Chapter 137 - Derision from the Board Members
Chapter 137 Derision from the Board Members
Xiao Bing and Yezi chatted for a while in the office. They had asked the butler to arrange Ye Bancheng, Ye Tianming, and Ye Xinyi’s funeral. Yezi had to pull herself up no matter how stressed and tired she was because there were so many things waiting for her to deal with.
Xiao Bing felt sorry for Yezi, especially when he saw how blooshot her eyes were.
Xiao Bing wondered why all the women who shared a good relationship with him had to go through so much pain. Maybe it was just like what Lil Bei had said. He was there only to protect these unfortunate women. It was also a motive, driving him to be stronger and stronger.
About 20 minutes later, the secretary knocked on the door and came in. Yezi fixed her eyes on her and asked, “Sister Li, have all the board members been notified?”
Li Huiyong seemed to be an experienced woman. She said briefly, “Missy, let me tell you this first. Your father, the former chairman of the board, held a 51 percent share of the company, which meant that he had total control of the company. Before he died, he gave five percent of the share to you and 10 percent to Big Missy. Now the chairman, the young master, and Big Missy are all gone. According to the inheritance law, you will have the entire 51 percent share.
“Besides that, there are five other shareholders. And Zhang Haide, the one who held a 15 percent share of the company, sold it to Ye Xinyi before she died. Hence, now the Ye family holds a 66 percent share, which makes the family hold most of the company’s share!”
Xiao Bing responded, “So it means that they have to obey Yezi now?”
Since the other five only covered a 36 percent share of the company, it was natural that Ye Xiaoxi had the power of discourse.
“It’s true… But…”
“But what?” questioned Xiao Bing.
“If Missy can’t make the shareholders convinced, they have the right to transfer their shares to others and leave the company. Since Ye Bancheng died, the staff here have been suffering severe mood swings. After all, there was the young master to handle the situation. The board might be willing to follow him since he had been working in the company for years. But now they have to do little Missy’s bidding. I’m afraid that…”
“They won’t obey, will they?”
“No… Doing business is like fighting a battle. The biggest taboo is changing the leader frequently, especially when the leader has little experience. The entire staff might lose their jobs if the leader makes a wrong decision.”
Staring at Li Huiyong, Yezi asked, “Ms. Li, be honest with me. Are you also thinking this way?”
Li Huiyong forced a smile. “To be honest, yes… But I owe your father a great deal. It’s your father that gave me a large sum of money when misfortune paid a visit to my family. I never got the chance to return the favor to him. So I can only stand by your side now, little Missy.”
Yezi smiled bitterly. “But not all of the people in the company owe my father a favor. They might still think I’m not worthy of this position.”
Li Huiyong sighed and said, “Actually, you have done a great job. Things might have gotten worse or out of control if you didn’t hold the board meeting on time. Now your priority is to smooth their minds, making them believe in you. They have been with the company for so many years. I believe the crisis will soon disappear if you can get their support.”
Yezi nodded and took a look at the time. She stood up and said, “There are only 10 minutes before the meeting. We should go.”
But Xiao Bing sat still. “No need to hurry,” said Xiao Bing in a deep voice.
“Why not?”
Xiao Bing said, “Today’s the first time you will hold a meeting. Punctuality is important. But it’s only a three-minute walk from here to the meeting room. We can enter the room in the last few seconds. Your aim is not to make them feel pity for you if you want to gain their favor. Profit is what businessmen treasure most. You must make them see that you are a woman of action. So we have to wait a little bit longer.”
Yezi sat down. Even though her mind was very strong, she was still uneasy. After all, it was an important event she had never encountered before. It was truly hard for a student who had only been studying in school. The shock on her face still could not conceal the nervousness deep down in her heart.
Xiao Bing kept staring at his watch. After five or six minutes, he stood up and said, “Come on, let’s go to the meeting room.”
Surprised, Li Huiyong took a glance. She had never expected she would feel Ye Bancheng’s confidence, composure, and dominance on this man. He even seemed to be younger than her.
When they arrived at the meeting room, they pushed the door open and went in and found four people sitting next to a round table. Xiao Bing took a look at the time and it was just the time the meeting should begin. According to Li Huiyong, there should be five shareholders present. So there should be another one who was either late or not coming. He hoped the situation was the former.
Xiao Bing went inside with Yezi. There were not any hints of anxiety on her face after she walked in, even though she was actually nervous. But it was truly something rare to be seen on a girl who had not set her feet in society. What Master Hou said about her was correct. There will be no laggard among the children of brave or talented men.
Xiao Bing sat next to Yezi with Lil Bei standing behind them.
The several board members’ faces seemed gloomy when they saw Xiao Bing sitting down. A bald-headed man, who seemed to be about 50, stood up and said sullenly, “Missy, this meeting is for the top managers of the Ye Group. How can you bring someone who has nothing to do with the company? I’m afraid that you are breaking the rules.”
“Yes. Rules are rules.” The others chimed in with him. “This is a shareholders’ meeting. How can you bring an outsider? Who will be responsible if he tells confidential information to others?”
“A little girl is not fit for that chair. I suggest that we elect a chairman who is highly respected by all.”
“I agree. Holding most of the share doesn’t mean that she can do whatever she wants. Not just anybody can be our chairman.”
“Ugh, I never expected that such a tragedy would happen to the Ye family. Why did the gods take away our beloved chairman and two of his children, and leave us with an innocent girl?”
Yezi finally felt the difficulty her father had to deal with. If it weren’t for his father’s firmness and cleverness, the thousands of employees wouldn’t have obeyed him in every way, especially these board members sitting here today.
These board members were still talking to each other. Obviously, they did not care about this young lady who had just passed her 20th birthday.
Xiao Bing suddenly raised his fingers and gently tapped on the table. But they were still talking. “Bang!” Xiao Bing slapped the table. The sound even startled Ye Xiaoxi and Li Huiyong, who were sitting next to him.
Startled as well, the several board members turned around and looked at Xiao Bing.
“Sorry. My hand feels itchy.” Xiao Bing took a look at his palm and murmured, “I want to punch someone when my hands feel itchy. But I haven’t decided which one I should punch. So I thought the table might be of help.”
The board members were all shocked that Xiao Bing had dared to act like a rascal in such a formal meeting. Li Huiyong laughed inwardly while lowered her head, pretending to take notes.
One of them suddenly stood up. He pointed at Xiao Bing yet stared at Ye Xiaoxi, while saying with a loud voice, “Little Missy, I don’t know who this man is to you. But we cannot allow an outsider to attend a meeting of the board members. If you insist that he should remain here, then I’m sorry. I can only leave.”
This bald old man was the first one who stood in Yezi’s way. Other board members stood up and spoke out loud. “Exactly. How can an outsider attend a meeting of the board members? It seems that little Missy still doesn’t know how things work here. I’ll leave if he stays.”
“I’ll leave too.”
“Me too.”
They all stood up and seemed to be leaving. Frowning, Ye Xiaoxi fixed her eyes on the bald-headed man, who seemed to their leader, and said, “Uncle Zhong, please wait for a second.”
The old man stopped, so did the others. They all wanted to hear what Ye Xiaoxi was about to say.
Ye Xiaoxi spoke with sincerity. “I know you all are the founders of the company. The company wouldn’t have become what it is today without you. I’m very grateful for that. And I assume that although you are not familiar with this man, you all have met him and heard of him. Let me introduce him to you. His name is Xiao Bing and he’s my boyfriend. But if he was only my friend, I wouldn’t have brought him here. He saved my father. It is he that invited Mr. Zhang, the skilled healer. Otherwise, my father could have been dead a long time ago. Though my father was still gone for some reason. Brother Xiao was the one he trusted most.”
Ye Xiaoxi’s voice was full of sadness. “My father built this empire with blood and sweat, and he once told me that you have all served the company well. He wanted me to treat you well, respect you, and take advice from you. I’m still a little girl with little experience in society. I will need suggestions from all of you if I want to run this company well. And I also need a friend on whom I can put my entire trust. Hence, before my father died, he asked Brother Xiao to help me get through this crisis.
“I’m not the only one who wants him to be here. It is also my father’s wish. And Brother Xiao is only here as my assistant to give me advice. He won’t make any decisions for me. You’re all elders. I hope you can understand.”
The board members took a look at one another. It would be cruel to this girl if they continued to leave after all of the words she just said. She even mentioned the ex-director of the board members. They had to go back to their seats and sit down again.
Relieved, Yezi smiled. “Thank you.”
Staring at Yezi, Xiao Bing found that this little girl had truly grown a lot. He recalled the three strategies she offered him after the Death Battle. That moment still lingered in his mind. Maybe her wisdom and confidence were never less than her siblings. It was just that she never liked fighting and competing. And no one taught her about this stuff. That night have been the reason why no one had noticed it before.
However, upon seeing the hints of canniness in the board members’ eyes, Xiao Bing knew that the situation still would not easily improve by just saying a few words. The true challenge had just begun.