Hua Yue’s first shareholders’ meeting of 2014 ended in an extremely strange way.
As soon as the meeting broke up, Lin Shuwen and the Chen sisters immediately rushed over to Sister Shan.
“Sister Shan, Sister Shan, what on earth is going on? Wasn’t President Tong planning to retire? Why did he suddenly…”
“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to your office!”
Lin Shuwen nodded, and the four of them returned to her office together.
After Lin Shuwen locked the door, she asked, “Sister Shan, can you tell us now?”
“I don’t know the specifics either. I only heard from President Tong’s nanny that his precious son came home on New Year’s Day and said something to President Tong, and the two of them reached an agreement.
That’s why President Tong decided to stay on at the company for another two years and wait for the result of this agreement.
At first, President Tong even wanted me to be the president’s assistant, but I thought about it and declined.
The position of president’s assistant is different from Xiao Qin’s role as board secretary—it’s not that easy to take on.
Although the rank isn’t high, it allows direct communication with President Tong. It’s essentially like President Tong planting his ears and eyes inside the company.
If I really took that job, it would be no different from putting myself on the opposite side of Old Zhu and his people.”
Lin Shuwen was a little surprised. “Huh? Sister Shan, aren’t you a firm ‘royalist’?”
“I’m not any kind of ‘royalist.’ I just have feelings for this company. There are some things I’ve never told you, so I might as well make them clear today.
Wenwen, you must be wondering why I’m almost 40 and still haven’t gotten married or had children, right?”
Lin Shuwen nodded. She was indeed quite curious about Sister Shan’s situation.
In Lin Shuwen’s impression, Sister Shan was a really good person—warm and generous with people, meticulous and serious at work, and organized in everything she did.
Sister Shan wasn’t bad-looking either. She was just a bit on the heavy side—about 120 jin at 1.6 meters.
On top of that, she had a fiery temper and a mouth like a machine gun.
But these small flaws were really nothing compared to Sister Shan’s strengths.
More importantly, Sister Shan could make money. Sister Shan’s studio was one of only two affiliated studios under Hua Yue Entertainment. The studio had two A-list movie stars, a top-tier idol like Zhou Ping, and a rising singer like herself.
Besides that, there were also several actors affiliated with the studio who had little to do with the company.
Lin Shuwen and the others who had signed contracts with the company weren’t subject to commission from Sister Shan, but for affiliated actors who had nothing to do with Hua Yue Entertainment, Sister Shan would take a cut after helping them secure various resources.
Add to that the dividends from Hua Yue Entertainment, and Lin Shuwen felt that Sister Shan’s annual income was probably around ten million.
A woman earning that much money could easily afford to keep a pretty boy, right? Yet Sister Shan had always been alone, which Lin Shuwen found quite strange.
“Wenwen, the truth is, I can’t have children.”
“Ah? Is it a physical reason? Or…”
“It’s an old illness from before. I was only 20 at the time. I went against my family’s wishes and followed a man from our village to Shanghai.
My hometown is a mountain village so poor it couldn’t be any poorer. When he and I first arrived in Shanghai, we were dazzled by the prosperity of the big city and were determined to stay here.
To achieve that goal, the two of us worked and saved money together. I worked in a restaurant kitchen, and he worked at a nightclub.
At the time, I naively thought we were both working to earn money for a better life together.
Little did I know, he had already gotten involved with a colleague at the nightclub. He was even running out all the time while I was pregnant.
I felt something was off, so I followed him—and that’s when I caught them in the act.
I had a huge fight with him. He got so angry and embarrassed from my scolding that he grabbed my head and slammed it against the wall, knocking me unconscious. Then he ran home, took all our money, and fled.
When I woke up, it was already the next day. I was in the hospital—a kind passerby had found me and called for an ambulance. But by the time I was brought to the hospital, the baby was already gone. And because I wasn’t treated in time, my body suffered some damage. It would be very difficult for me to have children in the future.
At that time, I was in complete despair. I even went to the riverside to end my life.
Just as I was about to step into the water, I met Sister Hong. Sister Hong is President Tong’s wife. She pulled me back and took me under her wing.
Later, Sister Hong and President Tong founded Hua Yue Entertainment together, and I started learning to be a manager to help share Sister Hong’s burden.
Five years ago, Sister Hong passed away from stomach cancer. At the time, she held 12.1% of Hua Yue Entertainment’s shares. She divided this into three parts—her son and daughter each got 5%, and the remaining 2.1% was left to me.
Now, the shares of Tong Mingwei and his sister are held on their behalf by President Tong. Combined with President Tong’s own 42% stake, that means President Tong holds 52% of the voting rights. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the company is his personal domain.
And ever since Sister Hong passed away, President Tong hasn’t had the heart to manage the company. If it weren’t for the fact that neither of his children are interested in Hua Yue Entertainment, President Tong would probably have retired long ago.
Do you remember what I told you before—that unless Hua Yue Entertainment goes under, I will absolutely never leave?”
Lin Shuwen was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
To be honest, she didn’t remember Sister Shan saying that. Most likely Sister Shan had said it to Luo Ming, but that didn’t stop her from nodding along.
“Now do you understand why?”
“I understand. Sister Shan, you’re not a ‘royalist’—you chose to stay at the company all this time to repay Sister Hong’s kindness.”
“Something like that! Sister Hong’s last wish was for Hua Yue Entertainment to keep getting better and better. If it were the old President Tong, I believe he could have made that happen.
The current President Tong lost that kind of ambition long ago, so I don’t think him suddenly creating a president’s assistant position is a good thing.
It might make Old Zhu and the others think President Tong has gone back on his word and doesn’t want to hand over the company’s power anymore.
That could even lead to a conflict between the two sides, which would actually be very detrimental to the company’s future development.”
“So what do you plan to do, Sister Shan?”
“I’m having a real headache over it too. Old Zhou, Old Yan, and Old Huang have long been dissatisfied with Old Zhu and his group.
As for Wang Hongyu, he’s on Tong Mingwei’s side. Tong Mingwei isn’t at the company right now, so he’s definitely in bed with President Tong and them.
So if you count it up, the distribution department, TV drama production department, music department, and technology department are on one side.
And Old Zhu’s side has the finance department, film production department, business department, logistics department, and the artist training and management department.”
“That’s quite a clear division. Sister Shan, is the company really going to end up in some kind of confrontation?” Lin Shuwen asked with some concern.
“That won’t happen. The company was founded for money, plain and simple. Hua Yue Entertainment’s stock price has been rising steadily, and in another year or two it might break ten billion.
With that in mind, neither side would want Hua Yue Entertainment to actually split internally.
It’s just that going forward, everyone will be a bit more guarded when doing things, and over time, some friction will inevitably develop between them.
By then, there might be two different voices within the company, and it won’t be able to operate the way it does now, with everyone pulling in the same direction.”
Hearing this, Lin Shuwen fully understood Sister Shan’s worries.
At the same time, Lin Shuwen also realized that Sister Shan alone couldn’t change this situation—and that sense of powerlessness was what made things hardest for Sister Shan.
Clever Chen Junmiao had obviously thought of this too. She tried to comfort Sister Shan, saying, “Sister Shan, we just need to do our own jobs well.”
“I know what I should do. I’m just a bit lost about the company’s future, that’s all!”
Meanwhile, in Tong Qifeng’s office, Mr. Zhu was sitting across from him with a dark expression.
After the two sat in silence for a few minutes, Mr. Zhu couldn’t help but speak up. “Brother-in-law, why did you suddenly create a president’s assistant position?”
Tong Qifeng didn’t answer. Instead, he couldn’t help but recall what Tong Mingwei had said to him on New Year’s Day.
Tong Qifeng truly hadn’t expected that Tong Mingwei, who had only run away from home for a few days this time, would come back so soon.
Tong Mingwei’s sister, Tong Mingyu, was also curious. She asked directly, “Little brother, how come you’re back after only a few days this time?”
“The company was on New Year’s holiday. Where else would I go if I didn’t come back?”
Tong Mingwei’s answer stunned both Tong Qifeng and Tong Mingyu.
Tong Qifeng especially—he suddenly realized that Tong Mingwei seemed different this time. He wasn’t just playing around; he genuinely wanted to stay at this company.
Tong Qifeng got a little anxious. From his perspective, he still wanted his son to inherit the company.
Tong Mingyu secretly glanced at her father’s expression and quickly asked, “Mingwei, are you serious this time?”
“Yeah, sis. I’ve found a career I want to pursue.”
“Is it reliable?”
“Don’t worry, it’s very reliable.”
“Then what about Hua Yue?” Tong Mingyu asked.
“Isn’t Old Zhu there? He’s Mom’s cousin, and we call him uncle too. Dad trusts him quite a bit as well…”
“That’s not the same!” Tong Qifeng interrupted Tong Mingwei.
“Then what do you mean, Dad? Let me say this upfront—me coming back to the company directly is impossible.”
Tong Qifeng clearly knew this too. After a moment of silence, he said, “Mingwei, let’s make a deal.”
“What deal?”
“I’ll give you two years. During these two years, I won’t interfere with any of your choices. No matter what you do, I’ll support you. After two years, if you haven’t achieved anything in that field, you come back to the company and take over my position.”
“What about Uncle then?”
“Don’t worry about him. Just tell me whether you agree or not.”
Tong Mingwei thought it over and felt this was a good solution.
At least it was a plan both sides could accept.
So Tong Mingwei readily agreed.
Because Tong Qifeng had Tong Mingwei’s promise, he promoted Zhou Jing to help him—someone who was no longer up to the task—keep control of the company.
Of course, Tong Qifeng couldn’t possibly tell Mr. Zhu this reason. He put on a stern face and said, “Jianchun, do you really not know why I did this?”
“Is brother-in-law upset because I’ve been too hard on your old subordinates? But that’s because they didn’t respect me enough. I…”
Tong Qifeng shook his head inwardly, thinking, “This Zhu Jianchun really only has that much vision.”
