Tao Mu had been living a particularly comfortable life recently. So much so that when Tao Mu received a call from Yao Shengan on New Year's Eve, he almost didn't react.
"I've arrived in Yanjing." Yao Sheng'an's voice was hoarse and his tone was heavy on the phone. He knew what he was getting into.
"Today is New Year's Eve. According to the old rules of the Song family, we have to go to the graves to invite our ancestors home for the New Year and prepare dishes for the ancestor worship. Should I go there today?"
At that time, Tao Mu was at Song's, preparing various incense and candle offerings with Old Man Song for the ancestral graves. Hearing this, he frowned: "Didn't I tell you to come back on New Year's Day?"
The Song family does have the custom of bringing ancestors home to celebrate the New Year on New Year’s Eve. But the old man said that the ancestors of the Song family have been frustrated for so many years, and this year they finally have a chance to hold their heads high, so they need to spend a peaceful year in peace and quiet. It won’t be too late to make Yao Shengan, the bastard who betrayed his teacher and ancestors, kowtow and apologize when we send our ancestors back on New Year’s Day.
Of course, Yao Shengan could guess what the old man meant. If it was a few months earlier, Yao Sheng'an would not be willing to come - he valued face the most in his life, but Tao Mu forced him to kowtow and apologize in front of the Song family's ancestral tomb, which completely tore off the face of Yao Sheng'an and even the Yao family and stepped on it hard.
But the current situation of the Yao family is different from what it was before.
Ever since Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng attacked the Sheng'an Group in the stock market, they forced the Yao family to give up 20% of their shares in exchange for peace. The Yao family’s control over the board of directors of Saint Ann Group is no longer as strong as before. Later, the media exposed the scandal that the eldest brother-in-law of the Yao family had to use gutter oil as a substitute for good quality oil to embezzle purchasing funds because he owed a huge amount of high-interest loans, causing the reputation of the Saint Ann Group to plummet. The stock price plummeted, severely damaging the company's vitality.
The board of directors naturally holds management accountable. The first to bear the brunt were the Yao family members 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 the old grudge between Yao Sheng'an and the Song family, and the person involved in the gutter oil incident was the eldest son-in-law of the Yao family.
Some shareholders believe that the Yao family is to blame for the current situation of the Saint An Group. Some people wanted to hold the Yao family accountable, so they forced Yao Shengan to resign from the position of chairman on the grounds that he was unworthy of the position. As for the eldest brother-in-law of the Yao family who dared to embezzle public funds to purchase gutter oil, he should be handed over to the relevant departments and subject to severe punishment by law.
Those who can make such a suggestion are naturally the victims who were forced to lose their families or flee far away due to Yao Shengan’s unfair competition tactics. Because of Mr. Song’s decision, these people now hold 10% of the shares of Sheng’an Group. This is not a small amount, at least enough to initiate a shareholders' meeting.
Things change every thirty years. When Yao Shengan drove these defeated men out of Shanghai, he probably never thought that these people would be able to come back, and even enter the Shengan Group and sit in the seats of the shareholders' meeting in a dignified manner.
However, the victors take their places, and when Yao Shengan no longer has any way to control the overall situation, the former losers and victims will naturally stand up and seek revenge.
They want Yao Shengan to be in trouble and the Yao family to fall into disgrace. Therefore, whatever Yao Shengan insisted on, these people would definitely oppose it. As things developed, they naturally joined forces with other shareholders to remove Yao Shengan as chairman. And all other members of the Yao family were kicked out of the management.
Once the victims turn the tables, they will naturally be entitled to give the fallen dogs a beating.
Many shareholders of Saint Ann Group were old friends of the Yao family. However, the Yao family's performance was truly disappointing. The share price of Saint-Ann Group plummeted. The restaurant chain is deserted. When business is bad, it is naturally the shareholders' interests that suffer. Money is a powerful thing. After several struggles, some people were naturally convinced by the new shareholders that Yao Shengan and the Yao family should indeed be held responsible for the current situation of the Shengan Group. They want Yao Shengan to resign. Even a shareholders meeting was initiated for this purpose.
At the critical moment, it was the Shen family's father and son who stood up and temporarily saved Yao Shengan's seat - it must be admitted that the Shen family did have evil intentions in the matter of Sheng'an Group, but they did know Yao Shengan's abilities better. Given the current situation of the Sheng'an Group, without Yao Sheng'an as the mainstay, even if the group does not fall apart, it is very likely to be unable to recover and fall from the ranks of Shanghai's top food groups.
The Shen family father and son worked hard and schemed to acquire 25% of the shares of Saint Ann Group. They did not do this to waste their money. Previously, it had suffered heavy losses due to Xiaoheng Capital's attack on Saint Ann Group. The Shen family doesn't want to go through so much trouble anymore.
Therefore, Yao Shengan's seat must be retained temporarily. At least until the Sheng'an Group reconsolidates its position as a catering giant in Shanghai, Yao Sheng'an, the chairman and founder, cannot leave. As for the idiot who embezzled public funds to pay off loan sharks, naturally no one cares.
However, Yao Shengan's position as chairman was temporarily retained. But he also has to show shareholders his ability, turn the tide, and make the board of directors have confidence in him again.
But the reputation of Sheng'an Group is so bad that Yao Sheng'an can't think of how to turn the situation around for a while. He locked himself in the office for a long time. After much thought, the only way out actually lies with the Song family.
At this moment, Yao Shengan was particularly grateful for his action of being soft-hearted and inexplicably writing the recipes he had studied for many years into the "Song Family Cookbook" and returning it together with the "Song Family Cookbook" to the Song family.
Back then, the old man of the Song family taught his children to "just do good things and don't worry about the future", but Yao Shengan used to sneer at it and didn't take it seriously. Thinking about it now, it is true that when you think there is no way out, there is always a way out. Perhaps the reason why the old man of the Song family taught his children to "just do good things and don't worry about the future" was to enjoy the joy of being saved from a desperate situation at this moment.
Yao Shengan wanted to pin his hopes of clearing the Yao family's name on his trip to the Song family's grave to kowtow and apologize.
Tao Mu naturally knew this idea. Although after the trip to Shanghai, Tao Mu seemed to no longer pay attention to the Sheng'an Group and the Yao family. However, the victims who had received the favor of Mr. Song had always wanted to repay Tao Mu and Mr. Song for their kindness - of course, this was also to get close to Tao Mu and Li Xiaoheng who was hiding behind Tao Mu. Therefore, it is reasonable to call from time to time to report the current situation of the Yao family.
Therefore, Tao Mu knew the current situation of the Yao family very well. By putting himself in other people's shoes, he could understand why Yao Shengan was so positive. If he were Yao Shengan, I'm afraid he would not miss such a good opportunity to whitewash himself and show weakness.
He once said that people admire the strong and pity the weak. This may not necessarily be a good thing. Tao Mu himself had taken advantage of this, and now that it was Yao Shengan, this old bastard would naturally not let it go. He calculated that there would always be some keyboard saints on the Internet who were willing to speak without any concern, and who, without knowing the truth, would always stand on the side of the weak without distinguishing right from wrong.
For example, the Tao Haiguo couple who had tried to touch Tao Mu's porcelain. Another example is Yao Shengan, who is now an old hero at the end of his career.
I still remember that the Sheng'an Group oppressed 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 weak position, so a group of people sympathized with Tao Mu and the Song family and denounced the actions of the Sheng'an Group.
Today, the Saint Ann Group is badly damaged and barely surviving. Yao Sheng'an, an old man, dragged his white-haired and sick body all the way from Shanghai to Beijing just to kowtow and apologize at the Song family's tomb. I’m afraid that if someone sees this scene, they will forget the many lives that were tragically lost in the Song family back then, as well as Yao Shengan’s endless dirty tricks. I began to sympathize with Yao Shengan’s difficult life due to old age.
What's more, even if no one stands up to sympathize with Yao Shengan, the Yao family can also hire water armies to lead the pace.
Ten years after his rebirth, Tao Mu, who had fought with Yao Wenxiao countless times in his previous life, could almost imagine what Yao Shengan could do with his eyes closed. I’m afraid that Shen Yu’s stupid guess at the time might really come true. However, the person who brought the camera to film the scene of Yao Shengan knelt down and apologized was Yao Shengan himself.
Sure enough, after hearing Tao Mu's disapproving question, Yao Sheng'an was silent for a moment, and said in a difficult voice: "I just want to say that if Old Master Song can forgive me, I am willing to kneel in front of my teacher's grave for a day and a night."
In a day of more than thirty degrees below zero, you have to kneel in front of the Song family tomb for a day and a night. What do you want to do?
Even acting shouldn't go to this extent!
Even though Tao Mu was prepared, he couldn't help laughing at this moment: "Old man, Yao Shengan said he wanted 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 they were about to set out to worship their ancestors, Grandpa Song was packing up incense, candles and offerings, while enthusiastically discussing with everyone the New Year's Eve dinner and the dishes to be prepared for the ancestor worship tomorrow morning. Dean Liu Yaomeng, Qi Tao, Feng Yuan, Gou Rixin and his mother, as well as Qin Miaoru and her brothers were all in the courtyard. A large group of people were noisily packing up their things and discussing how many mahjong tables they could set up while watching the Spring Festival Gala in the evening, when they heard such disappointing words.
The atmosphere in the entire Song Ji sank slightly, and everyone looked at the old man consciously.
In order to create a festive atmosphere, people posted new couplets with Chinese characters for "Fu" outside their doors early in the morning, and various big red lanterns were hung in the hotel. The old courtyard houses have high beams and deep eaves, and the lighting is not very good. Tao Mu asked people to light all the lights. The antique nine-grid palace lantern was swaying overhead. Half of Mr. Song's face was immersed in the red light, and he seemed a little dazed for a moment.
After a long silence, Mr. Song slowly spoke: "Tell him to go directly to the Song family's ancestral tomb at four o'clock tomorrow morning."
Tao Mu responded and conveyed Mr. Song's meaning through the phone.
According to Yao Shengan's idea, he actually wanted to visit Song Ji with a camera. It would be great if he could record the scene where he endured humiliation and apologized to the Song family but the family refused to give in. But he also knew that given Song Daozhen's temper, he would never accept his visit no matter what. More importantly, Yao Sheng'an was not sure whether Tao Mu would let Song Daozhen fall into his calculations. Yao Shengan got a headache whenever he thought of that troublesome little bastard.
Now the Yao family is under attack from all sides and is in danger. At this critical juncture, Yao Shengan is not afraid of making trouble for himself. But I don't want to cause any complications.
So, after hearing Song Daozhen's instructions, Yao Shengan really waited obediently in the hotel. Prepare to go to the Song family ancestral tomb early the next morning.
Because of this phone call, Mr. Song's mood obviously dropped. He just told everyone that today is New Year's Eve and he wants to play some cards. He was silent now. He squatted in the kitchen and stared at his pots and pans. The fire on the stove burned quietly, emitting a faint blue light. The people's faces are reflected flickeringly.
A large group of people looked at each other, and finally Tao Mu went into the kitchen and coaxed the old man, finally making him happy.
Too. The injustice was redressed and the great revenge was avenged. You should live a good life from now on. There's no need to ruin your New Year mood because of a beast.
Either he really let it go or he just didn't want his children to worry about him. Anyway, when Liu Yao took Mr. Song and Tao Mu to the grave to pray for their ancestors, Mr. Song acted very calmly. When he came back to have the New Year’s Eve dinner, the old man was also very happy. After that, they played mahjong, and Tao Mu and his father Yao and father Xiao Qi joined hands to feed cards to the old man. The cooperation was so naked.
In the end, the old man felt embarrassed. No matter what, I would never sit at the same table with these three guys. We want a fair fight. As a result, when he ran to the table of Qin Miaoru and Gou Rixin, he was taken away by three young people who did not know how to respect the elderly and there was not a penny left.
But the old man was still very happy. The old man didn't react until the bell of the Spring Festival Gala rang. I was stunned for a while, and then I came to my senses from the noise of a group of children cooking dumplings. It turned out that it was already past twelve o'clock.
The old year has finally passed completely. A brand new year is about to begin. Amid the aroma of the steaming and fragrant dumplings, the old man silently drank two cups of warm wine.
This year has passed by so fast. The old man still remembered that he was angry with Tao Mu, the little bastard, in the summer, and was worried that the boy was not doing his job properly and would not have a good future. Who would have thought that after the brat came back from H Town, he not only started his own company, but also found himself two fathers. Now that he has a family and a career, he also asked for the Song family's recipes back.
Why does it feel like a dream?
When Mr. Song was helped by his children to sleep on the bed in the main room, he was still dizzy. He recalled that at this time of year in previous years, he was alone guarding the empty courtyard and the old TV, watching over the long nights that seemed to never end. The whole family is reunited on TV every year, but he is the only one left in the Song family, facing a table full of New Year's Eve dinner, from steaming hot dishes to cold dishes.
There was the sound of falling snow outside the window. The northwest wind blew through the hall, and the whimpering sound passed through the branches of the old locust tree, rolled up the remaining snow on the branches, and drilled into the old window edges, and was swallowed into the stomach along with the cold white wine, so my heart also felt empty.
But this year, the usually deserted courtyard house is now filled with people. A bunch of shameless young men were squatting in the courtyard setting off firecrackers and making snowmen. A large group of people gathered around the dinner table making dumplings. In previous years, the New Year’s Eve dinner had everything from steaming hot dishes to cold bowls, but this year there was almost not enough to eat. I originally thought that the long and lonely New Year's Eve would be nothing more than the time it takes to play two pots of mahjong. Even the wine we drink every year during the New Year’s Eve is warm.
The smell makes people feel intoxicated.
Old Master Song was half lying on the carved wooden bed. Feel the warm towel gently wiping your face, neck and hands. A turbid tear rolled down along with the hot air and fell into the gray hair.
I'm really old. I get drunk after drinking just this little bit of alcohol. I'm so drunk that I don't want to wake up in this life.
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