Chapter 125 Internal Strife at Qingcheng: Shareholders' Disloyalty and Unscrupulous Intentions
More than a week has passed since Song Ying took over Qingcheng Entertainment.
With a major reshuffle at the top and a frenzy of contract terminations among lower-level employees, Qingcheng is now in complete chaos.
But the chairman remained mysterious and refused to show his face.
This caused everyone great distress.
Besides Song Ying, the person holding the most shares is Zhao Hongyuan, a member of the board of directors.
It was him before, who had always wanted to acquire Huang Lei's shares in the Huang family.
"I told you long ago that Li Zhong is unreliable, and his wife Huang Lei is an ignorant housewife! They've ruined a perfectly good company because of their divorce!"
"Back then, when I wanted to take back Li Zhong and Huang Lei's shareholder status in the company's name, you all disagreed. Now look what's happened, Li Zhong is in jail, and Huang Lei and her son sold their shares and went abroad to live a carefree life, leaving us to clean up the mess they left behind!"
"What kind of new chairman has arrived? Well, it's been over a week and he still hasn't shown up. If you ask me, it would be better if Li Zhong were still here!"
In the conference room, Zhao Hongyuan slammed his fist on the table in anger.
The others sat there, looking worried.
Li Zhong's scandal has severely damaged Qingcheng's vitality.
Within just one month, more than a dozen artists terminated their contracts.
Even the company's once-promoted top male and female stars took the opportunity to leave and start their own studios to go solo.
Qingcheng has never been a top performer in the industry, and with so many artists leaving, it's practically a complete collapse.
The stock price has plummeted, and there is little hope for the future.
Several shareholders have already chosen to sell their shares and cut their losses by leaving Qingcheng.
"The new chairman doesn't even show his face, only sending a secretary to visit the company from time to time. It's like he's just playing around. No matter how big the business is, it can't withstand this kind of abuse!"
"That's right, Chairman Zhao. You have the most shares and the most seniority among us. Just tell us what to do, and we'll all listen to you!"
"I just made a new investment with all my savings, and I was hoping to recoup some of my losses with Qingcheng, but it looks like I'm about to lose everything here. Chairman Zhao, you need to give everyone some advice!"
The crowd was buzzing with discussion, clearly in a state of frantic confusion.
Ultimately, they placed their hopes on Zhao Hongyuan.
Zhao Hongyuan sighed with a troubled expression.
"If I had a solution, would I be sitting here complaining with you all? I'm really out of ideas..."
“That won’t do, Chairman Zhao. You’re our leader now, you can’t be like us.”
"Exactly! Feel free to share your thoughts. Even if something goes wrong, we certainly won't blame you!"
"We're just trying anything now, even if it's a dead end. Having someone make a decision is a hundred times better than us doing nothing and just sitting around doing nothing."
With the earnest encouragement of a group of people, Zhao Hongyuan finally sat up straight from his slumped chair and straightened his suit collar.
"Thank you all for trusting me so much, so I won't hide anything from you. I actually have a solution."
"What method?"
"Yes, yes, what method?"
Zhao Hongyuan tapped the table with his index finger. "Tell me, why are we in such a passive position now?"
"Isn't it because the new chairman took 56% of the shares?"
Previously, Li Zhong held the most shares, but only about 35%.
Therefore, the board members checked and balanced each other, preventing Li Zhong from becoming the sole leader.
But things are different now.
Even if all their shares were combined and all the scattered shares on the market were acquired, they still wouldn't be able to compete with the new chairman.
In other words, because of the new chairman's 56% stake, the current board of directors is practically a one-man show, with everyone else being virtually powerless.
Zhao Hongyuan gave a meaningful smile: "What if I had a way to make sure he couldn't touch the shares he holds?"
"How do we do this?"
"Of the 56% of shares, 35% were obtained by him from Huang Lei. Only 21% are shares that he actually owns without any disputes. All the directors present here together hold a 36% share, which is significantly higher than that 21%."
"I heard that Li Zhong is currently in prison and preparing for a second lawsuit. Once the court accepts the case, the new chairman's 35% stake will become disputed shares and will not be eligible for use until the trial results are released."
"If we help Li Zhong win the case, we can apply to have Li Zhong's 35% converted into compensation for the accounts he previously owed the company, and then get the shares back, so they still belong to the company."
"If you trust me, you can temporarily transfer your shares to me. Of course, you won't be shortchanged."
"At that time, let alone 36%, even if I get 30% compared to his 21%, wouldn't that be an easy thing?"
"It's not impossible that we can get rid of this troublemaker and redistribute the shares when the time comes."
After Zhao Hongyuan said this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Liu Qiang, a shareholder with even more seniority than Zhao Hongyuan, pushed up his reading glasses, his expression solemn.
"Chairman Zhao, are you going to help Li Zhong? Do you know the crimes Li Zhong committed? He's been sentenced to prison under the national law. The losses he caused the company were in the tens of millions! If we sue Li Zhong again for those shares, do we have any conscience? What will the outside world think of us?!"
Liu Qiang is Huang Lei's father and a close friend of Huang Lei, the founder of Qingcheng.
Because of what Li Zhong did to Huang Lei, Liu Qiang had long hated this scumbag.
Zhao Hongyuan's ruthless methods to undermine the new chairman have once again shattered Liu Qiang's worldview.
As an elderly man, Liu Qiang still wields considerable influence.
Seeing his statement, the others also expressed their disagreement with Zhao Hongyuan's idea.
Zhao Hongyuan's eyes were deep, but he still had a smile on his face.
"Chairman Liu, this is a good thing. But are you speaking for yourself or for the new chairman? I've heard that you played a significant role in getting the new chairman that 56% of the shares!"
What do you mean by that?
What could I possibly mean?
Zhao Hongyuan twirled the jade thumb ring on his thumb. "Qingcheng is in such a mess now, you deserve some credit for that, right? How come your 15% stake has dwindled to only 5%?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's anger immediately turned towards Liu Qiang.
"Old Liu, did you sell your shares to that person?"
"Well, I knew Qingcheng would change hands so quickly. Turns out you're a traitor too!"
"You've been attending meetings with us all this time, who knows, you might be the one tipping them off!"
The barrage of accusations infuriated Liu Qiang so much that he slammed his fist on the table and stood up.
"So what if I sell my shares? The shares are my own property. Do I need to ask you whether I sell them or not? I still hold 5% of the shares and am still a member of the board of directors. Can't I attend meetings? Tell me, which of the company rules have I violated!"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Because Liu Qiang didn't say a single wrong word.
After a long pause, someone finally managed to stammer out, "If you're going to sell anyway, why won't you sell to Chairman Zhao?"
During this period, Zhao Hongyuan has also been acquiring company shares.
Many people sold to him.
His shareholding has increased from 10% to 20%.
"Who I sell to is my own business. Just based on Zhao Hongyuan's attempt to overturn Li Zhong's case, I haven't done anything wrong!"
"But you sold it to a newcomer, and look what the company is like now? If Chairman Zhao had gotten the shares, would Qingcheng be in this mess?"
"You sold early and made money, but we are all suffering losses as the stock price plummeted. Liu Qiang, how could you be so selfish!"
Even the most cultured businessman is still a businessman.
Once their own interests are threatened, they will lose face and reveal their true colors.
Just like now.
The usually amiable board members all turned hostile towards Liu Qiang, as if he were the culprit who caused them to lose huge sums of money.
However.
"Qingcheng has internal problems, yet they want to blame the new chairman? When Old Huang was in charge, he would go abroad for one or two months at a time, and the company would still run smoothly without him. Now that the new director hasn't shown up for more than a week, he's supposed to take the blame for the company's long-standing problems. Listen to yourselves, is what you're saying even human?"
Liu Qiang's question silenced the conference room for a moment.
Since the passing of General Manager Huang, Qingcheng has been taken over by Li Zhong, and various undesirable practices have begun to emerge.
This didn't happen overnight.
Li Zhong is not the only one responsible; others present also bear the responsibility.
Errors in decision-making, oversights in reform, and a series of accumulated problems have led to the current deep-seated problems of Qingcheng oranges that are difficult to reverse.
Everyone has their own judgment on these matters.
But admitting it means taking responsibility.
This means that in the future, when expressing opinions at the board meeting, they will lose some credibility.
Therefore, the chairman who never showed up became the perfect scapegoat.
The company's artists terminating their contracts is his fault.
The employee's departure was his fault.
The stock price drop is his fault.
If shareholders' interests are harmed, it's also his fault.
Since he doesn't show up or offer any explanation, everyone feels perfectly justified in shifting the blame.
But Liu Qiang's words punctured this shameful facade.
Seeing everyone bowing their heads in shame after being spoken to, Zhao Hongyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at Liu Qiang with a smile.
"Chairman Liu is certainly righteous. But you took the money and claimed the honor, taking all the benefits. But who will be responsible for the money of everyone here? Who will cover the losses from the stock market crash? You?"
"Too many people are good at talking without understanding the difficulties, but who is truly responsible for everyone and protecting everyone's wallets?"
The moment Zhao Hongyuan mentioned money, it instantly ignited the desires in everyone's hearts.
That cheap sense of shame was quickly discarded.
"That's right, you tell us to be kind and righteous, but you yourself sell stocks at high prices! Liu Qiang, you have no shame!"
"Chairman Zhao, you're so clear-headed! I almost got scammed by that old man! Name your price, and if it's right, you can have my shares! Whether we get shares after that is irrelevant, as long as I can get out of this Qingcheng trap as soon as possible!"
"I'll sell them too, you can have them all!"
"And mine too! I'll give them all to you as long as the price is right!"
Seeing that these people were all like weather vanes, Liu Qiang was so angry that his heart was racing and he almost couldn't stand up.
But nobody wanted to talk to him.
The secretary reacted quickly, catching the person and helping them leave the conference room.
Zhao Hongyuan looked at the current situation with satisfaction. After everyone had expressed their opinions, he pressed his hands down lightly.
"Everyone, please be quiet."
Everyone quieted down.
"Thank you all for thinking so highly of me. Since that's the case, I'd like to express my sincerity as well."
As he spoke, Zhao Hongyuan made a gesture, "What do you all think of my offer of this price per share?"
To be fair, the price Zhao Hongyuan offered was not high.
Just one month ago, before the incident, Qingcheng's stock price was 50% of its normal value.
But now Qingcheng stock is falling day by day, and for those who hold a lot of shares, the amount lost in a single day is almost equivalent to the value of a house.
Buy when prices are rising, not when they are falling.
It's incredibly lucky to find someone willing to buy Qingcheng shares these days.
Eventually, someone couldn't hold back any longer and gritted their teeth.
"This price is the price, I'll sell it!"
Once the door was opened, others were also tempted.
"I'll sell too!"
Count me in!
"..."
Zhao Hongyuan had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Preparations have already been completed.
To avoid any unforeseen complications, he immediately had someone bring out the share transfer contracts that had been prepared beforehand and distributed them to everyone present.
To everyone's surprise, Zhao Hongyuan had even prepared this. For a moment, they felt as if they had been tricked.
But the thought of the stock price shrinking every day dispelled his doubts, and he sat down to prepare to sign.
Just then.
The meeting room door was opened from the outside.
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