Bab 68: Chapter 68: Family Undercurrent Begins
Dai Shiya walked into the old house with steady steps. The air was filled with a familiar scent of sandalwood, but it could not cover up the oppression of the impending storm. She looked around and saw that the family members had already gathered together, some whispering, some with solemn faces. Everyone's eyes were focused on her the moment she appeared, as if she was the focus of the center of the stage, the defendant on trial.
"Shi Ya is here, please sit down." Old Master Dai sat on the armchair, and no emotion could be seen on his old face.
Dai Shiya nodded slightly, sat down in the seat closest to the old man, and observed the expressions of the people around her calmly. She noticed that her second uncle Dai Qiang was particularly active today, chatting enthusiastically with several uncles, and from time to time he looked at her, with a hint of imperceptible pride in his eyes.
"I called everyone here today because I have something important to announce." Mr. Dai cleared his throat and glanced at everyone with a cloudy gaze. "The family business has been developing slowly in recent years and needs to be injected with new vitality and management models." He paused and set his eyes on Dai Shiya. "Shiya, you just came back from abroad. You should have a lot of experience in modern corporate management, so I decided..."
Dai Shiya's heart tightened, and an ominous premonition came to her mind. The old man's words seemed to be praising her, but in fact, there was a hidden secret. Sure enough, the old man changed the subject and his tone became stern, "In order to make you better adapt to family affairs, I decided to set up a family management committee to oversee the company's operations. All major decisions need to be unanimously agreed by the committee before they can be implemented."
"Grandpa, you are not..." Dai Shiya was about to speak but was interrupted by Dai Qiang.
"Shiya, you just returned home and are not familiar with many things. Grandpa is doing this for your own good, letting you assist and learn from experience." Dai Qiang said with a fake smile, with a hint of undisguised sarcasm in his tone, "When you are truly capable, it won't be too late to take over family affairs."
Dai Shiya took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in her heart. She knew that this was just the beginning, and a conspiracy against her was quietly unfolding... Dai Qiang stood up, walked in front of Dai Shiya, looked down at her, and sneered: "Why, you are not convinced?"
"Uncle, you're joking," Dai Shiya raised her head slowly, looking directly at Dai Qiang, with a calm smile on her lips, "How could I not accept it? Grandpa has worked so hard for the family business, and I can't thank him enough." She paused, her eyes swept over the family members with different expressions, and her tone became firm, "It's just that I think that if a family business wants to grow and develop, it must break the old concepts and models and introduce modern management concepts. The idea of establishing a management committee is good, but if all decisions must be unanimously agreed upon by the committee, it will inevitably lead to inefficiency and missed opportunities."
As soon as Dai Shiya finished speaking, Dai Qiang couldn't wait to refute: "Shiya, you learned all these ideas from foreign books, right? It's not enough to just talk about it on paper, you have to understand how to combine theory with practice. The reason why our family business can develop to this day is that we rely on steady and cautious progress, not on the so-called "modern management." He deliberately said the words "modern management" in a sarcastic tone, which attracted a few laughs from the people around him.
Dai Shiya ignored Dai Qiang's sarcasm and turned to Old Man Dai, saying sincerely, "Grandpa, I know you are doing this for my own good and want me to learn how to manage family affairs step by step. But I think that instead of wasting time on the committee, it would be better for me to directly participate in the company's specific projects, so that I can accumulate experience faster and contribute to the family."
Old Master Dai didn't say anything, but just looked at Dai Shiya quietly, with no emotion visible in his cloudy eyes.
Dai Qiang was secretly delighted when he saw this, and he said while the iron was hot: "Shiya, look, even grandpa thinks you are too young and need to learn more. Don't be so ambitious, just study hard in the committee for a few years first."
Dai Shiya took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and looked around, only to find that most family members were silent, obviously influenced by the attitude of Dai Qiang and the traditional forces. She knew that the purpose of today's family meeting was to undermine her power and make her a puppet in name only.
"In that case, I won't say anything more." Dai Shiya slowly stood up, her tone somewhat frighteningly calm, "But I hope that all uncles can understand that the interests of the family are above all personal interests. If the family business misses the opportunity for development because of some people's complacency, it will ultimately harm the interests of all of us."
After saying that, Dai Shiya no longer paid attention to everyone, turned around and walked out of the old house, leaving only a resolute conscience. She clearly realized that this was a conspiracy against her, and she must not sit idly by and wait for death. She had to find a way to break this situation, protect her position and power in the family, and at the same time find a new way out for the development of the family business.
As soon as she walked out of the gate of the old house, she saw Wei Qing's car parked on the side of the road.
The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Wei Qing's worried expression: "How is it? Is everything going well?"
Dai Shiya shook her head, smiled bitterly, opened the car door and got in. "Let's go, let's talk about it when we get back." Her tone was a little tired, but more determined. This struggle within the family has just begun, and she will never give up easily. The luxury car drove away from the old house smoothly. Dai Shiya leaned back tiredly on the chair and rubbed her aching temple. Wei Qing looked ahead, skillfully controlled the steering wheel, and at the same time paid a little attention to observe Dai Shiya's expression.
"Shi Ya, do you feel that the atmosphere of today's family meeting is not right?" Wei Qing asked casually, with a hint of worry in her tone.
"It's not just wrong, it's like they're trying to sideline me," Dai Shiya said with a self-deprecating smile, "Dai Qiang and the others have been impatient for a long time."
Wei Qing was silent for a moment, as if she had made a great decision, and said: "Shi Ya, I received news that Dai Qiang has been trying to win over some neutral family members recently. He promised to give those people some benefits so that they would support him in family affairs."
Dai Shiya suddenly opened her eyes, sat up straight, and frowned: "Is the news reliable? What benefits did he use to win them over?"
Wei Qing nodded, her tone solemn: "The source of the information is absolutely reliable. As for the benefits he promised..." She paused, as if considering her words, "It should be some...hidden resources of the family."
"Hidden resources?" Dai Shiya murmured to herself, countless thoughts flashing through her mind. Over the years, she has been trying to learn the operating model of the family business and trying to sort out the complicated family relationships, but she found that what she knew was always just the tip of the iceberg. The foundation of this family is much deeper than she imagined.
"Yes, these hidden resources have always been in the hands of the older generation. I don't know exactly what they are," Wei Qing explained, "but what is certain is that these resources are very important, enough to make those neutral factions turn against us."
Dai Shiya remained silent and fell into deep thought. She realized the seriousness of the problem. If she allowed Dai Qiang to continue to win her over, she would completely lose control of the family business and become a puppet at the mercy of others.
She had to act quickly, and the breakthrough was these "hidden resources".
"Qing, do me a favor..." Dai Shiya's eyes flashed with a gleam, and her tone was firm and decisive. Wei Qing didn't say anything, but just nodded silently, and her fingers holding the steering wheel tightened slightly.
As night fell, the light in Dai Shiya's study was still on. She sat in front of the computer, her fingers quickly tapping the keyboard, and the dense data and charts on the screen kept jumping. These were the results of her secret investigations over the past few days.
"Sure enough..." Dai Shiya looked at the data on the screen and sneered. She finally found the bargaining chip that Dai Qiang used to win over the family members, and this was just the beginning...
"Knock knock knock..." The slight knock on the door interrupted Dai Shiya's thoughts.
"Come in."
Wei Qing pushed the door open, put a file bag on the desk, and said softly, "Everything you want is here."
Dai Shiya took the file bag and opened it. Inside were several documents and photos, which were exactly the key evidence she needed. She took a deep breath and looked at Wei Qing with a firm look: "Qing, we must act before Dai Qiang, otherwise..."
She didn't finish her words, but Wei Qing understood what she meant. The fate of the family was now in their hands.
Dai Shiya spread out the documents in the file bag one by one. In the photo, Dai Qiang was toasting with several neutral family members. One of them was the head of the family's overseas investment company, and the other was the director of the family's charitable foundation. The photo was taken at a hidden angle, obviously taken secretly, but it clearly recorded their meeting. The file was a record of some of Dai Qiang's recent capital flows, the amount was huge, and the destination was unknown.
"These hidden resources refer to the family's overseas investment projects and some undisclosed charitable funds." Dai Shiya pointed at the data on the document and said in a cold tone, "Dai Qiang used these resources as bargaining chips to win over people and try to undermine me."
Wei Qing frowned, looking at the evidence, and her worries grew even more intense. "Shiya, does the old man know that Dai Qiang did this?"
Dai Shiya sneered, "How could he not know? The old man has always favored Dai Qiang. He is eager for me to step down as soon as possible so that Dai Qiang can take over everything in the family."
"So what should we do now?" Wei Qing asked, "If we directly expose Dai Qiang's behavior, I'm afraid it will only alert the enemy, and the old man won't stand on our side."
"Of course we can't expose it directly," Dai Shiya's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "We have to take it slowly, first find out who Dai Qiang has won over, how many resources he has, and then defeat them one by one."
She picked up a photo and looked at the person in the photo carefully. "This person is Uncle Li who is in charge of overseas investment. He has always remained neutral. I didn't expect that he would be won over by Dai Qiang this time."
"Uncle Li is a cautious person, he won't change sides easily." Wei Qing analyzed, "Perhaps we can start with him and find out what benefits Dai Qiang promised him."
Dai Shiya nodded, "Yes, let's start with Uncle Li. Qing, please help me arrange it. I want to meet him privately."
In the next few days, Dai Shiya secretly investigated and successfully met Uncle Li through Wei Qing's arrangement. After some probing, Uncle Li finally revealed the benefits that Dai Qiang promised him - dividends from overseas investment projects and an important seat on the board of directors.
"It is true." Dai Shiya returned to the study and told Wei Qing the information Uncle Li had revealed. "Dai Qiang was willing to sacrifice the interests of the family in order to win over the people."
Wei Qing asked worriedly, "Shi Ya, what are you going to do? Expose Dai Qiang directly?"
Dai Shiya shook her head. "Now is not the time. The evidence we have is not sufficient, and Dai Qiang has the old man's support behind him. We must find a foolproof plan."
She walked to the window and looked out at the dark night with deep and determined eyes. "Qing, let's not alert the enemy yet. Continue to investigate secretly and collect more evidence. At the same time, we must also find a way to disintegrate Dai Qiang's power and leave him isolated and helpless."
Wei Qing walked up to her and said softly, "Shiya, I know you feel bad, but you must stay calm and don't be impulsive. I will always be by your side, and we will face it together."
Dai Shiya turned to look at Wei Qing, a trace of gratitude flashing in her eyes. She held Wei Qing's hand and said firmly, "Thank you, Qing. I know I am not alone."
In the study, the two of them were discussing their next plan in a low voice. Outside the window, the night was getting darker and darker, and a silent family struggle was quietly beginning. Dai Shiya picked up the phone, "Please connect me..."
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