Xia Xiaolan’s first dinner in Hong Kong wasn’t smooth.

At the Du family mansion, when all family members gathered, the meal was like a clash of swords.

Of course, on the surface, it seemed harmonious – after all, Du Chengrong was still alive!

The Second Mistress looked proudly at her son, “Zhaoqi, work is work, but you must rest properly. Don’t become a workaholic like your father…”

This was her son!

After returning to the country for a year, he spent six months rotating through various departments, and now earned unanimous praise from the company.

In the Second Mistress’s life, the first half relied on her status as a mistress, but now that she was older and Du Chengrong, though aged, still favored young women, her latter years would undoubtedly depend on her son’s success.

The better Du Zhaoqi performed, the higher the Second Mistress’s status in the Du family became.

Just like now – whether Du Chengrong visited her chambers or not, the frequency of his gifts to her had surpassed the Third and Fourth Mistresses.

Fourth Mistress Liu Keying’s face might be as smooth as a peeled egg from all the beauty treatments, but it was useless.

At least Liu Keying had her brother Liu Tianquan to help.

The Third House was truly stuck in the middle, neither up nor down, quietly watching the Second Mistress and Liu Keying fight.

Liu Keying put down her cutlery, “Second Young Master works hard, and Elder Young Master also works hard developing the mainland market. Isn’t that right, Master?”

Du Zhaohui, seeing the women’s jealous squabbling extend to him, cursed these women in his heart but smiled on his face: “Working for the family isn’t hard at all. I’m exploring opportunities in the mainland while Zhaoqi guards our base here – brothers working together to expand the company!”

Du Chengrong nodded, “Working outside really develops a person. Zhaohui has become much more steady. I’m getting old, and the company will eventually pass to you brothers and others.”

This was the first time Du Chengrong had publicly mentioned this.

Previously, this topic had never been openly discussed – each house competed for a favor, trying everything to increase their standing in Du Chengrong’s heart.

Du Chengrong breaking this taboo stunned everyone at the long dining table.

“Father, the company still needs your guidance, but you really should reduce your workload. I don’t want you to be too tired. You should stay healthy and live a long life! My elder brother and I, along with our younger siblings, still have much to learn from you.”

Du Zhaoqi spoke with genuine feeling.

He truly felt he had much to learn, and wasn’t capable of managing the entire company if it were handed over to him now.

Du Zhaohui’s heart pounded – was the old man testing them or being serious?

But his younger brother’s reaction was quick.

As Du Chengrong’s gaze fell on him, Du Zhaohui said seriously: “I won’t disappoint you.”

“When I came to Hong Kong, I started from nothing, collecting unwanted small fish and shrimp from the docks to cook and sell, slowly earning capital. It took 40 years to build today’s Cheng Rong Group. I hope that in another 40 years, the name ‘Cheng Rong Group’ will still exist, still run by someone named Du. Only the most capable person deserves to succeed me, Du Chengrong!”

Du Zhaohui and Du Zhaoqi sat up straight.

These words were meant for them.

Being older, they had a significant advantage over their younger siblings.

They couldn’t expect teenagers to roll up their sleeves and compete.

Du Chengrong wasn’t finished:

“I’ll give you brothers some money, 20 million Hong Kong dollars each as starting capital. Within one year, whoever can legally earn more money will receive 5% of Cheng Rong’s shares.”

5% of Cheng Rong’s shares?

Du Zhaohui narrowed his eyes – what was the old man thinking? He had always held the shares tightly, this was the first time he’d offered to give away shares… Du Zhaohui was very tempted!

Despite his outward glory as the Du family’s eldest son, people like Tang Yuanyue didn’t truly respect him.

The same went for Du Zhaoqi.

Ultimately, they were just pitiful creatures who received annual dividends but owned no shares.

The same was true for other Du family members.

5% of Cheng Rong Group’s shares was truly valuable. The group had become a behemoth with multiple controlled subsidiaries, and Du Chengrong himself barely held over 50% of the shares.

Du Chengrong suddenly offered 5% shares as a reward, with competition limited to Du Zhaohui and Du Zhaoqi, leaving others only able to watch enviously.

This showed signs of delegating power!

The Second Mistress beamed with joy while Liu Keying clutched the tablecloth tightly.

“Zhaoqi, you must go easy on your elder brother. You succeeded in your overseas studies, while your brother has only been able to earn some hard money in the mainland without much education.”

What could 20 million do?

In Hong Kong, it seemed not much.

Any worthwhile business would be difficult to enter.

Du Zhaohui had already decided to make money on the mainland.

He deliberately blocked Du Zhaoqi with his words, trying to keep him in Hong Kong.

Du Zhaoqi had no intention of going to the mainland either. “I’ll follow whatever Big Brother says.”

Bah, if Big Brother told you to go back abroad to study, would you listen?

Hypocrite!

Du Zhaohui’s mind worked quickly.

Though they said it was based on ability, the Second House would help Du Zhaoqi.

His mother died early, leaving him without support.

With Du Zhaoqi staying in Hong Kong, he could use many resources – he needed to create some obstacles for his opponent.

After Du Chengrong dropped this bombshell, the Du family’s harmonious dinner came to an abrupt end.

…

The atmosphere at the Tang family wasn’t good either.

Tang Yuanyue returned home with wine stains on his shirt from He Zhitong’s splash.

The Tang family’s situation wasn’t as complicated as the Du family’s. Whatever women Tang’s father might have outside, he only had one legal wife at home.

Tang Yuanyue had two younger brothers, both from the same parents.

From his father’s intentions, the company would eventually pass to him, with his brothers receiving money to establish themselves elsewhere. This was a good way to keep Tang family assets from dispersing – the eldest son inherited the family business while younger children were sent out to build their territories.

In this regard, Tang Yuanyue was much more fortunate than Du Zhaohui, who envied him terribly – but each family had its difficulties. Tang Yuanyue had to constantly prove himself steady and capable of great responsibility.

He returned home in his dirty shirt to find Mrs. Tang drinking bird’s nest soup on the sofa.

“Yuanyue, come here and let me see. Who have you been fighting with now?”

Tang Yuanyue sat on the sofa, “Hasn’t Zhitong called to complain? She splashed wine in my face at the restaurant just because I was dining with another woman. She brought her friend to ‘catch me cheating,’ making quite a scene.”

Mrs. Tang put down her bowl.

“You’re both at fault in this matter. You shouldn’t have been so high-profile, and she shouldn’t be so jealous. But you’ve always been steady, you should be more careful in the future-“

Tang Yuanyue loosened his tie as if finally gaining some freedom:

“There won’t be a future – I told Zhitong the engagement is off!”

Mrs. Tang laughed incredulously, “What nonsense are you talking about? You and Zhitong have been engaged for five years. We elders have let you young people have your way by not pushing for marriage, but breaking off the engagement… Yuanyue, what do you take the He family for?”