Chapter 144: Not Worth Mentioning
'Ask Kong Fei for help?'
Gu Feifei wondered if she had misheard. She desperately wanted to ask Zhou Fan if he had misspoken, but she managed to hold her tongue.
"Young man, everyone in the company knows Gu Changkong and I don't get along. You still have the nerve to come ask me for help? It's a miracle I haven't kicked him while he's down!" Kong Fei looked at Zhou Fan with great interest.
"After the Gu Family's tragedy, I met Elder Gu in Nanjiang City. I believe he isn't the type to fight a battle he isn't sure he can win. Since he chose to come back, he must have guessed that the Gu Family has been turned upside down. That means he must have an ace up his sleeve. And since almost the entire Gu Family is gone, that ace can't be within the family. It has to be an outside resource."
"Elder Gu's enemies would have thought of that too, so it couldn't be Liang Tian. He's just a front for everyone to see. The real person giving Elder Gu the confidence to return must be you—the one who's always at odds with him, arguing almost every day. Because no one would ever suspect that you would be on his side."
Zhou Fan took out his phone and displayed a message. It listed all the Gu Family's shareholders. He looked at Kong Fei, a smile in his eyes.
"Good. Very good. You truly are someone Old Gu was willing to trade a hundred-year-old Immortal Spirit Grass to befriend!" After staring at Zhou Fan for a long moment, Kong Fei suddenly broke into a hearty laugh. He sounded as if he had just seen a glimmer of hope, and he seemed gratified that his old friend's investment had paid off.
"However, with the Gu Family in its current state, even if I combine my shares with the ones Elder Liang and Feifei hold, at most we'll only be on equal footing with that punk Wang Liang. Old Gu did contact me before he came back, but I never expected his own daughter to pick him up the moment he arrived in Jiang Province, before he even had a chance to meet with us."
"Elder Kong, you can rest assured on that point. In three days at most, all of the Gu Family's shares—aside from the ones held by Wang Liang, you, and Elder Liang—will belong to Feifei. When that time comes, all you two need to do is help Feifei secure her position at the board meeting. You know as well as I do that even if Feifei holds the majority of shares, she's still too young and will have a hard time winning everyone over. She needs the support of veterans like you and Elder Liang."
Zhou Fan stood up and bowed to Kong Fei on Gu Feifei's behalf.
"Mr. Zhou, you can rest assured about that. But you just mentioned that this child, Feifei, lacks experience. What about Old Gu? Once he's free, he should be able to continue managing the Gu Family's company, right?" Kong Fei quickly stood up to help Zhou Fan rise, then asked in a seemingly casual tone.
"If Elder Gu is willing, he can continue as chairman. However, I feel that since he is getting on in years, he could give more opportunities to the younger generation. After all, this is a young person's world now, wouldn't you agree?" Zhou Fan naturally understood the meaning behind Kong Fei's words and smiled faintly. "Of course, figures like Elder Gu, you, and Elder Liang will all continue to be veterans of the Gu Group. That's why I plan to have Feifei establish a board of elders, with the three of you serving as its initial members. You can spend your days taking walks, traveling, and chatting. That would be quite nice."
Zhou Fan's meaning was already very clear: the three of them could retire. From now on, Gu Feifei would handle the Gu Group.
Gu Feifei understood as well. Though she was surprised by Zhou Fan's words, she trusted he wouldn't harm her. She also stood and looked at Kong Fei. "Grandmaster Kong, if you're willing, I hope you'll sell me five percent of your shares. You and Grandmaster Liang can each keep ten percent to pass down to your descendants. That way, without having to do anything, the annual dividends alone will be more than enough for them to live worry-free for a lifetime."
Looking at the two young people before him and hearing their words, which were clearly meant to oust them, Kong Fei wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, the more he looked at them, the more he admired them. 'If only my own descendants could be like this!'
"Let's talk after you've succeeded. The Wang Liang of today isn't the same useless playboy he used to be. Though he's still incompetent, he has many experts by his side now. His father, Wang Tianqing, is a member of the Capital City Wang Family. He may not be from the direct line, but if the local Wang Family runs into major trouble, the Capital City Wang Family will have no choice but to intervene, whether they want to or not. After all, the honor of a major family is at stake."
Kong Fei didn't agree directly. He was quite curious to see how Zhou Fan and Gu Feifei would handle the situation, and he had also pretended to unintentionally remind them of Wang Liang's true backing.
"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Kong, but a mere Wang Family is hardly worth mentioning. Please do Feifei the favor of notifying the others that a shareholders' meeting will be held in three days." Although Zhou Fan hadn't expected this Wang Liang to be connected to the Capital City Wang Family, it was just as he said: while the Wang Family might be a behemoth in the eyes of others, to him, they were insignificant.
'He had killed Wang Tianhao, the eldest grandson of the Wang Family's direct line, without a second thought. Why would he care about someone from a branch family?'
By the time the two returned to their hotel, it was already past ten at night. At that moment, amidst the brilliant nightscape of Jiang Province, a group of people was silently sneaking in.