Chapter 95 [95] He is the only single person within a five-kilometer radius...
Qian Tingting: "But, if they sell it so cheaply, won't they steal our customers?"
Tang Yuanyuan smiled, thinking back to the first time she started her business selling jelly. All she wanted was to make some profit. She didn't even think she should sell at the same price as other vendors.
Tang An's business philosophy is still stuck in the same way she thought six years ago.
"The Dabao that costs one dollar a bag in small shops doesn't affect the Clinique that costs four or five hundred dollars a set in the counter."
"People are destined to consume what they want, but people's desire for material things is always upward."
"When he was making ten yuan a day, he just wanted cheaper meat and vegetables so he could fill his stomach. He looked up to people who made a hundred yuan a day, envying them for being able to eat out, not having to cook, and enjoying rich, flavorful dishes."
"People who earn 100 yuan a day look up to the big bosses who make 1,000 yuan a day, envying them for being able to go to fancy restaurants and wear the famous brands in the mall."
"Cakes should be sold in the mid- to high-end market. Tang An has positioned his cake shop as a market. We might as well help him do that, and we'll completely embrace the middle class. We should put up notices in all our stores now: all Yun Duo stores will be membership-based."
Tang Yuanyuan asked Li Mu to find some people to go to places like alleys and tube-shaped buildings to promote Tang An's store, and then hire mothers to bring their children to buy cakes.
There are a lot of advertisements for Yunduo Forest. On the opening day, there was a long queue. Three or four-year-old children were playing and peeing inside, and the air was filled with the smell of urine. Yunduo Honeyland’s store has implemented a membership system, and only members can enter. It is bright and quiet here. You can sit here and eat cakes, and there are free beauty teas to give away.
Comparing the two sides, the Cloud Honeyland is elegant and high-end, while the Cloud Forest is more chaotic than a vegetable market.
Tang Yuanyuan enthusiastically found a reporter, took pictures of the chaotic environment, and the scene of the old men and women who were taking advantage of the situation arguing over the cake, and submitted them to the newspaper.
Tang An was so angry that he crumpled up the newspaper!
He instructed someone to contact the TV station and booked an exclusive interview with the entrepreneur.
"I come from a small place called Yucheng. My father is just an ordinary worker, and my mother is a street sweeper... Although my father is not well-educated, he taught me from a young age that everything I do must be true to my conscience... I don't care about money. I just want to make an affordable and authentic cake for ordinary people, so that ordinary people can afford it..."
On the TV screen, Tang An squatted on the ground and washed Tang Aiguo's feet, looking like a filial son.
"...My father has Alzheimer's disease and can't remember many things now. I can only take care of him while studying. Sometimes I worked four jobs in one day, and I sold apples during the winter and summer vacations to make money. I started this when I was in my first year of high school. Because of this, I only got into a junior college... He's my father, how can I say he's a burden..."
Li Mu wanted to smash the TV: "Does he have any shame?"
Tang Yuanyuan: "I think I know why he was able to marry into a wealthy family and gain his father-in-law's trust so quickly to manage the factory here."
Tang An doesn't love anyone.
Just like in the dream, he was not really on Tang Aiguo's side. The things about honesty and filial piety were just the image he boasted about himself.
He probably gained recognition from others because of his image as a filial son who took his father to school.
Carrying the burden of studying, what a glorious image.
Perhaps, her nameless sister is still the image of a scumbag who saw her father sick but did nothing to help him and lived a good life herself.
Li Mu asked, "What should we do now? His report seemed so real, and the response was quite good."
Tang Yuanyuan smiled slightly: "No rush."
She has the recording, but she doesn't plan to use it right now.
Too thin.
Use it when the wall falls and everyone pushes it down, and that will be a fatal blow.
"The cakes, rent, and labor costs are all there. His rent costs are much higher than mine. He must be losing money at 4.5 yuan." Tang Yuanyuan didn't believe that Tang An would really choose to lose money. He was just a son-in-law and he had to pay the bills. If the financial situation was too bad, he would have to go back to cooking and washing clothes. "Now Yunduo has become more and more different from Mijing. I make money, but he loses money. If I'm not mistaken, he's getting anxious now."
It's just the beginning. When Tang An loses more and more money, will he still be as calm as he is now? He will definitely find ways to save costs, delay the payment period with suppliers, and use cheap materials. When more and more of his problems are exposed, he will naturally be blamed by everyone.
Tang Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Now, let's continue to open branches. The longer the battle lasts, the more money he loses."
Yu Fangfang was feeling particularly down today, and she hugged Tang Yuanyuan and said, "Boss, your future superstar isn't in a good mood right now and wants a big meal."
Tang Yuanyuan studied the atlas without looking up and asked, "What could possibly make you so upset? Is Tang An trying to disgust you again?"
That is, after Yu Fangfang was kicked out of the crew by Tang An last time, Tang An bought the house from the landlord at a high price and kicked Yu Fangfang out of the house late at night.
Yu Fangfang is currently living in the small, old-fashioned two-bedroom apartment that Tang Yuanyuan previously rented. "It has nothing to do with Tang An. I used to think that TV dramas were all outrageous, but today I realize that life is also outrageous."
"Did you know that Wang Erniu actually has a father? His father is a native of Shanghai, and he's actually the owner of a factory here!"
Tang Yuanyuan: "Ah?"
"Then why doesn't your own son care?"
"His father was sent down to the countryside. He was married to his mother for over a year, then he was rehabilitated and his label removed, so he returned to the city. He left secretly, without even leaving his address with his family. His mother was so angry that she ran away too and never came back," Yu Fangfang said. "His father remarried in the city. His wife is in poor health. She had a miscarriage and hasn't had any more children. Now she's gone, and his father found Wang Erniu and took her back."
Tang Yuanyuan was surprised: "That's ridiculous. Wang Erniu has gone back."
"Of course he has to go back." Yu Fangfang said, "Why not? I told him to go back. He has lived without parents for twenty years. Now that a good life has come to him, why shouldn't he take it? He should go back and spend all the old man's money until he's exhausted."
Tang Yuanyuan handed her two hundred-yuan bills and said, "... This is a good thing, but I have something to do tonight, so you can go eat by yourself."
Yu Fangfang: "What's your business? Is it more important than me?"
Shen Yu's mother has her birthday today, and Tang Yuanyuan promised to take him back home for dinner, so it's naturally hard to go back on her word.
Yu Fangfang held the banknotes in frustration for three full seconds, feeling a bit lonely.
He immediately turned his head and thought, how nice it would be to go eat steak alone!
In the Shen family's small Western-style building, Mrs. Shen personally directed the nanny to clean the house carefully early in the morning and put flowers in all the rooms.
In the afternoon, several children in the family came back one after another, and Mr. Shen even went to the old house to pick up his biological mother.
Mrs. Shen also advised her eldest daughter-in-law: "You have a good temper and can chat with anyone. You should talk to her more to avoid making her feel uncomfortable."
The eldest daughter-in-law nodded and said, "Mom, don't worry. Xiaoyu has been waiting for this person for so long, I will definitely not let him down. I will definitely get along well with her."
Mrs. Shen then instructed her daughter Shen Yi: "In our family, you have the best mouth. That child is sensitive and it's her first time here. Don't make fun of her and make her uncomfortable."
Shen Yi: "Mom, how can I be as bad as you say? Am I such a clueless person?"
"Besides, I don't think she's as fragile as you think. She's quite good at fighting. She even pinned a thief to the ground and beat him."
Mrs. Shen was very surprised: "If you are not sensitive, why did you break up with Xiaoyu? Xiaoyu is not a playboy, and she is the one I waited for so hard, so there is no reason for her to be bad to her."
"Except for family reasons, I can't think of anything else."
When her son just broke up, he was in a very low mood, which made her worried for a long time.
I always worry that I didn't take good care of Tang Yuanyuan or said something wrong.
Mr. Shen said, "Don't blame yourself for this. Being dumped only means your son is incompetent. He deserves it."
Mrs. Shen rolled her eyes at him and said, "You are old and you are talking nonsense again."
Shen Yu's car drove into the yard. Mrs. Shen took the lead and went out to greet him. The whole family followed him out and saw Shen Yu getting out of the car alone.
Mrs. Shen looked at his car, held her forehead, and wanted to faint. She leaned softly against Mr. Shen and said, "Oh my God, it happens again! He is the only bachelor within a radius of five kilometers!"
Shen Yi said bluntly: “Xiao Yu, you haven’t been dumped again!”
Shen Yu: "...You're the one who got dumped!"
Mr. Shen asked, "Where's that person? Didn't he agree to come together?"
Shen Yu touched his nose and said, "She'll be here soon."
Mrs. Shen was spirited again, “No points?”
Shen Yu: "...I'm fine. Am I that easy to be dumped?"
Mr. Shen and his wife looked at each other and thought, isn't it easy for you to be dumped?
Old Madam Shen slapped Shen Yu in the face: "You stupid kid! This is the first time they're meeting their parents, and you don't even bring someone along? Where's the courtesy?"
Shen Yu sighed in injustice. Of course he also wanted to come with Tang Yuanyuan and wanted to go to her company to pick someone up, but Tang Yuanyuan didn't let him go to the company.
His girlfriend didn't want to sit in the passenger seat with him. She said the car was her legs. What could he do?
He called Tang Yuanyuan's pager: "...Where are you? I'm already home, and my grandma and mom are anxious to see you."
"We'll be there in half an hour, don't worry."
Mrs. Shen was still not very reassured, as she could not afford any more accidents.
So, after dinner, he took Tang Yuanyuan's hand and went to the study to talk. He took off the jade bracelet on his wrist and put it on her wrist.
"This is the Shen family's ancestral jadeite, specially passed down to my daughter-in-law."
Tang Yuanyuan refused: "This is too expensive, I can't"
"Good boy," Mrs. Shen said sincerely, "Xiaoyu has decided on you in this life and will not change. As a mother, I can't bear to see my child suffer."
"The last time you broke up, he was so heartbroken that he lived on the top of a mountain for seven days. He lost over ten pounds and was always in a bad mood. He kept his work schedule full. I knew he was deliberately keeping himself busy. During that time, I couldn't sleep well every day. I was afraid he would die suddenly."
"He's sincere to you. If he does anything wrong, tell me and I'll scold him. Don't abandon him again, okay?"
Mrs. Shen's beautiful eyes were full of desire. Tang Yuanyuan could feel her attention and care for herself. Her favorite vegetarian dishes were placed in front of her seat. The Shen family was very warm to her. Everyone prepared a gift for her. They were thoughtful and polite, without any arrogance.
Tang Yuanyuan could see that the Shen family was well-educated, with brothers looking out for each other and parents loving each other. She didn't hate the Shen family: "No."
"I will marry him."
Mrs. Shen grabbed Tang Yuanyuan's wrist and said, "How about getting engaged first?"
Tang Yuanyuan had no objection: "Okay."
Downstairs, Shen Yu was absentmindedly pinching a puzzle, his eyes fixed on the direction of the study.
Mr. Shen said with a smile: "Why, are you still afraid that your mother will bully her?"
Shen Yu knew that her mother wouldn't, but she still couldn't help but feel nervous. What did her mother want to say? She wanted to go to the study privately and say, "No."
"You've got a wife, but you've forgotten your mother. You still don't trust your mother."
Shen Yu: "Maybe it's genetic."
Mr. Shen was so angry that he deliberately asked, "Do you want to know what your mother is talking to her about?"
Shen Yu: "What?"
Mr. Shen: "If I don't tell you, I won't tell you."
“…”
Mr. Shen watched Shen Yu pinch the puzzle pieces and put them in the correct position, and said deliberately: "Your mother is helping you propose."
Shen Yu stood up in a hurry, his face full of anxiety: "Why didn't you tell me! She doesn't like others to make decisions for her." He hated being forced to make decisions even more.
Mr. Shen raised the corners of his lips in satisfaction. His son has been excellent in all aspects since he was young. It is rare to see him lose his composure.
"Let me discuss this with you. Can you be her boss? In front of her, you can only obey her."
Shen Yu: "I'm different from you. I can be tough sometimes too."
Mr. Shen teased, "Really? Didn't he just act tough during the last breakup, and then get dumped?"
I can’t say that I got it all right, it was indeed just a moment of being tough.
And then I was dumped.
"I'm losing touch with you."
Shen Yu was already confused. He put down the puzzle and strode up the stairs.
The door of the study was opened from the inside, and Tang Yuanyuan followed Mrs. Shen out. Shen Yu stared at her, looking for some clues.
Tang Yuanyuan was the same as usual, with no expression on her cold face. He couldn't see anything, and his heart was pounding.
He strode over and nervously held her in his arms: "Don't worry about what my mother said. I know you are only thinking about the cake shop and nothing else."
Mrs. Shen: “!”Who is she doing this for?
Mrs. Shen angrily pulled Tang Yuanyuan over and said, "Oh, according to the rules of our Shen family, once a bracelet is worn, it cannot be returned. Since he doesn't want to be engaged to you, recognizing you as his goddaughter can also be considered a legacy."
Shen Yu's gaze followed Tang Yuanyuan's shoulder down, and he saw a valuable jade bracelet on her wrist. He hesitated for three seconds, and asked uncertainly, "What do you mean?"
Mrs. Shen snorted unhappily: "Alas, as a mother, I have worked so hard to hold an engagement ceremony for you. Some people don't appreciate it, so I can only change it to a family recognition banquet."
The corners of Shen Yu's lips curled up, his eyebrows were full of surprise, and his dark eyes stared at Tang Yuanyuan: "Really?"
Tang Yuanyuan nodded. They had already decided to be together, so there was no need to be pretentious.
Shen Yu then realized that he had misunderstood her mother, "Mommy."
Mrs. Shen snorted unhappily and waved her hand, "Don't come here, go celebrate with your wife first. Don't come over for the next month, Yuanyuan can come and see me."
Mrs. Shen remembered what she had asked the nanny to pack and handed it to Shen Yu: "Take these bird's nests with you and ask Auntie to stew a bowl of them every morning. Yuanyuan is still too thin and needs more nutrition."
"Oh, right, there are these four-piece sets. Yours are from the year before last, and these are from this year's high-count cotton. Go back and change them. Bedding is very personal, so it's better to use the ones from that year."
The model from two years ago?
Tang Yuanyuan grasped the key words, as if there was something she didn't know: "What's going on? When was that house bought?"
Shen Yu took out the wedding rings he had hidden in a drawer for several days, and brought the lady's ring to Tang Yuanyuan's hand. He looked at it with satisfaction and said, "When you were a freshman."
"Is it when I promised you?"
"Well," Shen Yuyun said calmly after everything was over, "The small western-style building is too far from Fudan University. I have more time, so it's most suitable for me to move here."
Tang Yuanyuan understood. No wonder the decoration here was so elegant and it could be completed in one day.
"We've already broken up, why are you still pretending? Why don't you sell it off?"
Shen Yu put the other ring on himself and clasped it with hers. It was very shiny and he was very satisfied: "I don't think we will break up forever."
"I know you will come back to me sooner or later."
His wish was fulfilled.
A high-end restaurant.
Li Mu puffed up his cheeks and kicked open the door of the private room. He crossed his legs and sat lazily on the chair, looking at Tang An with amusement: "Tell me, what do you want from me, your grandfather?"
Tang An intertwined his fingers and gestured for the waiter to pour him a glass of wine. "Come to think of it, we used to be best brothers. Why do you insist on being my sister's dog and being so heartless to me?"
Li Mu: "Do you treat your rich wife like a dog? Everyone looks like one of your own kind to you?"
"Then you should go to the slaughterhouse. There are lots of pigs and dogs there."
"You don't know what's best for you." Tang An sneered, waved his hand, and motioned the waiter to leave. Then he said, "I called you here today to ask you something."
"Where did my sister find the money?"
Initially, Tang An guessed that Tang Yuanyuan might have mortgaged her shop to get a loan with high interest or a bank loan, which could explain the emergency purchase of the factory.
But now it seems that is not the case.
Tang Yuanyuan was able to quickly cooperate with the milk giant. Given her wealth, it was impossible for them to be interested in her. There must be someone who acted as a matchmaker.
She has money to buy prime advertising in newspapers, and now she has money to open branches on a large scale.
Now, he has invested a large sum of money, and Tang Yuanyuan's store is not only not going to go bankrupt, but is becoming more and more famous.
He must know who is supporting her behind the scenes.
Li Mu was so angry that he gave a wicked smile: "If you want to know, I won't tell you."
"Take your time to guess."
"I really can't eat food for a gigolo like you, so just eat slowly by yourself."
If it weren't for the desire to disgust Tang An, Li Mu wouldn't have bothered to come over to his dinner. After seeing him make a fool of himself, there was no need to stay any longer, so Li Mu turned around and strode out.
Tang An nonchalantly sipped his red wine glass and said, "Five years ago, at the Chaihe Bend in front of Chuncheng Lane, you stole the 20,000 yuan from Mrs. Wu, right?"
Li Mu paused, feeling a chill on his back.
Tang An looked at Li Mu's stiff back with satisfaction and gave a strange smile.
He clapped his hands lightly. "I really don't understand why you're willing to do this for my sister. Tell me, if I tell Mrs. Wu the truth and ask her to call the police to identify you, will you and my sister go to jail?"
"The founder of a famous cake shop is a robber. Tell me, is this headline shocking enough?"
Every word Tang An said was like a hammer hitting his heart, buzzing.
In an instant, Li Mu thought of many questions.
How could Tang An know?
Unless, at that time, he really had his eyes on the 20,000 yuan and wanted to steal the money, so he just waited there.
wrong.
He had no evidence, and neither did Mrs. Wu, so they couldn't do anything to him.
If Tang An had evidence, he would send it directly to the police station. So why would he tell him in person?
Li Mu suddenly remembered that Tang Yuanyuan once asked him to record Manager Mao using a Walkman.
Tang An did it on purpose!
He brought it up on purpose and even involved Tang Yuanyuan. The police in Shanghai would not care about the case which was far away in Yucheng.
There must be a recording.
Li Mu figured this out, turned on his toes, and when he turned around, he had returned to his nonchalant attitude: "Robber? What 20,000 yuan?"
"Oh," he drawled out, "you mean, the mother who killed your mother."
"I remember now. She once offered 20,000 yuan to buy her son's life, but the money was lost. Did you steal it?"
"Tang An, I didn't expect you to be so dark and have been a robber?"
Tang An: "What nonsense are you talking about? I clearly saw you that night. You stole the money and rode your bike as fast as you could. You rode all the way home like a thief."
Li Mu was certain that Tang An was really tempted by the 20,000 yuan, but was afraid to sign the letter of apology due to what others said, so he waited there, ready to snatch it away without anyone noticing.
But I got there first.
"I've never robbed anyone, so please don't accuse me." Li Mu's eyes swept over Tang An's coat. Inside the large pocket, there was a faint trace of a Walkman. He suddenly reached in, grabbed the Walkman and lifted it up, then gave a sinister sneer: "You're really vicious."
"You stole the money yourself and you still want to throw dirty water on me."
Tang An reached out to grab the Walkman, but Li Mu dodged it deftly by moving sideways. Holding up the Walkman, he said jokingly, "What's the matter? Are you anxious because I caught you recording?"
"A robber."
"You're right. If everyone hears this recording, your news will definitely explode."
Tang An was about to come over to grab it, but Li Mu opened the lid with a snap, took out the tape, and threw the Walkman at Tang An's head.
Tang An didn't dodge and his head was bleeding. He shouted to the security guard outside the door: "Take the tape out of his hand."
Li Mu put the tape in his mouth, jumped up, climbed onto the door frame with his hands, and kicked the first security guard in the chest with both feet, knocking him to the ground with one kick.
The second security guard attacked, but Li Mu squatted down and swung his leg, tripping him. He quickly stood up, jumped onto the stairs and slid down. Before leaving, he waved to Tang An: "Goodbye!"
The last scene Tang An saw when he came out of the box was Li Mu's smiling face with a tape in his mouth. He slid to the bottom like a loach and strode out of the restaurant.
By the time they ran down the stairs, Li Mu's car had disappeared.
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The author has something to say: [Small Theater]
Shen Yu: The Shen family’s fear of their wives is a tradition passed down from generation to generation.
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