Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 45 Meeting at Shanggong Garden
The day for the meeting finally arrived.
Cai Qiaozhu was extremely conflicted.
If she had known earlier that Ye Youyu was pregnant, she might have postponed or even cancelled the event . However, after all, she had sent the invitation before knowing the good news, and the person she invited was a pillar of the family business, so she couldn't just go back on her word.
Her original plan was to go to Shanggong Garden early in the morning and wait, but when the day really came, she hesitated for a long time and was unable to go out. When she finally made up her mind and came to Shanggong Garden, she saw that everyone in the room was already there.
The people Cai Qiaozhu invited today included family members, such as the fifteenth uncle and Wu Chenggou, and people from the bank, such as the shopkeeper Liu, Ou Jiafu, the shopkeeper Yao Si, etc. In addition to all the people who were present when the pork was distributed and Wu Guoying made arrangements for his funeral arrangements that day, there were also some clansmen, relatives, and guys from the key departments of Yihe Bank - naturally, most of these people were close to Wu Chengjun.
This time, when Cai Qiaozhu extended the invitation at this juncture, all the invited people guessed what was going on. Because it was Wu Liu who invited them one by one, everyone knew they couldn't refuse, so they became very active and everyone came early in the morning - only Lao Gu refused to come.
Everyone was divided into two rows, the clan members were in one row, and the people in the industry were in another row. When they saw Cai Qiaozhu, they all stood up and called her the eldest young lady.
At the top of the hall of Shang Gong Garden, there are two chairs, one in the middle, which is reserved for the owner, and the other one placed to the side, which is reserved for Cai Qiaozhuo.
When they saw Cai Qiaozhu come in, everyone's expressions and moods were different.
Manager Liu sighed on the spot. He had advised Wu Chengjian that day, and what Wu Chengjian said to him made him think that things would gradually get better. Who knew that things would get worse in the blink of an eye.
Fifteenth Uncle couldn't help shaking his head. He had heard about the recent events. Although Cai Qiaozhu had initiated this gathering, Wu Chengjian had gone too far. Wu Guoying, the sister-in-law, had a very good reputation in the clan, and Guang'er was the eldest son and grandson after all. Wu Chengjian would be criticized for forcing his sister-in-law to bully his nephew.
Ou Jiafu was in a terrible mood too. After Wu Chengjian took over, his position in the bank rose sharply. When Liu Da was not around, he was almost the boss of the bank. Wu Chengjian trusted him more than anyone else in the bank. But Wu Chengjian certainly trusted him, and Wu Chengjun cultivated him. Why couldn't the eldest and third sons be the same as before? If they really had to break up completely today, he didn't know how to choose.
Manager Yao Si was also in a complicated mood. He almost wanted to pretend to be sick and not come today, but he came in the end because he knew he couldn't avoid this matter. Now he has a very high position in Yihe Bank. When Manager Liu is not around, if there is a big matter that is difficult to decide, he and Ou Jiafu will deal with it. As long as the two have no objection, the matter can be decided. Manager Liu is already in a semi-retired state, which means he is almost one of the two managers of Yihe Bank. After so many years of ups and downs, he knows very well that it is almost inevitable to be involved in the family disputes of the insurance merchants when he sits in such a high position. Since he can't avoid it, he has already made up his mind.
Wu Chenggou's eyes flickered. He had not expected the changes in the family situation over the past six months. His originally extinguished hope was now rekindled with a sense of restlessness.
Cai Qiaozhu came over, walked to her seat, and saluted everyone. Everyone hurriedly returned the salute. Cai Qiaozhu said, "Today..." Before she finished speaking, her eyes turned red. She covered her face and adjusted her mood before saying, "Today, I have invited everyone to Shanggong Garden because there is something unspeakable. I would like to ask everyone to..."
She didn't utter the words "make the decision for me" out loud. She choked up again and couldn't continue.
She was experienced in handling matters at home, but it was her first time to deal with external affairs, especially to face so many men from other places at the same time. Although she was not stage-frightened, she was unable to finish the words she had prepared because of her turbulent emotions.
However, because of this, everyone felt even more sympathy for her. They all wondered what , and why he had pushed his weak eldest sister-in-law to this point.
Uncle Fifteen sighed and said, "Sister Chengjun, please sit down first and take a deep breath. We are all family here. You don't have to be nervous or anxious. Let's talk slowly, slowly."
Cai Qiaozhu felt quite ashamed and sat down. Lian Qiao quickly brought her a cup of tea.
Everyone in the room sat down in silence. No one wanted to speak. They just watched Cai Qiaozhu drink tea.
When Cai Qiaozhu put down the teacup, someone stood up. It was Wu Chenggou. Everyone looked over and heard Wu Chenggou say, "Sister-in-law, you don't have to worry. We are actually clear about what happened during this period. The third brother is too much! He has no father or brother as the elder, no mother or sister-in-law as the mother. Now that his parents are gone, he doesn't respect his brother and sister-in-law. Guang'er is his nephew, the eldest son and grandson of our Wu family. It is a great honor for our Wu family for him to get an official position and a title, but the third brother is so self-centered., he actually resigned from this official position, his intentions are really obvious. Even if he has all the power in Xiguan, it is difficult to stop the gossips in the city! Don't worry, sister-in-law, today, whether it is the division of the family or the division of the property, I, the second uncle, will make the decision for him!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and almost roared in the end.
When everyone in the room heard this, they all frowned.
Although everyone guessed what they were invited to discuss today, no one in the room was willing to speak out. Even Cai Qiaozhu found it difficult to speak. Only Wu Chenggou even said "divide the family and property". This sounded like he was helping Cai Qiaozhu, but Cai Qiaozhu still found it harsh and uncomfortable. What is "without a father, the brother is the eldest, without a mother, the sister-in-law is the mother"? This sentence clearly refers to Cai Qiaozhu as the sister-in-law, but secretly means that he, Wu Chenggou, is going to be Wu Chengjian's "brother father"?
It's just that the shopkeepers and clerks of Yihehang are all outsiders and cannot interfere in the Wu family's affairs. Fifteenth Uncle frowned when he heard this, but today he was also on Cai Qiaozhu's side. Only Ou Jiafu was impulsive and couldn't help but sneered: "The eldest young lady hasn't even spoken yet, and you, the second young master, are so anxious to come and divide the family property."
Wu Chenggou was furious and pointed at Ou Jiafu and cursed: "This is our Wu family's business, when is it your turn to butt in on it!"
Ou Jiafu was furious, but what Wu Chenggou said was right, which made him unable to speak.
Cai Qiaozhu coughed, and everyone fell silent. Cai Qiaozhu said, "We are all here today, and there are no outsiders."
Ou Jiafu felt a little better, but Wu Chenggou was still not giving in: "Sister-in-law, as the saying goes, brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. It is better for us to solve the Wu family's affairs behind closed doors. These outsiders have no blood relationship with us and can be bought off with a few dollars. You can't trust them easily."
Except for the people from the Wu family, everyone else present was furious. Even the fifteenth uncle couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "Cheng Gou, what nonsense are you talking about!"
Wu Chenggou shouted, "Am I wrong? What did my sister-in-law call us here to talk about today? We all know that these things should be solved by our Wu family. We can just tell these hired guys after we have settled the matter."
There was a great commotion in the room. Ou Jiafu pointed at Wu Chenggou and started to curse. Wu Chenggou did not back down and also cursed at Ou Jiafu - he acted so rude, but in fact he was scheming. He had no prestige in Yihe Bank, so it made no difference whether he offended people or not. On the contrary, if he could exclude the shopkeeper and his clerks from the decision-making circle and bring the matter to the clan for discussion, he would have room to maneuver there.
Seeing the chaos at the scene, Manager Liu closed his eyes and shook his head, Manager Yao turned his head away, and Cai Qiaozhu was really annoyed. Some of the people invited today had to be invited, such as those who were present when Wu Guoying talked about the will, and some were potential allies, such as Manager Yao Si, but after Wu Chenggou's words, not only did he offend all these people, but the scene was also in chaos.
Wu Erliang, who was also invited today but had been standing aside adhering to his duties, blinked his dim and cloudy eyes twice and tears flowed down: "How could this happen! How could this family become like this!"
Amid the hustle and bustle of Shanggong Garden, someone outside the house suddenly laughed and said, "This is really lively. Our Wu family hasn't been so lively for a long time."
Hearing this laughter, everyone in the room suddenly fell silent.
Wu Chengjian had just woken up from a nap and walked in yawning. No one dared to say a word.
Wu Chengjian walked in with Foshan Chen. Wherever they passed, the waiters bowed their heads as a sign of greeting, and the clan members bowed and called him "Hao Guan". Even the head shopkeeper Liu and the fifteenth uncle stood up.
Wu Chengjian came to Cai Qiaozhu, bowed and called out, "Sister-in-law."
Cai Qiaozhu didn't know what expression to put on him. She was so angry that she tried to force Wu Chengjian to bow his head by saying "we will break off our friendship". But Wu Chengjian replied directly "If you want to break off, then break off. If you want to break off, then break off." This really chilled her heart. Facing Wu Chengjian at this time, she was neither cold nor warm, but she was a kind person in her heart. Seeing her uncle bowing his head to greet her, she finally asked, "How is the fish body?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "That's fine. I told her to take good care of herself and not to worry about anything. During her pregnancy, you will have to take care of the garden."
Seeing that he was still laughing and not serious, Cai Qiaozhu frowned slightly and said nothing.
The fifteenth uncle listened to the conversation between the uncle and his wife and thought, "It doesn't look like they are getting close to a breakup."
But then Chen from Foshan came forward and greeted Cai Qiaozhu - he and Wu Chengjian were sworn brothers, so he met her as a sworn brother, and then Wu Qi quickly arranged an extra chair for him.
Wu Chengjian sat crookedly on the middle armchair and waved his hand: "Everyone, sit down."
Everyone sat down quickly.
Wu Chengjian pointed at Wu Chenggou who was about to sit down and said, "Second brother, get out."
"Ah?" Wu Chenggou was confused.
Wu Chengjian said: "When my father was alive, he said that family and business affairs have nothing to do with you from now on. Get out." His voice was calm, but his tone was unquestionable.
Wu Chenggou stood there, at a loss and extremely ashamed. Cai Qiaozhu called out, "Third Uncle..." After all, she was the one who called Wu Chenggou, so it would be inappropriate to kick him out like this.
However, before she could finish her words, Wu Chengjian interrupted her and said, "Sister-in-law, I am the head of the family. I am talking about my father's last wish. If you have something bigger to say than these two, please don't say it."
Just two words were enough to shut Cai Qiaozhu up.
Everyone was shocked, but they were not surprised. They just thought: "Amazing!"
Shopkeeper Yao Si thought: "After all, Hao Guan has fought against Cai Shiwen and Ji Shan in the outside world, and he was able to deal with the Governor's Office and the Guangdong Customs. Even though the eldest young lady is virtuous, how can she be his opponent?"
Wu Chenggou looked left and right. From his home to the business, no one spoke for him. He knew in his heart that there was no place for him here anymore. He stamped his feet, covered his face and ran away.
