Chapter 41: Retribution
At the Tax Office, Zhang Xiaohua found a staff member, then, in his capacity as a shareholder of New Century Entertainment, asked to check the tax revenue of New Century in order to determine their turnover.
The staff verified Zhang Xiaohua's identity. After which he printed of the tax records for the last three months and handed it over to Zhang Xiaohua.
Returning to the car, Zhang Xiaohua looked at the items and found that New Century Entertainment Co. Ltd. was involved in many business areas. Apart from being active in the entertainment industry, it also owned a lot of karaoke bars, hotels, and real estate businesses. The average monthly tax revenue had already reached 17.5 million yuan.
Zhang Xiaohua counted it and multiplied it by the corporate tax rate of 25%. That is to say, New Century Entertainment's monthly profit should amount to approximately 70 million, while he alone accounted for four percent of the company's shares.
Therefore, even after personal income tax, he should have received a net profit of about one million yuan. However, this time he only got a dividend of 30,000 yuan.
Zhang Xiaohua was in good spirits, so he started the car, stepped on the gas pedal, and went straight to the headquarters of New Century. It was time to get some revenge.
....
Located in the conference room of New Century Entertainment's headquarters, both senior executives and shareholders of the company were in a meeting.
Naturally, Cao Dequan presided over the meeting, but his face was not looking good at this moment. His forehead was full of black lines, and his eyes were bloodshot. Sharp eyes like that of a fierce beast swept over everyone's body. Each person, without exception, shuddered and bowed their heads, fearing to maintain eye contact with him, making the atmosphere look extremely dignified.
In the end, Cao Dequan locked his eyes on Manager Xu's body. His face became livid as if he could not wait to smash Manager Xu into a corpse!
The topic of the conference was somewhat related to Manager Xu because it involved HuaXiang Entertainment, and the last person to negotiate with HuaXiang was Manager Xu.
Manger Xu's real name was Xu Fengnian, and he was 40 years old. He had worked in the company for nearly 20 years, devoting almost all of the best time and youth of his life to the company. He was definitely a veteran and could be regarded as one of the founding members of the company. Even when Zhang Xiaohua's father was alive, he would also politely call him Manager Xu.
At this time, not only Cao Dequan's but also Cao Feifei's face were coloured in anger. There was no signs of respect for Manager Xu, completely regarding him as an ineffective staff members.
Bang!
Suddenly, Cao Feifei patted the table, breaking the atmosphere of the conference room, and screamed, "Xu Fengnian, why did you not tell me last time? That their company's boss was that waste, Zhang Xiaohua? Don't you dare tell me that you didn't know."
Indeed, after returning from HuaXiang last time, Manager Xu really had concealed Zhang Xiaohua's identity from them. He didn't want the Cao family to suppress Zang Xiaohua, and as not to affect Zhang Xiaohua's entrepreneurship, which was a thank you gift in return for his father's care in the past.
Now, Zhang Xiaohua had made a name for himself, and HuaXiang Entertainment became famous in the industry. Therefore, Manager Xu's deed could also be considered a meritorious one. He felt that no matter how the Cao's retaliated against him, he would have no complaints. He had stuck to his integrity, and that was enough for him.
Therefore, it was precisely because of Manager Xu's lack of report that Cao Dequan lost the opportunity to kill off his opponent.
Had Manager Xu told him the truth, with the strength and influence of Cao Dequan, he would have easily been able to erase Zhang Xiaohua and HuaXiang while they were still in the cradle.
But now, HuaXiang had become well-known. Zhang Xiaohua's name was known to everybody and widely regarded as the youngest music producer in history andeen as the hope of Huaxia's music scene; after all, his strength had played a massive role in propelling Wang Jingwen to the top.
What was more worthy of mentioning was that under the packaging and promotion of Zhang Xiaohua, Wang Jingwen had become popular all over the country, and her album [Hearts Emotions] had brought an unprecedented hearing feast to the people of the country, but it was also a major blow to all the other companies, resulting in pressure being built on the major entertainment companies to reply with something even better. Of course, this included New Century as well.
Cao Dequan, as the chairman of the board of directors, had to come up with a solution, but he had no idea of what to do. So, in the end, he decided to shift the blame to Manager Xu. Plus, this would allow him to get rid of the traitor and warn the others.
When criticised by Cao Feifei, Manager Xu just lowered his head and remained silent. He said that he had nothing to say because he understood this Cao father and daughter and believed that, no matter what he said today, this Cao family would find a way to expel him.
Sure enough, at this time, Cao Dequan's icy and merciless voice suddenly sounded:
"As the highest executive in the business department, Xu Fengnian was in charge of securing this deal. But instead, he had helped the outsiders deal with his own company. The consequences of his actions made the company lose a major share of its influence. Manager Xu's approach is tantamount to complicity selling this company out; therefore, he is unethical. So I, as chairman, hereby remove all of Xu's managerial duties and expel him from the company."
Having said this, Cao Dequan once again glanced at the current crowd. His gloomy voice sounded "I wonder if anyone present here has any disagreements with my handling of the situation?"
The other senior executives shook their head vigorously to show their agreement with his decision.
In fact, everyone here was the same as Manager Xu, most of them were all old people with large families relying on their jobs at this company to eat, so even if they were interested in helping Manager Xu by saying a few good words, they did not have the guts to risk their own rice bowls to help.
The shareholders sat calmly as if watching a show, displaying disregard for Cao Dequan, but they still did not interfere with his decision. Plus, in the eyes of these shareholders, profit was the most important thing, so as long as they got their share of the profit, who was willing to take risks to offend Cao Dequan for a small manager?
Xu Fengnian never said a word. At the moment, he just stood up silently and reluctantly glanced around the room that had accompanied him for nearly 20 years. He had lost all enthusiasm to stay any longer a long time ago but forced himself to, but now… he just strode out of the meeting room.
In order to destroy all of Xu Fengnian's face, Cao Feifei immediately picked up the phone and said, "The Security Department, its Cao Feifei. Send a few guys and keep an eye on Xu Fengnian, do not give him the opportunity to steal confidential company information. If the company loses anything, I will come looking for you."
Soon, four uniformed guards hurried to Xu Fengnian's office and watched him like a thief. They waited for him to tidy up his personal belongings before sending him out of the company.
...
In the conference room...
At this time, Cao Dequan made a sly wink at Cao Feifei. Cao Feifei noticed and gently nodded and turned to the executives who were sitting beside her:
"I want to know how you plan to take back Wang Jingwen from HuaXiang. You discuss first, then give me a plan."
They immediately started discussing with each other...
A short while later, an executive and proposed: "Wang Jingwen signed an agreement with our company two years ago. It can be said that our company is her old owner. As far as I know, Wang Jingwen had always wanted to return to our company. However, now that she is popular, it is somewhat difficult to get her back. But this woman has two shortcomings: one is vanity, and the second is that she is too ambitious. So, I think that if we are willing to spend money and promise to promote her into an international star, she should be willing to jump ship."
Another executive immediately added: "Yes, I also heard about it. HuaXiang has always been relying on Wang Jingwen alone. So, as long as Wang Jingwen leaves, they will likely fall apart with a bit of pressure."
Cao Feifei was delighted. In her view, if it could be solved with money, it wasn't really an issue then.
An executive then spoke, "Well, I personally think that if general manager came forward and offered the deal to Wang Jingwen, she would definitely give you face and agree."
"If the general manager can personally come forward, then it is for the best!"
"Yeah, general manager is young, and Wang Jingwen is also a peer of the same age. Talking about it would be more convenient. I'm very much in agreement with this."
"It seems that general manager has also made meritorious deeds this time."
Everyone hurriedly took the opportunity to flatter her. Looking at this, it was clear that Cao Feifei was enjoying it very much, making the original atmosphere of life and death become filled with joy.
Obviously, she enjoyed the feeling of being praised, and it seemed that she was very much interested in talking with Wang Jingwen.
She turned to Cao Dequan and saw his face covered with anger. Cao Feifei immediately looked back at the crowd and suddenly everyone was quiet. Cao Feifei whispered, "Daddy, do you have anything else to say?"
At this moment, Cao Dequan was full of hatred towards Zhang Xiaohua. When he thought of Zhang Xiaohua's hateful face, he wished he could have taken a full swing at him.
Thinking again of Zhang Xiaohua's "I want you to have nothing" oath, Cao Dequan's innermost feelings were of inexplicable fear, especially after seeing his sudden success.
In order not to let Zhang Xiaohua's oath come true, Cao Dequan wanted to kill him off in the cradle. Like everyone else, Cao Dequan also naively thought that as long as Wang Jingwen was gone, HuaXiang would collapse, and it would be like killing two birds with a single stone.
In order to make up his mind, Cao Dequan suddenly made a serious face and decisively ordered Cao Feifei: "No matter what method is used or how much money is spent, I must have Wang Jingwen as soon as possible. This matter must be successful, and there should not be any mistakes. Otherwise, even if you're my daughter, I will not tolerate it!"
"I know Daddy, you can rest assured." Cao Feifei confidently promised and then turned to the people present here: "As soon as possible, find a way for me to contact Wang Jingwen. Tell her that New Century's general manager has something important to discuss with her face to face."
"Yes, general manager." The crowd was in full swing and responded in unison.
Chapter 42: Worth It
At this time, Zhang Xiaohua parked the car right in front of the door of New Century. Several security guards saw this and wanted to rush up and stop him, but once they realised it was Zhang Xiaohua, they lost their momentum.
Zhang Xiaohua was the son of the company's former boss, a famous musician and entrepreneur; moreover,and he was also a shareholder in the company. With these three identities, the security guards didn't dare to mess with him.
As he stood in front of the company, Zhang Xiaohua looked up. It really was a big company; even the building had a high-end atmosphere to it. It was an office building that was 30 stories high, surrounded by blue skies, unimpeded and in a prime location.
For now, he could only squeeze together with Yuan Datong and the others in the minuscule studio, but it did not matter as Zhang Xiaohua was confident that sooner or later, he would hang the sign of HuaXiang Entertainment on this building.
After he shuffled into the company's hallway, Zhang Xiaohua walked up and pressed the elevator button. When the elevator door opened, Xu Fengnian stepped out...
Suddenly seeing each other, both of them were slightly stunned, but Xu Fengnian was the first to reveal a friendly smile. He seemed to be happy to see that Zhang Xiaohua was here.
Zhang Xiaohua stared at Xu Fengnian, and after he saw that he was holding a cardboard box in his arms and being followed by four security guards, Zhang Xiaohua knew that he was being swept out.
However, Zhang Xiaohua couldn't understand why this man, one of the companies senior executives, who not long ago represented the company to discuss business with himself, was being expelled today.
After thinking about it, Zhang Xiaohua came to a conclusion—it must have been an order from Cao Dequan. No one else had enough power to drive a veteran employee like him out of the company.
Moreover, Zhang Xiaohua had always wondered why Cao Dequan didn't come find trouble with him as this was not the style of that old man.
It seemed to be because of this Manager, Cao Dequan would definitely not leave him be if he knew he was the owner of HuaXiang. This manager had clearly recognised him at the time, so he must have withheld this information from Cao Dequan, earning them time. Otherwise, with New Century suppressing them, even he could not guarantee that the success they had with Wang Jingwen would be possible.
In this case, he would also need to thank this Manager Xu!
Since he was swept out by Cao Dequan, it showed that Cao Dequan treated him as an enemy, and as the ancient proverb goes: 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'.
As he thought of this, Zhang Xiaohua smiled back at him, but not in the same way he did when he first met Xu Fengnian. This time, Zhang Xiaohua's smile contained obvious respect with none of the former ridicule.
"Uncle Xu, what's the matter?" asked Zhang Xiaohua, calling to him.
Xu Fengnian smiled awkwardly, in his eyes, a faint tear seemed to be forming.
Had this situation not happened, Xu Fengnian would have been able to retire gloriously in just a few years. In the future, by relying on his retirement funds, his family would be guaranteed the most basic protection, and they would at least be safeguarded from hunger.
But now, he was removed by Cao Dequan for making a mistake and according to company regulations, his pension would also be cancelled. For this reason, Xu Fengnian inevitably worried about his future, but he didn't care about his own situation; instead, there were still many people in the family who relied on him to eat.
Even if he wanted to go out to look for a good job to maintain their livelihood in the future, he presumed that other companies would not accept him. The reason was very simple: At the present moment, there was no entertainment company in this country that would dare to face Cao Dequan and hire someone who was expelled by him.
Understanding this, Manager Xu shook his head helplessly and stepped out of the elevator under the "security escort" of four security guards and at this moment, he said only a few words to Zhang Xiaohua, "Oh, Xiaohua, all you can do for me is already done. This is my repayment for your father's care and from now on, Uncle Xu hopes that you can look after yourself and continue growing in the future. If you can remain low-key at this point, I advise you to do so. I think you should understand what I mean."
After that, Xu Fengnian was about to leave, but he heard Zhang Xiaohua suddenly ask, "Does Uncle Xu have any interest in doing business for my company?"
When Xu Fengnian heard this, he fell into contemplation.
"Of course, we are still just a small company, however... if Uncle Xu can give me face and agree to guide my juniors, I can pay Uncle a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan, it's not much but..."
Xu Fengnian was surprised. He never expected that Zhang Xiaohua would be so generous.
A monthly salary of 100,000 yuan... although it could not be compared to New Century's, it was more than enough to maintain his livelihood.
Cao Feifei and Zhang Xiaohua were both young people, but it was clear that the way these two younger generations were quite different!
After he thought it over, Xu Fengnian showed a gratified smile on his face. He was very grateful to Zhang Xiaohua for being willing to risk it to help him when he was in danger. However, Xu Fengnian really did not know what he could do to help Zhang Xiaohua because Zhang Xiaohua's ability already outweighed many people, and the birth of that superstar was already proof of his strength.
"Xiaohua, ah, Uncle Xu is very grateful to you, but I really can't do anything to help you because you are already amazing. For a monthly salary of one hundred thousand, I really can't accept it." replied Xu Fengnian in a humble way.
"What!?" Zhang Xiaohua looked at Xu Fengnian seriously and raised his voice intentionally, so that everyone nearby could hear what he said:
"With your personal connections in the industry, Uncle Xu is more than worthy of it. In the future, I still have a lot of things that will need the help of Uncle Xu. I also hope that Uncle can rest assured that when the company gets bigger, I promise that Uncle will have a monthly salary of at least one million!"
"This..."
"Don't do this… My company's address, Uncle should remember it. Tomorrow morning, I'll be waiting for you at the door."
Leaving these words behind, Zhang Xiaohua took big strides and got into the elevator. Then, turning back with a smile, he asked Xu Fengnian: "Oh yes, where is that old bastard Cao Dequan?"
"In the conference room." Xu Fengnian spoke involuntarily, and in the midst of it, he appeared to be still contemplating Zhang Xiaohua's offer.
"Oh, thanks!" Zhang Xiaohua smirked, he pressed the elevator button and went straight to the conference room on the top floor.
He was ready to kill...
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