Chapter 218: Boosting the morale of others while diminishing one's own prestige

In Union Square, San Francisco, with a loud screech, an extremely ostentatious off-road vehicle pulled up to the parking . Tang Yi got out of the car and thoughtfully glanced at a Bentley and a Maserati parked not far away before walking into the building next door.

Tang Yi's destination this time was still the very luxurious and elegant San Na Private Restaurant. When he arrived on the floor and the elevator doors opened, he heard a commotion, as someone was arguing at the entrance to the San Na restaurant.

'To be fair, I booked the Presidential Dining Room half a month in advance and I even paid a deposit. How can you give it to someone else without my say so? Do you have any integrity at all?'

'Our restaurant apologises for this. As compensation, we can offer you another luxury private room, and we can also waive all your dining expenses this time. Is that okay?'

'Waive the fees? Do I look like a beggar in what I'm wearing? Or do you think I'm here just for your meal money? I'm here for my own rights, I can't come here and be toyed with for nothing! Or you can ask the guests in that private room to come out. You say they are of noble status, then I want to know who they really are!

After listening for a while, Tang Yi already understood why. He was originally going to leave, but after hearing the last sentence, he laughed and interrupted, saying, 'I'm sorry, it was me who stole your presidential restaurant. Do you have any comments? Let me tell you, this is the difference in status. I don't care if you book a month in advance or a year in advance, anyone who has to book is not worth a damn in my eyes, got it?'

The man had not expected Tang Yi to jump out suddenly, and he was stunned. It took a while for him to react, and he pointed at Tang Yi and angrily said, 'Who are you? Do you know what you're saying? Say that again if you dare, and I promise I won't beat you to death!'

'Do you want to know? Then I'll tell you, my name is Tang Yi, and I'm the heir to the Tang family! Do you know? If you do, get lost!' Tang Yi sneered.

The man didn't believe it at first, but after the restaurant manager told him, he was dumbfounded. After apologising to Tang Yi, he left in a huff. Tang Yi spat disdainfully, 'What a loser! He didn't even dare to resist. In contrast, that guy was much braver, but also much more of a headache, to the point where he wanted to kill him.

Tang Yi muttered to himself with clenched teeth, and then he walked towards the private room under the guidance of the waiter. He paused when he passed the free newspapers and took a copy of today's California Technology News before entering the private room.

As usual, Tang Yu and Tang Wan'er were already waiting here, but today, before Tang Yu could even start to scold Tang Yi, Tang Yi said, 'Don't rush to blame me today. I really did have something to do today. You guys should take a good look at this newspaper.'

After saying this, Tang Yi threw a newspaper on the table. On the front page of that newspaper was a very eye-catching news headline: 'bbs reports on toy haunting incident'. Tang Yi pointed at the news and said, 'Do you know this news? He said that someone had been making a big deal about the idea that toys had a soul on the bbs, and it had caused a lot of discussion. However, it was said to be a conspiracy by Zhou Ming and the others to promote the movie.

Tang Yu glanced at him and snorted, 'I thought you could say something surprising. It seems I shouldn't have overestimated your intelligence.'

Tang Wan'er whispered to Tang Yi, 'This is the purpose of coming here today.'

Tang Yi nodded with a sudden understanding, sat down, and then said, 'So you, the great cousin Tang Yu, already know? Then why didn't you hurry to find a way to stop him, but instead you had to find us to come have this meal first? Are you going to leave this matter to be resolved by my cousin Wan'er and me, or will you stop thinking about it if we're not around?'

Tang Yu frowned, obviously very unhappy with Tang Yi's words. He looked up at Tang Yi and said very seriously, 'You better watch your mouth. I really don't like your tone. I really don't understand how someone as gentle as my uncle could have a stupid son like you!'

'In addition,' Tang Yu continued, "I want to tell you one thing: the interests of the three of us are tied together, and you must find a solution for me!'

'What a joke, just say if you can't help yourself, why all the nonsense!" Tang Yi said disdainfully.

Seeing that Tang Yu's anger was about to erupt, Tang Wan'er came forward in a timely manner and said, 'In fact, I think cousin Tang Yi is also very concerned about this matter. I think the most important thing for us to do right now is to figure out what is going on, don't you agree?'

With Tang Wan'er mediating, the atmosphere at the table was quickly eased. Tang Yu hummed again and said, 'I have already received news about this matter. It was Zhou Ming who invested in a Pixar Animation Studio called Toy Story. Since the movie is still in production, in order to maintain secrecy but also to promote it, he came up with this method of using the BBS to promote it.'

'I see. So it seems that this Zhou Ming is quite clever. He thought that since the animated film had not yet been produced and had not been reviewed, his publicity promotion, he couldn't reveal too much content, so he used this method of guidance, which not only perfectly avoided these problems, but also saved a lot of costs. I think that when the atmosphere of online discussion reaches a certain level, he will release the movie and it will definitely do well at the box office,' Tang Wan'er sighed.

In response to Tang Wan'er's praise, Tang Yu said, 'Can you really trust the comments on the bbs? As far as I know, the online comments were all created by Zhou Ming himself, paid for by him. Is this kind of fake stuff really useful?'

Tang Yi, however, said very unceremoniously, 'Cousin Tang Yu, how about I tell you something else? At Stanford University and the University of California, many people are talking about something on the BBS about the soul of toys. On my way here, I saw that some church organisations are using the soul of toys to promote their theology. Even New York TV is preparing to do a special programme about toys and the soul.

'You know that New York TV stations are very sensitive to current affairs, and he is on the East Coast. Now even he is doing a special programme, do you still think that those false things are useless?' Tang Yi continued, 'In my opinion, perhaps the initial popularity of that topic on the bbs was indeed false, but as long as it is popular enough and lasts long enough, who says that this false popularity cannot become real?'

'But it's just a way of taking advantage of the situation, and it just so happens that there are a bunch of idiots who don't have brains in their heads who are willing to believe this kind of stupid lie!' Tang Yu said.

'In my opinion, isn't it just like an election?' Tang Yi said casually, 'By promising beautiful promises and having supporters from political parties and factions rally around you, can't you get more voters to vote for you? Or do you really think that the voters of those presidents and governors are all wise people who can really distinguish right from wrong with their intelligence?'

Tang Yu angrily slammed the table and said to Tang Yi in dissatisfaction, 'I really doubt whether you are actually related to the Tang family.'

Tang Yi shrugged in bewilderment. At this time, Tang Wan'er stood up again and said, 'No matter what, we can't just sit back and . Whether it's luck or something else, I think we should always find a way to deal with it, don't you?'

At the end of the day, Tang Wan'er asked Tang Yu, 'Since you asked us to go out today, you must already have an idea, right?'

'Of course I do,' Tang Yu replied. 'My idea is to directly expose this lie. We will directly release the news through the media and tell everyone that the news on the bbs is basically a scam by that Zhou Ming, and that he wants to promote his movie through this method!'

As Tang Yu's voice fell, Tang Yi rudely said to him, 'Are you sick? That Zhou Ming obviously wants to release the Toy Story movie through this means. Aren't you helping him by doing this?'

'This is always a way to go, and we are manipulating large media such as TV and newspapers, the influence of which is undoubtedly much stronger than that of the tricks played on bbs.' Tang Yu paused here before continuing, 'More importantly, this at least represents an attitude. I can't just do nothing like you guys.'

'We do nothing? I'm really pissed off. I think cousin Tang Yu, have you got something wrong? Or is your head full of shit?' Tang Yi scolded.

'Tang Yi!' Tang Yu angrily slammed his hand down on the table. He pointed his finger at Tang Yi and said, 'I have put up with you for a long time. Is it that you can't say anything other than foul language all day? Or is it that your brain is full of nonsense?'

Tang Yi laughed and retorted, 'Tang Yu, you are the real rubbish, aren't you? You should take a good look at yourself in the mirror. You think you are someone just because you boss around me and my cousin Wan'er all the time? Does being the second heir to the family mean you can just go around doing whatever you want? If you're so capable, go have a one-on-one fight with Tang Ran and Zhou Ming. What's the habit of dragging us here to eat all day? Waiting for someone to wipe your ass after you poop?'

Tang Yu was so angry with Tang Yi that he was shaking all over. He gritted his teeth and said, 'Nonsense, he has absolutely no manners!'

While Tang Yu and Tang Yi were exchanging insults, Tang Wan'er, who could no longer persuade them to stop, sat there leisurely, sipping tea, and just stared at the two of them as they performed.

While these Tang descendants were fighting amongst themselves in the private dining room of Saint-Nax, the elders of the Tang family in the old mansion on Quan'an Island also received the news.

In the study, Tang Huiyin put down the newspaper in her hands. Tang Jingsheng, who had been looking out the window the whole time, finally turned back to her and asked, 'Do you have any ideas?'

'A very clever idea! Not only does it avoid the problem of his own, but also minimises the cost. Now that his campaign has only started for a week, it has already had such an effect. If it were for a month, then I really can't imagine. With such a publicity campaign, as long as the movie isn't too bad, I believe it will do very well at the box office.'

Tang Huiyin continued, 'Just think, with tens of thousands of dollars in publicity, if he can get tens of millions at the box office, then he is definitely a masterful writer!'

Tang Huiyin said with emotion, 'If this Zhou Ming doesn't have any other ulterior motives, and if Tang Ran marries him in the future, I would be very supportive of letting Tang Ran, the first-in-line successor to inherit the family business, because based on his demonstrated abilities, I have every reason to believe that he can take the Tang family to another peak.'

'But the thing is, none of us can be sure of that!' said Tang Jingsheng. 'Whether it's from the mainland or northern Russia, or even from the situation in Brighton, Massachusetts, I can be absolutely sure of one thing: this Zhou Ming is definitely not someone who is content with being left alone. He is definitely the type of person who wants to be the boss, but we absolutely cannot allow any possibility of the Zhou surname being passed down to the Tang family in the future.'

'That's why this is the most troublesome thing,' Tang Huiyin said, 'But now the three children have already come together to discuss ways to stop Zhou Ming. Although they are much worse than Zhou Ming, together they, and with our connivance behind the scenes, can always achieve something.'

At this point, Tang Huiyin suddenly asked, 'Am I being a bit self-deprecating by saying this?'

Tang Jingsheng shook his head helplessly and said, 'If that's all, it would be fine. After all, there's no problem with him looking up to Zhou Ming. But what I'm more worried about is that the children will target Toy Story and focus all their attention on it, which is actually falling for his trap.'

Tang Huiyin suddenly felt a chill in her heart: 'Are you saying that Zhou Ming is not interested in the toy story?'