Chapter 1137 Farewell
Mother Zhang passed away that night. When the younger generations arrived, she, who was rarely sober, met them. She did not say much, but just gave a few brief instructions and looked at her grandchildren and Song Yangming's children reluctantly.
After more than an hour, Zhang's mother fell into coma again. This time she never woke up again and passed away after 11 o'clock in the evening.
Song Yuanchao was shrouded in sorrow. Looking at Zhang's mother who left him with a smile on her face, Song Chaoyuan cried very sadly. An old woman who had always loved him and watched him grow up was gone just like that. From now on, he would never see her kind face again, nor hear her caring voice. How could Song Chaoyuan not be sad?
In the next few days, Song Chaoyuan's family and Zhang Jianguo's family held a grand funeral for the old man. Although the frugal old man had said before he left that the funeral did not need to be grand, and that it could be arranged like an ordinary family. But even though the old man said so, neither Song Chaoyuan nor Zhang Jianguo would agree. Sending an old man away is a big deal, and neither the Song family nor the Zhang family is short of money, so this last thing can only go against the old man's wishes.
The cemetery for Zhang's mother had been arranged long ago. Several years ago, Zhang Jianguo moved his father's grave from its original location to this new cemetery.
Compared with the cemetery where Song Guangzeng and his wife live in Suzhou, this cemetery is closer to Shanghai, and because it is a new cemetery built after the 1990s, its facilities and conditions are better.
According to Zhang Jia A Niang's wishes, she was buried with her long-gone husband. On the day of the burial, Zhang Jianguo personally used a brush dipped in black paint to paint the originally red name of Zhang Jia A Niang on the tombstone black, then placed the urn into the limed tomb, and then he and Song Yuanchao sealed the tomb with cement.
After doing all this, they burned paper and incense, and kowtowed to the old man one by one. After everything was done, the burial ceremony was also completed. Standing up and wiping his red eyes, Song Chaoyuan silently looked at the porcelain photo of Zhang's mother inlaid on the tombstone, as if he felt that Zhang's mother was still in front of him, and he couldn't help but shed tears again.
According to Shanghai customs, the next thing to do was to eat tofu rice. Song Yuanchao and Zhang Jianguo's family did not invite any outsiders. After all, this was their family affair. Even friends and relatives such as Luo Yang and Lin Yuhang were not invited. Only Song Yuanchao and Zhang Jianguo's families were invited.
The atmosphere was a little solemn during the meal, but with the persuasion of Qin Xia and Lin Yan, Song Chaoyuan and Zhang Jianguo's mood calmed down a little.
After a few glasses of wine, the grief in Song Chaoyuan and Zhang Jianguo's hearts gradually disappeared. After all, Zhang's mother had left forever. The dead are gone, and the living should live better. This was also the old man's hope before his death.
"I'm ready to retire." After lighting a cigarette, Zhang Jianguo said this to Song Chaoyuan.
"Have you thought it through?"
"Well, I've thought it through. Life is so short, and no matter how much money you make, you can't take it with you when you die. After my mom passed away, I figured things out a lot. Besides, you know, I've already arranged for my son-in-law to take over my job in the past few years. Now handing the company over to him is what I've always wanted to do."
Song Chaoyuan understood Zhang Jianguo's idea very well. Zhang Jianguo originally wanted to hand over the business to Zhang Hao, but who would have thought that Zhang Hao would succeed in starting a business before graduating from his studies abroad, and his achievements far exceeded his own. Under such circumstances, Zhang Hao had no interest in the logistics and express delivery companies founded by Zhang Jianguo. Even the Yahoo he founded and other Internet companies he invested in, Zhang Hao has gradually withdrawn from management in recent years and focused on doing what he likes.
For this reason, Zhang Jianguo had to give up the idea of letting Zhang Hao take over and turned his attention to his son-in-law, Zhang Pingping's husband.
Although Zhang Pingping's husband came from a good family, he did not enter the official career because of his ranking in the family. He was also a good person and had considerable business ability. After a period of observation, Zhang Jianguo had a detailed discussion with his son-in-law and arranged for him to join the company.
After several years of training, his son-in-law has become the vice president of the company, and he has no problem taking charge of his own business. Zhang Jianguo originally planned to hand over the business to him in a few years, but due to the departure of Zhang's mother, Zhang Jianguo's mentality has changed. Since he has to hand over the business, he might as well do it now. After handing over the company to his son-in-law, he will retire completely.
"That's fine, but what do you want to do after retirement? You can't just stay at home and do nothing, right?" Song Chaoyuan asked.
"Take a break first. I haven't made up my mind yet. I've worked hard all my life. I've been so busy for so many years and haven't had much time to rest."
"Since you're taking a break, why don't you and your aunt go out for a walk? I remember that apart from the few times you've been to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, you haven't been to other places yet, right? It's a good opportunity to go out and see more, for example, there are many beautiful places in Europe, or go to Australia to see kangaroos and so on. Oh, and you can also go to the United States and Canada."
"This is a good idea, but your aunt..." As he spoke, Zhang Jianguo glanced at Qin Xia who was not far away. Qin Xia's agency is doing well now. It is getting bigger and bigger and has become the leader among the agency companies in Shanghai.
"Discuss this matter with you and your aunt. Besides, what can go wrong with the agency? The company is not without managers. Let the managers be responsible for some things and just report regularly. If the problem really cannot be solved, it is also very convenient to come back from abroad. It's just a matter of a plane ticket." Song Yuanchao said.
Zhang Jianguo thought about it and felt that what Song Yuanchao said made sense. He could discuss this with his wife. By the way, didn't Qin Xia always say that she wanted to go abroad? It was just that he was busy with work before and had no time. Now that he has retired, the couple can take advantage of his good health and go out more.
In fact, Song Chaoyuan also had the same idea as Zhang Jianguo, but he couldn't get away from it now.
Although Song Yangming has grown up quickly, he is still far from being able to take over his own business and the family business. As for Si Te, Song Yangming has not officially taken over yet. At least, Song Chaoyuan will gradually hand over other businesses to his son after Song Yangming can be competent as the chairman and general manager of Si Te.
These things cannot be achieved in a hurry and need to be done bit by bit. However, what makes Song Yuanchao happy is that Song Yangming is doing very well and is moving in the direction he expects.
While he was eating, the cell phone in his pocket suddenly rang. Song Chaoyuan took out the phone, said something to Zhang Jianguo beside him, then got up and went outside.
When he got outside, Song Yuanchao picked up the phone and heard a familiar voice.
Listening to the story on the phone, Song Yuanchao didn't say anything. He could only whisper a few simple words , such as "Yeah, OK, Okay, That's it..." and so on. After chatting for more than ten minutes, Song Chaoyuan hung up the phone, his expression became slightly solemn.
After lighting up a cigarette and taking two puffs, Song Chaoyuan found the number and dialed it, then chatted with the other party on the phone for a while and hung up again.
After hanging up this time, Song Yuanchao did not go back immediately. He stood there, not knowing what he was thinking, and seemed a little absent-minded.
"Brother!"
"Oh, Haozi, what are you doing...?"
"I'm going to the bathroom." Zhang Hao pointed to the bathroom and asked Song Yuanchao, "What's going on? You look a little...?"
"Oh, it's nothing, just a small problem in the company." Song Chaoyuan said this easily.
"Are you really okay? Brother, we are not outsiders. If you need any help, just let me know." Zhang Hao said with concern.
Song Chaoyuan laughed and patted Zhang Hao on the shoulder. "You are so arrogant, kid. Okay, I know. Don't worry. This is just a small matter and not a big problem. Besides, this matter has been prepared for a long time. Now we are just about to close the net. I was just thinking about how to handle it so that there will be no mistakes."
Zhang Hao showed a knowing expression after hearing this. He knew Song Yuanchao's ability very well, and he knew Song Yuanchao's methods in the business world even better. Since Song Chaoyuan said so, he also understood that Song Chaoyuan was indeed fine, but he was just too concerned and didn't think about these things.
After chatting for a while, Zhang Hao went to the bathroom first. When he came out, he saw Song Yuanchao still waiting outside. Just as he was about to ask, Song Yuanchao pulled him aside and told him what he and Zhang Jianguo had just talked about. At the same time, he asked Zhang Hao to take advantage of the few days in Shanghai to persuade Zhang Jianguo and Qin Xia and let them go out to relax. After all, the departure of Zhang's mother was a big blow to Zhang Jianguo.
Zhang Hao nodded to show that he understood, and said that he would have a good talk with his parents. At the same time, he expressed his gratitude to Song Yuanchao.
Song Yuanchao patted his arm and laughed and scolded, saying that you are not a stranger, why are you saying such things? When this sentence came out, Zhang Hao scratched his head embarrassedly and laughed.
The next morning, Song Chaoyuan went to the company early. The first thing he did after arriving at the office was to turn on his computer, then found the stock interface of Shi Lei's company, and then took out his phone and dialed a number.
The other party picked up the phone quickly. Song Chaoyuan chatted with the other party for a few words and then hung up the phone, and then waited for the opening time to come.
In a blink of an eye, the opening time arrived. When the stock data began to display and jump on the computer screen, Song Chaoyuan watched the trend intently from morning to afternoon, and even had lunch in the office.
After the market closed, Song Yuanchao received another call. After hanging up the phone, Song Chaoyuan was completely relieved, and a smile of confidence finally appeared on the corner of his mouth.
To everyone's surprise, shortly after the market opened the next day, Shi Lei's company revealed that a major shareholder of the company requested the establishment of an interim board of directors.
Soon after the news was released, the announcement was officially made. With the announcement, Shi Lei's company's stock will be suspended, and because it involves equity changes and other reasons, the suspension will last for at least several trading days, and the suspension period may be extended again due to later reasons. As soon as the news came out, it instantly attracted everyone's attention.
