Chapter 449: The reigning three pillars

“I guess you all must have heard of me before?” Zhang Xingke smiled and enquired.

Murmurs ensued amongst the crowd as they all found this situation a bit difficult. Logically speaking, this was an enemy that they should be disdainful of. Yet, for some reason, he would also be this company’s VP in the future. They could not afford to offend him. And so, most of them had pretty much the same reaction as they could neither seem too welcoming nor too antagonistic.

“Wow, this guy really isn’t afraid of dying,” Xu Tingsheng murmured to himself backstage.

Unlike things with Old Wai and Li Linlin, it had been Xu Tingsheng’s suggestion that Zhang Xingke enter Hucheng. It was just that he was unclear on what Lu Zhixin was thinking as she had given him the position of VP right off the bat.

Perhaps she saw Zhang Xingke to be the future representative of Xu Tingsheng and Old Jin in Hucheng, representing their power and voice in the company.

Going by such an understanding, along with Zhang Xingke’s position as VP, a brand new power balance had been created in Hucheng in which three forces reigned supreme.

One side consisted of Zhang Xingke and Xu Tingsheng and Old Jin whom he represented as well as the likes of Old Wai, Li Linlin, Fang Chen and Fang Yuqing. Another consisted of Lu Zhixin and some of the company’s middle and higher echelon employees whom she had hired and promoted. And finally, there was Tianyi which was relatively isolated for the time being yet possessed the weightiest background and the most funds.

A tripartite power balance had always been thought to be the stablest organisational structure.

This tripartite structure was different from when Xu Tingsheng had still been in Hucheng. While Lu Zhixin and Tianyi had also possessed 22% of the shares then, Xu Tingsheng along with Old Wai, Fang Yuqing and the others had still possessed much more shares than them. More importantly, Xu Tingsheng’s influence in Hucheng was too high...thus, that had not been a stable tripartite structure since one side had been too outstanding, possessing the absolute leadership authority.

In contrast, things had basically reached an equilibrium now. Even for Lu Zhixin who had the most shares, she was actually unable to dictate Hucheng’s policies on her own. Under these circumstances, it was not so easy to lean towards anybody...and so, Hucheng was to enter a relatively checked and balanced state.

Xu Tingsheng was happy to see such a situation, but not because he was reluctant to part with his power. If that had been the case, he would not have given away that 7% of the shares. He had indeed originally wanted to pass Hucheng on to Lu Zhixin completely without reservation.

In the end, what had caused him to feel that it was necessary to take some precautions and keep Lu Zhixin in check was something that Tang Yufei had informed him about.

Mr Lu, Lu Pingyuan. Xu Tingsheng had only heard about him in brief before, having always been curious as to what kind of person he was. And now, this was revealed to him by Tang Yufei.

The Lu family owned far more than just a few electrical appliances companies in Yanzhou. To be precise, these companies in question were more or less built around 1995 or 1996. Afterwards, Mr Lu had started going around the entire country, accumulating wealth that might amount to hundreds of millions. As for their businesses in Yanzhou, Lu Zhixin had started familiarising herself with them since young and had come to take full charge of them at the age of sixteen.

Meanwhile, she had needed to live on her own while also keeping an eye her father who was gradually growing more frenetic and erratic.

It was these factors that had created this one and only Lu Zhixin of Xu Tingsheng’s words. Her talent in commerce and leadership abilities, her unique personality and her sense of values and way of handling issues that Xu Tingsheng did not approve of so much-they had originated here.

She was someone who zeroed in right on the ends, not caring so much about the means and the process. While this might not be wrong per se, it diverged greatly from Xu Tingsheng’s personality.

In that case, what exactly had caused Lu Pingyuan to become so frenetic and crazed?

Tang Yufei told Xu Tingsheng about something that had already been ongoing for many years. After Mr Lu’s wealth had reached a certain level, he had come to all but settle down in Hong Kong wherein he focused on the finance market, including stocks, funds as well as options...

He had actually earnt quite a bit, also having accumulated much funds from others through various means...

“But,” Tang Yufei said, “He’s bonkers. All his hard work is for a single thing. All these years, he’s been continually attacking an equity fund company known as Lingshan whatever the cost. Wherever that company appears, he deploys funds and charges into a war with them...”

“Facing defeat time and time again, seldom obtaining a victory, getting close to bankruptcy several times. Then, he will accumulate funds unscrupulously, such as when he tried to ‘sell’ Zhixin to the Ding family then...and when he has enough, off he goes to battle that equity fund company relentlessly again...” Tang Yufei said.

“Why?” Xu Tingsheng had asked Tang Yufei, completely unable to understand this.

Sadly, Tang Yufei had not been able to answer this question, “I don’t know. Maybe there’s no one who knows, not even Zhixin. That’s why all of us who know what’s been happening say that he’s already gone bonkers. The only thing I can be certain of is that he’s very dangerous. What Zhixin did this time is very likely related to him. If Zhixin...I mean, they are father and daughter, after all, having only each other to rely on...I fear that Hucheng might be ruined at his hands.”

This was why Xu Tingsheng had decided to restrict Lu Zhixin’s authority. He could not take that risk, with Hucheng potentially being used as a tool and sacrifice in Mr Lu’s insanity. Such would be completely different from handing Hucheng over to Lu Zhixin.

And so, Zhang Xingke had entered Hucheng.

Facing that uproar, Zhang Xingke smiled as he continued, “You must be very curious. Why is it me? How am I qualified? Well, let me tell you this. Before that bastard Xu Tingsheng appeared, I was the most capable earner in this academy city. In my first through third year of university, utilising some little tactics, I started out from scratch and earnt the first ten million of my life.”

Startled exclamations resounded amongst the audience. For a university student of this era, this figure was shocking indeed.

Sounding rather full of himself, Zhang Xingke continued, “Also, I’m the first person who had Xu Tingsheng driven virtually to the brink, or at least that’s what I believe. In the end, I lost. Still, a mere few months later, I successfully earnt a few million from him and even casually dug a pit for him to fall into in the meantime...”

Here, he even shamelessly revelled in triumph for a bit.

“With that few million that I earnt from him, I walked my own path. In over a year’s time, I turned my newly established training institute into one of Shenghai’s top five, even establishing the first video training website, Xingxin Classroom...”

“......”

Zhang Xingke continued to speak.

“Why’re you even coming to Hucheng then?” Derided Fang Yuqing who was an old acquaintance of his, with the two of them even nearly having come to blows before.

Zhang Xingke did not take that hollered remark to heart as he smiled, “While being jointly suppressed by half of Shenghai’s training institutes...I was betrayed by my partner, a woman, too. How tragic is that? Please, have some sympathy.”

“It’s fine, though. I didn’t lose everything. I didn’t come here empty-handed. I’ve come to join the alliance with the website, Xingxin Classroom. So, I’m also a shareholder of Hucheng.”

After saying so, Zhang Xingke continued with a bitter look on his face, “You would definitely be wondering-why am I willing to do so? Actually, I’m not! Still, there’s nothing I can do. Lu Zhixin, this...oh, I mean our most respected Boss Lu, already has her eyes on my website’s model. With Hucheng’s strength, reputation and platform as well as their advantage in education training, I wouldn’t be able to run if she wanted to decimate me. So, after considering it, pledging my allegiance to Hucheng for now it is. Fortunately, I’m old acquaintances and good friends with Xu Tingsheng and Boss Lu.”

Hearing his words, the audience members all did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

“And that’s it. So, some applause to welcome me now, please?” Zhang Xingke asked.

This time, applause finally resounded about the hall. Many of those present had already been convinced of his abilities. They understood now that this guy up on stage was also not an ordinary person. Not only was he unordinary in terms of talent, he had an extraordinary temperament and fortitude too...

If not for Xu Tingsheng, his accomplishments might just have been immense. Yet, even with Xu Tingsheng, he had not succumbed to hatred and self-imposed misery. Time and time again, he had fallen down, and each time, he would get back up on his feet, resuming his onward march.