A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1260 Xu Tailang: I don't want to go back!

As Xu Zhengtai walked out of the police station, he headed towards Hua Shierdao.
"Dad, Ah Hua and I will head back now. We'll go help out at the company tomorrow!"

Chao Ge, Xu Tailang, who had traveled back from the future, looked surprised, pointed at Xu Zhengtai, and then at Hua Shier:
"He's your dad? Wait a minute, sir, isn't your dad already dead?"

Xu Zhengtai raised an eyebrow:
"Hey kid, something's not right with you. How do you know my background? Tell me, are you a thief? Did you scout out my house before?"

As soon as he said that, everyone else's eyes fell on Xu Tailang, filled with vigilance and curiosity.

Xu Tailang was stumped by the question; he couldn't answer it at all. He couldn't very well say, "I'm your son, so I know."

At this moment, Hua Shier came to his rescue and patted Xu Zhengtai on the shoulder:
"Alright, go back and get some rest. Have you ever seen a thief help chase a robber?"

The others suddenly realized, and Xu Zhengtai all laughed:

"That's true, Dad is smart. Why don't you reconsider stockpiling pagers?"

"roll!"

"okay!"

The group parted ways at the police station entrance. Hua Shier headed west, Xu Zhengtai and the others headed east, while Xu Tailang stood alone, bewildered in the wind. He had just transmigrated and had nowhere to go.

"Brother Zheng, wait a minute. I wonder if it's convenient for me to stay at your place for the night?"

Xu Zhengtai turned his head and smiled, "Of course not, it's inconvenient. Dad, do you have any spare rooms at home? How about letting him stay for the night?"

Everyone turned to look at Hua Twelve, but they were all stunned. The area was empty; there was no sign of Hua Twelve. It turned out that Hua Twelve had slipped away in a flash after hearing that Xu Tailang wanted to stay overnight.

What a joke! Xu Tailang has parents; he doesn't need Hua Twelve at all.

Besides, he has his own family's bok choy growing in their fields. For someone like Xu Tailang, who has been seeking maternal love from older women in hair salons since childhood, it's no exaggeration to be wary of him and keep a close watch on him. How could he possibly bring him home?

When Hua Shier thought about this, she thought of Su Mingyu's future boyfriend. To be honest, the one who cooked in the original story was not bad, but compared to him, it seems that Brother Ma is more cost-effective.

Just imagine, if Su Mingyu can win over Little Ma, then the Su family will be the sole dominant force in the future business empire worth hundreds of billions of dollars, hehehe!

Well, this is just Hua Shier's slightly wicked self-amusing thought. He's even been an emperor, so how could he possibly disregard his children's happiness for a mere few hundred billion? Of course, he should respect his children's own wishes in such matters.

Su Mingyu: Can I find a woman instead?
Hua Twelve: Break his legs!
Su Mingyu: Then you say you respect our wishes!

Hua Shier: I meant respecting the hospital. Of course, if your leg is broken, you should go to the hospital!

Sunday arrived in the blink of an eye. It was May 9th, 1999, Mother's Day, a day celebrated by many in the West. The almanac said it was auspicious for publishing novels and opening online companies!
Early in the morning, Hua Shier arrived at the company with Su Mingcheng and Su Mingyu, only to find that the others had arrived even earlier than him.

Xiao Ma had two panda eyes under his glasses, which made Hua Shier curious:

Did you run into Nie Xiaoqian last night?

Xiao Ma looked completely bewildered: "Uncle, what do you mean? I don't understand!"

The others were also confused, and Hua Shier was quite helpless. Was there really a generation gap?
"I'm asking about your dark circles under your eyes. Did a female ghost drain your yang energy?"

Once he said that, the others understood what was going on, and they all burst into laughter.

Xiao Ma was a little embarrassed:

"I was so excited about the company opening that I couldn't sleep all night, so I just got up and wrote code all night!"

Hua Shier gave a thumbs up: "You really have ambition. If you don't succeed, who will? You're much better than my son. My Mingcheng can't sleep and just flies all night. He doesn't do anything worthwhile!"

Su Mingcheng's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom: "Dad, don't talk nonsense, there's no way it happened all night."

The laughter grew even louder. Su Mingcheng realized he had let something slip and was instantly in trouble. His old rival, Su Mingyu, laughed so hard she practically squealed like a goose!
Hua Shier wasn't deliberately making fun of Su Mingcheng in front of everyone; it was just one of his unique ways of teaching him.

Su Mingcheng is a proud person who is impulsive, acts without considering the consequences, and has violent tendencies.

For Su Mingcheng's personality, Hua Shier decided to use the method of adversity education: "You're so concerned about saving face, then I'll expose all your embarrassing moments in public. You're so impulsive, then I'll say things that you can't stand."

You have violent tendencies? Even better, come on, Dad will stand still and let you hit me!
Hua Shierguan's method is called "fighting poison with poison," similar to treating allergies. If you get angry at the slightest touch, I'll poke you more, eight hundred times a day, until you're numb, until you feel no irritation at all, like you're spitting out plain water. Only then will the root of the problem be cured.

Su Mingcheng wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground, but the person who made him so miserable was his father, so he could only endure the pain.

Hua Shier ignored his foolish son and called out:
"June 1st!"

Liu Yi, who was busy arranging flower baskets outside the door, responded, "Uncle, I'm here!"

Hua Shier asked, "I told you to find more people to attend the opening ceremony, did you find any? It won't be festive if there aren't enough people!"

On June 1st, he proudly declared:

"Uncle, don't worry, I've already found everyone, I guarantee there will be a huge crowd!"

Hua Shier patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him:

"You did a good job. How about you come work for the company? We'll pay you a salary, so you don't work for free!"

Liu Yi shook his head like a rattle-drum: "No, I'll follow Brother Zheng and hoard pagers, it's more promising than what you're doing!"

Hua Shier was speechless. No wonder you have bad luck; it turns out it's because you're not smart.

Xu Zhengtai sighed deeply to the side.

Hua Shier said irritably, "On this joyous day of ours, what's wrong with you having an asthma attack here!"

Xu Zhengtai said with a pained expression, "Look at that desk, look at that computer, look at that server, how many pagers does that take? It's all money!"

Niu Aihua quickly pulled him away; this guy was just there to cause trouble.

At this moment, Xu Tailang came over:
"Brother Su, I heard from Ahua that you wrote a novel. What's the name? Tell me, I can tell you. I can tell you if your novel will be a hit!"

Seeing his winking and smirking, Hua Shier found it amusing. "You can tell fortunes? You're just trying to fool me with your time-traveling advantage, aren't you? Let me tell you, my novel is called 'Ghost Blows Out the Light,' and I'll scare you to death, you little brat."

Hua Twelve smiled and said:
"I'll keep the novel's title a secret for now. It's being published today, so you'll find out when you buy a newspaper later. You can also help me boost the sales!"

Xu Tailang chuckled lewdly:

"This is pointless. Even my own people are making me buy newspapers!"

Hua Shier rolled his eyes.

"You won't even buy me a newspaper to support me, and you call yourself one of us? Get lost! Also, don't call me Brother Su, call me Grandpa!"

At this moment, Niu Aihua called out, "Godfather, isn't it about time? Look, there are so many people outside!"

Before Hua Shier could speak, Liu Yi laughed and said:
"These are all people I found. I told them it would be 9:30, and they're all here now at 9:15. I'll go out and greet them!"

He then rushed out in a flurry of activity.

Hua Shier looked out the window and saw that there were people outside, more than a hundred people waiting outside, and Liu Yi was talking to them.

He sensed something was off, and suddenly realized, "Why are they all old men and women?" The answer was revealed twenty minutes later.

At 9:30, the unveiling and ribbon-cutting ceremony officially began.

Chao Ge (Xu Tailang) makes a cameo appearance as emcee: "The east wind blows, the war drums beat, we're in the internet business, who are we afraid of? Who wrote this piece of garbage?"

Next was the shareholders' speech session. Xiao Ma first went on stage to talk about his dreams, and then Hua Shier, as the major shareholder, went on stage to give a speech:

"Dear friends and family, distinguished guests, today is the official opening of Tengfei Technology! Why is it called Tengfei? Because Pony Ma said code can fly, I say the internet can fly—and finally, I believe our company can also fly!"

The children below were handing out eggs to the elderly: "Five eggs for those who clap, two eggs for those who don't clap. It's up to you!"

In an instant, there was thunderous applause.

Hua Shier, who was about to say a few more words on stage, turned pale. So, in the early stages of his multi-billion dollar internet empire, he was just relying on giving away eggs to build popularity? He must have been paid by Jack Ma to come and smear me. What an undercover agent!
He simply stopped talking and gestured to Brother Chao (Xu Tailang) to move on to the next segment.

Under Xu Tailang's direction, several shareholders, Hua Shier, Xiao Ma, Niu Aihua, and Su Mingyu, went on stage to unveil the curtain and cut the ribbon. Liu Yi, sitting in the audience, took a picture and captured this historic moment.

Su Mingcheng scoffed, wondering how long his father's lousy company could last. Little did he know that years later, when he saw this photo at Tengfei headquarters, he would burst into tears, hugging his wife.

"You think I was a fool back then? Do you think I was short of a few tens of thousands of yuan? Besides, my dad even said he would lend me money to invest!"

His wife patted him to comfort him, but in her heart, thinking about Tengfei's market value of hundreds of billions of US dollars, she felt a little irritated. If you weren't my husband, I would really say that you are a big idiot, pure and simple!

After the opening ceremony, everyone went to a restaurant for a meal, and then the karaoke girls came over and everyone sang some simple songs!
The company came alive the next day. Xiao Ma led the newly recruited programmers to write code, Niu Aihua was in charge of personnel and logistics management, and Hua Shier, the major shareholder, completely delegated power and stayed home to write novels.

Just as they were having a great time copying, Brother Chao, Xu Tailang, showed up at the door, holding a newspaper and asking with a shocked expression:
"Hey Su, your novel is actually called 'Ghost Blows Out the Light'?"

When Hua Shier saw that he had finally figured it out, he laughed and said, "If it's not called Ghost Blows Out the Light, is it supposed to be called Tomb Raider Notes?"

Xu Tailang grabbed his head with both hands: "No, what's going on? You, you, you're also a time traveler?"

Hua Shier smiled and, instead of answering, asked, "Have you asked Xiao Ma for his full name?"

Xu Tailang shook his head: "I stayed at Liuyi's place a few days ago. Xiao Ma was writing code at home, so I didn't have time to get to know him better. Wait, Tengfei, Xiao Ma, TengX, Xiao Ma."

He suddenly realized: "Damn, you really are from another time! You were trying to curry favor with someone powerful beforehand!"

Hua Shier laughed loudly: "I'm just asking you, aren't you awesome? Aren't you made of 24K999 pure gold? I, Su Daqiang, am a major shareholder of QQ!"

Xu Tailang suddenly came to his senses;
"You're not being fair! Why did you only let your goddaughter, Ahua, invest, but not me, um, not Azheng?"

Hua Shier rolled his eyes:

"Your dad is your dad, don't pretend with me. It's not that I don't want your dad to invest, it's just that he doesn't think highly of what we're doing. He wants to use the money to stockpile pagers, digital ones at that!"

He couldn't help but burst into laughter after he finished speaking, which made Xu Tailang's face turn black with laughter:

"Am I not destined to make a fortune? Wait, how can you be sure Xu Zhengtai is my dad?"

Hua Shier shook his head with a smile: "Niu Aihua will change her name to Zhang Suzhen in the future. Your mother is also a major shareholder of QQ. How come you won't get rich!"

"Is Niu Aihua my mom? She's my mom?"

Xu Tailang had been trying to break up Xu Zhengtai and Niu Aihua these past two days. Hearing this, he was shocked beyond words. Luckily, he didn't succeed, or it would have been tantamount to suicide!

Hua 12 slapped the guy on the back of the head, making him see stars.

"Silly boy, otherwise why would I have let you call me grandpa when we first met!"

Xu Tailang was filled with shock and curiosity:

"Who are you? How do you know so much about me? You must be someone I know who traveled through time, right? Ah Kun? Xiao Qi? You wouldn't happen to be one of the hairdressers, would you?"

Hua Shier's face turned black; he really wanted to deliver a groin kick and kill the guy right there.
"Hey girl, I'm not a time traveler, I just can foresee the future!"

Xu Tailang looked at him with disbelief: "Are you kidding me?"

Hua Twelve: "I can turn you into a ghost!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Xu Tailang by the neck, and they were already standing on the rooftop of the second floor.

Xu Tailang's neck turned bright red, and his legs kept shaking, feeling like he was about to die.

Hua Shier then flashed back to the living room on the first floor.

After Xu Tailang was released, the guy took a while to catch his breath, and then his glasses shone like light bulbs:

"Teleport?"

"The Eight Gates of Qimen Dunjia, you idiot! It's not me who moved, it's space that moved, do you understand?"

Hua Twelve shook his head in annoyance:
"That's why I said I can predict the future, you should believe me now!"

Xu Tailang nodded excitedly:
"I believe you, Grandpa! You're a master who lives in seclusion in the city! I wonder if you could teach me the Eight Gates Movement Technique? I have a great idea for using this technique, it's really nice!"

Hua Shier spat at him:

"Pah! It's just emptying a bank's vault, what kind of brilliant idea is that? Based on your idea, our country has a whole set of criminal laws, you idiot!"

Xu Tailang wiped the saliva off his eyes. He had felt insulted and wanted to lash out, but after wiping them dry, he found that his vision had become inexplicably clearer.

While he was surprised, his anger subsided, and he simply complained:

"Grandpa, can you please be more hygienic? And can you please stop calling me 'idiot' all the time?!"

"If I don't call you an idiot, should I call you a moron?"

"Then let's keep the idiot!"

Xu Tailang then became extremely attentive, serving Hua Twelve tea and cigarettes.

"Grandpa, I need your help with something. You know about Qimen Dunjia, could you perhaps help me?"

Hua Shier raised his eyebrows: "You want me to send you back to 2017?"

Xu Tailang shook his head like a rattle-drum:
"I mean, I don't know if I'll go back to 2017. If some inexplicable force sends me back, Grandpa, could you please keep me in this world and not let me go back!"

“Look at this world, my parents are still young, it’s the golden age of the internet, even pigs can fly when they’re in the right place at the right time, but in 2017, all I have left is an old and frail father, and nothing else I have to cherish!”

Hua Shier didn't expect that he didn't want to go back, but thinking about it, it wasn't a bad thing. The day Xu Zhengtai became his adopted son-in-law, his fate was destined to change. He definitely wouldn't have to spend time in a prison cell, and Xu Zhengtai in 2017 wouldn't be so destitute.

So whether Xu Tailang goes back or not doesn't make much difference.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, then you can work for me, and I'll take you to new heights."

Just as Hua Shier was taking his grandson as his younger brother, Niu Aihua pushed open the door and ran into the yard:
"Godfather, Zheng's house was burned down, and he and Liu Yi went to fight them!"

Thanks to 08a and Little Tiger of the Demon Realm for their donations, and thanks to the brothers who voted with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. Thank you very much.