While the Fenghua group was busy with the upcoming shareholder's meeting, Chen Guo Tao was sitting in his chair at the top of the Qing Mao group's headquarter building, observing and scheming his next moves.
"Dad, which side of the Song family do you think will win?" Chen Yi Xian asked with a wicked smile as she took a sip of her freshly brewed coffee. From the tone of how she said it, it probably didn't matter to Chen Yi Xian if either side loses. She was asking that question just for the sake of amusement.
"Hard to say, to be honest. If you asking me, I obviously want to see Ji Ling win - if she couldn't stand her ground, we will have to find someone else more expensive to cooperate with," Chen Guo Tao said, then lowered his head to light his cigar.
"By the way," he suddenly asked, "have you caught ears of what Song Shi Cheng said to Lee Dong Sheng the other day?"
Chen Yi Xian shook her head, "Not much from my sources. Song Chi Cheng came in before the office hours. Apart from one staff who was kicked out immediately, there wasn't much people to hear what they were saying. However, I heard that Song Shi Cheng was looking relieved when he left the building."
"Huh," Chen Guo Tao's eyes flashed for a bit as he tipped his cigar, "that's strange. He might have actually gotten Lee Dong Sheng to help him."
"Dad, maybe the Song Family decided to sell their stocks to Lee Dong Sheng."
"I doubt it," Chen Guo Tao shook his head immediately, "As incompetent as Ji Ling is in her management skills, she isn't dumb enough to do something like that. No, no. Selling the stocks would just make the Song family be in a much worse shape than it is now. She knows at least that much."
"All the more curious, then," Chen Yi Xian said as the thought of Song Shi Cheng suddenly came to her. Now she thought about it, that playboy was acting a little strange after he came out of the hospital.
Chen Guo Tao said calmly as he puffed out a chain of smoke, "Let's not be too hesitant. We'll know what' going on in a few days."
"Dad, are you going to cancel the marriage if Ji Ling loses to Song Chun Lin?"
"You want to see your sister being married off right now, don't you?" Chen Guo Tao replied with a smile.
"Well, I didn't say that," Chen Yi Xian responded with her own prideful smile, "but I would really like it if I get to see her less. Don't you like it too, Dad? Since I'm not the one getting married, I can visit you a lot more often!"
"Yi Zhi…" Chen Guo Tao shook his head and smiled, but then quickly turned into a much more sombre look and began to say something rather unusual.
"If Ji Ling loses this time, I don't think I would want to marry off your sister immediately…"Chen Guo Tao said mysteriously.
Unusual indeed. Chen Yi Xian never thought that her father would have any affection towards Chen Xiao Yan. But her confusion was quickly cleared by Chen Guo Tao's next line.
"Your sister had always been on good terms with Ye Tian, hadn't she? Now that Ye Tian had been so quiet lately, I'm starting to wonder if he's working on sort of large project with the Ma Family…"
Oh, that's what it is!
Even though Chen Xiao Yan was just about to be married, Chen Guo Tao was hoping to use her to spy on Ye Tian and the Ma Family! What a cunning businessman!
"Do you want me to confirm it from Ye Tian? If you allow it, I'll make contact with him right away!" Chen Yi Xian asked enthusiastically.
Just as Chen Guo Tao was still contemplating about his next move, both his phone and Chen Yi Xian's started ringing at the same time.
After they looked into their phone, the father and daughter both looked at each other in surprise.
Inside Chen Guo Tao's inbox was a simple message: Lee Dong Sheng has decide to side with Ji Ling!
"What a surprise!" Chen Guo Tao laughed out in a pleasant and loud voice, "Turns out my son-in-law is more capable than I thought he'd be! He actually persuaded that greedy bastard!"
"Dad, Song Shi Cheng wants to invite you to dinner to tonight," Chen Yi Xian told Chen Guo Tao.
"How very similar in our thinking! I wanted to see him as well! Yi Xian, tell him to go pay a visit to his father-in-law's house tonight."
Chen Guo Tao then said in a more authoritative voice, "You don't need to attend, though. Go check out what Ye Tian's been up to lately. Now."
As Chen Yi Xian was admiring her father's diligence, a strange question suddenly came to her at the same time, and that was:
How much profit would he sell me for?
...…
While Song Shi Cheng was texting to Chen Yi Xian, his ears were filled with the sound of Lee Dong Sheng ranting across the assembly room.
"Are you all so bored that your balls are starting itch? The Song family just their funeral! What the fuck are you all thinking, rambling about getting rid of Old Song's remaining family? Have you people all forgotten how generous Old Song was he was alive? Hey, fuck y'all! What's wrong with you: your head, your humanity or your sense of moral?"
Song Shi Cheng had already knew it, but Lee Dong Sheng sure sounded like an uneducated tycoon when he was cursing at others.
Lee Dong Sheng continued to rant, "I don't give a shit about the internal affairs, but if you're going to invite me to a meeting, let me just make myself clear: I don't care what any of you think you are, I'll be siding with Old Song's family until the day I die! Any move against the Song Family is a move against me, you all got that? Don't say I didn't warn you!"
As Lee Dong Sheng continued to throw insults towards almost everyone in the assembly, none of the shareholders nor the higher members of the board dared to say anything.
It wasn't Lee Dong Sheng's temper nor his wealth that made people shut up. It had to do with the fact that he was the second largest shareholder in the Fenghua group. And now that he declared to side with the largest shareholders in the group, who were Old Song's remaining family, the decision to sack Ji Ling had became nothing more than a joke.
However, Most people in the assembly didn't care too much about sacking Ji ling anyways. They were more curious about what led Lee Dong Sheng's change of heart, but even that was something which they must wonder for another time.
For now, since Song Chun Lin had clearly failed her attempt to overtake Ji Ling's position within the Fenghua group, the very next decision to be made in this meeting would be on what her punishment should be.
"Chief Ji," Lee Dong Sheng said to Ji Ling, "I have paved the roads for you. What you want to do next is completely up to you."
As Song Chun Lin heard that, her face suddenly became as pale white as a piece of paper. Her body also started shivering as though she was fearing about what was going to happen to her next.
Her punishment wouldn't go easy, that's for sure!
Ji Ling, on the other hand, was finally relieved from the pressure she was under for the last few days. As she looked towards Song Shi Cheng, who was lowering his head and playing game on his phone, she couldn't help but wonder if that business project plan was actually what saved her from Song Chun Lin.
After giving a harsh stare towards Song Chun Lin, Ji Ling began to make her announcement.
"I understand that there are many of you who question my ability to be the chairman of the board. However, since I am in this position now, what should you should be doing instead of doubting me is to trust me more than ever so that we can all work together to solve the upcoming challenges. We should not be listening to those pitiful people who will make us fight against each other!"
"Now, I have a personal 'suggestion' to make," Ji Ling said as she diverted everyone's attention to Ye Wen Sheng,.
"Since the work at hand is, I admit, a little too overwhelming for me to handle by myself, I think it'd be a good idea to appoint Ye Wen Sheng as my personal assistant in running the Fenghua groups' business. From now on, Ye Wen Sheng will help me in all matters including finance, management and business development!"