76. The building is about to collapse.
As the new week begins, the morning light streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference room on the 72nd floor of the Jianbing Group headquarters, casting warm rays across the long conference table.
It looks like this is going to be a wonderful day.
Chu Xiao initially thought so too.
She sat expressionlessly in the main seat, listening to her subordinates report on the progress of various projects from the previous week with one ear, while her mind was still wandering back to the pleasures of the previous two days.
Over the past weekend, because she couldn't get away for an extended period, she couldn't go to the Maldives or a private island for her honeymoon. Instead, she took Yu Chun to a seaside villa in a neighboring city for a vacation.
During those two days, she and Yu Chun were only focused on "communicating their feelings" in the villa and basically didn't go out.
As for the results...
Thinking that Yu Chun would probably sleep until noon today, Chu Xiao picked up the teacup beside her, took a sip, and covered the smile that she couldn't suppress.
The meeting was long and tedious, and Chu Xiao was starting to feel sleepy.
After a long wait, the executives filed out, and Chu Xiao returned to the chairman's office on the 100th floor.
On the huge desk, there was already a cup of Da Hong Pao tea prepared by the assistant and several documents that needed to be signed urgently.
She turned on her computer and, as usual, quickly browsed the internal work system and email.
An encrypted email from Wang Xue was prominently displayed at the top of the inbox, titled "Detailed Investigation Report on Hot Pot Group and Related Personnel".
Chu Xiao's gaze sharpened, the lingering warmth from the weekend vanished instantly, and her eyes regained their usual sharpness.
She opened the email, entered the decryption key, and a PDF file, several tens of megabytes in size, began to load.
She picked up the Da Hong Pao tea and took a sip.
The familiar smell awakened her brain's working mode, and she began to carefully read this old story that had taken a lot of manpower and resources to unearth.
The first half of the report unveils a long-buried and brutal history of commercial warfare.
Thirty years ago, seven giants stood side by side in the catering industry of Huaguo.
Among them, the most dazzling and fiercest rivals are the Jian family's pancake group and the Huo family's hot pot group.
When two tigers fight, they will fight to the death.
At that time, the Huo family took the lead in finding a powerful backer and gained overwhelming support, which once suppressed the Jian family to the brink of collapse. Their market share shrank sharply, their cash flow was on the verge of collapse, and the Jian family was almost at the end of their rope and at the mercy of others.
Just when the Jian family was facing a life-or-death crisis, Jian Aotian, the original owner's father, displayed astonishing courage and gambling spirit.
Through some unknown means, Jian Aotian somehow managed to get in touch with the mortal enemy behind the Huo family—another equally secretive and powerful force.
In order to gain the favor and full support of this force, Jian Aotian paid a huge price.
He not only "surrendered" but also signed a "contract of servitude," completely binding the future and lives of the entire Jian family to this force, making him the sharpest, most obedient, and least likely to betray knife of this force in the catering industry and even the wider field.
Because he knew that only this kind of complete and inseparable bond could make the people behind him feel at ease using him, and only then could the Jian family obtain enough power to turn the tide and take revenge.
Jian Aotian knew very well that once he got on this ship, he wouldn't be able to get off, but he had no other choice.
They either perish quietly alongside the Jian family, or they gamble everything for immense wealth and power.
Jian Aotian chose the latter.
With the support of a mysterious force, Jian Aotian, like a tiger released from its cage, began a frenzied campaign of revenge and expansion.
The first to be affected are their arch-rivals, the Huo family and the hot pot group behind them.
Back then, when the hot pot group collapsed, Jian's father's pancake group did indeed play a dishonorable role.
The report included several key email screenshots and meeting minutes from the time when Jian's father instructed his subordinates to carry out a malicious acquisition of the hot pot group, cut off the supply of core raw materials, and even poach the core team.
He was ruthless and unscrupulous, just like Jian Aotian's seemingly childish declaration—either submit or die.
In the middle of the report, the focus shifts to something deeper.
"An investigation revealed that the rapid decline of the hot pot group was not only due to vicious market competition, but also suspected to be related to sudden policy changes and tax audits in its main operating areas. The timing of the issuance of the relevant policy documents (see Appendix 7) closely coincided with the timing of the pancake group's all-out offensive, and a certain key official (now retired) in charge of relevant affairs in that area at the time had a close personal relationship with Mr. Jian Aotian..."
Chu Xiao frowned deeply.
It's now quite clear that this is no longer just commercial retaliation, but a "cleanup" operation that has received tacit approval or even support from above.
Acquisition, suppression, dismantling... Jian Aotian used every means at his disposal, showing no mercy, and finally completely swallowed up the hotpot group, erasing it from the map of the seven giants.
This was the Jian family's turnaround, and also the beginning of the Jianbing Group's glory.
In the years that followed, the Jian family's knife grew ever sharper, and the forces behind them wielded it with increasing ease.
Following his superiors' instructions, Jian Aotian continued his expansionist campaigns, relentlessly attacking and annexing a series of companies that were considered adversaries by his superiors.
Thanks to Jian Aotian's efforts, the Jian family finally became a fang on a tiger.
The Jian family and Jianbing Group expanded like a snowball by relying on the support of the forces behind them and the "nutrients" they absorbed, eventually reaching a terrifying size of hundreds of billions today.
Chu Xiao's heart pounded violently in his chest.
Therefore, this is not a simple business struggle. The Jian family is more complex and dangerous than she initially imagined.
She downed the tea in her cup in one gulp, calming her wildly beating heart, and continued reading.
The latter part of the report is a follow-up report on the current status of the Huo family members.
As she expected, the rats had already jumped ship long before the Huo family's big ship sank.
Huo Lin's mistress and their children had already transferred a large amount of assets overseas through complex offshore trusts and overseas investments six months before the group filed for bankruptcy protection.
The survey shows that they currently mainly live in Australia, where they live a wealthy and comfortable life, but they are extremely low-key and rarely appear in the flower world.
However, the last part of the report made Chu Xiao's face turn cold.
"Huo Lin's son, Huo Chengrong, disappeared in the United States a week before the bankruptcy liquidation proceedings began, and his whereabouts remain unknown. There have been no significant changes in his accounts, and the last known record of his whereabouts is that he drove alone to the Rocky Mountains on the outskirts of the city before losing contact. Local police have opened a missing persons case, but without success, and they suspect suicide, but his body has not been found."
"Missing? Whereabouts unknown?"
Chu Xiao's gaze lingered on the words "Rocky Mountain" and "no body found".
A pampered young master, amidst the downfall of his family and the tragic death of his father, drove alone to the mountains on the outskirts of the city to commit suicide, but his body could not be found?
This is completely illogical.
Her intuition told her that this matter was far more complicated than it appeared.
The report concluded with a seemingly insignificant piece of information: "Additionally: After verification from multiple sources, it has been confirmed that your biological mother, Ms. Feng Youjing, had a relationship with Huo Lin of the Huo family during her university years, which lasted for approximately two years. The relationship ended due to family interference and other reasons. This information was obtained through interviews with several of Ms. Feng's former classmates."
...
The air seemed to freeze.
Chu Xiao sat motionless in the large office chair.
Her calm and composed face was reflected on the screen.
Feng Youjing.
Huo Lin.
First love.
So, they're not just business rivals. It seems there's also an emotional entanglement from decades ago involved.
The forces behind it.
A contract of servitude.
expansion.
Annexation.
This almost certainly confirms that Jane's is not an ordinary business entity, but rather a core pillar and vanguard of the power faction behind it in the business world.
Core pillar.
pioneer.
This illustrates that if one suffers, all suffer; if one prospers, all prosper.
Jane's ties are so deep that there is no way for her to extricate herself.
Chu Xiao slowly leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
In this light, what she inherited was not a business empire, but a position in a war machine that would live and die alongside some behemoth.
Jian Aotian collapsed, and now she's the one operating the machine.
She did have some suspicions about Jian's father before, after all, given the size of the Jian family, it would be abnormal if they didn't have any powerful backers.
But to everyone's surprise, the Jian family was not trying to negotiate with a tiger at all; they were the sharpest fang on the tiger's back.
Jane's father's car accident...
Who exactly did this?
Chu Xiao rubbed the blood diamond on his thumb.
Or is it... that the rival forces above have begun a counterattack and purge? Has something drastic happened above, shaking their position, to the point that the other side dares to directly uproot one of the core pillars of this force?
If that's the case, then the Jian family's doom is imminent.
After reviewing the information, Chu Xiao understood very well that because the Jian family had made too many enemies, chosen too many sides too firmly, and were too deeply bound together, once they lost power, they would face a purge and division that would be a hundred times more severe than what the Huo family had experienced back then…
As the newest leader on the scene, she will also be the first target to be torn apart.
Jian Bing might have escaped unscathed because she hadn't been deeply involved in the core business, but Chu Xiao had no chance.
But another, more imminent threat also emerged.
Huo Chengrong.
According to available information, Huo Chengrong was personally raised and educated by Huo Lin, who placed high hopes on him.
As you can tell from the name, "Chengrong" means to inherit the glory of the Huo family.
This is the eldest son of the Huo family who had a deep affection for his father but mysteriously disappeared.
What kind of deep-seated hatred must he harbor for the Jian family, who drove his father to his death and seized his family business?
He couldn't shake the behemoth behind the Jian family, so all his hatred would inevitably be directed at the Jian family...
If he hadn't died... then would Jane's father's car accident have been the first step in his revenge?
Chu Xiao suddenly found himself sitting on the crater of a volcano about to erupt, with a bottomless abyss below.
On one side, there is a potentially devastating storm from a higher level, which, once it strikes, would leave us utterly defenseless.
On the other side, there is a possible vengeful spirit, carrying a deep-seated blood feud, this spirit walking in the darkness has already bared its poisoned fangs.
It's just a melodramatic novel she wrote...
Chu Xiao suddenly opened her eyes.
"Heh, interesting."
She gave a cryptic smile, her eyes revealing a bottomless chill.
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