After Qi Changzhou made that phone call, Shan Song also began to prepare for his return to work in Yunling.
With Shan Song's instructions, Baisha Materials' partners began to urge payment repeatedly. The Zhou family is now surrounded by wolves, and the materials project cannot afford any more mishaps. Zhou Muyuan has no choice but to turn to other projects for funding.
Only the Qin family's project could save the Zhou family from their predicament. After much deliberation, Zhou Muyuan decided to go and talk to Qin Siyuan about the next steps of their cooperation.
Qin Siyuan keenly sensed something was amiss from Zhou Muyuan's actions. On the surface, he pretended nothing was wrong and accepted all of Zhou's cooperation invitations, while secretly launching a swift investigation.
Company accounts are usually very confidential and difficult to obtain, but the Zhou family was in a state of chaos, and Qin Siyuan quickly learned from the first CFO who had left the company that the Zhou family's finances were in trouble.
They immediately seized the opportunity to kick someone when they were down, and under the guise of cooperation, began to contact other shareholders of the Zhou family to acquire their shares.
Some shareholders were persuaded to put pressure on Zhou Muyuan at the board meeting, saying that if he still couldn't resolve the current crisis at the Zhou family, he should resign and hand over the reins to someone more capable.
"These idiots have been sucking his blood for years, where did they get their abilities from?" Zhou Muyuan sneered.
He was naturally unwilling to hand over his years of hard work, especially since Qin Siyuan was pushing the price too hard. Zhou Muyuan tore up the contract and rejected Qin Siyuan's demands.
Although he was furious with Qin Siyuan's two-faced nature, he was also troubled by the fact that the Qin family controlled his economic lifeline and he was also worried about the lawsuit against Zhou Xinlin.
If this continues, the Zhou family will be completely finished.
Zhou Muyuan gritted his teeth and called Shan Song.
The call connected easily, and Shan Song's lazy voice came from across the ocean: "Father, did you like the surprise I left for you?"
Zhou Muyuan frowned, suppressing his temper and lowering his voice, "Shan Song, these businesses of the Zhou family are your mother's life's work. Do you want to watch them be destroyed and let the Zhou family benefit others?"
Shan Song seemed to laugh out loud: "Now that you've come to your senses, return the legacy my mother built to me. I should be able to offer a higher price than Qin Siyuan."
Zhou Muyuan was furious: "Don't push your luck!"
"Are you pushing your luck? Then you might as well wait for bankruptcy liquidation."
After saying that, he hung up the phone. No matter how many times Zhou Muyuan tried to call back, he could not get through.
Shan Song turned off his phone and reached out to ruffle Tong Zhao's hair: "Zhao Zhao, we need to get ready to go home."
Tong Zhao smiled and said, "Great! Now we can go back to Grandma's house for the New Year! Grandma has asked me several times."
"Yes, now I can finally take Zhaozhao home."
Shan Song lowered his head and called Qi Changzhou: "Zhou Muyuan has already called, it's time to make a move."
"Ha, didn't Zhou Muyuan show you any filial piety?"
"He probably wanted to tear me apart. I could hear his back teeth grinding together." Shan Song chatted with Qi Changzhou while holding Tong Zhao's hand on speakerphone.
Qi Changzhou said, "You guessed right. Zhou Muyuan really intends to stubbornly refuse the Qin family's acquisition offer."
"It's not that he disagrees, it's that he doesn't dare to agree. The acquisition means he has to start all over again. Putting aside whether his age allows him to make a comeback, after being in a position of power for so many years, he can't get past his pride. Of course, he also lacks the ability."
At this moment, Shan Song could roughly guess his mental state. Zhou Muyuan had been running the Shan family's businesses for so many years that he had long regarded them as the empire he had built himself, just like how someone who has been cheating for a long time will think that it is their real achievement.
But the facts clearly told him that his abilities were simply not up to par, so even if he started over, he would never be able to reach the same heights as before. With his useless pride, he would rather the Zhou family go bankrupt than allow such a thing to happen.
"That's right. He's got the nouveau riche mentality. He can't even manage risk properly. I was overestimating him."
As Tong Zhao listened to their conversation, he chimed in, "Isn't it like an ordinary person suddenly winning a hundred million yuan lottery, then squandering it all, and then having to start all over again to earn money one yuan at a time?"
"Brilliant! Sister-in-law," Qi Changzhou praised.
Shan Song smiled and nodded, "Our Zhaozhao sees things very clearly."
Qi Changzhou's teeth ached from the sour taste, so he quickly said, "Taiyue will handle Zhou Muyuan's situation. I'll treat you to dinner when you get back."
He left after saying that.
Shan Song and Tong Zhao exchanged a smile.
...
The Zhou family's bankruptcy came unexpectedly. Zhou Xinlin was imprisoned, and Zhou Muyuan's illness relapsed, requiring hospitalization. The crowd that had been watching the spectacle for so long was stunned, and then they flocked to the Qi family, all wanting a share of the huge business, but they were all turned away by the Qi family.
Qin Siyuan managed to tear off a piece and take it, while Qi Taiyue pocketed the rest.
In accordance with the style of the second son of the Qi family, Shan Song gave him 20% as compensation, and the rest was merged back into the Shan family's business with the help of the Qi family. Although there seems to be a lot of follow-up work to be done, Shan Song can be considered relieved.
All those years of effort finally paid off; my mother's property was returned to its rightful owner.
This can be considered as fulfilling part of the promise made to Tong Zhao. He didn't make empty promises; at least he calmed down this storm before the end of the year and will try to earn his wife ten times more in dividends by the end of next year.
After the Zhou family went bankrupt, Shan Song naturally returned to the Shan family, and the marriage alliance between the Zhou and Qin families was naturally dissolved. Therefore, after consulting Shan Song, the first thing Tong Zhao did upon returning to China was to change the name back on her household registration before the staff went on holiday, and the marriage certificate of the two was also changed.
The day they emerged with their little red marriage certificate, the winter sun shone on the snow-covered treetops, reflecting a gentle and restrained light that lingered on the curve of their lips, as if happiness had been materialized.
With the car heater on, Tong Zhao reached out and eagerly flipped through the little red book again. The photo that Shan Song had specifically requested to be retaken was much more intimate than the previous one. In the red-background photo, their heads were close together, their smiles looking utterly worthless.
Tong Zhao smiled and took out the photo she had specially kept before, placing it next to her. It was taken not long after the two had recognized each other, neither too distant nor too intimate, with a time difference of less than a year.
Shan Song looked at Tong Zhao tenderly: "This should be kept as a memento."
"Hmm." Tong Zhao glanced at it again, then carefully closed the box and put it into the inner pocket: "I'm going to lock it in the safe."
Dan Song was aroused by his charm and leaned in to kiss Tong Zhao. The car window was fogged up by their breaths, and a trace of it was wiped away by someone's hand, then slowly disappeared in the hot air.
After a long while, Shan Song moved away slightly, gazing at Tong Zhao's flushed face: "Let's go home for the New Year."
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