Marriage in the 80s 4
"I'm afraid you didn't come here today just to order some wine, did you?" Old Master Xiao said to Old Master Cheng.
"I knew it, I can't hide it from you." Mr. Cheng said with a smile.
"You came here under the pretext of ordering wine, and you had no intention of hiding it," said Old Man Xiao. "I know you only have this one grandson, and he carries your last name, so you've raised him like your own. But you're a scholar, and you disdain to get involved in these mercantile affairs. Even though your grandson's business has been growing rapidly in recent years, ordering wine for his new restaurant is a small matter, so there's no need for you to bring him here in person."
"It's not disdain," Old Master Cheng said, waving his hand. "Business has its mysteries. I have great respect for successful businessmen like Mr. Xiao, but I despise those who are just filling in the gaps and shortchanging others. As you said, my grandson was raised by me. I originally wanted him to pursue a career in government. With the support of my students who are officials, and his own resourcefulness, he would surely have made a difference in the officialdom. But he just had a natural liking for business. To be honest, I was disappointed. I'm not boasting, but among all the students I've taught, there's no one with a more agile mind. But I couldn't convince him, and he convinced me, so I just let him go."
After taking a sip of tea, Old Master Cheng continued, "My grandson has very high standards. I don't know how many people I've introduced him to over the years, but none of them satisfied him. I don't know why he suddenly went to Zhao Haoyu's wedding banquet that day, and after returning, he insisted that I bring him to visit your house. I thought our two families had no previous interactions, so he came to visit out of the blue, so there must be a reason. It just so happened that he opened a few new restaurants and wanted to purchase a large amount of your wine, so he asked me to come with him on this pretext. I also asked him, and he said that from the moment he saw your Xiao Ling smash the bottle, he felt that your Xiao Ling was the person he had been waiting for all these years."
"Ever since the incident at the last wedding banquet, quite a few people have come to visit us. However, during this period of time, I have been reflecting on myself repeatedly. I really didn't have the best eyesight. I thought Zhao Haoyu was a good guy, but I didn't expect that he would almost ruin my Xiao Ling's life. Just thinking about it makes me scared."
"So what do you think of my perspective on people?"
"Your vision is naturally much better than mine. People outside are saying that you've never made a mistake in selecting the students you've taken in over the past few decades. Regardless of age, they've all achieved great things, and none of them have messed up. It's truly admirable."
"I've watched my grandson grow up. I won't go into other details, but there's one thing he inherited from his father: he's absolutely devoted. Many people have fallen for him over the years, but he remains unmoved and won't even look them in the eye. His mother urged him to be gentler with the girls, but he said he'd only be gentle with the ones he loves. If he doesn't meet someone he loves, he'd rather remain single for the rest of his life."
"Cheng Sheng is a rising star in Los Angeles' business community, and I've noticed him over the past few years. He's truly young and promising, with a promising future. But I also used to think Zhao Haoyu was a good person. As the saying goes, once bitten, one becomes afraid of the rope for ten years, and I'm really afraid of him. And another thing: although Cheng Sheng has your last name, he's Zhao Shude's grandson after all. I've already said I'll have no more dealings with the Zhao family, so how could I go back on my word?"
"You don't have to worry about that. Zhao Shude and I had such a big feud, but I still married my daughter to his son. It's no secret that my son-in-law and Zhao Shude don't get along. I didn't ask him to marry into the family, but after Cheng Sheng was born, he insisted that Cheng Sheng have the surname Cheng. He also said that if his mother wasn't still alive, he would have changed his surname to Zhao long ago. When I agreed to marry my daughter to him, many people said that I would definitely regret it later, but in the past 20 or 30 years, my daughter and I haven't regretted it for a single day. Although my son-in-law is not as capable as my students, he does know how to care for others and has never spoken loudly to my daughter. I can assure you with my old face that Cheng Sheng definitely learned this from his father."
Old Master Cheng tried his best to promote Cheng Sheng to Old Master Xiao. This was the first time he did such a thing for Cheng Sheng, because before, others took the initiative to promote the product to them.
Old Master Xiao was gradually moved by what he said, but after the last lesson, he was still very scared and did not dare to agree easily. He just said, "I am old now, and my mind is gradually not as flexible as before. I only have this one grandson, so I have to be very careful and cautious. Let's wait and see."
Mr. Cheng's students all privately said that their teacher was a fox who had practiced for a thousand years, so how could he not see what Mr. Xiao was thinking? He knew that Mr. Xiao had been moved by his words and had achieved the effect he expected. Whether he could marry her or not depended on Cheng Sheng himself.
After Mr. Cheng and Cheng Sheng left, Tao Yuan went to discuss the wine tasting banquet with Mr. Xiao, because the best way to promote new wine is to hold a wine tasting banquet. Because the Xiao family has certain standards and very strict requirements for wine, although the Xiao family has a wine tasting banquet every year, it has not held a wine tasting banquet for new wine for ten years.
Old Master Xiao was quite satisfied with the new wine brewed by Tao Yuan this time. After calling the masters in the family to taste the new wine, they got unanimous approval. The masters all had happy faces. Wineries and wine shops outside were opening one after another, and new wines were coming out every year. These old masters who had worked in the Xiao family for decades couldn't help but feel anxious. Now there was finally a new wine that was recognized by Old Master Xiao. After tasting it, they felt that it would definitely sell well, and they were naturally happy.
"What do you think of Xiao Sheng?" After watching the masters leave to do their own things, Old Master Xiao suddenly asked Tao Yuan a question without any context.
Tao Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I gave him a glass of all the wines we currently have for sale. He was able to accurately name each one. It seems he really likes our wine. Just now, when we were walking around the garden, he said he had just bought a very nice villa. When it opens soon, he wants to invite me to visit."
"You agree?"
Tao Yuan nodded.
"His father and Zhao Haoyu's father are half-brothers. Although his last name is not Zhao, he and Zhao Haoyu are cousins."
"I know this. I've heard a little about their family. Although he's the grandson of the Zhao family, and our family just had a feud with them, the hatred his grandfather and his father had with the Zhao family is much greater than ours. So I think the Zhao family is the Zhao family and he is him. If he is judged based on the actions of his family, then he is being wronged."
"...You are speaking for him like this, could it be that you like him?" Old Master Xiao looked at Tao Yuan seriously and asked.
"I'm just stating the facts objectively. As for whether I like him or not, I'll decide after I get to know him for a while. I still have to be busy with the wine tasting banquet."
"Xiao Ling, Grandpa knows you've been a very careful person since you were little, but there's one thing we must admit: it seems like neither you nor Grandpa has a very good eye for people. We've already misjudged someone once, so this time you have to be extra careful and cautious."
"I understand." Tao Yuan said with a smile.
In this era, good things will never have trouble selling. However, with the development of society and economy, more and more people are doing business. Although it seems that all business is easy to do now, the competition will become more and more intense in the future. Where there is competition, there will be elimination.
In their previous life, the Ke family ultimately fell into decline because they were eliminated in the increasingly turbulent business world. However, the Ke family is still doing well now, with a larger business than the Xiao family. On the surface, their family business is much larger than the Xiao family's. Previously, their family business primarily dealt in cloth and tea, but now they also deal in wine, which is doing quite well. While not as famous as the Xiao family winery, the Xiao family winery is, after all, the result of several generations of hard work.
The Xiao family only focused on the wine business. When the feudal dynasty had not yet fallen, the Xiao family's wine was a tribute to the royal family and was personally inscribed by the emperor as the best wine in the world, thus becoming famous throughout the country.
Tao Yuan wants to brew more and better wines to further enhance the status of the Xiao family winery. This wine tasting banquet is just the beginning.
Nowadays, there are calligraphy associations, Chinese painting associations, Go associations, as well as tea associations, wine associations, fabric associations, and other various associations. Since they are holding a wine tasting banquet, it is natural to invite the veterans of the wine tasting associations. Although these associations have many members, to sit at the position of veteran requires many years of qualifications and real skills. Ordinary wineries would disdain to invite them.
A few months ago, the Ke family also held a wine tasting for their new wine, which received positive reviews from the wine tasting association's elders. Since then, the Ke family has spread rumors that the Ke family's wine has surpassed the Xiao family's wine. Now, Tao Yuan wants to slap them in the face and make these wine association elders personally declare that the Xiao family's winery is the best in the world.
Because Tao Yuan was a man in this world, many of the rules were the same as for women. Women and men were not allowed to entertain outsiders. Although young people were becoming more open-minded, the older generation still attached great importance to etiquette. Therefore, Tao Yuan did not need to come forward to entertain guests at a banquet like this.
Cheng Sheng and his grandfather also came, and his grandfather also brought some friends, all of whom were people of status and prestige. A word from these people was much more useful than the advertisements of those first-line stars in the future. Old Cheng brought them here specifically to show his support, and he was also doing his best to win the favor of the Xiao family for his grandson Cheng Sheng.
Tao Yuan secretly brought Cheng Sheng to the wine tasting pavilion and prepared some snacks he made himself.
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