Chapter 53

Chapter 53

As the temporary shareholders' meeting of the Zhou family concluded, the restructuring of the board of directors saw Zhou Heting and his son being ousted from the Zhou family board. The news of the Zhou family deciding to divest from Zhou's Film Company quickly spread within the industry.

For a while, industry insiders were in turmoil. The already struggling Zhou's Film Company saw its stock price plummet again below one yuan due to the adverse news.

This left the shareholders, who had still been holding out hope for the Zhou family and Zhou Yueze, in a panic.

"How did this happen?"

"Does this company even have any money left in its accounts? For the Zhou family to divest at this critical moment, are they trying to force us into bankruptcy? Isn't this about cutting our losses and abandoning the weaker parts to save the stronger ones?"

"After all these years, Zhou's Film Company has worked tirelessly for the Zhou family. Now that the company is in trouble, the Zhou family wants to completely wipe us out. Don't they fear that we'll go down fighting?"

Faced with the shareholders' accusations, Zhou Yueze, filled with anger, responded, "It's not that we want to abandon the weaker parts to save the stronger ones; it's that the Ye family has no intention of leaving us any way out."

At the temporary shareholders' meeting yesterday, Ye Linyuan not only removed Zhou Heting from the position of Chairman but also dismissed all the directors placed in the board by the Zhou family on the pretext of scandal, making it clear that he intended to completely eradicate the Zhou family’s influence.

Before he could finish, one of the shareholders interrupted him harshly, "That's your own doing!"

"Exactly! We've warned you before to leave some room for maneuver. Don't offend the Ye family just to promote newcomers. But you refused to listen."

"Now that things have turned out this way, none of us can fix this mess."

In the past, Zhou Yueze was the eldest young master of the Zhou family. They respected Zhou Heting, and although they were dissatisfied with Zhou Yueze's various actions, they didn’t dare to confront him directly.

But now, with the Zhou father-son duo being expelled from the Zhou family board and their personal feud dragging down Zhou's Film Company, the other shareholders could no longer hold back.

"You, as the president, take full responsibility for the collapse of Zhou's Film Company!"

Irritated and provoked, Zhou Yueze sneered when he heard someone boldly declare this, "Take full responsibility? For what? If you hadn’t let your lust get the better of you, and run off to force yourself on Liu Rumei, pushing her into Ye Mingzhao’s arms, Ye Mingzhao wouldn't have so easily found a handle on our company."

"Now, the artists under our company are involved in scandals. Numerous brands are calling to cancel their contracts, and many film projects have been forced to halt. I haven't pursued your responsibility, and yet you dare to raise your voice at me? Do you think I won't send you to prison?"

Upon hearing Zhou Yueze's threat, Zhao Chengfu’s expression changed.

After working together for so many years, Zhao Chengfu was well aware of the underhanded tactics of the Zhou father-son duo. Besides, he had his own pile of debts that weren’t yet settled.

That madwoman Liu Rumei, without any regard for her image and reputation as a popular actress, had wildly accused him in front of the police and media reporters.

Although Zhao Chengfu had already hired a water army to spread rumors about Liu Rumei being promiscuous and trading favors for resources, attempting to spin the incident as a consensual adult affair, Zhao Chengfu had forced himself on many female artists over the years. However, unlike Liu Rumei, the others weren’t as determined or particular. A few resources and benefits were enough to settle matters with them. Even if they wanted to backtrack now, they couldn’t cause much of a stir.

But that was only in comparison to outsiders.

For Zhou Yueze, who was tied to the same fate, no matter how cleanly Zhao Chengfu had handled things, he couldn’t bypass Zhou Yueze, the one who knew everything. In fact, many of the resources Zhao Chengfu promised to the actresses were obtained from Zhou Yueze.

Hearing Zhou Yueze's threat, Zhao Chengfu, despite his dissatisfaction, could only swallow his anger.

—Even though the Zhou father-son duo had been kicked out of the Zhou family board by the Ye family, the Zhou family was still the second-largest shareholder of the Zhou family business. A small investor like Zhao Chengfu couldn’t afford to cross them.

"Mr. Zhou, don't take his words to heart. Old Zhao is just desperate. As shareholders, most of our assets are invested in Zhou's Film Company. Once the Zhou family divests, Zhou's Film Company will enter bankruptcy liquidation. When that happens, all of us will suffer losses."

Seeing the tense atmosphere, someone immediately stepped in to mediate.

Zhao Chengfu also quickly added, "Exactly! I was afraid that the company might really go bankrupt, so I spoke out of turn. Mr. Zhou, I've invested my entire fortune in the company. If it goes under, I won't live either."

Zhou Yueze thought, if you want to die, then go ahead, but in front of so many shareholders, he couldn’t say it out loud. He could only force down his anger and say, "The divestment was a proposal initiated by Ye Linyuan at the temporary shareholders' meeting. All the shareholders voted, and even my father couldn't stop it."

"What should we do then?" Everyone grew anxious at these words.

Initially, they were willing to invest in Zhou's film company to curry favor with Zhou Yueze and his father, hoping to gain more benefits. But now, even though Zhou Yueze and his father have been removed from the board, they remain the second-largest shareholders in the Zhou family.

These pawns might end up losing everything they've invested.

At that moment, the eyes of several shareholders blazed with anger.

Zhou Yueze understood that these people were the backbone of Zhou's film company and were very familiar with its internal secrets. If he couldn't pacify them, their betrayal would cause more trouble for the Zhou father and son.

Therefore, Zhou Yueze patiently reassured everyone, "Even if the Zhou family withdraws its investment, we can find other capital to take over Zhou's film company. You need to trust my father's network and reputation. A mere film company—we Zhou family can invest in it ourselves if needed."

"Our top priority now is to get the company back on track as quickly as possible. At least we need to start a few projects to regain the confidence of shareholders and the market."

*

"According to relevant regulations, if the share price of Zhou's film company falls below one yuan for twenty consecutive days at the close, it will be forcibly delisted!"

At the same time, Chu Hengyi was once again seizing the opportunity to chatter with Ye Mingzhao.

The rich aroma of cumin filled the warm villa corridor.

Chu Hengyi deftly flipped the meat skewers on the stove and sprinkled a handful of chili powder on them. The flames leaped up, and the hot tongues of fire licked the already sizzling and oily ingredients without restraint. The smell of barbecue gradually spread.

Ye Mingxi handed Chu Hengyi the freshly skewered corn kernels, asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, and eggplants, and said with a smile, "This is Mom’s low-calorie dinner for tonight, so go easy on the chili."

Ever since that night they had a feast at a food stall, the Ye family felt like they’d discovered a whole new world.

In the following days, barbecue, hotpot, spicy crayfish, snail noodles, durian party—the list went on.

At Chu Hengyi's recommendation, the Ye family began to try different flavors. Later, Ye Mingxi, who often sneaked out for late-night snacks in college, eagerly suggested his favorites—fried snails and grilled oysters.

This time, however, the Ye family didn’t go out to crowded food stalls. Instead, they invited the chefs to their home or did it themselves, enjoying the abundance of their own efforts.

The usually opulent villa was now filled with rich aromas. Even the usually reserved Ye Mingchen slurped down a bowl of snail noodles. Meanwhile, Xueball and a few large black dogs covered their ears and noses, fleeing in embarrassment and refusing to enter the villa for days.

But the Ye family ate to their heart's content.

Chu Hengyi handed the grilled beef skewers to Ye Mingzhao, who casually distributed them to others. Chu Hengyi continued, "From what I know about Zhou Yueze, he will not give up on Zhou's film company easily. Next, he will definitely try to bring in other investors."

"Are you planning to send someone to play the role of this white knight?"

Once the dust settles, this person would emerge as the puppet master behind Zhou’s film company. I wonder if Zhou Yueze will be so furious he’ll spit blood.

Ye Mingzhao glanced at Chu Hengyi and slowly chewed the skewer. Although his actions were somewhat rough, Ye Mingzhao had an inexplicable elegant and unrestrained demeanor.

Under the moonlight, it was quite pleasing to the eye.

Chu Hengyi observed for a moment and urged, "Am I right?"

"No," Ye Mingzhao said lightly, "A film company like Zhou's isn't worth my scheming."

What was more important was that there were too many hidden dangers buried within Zhou's film company. Even with the original script in hand, Ye Mingzhao couldn't easily determine how deep the waters were.

Instead of trying to acquire Zhou’s film company, Ye Mingzhao preferred to simply knock over this hollowed-out sandcastle.

"The most valuable assets of Zhou's film company are the real estate under the company's name, the accumulated IP over the years, and the mature distribution channels."

Distribution channels are in the hands of people, and people can switch jobs. The real estate and IP can be packaged and sold during bankruptcy liquidation.

Besides, Ye Mingzhao isn’t particularly interested in the real estate and IP. Even if he wanted to buy Zhou's film company’s real estate and IP, he could bid for them at an auction. So Ye Mingzhao couldn’t think of any compelling reason to take over Zhou's film company.

Chu Hengyi raised an eyebrow and handed the grilled vegetables to Ye Mingxi, who was already breathing deeply in anticipation. He then turned to look at Ye Mingzhao. "You didn’t think so before… did you?"

Ye Mingzhao’s dark eyes clearly reflected Chu Hengyi. He stared at Chu Hengyi for a moment, then broke into a sudden smile. "I’ve always been unpredictable."

Got a problem with that?