Forcing the Palace

Mingzhu Company.

Conference room.

The sky outside the window was somewhat gloomy, making the atmosphere even more solemn and heavy.

A sense of oppression washed over them.

A storm was brewing...

A hint of gravity in her eyes, Li Ruobing looked at the shareholders seated on either side, arranged in two rows.

Twelve shareholders.

Less than half were on her side.

To outsiders, she was the CEO of Mingzhu Group, adorned with numerous accolades, glamorous and brilliant, a favored daughter of heaven; but only she knew how many pairs of eyes, hidden in the shadows, were quietly watching her from this position, waiting for her to make a mistake.

How exhausting was the back-and-forth scheming?

Those who hadn't experienced it would never know.

"Alright, everyone's here!"

Among the shareholders below, there was a short, stout, greasy middle-aged man, bald with a large belly, his physique somewhat resembling livestock kept in a pen, and his appearance was quite off-putting.

He coughed lightly, looked at Li Ruobing seated in the main position, and smiled playfully, "CEO Li, shouldn't we begin?"

Li Ruobing glanced at him indifferently.

The greasy middle-aged man was named Hu Guangyi. He was a vice president with real power in Mingzhu Group and also a major shareholder with the most shares besides Li Ruobing.

His shareholding ratio was 9.8%.

His views had always been at odds with Li Ruobing's, and he had openly opposed Li Ruobing's decisions multiple times.

"Let's begin!" Li Ruobing nodded.

The meeting had to continue; hiding was not in her nature.

"Okay, this meeting is mainly to discuss the issue of the new store in Qiantang..." Hu Guangyi was confident, slowly opening a file placed in front of him. He said, "I believe everyone is quite concerned about this matter. The new store is about to open, but the funds haven't arrived yet..."

"I want to ask the shareholders who strongly supported the development of the new store back then, what should we do now?"

"Was the new store development project a mistake?"

Hu Guangyi's words were artful. He avoided mentioning Li Ruobing directly in his speech, instead pointing towards the shareholders under Li Ruobing's command.

But everyone knew that the decision to open a new store was made by Li Ruobing.

Although the question was directed at the shareholders, in reality, the矛头 (máo tóu - spearhead/target) was pointed directly at Li Ruobing.

"Qiantang is an economic development zone, and a new commercial center will be established soon. Our decision regarding the new store development was not wrong!" An old man frowned. He was a firm supporter of Li Ruobing and had keen business investment acumen. "Investing in the Qiantang development zone is absolutely a sure profit!"

Hu Guangyi chuckled and shook his head.

"Old Bai, let's not talk about Qiantang's future development for now; the problem before us now is that the news announcement has been released, the merchant entry agreements have been signed, and the construction site is waiting for payment... But we don't have the money to pay."

Hu Guangyi did not get entangled with Old Bai on the matter of long-term benefits, but rather pointed directly at the capital chain, "If the new store cannot open on time, we will need to pay merchants liquidated damages of up to 300%, and more importantly, once the news is released that Mingzhu Company's new store cannot operate normally, it is likely to attract widespread social attention, and with some media embellishment, it may even affect the normal operation of the old stores!"

"Who should bear this responsibility?"

Hu Guangyi's gaze was sinister as he scanned the crowd, finally stopping on Li Ruobing.

Silence.

The conference room was dead silent.

"I will take responsibility."

Li Ruobing spoke indifferently, turning the pages of the file in front of her. "I have read the report. The new store needs approximately 180 million in operating funds. I will provide this money."

Hearing Li Ruobing speak, a hint of a successful smile appeared at the corner of Hu Guangyi's mouth.

Good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear!

"CEO Li, it's not that I don't believe you; but the old store's accounts no longer have the money to support the new store, and as far as I know, several banks have rejected your loan requests. I wonder, where are you going to get this money?" Hu Guangyi licked his tongue, his expression somewhat aggressive. "If you are deceiving us, we can't just follow you and worry for nothing, can we?"

"You have a large family and a large business, you don't care about Mingzhu Company, even if it collapses, you can rise again at any time; but we are different, the shares of Mingzhu Company are our entire wealth and lives..."

Li Ruobing's face was expressionless as she took out an asset appraisal report.

She slapped it on the table.

"My two properties in Bishui New Area have been appraised, and their value is over one hundred million."

Hu Guangyi raised his eyebrows, not expecting Li Ruobing to play this card.

For a descendant of a wealthy family to sell property for the company, it might seem embarrassing to others.

But Li Ruobing seemed not to care about these things.

"But... there's still a difference of nearly eighty million." The smile on Hu Guangyi's face was still cold and sinister. He had long known Li Ruobing's personality and that she wouldn't ask the Li Family for help, which was why he was somewhat unrestrained. "CEO Li, do you have any other channels to get this money?"

Li Ruobing was silent.

"Heh heh... CEO Li, how about this! Based on the current situation, I think you are no longer suitable to serve as CEO. Let all shareholders vote to re-elect someone capable of handling this crisis to become the new helmsman of Mingzhu!"

The dagger was revealed.

The cards were on the table.

Hu Guangyi had finally bared his fangs, openly revealing his ambition.

"Yes, yes! We can't all go bankrupt with Mingzhu..."

"If CEO Li can't handle it, then let someone else do it!"

"I disagreed with opening a new store in Qiantang from the start, and now something has happened, sigh..."

Among the shareholders, some echoed his sentiments.

Old Bai frowned and said, "Everyone, when CEO Li was making us money, you didn't say a single word of thanks; now that we've encountered a little risk, you start forcing her out! Ask yourselves, without CEO Li, could you have earned the wealth you have now?"

Hu Guangyi blinked, leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and laughed exaggeratedly, "Old Bai, in business, the focus is on profit. If we can make money, of course, we support her; if we can't, there's no need for us to gamble with our wealth and lives, is there?"

"If CEO Li is capable, we will follow her lead."

"If CEO Li is not capable, she should step down and let someone else take over."

"Although Mingzhu was founded by CEO Li, it... also belongs to us shareholders. Electing a CEO is our right."

The conference room was buzzing with voices.

It was clear that before the meeting began, Hu Guangyi had already done his groundwork with the shareholders. Now that he spoke, he received support from most of them.

"I disagree!" Old Bai's attitude was resolute. He swept his gaze around with icy eyes and stared at Hu Guangyi, sneering, "Old Hu, don't think I don't know what you're planning! You want to take over? You're just a nouveau riche; do you know how to run a company? Do you have the ability to guide the company through a crisis?"

"Heh heh..." Hu Guangyi's eyes were cold. He scratched his scalp and said, "I actually do... Let me tell you, if Mingzhu were under my command, I could produce 180 million yuan at any time!"

Hu Guangyi's words were already very direct.

This board meeting today was his suggestion, and his purpose was to seize power.

Li Ruobing certainly had her methods.

But a deficit of 180 million yuan was not something she could produce just by saying so.

"Let's vote by show of hands..." Hu Guangyi smiled. He was confident; he had made ample preparations. "Those who agree to re-elect the CEO, please raise your hands!"

Immediately, seven shareholders raised their hands in support.

According to the share count, these seven shareholders' shares had reached 52%, which meant...

The proposal passed!

"Wait! According to the board's regulations, unless the company's CEO has committed a major error, the board has no right to change the person!" Old Bai said in a deep voice, his face terribly grim. He hadn't expected Hu Guangyi's influence to run so deep, with over half of the shareholders choosing to support him.

"The capital chain is broken, the new store cannot operate normally, and it might even cause public outcry. Is this... not a major error?" Hu Guangyi smiled exaggeratedly. "Old Bai, I think you're getting old and your eyes are failing; you don't even have the most basic judgment anymore!"

"Hahaha!"

There was a burst of laughter in the conference room.

"For the new store, the construction site's deadline is before six o'clock tonight." Li Ruobing suddenly spoke, staring coldly at Hu Guangyi. "I will raise the money! If the money isn't in the account by the deadline, I'll step down myself; if the money is in the account, you will pay a price for what you just said!"

Hu Guangyi felt a cold sweat on his forehead under Li Ruobing's gaze.

This woman was indeed too strong.

In the past, he had difficulty even mustering the courage to speak loudly in front of her; even though she was now cornered, he still felt a trace of... fear.

But thinking of the person behind him, he regained his courage.

With that person there, Li Ruobing ultimately couldn't cause much trouble.

"CEO Li, why bother with such useless angry words?" Hu Guangyi licked his lips, seemingly confident of victory. "Even if you sell your real estate and cars, it will take time; now there's only an hour and a half left until six o'clock!"

"You are the founder of Mingzhu, we respect you and want you to leave with dignity; why insist on struggling and making yourself look undignified?"

"You dare to talk to me like that, someone must be supporting you from behind, right?" Li Ruobing said coldly. "After the new store matter is resolved, I'll have a talk with you about what's between us!"

Her tone was icy.

Hu Guangyi couldn't help but shiver, but in an instant, he returned to normal, "You should... first solve the funding problem. 180 million yuan, an hour and a half! You said it yourself!"

He wasn't worried at all that Li Ruobing could pull off a reversal at this last moment; because, as mentioned before, selling real estate and vehicles takes time.

And even if she sold her house and car, the money she had wouldn't be enough.

And the shareholders who supported Li Ruobing, although willing, didn't have much money on hand.

Li Ruobing was expressionless. She opened the contacts on her phone, stared at a number on the screen, and gazed at it for a long time.

Finally, she chose to dial.

She had made her decision.