Chapter 53

"What? What did you say? Say it again!"

Xu Xuanming's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He slammed the lighter he was holding onto the ground. Still not satisfied, he swept his right hand across the small table in front of him, knocking everything to the ground.

The sound of glass breaking rang out, and shards were scattered all over the floor.

"Mr. Xu, please don't be so angry. It's not good for your health if you get upset," a middle-aged man next to him quickly said.

"So, Mr. Lu also thinks I'm not in good health, huh? Is that right?!" Upon hearing this, Xu Xuanming seemed to have been stepped on, and suddenly stood up, pointing at the man and howling.

"President Xu is in his prime, how could he be in poor health?" The middle-aged man, whom Xu Xian called President Lu, continued with a fawning expression.

“The Second Miss went too far in this matter, but we’re not entirely without options,” a white-haired man on the sofa to his left interjected.

The man who spoke was Dai Feng, the Xu family's chief legal counsel.

The Xu family's businesses are vast, but each business operates independently, distributed across different companies and groups, without a single legal parent company. However, they do have a legal headquarters that nominally oversees all the businesses.

The headquarters wasn't located in Beijing or Haixi, but rather in Yunzhou City. The reason for this was simply that Young Master Xu wanted to keep his beloved younger sister, whom he considered a femme fatale, in check.

"What else can I do? She has now put the only new energy industry I can control into Yuanda New Energy, which she controls, and she has also purged all my people from Leguang Group. I can't possibly go to Haixi to manage it myself, so what else can I do?" Xu Xuanming said, somewhat resigned.

"I'm not trying to be mean, Uncle Dai, what were you thinking this time? She caused such a commotion, how come you didn't notice at all?" Xu Xuanming changed the subject and started targeting Dai Feng.

Dai Feng was quite frustrated. This second young lady used to be meticulous and slow to make sure things were done properly, but he would always find a clue about her plans. Her plans were either stopped in time or not implemented perfectly.

This time, the second young lady acted swiftly, catching him completely off guard. Just a few days ago, Zhang Gang reported that everything was going smoothly and that Xu Wanyi would soon be kicked out of the group, but a few days later, the second young lady had taken them all down.

He had watched both of them grow up. When Miss Xu first entered university, she seemed like a useless, spendthrift pretty face, but he never imagined she would grow into the decisive, shrewd, and capable businesswoman she is today. On the other hand, looking at Young Master Xu, Dai Feng couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He had squandered a golden opportunity. Didn't he have any idea how he ended up like this?

Unfortunately, he was entrusted by his old friend Xu Shenzhao to protect Xu Xianming, otherwise he would have abandoned the matter long ago. Thinking of this, Dai Feng glanced at Xu Xianming, sighed, and remained silent.

Whether out of guilt or embarrassment at having to clean up Uncle Dai's mess at his advanced age, Xu Xuanming touched his hair, picked up the wine from the small table on the side of the sofa, took a sip, and said, "Sigh, in the end it's still my fault. If I had discovered this little bitch's tricks earlier, things wouldn't have come to this."

When his parents divorced, his mother's only request was to give most of the shares in the family companies to one of their sons and one of their daughters. Xu Shenzhao, thinking of giving them to his son and daughter, didn't object. So he gave most of the shares in the pharmaceutical industry, which was the worst performing at the time, to his daughter, and most of the shares in the profitable financial industry and the new energy industry, which he was very optimistic about, to his son. He couldn't let his son suffer losses, could he?

Xu Xuanming agreed. One reason was that he still controlled most of the companies, and the other, more important reason, was that, like Dai Feng, he also felt that his younger sister was just a pretty face who could do nothing but go to bars, drink, and keep gigolos.

He had heard that Xu Wanyi had been obsessively pursuing a young man during her university years, spending countless nights stalking him until he almost stopped attending classes. However, he wasn't particularly interested in Xu Wanyi's personal life, so he wasn't entirely sure whether she had succeeded or not.

If Young Master Xu knew that this "pretty boy" had made a great contribution to the reason why his sister acted so quickly and the plan was executed so smoothly, I wonder what he would think.

Unfortunately, despite his well-thought-out plan, things didn't go as planned. During the years he was recuperating in Yunzhou, his dear sister managed to seize control of the entire group. Realizing he was powerless and unwilling to return, he set up a legal headquarters to keep his shrewd and capable sister in check.

"Young Master, if you could spare two days a week to handle official business, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Dai Feng said, somewhat distressed. Xu Xuanming was truly disappointing; he was rarely lucid throughout the day.

“Uncle Dai, I didn’t want to either, but it’s a pity that once you’re addicted, it’s so hard to quit. It’s really hard, it’s like living a life worse than death.” Xu Xuanming said with a pained expression.

His sister was no saint, and he himself was no better, indulging in all sorts of vices like drinking, gambling, and whoring. Eventually, he felt it wasn't exciting enough, so he started doing drugs with a group of rich friends, beginning with the lightest seed and gradually increasing the strength and variety of drugs.

Later, his wealthy friends were all discovered by their parents and sent abroad one after another. He was lucky and was not discovered by his parents until the shares were transferred to his name. He felt confident and stopped paying attention. Finally, Xu Shenzhao found out and was so angry that he took off his belt and beat him.

But after all, he was the only son of the Xu family, and they were hoping he would carry on the family line. With tears in his eyes, Mr. Xu sent him to Yunzhou for recuperation. Reluctantly but reluctantly, he handed the company over to his daughter to manage—he was getting old, in poor health, and lacked energy, and his son was useless—anyway, his daughter held a small position in the company and couldn't cause any trouble, so he let her help his son manage it.

Unexpectedly, once this control was implemented, things really changed dramatically.

“Young Master, you still need to make preparations. You need to go back to Haixi. Don’t hide here all day and keep using your rubbish. Your father sent you here to quit drugs, not to live a carefree life.” Dai Feng couldn’t help but give him a lecture.

Xu Xuanming was extremely unwilling. He didn't want to leave Yunzhou, where the weather was like spring all year round. It was a paradise for him, where he could recuperate and easily get what he wanted. He didn't know what his father was thinking back then. He thought that sending him here away from his group of friends would turn him over a new leaf. He never expected that his father would choose such a beautiful and fertile place that perfectly suited his tastes for him to "recuperate."

"Xianming! Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your father and your Xu family. You need to get your health back on track. After your father passes away, what will you have to compete with your sister? Besides, the continuation of your Xu family line depends on you. Look at yourself now, can you even have a son or two?" Dai Feng and Xu Shenzhao were from the same hometown. In their area, the tradition was that carrying on the family line was the most important thing in the world.

"Hmm, Uncle Dai, let me think, let me think. You know I haven't left the house in a long time. Even if I go back, I can't think of any good solutions." Xu Xuanming felt a little embarrassed by what the old man was saying. Wasn't this old man clearly implying that he was "incapable"?

"Leguang Group is still under your father's and your control. She can only veto the proposal, but overall the situation is in your favor. Going back now might still turn things around. If you wait any longer and the second young lady comes up with a way to kick you out completely, then you will truly regret it!"

"Uncle Dai, do you have any good ideas?" Xu Xuanming yawned, looking listless and lacking energy, his eyes glancing at his bottles and jars.

Looking at his hopeless state, Dai Feng recalled Xu Xianming's spirited demeanor when he first became president many years ago, and felt a pang of heartache once more. Back then, Xu Xianming was quick-witted, open-minded, ambitious yet grounded, unlike now, where everything depends on this old man!

“Young Master, Leguang Group is still under your and Mr. Xu’s control. 45% of Yuanda New Energy’s shares are in Leguang Group’s name, 45% are in Miss Er’s name, and the remaining 10% are in the hands of Haixi Xinguo Group. So, if we can win the support of Xinguo Group, we will have more than half of the voting rights, and New Energy will still be under our control.”

"Huh, is that so?" Xu Xuanming had long forgotten the complicated shareholding structure of his own business. He only knew that Leguang Group held the majority stake, Xineng Industry held the majority stake, and everything else was a mystery.

"That's right. As for how to gain the support of the New Country Group, Mr. Xu and I have discussed it. One of the main raw materials for your new energy industry products is the battery. The battery determines the energy and lifespan of the product. However, this type of battery is not the common kind on the market. Therefore, the top-ranked companies in China are not your suppliers. There are very few domestic manufacturers of the type of battery you need. It is almost monopolized by one company."

"Which one?" Xu Xuanming was a man who had once stirred up trouble in the business world. Even if he only had half his brain working, he understood the implication in Dai Feng's words.

Chengye Group.

“Chengye Group has absolutely nothing to do with us. This deal is not so easy to negotiate.”

Xu Xuanming knew that Chengye Group was a company in Yuzhou. He was familiar with Yuzhou, having frequented it when he worked in finance. However, he was not familiar with the new energy industry.

Yuanda New Energy was a company established later. Initially, it was managed by his father, and although it was later transferred to his name, he soon came to Yunzhou, and Yuanda New Energy was handed over to Xu Wanyi for management. He had absolutely no connection to the Yuzhou New Energy circle.

"That's true. But although Mr. Xu and Ma Tianquan, the chairman and general manager of Chengye Group, aren't exactly close, they do know each other and can help stomp the flame. As for how to stomp the flame, Mr. Xu's health isn't up to it, so we'll have to rely on you, young master."

After saying that, Dai Feng stood up and patted Xu Xuanming on the shoulder: "Young Master Xu, you absolutely must not touch drugs. Look at what you still remember. Pack your things, it's Friday today, and our flight back to Haixi is on Sunday."

Dai Feng had already discussed this matter with Xu Shenzhao. The previous discussion was a matter of politeness before taking action. In reality, whether Xu Xuanming wanted to go to Haixi or not, he had to go.

The only difference was whether he packed his own bags or Xu Shenzhao sent someone to kidnap him.