. We each set up this charitable education fund with 500,000 yuan. As for the specific management of the fund, it can be handed over to Xiaoheng Capital. The company happens to have a department dedicated to charity. It’s just that before, most of the charity activities of Xiaoheng Capital involved international organizations. Doing charity in China is the first time.”

Tao Mu…..Tao Mu was already stunned speechless.

He chewed the lotus root in his mouth in a dumbfounded manner, swallowed it, and after a while he came back to his senses: “Brother Li, you can’t be like this.”

How can there be such a thing as gagging people with vegetables before they have finished speaking.

Li Xiaoheng smiled and asked knowingly: “What did I do?”

Before Tao Mu could speak, Li Xiaoheng asked again: “Let’s talk about you first? Why are you so good to the Zhang family? You teach them craftsmanship and find a shop for them. I remember the girl from the Zhang family was one of the girls you saved from the human traffickers in H Town. Did you save it in your hand? You not only saved the beauty, you also helped her family to do business. You don’t have feelings for the girl, do you?”

How did he come to such a conclusion!

Tao Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Unexpectedly, his business partner, who had always been the very image of an elite, would be so gossipy in private.

“I don’t have feelings for her. Our genders are different, how can I have feelings for her?” Tao Mu smirked, and looked sideways at his business partner: “But I didn’t expect that, big brother Li, you usually look so serious but you’re actually quite gossipy underneath.”

Li Xiaoheng’s mood was already flying from the bottom of his heart. He completely didn’t hear Tao Mu’s teasing comment at all. His head was only left with Tao Mu’s words “Our genders are different, how can I have feelings for her”. Forcibly resisting the throbbing in his heart, Li Xiaoheng asked with a serious face: “Do you like men?”

“En.” Tao Mu didn’t think there was any problem with this. It was already 2008, and the country had already allowed same-sex marriages for many years. There was nothing to hide about his sexual orientation.

Besides, his Yao Dad and Xiao Qi Dad were of the same sex and also married. Tao Mu glanced at Li Xiaoheng: “Why, is brother Li a conservative?”

Regardless of the stage of social development, there would always be people who fear and reject people or things they don’t understand. Don’t even mention 2008, even ten years later, a large number of people still hated homosexuals and thought that homosexuality was a mental illness. Especially in the entertainment industry, artists who dared to announce their sexuality were even rarer.

For the sake of his future acting career, Tao Mu did not intend to make his sexual orientation known to the world. But Tao Mu didn’t intend to hide it from the people around him either.

However, Tao Mu did not expect that Li Xiaoheng, a capitalist who came back from abroad, was actually a member of the conservatives. It was a headache to think about it, if Li Xiaoheng was really a homophobe then he had to think about how to try his best to pay attention to certain things in front of Li Xiaoheng in the future—

“No.” Li Xiaoheng resisted the surging emotions in his heart, and even the tips of his ears were a little red. He said, “I’m the same.”

As Li Xiaoheng spoke, he placed two shrimps that he peeled in excitement in Tao Mu’s bowl, and said inexplicably, “I like men too.”

Tao Mu: “…..” If you like men, then you like men. Why is your expression so serious and your aura so scary?

Tao Mu secretly slandered in his heart. Suddenly he realized something, weren’t the two of them discussing the establishment of a charitable education fund? How did the topic go off and veer into the realm of sexual orientation?

——Sure enough, you can’t be business partners with a good friend. When talking with each other, going off topic was a happenstance.

Li Xiaoheng smiled and said, “In any case we’re having dinner now, why not chat as we eat? You can make appointments for business affairs.”

“By the way, do you have any plans after dinner tonight?” Li Xiaoheng suddenly seemed refreshed and energized, and offered: “If not, how about going to the movies?”

Go to the movies again?

Tao Mu raised his eyebrows, not very interested in going to the movies.

“Then what do you want to do?” Li Xiaoheng put down his chopsticks, and there was a hint of eagerness in his gentle smile.

Tao Mu originally wanted to say return to work at FlyNews headquarters, but when he saw Li Xiaoheng like this, he was a bit unable to say so.

After thinking about it, he suggested: “How about you come back to Song Ji with me. Recently, our old man is busy studying recipes and tinkering with the dishes used in ancestor worship. I also have to learn eight dishes.”

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

“If you are free, you can come with me. I’ll let you taste my craft.” Tao Mu said, and couldn’t help boasting: “I have made some really good pea cakes and kidney bean cakes recently. Tonight I plan to learn how to simmer deer tendons and shredded chicken white fungus in a casserole dish. How about I treat you to a late night snack after I’ve made it?”

Li Xiaoheng smiled, and agreed: “Okay.”

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The decoration in the cafe was particularly elegant, and there was also a female drama student working part-time as a pianist in the lobby. Mellow music flowed from the dancing fingertips to linger in the quiet and elegant lobby. The whole environment was incompatible with Zhang Dafu’s military coat.

Even if it was the second time, Zhang Dafu still hunched his shoulders uncomfortably. After the two of them sat down at a table near the corner, Zhang Dafu said eagerly: “Mr. Tao, uh, the case of Tao Haiguo and his wife is over now. Say, about the reward you promised me before…..”

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

Tao Mu paused when he heard the words: “Is it over already?” He had been busy with the Sheng’an Group and the Song family recently, and he hadn’t paid attention to the Tao Haiguo couple at all.

However, the lawsuit was fought by Zhou Shenxing. Zhou Shenxing didn’t say anything to him though.

Just as Tao Mu was thinking about this, his phone rang suddenly. He took it out and saw that it was from Zhou Shenxing.

“Mr. Tao, we won the lawsuit against your adoptive parents who were instructed to slander you. I have just come out of the court, and I need to report some information with you. Shall I go look for you now, or do you want to stop by at FlyNews headquarters tonight?”

Just came out of the court…..

Tao Mu glanced at Zhang Dafu who was sitting across from him with a rather exasperated look. This guy was really too eager.

“I’ll stop by FlyNews headquarters tonight!”

After hanging up the phone, Tao Mu looked at Zhang Dafu who had an ingratiating smile on his face: “You are quite well informed.”

Zhang Dafu smiled and said: “Isn’t this related to my own interests? I have been keeping a close eye on it. Today, at the trial, I specifically asked my wife to go to the court to listen. As soon as the result came out, she immediately called me. I just want to share the good news with you as soon as possible.”

“You just want your one million.” Tao Mu snorted, too lazy to bother with Zhang Dafu. As long as it was for money, this guy dared to say anything and could say anything.

Zhang Dafu chuckled, and didn’t argue: “We poor people can only rely on this one chance to make a fortune. How can I not be eager? Mr. Tao, you are a generous and magnanimous person, so please go easy on me and quickly settle this matter. Otherwise I can’t even sleep well at night. To tell you the truth, I haven’t slept much in the past few months. Take a look at how much of my hair has fallen out. It was quite dense when I came to look for you last time. But now I’m almost bald. “

“Come on, you, don’t wag your tongue at me.” (TN: to speak glibly) Tao Mu chuckled, and thought that Zhang Dafu was actually quite interesting when he was not acting like a scoundrel.

“I thought about your matter and I also know the situation in your family. It’s indeed not easy supporting such a big family without any one of you having a proper job.” Tao Mu said, frowning again: “But you and your family. Honestly speaking, none of you have any academic qualifications or ability, and moreover your character is also not all that good. I don’t feel at ease letting you guys out in society. After all, this business is my idea and I’m afraid you guys will scam and cheat people in my name, something I really can’t afford to lose face on.”

Zhang Dafu hurriedly smiled ingratiatingly: “That’s not possible. What kind of person am I? I might not be good at anything else, but at least my eyes are sharp. People who shouldn’t be offended I will never offend, and things that shouldn’t be done I will never do. Honestly, not only are you afraid of losing face, I am also afraid of getting into trouble.”

Zhang Dafu’s words sounded pleasant. But after a pause, still a little unwilling to give up, he continued: “Of course. If you find it troublesome, you can just give me this million directly. I have no objection.”

“In your dreams.” Tao Mu glared at Zhang Dafu, got up and said, “Stop talking nonsense. Come with me.”

“Huh?” Zhang Dafu followed Tao Mu with a bewildered expression and left the cafe. They made a turn and entered the street behind Beijing Film, stopping in front of two shops with rolling shutters installed on both.

There was already a group of people standing in front of the two shops, four men and two women. The men had a sturdy and muscular build, and the tallest one was at least 1.9 meters tall. One of the two women was in her twenties and had hair that was dyed blue, wearing only a white cotton-padded jacket, small leather skirt and high boots despite the winter chill. Her face was also applied with heavy makeup and looked like a female ghost. With just a glance, one knew she was not easy to mess with. The other woman was an auntie in her fifties, dressed in a cotton-padded jacket, and looked very simple and friendly with a smiling face.

“You are here. Did you eat lunch?” Tao Mu nodded at the several people and asked, “Brother Gou, how are you doing?”

Qin Miaoru spoke first: “We came over when we received the call. We haven’t eaten yet.”

Gou Rixin smiled honestly: “Fully recovered a long time ago.”

Then he thought of something and rubbed his head, “I’m just a bit ashamed. Say, it’s you who helped me out for my treatment. Now that I’m discharged from the hospital, I have to trouble you to find me work as well.”

Gou Rixin was discharged from the hospital and was directly signed by Tao Mu to FlyNews Entertainment. Although FlyNews was not involved in the business of signing artists, Tao Mu would sooner or later set up his own studio. In any case, Gou Rixin was just a martial arts extra, so it was better to follow him than to go back to being an extra.

The response towards this year’s National School Beauty and Hunk selection contest was very good, and Tao Mu planned to host another talent show next summer. When the competition was over, he would hit the iron while it was hot, and shoot an idol drama, web drama or something. At that time, everywhere would be needing people. Even if Gou Rixin didn’t want to be an actor, he could also help run the set and learn how to be an agent. In any case, he knew the other well, and using familiar people was always less worrisome than using outsiders.

He also told Gou Rixin about this plan. Gou Rixin really didn’t expect Tao Mu to plan for him so far into the future, and he was immediately touched. He felt his blood rush in excitement, feeling like he had met a confidante worth dying for.

“We are all brothers, don’t say anymore.” Tao Mu smiled: “Since you all haven’t eaten yet, I’ll treat you all to eat Mongolian hotpot later. Let’s go and see the store first.”

Tao Mu signaled Qin Miaoru to open the shutters of the two shops, one of which Tao Mu was going to turn into an Internet cafe. Qin Miaoru’s Internet cafe in Houhai was particularly prosperous, earning millions of yuan in just half a year. Not only did she pay back the money she had borrowed from Tao Mu, but she also had surplus to expand her business.

According to Qin Miaoru’s plan, she originally wanted to follow Liu Yao and open another internet cafe next to Night. At that time, both sides could also take care of each other. But high-end places were too expensive, the rent couldn’t be afforded, and there was no particularly suitable store in Houhai either.

When discussing with Tao Mu, Tao Mu just happened to be pondering about how to settle Zhang Dafu. In the end, it was old man Song who came up with a solution and said casually at the dinner table: “…..If it doesn’t work, then open the Internet cafe near Tao Mu’s school. At that time, Xiao Qin runs an Internet cafe, and surnamed Zhang and his family can do some fast food business nearby. Just let Xiao Qin and the others keep a watch on them. If they dare not do business properly, then just have those big muscular guys frequent their store. See if they dare not do business properly.”

No wonder they say that having an elder in the family was the same as possessing a treasure.

This idea was the best of both worlds. Everyone’s problems were solved.

So Tao Mu immediately looked for a suitable store near Beijing Film. It just so happened that there were two shops next to each other on the back street for rent. The larger one was more than 500 square meters, with a total of three floors. It used to be a photo studio, mainly for taking portraits for students. Later, because Tao Mu’s photography skills amazed everyone with a single brilliant feat during the military training, instantly conquering his schoolmates from freshman to senior. Now whenever Beijing Film students wanted to take art photos, so long as they were not in a hurry, they would all shamelessly wait for Tao Mu to take some time out to help them. Even if the wait was a year or a half, they would still rather choose quality over speed.

Tao Mu was also accustomed to shooting photos outside every time he took pictures. Most of the time, he liked to use spots inside the school, or directly draw people to the photo studio where he worked part-time before, and solicit business for his former boss. After a while, the business at the photo studio just outside the school became less and less, and add to the fact the landlord kept increasing rent, the owner of the photo studio couldn’t continue anymore, closing the shop in a fit of anger and going back to his hometown to get married.

Who knew that this shop would now benefit Qin Miaoru. She came over for a look and found that the three floor shop was just right, with the first floor being the lobby, the second floor being private rooms and the third floor for e-sports, the design of the shop was quite authentic.

As for the smaller shop next to it, it was only slightly more than 70 square feet. It used to sell milk tea but the landlord was in a hurry to use money and wanted to sell the shop. So Tao Mu used the one million he took out of Xiaoheng Capital to pay the down payment and decoration of this small shop. As for the landlord, he received the full payment in his bank account.

Tao Mu said to Zhang Dafu: “I count you 200,000 yuan a year in rent for this shop. I won’t charge rent for the first five years. But after five years, you can either start anew or pay me rent according to market prices. Do you understand?”

Zhang Dafu wrinkled his face: “Mr. Tao, I’ll call you grandfather, okay? I know you have kind intentions. But, what can I do with this shop? I, I can’t do anything! You can’t be thinking of having a grown man like me sit here and sell milk tea, right? Just look at me, do you think those little girls from Beijing Film will dare to come in?”

Huh, so he was quite self-aware.

Tao Mu smiled: “You don’t have to worry about it. I already talked to my old man. This shop will sell braised chicken rice in brown sauce. Tomorrow you will come with your wife, and Aunt Gou, the three of you will learn to cook it with me. It just so happens that this shop will need half a month to be renovated. I estimate you’ll all learn how to cook it by that time.”

“I have already arranged the ingredients purchasing channel. I will give you the phone number. After the store opens, someone will deliver the goods to you regularly. When the business starts, you are not allowed to be greedy and change to a cheaper channel.”

Zhang Dafu promised again and again, his small eyes glanced at Aunt Gou, and asked: “Then this elder sister is the manager of our store?”

“Don’t be petty.” Tao Mu rolled his eyes: “Aunt Gou just wants to learn how to cook with me. She will not be working in your store, normally she just cleans the Internet cafe and helps to cook by the way.”

Zhang Dafu immediately pleaded guilty: “I didn’t mean that.”

“Enough of you. Don’t think that just because I don’t find someone to keep a watch on you, you can play tricks. You are not allowed to buy goods from bad channels when you are doing business in the future. I have a camera installed in the kitchen which is connected to Sister Qin’s internet cafe. Sister Qin will help me keep a watch when she has the time. If she finds out that you dare to be careless on hygiene and food safety I will definitely not spare you. What’s up with that expression? Are you dissatisfied with me?”

“How dare I.” Zhang Dafu defended with a bitter face: “I’m just worried. Mr. Tao, I know you are kind and want to find a living for our family. But our family, how can we do business? To tell you the truth, even if you wipe out my rent I don’t have the money to buy the goods. What braised chicken rice, I can’t even afford chicken feathers let alone chicken meat.”

“Don’t cry about being poor with me. I didn’t plan to let you pay.” Tao Mu gave Zhang Dafu an annoyed glare: “Starting from next month, I will pay for the ingredients for the following six months. I will settle the account directly with the supplier. You will just be responsible for running the shop, and I won’t take any of the money you make. But if you want to hire more people when your business becomes good, I won’t pay the money.”

Zhang Dafu’s expression was joyful, and he immediately rubbed his hands and said: “Aiyo, how embarrassing. Elder Tao, you are a living bodhisattva. As the old saying goes, knowledge is the best charity. Elder Tao has the style of the ancients.”

“Enough of you.” Tao Mu felt a headache. In just such a short time, he had risen from Mr. Tao to Elder Tao. This person really didn’t want face at all.

“Tell your wife. When doing business, be courteous and polite. Don’t make trouble for me, and your whole family can make money happily. If you dare to make trouble for me…..”

Tao Mu trailed off, squinting his eyes and looking at Zhang Dafu threateningly. Zhang Dafu nodded and bowed his waist very tactfully: “You can rest assured. I am sure to do things steadily and earn money honestly, and I will never shame your elderness.”

“Don’t elder this and elder that. You make me sound like I’m eighty.” Tao Mu waved his hand and said with annoyance: “Go away. Tomorrow at 12 o’clock noon, bring your wife over on time.”

“Ai!” Zhang Dafu didn’t expect things to go so smoothly. To be honest, although he believed in Tao Mu’s character, before coming, Zhang Dafu also guessed pettyly whether Tao Mu would not admit to it, or regretted it, and didn’t want to give him the money.

Zhang Dafu even imagined what he would do if Tao Mu really didn’t give him the money. Find a reporter to disclose this? He couldn’t afford to provoke Tao Mu and the group of people behind Tao Mu. But if he just swallowed his bitterness, he also won’t feel reconciled.

This had caused him much torment, and he indeed really had trouble falling asleep in the past few months. He had imagined all kinds of situations but he didn’t expect Tao Mu to be so righteous, directly giving over a livelihood that would support his family.

Don’t look at Tao Mu just waving away the rent and supplying the ingredients, seeming as if he didn’t pay him a penny, but Tao Mu was willing to teach him a skill.

Who was Tao Mu? Beijing Song Ji’s fame was probably known to most of China and not just in Beijing. Tao Mu was the only disciple of the old man Song. There was no question regarding his cooking skills. Even if he just taught their family a single dish, with the Song Ji brand and Tao Mu, this business would definitely not go wrong.

Besides, what kind of area was this? This was the Second Ring Road. The 70 square meter shop only counted him 200,000 yuan a year in rent, five years without rent increase and no payment, and he didn’t even need to pay for the purchase of ingredients the first six months.

Zhang Dafu was not an ignorant person. Although he was a scoundrel and hoodlum, he also knew clearly who treated him well.

Tao Mu was a busy big boss with his own affairs to take care of, and yet he was still willing to solve the mess in their family. Thinking about giving their family a means of making a livelihood instead of just lightly throwing a million at them. For a capable person like Tao Mu, throwing out a million in cash was actually much easier than teaching them a skill.

But Tao Mu didn’t use money to dispatch him. Although Zhang Dafu had a rascally smile on his face, he really appreciated this in his heart.

For so many years, only Tao Mu really regarded him as a person. Treated him as a man who could be the pillar of his family. Felt that he could do things and make things happen. Just for this, he had to work hard and not shame Tao Mu——

Of course, the most important thing was that Zhang Dafu was afraid of Tao Mu’s methods, and even more afraid of Liu Yao’s background. He really didn’t dare to do anything to embarrass Tao Mu. Zhang Dafu could still remember how Tao Mu dealt with him before. Although he didn’t care about other people’s opinions it was still really uncomfortable to be pointed and scolded at by neighbors and strangers.

And that matter had nothing to do with Tao Mu. It was just because he didn’t like that they wanted to blackmail the Yun family and the hospital, yet Tao Mu could use such a ruthless method to deal with them. If he dared to make trouble in the food shop this time, Zhang Dafu guessed that it would not be something as simple as just being scolded. With Liu Yao and that group of people supporting Tao Mu, he could at least expect to be beaten to the point he couldn’t even get out of bed.

Zhang Dafu was particularly self-aware, and when he returned home that day, he explained to his wife carefully.

At noon the next day, the two arrived more than half an hour earlier and waited for a long time outside, shivering in the winter chill. Only then did they see Tao Mu who came out of class, and Aunt Gou who came with Tao Mu. Now she was much smarter, waiting in the Beijing Film cafeteria which was especially warm.

“You’re quite punctual.” Tao Mu glanced at Zhang Dafu and his wife, opened the rolling shutter, and threw the key to Zhang Dafu: “I was in a hurry yesterday and forgot about this. You keep the key. The renovation will start tomorrow, and if you are worried, come over and keep a watch if you want.”

Zhang Dafu bowed with his wife and said with an ingratiating smile: “Towards the people employed by Mr. Tao, how can we not rest assured.”

“After all, it is your own business you’re running.” Tao Mu waved his hand. He gave the supplier in the morning a call, and the other had already delivered the ingredients in advance.

“I’ll teach you to practice hands first, it’s very simple, and you will learn it soon.”

Braised chicken rice was a fast-food snack, and actually didn’t require any secret recipe, let alone knife skills. Basically, those who knew how to cook could learn it just by looking at the process.

Zhang Dafu could be passed over, but his wife was actually a very hardworking person, and she did things very quickly. After learning with Tao Mu for more than an hour, she practically got the hang of it.

“Like this for now.” Tao Mu looked at the time, and seeing that his next class was about to start he washed his hands: “Go back and practice some more. Call me anytime you don’t understand something.”

Zhang Dafu’s wife was very fierce and bossy at home, but in front of Tao Mu, she didn’t even dare to breathe. Hearing Tao Mu’s words, she immediately agreed, and said hurriedly: “Uh, thank you Mr. Tao.”

“You’re welcome.” Tao Mu smiled: “I promised Zhang Dafu. After all, his recording helped me a lot.”

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

Zhang Dafu’s wife also knew how the recording came to be, and her face flushed red in embarrassment. Tao Haiguo and his wife lost the lawsuit and now they stood outside their door every day and accused Zhang Dafu of selling out his friends to seek riches. The neighbors also pointed and whispered.

“…..I’m not afraid of anything else. I’m just afraid Tao Haiguo and his wife will come to you to make trouble after they learn about this.”

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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.

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