After The Vicious Cannon Fodder Was Reborn

by Usui Takumii

not mine, theirontreeblooms. Beware BL. Total : 293 Chapters 5 Extras (Completed).

22. 106 to 110

In fact, old man Song didn't sleep for long before Tao Mu carefully woke him up.

"Grandpa, we have to go to the grave."

According to the rules of the Song family, the ancestors would be brought home on New Year's Eve and then sent off on the first day of the new year. When sending off the ancestors it must be directly according to the auspicious times, and before sending off the ancestors, thirty-six dishes must be made by the Song family to pay tribute to the ancestors. In order to prove that the Song family line had been inherited continuously, so that the ancestors could go back with confidence.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

To make thirty-six dishes, it naturally took some time. Although before this, the basic preparatory work had been done. But it still took at least an hour or two on the stove alone. If it was before, when there were many children in the Song family, each person may only have to be responsible for one or two dishes, and it would be faster. But now there were only the old man and Tao Mu, and the old man had to cook twenty-eight dishes by himself. This was a big project.

When Song Daozhen was woken up, he felt a little dazed. After being dazed for a long time, he came back to his senses.

Tao Mu turned on the hot air conditioner, placed the jacket hanging on the radiator over the old man, and pulled out the cotton trousers covered by the quilt. When putting on shoes for the old man, he frowned and said, "Why is this room still so cold? Should we hire someone to set up floor heating?"

"Don't bother with such an old house." Song Daozhen waved his hand. This ancestral house of the Song family was handed down since from the Qing Dynasty. It was said to be an antique, and it indeed looked very impressive. But whoever lived in it knew what it was truly like. Cold in winter and hot in summer, and in addition the lighting was not good either. A few years ago, the water, electricity and heating was finally set up with difficulty, but over the years, the pipes had aged, and there were always problems.

Last year, Tao Mu made money in H Town, and when he came back, he overhauled the pipelines of the orphanage and the Song family residence. In particular, the east and west wing rooms of the Song family residence. He also specially went to Liulichang Cultural Street to hire an engineering team that repaired cultural relics and historic sites. From the windows and walls to the interior decorations. At that time, the yard was full of chaos and noise, annoying Mr. Song terribly.

He survived that period with great difficulty, and he was not willing to suffer it a second time.

"But you don't like the hot air conditioner." Tao Mu squatted on the ground and put on the old man's shoes for him: "Electric hot air is an open flame, which is too unsafe. And after a long time, you'll feel dry in the mouth. We should at least find a way to warm up the house."

"Blowing the air conditioner makes me sick." Old man Song waved his hand. He was too old to enjoy the blessing of the air conditioner: "Besides, it's quite warm in this room. I've been here for so many years, and I'm used to it. It's all you young people, who look very strong and hotblooded, but in actuality are not resistant to the cold at all."

As old man Song spoke, his eyes fell on Tao Mu's long, slender and straight legs. Only a thin pair of jeans wrapped Tao Mu's legs, giving him a shockingly out of place thin look. Old man Song frowned and found that things were not that simple: "You are not wearing cotton pants again?"

"We are taking the car when we go out, and there is heating in the house." Tao Mu blinked, pointed to the basin of warm water on the washbasin rack, and said, "I've filled it up with wash water. I'm going out now—"

"Stinky boy, not wearing cotton leggings in winter, and it's minus fifteen or sixteen degrees outside…..why don't you freeze to death!"

Tao Mu hurriedly fled but still could not avoid the scolding. The loud scolding from Mr. Song standing at the door directly awakened the others in the courtyard. Everyone grinning and wrapped in down jackets and large cotton-padded jackets to stand on the veranda to watch the scene.

When the old man finished washing and entered the kitchen, Tao Mu was still squatting in front of the stove, silently guarding his dignity as an idol—resolutely refusing to wear cotton leggings.

"It's minus fifteen degrees outside, and the northwest wind is blowing harshly. If you don't wear cotton leggings today, we won't send off the ancestors." Old man Song angrily stood on the other side of the stove: "I imagine the old Song family ancestors also don't want to see the direct disciple of the Song family freeze to death outside because of their stinky vanity."

"We're taking the car when we go out, and there is heating in the house….." Tao Mu still said, "I don't feel cold either."

And besides, how could celebrities wear cotton leggings to keep warm? Do you still have the dignity of an idol? Especially when walking the red carpet or watching a fashion show, how could you put on a layer of cotton leggings because of the cold? Those female stars even bare their thighs and show their shoulders. Us men were already much better off, alright?

"And I have heat packets inside my jacket." Tao Mu said cleverly, "It's really not cold."

"You know that old Liu at the entrance of the alley, who drank too much outside on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, stumbled and slept by the street lamp, that drunkard?" Mr. Song gave an example to tell Tao Mu of the consequences of not wearing cotton leggings in the north: "When the street sweeper found him the next morning, he was already frozen to death, purple and blue all over. Frozen stiff and didn't look good at all."

"Also, Principle Yun came to Song Ji for dinner two days ago, and told me that some little girls are now learning to dress up like those in Korean dramas, wearing cotton clothes on top, no cotton leggings underneath, just bare legs and skirt. In the end freezing so bad they urinated blood….."

Tao Mu was about to explain that he was different from them, only to look up and see old man Song's firm gaze. Got it. Nothing to say now.

"I'm going to wear cotton leggings." Tao Mu went back into his room gloomily, and pulled out a pair of thin cotton leggings. Old man Song followed and stared: "Wear thicker ones."

Tao Mu was even more unhappy. When he put on thick cotton leggings with jeans, he felt very bloated. This time, old man Song was satisfied: "That's right. In winter, you have to wear thick clothes that will make people feel warm just by looking at them."

Despite his desperate struggles he still failed to keep his idol's dignity of never wearing cotton leggings. Tao Mu turned on his phone gloomily. He had always been a person who liked to share his bad mood with others. This new year, he originally wanted to show kindness and turn a blind eye to the actions of a certain old bastard. But now…..this baby was not happy anymore, so what did he still care if the old bastard was happy or not?

Tao Mu harrumphed twice and messaged FlyNews Entertainment to send two reporters to squat outside the Song family's ancestral tomb. By the way, he also had drother Da Hui go over in advance to make some preparations as well. Although it was New Year's Day, the entertainment industry always celebrated the New Year when there was gossip, and not when there was no gossip. Therefore, entertainment reporters, gossip magazines and paparazzi were also the same as the special types of work in the country. They only have shifts and no holidays. Of course, as a CEO who was keen to go home for the New Year, Tao Mu treated those who couldn't go home for the New Year, or who couldn't rest during the New Year, such as the employees of FlyNews Entertainment who need to always devote themselves to the cause of gossip very well. The overtime pay for the New Year's holiday, which was ten times the daily salary, and the luxury New Year's Eve dinner delivery ordered from a five-star hotel were provided, and as a result the reporters of the FlyNews Entertainment Department nearly fought over who could take the New Year's holiday shift—

So long as your family was by your side, you could celebrate the New Year every day. But ten times the overtime pay was only available for a few days of the year!

Not knowing that his grandson wanted to find someone to vent his annoyance, old man Song supervised as Tao Mu changed into the thick cotton leggings, and only then did he slip back to the kitchen to prepare dishes for ancestor worship in peace.

When the dishes were ready, one old and one young solemnly placed thirty-six Song family dishes one by one in front of the ancestral tablets, making three bows and nine kowtows, and then respectfully invited the ancestors to have a taste. After that was the journey to send the ancestors back to the ancestral grave.

Tao Mu noticed that old man Song also held a red sandalwood box containing the "Song Family Cookbook" and felt a little curious.

Facing Tao Mu's curiosity, old man Song didn't say anything. He sat in the back seat with a gloomy face, the shadows on both sides of the driveway flickering past and causing old man Song to look like he was about to melt into the darkness.

By the time Liu Yao and Meng Qi drove them to the Song family's ancestral tomb, it was already more than six o'clock in the morning. There was a smear of white in the sky.

Yao Shengan, who arrived at the Song family's ancestral tomb on time at four o'clock, waited in the car for more than two hours before seeing their car. Immediately, he got out of the car with a dark face: "Didn't you say four o'clock?"

Old man Song held the ancestral tablet and glanced expressionlessly at Yao Shengan, who had a very ugly expression on his face: "Didn't you say that you want to kneel in front of my father's grave for a day and a night? I'm worried that your old bones won't be able to stand it, so I prepared for you to kneel for two hours. Yet you didn't kneel in the end at all."

"Then why have you come here so early?" Song Daozhen looked at Yao Shengan with a puzzled expression.

Yao Shengan was almost angered to death by Song Daozhen's remarks. He almost forgot, Song Daozhen had always been such a person who liked to make bogus accusations since he was young.

At that time, the Song family hadn't fallen yet. The patriarch of the Song family accepted a total of two disciples, one was him, and the other was Wang Yipin. Song Daozhen was the only son of the old patriarch of the Song family, and the only heir of the Song family's generation. His age was also young, so he was naturally spoiled by everyone. Therefore, Song Daozhen was also a hell child since childhood. He had a lively personality that did not allow him to sit still. He was always full of bad ideas and tricks, often angering the Song patriarch into using the family punishment on him, punishing him to kneel in the ancestral hall.

Later, after going through that special era, the whole Song family died out or scattered, and Song Daozhen was hit hard and unable to recover after many years.

Thinking of these past events, Yao Shengan couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect you to think so. If you explained it to me, I would naturally keel here willingly and ask my teacher for forgiveness."

Song Daozhen sneered: "What I think is my business. It has nothing to do with your actions. If you truly have the heart, since you have arrived in front of the Song family's grave, you should kneel and cry for forgiveness. It's not like the ancestors of the Song family would jump out from their coffins to stop you. Why do you still need to ask for permission?"

Song Daozhen, when either speaking or doing things, never bothered to show face to others. Speaking whatever was on his mind: "You insist on kneeling in front of others to apologize, and have others watch you kowtow and offer incense. Whether you really have the heart to apologize or this is all just a pretense, you know it yourself."

Song Daozhen said, looking coldly at the two reporters who got out of the Yao family's car carrying cameras: "It seems like it is me who thought too highly of myself. Looks like it is not me you want to put on an act in front of."

Song Daozhen placed the tablets of the ancestors of the Song family on the grave. In front of the ancestors, he returned the sandalwood box that Yao Shengan had sent back: "When I was sorting out the "Song Family Cookbook", I found that there were more than ten extra recipes in the back, which should not belong to the Song family. Now what should be returned is returned to the rightful owner."

At that time, when patriarch Song was still alive, Song Daozhen had not inherited Song Ji, so he was not qualified to read the ancestral recipes. Song Daozhen based it on the time—the day Yao Shengan took someone to seize and confiscate the Song family, stealing the ancestral recipe. From that day onwards, Mr. Song tore off all the dishes recorded in the "Song Family Cookbook" and returned it to Yao Shengan together with the sandalwood box.

"In the Song family's teachings, what is not my Song family's things, we must not be greedy and covet it. If there are descendants in the family who studied outside the art of culinary, and want to record the dishes they have learned in the "Song Family Cookbook", they must obtain the consent of the other party. Either exchange recipes, or buy them with money, and if necessary, they could provide for the other party's retirement. If in the future, the descendants of the person who gifted or taught them the recipe lost their ancestral recipes and asked the Song family for it, the Song family can't shirk the request. They must not hold an overly sentimental attachment to it. They must remember their gratitude….."

Song Daozhen stood in front of the Song family's ancestral tomb and recited a paragraph of the Song family's family motto. Then he looked at Yao Shengan with a blank expression: "Mr. Yao had betrayed his teacher to set up his own business. Since then, he is no longer a member of the Song family. The Song family also doesn't want to have a good relationship with Mr. Yao, nor do we want to hold gratitude towards you for passing on your art. So I return to you everything that belongs to Yao Shengan. You can check it over yourself."

Yao Shengan looked at Song Daozhen with a complicated look. This was the character of the Song family. Even if they had been ravaged by wind and rain, they would never veer off from its original intention.

"This is my kind regard. It is also my compensation to the Song family. I hope you can accept it." Yao Shengan smiled in self-ridicule when he said this: "After all, I also learned this skill from the Song family."

"I already said, so long as the Song family's recipe collection is completely returned. Since it is complete, whether it is one dish missing or a dozen new dishes added, it will not be complete." Song Daozhen's mindset were very clear: "Although your cooking skills are learned from the Song family, you also betrayed your teacher and deceived the ancestors. Therefore, there is no longer any kindness between you and the Song family. If you want to mention the word relationship, then this relationship is that of enmity. "

"If you still have face and conscience, you should stop using the Song family recipes to benefit your Yao family. After all, you have established your own business. Instead of continuing to use Song family recipes like a thief, you might as well find a way to promote the Yao family cuisine, which can also be considered as proving your Yao family name."

Song Daozhen lit three sticks of incense while talking: "Now, kowtow to make amends. After kowtowing, you can leave."

Yao Shengan didn't expect that Song Daozhen would actually respond like this before he could even find a chance to make scene. In just a few words, all his previous plans were shattered.

That was why he hated people like the Song family the most. No matter what the temperament of the family's descendants was like, they all possessed such an old-fashioned and sour temperament down to their bones. Everything had to be according to the family rules. Please, what era is it now? Everyone paid attention to interests and profit first, yet Song Daozhen holding the "Song Family Cookbook" and guarding such a Song Ji that had fallen to disrepair, what kind of accomplishment could he even achieve?

After another ten or eight years, when Song Daozhen also died, the Song family would face the danger of losing the family art and the breaking of the family bloodline. Instead of watching these things get lost, why not let him use them instead. It could not only solve the crisis of the Sheng'an Group, but also promote the Song Ji brand.

What was more, Song Daozhen was now a major shareholder of Sheng'an Group. It was useless for him to guard an empty Song Ji, and it was better to leave it to the Sheng'an Group to take care of it instead. Else the brand of the Song family also completely declined with the end of the Song family bloodline.

Song Daozhen didn't expect that Yao Shengan still had plans on Song Ji, and immediately became angry: "Get out of here!"

Song Daozhen picked up a stick and directly beat Yao Shengan and the bodyguard and reporter he brought with him out of the Song family's ancestral tomb. Watching Yao Shengan hide pathetically behind the bodyguard.

"Think about it. Don't be so impulsive when you are already at such an advanced age. Although you hate me, you don't want Song Ji to disappear in your hands, do you? When the time comes, you will have no face to meet the ancestors of the Song family. How will you explain to the ancestors of the Song family!" Yao Shengan knew Song Daozhen's weakness, and every word he spoke stabbrd at Song Daozhen's heart.

Yao Shengan saw that Tao Mu didn't bring reporters here, and the only two cameramen present were those he brought with him and were naturally on his side. So his speech and demeanor instantly relaxed a lot. In front of Song Daozhen, Tao Mu and the others, he brazenly said some harsh words, and then got into the car surrounded by bodyguards and drove away.

Song Daozhen clutched his chest angrily and cursed loudly. He had never seen such a brazenly shameless person. He ruined the Song family, and now he still had the nerve to covet Song Ji. Even if he brought the plaque of Song Ji into the coffin with him, he would never let Yao Shengan succeed.

"Grandpa, don't be angry. That old bastard won't succeed." While Tao Mu comforted his old man, he looked at the two FlyNews Entertainment reporters who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as well as brother Da Hui, who came to make arrangements ahead of time.

"Everything was filmed?"

The two reporters nodded viciously. Yao Shengan really was a shameless bastard. Even two onlooking outsiders like them couldn't stand it any longer.

Da Hui walked behind the Song family's ancestral tomb, and took out a few pinhole cameras hidden in the corners that had been secretly recording everything. The sky was still hazy, and it was dark everywhere. Yao Shengan and his people didn't notice these "mechanisms" at all.

Tao Mu sneered. His days had been spent too happily, and he had been more willing to put on a kindly appearance, so it seemed some people forgot and really regarded him as a holy father.

"Shock! The founder and current chairman of Sheng'an Group, Yao Shengan, went to the Song family's grave to worship on the morning of the first day of the new year, but was driven away with a stick!"

"The chairman of Sheng'an Group sincerely repents, but the Song family refuses to accept it!"

"There is a video and the truth. The founder of Sheng'an Group stood guard at the Song family's ancestral tomb at four o'clock in the morning on the first day of the new year, and waited for more than two hours, but the heir of the Song family scolded and beat the other with a stick. Mr. Yao was forced to leave in embarrassment..…"

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

Clicking on the video, one could see Yao Shengan's desolate figure supporting his old and sick self appearing alone at the end of the twelfth lunar month, which was full of New Year flavor, laughter and family reunion everywhere. However, Mr. Yao, who was in his old age, had to leave his warm and comfortable home and rush to the cold Beijing to fulfill his promise.

In the video, Mr. Yao arrived in the capital and checked into the hotel alone. After settling down, he first made a phone call to report his whereabouts to Tao Mu. He expressed his wish that if the Song family wanted to, he could even kneel before his teacher's grave for a day and a night. Sure enough, Song Daozhen refused.

On the screen, one could clearly hear Song Daozhen on the phone telling Yao Shengan to go to the Song family grave at four o'clock in the morning on the first day of the new year. As a result, Yao Shengan came to the appointment. In the cold night, when thousands of households were enjoying the happiness and beauty of the festive reunion, a lone figure waited for more than two hours in the cold darkness. It wasn't until the light of dawn appeared in the sky that the Song family finally arrived.

Of course, the edited video would not contain Song Daozhen's rebuke of Yao Shengan's dishonesty. Only Yao Shengan, who was coldly treated, kowtowing behind Song Daozhen and offering incense, expressing sincere shame and that he was willing to give the recipes he developed to the Song family to atone for his sins, only to be expelled by Song Daozhen with a cudgel and curses.

"Is it my illusion? Why do I think Mr. Yao in the video looks pitiful? He is already so old, yet can't peacefully celebrate the New Year at home, and instead has to rush to the capital to apologize to the Song family. Only to encounter such an embarrassing situation."

"Upstairs +1. I really think Mr. Song went too far. Although the Song family ended badly because of Yao Shengan's report back then, but think about it carefully, Yao Shengan didn't really do anything at the time. He just did what most people in that era would do. After all, he didn't personally kill anyone. And he also regrets it now. Even if the Song family doesn't want to forgive him, they don't have to beat him with a stick and scold him so badly."

"In any case, he's in his 70s. Leaving his hometown on the first day of the new year to come to the capital all by himself to kowtow and make amends. And he was almost even injured by the Song family. Seeing Yao Shengan's hurriedly leaving back, why do I feel so uncomfortable?!"

"Of course Yao Shengan was wrong back then. But he can give 20% of the shares of Sheng'an Group to the Song family, and he is willing to kowtow to the Song family's grave on the first day of the new year to make amends. How can it be said that he is sincere? Even if the Song family doesn't accept it, they shouldn't treat Yao Shengan like this."

"I watched the video and Mr. Tao was standing behind Mr. Song the whole time. Why couldn't he persuade Mr. Song!"

"It's too much."

"Forget about Mr. Song. After all, the Song family was really hurt by Yao Shengan. I can understand his feelings. But I can't understand why Tao Mu didn't persuade Mr. Song. After all, Yao Shengan is in his seventies. He is also an old man of his grandfather's generation. How can he watch Yao Shengan being driven away by Mr. Song with a stick. I really didn't expect the person I like to be so vicious, I am so disappointed."

"I'm very suspicious, are there really Tao Mu fans upstairs? Have you forgotten how the Yao family bribed the media and Tao Mu's adoptive parents to discredit Tao Mu? Now they just want to whitewash themselves with this video. It's so funny, right? Also, the netizens who said Yao Shengan has sincerity, don't forget that Yao Shengan didn't willingly apologize to the Song family. Clearly it was them who was forced by CEO Tao to a dead end, and that they would go bankrupt if they don't make amends, and in the end had to admit defeat and make amends under the mediation of the Shanghai city officials, right? How come you say that this is Yao Shengan's sincerity in making amends?"

"That's right. Some people's remarks are really inexplicable. When did losing and being forced to admit defeat become whitewashed into sincerity? It almost made me think I went insane. I thought that the big melon I was eating a few months ago was my memory loss!"

"And that video, anyone with a discerning eye would know that it was edited. I'm puzzled, if Yao Shengan really had the sincerity to kowtow and make amends, why did he have the extra mind to bring a cameraman over with him? The narrative perspective of watching this video is clearly from Yao Shengan's standpoint, right? If Yao Shengan is not fishy at all, why doesn't he dare to release the whole video? Who is he going to fool with such an edited video?"

"The people upstairs are Tao Mu's fans, right? Your words don't even make sense. Mr. Yao left Shanghai in the morning of New Year's Eve and arrived at the Song family's ancestral grave in the early morning of New Year's Day to make amends. There were nearly a dozen hours in between. How can the video be uploaded without editing it? Of course, the key points must be extracted and released while the less important points are cut out. This is the case even when shooting TV dramas. It is impossible to upload all the material."

"You also know that making TV is different from real life? But Yao Shengan really wants to turn his life into a TV series. If he loves acting so much, why didn't he enter the entertainment industry as an actor?"

"….."

Not mentioning how Tao Mu's fans refuted what some netizens said. In 's technical department, seeing that their boss was smeared by a group of unidentified netizens, the director of the technical department couldn't help but suggest: "Mr. Tao. Many of these remarks are sent by proxy IPs. Shall we check it? At least ban a batch of puppet accounts?"

Tao Mu waved his hand: "Don't pay attention to these remarks. You just need to identify which accounts are water army. Let them say whatever they want. Anyway, the more fun they have, the more heat they bring, the higher the website traffic. Why, they are also generating income for our ! So don't be too harsh on them."

"But they are leading on the netizens and smearing your name, which is also very detrimental to 's image." The public relations manager of frowned. Although he had long realized his own boss's bloody storm attracting physique. But he never imagined that Tao Mu would make the headlines on the first day of the new year. Now half of the people on the entire network are criticizing Tao Mu. If it went on like this, he was afraid that only more netizens would be affected.

"Don't worry. Controversy leads to traffic. Look at the lively discussions they have online, almost half of them say they hate me. But you look at the background data of . Are there really people who deregister from because they hate me?"

The manager of the public relations department was taken aback for a moment. Of course no one deregistered and left. Not only that, there were more and more netizens registering on in the past two days.

"You see." Tao Mu smiled slightly, and said calmly: "Young people, don't be impatient. Besides, you clearly know that those people were hired by the Yao family to smear me. Yet at the juncture you choose to ban accounts. Aren't you afraid that they will continue to set the rhythm and even attract the fire to ?"

Everyone was stunned when they heard these words.

Tao Mu crossed his arms across his chest and smiled at the soaring background data. It had to be said that Yao Shengan, that old fox, really understood the human hearts very well. First, he made such an ambiguous video clip and uploaded it to the Internet—and it was also on and created by Tao Mu himself. Putting on a frank and fearless look that stated they were not afraid that Tao Mu would delete the water army accounts on the two websites.

In fact, Tao Mu could guess darkly, maybe Yao Shengan was expecting him to do so. At that time, not only could the water army lead the rhythm of smearing the Song family and Tao Mu himself, but they could even slander and accuse the sight of disregarding human rights by refusing to let its competitors speak up; that Tao Mu in order to shield Song Daozhen, indicated to take an unfair position of blocking and banning differing views. The so-called raking grass and beating rabbits, they put on a pitiful act while pouring cold water on the super popular .

Unfortunately, Yao Shengan also miscalculated Tao Mu's tough skin. In his last life, he had had the experience of being rhythmically slandered by people all over the Internet. To him, this bit of rain was like summer drizzle. Other than reducing dryness, it was completely useless.

Was Tao Mu the kind of glass-hearted person who was afraid of being scolded by others? Obviously not. This dude had thick skin as thick as a city wall. Even if you point at his nose and scold him to his face, he could take it all with a smile so long as there was benefit in it, not to mention the words of strangers on the Internet that neither hurt or itch. Separated by a layer of computer screen, who knew whether you are a human or a beast?

Think about it from another angle. On the first day of the new year, they don't play mahjong with their family, and instead act indignant on the Internet to fight injustice for the perpetrators. How miserable and pitiful they must be in real life. So long as you think about these objective conditions, even if those netizens genuinely hated Tao Mu and hated him from the bottom of their hearts, Tao Mu was too lazy to get angry with them at all.

You have the time to feel sorry for Yao Shengan? It's likely that this group of keyboard warriors with goldfish brains had forgotten that Yao Shengan, no matter how pitiful, was worth several times more than these people could ever earn in a lifetime. Besides, the only way they could express their hate for Tao Mu was to sign up for a account and keep posting comments and contributing to traffic…..

With the facts in front of him, Tao Mu didn't want to say anything superfluous.

The employees, who were originally angry and indignant, didn't want to say anything superfluous either when they heard their boss's words.

Okay. We actually had the time to sympathize with the boss and fight for the boss. How could we forget that no matter how pitiful the boss was, this dude created , the most influential social platform on the entire network. This dude was worth was at least hundreds of millions of dollars, which was a wealth that they couldn't catch up to in their whole lives—oh, by the way, thanks to the whole network slandering their boss, these poor little fellows have to go back to the company to work overtime during the Chinese New Year. They didn't even have the chance to squat with their family to play mahjong!

Not noticing that his words shattered several glass hearts on the ground, Tao Mu quietly waited for the video to ferment. As expected, after Yao Shengan tentatively posted a clipped video on the Internet and Tao Mu did not make any clarification, Yao Shengan seemed to become certain that Tao Mu did not take reporters to the Song family cemetery, so he also couldn't provide strong evidence to refute his video. After that, Yao Shengan's actions became indeed much more audacious. Not only did he buy the entertainment broadcast programs of major TV stations, but he even dared to accept interviews from major print media and entertainment magazines. And in front of the media, he packaged himself as a poor old man who was old but repentant, wanting to build the character image of "the prodigal son returned home is more precious than gold". (TN: saying that means those who turn over a new leaf is rare and therefore deserve to be accepted with open arms)

—It must be said, Yao Shengan's acting talent was really good. If he had not founded Sheng'an Group and immersed himself in the catering industry, but had entered the entertainment industry, with his acting skills, it should not be a problem to win himself a best actor award.

Anyway, for a while, the media and netizens who spoke and interceded for Yao Shengan sprang up like mushrooms after a rain. Tao Mu was sitting at home watching TV, and he could see the media's follow-up reports on this incident on any random channel.

"Recently, the founder of Sheng'an Group went to Beijing to perform the contract. However, in reality, there was no laughing off and forgiving old grudges….."

"The old grudge between Yao Shengan, founder of Sheng'an Group, and Song Ji in Beijing had always moved people's hearts. Later, under the mediation of concerned people, the two reached a settlement. Song Ji requested that the founder of Sheng'an Group, Mr. Yao Shengan, worship and make amends to the Song family ancestors on the Chinese New Year. At four o'clock in the morning yesterday, Mr. Yao arrived as promised. However, after waiting for two hours, he was scolded and violently expelled by the Song family. Before that, the chairman of Sheng'an Group, in order to obtain the understanding of the Song family, once returned the private recipes that he had worked so hard on over many years, together with the Song family recipe book, back to the Song family….."

"Mr. Yao was interviewed by this newspaper and said that he understood the feelings of the Song family very well….."

With a "clack", Mr. Song angrily turned off the TV and threw down the remote control. He asked Tao Mu with a stern face: "How long are we going to endure him? Didn't you also record a video? Why don't you release it to refute them? Instead, letting that Yao Shengan talk nonsense on TV and deceive all the netizens who don't know the truth."

Tao Mu cut the apple into pieces and poked one with a toothpick and handed it to the old man while comforting: "Don't be angry. You just consider it as watching a big show. It is rare that Yao Shengan, the chairman of a group worth tens of billions of dollars, is willing to go to such an extent to put on a big show for you. You have to be happy and appreciate it to your heart's content. It won't be too late for us to deal with him later."

"I've appreciated it enough now. Hurry up and use what trick you have up your sleeve. I don't want to see him again. If it goes on like this, I won't be able to have peace this year."

"Okay." Tao Mu nodded in agreement with a smile. Anyway, three days have passed, and everything was almost fermented. The first wave of enthusiasm from netizens was almost vented, and it was time to reverse the tide.

And Tao Mu's method of reversing was actually very simple. It was so simple that it was practically boring—he just uploaded the video of the day they went to worship ancestors by a reporter from FlyNews Entertainment on .

When uploading the video, Tao Mu even felt a bit sorry for Yao Shengan. Say, this old man was in his seventies this year, even if his skin had become hard and thick after years of honing, and even every wrinkle revealed a trace of shamelessness. But in any case, this fellow was at least an old man in his seventies. After such big ups and downs, strong winds and waves, he hoped that Mr. Yao was healthy enough to not pass out after seeing the full version of the video.

They all say that Tao Mu didn't know to have respect for the old and tenderness for the young. But Tao Mu was actually very sympathetic—but usually, his sympathy was not worth a penny _(:з)∠)_

On the day Tao Mu uploaded the all-angle uncensored video to the Internet, the keyboard warriors who have always liked to point out their IQ on the Internet once again felt the fear of being dominated by "faceslaps".

Yao Shengan said that he was tricked by the Song family to the ancestral tomb of the Song family at four o'clock in the morning, and waited for two hours in the dark and cold winter night while the Song family arrived at a late and leisurely time.

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—But the result was that Song Daozhen's few words in the video wiped out the pitiful atmosphere created by Yao Shengan. #He said that he was willing to kneel for a day and a night in order to ask for forgiveness, but he refused to kneel for just two hours, and even complained that Song Daozhen should not let him wait this long. Sure enough, the body is more honest than the mouth #faceslap bam bam bam.

Yao Shengan also said that in order to win the forgiveness of the Song family, he was willing to give over the recipes he had studied for many years. But the result was that Mr. Song did not care for it at all. His words on returning what belonged to the proper owner, coupled with the sincere and unpretentious Song family motto, directly pushed Yao Shengan's scheming shrewdness into the cracks in the ground. Faceslap again.

In the video edited by Yao Shengan, the most controversial and what most dissatisfied the netizens, the "expelling with cudgel and curses" part, in truth turned out to be a result of Yao Shengan cursing the Song family in front of the Song family's ancestral tomb to have their bloodline end and even coveting the Song Ji brand.

Damn, don't mention the only descendant of the Song family who had been pitted by Yao Shengan for most of his life, even unrelated netizens who heard this wanted nothing more than to yell at him and throw him out!

This was too shameless! Standing on the grave of the Song family and cursing the Song family to die out and their family skills to be lost forever. Yao Shengan, did you forget that the reason why the Song family fell into this place today was entirely caused by you, you old bastard?

How can you make such a request so shamelessly? The netizens' three views were completely shattered, and all their jaws dropped in shock.

Sure enough, the people who could create such a big corporate group from scratch were different from us mere mortals. This black-hearted shamelessness was simply unmatched.

After uploading the complete video, Tao Mu asked the notary department to issue an appraisal to prove that the video had not been edited at all, and threw it all online. By the way, the online water army accounts hired by the Yao family, as well as the remarks posted by these accounts that deliberately provoked the rebellious psychology of netizens, were also circled and publicly exposed.

Things having progressed to this stage, all the truth and points of contention were now clear. If it was said that the ordinary melon-eating people were just in awe. The keyboard warriors who had been hired by the Yao family to lead the slander campaign completely felt their faces become swollen.

Once again, they felt that their IQ and conscience had been crushed and humiliated. In addition to their anger and embarrassment, these fickle keyboard warriors once again rushed to the FlyNews account of Sheng'an Group and Yao Shengan himself like a flood of beasts, venting their resentment with scolds and curses.

All kinds of foul language greeting the Yao family's female relatives were simply outrageous. At the critical moment, it was Tao Mu who stood forward and tried to dissuade the keyboard warriors who were blinded by anger: "Mr. Yao is in his seventies. He is also an old man from the grandpa generation. You grandsons—I am only referring to age, can you have some of the most basic Chinese traditional virtues of respecting the old and caring for the young? Why are you swearing in such ugly ways?"

"Mr. Yao is in his 70s. He just posted a video on the Internet to set a rhythm, and when he was interviewed by the media, he just pretended to be pitiful. He didn't point a gun at your head, forcing you to believe and sympathize with him and fight against injustice for him. Isn't it all done according to your own will and pleasure? It's currently the Chinese New Year holidays, yet you don't play mahjong or watch TV with family and friends, but instead go online and vent your passion. Even if Mr. Yao wants to build and stage and sing opera, it is you people who are willing to cheer for him below. Now the song ends and the curtain falls so you don't want to be a ghost and just want to pretend to be a human being? But you guys hiding under a layer of anonymity still appear like sneaking demons and monsters!"

"You guys actually dare to scold the founder of a corporate group worth tens of billions of dollars. I say, your heads are all quite inflated! Aren't you afraid that Mr. Yao might become angry, and in a fit of anger, the powerful lawyers of Sheng'an Group will come and sue you all one by one. After all, Mr. Yao is a fierce character who dared to curse the Song family to die out while still standing in the ancestral. The fellow wasn't even afraid of the Song family's ancestors jumping out of the coffin to seek revenge on him, so how could he be afraid of you clueless and blind idiots who so easily fall into the trap set by the water army?"

"Although defends your right to speak freely, it will not stop Sheng'an Group from using legal means to protect their legitimate rights and interests. Just as an advice, you guys scolding me at ordinary times is no problem. After all, I am the founder of . Just for the sake of traffic, I won't do anything to you. At most, I will just hand out some faceslaps and help you test your IQ. But some narrow-minded and thick-faced people are a completely different story."

"It being the New Year's, I advise everyone to eat more pig brains to supplement your own brains, and when looking for death don't take shortcuts."

Tao Mu's way of talking and chatting, especially when it came to bitching out others, possessed the essence of Mr. Song. This whole typed statement was full of the mean and sarcastic sneering that made people feel refreshed and full of enthusiasm after reading it.

Not mentioning Yao Shengan and a group of keyboard warriors who were ridiculed by Tao Mu. Even the irrelevant melon-eating people broke out into a cold sweat and felt relieved they hadn't followed along in the slander campaign after reading it.

Of course, there were also some keyboard warriors of unknown attributes who actually became Tao Mu's fans because of Tao Mu's long-winded scolding statement. Such fans didn't care about Tao Mu's career, nor did they care about Tao Mu's scandals. They just eagerly waited for Tao Mu to have his next bitch out with someone on the Internet.

They were just that weird.

But these were all afterwords.

Just in time for the New Year's, Yao Shengan, who was unprepared for Tao Mu's installation of pinhole cameras and monitors on the tomb, once again tasted the bitter fruit of trying to gain an advantage only to end up worse off. Yao Shengan and the Yao family, who deliberately guided public opinion only to be bitten by the keyboard warriors, were both terribly scolded.

When Tao Mu's hearty scolding speech was posted on the Internet, even the Sheng'an Group, which had been working hard to reduce its sense of presence, was not spared.

First, Yao Shengan's old scandals were exposed, and attracted Tao Mu and Xiaoheng Capital to jointly attack Sheng'an Group, causing the stock price of Sheng'an Group to plummet; later, there was the incident of the Yao family's eldest son-in-law embezzling public funds and waste oil scandal; then finally Yao Shengan cursing the Song family line to die out in front of the Song family's grave and coveting the brand of Song Ji was exposed. Although Yao Sheng'an himself was scolded by netizens, the Sheng'an Group was also burdened with losing any image they managed to hold onto. The corporate reputation plummeted once again.

Things should not be done more than three times. This time, even the shareholders of Sheng'an Group, who originally supported Yao Shengan, or did not dare to easily remove the chairman because of their concerns, couldn't bear it anymore.

In the absence of Yao Shengan himself, the shareholders of Sheng'an Group rushed on the fifth day of the Chinese New Year to hold another shareholders' meeting to discuss the removal of Yao Shengan's chairman seat. In the end, except for Yao Shengan and the Yao family who objected and Zhou Shenxing abstaining on behalf of Song Daozhen as usual, all the remaining shareholders voted in favor.

Yao Shengan, the founder of the Sheng'an Group, who used to be the chairman of the group, was undisputedly expelled from the board of directors.

After the news spread, Yao Shengan, who was still in the capital, instantly appeared to age more than ten years. He actually expected this day when Tao Mu took 20% of the shares of Sheng'an Group from the Yao family as Song Daozhen's representative. And everything he did after that was just because he was unwilling to give in without a fight.

It was a pity that Tao Mu got in the way, and he couldn't get his wish in the end.

Perhaps the Yao family's luck was exhausted. When he hung up the phone, Yao Shengan stood silently in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hotel room, quietly staring at the snow-covered Beijing City.

If he didn't have the attitude of calculating Song Daozhen when he came here, but discussed cooperation matters with Song Daozhen openly and honestly, would the development of things be different?

Yao Shengan asked himself and shook his head silently. Probably not. He knew the temperament of the Song family too well. This was a group of hard bones who were determined not to compromise with the enemy for the sake of profit. He believed that Song Daozhen would rather take the Song Ji plaque into the coffin than lend it to him to tide over the difficulties. Even if it was a win-win cooperation.

Fine! Even if Yao Shengan lost his seat as chairman of the Sheng'an Group, he still owned 20% of the shares of the Sheng'an Group. So long as the Sheng'an Group did not collapse, he would still be an entrepreneur with a net worth of tens of billions in this life.

He want to see with his own eyes how Song Daozhen will bring the plaque of Song Ji into the coffin after the Song family line died out!

On the other side, Tao Mu and old man Song obviously didn't know that a certain someone was silently cursing them and wanted to wait and see the day when the Song family line and family skills died out. The old man Song looked at the two uninvited guests who came from afar, and was even more surprised by the invitation from the two.

"Invite me to be the chairman of Sheng'an Group?" Song Daozhen repeated in disbelief, and couldn't help asking: "Are you well?"

Chairman Shen was displeased in his heart, but smiled amiably on the surface: "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Song. We have absolutely no intention of joking with you. Otherwise, us father and son would not represent the Sheng'an Group to come knocking on your door. In fact, inviting you to serve as the new chairman of Sheng'an Group is a decision passed by all shareholders of Sheng'an Group after a collective vote at the general meeting of shareholders. We all know Mr. Song is a man of character, as well as the golden quality of the Song Ji brand. Besides, you also own 10% of the shares of Sheng'an Group. Please come to serve as the new chairman of Sheng'an Group, which is something everyone is happy about."

This was indeed the case. The old grievances between the Yao family and the Song family were well known on the Internet. The reason why the company's reputation and image plummeted was because of this damn thing when all was said and done. Therefore, asking Song Daozhen and Song Ji to join the Sheng'an Group was definitely a booster for the current Sheng'an Group. Not only could it successfully turn over the past events of Sheng'an Group's unrighteousness, but also increase the publicity and positive image of Sheng'an Group.

One must know that the Song family motto Song Daozhen recited in front of the Song family tomb was now circulated all over the Internet. Many netizens were therefore particularly interested in Song Ji's past and took the initiative to post on the Internet to ask about various anecdotes related to Song Ji. The Song family had a history that was passed down from the Qing Dynasty era to the present, and the historical accumulation of more than a hundred years was more likely to arouse the national pride of netizens.

So now, Song Ji was definitely a time-honored Internet celebrity that netizens were very concerned about. If they could borrow the Song Ji brand, then the scandal embroiled Sheng'an Group could definitely get a fresh start, if not totally forgiven.

It must be said that even if Yao Shengan's methods were dirty, his calculations were excellent. The Shen family father and son were also inspired by Yao Shengan's actions. They believed that the Sheng'an Group did not necessarily need Yao Shengan. If Song Daozhen could replace him and take charge of Sheng'an Group, it is likely that the effect would be better than Yao Shengan remaining as chairman. Other shareholders of Sheng'an Group watched the video and thought this move was particularly good as well.

Unfortunately, Yao Shengan underestimated Tao Mu's combat power. The Sheng'an Group also knew nothing about the temperament of the Song family.

Song Daozhen even refused to accept the dozen or so recipes that Yao Shengan added to the "Song Family Cookbook", so how could he accept the Sheng'an Group created by Yao Shengan himself?

"I'm not interested!" Song Daozhen's face sank immediately after hearing the words of the Shen family. What was their meaning? Let him take care of the food group created by the enemy? This was to use his Song family's reputation as a rag!

"Out! Out! Out!" Song Daozhen impatiently picked up the broom and pushed the people out of Song Ji.

It was the New Year's, why were these people so annoying, couldn't they let him have a peaceful New Year's!

"Mr. Song, please think about it again." When the father and son of the Shen family were kicked out of Song Ji, they did not forget to continue their lobbying: "The current situation of the Song family is indeed true that there is no successor. I believe that Mr. Song does not want Song Ji to end with you either and for this brand to disappear. Your joining the Sheng'an Group is a win-win for both Song Ji and Sheng'an Group. "

Father Shen turned his head to look at Tao Mu, judging others with himself: "Mr. Tao should also persuade the old gentleman. Isn't the best way to get revenge on a person by watching his career after decades of hard work end up belonging to others? Besides, Yao Shengan's craftsmanship was originally inherited from Song Ji, and now if Mr. Song becomes in charge of Sheng'an Group, it can also be considered a product of the karmic cycle—"

"Obviously our old man's thinking is not the same as yours." Tao Mu smiled slightly and interrupted Chairman Shen's words: "Do not do to others what you don't want to do to yourself. Back then, Yao Shengan coveted the recipes passed down from the Song family's ancestors, and did not hesitate to harm the whole Song family. If today our old man went to the Sheng'an Group to be the chairman of the board for revenge, how would his behavior be different from that of Yao Shengan? The Song family's clean reputation over several lifetimes built the Song Ji brand. We really don't have the desire to be a rag cloth. I suggest that the Sheng'an Group invite another talented person to fill the spot."

"But Song Ji—"

"Please!" Tao Mu firmly saw them out the door: "It's freezing cold, be careful of slippery roads."

If it was said that Song Daozhen and the Shen family had a dissidence of opinion, Tao Mu and the Shen family have nothing to say to each other at all. After sending the visitors away directly, Tao Mu turned back to Song Ji. He found that the old man Song, who had just now kicked people out with a broom so energetically, was sitting silently in front of the kitchen stove with his head down and silent.

Tao Mu knew that no matter how firm and strong old man Song appeared on the surface, those bastards' words were actually stabbing into the heart of the old man.

The old man was really worried that after he passed away, there would be no successor to the Song family, and the brand of Song Ji would also die out. Tao Mu, as a direct disciple of the old man, since he had been carefully trained by the old man, even if he ran off to act and do business, he still had the obligation to inherit and carry on the Song Ji name.

He wouldn't just watch the old man be troubled.

"Old man," Tao Mu half-squatted in front of Song Daozhen, looked up at the old man's gray hair and wrinkled face, and asked warmly, "Do you want to open a chef school?"

"Huh?" Just now immersed in his own thoughts, Song Daozhen hadn't paid attention to what Tao Mu said.

"I mean open a school to teach people cooking." Tao Mu said patiently: "The way I see it, we can use the brand of Song Ji to open a chef school and recruit students from the whole society. The Sheng'an Group's 10% dividend is enough to pay for opening a chef school. We can recruit people from here first. You can consider carefully to see which student's talent meets the requirements of the Song family apprentices. We can accept some apprentices and then slowly cultivate them. We can even use the Song family motto as the school rules, and all students must recite the family rules. And the Song family rules will be taken as the code of conduct and professional standards. If there are people who are particularly pleasing to the eye, you can always accept them as direct disciples and pass on your craftsmanship in person. After they have completed their studies, they can go to open a branch of Song Ji or stay in Song Ji as chefs."

"This should be a big project. But we can take it slowly. What do you think?"

Mr. Song was going to establish a school!

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the main room of the Song family courtyard residence was full of people. Tao Mu called everyone together to discuss the idea of running a school under the Song Ji brand.

"This sounds good!" Qin Miaoru patted her thigh and was the first to agree: "Mr. Song is so good at cooking, and Song Ji's brand is also very notable. Establishing a school at this juncture just happens to rub off on the current heat on the Internet. Let Xiao Mu publicize it on , and there will definitely be many people willing to sign up. At that time, Mr. Song will have disciples and grand-disciples all over the world, and all the good cooks in China will be from Song Ji. Let's see if they dare to say that the Song family will die out without a successor."

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The current editor-in-chief of 's entertainment department, Da Fei, who once wanted to recognize old man Song as his godfather, also slapped his hands and cheered: "I also think this can be done. Aren't Yao Shengan and the Sheng'an Group just relying on their large numbers to bully Song Ji. Now after opening a school and cultivating some students, training them to be good cooks, let them open Song Ji branch restaurants all over the country. We can also try to get Song Ji floated on the stock market as well. Push them out of the consumer market."

In contrast, Liu Yao and Meng Qi's thinking was much more realistic.

"It's a good thing to establish a school. The Song family is upright and honest, and Song Ji is a century-old brand. If it can be passed down in this way, it will be a really good thing indeed." Meng Qi said with a smile, "It's just, about the teachers and teaching materials. Mister is getting old. If he really taught on the front lines, I am afraid that his energy will not be enough. Besides, it will also be too busy with just himself. It will be great if we can find other senior brothers and sisters of Song Ji."

Tao Mu turned to look at the old man Song: "I remember that old Mr. Song accepted a total of two disciples at that time. Besides Yao Shengan, there was also a second disciple, called Wang Yipin, right? Can you still find this senior uncle now?"

The old man Song shook his head slowly: "He is long gone." The Song family was not a big family, and after the disaster that year, the senior brothers and sisters in the same sect also died and scattered. In the years after Mr. Song returned to Beijing from the farm, he also inquired about the whereabouts of the other people. It was a pity that most of those senior brothers and sisters were much older than him. Some didn't make it through that era. Some of them survived to their 70s and 80s, but they all also passed away one by one. The remaining family members of those senior brothers and sisters were fine at first, but as time passed, they gradually lost contact.

Song Daozhen was the only one left to guard the Song Ji plaque, quietly waiting for when he would also pass away and take the Song Ji plaque into the coffin with him.

But Song Daozhen did not expect that one day, he would have the opportunity to revitalize Song Ji.

"Although there were not many direct disciples of the Song family, Song Ji also trained a lot of apprentices. These apprentices were recorded disciples rather than direct disciples. Because of their poor talent, they were not included in the Song family's direct teaching. They were not allowed to use the Song Ji signboard when selling food. Just don't know if these people are still alive and if so, will they like to be teachers?"

Song Daozhen said this, but in fact he held no hope. At the beginning, the Song family disliked these people's low talent, and did not allow them to use the Song Ji name even though they passed on their craftsmanship to them. So those people may not have any feelings for Song Ji. Of course, they would also have no obligation to revitalize Song Ji. Besides, the Song family looked down on them back then, but now that Song Ji had declined, they now thought of them again. Old man Song didn't know whether those people would be agreeable or not.

Liu Yao frowned and said, "Actually, we don't have to make things so complicated. It's good to be able to recruit chefs who are related to Song Ji. Even if you can't recruit them, it's the same as recruiting chefs from outside. I remember that Wen Juxiang's boss also studied at Song Ji back then, right? Boss Wen has been engaged in the catering industry for so many years, and he should have contact with many chefs. We might as well ask him to help introduce a few reliable chefs, and then let Mr. Song check them out. If there is no problem, just invite them to be teachers at the chef school."

This was also a solution. However, Tao Mu knew the knot in old man Song's heart. The old man wanted to revitalize Song Ji, and of course he wanted to find someone who had a relationship with Song Ji. Otherwise, when the school was opened and yet none of the teachers who taught were really from Song Ji. It was estimated that the old man would not be able to overcome this hurdle.

"I'll call Wen Bao, forget it, I'll go directly to Wen Juxiang and talk to Uncle Wen."

"That's fine," Liu Yao said, "I'll walk around with your Xiao Qi Dad, and see where there are locations to set up the school. If it doesn't work, let's buy land and build a school by ourselves. Mr. Song can sort out the Song family's rules at home, and the ways the Song family trained their apprentices back then. Let's first write out a curriculum, but if that doesn't work we can visit other chef training schools for reference."

When the school site was selected, they could also carry out the school establishment procedures on the way. Liu Yao also had the old man stay at home and think about the name of the school. With Song Ji as the reference, whether it was called Song Ji Chef Training School, Song Ji Cooking Academy, or Song Ji Cooking Art or something…..this was a big deal.

Originally, Mr. Song was depressed and worried because of Yao Shengan's shenanigans, but after being urged by Tao Mu and his dads, he was no longer in the mood to feel frustrated and worried. Holding the book of Song family's family motto and rules, he wrote for several days in the small study, and finally named the school Song Ji Apprenticeship Training School.

Just like when the Song family opened a restaurant and taught apprentices craftsmanship, and then picked out the apprentices who were pleasing to the eye and passed the test as entry-level disciples. This was the inheritance of Song Ji, which was part of Song Ji's tradition. And Song Daozhen was in charge of teaching apprentices back then.

From Song Daozhen's point of view, the reason they founded the school now was to recruit apprentices and then select entry level disciples from the apprentices. So the name of the school described to a certain extent the traditional history of Song Ji passed down from generation to generation.

When Tao Mu and the others heard the name of this school, they all praised Song Daozhen for coming up with such a good name.

"Song Ji Apprenticeship Training School. That is to say, the students who graduate from this school are only just qualified apprentices of Song Ji. But what we have to do is to make it so that even just apprentices from Song Ji will be better than those professional chefs." Qin Miaoru praised with thumbs up. Then she asked with some puzzlement: "Then how long will the training period take?"

The training period at a general chef school ranged from three months to two years. Qin Miaoru was particularly curious about Song Ji's training time. If it was short, she was also ready to apply and learn a few skills.

Song Daozhen fell silent. When Song Ji trained apprentices back then, the rules were not strict. Because the apprentice was not an entry-level disciple, he could not use the Song Ji brand. So they were generally free to come and go. Some people studied hard for three years to five years, and some people quit after studying for a few months.

"How many years do chefs who can usually stay in the back kitchen of Song Ji have to train?" Tao Mu asked in a different way.

This time, Song Daozhen answered quickly: "At least three years." Chinese dishes were exquisite in appearance, flavor, and aroma. If it was less than three years, one couldn't even master the basic skills, and couldn't even get a small kitchen job in Song Ji.

"Then it will be three semesters." The same time as that of vocational colleges: "The systematic study time will be three years. But our Song Ji can provide kob distribution. All apprentices who graduate successfully can stay in the Song Ji back kitchen. Anyway, in the future we will be opening branches across the country, and are not afraid of having too many chefs, just afraid that there will not be enough."

"What about tuition fees?" Da Fei, who had already become the editor-in-chief of the entertainment department of , was still haunted by his dream of being a chef. He wanted to polish his cooking skills when he had some spare time from work.

Tao Mu was a little stuck: "…..First take some time to visit other training schools and get a reference." He felt that with Song Ji's brand name, at least it had to be on the high-end level, right?

Mr. Song said, "When the Song family taught apprentices craftsmanship back then, but in fact we didn't ask for any fees. Our family just wanted more people to master a craft to support their livelihood and families. Of course, if we want to run a school now, we can't teach for free. But I still don't think it should be too expensive. Just enough to keep the school running. At least it should be affordable for most people. As for those who can't afford it but really want to learn the craft, the school can also pay for them to learn the craft. Anyway, in the future they will be working in Song Ji."

Compared with Tao Mu, who was a shrewd businessman, old man Song's thinking was very simple. He always believed that the Song family's cooking skills were priceless, but the apprentices were not considered the descendants of the Song family, nor could they learn the essence of the Song family's cooking art. So if they charged too much money, it seemed a bit unfair.

Tao Mu scratched his eyebrows with some regret, but decided to follow the old man's idea, after all, this was all to fulfill the old man's wish.

Tao Mu had always been resolute and decisive. After discussing with the old man about establishing a school, that afternoon he took the old man to Wen Juxiang to eat Mongolian hot pot, and on the way consult on the teaching staff part.

Boss Wen was Song Ji's apprentice back then. It was also with the imparted skills that Wen Juxiang was opened. Now he was also a respectable boss himself. In fact, he was especially grateful to the Song family for their kindness in passing on the cooking skills back then. It had been so many years, yet he hadn't found a chance to repay. Now that he learned that the Song family wanted to open a school and pass on their skills, Boss Wen directly stated that he himself would like to become a teacher at the school.

"Mr. Song, you don't know. In fact, we apprentices are also very grateful to Song Ji. If Song Ji didn't hand us the craft back then, we wouldn't have the capital to start our own business. In fact, there are many apprentices of Song Ji who are all working as head chefs in major restaurants now. As long as you say a word, at least half of these people will be willing to come to the school to be a part-time teacher."

Song Daozhen didn't expect that he could hear such words from Boss Wen's mouth. Looking at Song Daozhen's appearance, Boss Wen gulped down some white wine and said sincerely: "Mr. Song, I know that us apprentices do not have much talent, and the Song family did not have much regard for us back then. And we were not allowed to use the Song Ji brand name. But no matter what you think of us, this craftsmanship has been passed down to us. The Song family had done good deeds for several lifetimes and taught so many apprentices. There are ungrateful bastards like Yao Shengan. But there are also many people who remember the kindness of the Song family." He was one of them.

"Therefore, please don't worry about this. Isn't it just to be a teacher? Although we apprentices are not as skilled as you, we still have no problem in teaching students and sifting out good seedlings for you."

Boss Wen said so, and smiled again: "Speaking of this, I want to say one more thing. If you trust me, you can leave the specific matters of running the school to me. For example, the kitchen utensils and the ingredients needed. I can find cheap and good suppliers for you. And the materials that are used up every day, such as shredded potatoes, shredded radishes, etc., I can also help sell them. Although the money will not be much, it can avoid being too wasteful."

Song Daozhen looked at Boss Wen several times. After a long while, he raised his glass and said, "Come, let's drink together."

With the help of Boss Wen, Tao Mu suddenly had it a lot easier. He could now consider the matter of entering the "Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" crew on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

As a member of the traitorous duo, Wen Bao naturally must go to H Town with Tao Mu. In fact, it was not only the two of them who were traveling together, there were also other Beijing Film students who live in Beijing and have been selected by the crew of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood". The senior brothers and sisters in the third and fourth years who have filming experience were better off. But the freshmen and sophomores have no filming experience, and some were even babies who have never stepped out of Beijing City so they were naturally feeling timid.

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Especially since last year, there was a case related to MLM abduction and trafficking in H Town that shocked the society. Before these children went there, they were already thinking about all kinds of things that ended up just scaring themselves. So they could only call Tao Mu, just like baby ducks that just hatched, they insisted on going with Tao Mu.

So the two-person trip became a group spring outing.

During this period, Gou Rixin also came over. He insisted on following Tao Mu in the name of his assistant to H Town together. He declared very reasonably.

"I'm familiar with that area. Say, you going there alone to film, what if you come across something you want to eat and buy, with me along I can run tye errands for you. I can even be your bodyguard." After Gou Rixin recovered, Tao Mu had him stay in FlyNews Entertainment. Usually, he just ran errands with Da Fei and the others, and did interviews or something. In his spare time, while Mr. Song was studying recipes, he also learned a thing or two. His days were very content indeed.

This time Tao Mu invested in the crew of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood", and actually wanted to give Gou Rixin a role. He also asked Gou Rixin to audition. But Gou Rixin himself refused. He didn't want to be an actor, he just wanted to be an assistant by Tao Mu's side.

"Brother Gou, you don't have to do this." Tao Mu frowned and persuaded: "I have you stay in FlyNews Entertainment because I hope you will have a better future. So you should also have some plans for your own career. Haven't you always wanted to be an actor? Now that you have this opportunity, why don't you agree?"

"I talked to the doctor. Although I am recovered now, I still need a long period of recuperation and recovery. He said that I should try not to do high-risk work for a year or two. And I can't tire myself out either—"

"So I didn't assign you a role that will be too tiring." Tao Mu interrupted Gou Rixin: "It's just a small supporting role that lasts less than two episodes, and there are no action scenes. I just want you to practice your lines and improve your camera sense. That's it."

"Tao Mu." Gou Rixin looked at Tao Mu helplessly, he knew that Tao Mu was doing this for his own good. But there was something that must be said, he was a grown man, he couldn't just accept his kindness without repaying it. Tao Mu was very capable, so even if Gou Rixin stayed by his side, he couldn't help much. Even his current job was arranged by Tao Mu. But Gou Rixin kept thinking about this matter in his heart. Now that he finally got a chance, Gou Rixin really wanted to repay his kindness.

"Didn't you ask me to think carefully about what I want to do in the future? I thought about it carefully, and I think it's good to be an agent. If I want to be an agent, I have to start as an assistant. You don't have to worry about me. In my heart I know very clearly. Now I just want to gain some experience at your side, and you say whether you agree or disagree. Or do you dislike my lack of experience, and fear that I will hold you back?"

After putting it this way, how could Tao Mu still disagree: "Okay. If you really want to be an agent, I'll have you follow Sister Xuan for a while after we come back from H Town."

Zhou Fengxuan was Guo Yaning's agent. She made Guo Yaning popular all by herself, and now she was also a top agent in the circle. If Gou Rixin really wanted to do this, he would definitely learn a lot from Zhou Fengxuan.

Gou Rixin didn't say anything. Things must be dealt with one at a time.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, including Tao Mu, Wen Bao, and about ten students from Beijing Film, a large group of people took a plane to Xiaoshan International Airport, and then took the airport bus directly to H Town to enter the "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" crew.

As an investor who provided 9 million yuan to support the filming of the crew, even though Tao Mu only played a small supporting role of a traitor that lived less than three episodes in the drama, Tao Mu's arrival was met with a warm welcome by director Zhou Hong and the entire production team.

—It was just that Tao Mu didn't understand, why did Director Zhou have to recite "If Life Deceives You" and the classic fragments from the book "Insulted and Damaged" aloud when he saw him.

But Zhou Hong obviously had no will to explain. He directly pulled the group of people to the hotel—because the filming funds of the crew were limited, Director Zhou always believed in the wise saying "money should be spent on the right parts". Therefore, for places that have nothing to do with shooting and needed to spend money, it was all just passable.

For example, in the area of accommodation, most of the crew members and actors live in inns. Even Mr. Zhan Bin, who was the male protagonist, and several other main actors only live in three-star hotels. Of course, as Tao Mu was the biggest investor in the crew, Zhou Hong didn't dare to make the call for Tao Mu. After all, when the contract was signed, Lawyer Zhou's performance was truly unforgettable. So Zhou Hong wasn't sure what kind of temper Tao Mu had—what if the other was the kind of arrogant and spoiled young master who just had to stay in a five-star hotel.

Fortunately, Tao Mu was not the kind of willful person who insisted on going his own way. Although he liked to enjoy himself, he also knew that many times, he must follow along in order to integrate into the group. Moreover, Zhou Hong spent most of the funds on filming, which Tao Mu was very satisfied with. As the largest investor in the crew, he especially knew the filming dilemma of the crew from the memory of his previous life. So without saying a word, he generously took out nine million yuan. If Zhou Hong immediately upgraded the entire crew to a five-star hotel after getting the money, although Tao Mu wouldn't say anything, he might not be all that pleased in his heart.

But Zhou Hong's actions made people more comfortable. At least it could make investors understand that this crew really wanted to do good work.

"I'll do the same as everyone else. It's just that Teacher Zhan and the other teachers will have to suffer some grievances." Tao Mu's tone was very sincere: "According to the rules, you should be staying in a five-star hotel and enjoying the best treatment."

"It's all for the sake of shooting, so there's no need for those empty things." Zhan Bin waved his hand. As soon as Tao Mu entered the door, he began to examine this young man. He looked really handsome, and his demeanor was particularly able to put others at ease. He was the investor, but when old Zhou told him about the accommodation arrangement, the boy's first reaction was to apologize to everyone.

It didn't matter whether this remark was sincere or not, the fact that a big boss like him was willing to say this at the first meeting with everyone, it at least showed enough respect.

"CEO Tao just arrived—"

As soon as Zhan Bin opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Tao Mu: "Teacher Zhan, you should just call me Tao Mu. Although I created by chance, it is just a part-time job. My main job is still an actor, and I am just a freshman who had just entered college. In front of you all, I am just a junior. If you call me CEO Tao, I will feel embarrassed. "

Zhan Bin examined Tao Mu and saw that Tao Mu really meant these words, so he changed his words. He actually didn't mind whether he had to call him CEO Tao or Tao Mu. But Tao Mu, as a big boss, was willing to show his favor and offer an olive branch. If he didn't take it, he would appear to be a little petty.

But this Tao Mu really had a high EQ. As expected, he was able to create his own business just in his freshman year, and even managed to drag down the behemoth that was the Sheng'an Group to the point where it was almost dying.

Zhan Bin sighed with emotion. However, at the reception banquet, Zhan Bin truly got a glimpse of Tao Mu's social skills.

Counting Director Zhou Hong and Screenwriter Fan, as well as two other investor representatives, there were 16 people at their table in total. Originally, it was said to be a welcome reception for Tao Mu, the last investor to come over. But in the end, when they arrived at the wine table, Tao Mu poured a glass of wine and stood up as soon as everyone was seated, and while introducing himself, he drank the glass of white wine with a very humble posture.

Then he started toasting everyone starting from Director Zhou. When he toasted them, he could even recount the past experiences and all works of the opposite person. Causing the other party who was flattered in just a few words to be particularly happy. The most important thing was that Tao Mu's flattering words were not the usual old things that everyone was used to hearing. When he praised you, he never mentioned your well-known masterpieces in the industry. He could always pull out a lesser-known work, and then seriously evaluate how your performance in it moved him. Just a few words was enough to cause the target of his attention to become elated. After a round of toasts, these people wanted nothing more than to recognize him as a close friend and confidante.

In addition, Tao Mu also had a special feature when toasting. He did not compete on wine drinking or persuade others to drink. His slogan was always "cheers, at your will", and when facing actresses or actors who have diabetes or high blood pressure he would try to persuade them to not force themselves: "…..Teacher, please don't find an excuse to drink. When your family finds out, they will come find and settle the account with me."

"Don't drink too much. Otherwise, Director Zhou will probably kill me when the filming starts tomorrow."

After all of this, not only did everyone feel pleased and happy, but he also smoothly integrated into the crew.

However, compared with Tao Mu's excellent social skills, the other two investors were much inferior, and even annoying.

Especially one of them who was a coal boss who invested 3 million yuan in the crew at the beginning, and insisted on stuffing his little mistress into the crew as a condition. And even insisted on the female lead at first. But with that appearance, and pretentious tone, who would want to see her in the leading role of an Anti-Japanese War drama! After being rejected by Zhou Hong at all costs, she was randomly given the role of a warlord's concubine, which could also be considered as acting her own self.

But they didn't expect the coal boss to casually become interested with the female No. 3 after just a meal. This female No. 3 was called Hu Ning, who also graduated from Beijing Film. Her looks were a little above average, but she had a particularly good aura, both gentle and sassy, appearing very ladylike at first glance. In fact, she was also a frequent guest of various Republic of China dramas and war of resistance dramas as well as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law soap operas. She often played the female No. 2 or No. 3 in the dramas. This time, in "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood", she played a female student who returned from overseas, and was a rich young lady. In an accident, she was almost caught by a japanese ronin, only to be saved by the male No. 2 who was on a mission in Shanghai at the critical moment. As a result, she fell in love with the second male lead and later sacrificed herself to protect the second male lead.

When the coal boss accompanied his little mistress into the crew, he met the girl at the door of the hotel, and his eyes immediately stuck on her person. He waited impatiently all afternoon, and finally at the welcome reception. After drinking a few cups of wine, he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Miss Hu is so beautiful, why didn't the crew invite you to be the female lead? I think you are good-looking and have a fine figure. You have a curvy chest and bottom that can't even be covered with such a thick sweater. Aiya, such a good figure, it reminds me of a gourd. A gourd, you know?"

The coal boss also gestured and looked at Hu Ning lewdly: "Now that's a graceful curve, and it feels very good under the hands. The polished gourd is very delicate and smooth. Ai, Miss Hu is also surnamed Hu, maybe you and this gourd are even from the same family five hundred years ago. Your body really look like that of a gourd demon spirit that has gained a human appearance." (TN: hulu is Chinese for gourd, but the 'hu' character in the surname Hu and the word hulu are different, just sound the same)

As he spoke, the coal boss also thought he was quite humorous, and he laughed aloud.

As soon as these words came out, the originally lively and joyful welcome reception suddenly fell silent.

Hu Ning's face flushed, suppressing her anger. But the coal boss was not finished, he asked Hu Ning with lewd eyes, "Miss Hu is so beautiful and your acting skills are so good, why didn't the crew invite you to be the female lead?"

Hu Ning didn't want to talk to the coal boss. But for the sake of the crew, it was not good to really ignore him either so she could only say reluctantly: "My acting skills are not enough, I still need experience, I can't be the female lead."

"Ai, it can't be said like that. From my point of view, Miss Hu's acting skills are very good. The key is that you have good conditions. Actresses rely on face and body figure. As long as they look good, they can be the female lead. The key here is whether Miss Hu is willing or not." The coal boss revealed his true motive in just a few words.

The little mistress, who had been accompanying the coal boss the whole time, couldn't hold back anymore. With a sneer: "These days, the good-looking ones are always popular."

She gave Hu Ning a sideways glance, practically leaning most of her body on the coal boss: "Miss Hu's surname is Hu, is it that all people with the surname Hu are so pretty, so attractive?"

Hu Ning's pretty face turned red with anger. But she didn't dare to be tough with investors. She could only hold back her anger and pretend she didn't hear it.

The embarrassed and angry pretty face under the lamp light truly appeared more and more charming. The coal boss's expression was even more unbearable to look at. He poured a glass of white wine and walked in front of Hu Ning, insisting on having a drink with her. Zhou Hong and several actors couldn't stand it any longer, so they all came forward to stop him. Zhan Bin relied on his status in the industry that was considered a veteran in the circle, and offered to drink three cups for Hu Ning as she couldn't drink alcohol.

Hu Ning could actually drink some wine, but only two or three bottles of beer, not hard liquor. When Tao Mu was toasting just now, he specially gave her a glass of juice. Tao Mu didn't know if Hu Ning could drink wine, but he just thought that girls should try not to drink at the wine table, especially with the coal boss present, everyone could see his intentions. Tao Mu's eyes were not blind, so he deliberately did not let Hu Ning drink wine, so as to avoid trouble later. He originally thought that as the largest investor in the crew, he had set the tone, and the other two investors would at least display some IQ. It was a pity that the coal boss was so blinded by greed that he didn't hold any regard for Tao Mu at all.

Not only Tao Mu, the investor, but the coal boss also didn't have any regard for the bunch of actors either. Holding the wine glass in one hand, and putting the other hand on Hu Ning's shoulder, he tried to force Hu Ning to drink. Saying that if she didn't drink it that meant she was looking down on him.

Just as the commotion was going on, three "slapping" sounds were heard. The coal boss turned around, covering his buttocks, and looked at Tao Mu with a confused expression: "CEO Tao, why did you slap my ass?"

"I just think Mr. Coal Boss's butt is quite round, and it looks very much like the butt of a corgi." Tao Mu raised his hands and gestured seriously: "A corgi, you know? That butt is quite round. Twisting left and right as it walks, and its legs are also very short. I think it looks very similar to you."

The coal boss's face turned green: "CEO Tao, what do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything?" Tao Mu looked at the coal boss innocently, thought about it seriously, and suddenly realized: "Oh, I see. Corgis are so cute, you also think that I am insulting corgis by comparing them with you, right?"

As Tao Mu spoke, he also seriously recited a paragraph from "Insulted and Damaged", and "If Life Deceived You"—this entire afternoon he had been practically brainwashed by Director Zhou.

Tao Mu studied at a professional acting school. Ao when he recited lines it was with cadence and melody, and his words were very well-spoken. Moreover, he was handsome, which made the poems sound particularly good when recited.

However, the illiterate Mr. Coal Boss couldn't appreciate such elegant and rich poems and classic writings at all. He was trembling with anger, and pointed at Tao Mu and scolded: "Who the f**k do you think you are? You also like this slut, don't you? You want to help this slut? Okay, I want to see if you have this ability!"