Chapter 193 Arrogant Father-in-Law Blocks the Gate: If You Leave, What Will I Eat for Three Meals a
Today, Jiang Jianguo wore a well-tailored dark black cashmere coat, paired with a custom-made suit with a subtle pattern.
His usually meticulously combed slicked-back hair remained perfectly in place.
He stood in the biting cold wind, slightly raised his chin, and slowly adjusted his tie.
That face, which frequently appears on the cover of financial magazines, carries a composure and authority befitting someone who has long held a high position.
Those deep eyes were fixed intently on Lin Mo's van, which was about to start moving, through the thin morning mist.
His entire aura suggested he was there to conduct a business negotiation involving billions of dollars.
Jiang Ruoyun, sitting in the passenger seat, saw this scene through the windshield.
The girl's initial excitement about embarking on a trip to the water towns of Jiangnan suddenly froze.
Those beautiful peach blossom eyes widened slightly, revealing a hint of undisguised astonishment.
In her memory, her father was always the powerful business tycoon who sat in the top-floor office of the Jiang Group.
His time is measured in seconds, and every minute affects the ups and downs of the stock market.
This morning, the group clearly had a cross-border merger and acquisition deal that had been in preparation for half a year, and they were going to hold a final decision meeting.
But now, this high-ranking billionaire has actually cancelled such an important morning meeting.
Just so that I could personally come to this secluded alley entrance to see them off before they set off.
Seeing her father's cheeks, slightly reddened by the winter wind, Jiang Ruoyun felt a sudden pang of sadness.
A strong sense of guilt and the warmth of family love instantly welled up in my heart.
Without hesitation, she pushed open the car door and stepped out into the biting winter wind.
The cold air rushed into her collar, but she didn't feel cold at all.
"dad……"
The girl's voice carried a softness and tremor that was unusual for her.
She walked quickly to Jiang Jianguo in her high heels.
Jiang Ruoyun thought her father was reluctant to part with her, and her eyes welled up with tears.
A thin layer of mist swirled around my eyes.
She sniffed her nose, which was red from the cold, and reached out her fair hand to help her father adjust the collar of his coat.
"Dad, we're just going to film a show for a month, we'll be back soon..."
Her tone was full of the coquettishness and emotion of a young girl about to leave home.
"After we finish filming this show, I'll have Lin Mo move back to the villa on the hillside with me."
"We'll just stay home and spend time with you and Mom. There's really no need for you to skip your morning meeting to come all this way..."
Jiang Jianguo lowered his eyes and looked at his daughter, whose eyes were red-rimmed.
His nose twitched slightly.
They keenly caught the lingering, unique fragrance of the early morning emanating from Jiang Ruoyun.
That's the irresistible aroma of top-quality hand-pulled noodles mixed with piping hot scallion oil.
Jiang Jianguo's already anxious heart felt as if it had been scratched hard by a cat's claws.
He was internally screaming, "Scallion oil noodles! This kid actually made scallion oil noodles first thing in the morning!"
"Eating alone! He didn't even invite his father-in-law!"
But on the surface, he remained as calm as a mountain.
He simply reached out his hand expressionlessly and patted his daughter's shoulder twice perfunctorily.
"Good child, it's damp and cold in Jiangnan, wear more clothes so you don't catch a cold."
He uttered this soulless platitude in a rapid-fire manner.
Then, without even looking at his daughter's tearful face.
He strode past Jiang Ruoyun, a steady, cool breeze in his wake.
Jiang Ruoyun's hand, which was outstretched in mid-air, froze awkwardly.
She stared at her elderly father, completely ignoring her own reddened eyes.
He strode straight to the driver's side door with an air of indifference.
Jiang Jianguo raised his hand and tapped the car window twice with his knuckles.
The voice was deep and muffled, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.
Lin Mo sat in the driver's seat, his expression still calm and composed.
He pressed the window button, and the glass slowly rolled down.
Cold air rushed into the heated car.
Before Lin Mo could even say hello.
Jiang Jianguo leaned down slightly, with most of his shoulder sticking out of the car window.
He stretched out a large, thick hand and grasped Lin Mo's hand, which was resting on the steering wheel.
The force was not like a handshake, but more like an eagle seizing its prey and clamping it tightly.
"Lin Mo, we need to talk."
Jiang Jianguo kept his voice low, without shouting or being hysterical.
But there was a chilling seriousness in that deep voice.
"You cannot go to Jiangnan."
He stared intently into Lin Mo's eyes and spoke in a serious tone.
"With you gone, my diet will be completely disrupted for the next thirty days."
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, and his eye twitched slightly.
He looked at his father-in-law, who was dressed in a suit and had a serious expression, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.
Jiang Jianguo took a deep breath, his brows furrowing tightly into a deep frown.
It seems as if they are experiencing an irreversible business crisis.
"Do you think I wanted to come here so early in the morning to flag down a car?"
He spoke with the somber tone of someone reporting a loss-making financial statement, overcome with grief.
"If you leave, what will I eat for three meals a day?!"
"Ever since I ate that meal you cooked at my birthday banquet, these past two days have been like living in hell!"
A hint of disdain flashed in Jiang Jianguo's eyes, and he tightened his grip on Lin Mo's wrist even more.
"Yesterday at noon, your mother-in-law insisted on taking me to that Michelin three-star French restaurant so that I could have a change of pace."
"What kind of stuff is that on the plate?"
"The white truffles were sliced thinner than paper, and the asparagus wasn't even as thick as one of my fingers!"
"It tasted so bland, like chewing wax; it was an insult to my stomach lining!"
He was breathing heavily, his face contorted with a serious expression.
"I went to a business dinner that night, and the client specially air-freighted in top-grade A5 Wagyu beef."
"The fried slices of fatty pork had a strong, fishy smell, and every bite was bursting with oil!"
"I ate Michelin-starred food and Wagyu beef for three days in a row, and it made me feel nauseous and want to throw up!"
Jiang Jianguo's voice even carried a hint of accusatory grievance.
"Can those so-called high-end restaurants compare to a bowl of mutton soup simmering in your kitchen?"
"Can it compare to that stir-fried pork with scallions that you casually whip up, with its rich wok hei (wok aroma)?"
"You've used your culinary skills to carry out a remarkably successful hostile takeover of my stomach!"
"Now you have completely monopolized my appetite."
"You want to just pack up and declare bankruptcy, then go to Jiangnan for some peace and quiet?"
The billionaire held tightly to his son-in-law's arm.
"You've been gone for a month! Are you trying to let your father-in-law starve to death in the capital?!"
An eerie silence fell over the alleyway in the early morning.
Only the engine of the commercial vehicle was still emitting a low, idling roar.
Standing outside the car door, Jiang Ruoyun looked like an ice sculpture struck by lightning.
She stared blankly at her father, who was leaning against the car window, talking to his husband about "food monopoly."
The tears of emotion that had been welling up in my eyes were forcibly swallowed back in that instant.
Instead, a sense of absurdity hits you right in the head.
She couldn't believe her ears.
She thought her father was going to cancel the multi-billion dollar acquisition deal, so she rushed over to block the door.
It was because she couldn't bear to let her precious daughter leave the capital.
The results of it?
After all that, it turns out that this billionaire, the richest man in Beijing, has put on such a grand show.
They even abandoned the dignity they usually valued most.
It turns out it was just because she couldn't get used to eating at Michelin-starred restaurants and was afraid she wouldn't have anything to eat after Lin Mo left?!
In his eyes, his own daughter was less important than a bowl of scallion oil noodles?!
This stark contrast made Jiang Ruoyun tremble with anger.
Her delicate, pretty face instantly turned bright red.
"dad!"
She stomped her feet in anger, her high heels making a crisp clanging sound on the bluestone slabs.
"You've gone too far!"
"So you came all this way so early in the morning not to see me at all!"
"You're unbelievable... You'd abandon all respect as an elder just to get a bite to eat!"
The young lady's double standards and protective nature towards her husband suddenly erupted.
She walked over and tried to pry her father's fingers off Lin Mo's wrist, her expression annoyed.
"Let go quickly, we need to catch our flight!"
"What kind of behavior is it for a billionaire like you to hang on someone's car window and act like a scoundrel?"
"Anyone who didn't know better would think we were running away from our debts!"
Jiang Jianguo coughed, trying to salvage some of his dignity as a father.
He straightened up and straightened the hem of his suit jacket, which had been wrinkled from his excitement.
But the hand gripping Lin Mo's wrist remained as if it were welded shut, completely still.
"Ruoyun, what do you know?"
He put on a stern face and adopted the same demeanor he used when giving speeches at board meetings.
"The quality of a man's diet is the cornerstone of his business empire."
"If the foundation is unstable, the ground will shake."
"This concerns my personal sustainable development; it's a major strategic decision."
After Jiang Jianguo finished speaking, he turned to look at the four bodyguards in black standing next to the Maybach.
He raised his chin, his eyes instantly turning sharp.
"What are you all standing there for?"
"Stand in front of the car! No one is to give way without my order!"
The four bodyguards looked at each other, finding the scene ridiculously absurd.
But since the boss had spoken, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.
Like four walls, they stood firmly in front of the commercial vehicle.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Lin Mo quietly watched this absurd farce.
He wore a casual solid-color overcoat, his posture still relaxed and detached from worldly concerns.
But looking at this billionaire who would abandon all shame just to eat a bite to eat...
Lin Mo's lips twitched uncontrollably twice.
He truly hadn't expected that Jiang Jianguo's obsession with food could be so profound.
To get a meal that suited their tastes, they even resorted to tactics like bodyguards stopping cars.
The contrast between restraint and madness is truly breathtaking.
Lin Mo raised his left hand and glanced at the time on his wristwatch.
There are less than two hours left before the flight takes off.
With the flight about to be delayed, if this old man continued to cause trouble, missing the flight was a certainty.
Although he himself wasn't very enthusiastic about recording the show.
But this is an official shelter used to protect people from disaster and provide peace and quiet.
If we're really stuck in Beijing and can't leave, the restaurant will definitely lose its footing tomorrow.
Lin Mo took a deep breath.
He understood that it was pointless to reason with this old fox who was already green with envy but still stubbornly maintained his image as the richest man.
That would absolutely not work.
Knowing that dealing with this old foodie required some "extraordinary measures," I decided to resort to "unconventional methods."
Lin Mo patted Jiang Jianguo's hand and sighed.
"Dad, please put your hand down. I'll go to the kitchen to get you something."
"Once you see this, I guarantee you'll have a great appetite for the entire month."