"Nothing is impossible," Ye Xingchen said. "It's a good thing that you've finally moved on from that relationship from twenty years ago. What are you afraid of?"
“The difficulty lies in… he is the CEO of Qiming Group, while I am in charge of Yuansheng Group,” Xia Hanyue said. “Over the past ten years, these two companies have been number one and number two, respectively.”
"If the heads of these two companies were to get together now, what do you think would happen?"
"It will arouse suspicion." Ye Xingchen frowned. "Are you worried about the higher-ups?"
“Li Tianqi was also worried, so he decided to step down as chairman of Qiming Group…” Xia Hanyue said.
"Are you crazy?" Ye Xingchen rolled his eyes. "Qiming Group is his life's work. How can he just step down like that?"
"That won't work either. We have to give up some of the benefits to reassure some people. After all, Yanjing is different from other places. The resources and benefits are roughly the same, like a scale."
Xia Hanyue said, "If we are together, it's like putting too much weight on one side of the scale, and everything will tilt to our side. At that time, do you think those people will feel at ease?"
Ye Xingchen remained silent. After a moment of thought, he said, "After all, this is Yanjing. There are just too many powerful figures hiding in the shadows."
"But there's no need for that. If you're tilted, so be it. If you walk upright and sit straight, there's nothing to be afraid of."
“We are naturally upright and honest, but those people don’t think that way. Right now, we’re not worried about anything else, but we are most worried about the Chen family.” Xia Hanyue said, “Chen Wanning originally wanted to swallow up Qiming Group.”
"Not only has it failed, but it has also tied Yuansheng and Qiming together. That old man will secretly sabotage us."
"Ha, then there's no need to worry." Ye Xingchen smiled slightly: "Now that old man is no longer the head of the Chen family, even if he wanted to manage things, he probably wouldn't be able to."
“But we can’t underestimate him. Since Chen Liang took office, the Chen family has experienced a bloody storm.” Xia Hanyue said, “This kid’s methods are even more ruthless than Chen Zhengyi’s.”
"I see," Ye Xingchen said. "You mean, I should talk to Chen Liang?"
“It’s most appropriate for you to go and negotiate,” Xia Hanyue said. “If Chen Liang is smart, he won’t secretly try to trip us up and make the powerful figures in Yanjing focus their attention on us.”
“His maternal grandfather is no ordinary person; he’s the chairman of Huazhou Bank. If that old guy gets involved, it’ll be very troublesome.”
"Understood." Ye Xingchen nodded: "We need to persuade Chen Liang to tell his grandfather not to take action."
"Yes, this old man is the most difficult to deal with. If he turns a blind eye to this matter, others will have to keep their thoughts to themselves."
“Alright, I’ll go see Chen Liang.” Ye Xingchen said, “Although this man is ambitious, I believe he is a smart man.”
Chen Liang hadn't slept well for several days in a row.
As a third-generation member, he is young, and if he were to succeed as the head of the family, there would naturally be different opposing voices within the family.
The strongest opposition came from collateral relatives. Chen Wanning's brothers were no longer alive, but their descendants still existed.
Several of my uncles and cousins from other branches of the family have disappeared one after another in the past few days.
Every time someone disappeared, Chen Liang would take out a notebook and cross one out.
More than ten people have already been crossed out in red pen in his notebook.
That evening, he took out the notebook and saw another name, Chen Jinhao, on it.
He circled this name in red, emphasizing its importance.
Chen Jinhao is the nephew of his grandfather Chen Wanning, and according to the generational order, he should be called his paternal uncle.
The reason why several of Chen Wanning's brothers disappeared mysteriously back then was that they were sent to the medicine furnace by Chen Wuliang to be sacrificed alive.
Of course, very few people knew about these things, and Chen Liang was naturally unaware of them as well.
All he knew was that Chen Jinhao's wife's family was very powerful. He could mess with the others, but if he did, it might cause trouble.
"Those in positions of power should fulfill their duties; one cannot truly understand the difficulties of leadership without first understanding it." Chen Liang took out his notebook and looked at it for a long time before closing it: "It's really a dilemma. What should we do?"
"President Chen, Ye Xingchen is here. He wants to see you." Just then, his subordinate came to report.
"Ye Xingchen?" Chen Liang's eyes flashed with a strange light. "What's he doing here?"
A moment later, in a private room at the club, Ye Xingchen opened a bottle of fine wine.
"I am truly sorry I was unable to greet Mr. Ye on his esteemed visit," Chen Liang said politely, but his gaze never left Ye Xingchen.
"I'm not exactly a distinguished guest, but President Chen, you're currently in charge of the Chen Group and enjoying immense success," Ye Xingchen said with a smile.
“No, that’s not true.” Chen Liang shook his head, sat down opposite Ye Xingchen, and sighed softly, “You don’t know the cost of firewood and rice until you’re in charge of the household.”
"Moreover, I am currently in a position where many members of the collateral branches are dissatisfied and try to trip me up every now and then. It's tough."
“You’re young, so you’re naturally not as qualified as those old guys,” Ye Xingchen said with a smile. “But in the last few days, I’ve heard a lot about car accidents or drownings involving members of the Chen family’s collateral branches. There have been more than a dozen of them.”
"So I wanted to remind you to be careful, the Chen family hasn't been having a peaceful time lately."
"Heh... things are indeed not peaceful." Chen Liang smiled. "I had people deal with these people."
"You're quite honest." Ye Xingchen glanced at Chen Liang in surprise, not expecting Chen Liang to admit these things so readily.
“There’s no need to hide anything from you. Yes, I did these things, I admit it.” Chen Liang said slowly, “They were blocking my way, so they had to be eliminated.”
"Moreover, the power of the Chen family also needs to be centralized. Reform, after all, always requires sacrifices."
"That's true. Every power shift in a powerful family is tantamount to a change of dynasty. Bloodshed is inevitable," Ye Xingchen muttered to himself.
"Let's not talk about that. Mr. Ye, what brings you here today?" Chen Liang stared at Ye Xingchen.
"Oh, there's something I wanted to tell you," Ye Xingchen said with a smile. "My aunt, the chairwoman of Yuansheng Group, is getting married."
"This has nothing to do with me, does it?" Chen Liang frowned.
“Originally, there was no connection, but her marriage partner was Li Tianqi,” Ye Xingchen said.
“Li… Tianqi?” Chen Liang was taken aback, his gaze instantly sharpening.
The Chen family is already in a difficult situation, and the Chen family had previously intended to take over the Qiming Group.
However, the fact that these two families have joined forces now directly threatens the Chen family's future plans.
In an instant, Chen Liang had countless thoughts running through his mind, wondering how to subtly and secretly sabotage his opponent.
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