Chapter 787: Bombshell (1)

The former master’s voice had yet to fade when another round of applause broke out.

The former master smiled and waved at everyone. When the applause had subsided.., he then continued, “Everyone here should know that I’m old. Although I still hold the title of chairman of the Zhao Group, I’ve been my eldest son all these years. Zhao Shunrong, the chief director of the Zhao Group, has been helping to manage the company and manage its daily operations. It can be said that if it weren’t for my eldest son, the Zhao group wouldn’t be thriving like it is today.”

The former master’s words made everyone, including Zhao Youlin, brace in guarded anticipation. They did not understand why the former master would suddenly bring this up.

The former master seemed to have seen through everyone’s doubts. He then proceeded to tell everyone the real reason why he chose to bring this up at this time.

“After these few years, I believe that everyone should have witnessed my eldest son’s ability. Therefore, I have decided to officially withdraw from the board of directors of the Zhao Group. The position of the chairman of the Zhao group will be inherited by my eldest son, Zhao Shunrong. The position of the chief director of the Zhao Group will be taken over by my granddaughter, Zhao Youlin.”

His words caused a thousand ripples. Everyone at the banquet, including the employees of the Zhao group and the persons-in-charge of the partner companies, were all stunned.

Of course, the people who were most shocked were the people from the board of directors, Zhao Youlin, the espionages among the guests, and Zhao Youming, who was completely unprepared for this!

The former master had long prepared to hand over the company. This was completely different from what they had expected, especially since the position of president had fallen into Zhao Youlin’s hands. Didn’t this mean that everything they had done previously... had been in vain?!

The hall was dead silent for a long while. Finally, someone began to react and they began to discuss in low voices. As the discussion grew louder and louder, the board of directors finally realized the severity of the matter. One by one, they jumped out unwillingly.

“Sir, you...” One of the directors jumped out first. Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the former master’s cold gaze. “Why, something to say?”

The director who was being stared at felt an inexplicable chill on his back. He bit his lip but did not dare to say anything else. He could only seek help from the other directors.

Finally... another director jumped out. “Sir, your decision to pass on the position of chairman and chief director to the president and general manager without the approval of the board of directors is really not in accordance with the rules. Moreover, you want to withdraw from the board of directors and step down as the chief director. Logically speaking, you should have informed us beforehand. It’s really...”

“That’s right, chief director. This is too sudden. I hope that you can temporarily take back your decision. It’s more appropriate to wait for the chairman to discuss with the board of directors before deciding on a successor.”

“That’s right, that’s right...”

The number of people on the board of directors who protested grew more and more. They did not notice that the former master’s expression was getting uglier and uglier because of their words. In the end, the former master’s angry shout directly interrupted their protests.

“That’s enough. There’s no need to change my decision. If you don’t like it, you can just withdraw from the board of directors. The current Zhao Group is not in hard need of the small amount of shares in your hands!”

The former master looked at the people on the board of directors. Most of the people on the board were the descendants of the people who had followed the former master in the past. He had long found them to be a torn in his flesh. These descendants were not very capable but only knew how to take things for free and even thought of controlling his company from the background, had always been concerned about the relationship between their father and whatnot. He had turned a blind eye to them, but he didn’t expect these people to take an inch and turn it into a mile.

Now, he had endured enough. If these people did not know how to restrain themselves, he did not mind tearing off all decorum with them and properly governing the company’s corrupt atmosphere.

The former master’s outburst silenced the few directors. Just as the former master had said, although they were on the board of directors, all of them had fewer shares than the Zhao family’s people combined. Moreover, some of them supported Zhao Youming. The former master would definitely cut them off if they were to speak any further.

The former master had spoken so bluntly in front of so many people. They still felt ashamed. The former master and Zhao Youlin’s dissatisfaction became more and more obvious.

On Zhao Youlin’s side... Ye Yan and Sirius were also shocked by the former master’s sudden attack. “Youlin, didn’t you just say that the former master would only talk about the operation of the company at the banquet? Why did he suddenly announce that he was going to withdraw from the board of directors? He even gave you and your father a promotion. It’s really unkind of you to keep such things from us. He didn’t tell us in advance and allow us to mentally prepare...”

Ye Yan turned around and saw that Zhao Youlin was just as shocked as him.

Zhao Youlin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she replied, “What do you mean? I didn’t know about this at all. How could I have told you? I’m also confused, so talking about mental preparation...”

Ye Yan and Sirius were stunned again when they heard that. When they saw Zhao Youlin didn’t seem to be joking, the corners of their mouths twitched at the same time, they said awkwardly, “You didn’t know about this either? So he’s blindsiding everyone?”

Zhao Youlin nodded helplessly.

“That’s really a surprise.”

“... I think a shock is more like it.” She had thought that the CEO of the Zhao Corporation would be someone like Han Yichen, even if it did not matter either way to Han Yichen.

The former master had unexpectedly taken the initiative to give the position to her without consulting her. Now, she seemed to be the target of public criticism!

Zhao Youming looked at the former master from afar. This had been far too surprising. He thought that he still had time to transfer the assets of Zhao Corporation bit by bit and seize power from Zhao Youlin bit by bit. The former master’s decision disrupted all of his plans.

Zhao Youming lowered his head. His hands by his side were almost bleeding. His face, hidden in the shadows, was full of resentment and hatred.

However, what Zhao Youming didn’t know was that the former master had been watching him after he said those words. The former master couldn’t see his face clearly, even though Zhao Youming had his head down. The former master could roughly guess what kind of expression he had on his face at that moment from the tense atmosphere around him.

The former master’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he sighed in his heart. He was getting more and more disappointed with this grandson of his.