Chapter 1: The Office's Unspoken Rules...

  The opera on stage was sung extremely well, at least in Yang Zongbao's opinion, and it sounded almost the same as what he heard on TV.

  "Mother, I'd like to toast you." Yang Tianming suddenly stood up with his wine glass.

  Yang's old lady picked up her wine cup and lightly touched it to her lips.

  "From now on, we're a family. If you need anything, just let me know." Shen Rou also received Yang Zongbao with the demeanor of a lady of the house, looking like she had wanted to say this all night, but hadn't had the chance. Yang Zongbao noticed that she was being too eager and swallowed hard.

  If it were an ordinary person in Yang Zongbao's position, they would probably be grateful for the other party's magnanimity. However, someone with a slightly better brain knows that Shen Rou is acting as the master of the house. The implication is that Yang Zongbao is an outsider, and in this household, Shen Rou is in charge, so you need to ask her for anything you want.

  Yang Zongbao sat on the stool, his buttocks reluctant to leave the stool for a moment.

  "Yang Zongbao, what do you mean? My mom is toasting you!" Yang Shuo couldn't take it anymore and suddenly stood up, slapping his palm on the table.

  "Yang Shuo, it's okay, I think Yang Zongbao is also because he's not used to it yet."

  Look, Shen Rou's composure is quite impressive. Her face doesn't show any displeasure, a testament to her years of cultivation.

  Yang Shuo was pinned down by Shen Rou, feeling indignant and resentful.

  Shen Rou's performance immediately gained the approval of some elders at the table, and everyone encouraged her with their eyes.

  "It's not that I don't accept good intentions, but first, there are some things that need to be explained clearly by Aunt Shen." Yang Zongbao sat calmly in his chair, taking a sip of tea.

  "Are you still putting on airs?" Yang Shuo became excited again.

  "I want to ask, who killed my mom and who sent me to the mental hospital." Yang Zongbao ignored Yang Shuo's antics and directly asked Shen Rou. Actually, before this, Yang Zongbao had thought of many versions of how to bring up the matter, whether it was secretly investigating on his own or through some other means. But today, Yang Zongbao suddenly realized that sometimes being straightforward could be more effective in exposing others' scars.

  Just like now, Shen Rou's perfect face also hesitated, and even just for a brief moment, it was enough to make many thoughtful people have small thoughts.

  On stage is a play, off stage is also a play, sheng dan jing mo chou, all alive.

  "That's enough! You've just come back and already made the whole house restless. This meal is now uneatable." Unexpectedly, Yang Tianming was the first to lose his temper, which slightly caught Yang Zongbao off guard.

  "Ugh, this kid is also clueless." Shen Rou's actions and words made people feel nauseous.

  "It's not that I wanted to come back, it's you who called me, please make it clear." Yang Zongbao faced the old man's anger and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He probably just thought of Yang Tianming as a stranger in his heart, so there was no emotional burden.

  "Get out of here." Yang Tianming was so angry that he could only say this.

  "It's not your turn to speak yet." The old lady of the Yang family, who had been watching the show all along, finally spoke up. As soon as she opened her mouth, everyone else shut theirs, including the opera performers.

  The villagers who were eating and drinking, seeing this scene, the eight trigrams of soul that had been burning fiercely awakened, all stopped their chopsticks at the same time, watching the richest family in the village sing opera. Of course, some couldn't bear to leave the delicious food on the table, occasionally putting something in their mouths, some looked and others ate to make up for it.

  "Ma......" Yang Tianming felt very wronged by the old lady's behavior of not giving him face.

  "Zongbao, come back with me."

  Even if he was reluctant, Yang Zongbao still supported the old lady of the Yang family back to her own room.

  There is an old man in the house, drinking by himself.

  "Is this the kid?" The old man narrowed his eyes and sized up Yang Zongbao.

  "Hmm, he's more stubborn than his father." The old lady had a strange attitude and didn't blame Yang Zongbao for ruining the New Year's Eve dinner.

  "Let me take a look." The old man stood up, but was still shorter than Yang Zongbao by a head. He had to grab Yang's collar and pull him down in front of his own eyes.

  "Good face." That's all he said after looking at me for half a day.

  "Master." Baoguo called out from behind.

  "Hmm, you still have the face to call me Master?" The old man's cannon was fully aimed at Baoguo.

  "Huh? That's because Bao Ge didn't want to go and said you're a rascal." Bao Guo hugged his own head in case the old man wanted to hit him.

  "Rascal? Do I look like a rascal?" Bao Guo still couldn't avoid the old man's blows.

  "All right, you've forgotten what's important." The old lady of the Yang family really couldn't stand the chatter.

  "Hmm, okay." The old man finally stopped lecturing Bao Guo, sat back down, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip: "I know you have questions in your mind, you can ask me."

  Yang Zongbao sought the opinion of Old Lady Yang, and she nodded in agreement.

  "What's going on with my mom's death?" Yang Zongbao asked.

  "You may have forgotten, but your mother's death was indeed an accident."

  Beyond Yang Zongbao's expectations, but Yang Zongbao couldn't say much either. After all, he was young at the time and many memories weren't very clear.

  "But later on, it was indeed Shen Rou who did something behind your back." The old man said slowly: "But since the matter has passed, let's just forget about it. You'd better not investigate further. Now all you can do is live a peaceful life."

  "Is this a threat?" Yang Zongbao also let go and sat down opposite the old man: "I think I've lost out."

  "That's enough, this is to prevent you from getting into a dilemma. In this house, no one is a fuel-efficient lamp, and even if your grandmother protects you, it won't work." The old man continued to say ambiguous words.

  "My affairs, I will take charge of myself."

  "The young man has a very stubborn temper and will suffer losses." The old man didn't know if it was sarcasm or not, but in any case, the tone wasn't pleasant to accept.

  "Zongbao, some things are not as you imagined. The hardships you've suffered, I will compensate for them all, including the entire Huaxing Group." The old lady sighed, knowing that past events must have been a thorn in Yang Zongbao's heart, and that she herself had not stopped it back then.

  Actually, Yang Zongbao also knew in his heart that the source of this matter might not have such a big conspiracy. However, sometimes it's just a matter of principle, and one must stick to what they believe in, otherwise all those years would be meaningless.

  "I accept." Yang Zongbao made a response that surprised everyone.

  "Are you okay with that?" The old man wanted to find some discomfort on Yang Zongbao's face, but unfortunately, Yang Zongbao looked completely unbothered.

  "Just accept it, and let's get started with the lawyer tomorrow," said the old lady.

  "That's probably a bit difficult, you know it's a critical period now, all aspects are watching the shares in your hands." The old man stopped the old lady.

  "What's to be done?" asked Old Lady Yang.

  "If the shares are transferred to Zongbao's name now, he will have to appear in public. Now those royal relatives are still quiet, but once your shares fall into the hands of this ignorant young man, do you think your precious grandson can survive in a chaotic battle?" The old man was sharp-tongued.

  "I believe he has a way."

  "Excuse me, I think you're discussing me? Can't you ask for my opinion as the person involved?" Yang Zongbao found it somewhat amusing to be talked about by two unfamiliar old men.

  "What's your opinion?" asked Old Lady Yang.

  "I accept but will not participate. All actions are unrelated to me."

  Whoever stops Yang Zongbao's words thinks he is ungrateful and doesn't know good people.

  "You're a lazybones," said the old man.

  "He's quite something." Yang Zongbao took this as a compliment.

  "They'll be coming to kowtow to me later, don't put on a face. Shen Rou, you temporarily don't go and provoke them." The old lady said as she went inside the house to change her clothes.

  "Is that so?" Yang Zongbao asked when it was just Bao and Lao Touzi left.

  "That's someone else's nonsense. This nickname is really uncomfortable, it must be Bao Guo who told you." The manager glared at Bao Guo and continued, "Speak up, what's your purpose?"

  "Why has your attitude changed so much? Compared to Yang Shuo who grew up in this house, don't I have any advantages at all? Why are you being so good to me?" Yang Zongbao felt that since he was openly standing on his side, it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions.

  "That's because your grandmother only recognizes you as her one and only grandson." The butler replied slowly.

  "Why?" That was the key thing Yang Zongbao needed to know.

  "It's funny to say, because every generation of the Yang family will have three thick red hairs on top of their head that are thicker than the others. Your grandmother insists that only with this obvious characteristic can one be considered a true descendant of the Yang family."

  "This explanation is too absurd. Does it mean that without these three red hairs, he wouldn't be Yang Tianming's kind?" Yang Zongbao felt incomprehensible.

  "Your grandfather was a famous Feng Shui master in the village when he was alive, so your name was chosen beforehand. It is said that you will have great achievements in the future." The manager put away his playful and irreverent attitude, and assumed an air of detachment from worldly affairs.

  "Preposterous! Can you really believe it?" Yang Zongbao snorted in derision.

  "This thing wasn't invented by people of our era. Since it's been passed down from our ancestors, there must be some reason to it. No matter what dynasty your family is from, only the guy with three red hairs on his head can hold up the beam. Your grandma can't help but believe it." The manager stretched out his hand and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit a match, took two puffs: "Don't get hung up on this issue either, just know that your grandma acknowledges you as her grandson is good enough. Other things can't be guaranteed, but a lifetime of food and clothing without worry is still possible."

  Yang Zongbao raised an eyebrow: "Being raised as a pig?"

  "It's better than being raised as a mouse." Who would have thought that the general manager was also a venomous snake.

  "Suit yourselves, I don't care what you like or dislike. As long as this cow has money to spend, what more can be expected?"

  "Brother Bao, you're not a fool." Bao Guo showed his presence.

  Yang Zongbao looked at his childhood friend, really didn't know if he was truly low in emotional intelligence or just pretending. If he couldn't see the open and secret struggles between himself and the general manager, how did he survive in the cruel outside world?

  Some people take pride in their high IQ and low EQ, which to Yang Zongbao is a complete idiot's interpretation of his own disability.

  "By the way, Zong Bao, you're quite capable too. You're very popular in school." It seems that as Bao Guo's master, General Manager also doesn't take some of Bao Guo's words seriously: "But after all, a small ant can only jump so high. Unorthodox methods aren't mainstream."

  "Are you lecturing me?" Yang Zongbao was also not very comfortable with being lectured by someone who came up to him out of the blue. Who was this person, anyway? What made them so arrogant towards him? "What standpoint are you speaking from? In my memory, there is no such person as you. If you had done me a favor, I might have patiently listened to your nagging. Since you have no favors to repay me and aren't even my elder, what makes you think you can order me around?"

  Yang Zongbao's words sounded like a teenager's reaction when their self-esteem is hurt. However, it was strange that the expression on Yang Zongbao's face didn't match what he said. It was too calm, or rather, his words and expression were inconsistent.

  "Since you're so ungrateful, then go ahead." The manager also had a hint of anger.

  "Brother Bao, Master, don't..." Bao Guo hastily eased the conflict between the two.