Chapter 3: Full of Suspicious Points
In her previous life, Tianle died young, leaving Huo Qibang and Lin Meiling heartbroken. They poured all their resentment on her, believing she was responsible for the child's death. They went mad, frantically trying to seize the power and resources from her and eliminate the capable assistants she had painstakingly cultivated within the Huo Group over the years.
She was overwhelmed by her son and daughter-in-law's sudden falling out, busy day and night dealing with their internal strife and suppression, leaving her no time for anything else. By the time she finally had the chance to investigate the truth behind Tianle's untimely death, too much time had passed, and all the clues had been deliberately erased, making it impossible to find anything.
Looking back now, there are many suspicious points!
Why did Old Huang, the family doctor whom the Huo family had known for generations, choose to take leave the day before to go back to his hometown? The timing was too coincidental!
It was as if an unseen hand was secretly manipulating everything.
The purpose of all this was to sow discord between the mother and son.
The Huo family has many branches, but the biggest threat to the main family has always been the two branches of the second son, Huo Zhenxiong, and the fourth son, Huo Zhenhong.
They have long coveted the Huo family's dominance, and their methods are the most ruthless.
In her previous life, she was busy fighting with Qibang, which allowed them to take advantage of many loopholes.
"I'll go check right away."
Huo Fu nodded solemnly in agreement, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke again after seeing Fang Lanxin's normal expression.
"However, today's incident might provoke the young master, and he might do something rash..."
"It's alright. I didn't do this, and besides, the Life-Giving Pill has already been given to A-Yuan, which should dispel A-Chen's suspicions."
Fang Lanxin spoke calmly, but a sharp pain shot through her heart.
After all, she was born from her own womb and raised by her own hands. She didn't want things to come to this point unless absolutely necessary.
"There's one more thing..."
Hoffer hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
"As you instructed, I have contacted several partners to put pressure on the young master's reform plan. If nothing unexpected happens, the young master's plan will not be able to proceed."
"Thud—"
As soon as she finished speaking, the expensive fountain pen slipped from Fang Lanxin's fingers.
Huo Fu quickly bent down to pick it up.
Fang Lanxin leaned back in the cold leather executive chair, her eyes glazed over.
Reform plan...pressure...
How familiar those words are!
In her previous life, it was with this reform plan that her conflict with Kenneth Fok erupted completely, leaving no room for reconciliation.
The son returned from a prestigious overseas university, brimming with knowledge and experience, determined to revamp the aging Huo Group with cutting-edge technology. He wanted to implement sweeping reforms, introduce Western management models, and weed out the outdated older generation…
In order to consolidate her power and appease the old comrades who had followed her to conquer the country, she chose to obstruct and suppress them.
On the surface, Kenneth Fok was losing ground and becoming increasingly subservient to her.
Secretly, he plotted to harm her through his sister, Huo Siya.
It wasn't until her health deteriorated day by day, and until Huo Qibang gradually stripped her of her power in the company, that she belatedly discovered that those "nourishing soups" had been laced with a colorless and odorless slow-acting poison.
While she lay alone on her cold bed, barely clinging to life, her beloved son was celebrating his complete takeover of the Huo Group at the villa on the hillside.
How pathetic! How ridiculous!
"Madam? Madam, are you alright?" Huo Fu picked up the pen and saw that Fang Lanxin's face was pale and she looked dazed. He couldn't help but call out worriedly.
Fang Lanxin snapped back to her senses, the sorrow and hatred in her eyes instantly suppressed by reason, restoring her usual composure.
"I'm fine." She waved her hand, her voice a little hoarse. "Uncle Fu, you just said that Qibang's reform plan involves several powerful families?"
Seeing that she had returned to normal, Huo Fu breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully replied, "Yes. Young Master's actions this time are quite significant. He wants to fully implement performance appraisals and a bottom-ranking elimination system, and also cut the budgets of several traditional production lines, instead investing in high-tech and finance. The He and Li families, those old partners who have cooperated with us for decades, were in an uproar when they heard this. Their shares and industries are deeply tied to us, and once the reforms are implemented, their interests will inevitably be harmed. Now, the young masters of these families are all clamoring to keep up with the times, but the older generation thinks Young Master is being ridiculous, saying that if our Huo family dares to do this, it's like crossing the river and burning the bridge, and they want to unite to resist us."
Huo Fu's tone was full of worry: "Madam, this shareholders' meeting is a direct confrontation between the old and new factions. If we forcibly stop it, I'm afraid it will force the young master to completely distance himself from us, but if we don't stop it..."
If this is not stopped, the old guard will have no place to stand, and Fang Lanxin's power in the Huo family will be completely replaced.
"Ha!" Fang Lanxin suddenly chuckled. "The Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves, and times are bound to change; no one can stop it. I've been in this position for too long, so long that I've forgotten that the world is moving forward."
In her previous life, she never understood this truth until her death.
In this life, standing at the end of the future and looking back, she can see everything clearly.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hong Kong and even the world were about to undergo earth-shattering changes. Finance, real estate, technology... those were the golden tracks of the future. Kenneth Fok's direction was correct.
The fault lies with her, with these old-fashioned people who always want to live a new life using outdated methods.
“Uncle Fu.” Fang Lanxin slowly stood up, walked to the huge French windows, and looked down at the shimmering sea of Repulse Bay under the setting sun. Her tone was calm but carried an undeniable authority. “Pass the word that our people need not put any more obstacles in Qibang’s plan.”
Huo Fu was shocked: "Madam! How can this be! What about the He family and the Li family..."
“Let them make trouble if they want to.” Fang Lanxin turned around, her eyes flashing with a sharp light. “The tallest tree catches the most wind, and someone always has to step forward and break this old pattern. Since Qibang needs a scapegoat to pave the way for him, then I, as his mother, will personally fire the first shot for him!”
Rather than being passively eliminated by the times, it is better to take the initiative to stand at the forefront of the wave and personally guide this transformation.
She wanted everyone to see that she, Fang Lanxin, could not only maintain the family business, but also create something new!
Huo Fu stared blankly at Fang Lanxin, as if he were seeing again the young woman from twenty-one years ago, who, after her husband's sudden death, single-handedly debated with the board of directors and managed to preserve the Huo family's eldest branch's status.
That courage and decisiveness have never changed.
This time, however, her blade is aimed at the old order she herself built.
“I understand, Madam.” Hoffer bowed deeply, his eyes slightly moist. “I will take care of it immediately.”
After Horford left, the study returned to silence.
Fang Lanxin rubbed her throbbing temples, when a sudden, empty, throbbing pain came from her stomach.
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