A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1266 Let the storm rage on! (Please subscribe!)

When the Su family returned home, Su Mingzhe and Su Mingcheng were both sullen, while Su Mingyu took the initiative to start a fire and cook.

Hua Shier sat in a rocking chair in the courtyard, lit a cigarette, and leisurely smoked it.

Before long, Su Mingzhe couldn't hold back any longer and walked up to Hua Shier: "Dad, are all the things you said today true? Grandma's matter, and... and Mom's matter?"

Hua Twelve scoffed:
"What, you don't trust your good-for-nothing father, or you trust your mother? Is there even a question? Did Zhao Meilan directly refute me when I said that?"

Su Mingzhe and Su Mingcheng, who initially didn't believe their mother could do such a thing, suddenly realized what Hua Shier said. Yes, when their father accused their mother of those things, their mother either didn't directly refute them, or even if she did, she was left speechless and could only yell and rant.

This behavior is clearly a sign of guilt.

Su Mingzhe was somewhat saddened. He hadn't expected that his kind, loving, and strong mother, whom he had always admired, would turn out to be this kind of person.

Su Mingcheng, who was closest to Zhao Meilan, was emotionally distraught and shouted:
"Even if my mother is wrong, Dad, you can't say it in public, and you say such hurtful things. My mother has worked for this family for so many years and has put in so much effort. You don't even show her this much respect. You are really heartless!"

"Bullshit!"

Hua Shier spat directly:
"Su Mingcheng, your words are like dog farts, they stink to high heaven! Did I send that reporter? Your mother sent him!"

"What do you mean your mother has worked hard even if she hasn't done anything great? Where has she worked hard? The house was left by your grandparents, and I'm the one who earns the money to support the family. All the money your mother earns is squandered and sent back to her parents' home!"

"I do most of the housework. How many times a year does your mom wash the dishes?"

Hua Shier laughed as he spoke:
"Why did he marry her? Su Daqiang was young back then, acting like he'd never seen a woman before. He married all sorts of trash, and he's the one who's suffering!"

When he spoke of Su Daqiang, he was naturally referring to the original owner of the body, but to his three children, it sounded as if he were mocking himself.

Su Mingzhe, a grown man, had red eyes. He hadn't expected that his parents would break up when he came back for summer vacation, since they were fine during the Spring Festival.

Su Mingcheng then shouted loudly:

"I won't allow you to talk about my mother like that. No matter how bad she is, she's been with you for so many years. You've brought up everything today. Have you considered her feelings?"

Hua Shier stood up from the rocking chair and kicked Su Mingcheng to the ground.

Su Mingzhe quickly stopped him, saying, "Dad, calm down, calm down!"

Hua Shier shoved Su Mingzhe aside, then pointed at Su Mingcheng on the ground and cursed:

"You ungrateful little brat, have you ever thought about how your father feels?"

"Don't think I don't know. When your mom made me kneel down and slap my face, you were secretly laughing behind my back. What a dutiful son you are! You only know how to think about your mom, but have you ever thought about your dad?"

"Your grandmother caught a cold outside and passed away. Have you ever considered how your grandmother felt?"

Hua Shier became increasingly angry as he spoke:

"Mingyu at least knows how to care for me, but your son is like a complete waste of his time. He doesn't even know his own surname anymore. Do I need to tell you again, your surname is Su, not Zhao!"

Su Mingcheng was startled by Hua Shier and quickly said:

"Dad, I know I was wrong!"

Hua Shier felt much better after hearing his apology and snorted:
"Go kneel in the corner and don't get up until you eat!"

Then he turned to Su Mingyu, who was cooking, and instructed her:

"Mingyu, cook six dishes for me, take your time!"

Su Mingcheng's face immediately fell. If Su Mingyu cooked six dishes, wouldn't she have to kneel for an hour?
Su Mingzhe also realized this and quickly said:
"Dad, there are just a few of us; we can't possibly eat six dishes!"

Hua Shier checked the time: "There's another one coming back soon!"

"There is still one?"

Su Mingzhe was wondering what was going on when Xu Tailang hummed a little tune and pushed the door open. Seeing Su Mingcheng kneeling in the corner of the courtyard, the guy chuckled.
"Oh dear, Mingcheng, have you angered your dad again? He beats you three times a day. You might as well change your name to Su Sanbian (Su the Three Times), so you can be as famous as Liu Sanbian (Liu the Three Changes) and Zhang Sanfeng (Zhang the Three Madmen)!"

Su Mingcheng waved his hand sheepishly, signaling not to talk to him.

Hua Shier greeted, "Ah Lang, come over here and let me introduce you. This is my eldest son, Su Mingzhe. Mingzhe, this is Xu Tailang, my godson. But you can address each other as your own!"

Xu Tailang, beaming with delight, listened to Hua Shier's suggestion that they each speak their own mind, and stepped forward to shake hands with Su Mingzhe.
"Mingzhe, right? I've heard your dad talk about you so much, this top student from Peking University, I'm practically tired of it. We're all family here, just call me Brother Lang!"

Su Mingzhe was speechless:
"Hey, Brother Lang, I went to Tsinghua University!" Is this what you mean by 'I've heard it so many times I'm sick of it'?
Xu Tailang wasn't embarrassed at all, and laughed it off: "Same here, I can't pass the exam anyway!"

With Chao Ge's outgoing and lively personality, the atmosphere in the Su family eased considerably. When it was time to eat, Su Mingcheng sat down at the table and apologized to Hua Shier again, which made the atmosphere even more relaxed.

At the dinner table, Su Mingzhe brought up something:
"Dad, there's something I want to discuss with the family, but with how much you and Mom have fallen out, I don't know if it's appropriate to say it!"

Hua Shier picked up a piece of food and said, "Speak up, what's inappropriate or not when we're family?"

Su Mingzhe then said, "Dad, I'll be graduating next year, and I want to study abroad and apply to Stanford University for graduate school. I'm confident I can get in!"

Su Mingyu was the first to exclaim happily, "Big brother, you're really amazing! I support you!"

Su Mingcheng added, "Big brother, I support you too. By the way, did you bring back the sneakers I asked for?"

Xu Tailang laughed and pointed at Su Mingcheng with his chopsticks: "Mingcheng, your support is not pure at all!"

Hua Shier put the food in his mouth, chewed, and said without looking up:

"Is there not enough room for you to jump around in China? Why go abroad?"

Su Mingzhe sighed upon hearing this:

"I know it's not appropriate to say this given our family's current situation, so forget it, Dad, I won't take the exam!"

Su Mingyu repeatedly expressed her regret, and Xu Tailang sighed.
"If you can get in, why not go? Our family isn't short of money."

After he finished speaking, Chaohua Twelve winked and said, "Right, Brother Su!"

Hua Shier glared at this guy; "I don't think the share issue is appropriate."

Xu Tailang immediately changed his address: "Grandpa!"

Hua Shier nodded in satisfaction, setting aside the matter of the shares for the time being, and turned to look at Su Mingzhe:
"It's good to go out and see the world, broaden your horizons. Your dad can support you to study abroad, but there's one thing I need to make clear in front of the whole family!"

Su Mingzhe immediately sat up straight, adopting a humble and receptive demeanor: "Dad, please speak!"

Hua Shier pointed at him:
"Get back here as soon as you finish your studies. No immigrating, and no plans to settle here. Otherwise, I'll fly abroad and break your legs!"

Upon hearing his father's agreement, Su Mingzhe asked with some concern:
"Dad, do we have enough money?"

Hua Shier said calmly, "You don't need to worry about the money!"

Xu Tailang laughed and said, "You have no idea how popular your dad's novels are, not to mention the company he owns!"

"company?"

Su Mingzhe is unaware of the company's situation.

Hua Shier waved his hand: "I already told you that you don't need to worry about anything else, just focus on your studies!"

Su Mingcheng glanced at Hua Shier stealing a look, then whispered to his older brother:

"Don't ask about Dad's company. I bet he's really stressed about it. It's been open for a while and he hasn't made a single penny. But don't worry, brother, Dad's novel business is really profitable!"

Su Mingzhe nodded, glancing at Hua Shier with some concern. But remembering his father's attitude earlier, he assumed that his father had lost money on the investment and didn't want others to know because he was concerned about his reputation, so he didn't ask any more questions.

Hua Shier naturally heard Su Mingcheng's words and found them amusing. He thought to himself, "Wait until ten years from now, I'll scare you to death!"

He recalled that in the real world, Tencent's market value was close to HK$200 billion in 2009.

After finishing his meal, Hua Shier turned on the TV and tuned to Suzhou Channel to see when the show "Ordinary People" would air, but it never did, even by bedtime.

The three children who were watching TV together were yawning and getting up to go to bed when Hua Shier reminded them:

"Mingyu, go buy a TV guide tomorrow. I want to see when that program airs!" Su Mingyu replied, "Okay, Dad!"

Xu Tailang didn't have the habit of going to bed early, and wanted to play chess with Hua Shier. Hearing this, he couldn't help but ask curiously:

"I saw you guys watching TV all night. So you were waiting for a show. What show is so good? Happy Camp?"

Hua Shier glared at him irritably: "What's so interesting about that thing? Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you!"

The next day, Su Mingzhe took his younger siblings to the street. Hua Shier took out two thousand yuan and told them to buy whatever they liked and play whatever they wanted.

At this moment, Su Mingzhe realized more directly that his father was truly different.

When Su Mingyu returned home that evening, she bought both this week's and next week's TV guides.

Hua Shier couldn't find the program in this week's newspaper, but when he picked up next week's, he found the program called "Ordinary People" on Tuesday night at 8:30 pm.

Over the next two days, Su Mingzhe took Su Mingcheng to see Zhao Meilan. Hua Shier did not stop them; once the matter was clarified, that would be enough. He couldn't prevent the child from seeing his mother.

Su Mingyu didn't go. This girl is firmly on the same side as her father and has completely severed ties with Zhao Meilan.

Su Mingzhe did call out to Su Mingyu, who simply smiled faintly.
"Brother, let's forget about it. Even if I go, Mom might not want to see me!"

Thinking about his mother's attitude towards Su Mingyu, Su Mingzhe stopped trying to persuade her.

After returning, the two brothers kept silent about the trip. Even without Hua Shier saying it, he could guess that, given Zhao Meilan's personality, she would probably only scold him when she saw her two eldest sons.

Tuesday arrived in the blink of an eye. Hua Twelve changed channels promptly at 8:30, and sure enough, a golden logo of "Baixing Renjia" appeared on the screen, rotating until it reached the top.

The scene shifts, and reporter Bian appears on television. The entire Su family watches intently. Xu Tailang, puzzled, asks, "What's so interesting about this?"

Su Mingyu glared at him: "Don't talk, look carefully!"

The reporter first briefly explained the nature of the program, and then said that they had received a request from a viewer to mediate family conflicts.

Then the scene shifts again, and the background becomes a nurses' dormitory in a hospital. Zhao Meilan appears on the TV with tears in her eyes, and her mother and former brother-in-law Zhao Dali are also there.

Under the accusations of Zhao Meilan's family, Su Daqiang was portrayed as a heartless scumbag who was ugly, poor, had a bad temper, and treated his wife poorly.

Xu Tailang was stunned and turned to ask Hua Twelve:

"Are you talking about yourself? I don't think so. You're so handsome, and you look so young, you're almost as good-looking as me!"

The three children of the Su family looked at him with surprise. Was he lying through his teeth? How could they not know what their father looked like? Although he seemed a little more pleasing to the eye lately, even if he wasn't old and ugly, he was pretty much the same.

Of course, these are not the main points.

Su Mingyu said angrily, "How could Mom say that!"

Su Mingzhe and Su Mingcheng were speechless.

Su Mingyu turned to comfort her father:

"Dad, don't be angry. Once the interview segment about you airs, we'll clear your name!"

The result was quite surprising. When it came to the interview with Hua Shier, the entire interview took a dramatic turn.

Zhao Meilan's accusations, including beating her, forcing her to leave with nothing, and concealing assets, were all met with Hua Shier's nodding, pursing his lips, and disdainful expressions, as if he were admitting to his ex-wife's accusations and making these hostile gestures.

All the premises and causes mentioned by Hua Shier were edited out, and the details about Su's mother and Zhao Meilan's emotional infidelity and transfer of assets were completely omitted.

In the final interview with the onlookers, most of the people speaking in favor of Hua Shier were actually in favor of him, while others, including some self-righteous hypocrites, thought he shouldn't have made his wife leave with nothing.

But on television, there were only shots of those self-righteous hypocrites being interviewed; none of the interviews with people who knew what had happened and condemned Zhao Meilan appeared.

Judging from the entire show, Hua Shier is portrayed as an utterly wicked scumbag, a heartless man who abandons his wife of twenty years after making money, a villain that almost everyone would condemn.

This time, not only was Su Mingyu indignant, but even Su Mingzhe and Su Mingcheng, Zhao Meilan's two sons who had a good relationship with her, couldn't stand it anymore.

The three children all said, "Isn't that TV station broadcasting nonsense? Dad, you have to go find them!"

Hua Shier had a feeling that the reporter had ill intentions on the day of the interview, but she didn't expect the other party to go so far. The editing rights belong to the TV station, right?
He chuckled:
"What's the rush? The innocent will clear themselves. Let the dust settle!"

What happened before wasn't the worst part of the show; the worst part was at the end, when the reporter was talking casually to the camera:

"Mr. Su is the author of the recently popular novel 'Ghost Blows Out the Light,' pen name Mei Changsu. I hope that as a writer, he can shoulder his family and social responsibilities, blah blah blah."

After talking a lot about the high-level ozone layer, they even revealed the Su family's address at the end.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, the camera panned across the house numbers of Tongdeli and the Su family.

Hua Shier knew things had gotten serious, but for him, the bigger the better, so that the counterattack would be even more intense!
He told the children to go to sleep, and Xu Tailang asked:

"Brother Su, are you alright?"

Hua Shier laughed and said, "You forgot that I can make calculations. How could such a small matter stump me?"

Xu Tailang thought of Hua Shier's amazing abilities and slapped his forehead:
"I was overthinking it. Alright, these past two days Xiao Ma has had me pretend to be a woman online to attract users and chat with those middle-aged men with their feet scratched. It's exhausted me. I'm going to sleep now!"

After Xu Tailang left, Hua Shier lit a cigarette and then picked up the phone to call the old editor-in-chief of the Suzhou Daily.

The old editor-in-chief sighed, "Teacher Su, I was just thinking of giving you a call. You called me because of that 'Ordinary People' magazine, right?"

Hua Shier smiled and said, "You've seen it too?"

The old president repeatedly said:

"I've watched it, Ms. Su. May I ask if everything in the program is true?"

"If it's true, the impact would be terrible. The physical copies of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' are being printed at a rapid pace, and I'm afraid it will affect our sales. If this matter causes a negative social impact, the higher-ups might intervene directly and prevent the publication!"

Hua Twelve comforted him:

"Don't worry, their interview was taken out of context. I have the complete video footage taken by someone else!"

Upon hearing this, the old president was both happy and excited, but after the happiness subsided, he was mostly angry:
"They're just making this up. How could those reporters fabricate such a story? It's against professional ethics! No way! You're our newspaper's treasure. I'll stand up for you. We have to sue them!"

Hua Twelve said with a smile:

"Don't worry, didn't you say you wanted to increase the sales of the daily newspaper and were worried about the sales of physical books? This is an opportunity!"

"Let's let things escalate first, just make a statement. Once it blows up, ideally the whole country will know, then I'll present the evidence and crush them. All this traffic will be ours!"

"With a favorable wind, we'll send 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' soaring to new heights. We're determined to seize this opportunity!"

The next morning, Su Mingyu and Su Mingcheng went out and saw that the door was covered with rotten eggs, as well as various insults written on and off.

Many neighbors came over to watch and discuss the matter, saying that yesterday's program was a complete rip-off. They claimed that someone had thrown the script at them early in the morning. Some neighbors even tried to explain to those people, but they only believed the TV station and not what the neighbors said.

Hua Shierchao clasped his hands in a fist salute around the four directions:

"Thank you all, young and old. When I go to court, I hope my old neighbor can be a witness. My Su family will never forget your kindness!"

From that day on, Hua Twelve became a rat that everyone wanted to beat. If he was recognized on the street, he would inevitably be scolded, and some people with bad tempers even wanted to hit him.

The sales of the Gusu Daily also declined, and a trend of boycotting "Ghost Blows Out the Light" emerged among the public.

Hua Shier issued a solemn statement in the Suzhou Daily, condemning the program for talking nonsense and saying that the reporter was lying. He reserved the right to pursue legal action and make them issue a public apology.

But the reporter was certain that Hua Shier had no evidence and believed that even an upright official couldn't settle a family dispute. She thought that in such matters, each side had its own version of events, so she completely ignored the newspaper's statement and even confidently assured the station's leaders that she would take responsibility for anything that happened.

Finally, even some major national media outlets reported on this matter. Hua Shier felt that it was about time. He took the video evidence and the old president and went directly to Beijing, to Guojiatai, to find Xiao Cui and Xiao Bai.

Your TV station and program team won't apologize, right? Let's do whatever we want with Oriental Horizon and Focus Interview!

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.