Chapter 308 — Leave It to Me

Wei Zhao waved a hand. "I have no craving for that sort of thing. I don't care for smoking."

Gu Pengzhan did not mind. He casually handed it to Qing Bo.

"Xiao Yi, Uncle Chu has run into some trouble." Gu Pengzhan had no idea why the old man of his household had told him to seek out Wei Zhao, for he truly could not fathom how Wei Zhao, aside from being able to keep Gu Mengyao from harm, could possibly have any business meddling in his company's affairs.

Surely Wei Zhao had no experience in such matters?

"It's about the company, isn't it?" Before Gu Pengzhan could finish, Wei Zhao had already guessed the gist of it. The only thing that could be troubling Gu Pengzhan at this moment was, presumably, company business.

"Yes, it's about the company." Gu Pengzhan nodded, making no attempt to hide it. Since he meant to seek Wei Zhao's help, naturally he would not be secretive. "In the company, the second and third largest shareholders have joined forces. Once those two combine, the directors on good terms with them will all lean to their side. Right now, they are preparing to convene a board meeting to re-elect the chairman..."

Hearing this, Wei Zhao waved a hand. "Uncle Chu, there's no need for such detail. I don't understand company operations. Right now I only want to be clear on one point: once these two have joined forces, are they certain to threaten your position in the company?"

"Yes. They have run the company for many years, and each has his own network. On the board, several directors are on good terms with them. If they unite, I will lose without question." Gu Pengzhan spoke bluntly.

Wei Zhao nodded, knitting his brows slightly as he sank into thought. Gu Pengzhan did not interrupt. After all, Wei Zhao had never dealt with company matters, and he would need some time to digest it all.

But unexpectedly, Wei Zhao suddenly asked a rather peculiar question. "These second and third largest shareholders you mentioned—how did they get along before?"

"Before?" Gu Pengzhan was taken aback, then grew somewhat indignant. "Before—at least as far as I could see—their relationship was not good. You know as well as I do that among the three largest shareholders, myself included, each has a certain say on the board. There was no question of anyone currying favor with anyone. So at least in my eyes, relations between those two were tense! But for some reason, at Sunday's board meeting, the two of them actually joined forces... That is what caught me most off guard. So they had been colluding all along, the two of them, working hand in glove!"

"Ha," Wei Zhao laughed. "Uncle Chu is too close to the matter to see it clearly."

"Too close to the matter to see it clearly?" Gu Pengzhan was startled.

"Perhaps they did not collude long ago at all—perhaps they only colluded on the spot?" Wei Zhao shrugged and went on. "Of course, that is only my guess. When something abnormal happens, there must be a cause. I think there is surely some secret here that no one knows."

Gu Pengzhan nodded. "Xiao Yi, your guess is quite right, but when they joined forces no longer matters. What matters is how I should deal with their alliance."

"Ha... Why deal with them?" Wei Zhao smiled. "Has Uncle Chu never considered dividing them, setting them against each other, or simply turning one of them?"

Though Wei Zhao had never run a company, in the past, when facing enemies, his most common tactic had been to divide and destroy them, or to stir up internal strife outright, letting them slaughter one another first. Of course, turning one of them was also a fine method.

"Oh?" Gu Pengzhan was startled. All he had been thinking about was how to deal with the alliance between Jin Gubang and Xie Guangbo. He had never once considered dividing them, turning one, or setting them at each other's throats.

"Tell me about these two shareholders. Who is the ringleader?" Wei Zhao asked.

"The company's two largest shareholders are Jin Gubang and Xie Guangbo. Jin Gubang is the one I have been trying to deal with all along—those attacks on Yaoyao before, they were all his doing! At Sunday's board meeting, I was actually going to use the amusement park affair to move against Jin Gubang, but who would have thought Xie Guangbo would suddenly leap out..." With that, Gu Pengzhan recounted the situation at the time to Wei Zhao. "...Old Xie is a man who usually keeps his head down and says little, and he doesn't much contend for power. Who would have thought that this time he would get mixed up with Jin Gubang?"

Hearing Gu Pengzhan's account, Wei Zhao gained a certain understanding of the company's two largest shareholders. This Jin Gubang was the ringleader of this affair; turning him was basically out of the question. That left Xie Guangbo, whom Gu Pengzhan had mentioned, as the key to resolving the matter.

Just as Gu Pengzhan had said, this man's usual conduct was utterly at odds with how he had behaved on Sunday. So the saying held true: when something abnormal happens, there must be a cause. Wei Zhao decided to start with this man.

"All right, since that is the case, Uncle Chu, leave this matter to me. I will handle it." Wei Zhao nodded. "Where does Xie Guangbo live?"

"Xie Guangbo... Xiao Yi, you're not going to go murder and plunder, are you?" Gu Pengzhan was stunned, looking at Wei Zhao with some worry.

"Don't worry, I won't kill Xie Guangbo." Wei Zhao gave Gu Pengzhan a reassuring smile. "Though killing him would be the once-and-for-all solution, by what you said before, killing Xie Guangbo would be less useful than killing Jin Gubang outright! Since I have set my sights on Xie Guangbo, there is no way I would resort to such a method."

Of course, Wei Zhao had considered simply doing away with Jin Gubang outright. He merely did not want to bring Gu Pengzhan any unnecessary trouble. If Jin Gubang died, he was, after all, the second-largest shareholder of the Gu Group. The death of some small fry would have been nothing, but the death of a shareholder was bound to draw attention. Wei Zhao still wanted to live quietly in Songshan City, so for the time being he had no wish to invite trouble.

"Then that's good!" Gu Pengzhan nodded. "Xie Guangbo lives in the Qianhua Shui'an residential complex, in the private villa district F. The sixth villa is his home.

"I understand. Leave it to me," Wei Zhao said. "I'll go see him and have a talk right now."

"Be careful..." Gu Pengzhan was not sure whether seeking out Wei Zhao had been the right move, but since even the old man at home had said as much, he had to give it a try. "Xie Guangbo is no ordinary man. He has a bodyguard too, and a skilled one at that!"

"Too"? Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly and could not help glancing at Qing Bo. He had mentioned a Yellow-rank expert once before, and at the time Qing Bo's expression had shifted somewhat. Could it be that his suspicion was right, and Qing Bo was an expert among experts?

Still, he had never sensed any energy from the man, nor any ripple of what was called "true qi." Could Qing Bo be an external-school expert?