As a Magnate, I Started Checking in at a Convenience Store - Chapter 503

Chapter 503: Is It a Blessing or a Curse!

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The next morning, Zhou Chao got up early and sat on the balcony of his room, looking out at the beautiful scenery of West Lake not far away. He could feel the gentle breeze brushing his face, and the air carried a hint of moisture, making him feel refreshed.

A pair of delicate hands wrapped around Zhou Chao’s neck from behind.

“Why are you up so early?” Jiang Li’s voice softly rang in his ears, and whether it was intentional or not, her warm breath slipped into Zhou Chao’s ear.

“Lady, do you know you’re asking for trouble?”

Her laughter echoed in Zhou Chao’s ear again. “I believe you can handle it.”

Zhou Chao shook his head helplessly.

“Brother Chao, what are you looking up on your phone?” Jiang Li curiously asked as she noticed the smartphone on his thigh, displaying some information.

“I’m checking information related to Hua Hong Film and Television. It turns out that many familiar TV dramas were produced by their company. They’re also the first publicly traded film and television stock in China, creating quite a few miracles. Moreover, they’ve established a TV drama export alliance with several other companies. It seems that Hua Hong is a major player in the domestic film and television industry,” Zhou Chao said, his eyes gleaming as if he had thought of something interesting.

“Are you planning to visit this company today?”

“Most likely. We’ll have to see the situation once the people sent by Ling Chen arrive. It’s not very clear at the moment, and even convening a board of directors meeting will take some time.”

Just as Zhou Chao finished speaking, the room’s doorbell rang.

“Ding-dong!”

“Hmm? Brother Chao, are your people here?”

“No, it’s too early for that. It should be the breakfast 1 ordered from the hotel. Would you mind answering the door?”

Jiang Li nodded and walked towards the door.

As she opened the door, a female hotel attendant stood there with a breakfast cart, wearing a smile on her face.

“Good morning. Did you order breakfast? Would you like us to bring it into the room?” The attendant asked politely.

“Please bring it in and place it on the dining table,” Jiang Li replied, then turned to Zhou Chao.

The attendant carefully pushed the breakfast cart into the room, placed several breakfast items on the dining table, and then exited the room. She dared not look around too much, as her supervisor had specifically instructed her to be cautious and not to pry, even though she hadn’t stated it explicitly. She had a vague feeling that the two guests staying in this room were not ordinary.

“Brother Chao, it’s time for breakfast.” Jiang Li leaned on Zhou Chao’s head with her entire upper body. He could clearly feel her softness as she pressed against his back. Unconsciously, he leaned back, feeling the pressure on his chest. Jiang Li let out a soft chuckle but didn’t move away.

“Hey, it’s really comfortable!” Zhou Chao had a mischievous smile on his face.

“That’s enough, get up and have breakfast. It won’t taste good if it gets cold,” Jiang Li said, playfully rubbing Zhou Chao’s head.

Zhou Chao knew when to stop teasing. He stood up with a smile, and Jiang Li’s upper body, which had been leaning on him, had turned slightly pink, which was exceptionally charming.

“Xiaolongbao, shrimp dumplings, and a glass of milk. Breakfast looks good!” Zhou Chao remarked, somewhat surprised, as he thought they might only have congee.

Let’s eat quickly. If we wait too long, the dumplings will get cold, and they won’t taste as good,” Jiang Li said as she sat down.

After having breakfast, the two of them didn’t go out for a stroll. Jiang Li went back to the room to continue sleeping, while Zhou Chao stayed on the couch and played with his phone.

It wasn’t until half-past ten in the morning that Zhou Chao, who was almost dozing off while playing on his phone, heard the phone on the table ringing.

“Is it Qin Ziwei calling me? Did Ling Chen send her to Hangzhou?”

Zhou Chao didn’t think much and immediately answered the call.

“Boss, it’s me, Qin Ziwei,” a brisk voice came from the phone.

“I know. 1 have your number. What’s up?”

“Boss, I’ve arrived in Hangzhou. Do you know where you are right now?”

“I didn’t expect Ling Chen to send you here. I’m currently at the Hilton Hotel on the side of West Lake. You can come directly.”

“Alright, Boss!” Qin Ziwei replied and hung up the phone.

Looking at the disconnected call, Zhou Chao chuckled. “Usually, I’m the one hanging up on others, but today, someone hung up on me, and it’s my own subordinate. How interesting!”

Qin Ziwei and her team arrived quickly, taking less than half an hour to reach the hotel.

“I didn’t expect Ling Chen to send you. Isn’t this making a mountain out of a molehill?” Zhou Chao sat on the couch, sipping tea and speaking to the several people sitting in front of him.

Boss, Ling Chen believes you might have a major move in mind, so he sent me,” Qin Ziwei replied without explicitly mentioning anything. After all, it was best not to casually guess the boss’ thoughts, and even if she knew, it was best kept in her heart. Sometimes, knowing too much was also a kind of wrongdoing.

“That Ling Chen. I’ll teach him a lesson when I return to Modu.” Zhou Chao understood the situation instantly. Perhaps his plans had been exposed by Ling Chen. However, this was unavoidable, as many things had passed through Ling Chen’s hands. Despite this, Zhou Chao couldn’t help muttering to himself.

“Achoo!” Meanwhile, back in Modu, Ling Chen sneezed and said, “Who’s thinking about me?”

“Well, tell me about the current situation at Hua Hong Film and Television. How much of the company do we own?”

Qin Ziwei immediately took a stack of documents from her assistant’s hand and handed them to Zhou Chao. After he took them, she continued, “Currently, we hold 68% of Hua Hong’s shares, all acquired from small shareholders. Among the original top ten shareholders, only three remain. The largest shareholder is Hua Hong’s CEO, Fu Cheng, with a 20% stake. The other two each hold 3% and 1%. We initially intended to acquire their shares as well, but we found out that these two have special relationships with Fu Cheng. To avoid alerting them, we had to give up. Additionally, there are approximately 8% of scattered shares in the stock market.

At present, Hua Hong’s total market value is close to 9.4 billion. It has nearly a hundred signed artists, but only about twenty of them are well-known. There are two TV dramas scheduled to be aired on television and a web series in the second half of the year. Based on the financial reports from the first two quarters, Hua Hong is expected to incur losses this year. That’s the general situation with Hua Hong.”

Zhou Chao didn’t immediately respond to this information. He leaned back on the couch, propped his legs up, and tapped the armrest rhythmically with his right hand.

“Qin Ziwei, in your capacity as a shareholder, propose to hold a shareholder meeting at Hua Hong Film and Television,” Zhou Chao finally spoke after a while.

“Boss, how should we schedule the timing?”

Let’s set it for tomorrow morning. You guys arrived early today, so take some rest, or if you want to go out, feel free to explore. Manage it yourselves!”

Zhou Chao’s words filled everyone with excitement, as such opportunities were extremely rare.

“Thank you, Boss!” Qin Ziwei, as the team leader, expressed her gratitude to the Boss.

“Alright, go and arrange your rooms first, and don’t forget about the task.”

Qin Ziwei nodded, and with her team, she left Zhou Chao’s room. After settling in, Qin Ziwei immediately sent out notifications about the shareholder meeting to several shareholders of Hua Hong Group. She also attached the shareholder agreement, displaying herself as a major shareholder.

Hua Hong Film and Television was thrown into turmoil.

“Lao Fu, what’s going on? Why did someone propose a board meeting and their shares have reached 68%? Haven’t they already taken control?” Wu Tao, the second largest shareholder of Hua Hong, was utterly astonished.

“I don’t know either. Lao Wu, let’s not panic for now. I’ll call and find out what’s going on,” Fu Cheng, the CEO of Hua Hong, was equally puzzled. He had been enjoying a massage from his secretary while sipping tea when he suddenly received the notification to convene the shareholder meeting.

As the president of Hua Hong, Fu Cheng remained calm, but he was bewildered. He didn’t immediately react to the situation. Instead, he called the second largest shareholder to inquire about the matter. To his surprise, he received the same response from all the shareholders he contacted—they had already sold their shares at a premium. At this point, even calm and experienced Fu Cheng couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

After questioning all the shareholders, Fu Cheng realized that apart from his own and Wu Tao’s shares, no one else held significant stakes in the company. Even the shares on the stock market had been gradually acquired by unidentified entities. If there were any shares left, they belonged to minor retail investors, which were not significant.

Fu Cheng suddenly felt that the situation had become quite complicated. After pondering for a moment, he called Wu Tao.

Lao Fu, what’s going on? Is someone playing a prank?”

“lao Wu, this might turn into a major issue. 1 just inquired, and all the other shareholders have already sold their shares, including the shares in the stock market. Now, only a few minor retail investors are left.”

“What should we do?” Wu Tao was getting nervous.

Fu Cheng sighed and said, “We can only take it step by step. After all, they have gained absolute control, and we have no choice but to see how the shareholder meeting goes tomorrow and make plans accordingly.”

At this moment, even Fu Cheng was uncertain about the situation. The other party had executed their strategy silently and effectively, indicating a significant backing. However, whether this was for better or worse remained unknown.

“I understand. Let’s talk when we meet tomorrow,” Wu Tao replied, his mood considerably dampened, as he couldn’t predict whether he would still be a part of the company by the next day.

“Alright.”

After ending the call, Fu Cheng summoned Zhao Fang, the Chairman of the Board, to brief him on the situation. As the Chairman, he needed to be aware of these developments and prepare for the shareholder meeting scheduled for the next day.

“Zhao Fang, please arrange the meeting room. We need to hold a board meeting tomorrow!”

“A board meeting? What’s going on? Why do we need to hold a board meeting?” Zhao Fang was puzzled, as there hadn’t been any significant company activities recently.

“I’m not the one calling for it; it’s the new majority shareholder!”

“New majority shareholder? Are you saying someone has acquired our stocks?” Zhao Fang asked in astonishment.

“It’s more than that; they have acquired the shares held by other shareholders as well. They now hold 68% of the company.”

Hearing this, Zhao Fang was left stunned in her tracks. Even though she had seen her fair share of ups and downs, this situation was still an astonishing turn of events. The silent acquisition had turned the company into a completely different landscape.

So, what should we do?”

“I don’t know yet. We’ll have to see the outcome of the shareholder meeting tomorrow. For now, prepare for it.”

Zhao Fang hesitated briefly but eventually nodded and left the CEO’s office. After he left, Fu Cheng walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the bustling streets below. He couldn’t help but sigh deeply, wondering whether this was a blessing or a curse for Hua Hong Film and Television..