Chapter 51
Familiar street scenes, familiar local accents. The man in the car rolled up the window, closed his eyes, and wondered what he was thinking.
The cement road that he ran on countless times when he was a child has now become unfamiliar in his eyes. Others have a strong sense of nostalgia for their hometown, but he doesn't feel anything at all. Yan Jiayu even doubts whether he has any hometown feelings for this place.
The mottled light and shadow reflected on his face, and the usually gentle Yan Jiayu unexpectedly had a somewhat cold aura.
"Third Young Master, you haven't been back for several years. We have seen a lot of changes here." The driver, Uncle Li, greeted the person in the back seat enthusiastically and talked to him about the changes in Cancheng in recent years. After a long time without getting a response, he saw some impatience between the other person's brows in the rearview mirror, so he had to shut up in disappointment.
The old man of the Yan family is still alive, and the five brothers have not separated. The grandchildren are ranked together. Yan Jiayu is the third child, and is called the third young master in the family.
Has it changed much? He sneered. This used to be an important city in the Nanyang region, with prosperous trade and advanced shipping. However, in recent years, it has been replaced by emerging inland cities. In terms of GDP, it is probably not as high as Licheng.
Although the family has not split up, the old man's five sons no longer live in the old house, not to mention the grandchildren. Those who stay in Cancheng just go back to pay their respects regularly every week. Yan Jiayu is an exception. The last time she came back to the old house was probably five years ago.
Just as we drove into the gate of the old house and passed the long green lawn, the car stopped in the lobby of a building.
The building is of distinctive Nanyang style and is three stories high. When I was a child, I thought it was magnificent, but now I think it is nothing special.
Yan Jiayu looked up and saw her mother, Fang Mingzhu, rushing towards her. Her face was filled with anxiety, but the first sight of her immediately replaced it with a warm, radiant smile. "Jiayu, come and let me see if you've lost weight."
Fang Mingzhu is ten years older than Fang Yaozhen, but she is well-maintained. She wears a well-fitting cheongsam, a huge emerald diamond ring on her fair hand, and her hair is neatly tied behind her head. She looks like a character who has walked out of a painting from the Republic of China.
"Mom, I'm not thin. You're still older but not old." Yan Jiayu raised his hand and hugged his mother. He used to think that his parents protected him from the wind and rain, but now his mother only reached his shoulders in high heels. He suddenly felt a sense of emotion in his heart. Time passed so quickly.
Fang Mingzhu wiped her eyes quietly. She hadn't seen her son for two years. She wanted to cry when they met, but this was not her home, so she could only hold it back.
"Go quickly, your grandfather is waiting for you."
Yan Jiayu's eyes darkened and he nodded, saying that he wanted to divide the trust among his grandchildren. The old man really took great pains to get him back.
When he arrived at the main hall on the second floor, he saw a group of people there. Some were surprised, some were jealous, and some were confused when they saw him. But not a single one of them looked friendly, except for his own father Yan Shengying.
Yan Shengying was even more excited to see his eldest son than his wife. He had an awkward position among the Yan brothers because he was the illegitimate son of Old Man Yan.
Although he was brought home and raised by the old lady, he was not listed under her name in the family tree.
Nowadays, the new society no longer emphasizes the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, but since they are not born from the same mother, his other brothers dislike him and exclude him everywhere. Over the years, he has not been able to make a name for himself in the family group.
In his life, apart from having a good appearance, he also had a good son. His son was the best among the grandchildren of the Yan family. He had made a career both abroad and in Shanghai. Now even the old man looked at him differently. In order to win over Jiayu, he personally selected a fiancée for him. This was a treatment only for the eldest grandson.
"Hello, Grandpa, Father, uncles and aunts." Yan Jiayu walked to Old Man Yan and greeted him respectfully, but there was a hint of nonchalance in his tone. The old man that others were afraid of was not to be feared in his eyes.
Mr. Yan is over 80 years old this year, but he is still in good health. He took over the family business from his father.
The Yan family started out as a food business, and under his leadership, they entered the shipping industry, truly beginning their journey to prosperity. They became one of the most successful families among those who went to Southeast Asia. In the past 10 to 20 years, they have also invested in financial real estate, and their business has grown bigger and bigger.
However, he was too old and had long been unable to manage specific affairs, so he handed them over to his sons and outstanding grandsons. Although he was no longer in charge, the old man's majesty was still there. As long as he was in the Yan family, he was a force to be reckoned with, except for the disobedient Yan Jiayu.
None of his sons and grandsons satisfied him very much. No matter who was in charge in the future, the rest of the people would not accept it, and the Yan family would sooner or later fall apart.
Unless he quickly cultivates a person with means and wisdom who can convince everyone, or a person that everyone fears, the person standing in front of him is Yan Jiayu, the grandson who gives him the most headaches.
"Jia Yu, please sit down." Old Master Yan swept his eagle-like eyes over the young man in front of him and found that this grandson did not take him seriously at all. This was a good thing, which meant that he had confidence and he was quite satisfied with his performance.
The reason why Mr. Yan asked Yan Jiayu to come back this time was the family trust. Originally, Yan Jiayu was disdainful to come back. In his eyes, these trusts were not as important as Rong Susu. It didn't matter whether he got a large or small share.
Although he thought so, his parents did not think so. Moreover, the old man also said that if Yan Jiayu did not come back, they would not get a penny from this house. So the two of them used threats and inducements to force Yan Jiayu to come back.
The couple has more than one son, they also have two younger ones. If they don't take the trust dividends, their whole family will be left with nothing.
More than 20 years ago, in order to prevent unfilial descendants from ruining the family business, the old man gathered all the personal assets of the Yan family and established a family trust. Every year, the dividends were distributed to him according to the needs of each family.
No matter how much is distributed, people will always be dissatisfied. Besides, the grandchildren are growing up one by one, so it is time to set rules on how much each family should get.
The Yan family is a large family. Some of them have salaries and rely on these dividends to make a living, while others rely solely on these dividends to make a living. Therefore, this is a big event for the entire Yan family.
"Sheng Zhuo, you are the eldest son, you read it." Old Master Yan assigned his eldest son. He had already set these rules, but he had never mentioned them to anyone. Everyone knew that whoever could control the family trust this time would be the one in charge of the Yan family in the future.
Yan Shengzhuo quickly stood up and respectfully took a booklet from the old man. Although it was light in his hand, it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. He had no prior knowledge of this information, and no one knew what the old man was thinking.
His palms were sweating, so he quickly cleared his throat and read out the words word by word.
The old man controls 10%, the first, second, fourth and fifth wives each control 10%, and the third wife alone controls 40%.
After the recitation, there was complete silence until an angry voice broke the silence.
"Grandpa, why did you give so much to their third room?" Yan Jiaheng questioned. He was the eldest grandson of the Yan family and the son of Yan Shengzhuo. He had been growing up with Grandpa Yan. Among the grandchildren, he was the only one who dared to speak to the old man like this.
He has been working in the senior management of Yan Group and has always thought that he is the next person to lead the family trained by his grandfather. However, the wind has been turning more and more, and his grandfather's heart has begun to lean towards the third house. Yan Jiaheng was anxious and contradicted the old man in public.
As soon as he took the lead, everyone started to oppose him. Except for the third branch, the other four branches were all brothers from the same mother, and they all hoped that the first branch would stand out. Since they were closely related by blood, they would naturally help their brothers. But why did the third branch break through the siege?
"Dad, do you think we should discuss this matter further?" Yan Shengzhuo asked under pressure.
Humph, after the old man saw that everyone had finished their performance, a hint of ruthlessness flashed across his kind eyes. They all only knew how to enjoy themselves, but none of them were capable. He took a fancy to Yan Jiayu because this kid was born with a rebellious nature and could make a career without relying on his family. Based on this point, he would definitely support this grandson.
"Our third room doesn't need so much. It's enough to use the same amount as other rooms. Grandpa doesn't have to be so partial." Yan Jiayu didn't take this trust seriously at all and rejected it lightly.
Everyone!!!
The old man has handed such a huge industry to him, but he doesn't want it. What is Yan Jiayu up to?
In fact, apart from the port operating rights, Yan Jiayu didn't like anything else. However, he didn't want it and his parents became anxious. They tried their best to signal to him that he must take it.
"If there is nothing else, I have to rush back to Shanghai tonight." Yan Jiayu stood up and gently smoothed the wrinkles on his suit. He didn't want to stay here for even a second.
"Stop!" The Yan family is ruled by the old man. If he doesn't give it to anyone, no one can snatch it. But if he gives it to anyone, no one can refuse it. Yan Jiayu rejected such a large proportion of the trust in public, which was undoubtedly a challenge to the authority of old man Yan.
"Jia Yu, come with me." Old Master Yan stood up, staring at Yan Jiayu closely with his eagle eyes, then turned around and went back to his room, leaving a large room of people behind.
Yan Jiayu, who was named, did not take any action. After her parents repeatedly urged her, she reluctantly went to the main room. When she passed by her eldest brother, she was warned with gritted teeth, "You'd better not play tricks under our noses!"
This kind of light threat was really ridiculous. "Yan Jiaheng, just use whatever means you have." Yan Jiayu didn't care at all and didn't even stop.
His nonchalant behavior made Yan Jiaheng even more furious. This guy didn't take him seriously at all. He didn't even hide the mocking look on his face. Yan Jiayu came to snatch his things, and sooner or later he would blame all the humiliation today on the culprit.
But before they reached the old man's room, his cell phone rang. In full view of everyone, everyone saw that Yan Jiayu, who had just had a contemptuous look on his face, suddenly had a gentle look, subconsciously raised the corners of his lips, and immediately answered the phone.
"Yeah, I'm here already. Sorry, I forgot to tell you."
"Then I'll call you back later."
"Bye-Bye."
They couldn't hear what the other person said, but from Yan Jiayu's soft voice, they could tell that it was definitely a woman.
It seems that Yan Jiayu, who has always been as strong as an iron wall, has also found a soft spot. Everyone is secretly happy. Now that the marriage arranged by the old man for him has fallen through, the opportunity is back in their hands.
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