Chapter 066: Adhering to Principles
Qi Yu and his father had dinner together before Qi Yu returned to his hotel. He was feeling a little overwhelmed as a whole.
About half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Qi Yu knew who it was and went to open the door. After opening the door, he didn’t take the initiative to speak. Instead, he went worriedly back to the sofa and sat down.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Yansheng asked after entering the door, “Was the results of your meeting with the board of directors unsatisfactory?”
“Didn’t you already guess it?” Qi Yu looked at him from out the corner of his eye and asked, “Have you eaten?”
“I was just working overtime at the company to write a handover report. Then, I got your phone call inviting me over, so I didn’t have time to eat.” Fu Yansheng went to the pantry and took a bottle of purified water before sitting down beside Qi Yu.
Qi Yu was momentarily dazed. “Should I order something for you?”
“There’s no hurry. Let’s talk for a while,” Fu Yansheng opened the bottle and drank a couple of sips before asking, “So they’re not going to handle it publicly?”
Qi Yu put his elbows on his knees, bowed his head and said, “My dad held a secret ballot at the meeting. There were nine people in total, and six people voted to handle it internally.”
It was as Fu Yansheng expected. He propped his leg over his knee and said, “What’s your father’s stance?”
Qi Yu: “I don’t know.”
Fu Yansheng: “You don’t know?”
That’s right, Qi Yu didn’t know. From beginning to end, Qi Yuancheng never said anything. Qi Yu also didn’t he ask his father which number he wrote on the note.
Fu Yansheng asked, “What about you? What do you think?”
Qi Yu said dullly, “Is what I think important?”
When Qi Yuancheng stood in the room and asked those words, Qi Yu seemed to suddenly understand his father’s difficulties.
As the major shareholder of the group, Qi Yuancheng seemed to be the owner of the company, but the company was actually no longer controlled by him alone. If Qi Yuancheng wanted the company to operate smoothly, he had to take into account the bigger picture, he had to take into consideration human sentiments and deeper questions…
Even his dad didn’t have the freedom to act independently, what more him?
So, at that moment, he didn’t answer anything.
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Fu Yansheng sighed and asked, “Qi Yu, in your heart, is it important to maintain justice, or is it more important to blindly pursue the company’s stock price?”
Qi Yu was choked by the question.
Fu Yansheng: “Don’t forget that Mei Wei is a listed company. It should be overseen by relevant state departments. Fraudulent operation is a crime, and fraud for personal gain is also a crime. Qiu Rusong continued to occupy his post for three years and the cost of his illegal operations exceeded 100 million. He violated not only the interests of the company’s shareholders, but also the interests of ordinary investors. Can the opinions of the shareholders present at the meeting represent everyone? The shareholders on the board of directors only represent their own stance. They only want to maintain Mei Wei’s stock price to protect their own identity and benefits. If this matter were to be handled internally and Qiu Rusong and Qiu Mingyang were only made to make up for part of the losses, then who would explain to the buyers who were deceived during the past three years? Who would explain to the stock investors who believed in Mei Wei’s false financial report?—— The financial data was fake, the public information was fake, and both were used to raise funds from the public. Is this kind of Mei Wei fair to other legally operating companies? Have you ever thought about these issues?”
These words, Fu Yansheng spoke quite calmly, neither was his face was flushed nor was he out of breath. It was as though he were simply stating some objective facts.
Qi Yu couldn’t help but remember that at this time last year, he had asked Fu Yansheng about Mei Wei’s financial report. When Fu Yansheng learned that his father did not intend to conduct a thorough investigation, he also said something to him on WeChat. At the time, he felt that Fu Yansheng was scolding him; he even felt that the other party was making a big fuss over a minor issue.
Now, hearing Fu Yansheng say these words, Qi Yu felt a big jolt in his heart.
He looked at Fu Yansheng with a complicated expression, “So you want me to report Qiu Rusong to the authorities?”
Fu Yansheng shook his head. “I don’t have the right to decide what you do. I’m just letting you understand this matter from a more comprehensive perspective. What you should do, what the answer should be, is in your own heart.”
Qi Yu: “…”
Thinking of the remarks made by the shareholders on the board of directors, Qi Yu felt conflicted, “But once this matter breaks out, it will also cause losses to some innocent people…”
Fu Yansheng asked, “Who are these innocent people you’re talking about?”
Qi Yu: “For example, those minority shareholders who have no knowledge of this incident with Qiu Rusong.”
Once Mei Wei’s stock price drops, they would inevitably suffer more severe losses than retail investors.
Fu Yansheng smiled and said, “Qi Yu, you’re wrong again. Have you ever reflected on why they didn’t know it? They’re also shareholders. Don’t they read the company’s financial reports? Don’t they understand the company’s operations? Shareholders aren’t idlers who don’t do anything and just wait for the dividends to come in. They have to bear the risk of investment and shoulder the responsibility of supervising the operation of the company. When the company encounters no problems, they receive dividends. If the company encounters problems and they don’t even want to pay what they should, only wishing to pretend that everything’s going fine, do you think such people are innocent? For something like this to happen means that they’ve already neglected their duties.”
Qi Yu was speechless. That’s right. Why hadn’t he thought about these?
Fu Yansheng added, “Let’s not talk about the impact the Qiu Rusong incident will have on Mei Wei’s stock price. Let’s examine it ourselves first. Is Mei Wei’s current stock price unrealistically high and is it worth that much? — I said before that there is a price to pay for the decisions we make. There is nothing perfect in this world. It depends on whether you are willing to pay the corresponding price for what you insist on doing… In my opinion, exposing this matter would not be a loss to the company. It will merely return Mei Wei’s stock price to its actual value. This is the price Mei Wei has to pay for conniving in Qiu Rusong’s criminal behavior during the past three years. It is also a warning to other people. Only by removing this lesion can the company be healthier and grow in the long term.”
Qi Yu listened to Fu Yansheng’s words spoken with the force of justice and his admiration for this man once again grew in his heart. However, he immediately thought of the tired look that hung between his father’s brows…
Qi Yu looked at the other and couldn’t help asking, “Fu Yansheng, how can you be so clear-headed?”
——Even his father struggled with this, but Fu Yansheng was able to be so calm about it. Could it be because he was just an outsider, so he didn’t need to think about the human relations aspect of it?
Fu Yansheng paused for a couple of seconds and looked back at Qi Yu, “Do you remember that I asked you before? As a future owner of capital and as a businessman, are there any principles that you wish to adhere to…”
Qi Yu was surprised. He remembered that at the time he even subconsciously thought that not breaking the law was the principle.
But before talking to Fu Yansheng, he found that he almost couldn’t do even this. He was being coerced by the people at today’s meeting to condone a crime.
Fu Yansheng said, “When you can answer this question decisively, you won’t worry about such small things… When that time comes, whenever you encounter any difficulties, you will be very clear about what you should choose and what you should give up. I think your father may also need to seriously think about this question — You might as well ask him. What was his original intention for establishing Mei Wei? To be successful and famous? Or was it purely for profit? All his choices now must be related to the things he holds fast to.”
After listening to Fu Yansheng’s words, Qi Yu fell into a long silence.
It was like he was suddenly awakened. That’s right. They already have so much money. They should be able to freely allocate their assets and do things that suit their own wishes. Why should they be forced into submission by others?
Thinking of his dad’s insistence on Mei Wei’s design and quality; if his purpose was to build a brand, even if Mei Wei gets delisted from the market, he could still do it. Why did they have to expand to this scale?
Since they no longer had the energy to manage, why did they have to move forward with such heavy burdens?
…
These questions that he’d never thought of before were tumbling in Qi Yu’s mind, cleansing all his pre-existing thinking…
Seeing how he had his head lowered in thought, Fu Yansheng didn’t bother him anymore, as if giving him time to digest these questions. He got up to call the hotel’s room service and ordered a commercial set meal.
When Qi Yu came back to his senses, Fu Yansheng had already finished his meal and was unhurriedly lighting a cigarette to one side.
“Have you thought about it clearly?” The man raised his eyebrows. “What are you going to do?”
Qi Yu was still uneasy about his decision, but looking at Fu Yansheng’s calm and relaxed manner, he felt like that he had a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, and boundless confidence.
Qi Yu’s eyes flickered and he deliberately said, “Teacher Fu, if I decide to just let it go, would you feel disappointed?”
Fu Yansheng: “You won’t just let it go.”
Qi Yu was puzzled. “Why?”
Fu Yansheng let out a puff of smoke and said with a smile, “If you just let it go, my entire year of teaching you would have been for nothing.”
Qi Yu: “…”
Fine, he admitted it. He was influenced by Fu Yansheng.
Although the man said that he would not make a decision for him, his attitude and stance were already reflected in his words and deeds. It involuntarily attracted Qi Yu and made him want to draw in close to the other.
As Fu Yansheng has said, he actually had an answer in his heart what he should choose. Only the entanglement between emotions and profit made him sway and feel pained. Fu Yansheng’s words were like a cardiac stimulant, allowing him to steady himself.
“I still want to resolve this matter through formal channels.” Qi Yu frowned slightly. “But I don’t want my father to be in a dilemma because of my personal decision.”
Fu Yansheng was stunned. “Are you planning to do this by yourself?”
Qi Yu’s tone was slightly deep, “En, when my dad and I were having dinner this evening, he told me that he had already more or less guessed the attitudes of these shareholders. And although it was a secret meeting, some of the shareholders would definitely disclose the information to Qiu Mingyang. It’s impossible to hide the investigation. Probably within the next two days, Qiu Mingyang will take on a proactive attitude. Qiu Rusong may also destroy relevant evidence in the near future… I’m guessing my father still cares about his relationship with Uncle Qiu. If I sue Qiu Rusong, my father will lose trust and support in the group.”
Fu Yansheng pondered for a moment, and pointed out, “Your purpose is only to make the people who committed the crime be punished by the law. This doesn’t mean that you should come forward to sue them.”
Qi Yu: “Then I should go find someone to help me report it?”
Fu Yansheng shook his head. He took the cigarette and tapped the ash into the ashtray on the coffee table. He said, “Now there is this mine in Mei Wei. Suppose them and your dad want to dig it out quietly and eradicate it. But before they can manage that, you want the outside world and the regulators to pay attention to this matter, what else can you do?”
For a couple of seconds, Qi Yu stared at the flame at the end of the cigarette. He then raised his eyes and said, “Blow it up in advance?”
————
【Little Theater】
Qi Yu: Teacher, I want to make trouble!
Fu Yansheng: The boy is worth teaching! Come, let’s do it together!
They are two peas in a pod, both cunning and smart. Thank you so much for this chapter. Be safe and have a great day, lil mushroom. 💙
THIS PLACE ABOUT TO BLOW-W-W-W
LMAO The little theater makes the best summaries hahahaha
Little Fish: Time to swim in troubled waters
Teacher Fu: Come, come, this way is a bigger waters to swim in
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
In a nutshell…😂😂😂
Thanks for the chapter<3
thanks for the chapter!
Sustainability maybe? Do good beyond mere compliance with law so the business exist and grow in the long run.. Papa Qi must have lowkey wanted to pass on the group companies to his son as a legacy?
As a student who keeps getting homework about cases in business ethics makes me want to make a case analysis out of this, i mean it also involves ethical issues right? 😩
Very idealistic. But people who have principles are more pleasing to the eye than those who don’t.