After The Vicious Cannon Fodder Was Reborn

Chapter 29: Returning Home

After waiting until the next afternoon, Tao Mu, who received another call from brother Yao, approached Zhang Hanya's uncle, Zhang Delu. He was also the most troublemaking and scheming male family member in the Zhang family.

"..This address is your house number, right!" In front of Zhang Delu, Tao Mu rattled off an address number, and asked: "I heard that you gamble and owe a lot of usury. I say, you are quite daring, even daring to owe debts to brother Dong. Don't you know that brother Dong has the most cruel and darkest methods to deal with debtees?"

Zhang Delu hadn't thought that after just a few days, all of his dealings would be found out by Tao Mu. Instantly he was surprised and scared: "What, what do you mean by this?"

"I don't mean anything." Tao Mu sneered: "I just want to say that I don't care about your family's affairs. But you can't mess up my affairs."

"I also know that your family does not have it easy. None of the family members have a serious job. The men in the family are not only incapable but also gamble and borrow usury. For so many years, you have relied on women and work odd jobs outside to support the family. It is very sad actually. By the way, I sent someone to visit your house yesterday. Bought some fruit and canned foods for the old ladies, and bought some snacks and toy cars for the children. Your wife told you about it, right?"

Zhang Delu's heart once again jumped. Tao Mu spoke nicely, but he found out the address of their home without a problem, and sent a bald headed man with tattoos and gold chains to deliver fruit to their home. The words he spoke were also very unclear and ambiguous. The underlying meaning and threat in all of this was very obvious.

Since Zhang Delu was a person who gambled outside and owed usury, he could naturally figure out the truth here.

People like him, with soft bones, could do anything for money. But it was precisely his kind of people who were best at knowing when to take danger seriously. Knowing who could provoke and who he could never provoke. To put it in an ugly way, he would bully the weak and fear the strong.

At present, in his eyes, Tao Mu was one of the difficult and hard fellows, someone who he must never provoke.

"What, what do you want to do?" Zhang Delu looked at Tao Mu with shifty eyes, and said, "I, I say, you want to be a big star. You'd better not be foolish."

"As long as you don't get in my way." Tao Mu glanced at Zhang Delu expressionlessly, and suddenly chuckled, "Mr. Zhang is a smart man. I know what you want, isn't it just the medical expenses! I can give you a satisfactory solution to the matter. But you must guarantee that there will be no next time. If you dare to trouble the crew or the Yun family in the future, dont blame me for not saying the ugly things upfront."

Zhang Delu's heart felt like it was riding a roller coaster. He was curious about Tao Mu's idea and also afraid that Tao Mu would settle accounts afterwards: "What do you want?"

Tao Mu snorted. He ignored Zhang Delu. The best way to deal with this kind of person was not to give a slap and then a sweet jujube, but to give a sweet jujube and then severely break his legs. That way he would know how it hurts and know to be afraid. In this way, he wouldn't be thinking about that sweet jujube anymore, haunting you from time to time for more sweets and nauseating you.

Tao Mu left Zhang Delu aside, and first went back to the shooting location of "Faraway Jianghu" to visit the set and everyone. As soon as he entered the crew, he apologized to everyonehe brought some of the most famous popular snacks in H town, and handed them out one by one. Then, taking advantage of the filming break, he went into the directors lounge with Cheng Baodong and a few bigwigs to discuss donations.

After all, the Zhang family had brought the matter to the media. Whether they liked it or not, if they didn't give an explanation, this matter would likely not blow over.

"In fact, we should think about it from another angle. Just spending a couple hundred thousand yuan donations could create a social hotspot for "Faraway Jianghu" which might be more effective than that of you deliberately spending money to buy ads for marketing, right?" And this kind of social hotspot came with discussions and debates that could last for a very long time. No matter how much time had passed, so long as it was mentioned, there would always be people discussing it.

The group of bigwigs looked at each other and didn't speak. Cheng Baodong sneered and unceremoniously retorted: "Easy for you to say. Creating a social hotspot. Do you think that the mainstream media is yours? You can create it just because you want to?"

One couldn't quibble on minor matters when you talk to people like Cheng Baodong and instead grasp the main point of the topic and keep plowing on directly so as not to be disrupted by his deliberately antagonistic words. If he was actually distracted by his annoying words then it would be over. Who knew what year they would be able to bring the topic back to the main point.

Therefore, Tao Mu ignored Cheng Baodongs aggressiveness and patiently analyzed: MLM, abduction, womens rights, and doctor-patient relationships, no matter when, these are the most important topics of the country and the people. Especially the two in the middle. We can start from the topic of human traffickers and womens rights, and bribe some media to follow the case. Start some topics on the Internet, such as the crime of abduction and rape, and the different sentencing methods for domestic violence crimes in marriage, and discuss why some crimes of abduction and rape have the same sentences given to crimes of domestic violence in marriage."

"You can also ask a reporter to break the news that after arriving at the hospital, the Zhang family insisted that the police and the hospital should not have performed operations without their permission', using this as an excuse to force the hospital to be responsible for them. We can discuss the matter or diverge our thinking. Let the netizens discuss the relationship between doctors and patients, as well as the so-called "the world is made up of parents" and "my oddity of parents". Of course, the crew of "Faraway Jianghu" as a direct participant in this case, expresses deep sympathy and regret for Zhang Hanyas experience and also couldnt bear for the police and the hospital to face any difficulties that would chill everyones heart to save the wounded. So, the crew is willing to organize donations and be responsible for little Hanyas medical expenses but also appeal to little Hanyas relatives to take the overall situation seriously and not be petty by hurting the hearts of the police and doctors for one's own profitafter all, we can't let the hero shed tears on top of the blood and sweat! I can make a statement first, I am willing to donate the 100,000 yuan I got from the crew. The money is not much, just a little bit of sincerity."

Did Tao Mu care about money? Of course he cared. But Tao Mu cared more about what could be done with money than just money itself!

When everyone heard Tao Mu's idea that he put forward in such a simple and light attitude, they couldn't help but be shocked. Tao Mu's actions made it clear he planned to ruin the Zhang family. The phrase "we can't let the hero shed tears on top of the blood and sweat" directly put the Zhang family in the position of an ungrateful villain.

When the news media printed these articles, it was likely that everyone in the Zhang family would not be able to hold their heads up in front of their relatives and friends. What's more important was that Tao Mu's wave of momentum would definitely not stop until it turned this matter into a social hotspot. And this case had not been officially closed yet. When the case was over, the crew could also take advantage of the situation and incite another wave of discussion.

And another significant point was that this type of case, coupled with Tao Mu's hype style, would have the whole country discussing societal matters. And it was not a one time thing, but even in the futureso long as there was a need, it could be pulled out again at any time, setting off a frenzy of discussion once again.

Everytime the topic was brought up, the Zhang family would once again be pulled out by various media to point fingers at. For the Zhang family, after putting such a hat on, it would be difficult to pull the hat off.

Too ruthless!

Tao Mu turned a blind eye to the bigwigs' scrutiny, and smiled as he continued to advise these bigwigs: Finally, we can also stand from the perspective of the crew and the industry and persuade those young people who are young and have never been involved in society to not just go to unfamiliar places to visit celebrities. Emphasize the danger and uncertainty of this behavior, then register an official account on Weibo where you can post these safety tips, and inspire the public's good feelings."

"Dont those media reporters surrounding the crew want interviews? I think that everyone can also talk about your attitudes during the interview. For example, if there is no business, there is no harm. Discuss this from the perspective of equality and even feminism. You can also start from the doctor-patient relationship and the doctor's trouble. Director Cheng is the director, so he can take advantage of this incident to make a few movies with similar themes. If done well, maybe you can even get an award!"

Cheng Baodong's face changed and changed again. Looking at Tao Mu, he didn't speak for a long time.

The other bigwigs also had lingering fears.

Tao Mu's method was too ruthless. It was like a wolf cub who had always hidden its fangs finally stretched out sharp claws. Before that, although these bigwigs talked about the child being too scheming and manipulative, they didn't feel much realistically. At most, it was just echoing others. It was a kind of condescending evaluation, added with a little sympathy for the weak. After all, Tao Mu, a kid who just graduated from high school, was not even an official actor. In front of the big names who had long been established in the entertainment circle, he posed no significance or deterrent at all.

But now, everyone was deeply aware of Tao Mu's scheming and ruthless methodstoday his methods were used to deal with the hooligans that were the Zhang family. But tomorrow, it could be used against anyone in this room.

The main point was that even though everyone was more famous and influential than Tao Mu, if they really ran into this kind of thing, it was likely they wouldn't be able to hold up against the onslaught of attacks. They would absolutely not be able to escape without losing a layer of skin.

And on top of that, Tao Mu spent at most one and a half days to come up with such a method. With a flicker of an eye, he came up with an idea, and a very vicious and ruthless one that could ruin any person.

How could this child be so ruthless at such a young age. Then, when he came into contact with them, was he also holding back so many bad thoughts?

Tao Mu noticed a change in the mentality of these people. But he didn't care about it.

He had already anticipated this kind of reaction when he came to visit the set today to apologize and give everyone his idea.

He did it intentionally.

From childhood to adulthood, Tao Mu had deeply realized a truth. That was, in the process of interacting with people, you couldn't just show your weakness. You had to show off your claws when necessary to increase your weight in the eyes of others. This way, when you asked someone to do something, they wouldn't be negligent and perfunctory just because they thought they could treat you lightly and get away with it. This way it would not delay things.

Just like today, Tao Mu used the matter of the Zhang family to deliberately set up a trap. But this group of celebrities and big directors who had been roasted on the fire by the Zhang family and the media reporters had no choice but to jump into his trapto say something ugly, those who jumped into the turmoil of the entertainment circle were either in it for fame or profit. Maybe there were some people who didn't admire fame and wealth, but Tao Mu hadn't met one so far.

He got along with these people for a month, and he had already figured out the nature of these people. They were not necessarily bad, but they did took pride and showed arrogance in their reputation and status, liked to listen to flattery, wanted to become famous, wanted to make money, and especially wanted to be treated like royaltyit could be said that those Tao Mu deliberately made friends with were actually the batch of people that were relatively easy to coax.

They were motive driven, but their scheming skills were not as dark as the financial and business circle. Even when angered, there were only so many retaliatory methods they could use to enact revenge. It would not hurt or itch or injure him badly, so in other words, simply too easy to handle.

Just like nowTao Mu spoke his plan and pointed out the ready-made heat and popularity attached to it. Add to the fact that the Zhang family and media reporters were practically offering themselves, so long as these people didn't want any more trouble, they had no choice but to pinch their nose and carry out the plan.

Seeing that the faces of these people flickered with many emotions only to finally make up their minds, Tao Mu knew that this matter was basically decided.

Speaking of, the reason why he revealed these arrangements straightforwardly was because he was not afraid that this group of people would back out at the last minute. After all, no one could read other peoples hearts. After listening to Tao Mus words, these bigwigs had to weigh the matter in their mindsif they quit this plan now, would those who were willing to rub the heat and increase their popularity hold grudges against them? Think that they were just acting pretentious? Would they worry that they would speak out about these arrangements and ruin such a good marketing plan?

When the time came, they not only wouldn't be able to make clear their upright stance but also receive many suspicions aimed at them. How many of those who succeed in the entertainment industry were pure and kind virgin marys?

One step forward was a sweet jujube, and one step backward was a big stick. No one would want to put himself in a bad spot just for a bunch of irrelevant hooligans. Many times, circles were formed in this waynot because you had lofty ideals and common ambitions, but because a large group had done something that was not so upright and not easy to reveal to others.

For example, using the Zhang family as a stepping stone to promote the popularity of the entire crew of "Faraway Jianghu".

Tao Mu smiled and watched as this group of bigwigs quickly settled their internal struggles, and began to seriously discuss how to improve the plan.

While discussing, this group of bigwigs also observed Tao Mu secretly. Tch, now he didn't say anything and instead pretended to be a big clove of garlicwas it because he was coming up with something bad in his heart, wondering how to plot against them?

This was a misunderstanding of Tao Mu.

After being reborn, Tao Mu did indeed have a lot of celebrity black material on hand. Including that of these few people in front of him: for example, a certain big director and the financial and props department of the crew had teamed up together to cheat investors' of their money; for example, a certain old veteran actor who would often show his image of a good husband who loved his family to the public was actually keeping a young and beautiful dancer outside; another example was that the biggest bigwig in this room, a certain female celebrity, was actually the mistress of a certain business tycoon..

But Tao Mu really never thought about using these black materials. He just habitually memorized this kind of stuff. After all, this kind of thing was similar to a spare tire, maybe one day it could be used.

***

It must be said that while these bigwigs appear hesitant and conflicted on the surface, they were actually faster than anyone when implementing the plan.

On the second day after Tao Mu gave everyone his advice, Cheng Baodong held a temporary press conference with the A-list celebrities and the main actors of the whole crew. At the press conference, it was solemnly announced that in order to support the police's abduction operations, the "Faraway Jianghu" crew would donate 1 million yuan to set up a charity relief fund specifically to help pitiful women who had been abducted by human traffickers and violently assaulted to pay for their medical expenses. In addition, one-tenth of the box office money of the movie would be injected into this charity relief fund after the release of "Faraway Jianghu".

And the first person to receive this charity relief funds donation was a young girl who had been cheated into an MLM den and had almost been abducted by human traffickers, but was rescued by the police at the critical moment to receive timely treatment. However, the family members blatantly accused the police and the hospital that the hospital's surgery procedure was wrong because they could not afford the medical expenses. As for Zhang XX, who knelt down and begged for donations at the entrance of the Studio Citythe money would be paid directly to the account of the H Studio City Group Hospital, resolutely not letting the heroes shed tears on top of blood and sweat.

After the press conference was over, a group of media that had been well-prepared for a long time began to publish various articles that called people to pay attention to anti-trafficking actions, pay attention to relevant laws and regulations, pay attention to women's rights and equality, and even pay attention to the relationship between doctors and patients. There were various reports but there was only one that was not included. Tao Mu used the law that protected the victims and strictly prohibited the media from exposing the specific information of Zhang Hanya and other victims. Of course, he couldn't speak in front of the media in his capacity. These suggestions were all conveyed to everyone through Cheng Baodong's mouth.

Presumably, no one wanted to see reports that media violence caused the victim to be exposed to harm a second time, and public opinion had persecuted the victims.

After the storm of public opinion in his last life, Tao Mu knew better than anyone how to use news media for positive propaganda, and knew how to counter these media. So he was not afraid of saying ugly words upfront. But what surprised him was that the news media were very conscientiousnot mentioning the social section, even the weekly newspapers' gossip sections were not so wicked as to expose the victim's information to attract attention.

It seemed that the current weekly paper mediaespecially the news media on the social page, still maintained the professional ethics and professionalism of the media people, insisting that news reports must be true and effective and must be a positive mouthpiece. It was completely not like later years of self-media who used the headlines to attract attention, turning news reports into an 8pm soap opera, full of twists and made up information.

Tao Mu had clear grudges and grievances. He wanted to teach the Zhang family a lesson as well as establish his own speaking power. He dared not say that innocent people would absolutely not be involved, but within his ability, he was still willing to protect the privacy of innocent people. After all, Zhang Hanya, the young girl, was truly unlucky and pitiful.

The Zhang family had been making a fuss for a long time, but not only did they fail to get any real compensation, they even managed to ruin their family's reputation. The relatives of the family who were still in Beijing would be pointed out by the neighbors as soon as they went out, and there was no face left for the whole family.

However, in Tao Mu's words, the Zhang family got what they wanteddidn't they just want to solve the problem of medical expenses. He had helped them solve it now so the Zhang family should be grateful.

After such an incident, Zhang Delu could be considered to have a deep understanding of Tao Mu's methods. On the one hand, he was afraid of the big bald guy with the golden chain that had visited their home. On the other hand, he was discouraged and felt that it would be difficult to win against Tao Mu with his familys IQ and methods.

Considering these two points, the Zhang family did not continue to cause trouble. They didn't even mention that the Yun family should be responsible for Zhang Hanya for the rest of her life. Just stopped completely in their troublemaking. Fortunately, Zhang Hanya quickly woke up, and after a few days of observation in the hospital, she didn't have any side effects. The Zhang family quietly discharged themselves from the hospital and returned to the capital in a pathetic manner.

But these were all afterword.

Before Tao Mu left, in order to thank Gou Rixin and delinquent girl, as well as their good brothers, he made a table of food in sister Pings restaurant and invited everyone over for a drink. It could be considered an official farewell.

There was absolutely nothing to criticize about Tao Mu's cooking skills. He tinkered in the kitchen all morning, and made twenty dishes. Considering that this group of people were from all over China, Tao Mu's table also included eight major cuisines from eight regions, from Gou Rixin and Qin Miaoru's favorite fried pork in scoop, pork backbone, white meat and blood sausage, to Da Mao and Xiao Pang's favorite lamb spine hot pot, four happiness meatballs, longevity pork shoulder, stir-fried pig kidneys, to the local dishes of fried stuffed bean curd paste, sauteed shrimps and eel, steamed pork with lotus leaf, and Da Luo's personal order that he had never eaten in his life, Buddha's Temptation. He also made a dish of braised prawn and a dish of fried golden prawnsas Tao Mu had a certain habit when eating shrimps. He didn't like to peel them. So he made two shrimp dishes. Those who were willing to peel them would eat braised prawns, and those who were too lazy would eat fried golden prawns.

Then he made a dish of steamed fish, cold pork knuckle in jelly, and a dish of braised sea cucumber. The cold dishes were marinated carrot, cucumber, and rice noodle salad and century egg tofu. The soup was west lake carp with vinegar sauce. The dessert was Suzhou style little diamond cakes made in the shapes of the Chinese zodiac signs with glutinous rice flour, jujube paste, and red bean paste. The craftsmanship was exquisite and beautiful, and the texture was soft and smooth, aroma fragrant and sweet. This master-level full course meal immediately shocked this bunch of rough guys and girls.

When the diamond cakes arrived at the table, no one dared to stretch out their chopsticks. The large group of people held up their mobile phones and took pictures of the cakes. Their eyes when looking at Tao Mu were full of admiration for the master.

"Damn, brother Mu, your cooking skills are too extraordinary! You have to have learned from an imperial chef, right?" Qin Miaoru's bald underling bit his chopsticks and swallowed his saliva, "Say, you are so handsome and plan to be a star in the entertainment industry. Its such a waste to have such good cooking skills. How about it, let's discuss something. Does the master who taught you how to cook still accept apprentices? What do you think of me going to learn from a master?"

"Okay! I'll help you ask questions later. If our old man wants to accept apprentices, you can come and take his test. After the test, you can be my junior brother. But let me say the ugly words upfront, our family's learning methods are very strict. Training is all year round and you must be ready to provide for the master's retirement life. One day as your teacher means a lifetime as your father, understand? Its not as simple as paying money to learn skills like in the West. Tao Mu thought the bald-headed underling was joking, so he also replied jokingly.

"So it's like this!" The bald underling slapped his head: "As long as I can learn craftsmanship, let alone retirement, I can directly recognize him as my godfather!"

This caused a lot of laughter at the dinner table.

Qin Miaoru irritably knuckled the bald head of her underling: "Let's eat! So many delicious foods can't even stop your mouth. Just look at you, big and muscular, yet you want to recognize a godfather? Why don't you see if godfather would even want to recognize you?"

This was just too mean. This group of people was once again overtaken by laughter even before the last wave of laughter had died.

Tao Mu held back his smile, poured a large glass of beer, and toasted everyone: "Come, I will toast everyone a glass first. Thank you all for taking care of me during this time. I am very grateful. We should also keep in touch. Give me a call if there's anything, and I wont refuse if I can help."

Tao Mu also noticed that these people here, regardless of their future successes and encounters, were actually all good people. They were straightforward enough, righteous enough.

Tao Mu was used to seeing people who used each other and chased after profits. Now, it was not easy to get acquainted with a group of friends who were loyal to each other. Therefore, he was also willing to give everyone a chance to make a deeper friendship: "When I return to Beijing and change my phone number, I will send a group text message to everyone. Please pay attention, don't block my text message as spam."

Everyone responded loudly: "That won't be possible. Absolutely not. We must hug tight onto the golden thighs of Mr. Future Superstar."

Tao Mu looked at Gou Rixin. He was most worried about this big dog. He didn't know when that incident happened in his last life. Tao Mu estimated that it would be in a matter of months: "Call me if there's anything. Also, pay more attention when working. As martial arts body doubles, if something happens, it will be a major thing. Be careful."

"Don't worry." Gou Rixin waved his hand and touched his glass of beer to Tao Mu's: "I will. Besides, don't I have accident insurance covered by you. If something does happen, there will be protection."

Speaking of this, Tao Mu thought of another thing: "Why don't I see sister-in-law?"

Gou Rixin's smile faded, and he waved his hand and said, "Let's not mention her."

Tao Mu blinked, and advised subtly: "Okay. I can't say much about your house affairs. But there is one thing, if you really decide to cut it off, some things must be dealt with clearly. And it must be dealt with as soon as possible."

Tao Mu was talking about insurance beneficiaries. Gou Rixin insisted on filling in Yu Mei's name in the beneficiary's column. Tao Mu didn't think it was very reliable, but he couldn't say much. Now he was sincerely worried about Gou Rixin, so he said something more.

Gou Rixin also understood Tao Mu's sincerity, and patted the little brother on the shoulder without speaking.

Both guests and hosts enjoyed this meal.

On the second day, Tao Mu took Da Mao and Xiao Pang to buy a lot of local specialties. Then they bought a plane ticket for 10 o'clock the next morning to return to Beijing with the Yun family. In the hotel room at night, Tao Mu seriously told Da Mao and Xiao Pang: Dont just reveal whatever when you go back. When brother Yao and brother Xiao Qi ask about H Town, you can say whatever, but that thing with Luo Yang. Don't mention it."

The Luo family had a big business and large influence, so Tao Mu didn't want brother Yao to provoke the Luo family even if it's to help him get revenge. Besides, he was not a kid anymore, he could get his own revenge. It was just someone like Luo Yang, he really didn't worry about it. Just like what happened with the Zhang family, if it wasn't for Tao Mu wanting to take the opportunity to admit his wrongs and apologize to brother Yao and the others, he wouldn't have needed to make that phone call.

Da Mao and Xiao Pang disagreed: "How can this work? Luo Yang bullied you like that. If brother Yao asks"

"You are not allowed to say even if asked." Tao Mu said sternly, "I tell you, I am not discussing this with you, but solemnly telling you. If brother Yao listened to both of you and provoked the Luo family and got in trouble, don't blame me for turning my face." (TN: turning face=fall out with someone, become hostile)

Da Mao and Xiao Pang's hearts tightened. It was rare to see Tao Mu's solemn appearance, so they immediately gave in: "If you say not to, then we won't say anything. Why act so scary."

Tao Mu snorted, stretched out his hand and rubbed the heads of both Da Mao and Xiao Pang, and reminded again: "Don't say anything, or I will really turn my face."

Seeing Tao Mu was for real, Da Mao and Xiao Pang instantly stopped any thoughts of saying anything. When they checked out from the hotel the next day, they still looked wilted. Everyone in the Yun family noticed this and became curious: "What's wrong?"

"Having spent the past two months in H Town, they really will miss it!" Tao Mu's lie came easily out of his mouth, without having to think about it seriously.

Everyone in the Yun family didn't realize that there was anything wrong, and Yun Duo laughed and teased them: "I didn't expect you two macho men to be this sentimental."

Da Mao and Xiao Pang glanced at the clouds: As if a little girl like you know a fart!

They called two cars from the hotel and made their way to the airport. Tao Mu bought a lot of souvenirs. In order to save money, he fiddled with the express delivery in the hotel the night before. Listening to the Olympics as well as watching the turmoil in the international futures market. After pulling an all-nighter, his eyes now looked like rabbit eyes.

When he got on the plane, he immediately closed his eyes and calmed his mind. While gathering sleepiness, he thought about what he had gained from staying in H Town for the past two months.

He got acquainted with a group of directors and actors in the circle; through the Zhang family matter, his path into the Beijing circle was considered smooth; and also he got to know the "poor commoner friends" such as Gou Rixin and Qin Miaoru.

And the last was..Tao Mu turned his head and glanced at Yun Yi classmate who was sitting next to him, and then looked at the floating clouds outside the window with a melancholy hearthe managed to hug onto a barely there semi-golden thigh.

The plane left behind white lines in the blue sky. Tao Mu looked at the clouds outside through the small window, feeling very happy.

Beijing, I am back.

Dean Tao, the old man, brother Yao, brother Xiao Qi, Xiao Yuan, and all those who had showed him kindness..Tao Mu, was returning home.

TN: bonus chapter coming up!