Chapter 283 — Upheaval at the Board Meeting

To raise one's hand against Gu Pengzhan's proposal might well curry favor with Jin Gubang, but it would offend both Gu Pengzhan and Xie Guangbo—two of the largest shareholders—at once. In such a bargain, those shareholders would surely weigh their options carefully.

This too was a clever move on Gu Pengzhan's part: by transferring power to another major shareholder, he left Jin Gubang and the rest with nothing to say, nothing to fault.

Clever as it was, however, Gu Pengzhan had still miscalculated.

When Jin Gubang heard Gu Pengzhan's proposal, he was stunned for a moment—then his heart burst into bloom. Gu Pengzhan, oh Gu Pengzhan, you old fox, scheming so relentlessly to whittle down the power in my hands—but what now?

Had you simply forced the matter and reclaimed my authority for yourself, the board would surely have approved it; after all, you are the chairman, and the other shareholders would hardly have contradicted you—at worst you would have been left with a reputation for being heavy-handed. But now? You have actually handed the entertainment division to Xie Guangbo?

Haha, haha—Jin Gubang nearly laughed aloud. This Xie Guangbo was his ultimate trump card, his final ace in the hole.

In truth, acquiring this final ace had been pure luck, a complete accident. Had Gu Pengzhan made his move a few days earlier, Jin Gubang would have had no countermeasure at all, for at that time he and Xie Guangbo had no dealings whatsoever.

But now Xie Guangbo needed him. Without his help, Xie Guangbo could forget about ever getting his son back.

Xie Guangbo had a son abroad who indulged in every vice—wine, women, gambling, whoring, drugs—and had not only racked up enormous gambling debts but had also fallen into drug addiction, ending up owing more than a hundred million in loan-shark debt.

Though Xie Guangbo was the company's third-largest shareholder, he had little cash on hand; most of his assets were blue-chip stocks and real estate. To produce a hundred million at a moment's notice to pay off his son's debts was all but impossible.

Yet the money could not go unpaid. His son was abroad, held in the grip of the local underworld; if the debt was not raised and paid within a month, they would cut off the boy's hands and feet.

With no way out, Xie Guangbo could only exploit his position overseeing the company's finance department and try to misappropriate a sum of public funds, intending to return it once he was solvent again.

But though he managed the finance department, releasing a sum that large required the signature of the chairman or vice-chairman. He dared not approach Gu Pengzhan, so he could only pin his hopes on the vice-chairman, Jin Gubang.

Naturally, he dared not state the matter outright; he merely hinted at it obliquely to Jin Gubang. To his surprise, the two struck a chord at once. Jin Gubang had no other demand—he asked only that Xie Guangbo support him with all his strength whenever he should need it.

Xie Guangbo knew what this meant: taking sides. In an ordinary company, the three largest shareholders kept a relative independence from one another; if any two of them drew too close, it was a threat to the third.

But Xie Guangbo had no choice. Compared with everything else, his son's life mattered most. If the boy died, all was lost—what use would all the money in the world be then? He himself had lived more than half his life already; how much could he spend in the years remaining? Would it not all go to his children and grandchildren in the end? And with no son, what grandchildren could there be?

So Xie Guangbo made a difficult decision: to throw in his lot entirely with Jin Gubang. He knew well what that meant. Since Jin Gubang had made this demand for allegiance, he was telling Xie Guangbo plainly that he was preparing to contend with Gu Pengzhan for power.

At today's board meeting, Xie Guangbo had not expected Gu Pengzhan to move against Jin Gubang so soon—and that the beneficiary would turn out to be himself. In times past, he would certainly not have declined such a windfall; but now, he dared not take it.

He had already formed a strategic alliance with Jin Gubang, and so he must at all times consider Jin Gubang's interests. He raised his head and glanced at Jin Gubang, saw that Jin Gubang was looking back at him, and gave an almost imperceptible nod to show that he understood.

Only then did Jin Gubang, his smile at its warmest, take up Gu Pengzhan's words: "Heh heh, what Chairman Chu says is certainly reasonable. But since the matter concerns me, I shall say nothing further."

At Jin Gubang's words, Gu Pengzhan was slightly taken aback. He had expected Jin Gubang to be the first to leap up in opposition; never had he imagined that Jin Gubang would keep silent and choose to abstain. Such an attitude was rather ambiguous.

Could it be that Jin Gubang had left no leverage whatsoever in the entertainment division, and feared no hold over him? Gu Pengzhan frowned, sensing that something was surely amiss at today's board meeting. But precisely what was wrong, he could not work out.

Since Jin Gubang himself voiced no objection, naturally none of the other directors opposed Gu Pengzhan's proposal either—when you yourself did not object, no one would go out of their way to offend Gu Pengzhan on your account.

And so, without question, the board approved Gu Pengzhan's proposal to "lighten Jin Gubang's load."

"Heh heh, since no one objects, then the company's entertainment division shall henceforth be placed in Chairman Xie's charge." Gu Pengzhan had not expected today's board meeting to go so smoothly. Though he sensed something strange in his heart, weakening Jin Gubang's power was a good thing nonetheless.

"Chairman Chu, since this matter concerns me personally, perhaps I might offer a word of advice?" Xie Guangbo spoke up, his tone mild and unhurried.

"Oh?" Gu Pengzhan was briefly taken aback, his heart giving a sudden lurch. "Whatever Director Xie wishes to say, please, speak freely."

"Heh heh, I was thinking—the entertainment division has been managed quite well by Vice Chairman Jin. There is really no need to transfer it to me, is there?" Xie Guangbo said, settling back at his ease. "We cannot, over a trifling accident like this, dismiss Vice Chairman Jin's achievements and abilities wholesale. Under his management, the company's entertainment division still turns a profit of nearly ten million every year. And I would not dare claim I possess Vice Chairman Jin's formidable managerial skill, so I do not recommend handing over the entertainment division he currently oversees to me. My apologies, Chairman—my own abilities are limited, and I decline."

Gu Pengzhan's pupils contracted sharply, his gaze fixed hard upon Xie Guangbo. Since when had this fellow been mixed up with Jin Gubang? How had they come to stand on the same side? That Xie Guangbo would actually speak up for Jin Gubang—

And this was no ordinary favor, either. To push away the entertainment division that had already been within his grasp—unless the two of them had privately struck some agreement, who would turn down the great cake set before his eyes and shove it into another's hands?