“We can’t move against Xia Ziyu for now?”
Xia Xiaolan had a thoughtful expression when she heard this news.
Du Zhaohui immediately became uneasy, “It was all that Lawyer Cheng’s suggestion. I knew his advice wasn’t reliable, shouldn’t have listened!”
“No, I think his advice is quite good.”
She had prepared so long for the stock market crash; how boring would it be if Du Zhaohui dealt with Xia Ziyu now?
Why not let Xia Ziyu indulge in the illusion that she had reached life’s peak, then strike her down… How satisfying would it be to legally empty Xia Ziyu’s pockets?
“Lawyer Cheng is quite right, but I also have a small suggestion for you to consider?”
Xia Xiaolan looked beautiful when scheming; Du Zhaohui’s heart was pounding.
“Tell me, I’m listening!”
Xia Xiaolan whispered a few sentences, making Du Zhaohui burst out laughing: “…I think it’s a good idea.”
Of course, it was – Xia Xiaolan thought it was brilliant herself.
Lawyer Cheng had announced Du Chengrong’s power of attorney: whoever in the Du family held group shares would temporarily take his position, and Du Zhaohui was the only one who met this condition. All three branches of the Du family opposed this, and the usually inconspicuous Third Concubine also resisted:
“The truth about Mr. Du’s coma hasn’t been investigated yet. It doesn’t seem right to hand the group over to Eldest Young Master now.”
Du Zhaohui sneered:
“If not me, then who? When Father wakes up and finds the Chengrong Group divided up by others, is that filial? Without the group’s earnings, you won’t be able to maintain your current lifestyle!”
The third Concubine dared not speak further.
Second Concubine’s goal wasn’t money – she just wanted to “rescue” Du Zhaoji first. Unfortunately, she had no connections in mainland China and didn’t understand its departmental structure; she didn’t even know where Du Zhaoji was being held.
Without her son by her side and Du Chengrong in a coma, Second Concubine wasn’t confident she could win against Du Zhaohui.
When Lawyer Cheng announced Du Chengrong’s “delegation” today, Second Concubine merely refused to acknowledge it but couldn’t propose a better solution.
She had hoped Lawyer Cheng would help get Du Zhaoji out, but seeing this, she believed Lawyer Cheng had been bought by Du Zhaohui. She cursed loudly on the spot and hurriedly left to use her private savings to hire other prominent Hong Kong lawyers.
Xia Ziyu was also unhappy.
With Du Chengrong in a coma, she had lost her backing.
Fortunately, she had the child in her belly, and Du Zhaohui was wary of this, preventing him from moving against her immediately.
She believed she should lay low now and wait for Du Chengrong to wake up.
While the Second Concubine was anxious to rescue her son, Xia Ziyu was desperate to contact good doctors to wake Du Chengrong.
Du Zhaohui’s temporary assumption of the chairman position terrified Xia Ziyu.
With Du Chengrong’s ‘power of attorney,’ Du Zhaohui, supported by Lawyer Cheng, would return to the company to confront another group.
These days, any Du family member is a favorite topic for Hong Kong media.
A rumor emerged from somewhere about Du Chengrong’s leaked will contents. While the successor to Chengrong Group remained uncertain, it was said that Du Chengrong, who had led a romantic life, had married four concubines and fathered over ten children.
Mr. Du, fond of flowers, worried that after his passing, his concubines might face hardship, affecting their children’s lives. His will supposedly left company shares to the chosen heir, while the remaining liquid assets and other investments, totaling over 2 billion, would be distributed among the concubines.
Each concubine would receive 100 million for living expenses, ensuring a luxurious later life.
This only accounted for 400 million; the remaining money would be distributed as 100 million per child. Adult children would receive their inheritance directly in their accounts, while minors, their mothers would manage their portion… When this rumor spread, Third Concubine withdrew her opposition.
Excluding Xia Ziyu, none of the first three concubines had just one child.
The more children one had, the more they would receive – it sounded fair and matched Du Chengrong’s character.
So this rumor spread widely until everyone knew it.
When some tried to interview Lawyer Cheng about the will, he scolded them, saying it was wrong to discuss inheritance while Mr. Du was stable and would soon wake up.
The more Lawyer Cheng denied it, the more people believed.
First, Du Chengrong was just hanging on, with little chance of waking up; his condition might have worsened.
Second, the circulating version of the will must be true – each concubine gets 100 million, and each child also gets a basic 100 million.
This truly showed the blessing of fertility; through successful child-bearing, one could easily receive hundreds of millions in inheritance.
In 1987, Hong Kong had no hundred-billion-dollar tycoons yet; 100 million Hong Kong dollars carried real weight!
Even the last concubine to enter the family, Fifth Concubine, would conservatively receive 200 million Hong Kong dollars. What business could earn 200 million Hong Kong dollars in just one year?
This didn’t even count Fifth Concubine’s previously gifted properties, jewelry, and CR Investment that Du had established for her.
The sensation-seeking Hong Kong media dubbed Xia Ziyu the “Three Hundred Million Dollar Rich Lady,” marveling at her anticipated inheritance.
Fourth Concubine Liu Keying was the most unfortunate, dying tragically in mainland China with Du after being married to him for over a decade.
In comparison, Fifth Concubine seemed truly lucky!
…
Was Xia Ziyu really lucky?
If Du Chengrong woke up, he would likely flay her alive!
The rumor about each concubine getting 100 million and each child getting 100 million was, of course, false information that Xia Xiaolan had suggested Du Zhaohui spread. This was to pacify the Du family’s internal strife, giving each branch hope so they wouldn’t unite against Du Zhaohui.
Take the usually invisible Third Concubine – though she rarely competed for a favor, she was prolific with three children. According to this inheritance plan, she would receive 400 million without fighting, so why risk challenging Du Zhaohui?
Even Xia Ziyu would be happy to hear this news.
If Du Chengrong woke up, Xia Ziyu would have backing, and her rival Fourth Concubine would have been dead, making the situation favorable for her.
If Du Chengrong died, Xia Ziyu would receive at least 200 million, plus her properties and various gifts, plus CR Investment – calling her the “Three Hundred Million Dollar Rich Lady” wasn’t particularly exaggerated.
Xia Xiaolan wanted to create an illusion for Xia Ziyu, making her feel wealthy so she would dare to gamble big during Hong Kong’s stock market crash.
Someone with 100 million wouldn’t likely bet it all; they’d keep some backup.
But someone with 300 million? Betting 100 million while keeping 200 million – what’s there to fear?
Why did Xia Xiaolan do this? Because the news she had been waiting for finally arrived!
On October 13th, under the chairmanship of Representative Rostenkowski of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, the committee proposed a merger tax bill to the government-
This was like a stone thrown into water; at first, people didn’t realize how powerful this stone’s impact would be.
That day, the Dow Jones Index fell 3.8%, setting a historical record for the largest single-day drop!
However, global stock markets didn’t show major turbulence – London stocks fell 1.2%, Tokyo fell 0.8%, and Hong Kong was least affected, dropping only 0.4%.
Previously, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index had been rising; this slight decline didn’t attract much attention.