Chapter 0687: Father and Son

To be honest, when he saw his son come home, Father Zhao was very happy, especially with New Year's approaching, his mood was even better.

But as soon as Zhao Fusheng asked about the company, Father Zhao's face immediately darkened.

"How did you find out? Your mother told you, didn't she?"

Father Zhao looked at his son and asked with a stern face.

He knew very well that Zhao Fusheng hadn't been in Ninghai recently, so how could he possibly know about this?

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and didn't hide it from his father. He nodded: "Mom and Aunt Li both mentioned a bit. To be honest, Dad, I didn't expect things to have gotten this serious. Last time with the Qiulin Square incident, I thought it was a problem with your and Uncle Chen's decision-making. Now it seems some people just can't sit still."

Father Zhao remained silent, not saying a word.

Speaking of which, this matter had saddened him somewhat. The families that had started the business together had gradually developed their own ideas. Although the comrades hadn't said anything, everyone's intentions were clear—each had their own interests to pursue.

Apart from Chen Hai, the other comrades, including Hou Liangping, had more or less expressed a desire to take power.

In simple terms, although Father Zhao was the major shareholder initially, everyone felt that besides money, they had contributed no less effort. Why shouldn't they have a say in the company's board of directors?

Fortunately, Wanda Construction was originally set up by Father Zhao and Chen Hai alone, without the others' involvement. Otherwise, who knows how chaotic things would be now.

"If you ask me, there must be someone else pulling the strings behind this, right?"

Seeing his father silent, Zhao Fusheng had no choice but to ask himself.

Father Zhao was startled, then looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise: "How do you know?"

He was genuinely shocked by his son. He and Chen Hai had analyzed this for a long time and conducted investigations before arriving at that conclusion, yet his son had guessed it directly.

Father Zhao had always felt that his son had changed a lot over the past year or so, but he never expected Zhao Fusheng to have reached such a level.

Shrugging, Zhao Fusheng said calmly: "It's simple. With just those families, if they didn't have someone backing them, they wouldn't have thought of calling a board meeting to kick you and Uncle Chen out."

He was telling the truth. Even after equity dilution for various reasons, Father Zhao and Chen Hai, together with Li Yuan's shares, still held most of the controlling stake in the department store.

In other words, if the board voted according to equity, these people would have no chance of winning.

Speaking of this, Zhao Fusheng frowned and looked at his father: "By the way, you haven't explained to me why you didn't follow the three-tier equity division plan I mentioned back then?"

He had only just learned about this from his father. When the business first started, Zhao Fusheng had discussed with Chen Hai and others, clearly stating that the company would adopt a three-tier equity division to ensure absolute control.

But only today did Zhao Fusheng find out that his father had agreed on the surface but secretly hadn't done so. He had still used the normal equity voting method. In other words, if a board was formed based on the number of shareholders, once a vote was taken, Father Zhao wouldn't gain any advantage. He might not even secure the chairman's position and would be directly ousted.

That was why Zhao Fusheng had rushed back. After all, he couldn't stand by and watch the company his father had painstakingly built become someone else's prize.

The difference between a major shareholder and an actual manager is huge.

The former only has the right to dividends, while the latter can determine a company's direction. Moreover, at critical moments, if tricks like rights issues are played, a major shareholder can also become a minor one.

Hearing his son's words, Father Zhao's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. After a moment of silence, he said quietly: "Well, at the time, I thought your Uncle Hou and the others wouldn't have so many messy ideas."

Zhao Fusheng sighed and remained silent for a long time.

He could understand his father. After all, they had been friends for so many years, comrades-in-arms. They had supported each other through hard times. Now that they were starting a business and living well, it was natural for Father Zhao to trust them.

But the problem is that many people in this world share a common flaw: it's easy to share hardship but difficult to share wealth.

In other words, 'inequality rather than scarcity' is human nature. If everyone is poor, there might not be so many problems. Getting together for food and drink, helping each other out when in trouble—that's normal.

But conversely, if one person suddenly becomes wealthy, inevitably, those around him will become distant. Or in a situation like this, people will think: why should Father Zhao get rich while they get less? And in their view, since they started the business together, it's only right to arrange jobs for their relatives and friends in the company. Why shouldn't Father Zhao allow it?

Conflicts always accumulate over time before they erupt.

And now, driven by some external force, everything has been brought to the table.

"Who's behind this?" Zhao Fusheng asked his father after a moment of thought. This was what he most wanted to know. After all, if the other party was too powerful for him to handle, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't mind his father decisively cutting his losses.

Come on, with him around, his father could just pull Chen Hai and switch to running a construction company. The real estate industry was the hot ticket for making money in the future. As for this Wanda Department Store, well, Zhao Fusheng didn't think those people could run the company well without him.

"Qianli Group," Father Zhao replied with a bitter smile after hearing Zhao Fusheng's question.

Zhao Fusheng frowned and thought for a moment before recalling that Qianli Group was a well-known private enterprise in Ninghai City. Its boss, Ma Qianli, had made his fortune through demolition and relocation back in the day and was a notable figure in Ninghai.

That's right, the guy was involved in organized crime, though he later laundered his image.

Most importantly, Zhao Fusheng remembered clearly that Qianli Group seemed to have gone bankrupt later. He didn't know the specific reason.

In other words, this wasn't a big shot; there was no need to resort to drastic measures.

With that thought, Zhao Fusheng let out a long breath. The heavy stone that had been hanging over his heart since leaving Beijing for Ninghai finally settled. After all, unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want his father to easily give up the business they had worked so hard to build. This company embodied the efforts of the whole family.