Chapter 246: Mantis Catches Cicada
In order not to alarm others, Zhao Suwen did not contact her cousins in Singapore for help. Instead, she asked a childhood friend who married into a wealthy Singaporean family to help investigate all the details of Su Qing's life.
Not many people, even those in the industry, know that the Zhao family in Hong Kong has a little daughter: back then, Fang Mona was not the Miss Fang who is feared by people on TV now, but was just a confidante who followed Zhao Rifu back to Hong Kong. In order to keep a low profile, she even gave up her then flourishing singing career and was willing to stay at the villa and wait for the man of her dreams.
Such "canaries" who could barely see the light of day but could not appear on the stage, in the days when Hong Kong had not yet officially abolished the concubine system, almost every wealthy family had a few of them.
Those who are sensible will live in another place and try to be as low-key as possible so as not to offend the master; those who are not sensible will always shamelessly squeeze into the same room, often making such a noise that the room is filled with smoke and noise that the whole house is closed.
Of course, while the woman needs to know how to behave, the man needs to know how to act.
Among the wealthy families in Hong Kong, there are only a few men like Zhao Rifu who give the first wife the greatest face. Most of them are like the Li family and the He family, where wives and concubines are constantly fighting but the men are still involved in the trouble, so that the wars of the previous generation are directly related to the next generation.
Although brothers and sisters who are separated by a layer of belly cannot be as harmonious and loving as biological siblings, people in their position cannot seek too much for the warm and happy family relationship of ordinary people - the interests and continuation of the family are above all else. This is the family responsibility they must shoulder since they are born while enjoying the family dividends.
As long as those half-siblings are not too aggressive, too lame, or too mischievous, and are allowed to enjoy the share dividends granted by the law and then behave themselves and be a vase or a tool for marriage, the main heirs of this generation of the family will basically have no objections.
The main heir inherits the most assets, so naturally he has to take the main responsibility of continuing the family glory left by his elders. Unless there are unexpected events, this responsibility is always taken by the most capable person in the new generation, and his goal is to consolidate his current foundation and then move forward on this basis.
It is those incompetent people who would stare at the few acres of land at home like black-eyed chickens: because they know that they are not capable enough to expand the territory and enlarge the cake in their hands, so they can only choose to fight with their brothers to compete for internal resources.
Therefore, far-sighted families usually cultivate decent and cooperative relationships with the next generation, and use them as the next generation of tools for the continuation of the family.
For this reason, Huang Misheng, the first wife who originally had the traditional "virtuous and benevolent" ideas, and Fang Mona treated each other calmly even if there had not been the accident in Singapore.
Even at the regular family gatherings twice a month, everyone appears to be at peace and harmonious.
If the older generation can get along harmoniously with each other, let alone how both sides treat the next generation.
It can be said that the Zhao family in Hong Kong is a wealthy family with relatively harmonious internal relations. Compared with some families that often appear in newspapers and magazines because of quarrels among wives, concubines and children, this family can be called a "model".
Although many people privately said that this situation was formed because Huang Misheng was in charge of the internal affairs and Fang Mona was in charge of the external affairs, and the two were in different positions so there was not enough conflict of interest to cause a dispute; or it could be said that Fang Mona helped to manage the company's affairs but had no children, so Huang Misheng felt that she was not a big threat, so the two of them could live in peace for many years...
Maybe there is such a reason, but in the final analysis, feelings are a two-way street, so only the efforts of everyone to understand and appreciate each other over the years can make the Zhao family in Hong Kong a "harmonious" family that may not be as good as the better ones but is definitely better than the worse ones.
Perhaps the two sisters of the Zhao family, who were well aware of this critical point, had lived too smoothly in recent years, so God gave them a new problem: when you find a sign of change that may change the family atmosphere, how should you choose?
"I don't really mind it." Zhao Suyun thought for a moment and answered, "I may not be able to use up the share I have in this lifetime - so it will just be a number floating in the air. It doesn't matter if it's more or less."
Probably most people who work in the arts are not interested in money projects. Zhao Suwen, who is also studying art, nodded in agreement and said that he was very satisfied with his sister's idea: "I think so too. At present, money has become a number for us, so I plan to do this..."
Zhao Suyun leaned over and was surprised when she heard it: "Didn't you tell me not to tell it so quickly in order to avoid giving Mommy a false happiness?"
"But now we are 90% sure." Zhao Suwen pushed the research data that his friend faxed back from Singapore over to him. "According to the data sent back by Helen, Su Qing indeed gave birth to a baby girl in the hospital that year."
When it comes to the number "one", Zhao Suwen places great emphasis on it.
Only after she finished the sentence did she relax, as if a difficulty she had been searching for for many years had finally been overcome, and she inevitably felt a sense of relief.
"I heard that scientists in the UK are doing some kind of DNA test for parent-child relationships, and it's said that the accuracy rate can be as high as 99.99%..." Zhao Suwen said, and shook his head slightly, "However, I also heard that it will take at least two or three years to come up with it. Although I really want to have a 100% success rate before announcing this news, we can't wait that long."
Huang Misheng is five years older than Zhao Rifu and is nearly eighty years old this year. Even though she appears to be energetic on the surface, her own children, who know how hard she went through in her early years, are beginning to worry more and more about her health.
Over the years, the obsession of finding the Zhao family's little daughter before leaving has become the focus of Huang Misheng's thoughts.
"Now all we have left is to visit Grandma Su and confirm the truth of what happened back then - but if we go directly to her house to get the exact information and then tell Mommy, she will definitely blame us." Whether it's ignorance of etiquette or deliberate concealment, this is something that will make Huang Misheng angry.
Therefore, after Zhao Suwen was 90% sure, he planned to send everything he knew and tell his mother everything, so that his mother could make the final decision.
"Then let's go together." Zhao Suyun quickly stood up, "If Mommy can't stand the stimulation, the two of us can still take care of her."
The two sisters acted immediately and quickly walked across the corridor with a stack of documents and arrived at the door of Huang Misheng's room.
"Come in, what can I do for you?" Huang Misheng put down the documents in his hand.
"Mommy, didn't you say before that you felt a little tired so you went back to your room... don't you want to rest?" Seeing that Huang Misheng was actually sitting on the bed reading documents, the outspoken Zhao Suyun asked subconsciously.
"Mona came to me this afternoon and said that there was a problem with the company..." Huang Misheng sighed and put the documents in his hand aside, "Someone wants to acquire Zhao Films."
"Who?!" Although Zhao Suwen and Zhao Suyun had never formally participated in the company's business, they knew a little about it from what they had seen and heard at home. They were shocked on the spot: Under the impact of the emerging Jiahe and Zhen Yicheng, although Zhao's Film Company was not as glorious as before, it was still one of the top big brothers in the film industry in Hong Kong.
Even when Ho, the gambling king of Macau, was attracted by the booming film and television industry and wanted to get involved, he only sent his children to learn from them and did not dare to come into direct conflict with his former collaborator Zhao Rifu.
Later, because an accident occurred in Ho's family too suddenly, this new direction was temporarily put aside.
Given the status of their father, Zhao Rifu, in the Hong Kong film and television industry, those who are interested in joining the film and television industry should at most just do what gambling king Ho did back then, using a roundabout and gentle cooperation method to acquire part of Zhao's Film shares and become a partner, rather than "acquisition" like a Hakka landowner!
"The person who came to negotiate this time is Chen Congying from Jianing." Huang Misheng looked at her two daughters' shocked expressions but did not say anything to them: after all, she herself was also shocked when she first heard the news.
"Why is Chen Congying suddenly interested in our company? Isn't he in real estate? And I heard recently that his company is in some financial crisis..." Zhao Suwen thought for a moment and couldn't help but say.
If the rich man who "became rich overnight" and "rose rapidly" that is most recognized by the Hong Kong people is the nouveau riche Su Yun who holds shares in many companies, then in their circle, Chen Congying of Jianing is the nouveau riche who truly rose rapidly and was closing in on the wealthy families.
Compared to the wealthy families, Su Yun started to accumulate initial capital by making small investments in the stock market since he was a child; Chen Congying, who founded the huge business empire of the Chia-Ning Group, started out by relying on a mysterious relationship that claimed that the funds came from overseas Chinese businessmen in Southeast Asia. He started his business by buying low and selling high during the booming real estate market in Hong Kong.
Subsequently, through a series of almost frantic acquisitions and mergers, he made the Jianing Group, a company with initial assets of only HK$5 million, expand rapidly in just five years to become a diversified large-scale enterprise group with a market value of over HK$10 billion. Its businesses cover real estate, shipping, construction, trade, insurance and many other fields.
Su Yun has worked hard for ten years, but her net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars is not even one-tenth of the value of the Jianing Group.
The reason why Su Yun is famous among the people is that she is based in the film and television industry, which is more popular with the public; and in these years of rapid economic development, the public needs a national idol to stabilize the impact of economic fluctuations and soothe the anxious hearts of the masses. Only then can she become a "hero" created by the times.
If a fight really breaks out, even ten Su Yuns tied together would not be enough to defeat a ruthless business giant like Chen Congying.
"It is because of the funding problem of his company that he wants to cooperate with Zhao's to exchange Jianing's shares for Zhao's shares and obtain a certain amount of capital injection for turnover." Huang Misheng sighed, "You are not unaware of how terrible the development of the real estate industry is now..."
The real estate industry is even more difficult to join than the film and television industry. Recalling the past when Zhao Rifu wanted to buy a good piece of land to build a movie studio, but was eventually squeezed out by the bigwigs in the real estate industry and only bought a small piece of land, Huang Misheng naturally understood how tempting this invitation was.
"But, the film company is a business that started from grandpa and has been passed down to dad..." The Zhao family has been in the film industry since their grandfather's generation. Even if the benefits brought by this invitation can make their worth soar, Zhao Suyun still feels a little unhappy.
"I understand your thoughts. Mona also came to me for help for this matter, but in today's world, the balance between dreams and interests has tilted somewhat." Huang Misheng patted Zhao Suyun's hand, "I can only say that I will try my best to persuade him. The person who really makes the decision is still your father."
"By the way, what brings you to see me so late at night?"
After being asked this by Huang Misheng, the two sisters remembered their original purpose and managed to calm down their complicated emotions. Then they handed over the documents in their hands.
At the same time, in a luxurious large office in a high-rise building, Chen Congying, who the Zhao mother and daughter had talked about for a long time, was making a mysterious phone call.
"Yes, that's right. After I revealed to Zhao Laoliu the news that Zhao Liying had returned to Hong Kong but had not shown up, his previous firm attitude was obviously shaken..."
"Next?"
"Of course it's to deal with that Mary Sue - she has given the half-dead Zhao a new lease of life in the past two years, but that's it..."
"She's not a member of the Zhao family anyway. Isn't it easy to drive her out of the Zhao family?"
"Just wait, there will be something exciting tomorrow!"