Chapter 235: The Rich Old Lady (16)
The real money that Shi Sui Bang Bang invested soon showed results.
With the help of multiple parties, a traditional brand with simple packaging in China and whose main consumer force is middle-aged and elderly people has transformed into a high-end brand in H City with its exquisite packaging and provocative promotional copy such as "palace secret recipe", and has been enthusiastically sought after by some foreign tourists who are interested in traditional Chinese culture.
As they returned to various parts of the world, they sparked a small-scale craze and were recommended in foreign magazines.
Zhou Shiya's shops benefited from this, with customer traffic and sales increasing to varying degrees, and their popularity also increased. The situation is very good.
...In a private room of the high-end Fuguilinmen Restaurant.
Old Mrs. Zhou’s second brother, Zhou Xin, was having dinner with his sons, and he was accompanied by his young lover who was only in her early 20s.
"I didn't expect my sister to actually do it. That Chinese brand is super popular right now. She's the exclusive distributor for the entire H City, and only Shiya's store sells it... Hey, I handed the supermarket over to you guys to manage, and you didn't even bother to fight for the sales rights from your own aunt?! What's going on?"
Zhou Xin frowned and complained to his sons. He put down his chopsticks and didn't even have the appetite to eat.
Among his sons, the oldest is already in his 40s and almost 50 years old. After so many years of "experience" in the Dahe Group, he is still a hopeless case and the situation is a mess.
He completely ignored his father's scolding and worries and said nonchalantly, "Dad, it's just a brand that suddenly became popular due to its packaging. We've seen it before. After the craze passes, no one will be interested in it soon. The money my aunt invested in the early stage will definitely be lost. There's no need to worry."
"You, you, you, you're still so conceited, no matter how many times I've taught you. You can't just look at the profits and losses on the books, you have to look at the purpose behind it...!"
Zhou Xin is not in good health, but he is still worried about the group's business.
No, it’s not so much that he is worried about the group, but rather that he is worried that after he passes away, his sons will be bullied by Zhou Xiaofeng, and now there is also an old lady Zhou, leaving them helpless.
"Instead of focusing on an old woman who doesn't even have board membership, why not keep an eye on Zhou Xiaofeng?" Zhou Xin's son flew into a rage when he mentioned his capable cousin. "Wasn't he always so arrogant and high-profile? I don't know why, but he's been so quiet lately. Is he planning something big?"
"Wishful thinking!" Zhou Xin slammed the table in disdain. "He's just a playboy who plays with female celebrities in the entertainment industry, and he wants to interfere with the group?! Pah!"
Zhou Xin got angry and started coughing breathlessly.
His 20-year-old lover immediately brought over a bowl of stewed soup, put her delicate hands on his chest to soothe his breathing, and coquettishly advised him.
"Come drink some ginseng soup to replenish your energy and moisten your throat, don't make yourself angry~"
...Older people are more experienced, and Zhou Xin’s worries about Shi Sui are not unnecessary.
Although the sales of the domestic brands promoted by Shisui were not enough to support large marketing investments, her strong support and promotion of inland brands made officials from relevant departments very happy. They frequently invited her to dinner and negotiations, and as time went by, a relationship was established.
When relationships flow, money flows.
Shi Sui, who was a social butterfly, quickly learned about some confidential internal plans through these officials.
Among the many pieces of news, there was one that particularly interested Shi Sui - in the S Special Zone bordering H City, they were planning a high-tech zone similar to the Silicon Valley in Country M to vigorously develop the information industry.
Of course, everything is still in the preliminary planning stage, and the proposal is still under review. No one knows whether the project will eventually be aborted.
But speed is of the essence in war. If we wait until the proposal is passed before taking action, we will lose the initiative.
Shi Sui conducted a detailed investigation and was very optimistic about this plan, so he quietly spent 150 million yuan to buy a large piece of land in the suburbs of S City, which was still a backward small village.
She purchased this through an inland company using multiple nesting doll authorizations, and did it in an extremely secretive manner. No one in the Zhou family knew about it except herself.
This 150 million yuan is the maximum amount of liquid funds she can currently take out.
Dahe Group’s core business is still real estate.
If she really wants to go to war with Zhou Xin and Zhou Xiaofeng one day, she will have to rely on the land she bought for 150 million as her secret weapon.
Since waking up before the New Year, it is now early April. Shisui has almost completed all the preparations and is ready to deal with the civil war in the Dahe Group at any time.
But at this stage, she still needs to hold back for the time being, wait for the two people who are fighting the most fiercely to jump out first, and then wait for the opportunity to act.
…
"Ms. Zhou, I've sorted through all the entry and exit records of Zhou Xiaofeng over the past five years that I could find. I discovered that he appeared with members of the family trust foundation several times when he attended public events abroad."
Ms. Wen is reliable and efficient. According to Shi Sui's requirements, she focused on collecting information on Zhou Xiaofeng's suspicious whereabouts abroad, of course, using legal means.
H City is full of paparazzi. Shi Sui expected that he would not do anything wrong, so it would be difficult to track him down. However, once he went abroad where there was no media tracking him, his vigilance would probably be lowered.
Her guess was correct.
Wen handed Shisui some old entertainment magazines.
"The most obvious one is this occasion... Look at these group photos."
It was 1998, a red carpet report from a famous European film festival.
The actresses competed with each other for beauty and many photos of the scene were published in magazines.
At that film festival, Zhou Xiaofeng's Thunder Entertainment also had a female actress competing. As the big boss, Zhou Xiaofeng went along to cheer her on.
The photographer's focus is on the actors and the director.
It was also because of this that Zhou Xiaofeng relaxed.
In the corners of several red carpet photos of different actresses, he can be seen chatting with a bearded foreign man with a cheerful look on his face.
The two of them were arm in arm and laughing heartily. Judging from their body language, it was definitely not their first meeting, but they must be very familiar with each other.
The bearded foreign man, Ms. Wen identified, was a core officer in charge of financial management of the family trust foundation.
Ms. Wen further explained, "According to regulations, the identities of the trust foundation members are strictly confidential, and they will not have direct contact with any member of the Zhou family. All communication must be conducted through the professional lawyers of the Qixingxing Law Firm. In other words, they are not supposed to know each other at all."
Although Shi Sui knew that Zhou Xiaofeng had an improper relationship with the foundation, she had no substantial evidence.
However, these few photos published in public magazines, which accidentally included Zhou Xiaofeng and the foundation's secretary, are sufficient to serve as important evidence and directly file a lawsuit with the relevant judicial authorities.
"You are amazing. You can find such an old magazine." Shisui greatly praised Wennu's work ability.
Wen was a bit embarrassed. "It was a blessing in disguise, I guess. My job at a law firm is pretty boring, I have to wear a black and grey suit every day, so my hobby is looking at fashion. I have so many fashion magazines at home, they're piled up like a mountain."
No wonder.
The dress that Shisui wore on the day she was discharged from the hospital was dignified and appropriate. It was picked by Wen herself.
"What do you think is the reason that would allow an important official of a world-renowned financial trust institution to collude with Zhou Xiaofeng at least three years ago?" Shi Sui asked Wennu a question.
"That can only be bribery. I've come across many cases where people accepted financial benefits and then abused their power to give others the green light. This is all too common."
"No, it's not that simple." Shiho narrowed her eyes. "This isn't a personal issue with the Foundation's director..."
Wen didn't quite understand and wanted to ask for clarification when Shisui's phone suddenly rang.
The person who called was my niece Zhou Shiya.
"Aunt, I just received the latest news. Second uncle suddenly went to the hospital!"
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