Chapter 42
Meng Huizhou sat up abruptly, the moxibustion tools on his head rolled off, and the smoldering ash from the moxibustion fell onto his silk clothes, instantly burning a series of holes.
She seemed oblivious, staring at Chu Ci with an almost obsessive gaze, as if forbidding her from uttering anything other than "Huo Junyan is still alive."
Chu Ci looked away from her eyes, flicked the cigarette ash off her, took off her tools and put them aside, then picked up a shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders.
While she was doing these things, Meng Huizhou and Huo Chaojiang kept their eyes fixed on her face.
“The other party came prepared. Continuing to search will be of no use. We might as well strike at their root.”
The Chu Ci's voice was unusually calm.
"Now that the group's decision-makers are the old man, you probably can't do anything about it."
Faced with absolute power, any scheming or trickery is nothing but a farcical performance.
Chu Ci couldn't help but glance at Huo Chaojiang. He must have done something in secret, but he was being controlled at every turn.
Huo Chaojiang has been in the group for many years. To outsiders, he has always been a mediocre, conservative, and obedient tool who follows the old Huo’s orders. In reality, he is a shrewd and cunning man who knows how to assess the situation and seize opportunities.
According to traditional beliefs, whether it is an ordinary person, a wealthy family, or an ancient monarch, the succession is always chosen from among the sons. If the eldest son is gone, then the second son will take his place, or whichever son you like will be chosen.
Except for the Zhu family.
Oh, in the end, Zhu Laosi set things right, hehe.
We've gone off on a tangent.
Old Master Huo had two sons. His eldest son died young, and everyone would have thought that his second son, Huo Chaojiang, would inherit the family business. However, Old Master Huo chose the baby left behind by his eldest son.
Huo Chaojiang was never within Huo Lao's considerations from beginning to end; Huo Lao even deliberately banished and suppressed him.
As everyone knows, Huo Chaojiang was a choice that Old Master Huo had no other choice but to make.
In addition, there have been persistent rumors that Huo Chaojiang set up a trap for Huo Chengxun, which is probably a thorn in Huo Lao's side.
Therefore, although he handed the group over to Huo Chaojiang, he did not remove obstacles for him, nor did he give him an absolute shareholding ratio, which meant he had no real power. He even guarded against him at every turn until Huo Junyan took over the group, at which point Old Master Huo directly handed over the shareholding rights to Huo Junyan.
This leads to another question.
After Huo Junyan's incident, his shareholding in the Huo Group returned to Huo's father's hands.
Huo Chaojiang then said that he couldn't cut off the source of the problem.
Without absolute control over the shares, one cannot take over the group or control Huo Chengxun. Other methods can only cause him some trouble at most, and cannot actually strike him.
Chu Ci spoke slowly: "The terms of my marriage agreement with Junyan are that once we get married, all his assets will belong to me, including the group's shares, funds, stocks, and property rights, as well as the equity stake in the company that supplies high-end products to Aokun and the chip technology intellectual property rights."
This statement is tantamount to the reconstruction of the Huo family's business empire.
Huo Chaojiang and Meng Huizhou remained silent for a long time.
Are you married?
"So you can keep the old man in check now."
The next sentence was said by Meng Huizhou.
Chu Ci lowered her eyes. The two people's reactions were similar to what she had expected. A mother would unconditionally stand on her son's side. Huo Chaojiang was torn between his beloved son and his father, so it was normal for him to hesitate.
Chu Ci twitched the corner of her lips and said, "It's settled."
That night, after attending the banquet and returning home, Huo Junyan held her hand and wrote the name "Chu Ci" on the marriage agreement.
Huo Chaojiang and Meng Huizhou exchanged a glance. They both knew that Huo Junyan had publicly declared at a private dinner that Chu Ci was his wife.
That's why Meng Huizhou was so eager to meet with Chu Ci, and she also indicated that she would leave.
How come you're already married?
Meng Huizhou didn't want to care about any of that. She quickly grabbed her wrist and said, "You said Junyan was taken away. Does that mean that if we take control of the group, we can force them to release Junyan?"
"More or less, but it would be difficult for two women like us to control such a behemoth as the Huo Group."
Chu Ci knew very well that she was a novice in running her small software development company, and that she needed Huo Junyan's influence and Li Jue's endorsement to continue.
The Huo Group is a very realistic company; she simply doesn't have the ability to control it.
Meng Huizhou, however, sensed something different and suddenly looked at Huo Chaojiang.
He was shocked by his wife's reaction, and subconsciously asked himself if he could really disregard the entire Huo family and be an enemy of his father. He couldn't help but glance at Chu Ci, wondering if her words were unintentional or deliberate.
"Taking control of the group, taking control of the group..." Huo Chaojiang murmured several times, but finally shook his head. "You will find it difficult to gain the trust of the people. Even for me, it would take a lot of time to take control."
Chu Ci's lips curled into a mocking smile. Who wants to convince the masses?
“We don’t have time. Once Huo Chengxun has complete control of the company, it will be too late.”
"What should we do?" Meng Huizhou looked at her husband in a panic, then at Chu Ci.
Huo Chaojiang pondered for a moment, "We must take immediate action. The best way is to terminate the cooperation with Aokun as the major shareholder, cutting off his escape route, but..."
However, doing so would harm the interests of the group and would almost certainly be opposed by all shareholders, leading to the removal of all personnel from their posts.
“I have already taken action.”
Chu Ci glanced at Huo Chaojiang. He shared the same mindset as Huo Junyan: they would always protect the interests of the Huo Group.
She won't.
Huo Chaojiang was startled and was about to ask further when his phone suddenly vibrated. He glanced at the caller ID, his brows furrowing. "Dad... what? Me? No, this..."
He looked at Chu Ci with an incredulous expression, then quickly looked away, gripped his phone tightly, and left the bedroom.
"What did you do?" Meng Huizhou looked at Chu Ci with hopeful eyes.
“I sold my shares in Lightspeed to Zhou Yubai.”
Light speed is the most important link in supplying orders to Okun. To put it simply, without light speed, the products supplied to Okun are almost no different from the low-end products supplied to Santu.
With Huo Junyan holding absolute control of Lightspeed Corporation, Chu Ci was essentially handing over the lifeline for expanding into the Southeast Asian market to his competitor.
"The information you released?"
"The contract has been signed."
Those old fogies in the Huo family aren't easily intimidated. They even dared to lay a hand on Huo Junyan, so what's the point of scaring them?
When Chu Ci came to the Huo family, he had Secretary Wu draft a contract, and Zhou Yubai could name his price at will.
Of course, Zhou Yubai would be eager to take such a thing.
At this moment, Zhou Yubai took over the light speed. When Elder Huo received the news, he was shocked and furious and called Huo Chaojiang.
Faced with a barrage of questions, Huo Chaojiang unusually responded forcefully, hanging up the phone before Old Master Huo could continue his accusations, only to receive another astonishing message.
He pushed the door open and entered. "You want to auction off chip technology?"
Chu Ci turned his head to look. It was drizzling outside, and the light was dim. The figures of the father and son were so similar.
Her heart clenched, and she pinched her thigh to suppress the physical pain in her chest. "I'm afraid Zhou Yubai is two-faced and will join forces with Huo Chengxun."
"Once we lose the core chip technology, the group's plan to expand into the Southeast Asian market will completely fall through,"
Huo Chaojiang saw the two women looking up at him at the same time and suddenly stopped talking.
He just blurted it out subconsciously.
Huo Chaojiang's heart trembled violently. He couldn't bear to look closely. His wife was haggard and weak. Chu Ci was originally a beautiful and proud girl, but now her face was a mess. However, her aura was not weak at all. Her eyes were full of undisguised mockery when she looked at him, and her words were even more merciless.
"It just didn't work out this time. Next time, just give us more benefits and it will work again. But next time, it might not be related to you."
Meng Huizhou finally regained his senses and looked thoughtfully at the Chu Ci.
She's going to flip the table.
In just a second, she made her decision: "Okay, I support you. I'll have Qiqi fully cooperate with you."
Huo Qiyu, Huo Junyan's older sister, is in charge of investment and one of the executive directors of the Huo Group. So far, she is the highest-ranking person besides Huo Chaojiang to have secured support for Chu Ci.
The Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) is neither good nor bad.
She was going to overturn everyone's tables, including Huo Qiyu.
I came to the Huo family not to gain anyone's support, but for one thing only.
“Auntie, you must cheer up. They will find out about my relationship with Huo Junyan in the shortest time possible, and they will definitely take action to smear me and deny our relationship. But none of that matters. The most important thing is Xingxing. He is the rightful heir to all of this.”
Without an heir, the Huo family members can seize shares with impunity.
“Xingxing,” Meng Huizhou said, a surge of strength rising within him, “Don’t worry, no one will be able to harm my grandson.”
"There's one more thing I need your help with."
After Chu Ci finished speaking, Meng Huizhou felt it was superfluous, but he did not refute it and nodded in agreement.
"I reckon the group's shareholders and senior executives all want to see me, Uncle. Please convene a shareholders' meeting."
Huo Chaojiang and Meng Huizhou did not hold a large share of the Huo family's shares. Over the years, they did not compete or fight for them, since Old Master Huo had given all the shares to Junyan anyway.
That doesn't mean they're both pushovers.
Meng Huizhou strengthened security measures for Xingxing, and she would point the finger at Huo Chengxun at the slightest sign of trouble. In addition, she established a trust fund to leave all of their property to Xingxing. In case of any accident, all of their shares and assets would be donated free of charge.
They did not give the Huo family any chance to divide the spoils.
Huo Chaojiang convened the shareholders' meeting in his capacity as chairman of the group.
In fact, in the past few days, all the major shareholders have frequently appeared at the group headquarters, holding meetings of all sizes and private meetings without interruption. Each shareholder or senior executive has different agreements or alliances with different people.
How many alliances have been formed?
It's like having 158 group chats for 20 colleagues in the department.
With Huo Junyan in trouble, everyone has questions in their hearts. Some are genuinely saddened, but many more are worried about the future of the group, since Huo Chengxun is unable to steer the giant ship that is the Huo Group.
Their interests will naturally be harmed.
Huo Chaojiang convened a shareholders' meeting, where each shareholder reassessed their interests and took stock of their resources, all thinking about how to grab as much as possible for themselves.
Of course, a big problem suddenly appeared—
Chu Ci (Songs of Chu)
No one expected Huo Junyan to sign such a marriage agreement and have it notarized by a lawyer, making it a done deal. Now that Huo Junyan is in trouble, there is no possibility of changing it.
This is absolutely insane! Does the Huo family have a gene for madness?
Huo Chengxun went mad, and Huo Junyan went mad too.
Regardless of which shareholder or executive is having a private meeting, they all complain about Huo Junyan signing such an unequal marriage agreement, leaving them with such a huge problem.
Then we discussed together how much to give this woman to appease her.
From initially offering a few percent of shares, to only giving dividends, and then to the argument that "Junyan's private assets are enough for her to live on for several lifetimes, why would she dare to dream of shares?", some people started to take stock of Huo Junyan's private assets based on their knowledge, only to find that his assets were so substantial that the discussion raged on: Why should Chu Ci receive all of them?!
The Huo Group's top-floor conference room.
Shareholders and many senior executives were present, but the head seat remained empty. It used to be Huo Junyan's seat, but now... Some people thought that Huo Chaojiang could sit there this time, and they would see what happened later.
The secretary opened the door, and the commotion abruptly stopped.
Huo Chaojiang, dressed in a suit and tie, walked with a steady gait. He waved to everyone as he entered, indicating that they should all sit down.
To everyone's astonishment, he sat down in the first seat on the right.
The meeting room fell silent for a moment, then burst into a cacophony of voices—whispers, glances, and phone calls…
Huo Chengxun, sitting in the first seat on the left, frowned slightly. "Fourth Uncle, weren't you going to call a shareholders' meeting?"
"Turn on all the lights over there."
Huo Chengxun's eyes flickered slightly. "Fourth Uncle, what do you mean? Why turn on so many lights in broad daylight?"
"I want to see clearly whether you are a human or a ghost."
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