Chapter 74: Officially Appointed Vice Chairman of Qingzhou Yingni
The next morning, as Su Zhixue and the other employees gradually arrived at work, Lin Haoran left Hengfeng Building with his two bodyguards and headed straight for Qingzhou Yingni in Hung Hom.
The trip from Central to Hung Hom was not far. Passing through the bustling districts of Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, they crossed the Cross-Harbour Tunnel before exiting onto the local roads, soon arriving at Qingzhou Yingni's headquarters.
It was still early—only 9:30 a.m.—while the board meeting was scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.
As he entered Qingzhou Building, the foreign receptionist greeted Lin Haoran with a completely different attitude from the previous day. After hearing yesterday's news, she had learned that this young man was actually one of the company's major shareholders.
Thinking back to how rudely she had treated him the day before, she couldn't help feeling a wave of regret. She could hardly believe she had carelessly offended one of the company's most important figures.
The sudden realization left her both embarrassed and remorseful, as though she had just woken from an absurd dream.
Lin Haoran, naturally, paid no attention to what she was thinking. Without lingering in the lobby, he and his two bodyguards entered the elevator and went directly to Harold Centurion's office floor.
After arriving, he asked his bodyguards to wait outside in the hallway before entering alone.
With a smile, he greeted the chairman.
"Good morning, Mr. Harold."
Harold looked up and smiled warmly.
"Good morning, Mr. Lin. It's exactly 9:35. You're quite early. It seems you're already eager to become Qingzhou Yingni's Vice Chairman."
There was a hint of playful teasing in his voice.
Lin Haoran smiled confidently.
"That's right, Mr. Harold. I'm ready to take on this new role. I'll be relying on your guidance in the future. I believe that with our combined efforts, Qingzhou Yingni will achieve an even brighter future."
Harold Centurion knew how to put on an act.
So did Lin Haoran.
Before long, the board members gradually arrived.
Qingzhou Yingni's board consisted of thirteen directors.
Harry Centurion himself, along with five other British shareholders and three Chinese shareholders, all held board seats.
The remaining four directors were not shareholders at all but senior executives of the company.
For example, the company's General Manager, Mr. Ziegler, was both a board director and the current Vice Chairman. Although he held no shares in Qingzhou Yingni, he had been hired externally as a professional executive.
As each board member arrived, Harold enthusiastically introduced them to Lin Haoran.
By the time the meeting began, Lin Haoran had already met every member of the board.
Everyone was astonished by how young the company's newest major shareholder was.
Even more shocking was the fact that this young man not only had the youngest face in the room but also owned the largest stake among everyone present.
"All right, it's about time. Let's head to the conference room and begin the board meeting."
As chairman, Harold Centurion took the lead.
The conference room was located just beside the chairman's office. After walking only a few steps, everyone entered the room.
Although it wasn't particularly spacious, it was compact and elegantly arranged.
An oval conference table stood in the center, surrounded by comfortable chairs.
There was more than enough room for the original thirteen directors, the newly joined Lin Haoran, and a meeting secretary responsible for recording the minutes.
As a publicly listed company, transparency was of the utmost importance.
Any major corporate decision—whether involving strategic changes or executive appointments—had to be disclosed publicly in accordance with regulatory requirements.
Therefore, if Lin Haoran successfully became Qingzhou Yingni's Vice Chairman, the appointment would have to be officially announced within the required timeframe.
After all, every shareholder, regardless of how many shares they owned, had the right to know about and participate in important company affairs. It was one of the fundamental principles of corporate governance for listed companies.
Harold Centurion took his seat at the head of the table and officially opened the meeting.
"I believe everyone already knows the purpose of today's meeting, but I'll briefly summarize it once more.
"Mr. Lin Haoran has accumulated 13.7% of Qingzhou Yingni's shares through open-market purchases, officially making him one of the company's major shareholders.
"As Chairman of the Board, I hereby approve Mr. Lin's appointment as a member of the Board of Directors.
"In addition, there is another important matter requiring everyone's vote today.
"Mr. Lin wishes to serve as the company's Vice Chairman.
"Although Mr. Lin is still quite young, the size of his shareholding makes him an extremely important shareholder, so his request is perfectly understandable.
"However, there is one issue.
"Our current Vice Chairman is also the company's General Manager, Mr. Ziegler.
"If Mr. Lin assumes the position of Vice Chairman, Mr. Ziegler will naturally have to relinquish the title.
"I've explained everything once again.
"Now, please begin voting.
"Those in favor, please raise your hands.
"Those opposed need only refrain from raising their hands."
There was no abstention option.
Those who didn't support the proposal were effectively voting against it. Even if abstentions had been allowed, they would have amounted to the same thing.
Ever since Lin Haoran had proposed becoming Vice Chairman, Harold had already made up his mind.
What if he gave Lin the title?
So what?
The real power remained firmly in Harold's own hands.
Even if Lin Haoran held the position of Vice Chairman, it would be nothing more than an impressive title with little actual authority.
The young man lacked business experience.
There was no way someone like him could uncover Harold's secrets.
As long as that remained true, Harold could continue living comfortably.
As the company's second-highest-ranking executive—and the true person in charge of day-to-day operations—General Manager Ziegler wielded tremendous authority within Qingzhou Yingni.
What nobody knew, however, was that Ziegler was Harold Centurion's man.
Even the company's Chief Financial Officer answered directly to Harold.
These two individuals had been carefully placed over many years until they occupied the company's most critical management positions.
On the surface, they were highly qualified executives recruited from outside.
In reality, they were nothing more than Harold's trusted confidants.
Because both the General Manager and the CFO were loyal to him, Harold had been able to siphon off company profits year after year.
Through falsified accounting and various financial manipulations, he continuously drained Qingzhou Yingni's earnings.
The vast majority of the money ultimately flowed into his own pockets.
As for ordinary shareholders?
Expecting generous dividends was almost impossible.
The few major shareholders whom Harold had secretly bribed at least received a share of the spoils.
Since their own holdings weren't particularly large, they were more than happy to receive substantial extra income behind the scenes.
Naturally, they continued supporting Harold.
By owning only 12.6% of the company, Harold had managed to control nearly 80% of Qingzhou Yingni's actual profits, funneling them into his own hands.
Needless to say, his position as chairman had been extraordinarily comfortable.
The company's reported profits remained low.
Shareholder dividends stayed disappointing.
The stock gradually lost investors' interest.
Eventually, a vicious cycle formed.
Because of that cycle, Harold had maintained control of Qingzhou Yingni with only a 12.6% stake for well over a decade.
Yet out of nowhere, this young man named Lin Haoran had suddenly become the company's largest shareholder.
Worse still...
There might be another unknown force quietly accumulating shares in the market.
The thought left Harold in an exceptionally foul mood over the past two days.
In fact, during his more than ten years as chairman, he had rarely felt this burdened.
As soon as Harold finished speaking, everyone around the table looked at one another, waiting to see how the others would vote.
To them, Lin Haoran was simply too young.
Under normal circumstances, someone his age was hardly suitable for the position of Vice Chairman.
Ordinarily, they would have voted against him.
However...
Lin Haoran also happened to be the company's largest shareholder.
To possess such enormous wealth at such a young age meant his future prospects were limitless.
Voting against him today would essentially mean making an enemy of him.
As a result, most of the shareholders found themselves hesitating.
Then Harold Centurion became the first person to raise his hand in support.
He had already decided to win Lin Haoran over while quietly stripping him of any real authority.
Even as Vice Chairman, Lin would merely occupy an empty position with no actual power.
Since everyone's attention had been focused on Harold from the beginning, many board members immediately followed his lead after seeing him vote in favor.
To Lin Haoran's surprise, every shareholder-director voted in favor.
Only the four directors who were not shareholders voted against the proposal.
Now that Lin Haoran had officially become a board member himself, he also possessed voting rights.
Including his own vote, the final result was:
10 votes in favor.
4 votes against.
Lin Haoran was officially elected Vice Chairman of Qingzhou Yingni.
Ziegler, the former Vice Chairman, remained remarkably calm.
After all, Harold had already spoken with him the previous evening.
He had long known the outcome.
He knew Harold would support the appointment of the company's new major shareholder as Vice Chairman.
"Congratulations, Mr. Lin, on officially becoming the Vice Chairman of Qingzhou Yingni."
Harold Centurion smiled as he took the lead in applauding.
As his applause echoed through the room, everyone else quickly joined in with enthusiastic applause.
From the scene before him, Lin Haoran could clearly see just how much influence Harold wielded within Qingzhou Yingni.
The shareholders appeared to follow him almost blindly, giving little thought of their own.
Only then did Lin Haoran fully understand why Harold had managed to remain firmly seated as chairman for more than a decade.
It seems that once I take control of Qingzhou Yingni...
Harold Centurion will have to go as soon as possible.
(End of Chapter)
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