It seems that, under Zhou's initial arrangements and with the efforts of Liu Xiaofei and others, Zhou's Group and Xinda Daily Chemicals have indeed developed rapidly and achieved great results in the past three years.
But... things aren't as optimistic as the old commanders said...
Well... but Zhou Ziwei isn't worried about that. Mita Masao is just a paper tiger. As soon as he sees the real tiger return, that guy will be exposed for what he really is... Of course, Zhou Ziwei won't let him off so easily.
As a servant, he dared to ride roughshod over his master... If he wasn't properly reprimanded, Zhou Ziwei would be very unhappy...
In addition, there's the matter with Xinda Daily Chemicals... This is a bit troublesome. Zhou Ziwei doesn't have a good impression of that family, but they are, after all, Wang Xuewei's relatives. So, it's best for Wang Xuewei to decide how to handle the Wang family's affairs.
Zhou Ziwei gently massaged Wang Xuewei's head and checked her pulse. He felt that Wang Xuewei was fine, but she seemed to be quite tired recently. After all, Zhou Ziwei had been flying with them for so long. It was quite enjoyable at first, but after a while, it wasn't as comfortable as flying. Therefore, it was normal for Wang Xuewei to feel a little weak. Zhou Ziwei didn't wake her up and gently covered her with a blanket so that she could get some sleep.
She opened the door and went outside, where she saw that the dozen or so people, led by Zhou Zixu and Liu Xiaofei, were still waiting. However, fearing to disturb Wang Xuewei, no one dared to speak loudly.
"Let's go...to the office." Zhou Ziwei said with a stern face, and Zhou Zixu led the way. Soon, the group arrived at the most luxurious modern office on the sixty-sixth floor of the building. The office was more than 300 square meters in size and had several small functional rooms. The interior decoration was like a palace, so luxurious that Zhou Ziwei felt as if he had stepped into the imperial palace.
This is the chairman's office of the Zhou Group. When this office building was first designed, a very luxurious office was specially reserved for Zhou Ziwei. Although Zhou Ziwei has never appeared in the past three years, neither Zhou Zixu, who is the second director, nor Liu Xiaofei, who is the executive president of the Zhou Group, has any intention of occupying this office. They have always assigned someone to clean the room every day, keeping it very clean. No matter when Zhou Ziwei returns, he can immediately come here to work.
Zhou Ziwei looked around with satisfaction, then sat down at the large desk in the center of the office. He picked up the antique-style landline phone on the desk and dialed a strange number, but after a while, no one answered.
Zhou Ziwei frowned immediately, guessing that Masao Mita was probably not in Japan, otherwise he wouldn't have dared not answer the call. So he turned to Liu Xiaofei and said, "Xiaofei, you should know where that old guy Masao Mita is, right? Call Masao Mita for me right now. I want to ask this little devil what he's up to."
“This… Mr. Mita should be in Dangyang right now, but…” Liu Xiaofei hesitated slightly upon hearing this. Although she understood Zhou Ziwei’s extraordinary abilities better than Zhou Zixu, she was completely unaware of the relationship between Zhou Ziwei and Mita Masao. Currently, the Zhou Group’s overseas marketing was entirely dependent on the support of the Mita family. If Zhou Ziwei offended Mita Masao with his words, the Zhou Group would likely face the complete collapse of its overseas marketing network, which was not something Liu Xiaofei wanted to see.
Volume 2, The Killer's Nightmare, Chapter 438: Just a Dog
Zhou Zixu was even more afraid that Zhou Ziwei would act recklessly, so he quickly stepped forward and pressed the phone, saying, "Brother, this matter... we should think about it carefully. Let's not offend Mr. Mita for now! At most, we can just not agree to the Mita family's investment."
Zhou Ziwei ignored him, pushed Zhou Zixu's hand aside, and then glared at Liu Xiaofei again, saying, "I'll say it again... Call Mita Masao and have him come here to see me immediately."
Liu Xiaofei didn't dare to persuade Zhou Ziwei any further. She immediately picked up the phone, dialed a number, and after only two rings, Mita Masao's slightly lewd laughter came through the receiver: "President Liu... haha... what brings you to call this old man today? Oh... could it be that President Liu has changed his mind and is going to agree to go to Japan with me for an inspection? Haha... President Liu, please rest assured, although I have a good impression of you, who am I, Mita Masao? I wouldn't resort to any underhanded tactics against you. You can rest assured about that. My invitation to Japan is simply to let you experience firsthand the people and customs of our Yamato people and to further discuss the relocation of the Zhou Group to Japan... If it's convenient, I would also like to introduce you to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to show our sincerity in inviting the Zhou Group to join Japan..."
Liu Xiaofei frowned slightly, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes. She glanced apologetically at Zhou Ziwei before speaking into the microphone: "I'm sorry, Mr. Mita, I'm not interested in any of this. Besides, the matter of whether the Zhou family should relocate to Japan is not my decision. I think you shouldn't waste your time... Um, someone else wants to see you this time... You should talk to him!"
As Liu Xiaofei spoke, she handed the microphone to Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei took the phone but didn't speak immediately; he simply held the receiver and listened quietly.
"Hello... who is this?" Masao Mita's voice sounded rather impatient. "Fine! I don't care who you are. Now, please hand the phone to Mr. Liu immediately. I have some important matters to discuss with him. If you're trying to use Mr. Liu's connections to seek cooperation with Mita Corporation... then I can tell you, I'm not interested. However, I can give you a chance... if you have a way to satisfy Mr. Liu... then I can completely satisfy you as well. Do you understand what I mean?"
“I don’t understand,” Zhou Ziwei said coldly. “All I know is that you’re just a dog, so I don’t understand what right a dog has to demand that its mistress please it.”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, followed by a series of teeth clanging together. After more than ten seconds, Zhou Ziwei heard Masao Mita stammer, his voice filled with obvious fear, "You...you are...Master...Master, you...you are not dead."
Zhou Zixu didn't hear what Masao Mita was saying on the phone, only Zhou Ziwei cursing him as a dog. Zhou Zixu turned pale with fright and hurriedly grabbed the microphone from Zhou Ziwei's hand, exclaiming, "Brother... Brother, are you crazy? How can you talk to Mr. Mita like that? Do you know who Mr. Mita is? Do you know the Mita family, the Mita Group? Masao Mita is the head of the Mita family, and the Mita family is the most powerful family in Japan. They can even secretly control the entire economy and law of Japan. And the Mita Group, controlled by the Mita family... is the largest gang in Japan, and its influence extends throughout Asia. It's even a legal gang recognized by the Japanese government. We can't afford to offend them... Brother... You should apologize to Mr. Mita! Just say you were drunk and ask Mr. Mita not to mind, otherwise... otherwise, the Zhou family might be completely finished this time."
Zhou Ziwei didn't let Zhou Zixu take the microphone away from him, but he wasn't angry that Zhou Zixu would say such a thing.
In fact, Zhou Zixu did not do anything wrong. If it weren't for Zhou Ziwei suppressing the Zhou family, no matter how well the Zhou family had developed in the past three years, compared with the Mita family, it would still be as far as the difference between an ant and an elephant.
If Masao Mita really wanted to destroy or annex the Zhou family, it would only take a word from him.
Therefore, Zhou Zixu's fear of Masao Mita and the Mita family is quite justified.
Why did Zhou Ziwei never reveal his true strength to Zhou Zixu? So it's not Zhou Zixu's fault. If Zhou Zixu wasn't afraid of Mita Masao, it would be strange for Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei gently patted Zhou Zixu's shoulder and said with a slight smile, "Don't worry, trust your older brother, I'll handle it."
After saying that, Zhou Ziwei picked up the phone again and coldly said to Mita Masao, who was still trembling and chattering on the other end of the line, "I don't have a servant like you... a servant who actually dared to set his sights on the mistress... Hmph... I might as well just raise a dog, so... you'd better watch yourself!"
After Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, he hung up the phone directly. He didn't ask Mita Masao to do anything, but he didn't want to push things too far either. His final words, "Take care of yourself," were a way of giving Mita Masao a chance to atone for his sins. It all depended on whether Mita Masao could humble himself and to what extent he could do it.
If Masao Mita's performance doesn't satisfy him... then Zhou Ziwei wouldn't mind wiping out Masao Mita and the entire Mita family.
Zhou Ziwei now has the strength to easily wipe out the entire Mita family. However, Zhou Ziwei always felt that raising a dog was not easy, and if he really killed this dog, it would be somewhat inconvenient for him to do things in the future.
Since Masao Mita hasn't done anything substantial to harm the Zhou Group or the people he cares about yet, Zhou Ziwei doesn't mind giving this dog another chance to live.
Zhou Zixu was still somewhat uneasy, but since Zhou Ziwei had already said those words, Zhou Zixu had no choice but to remain silent and not say anything more.
Zhou Ziwei scratched his head helplessly, looked around, and found that among the people present, more or less knew something about his superpowers, but his younger brother, who was his biological brother, knew nothing about them.
Zhou Ziwei felt a little ashamed about this, but he didn't know how to explain it to Zhou Zixu for a moment. He couldn't just pat Zhou Zixu on the shoulder and say, "Don't be afraid, little brother. Even though I'm not wearing my underwear outside my pants, I'm still much cooler than Superman in American movies."
Even if he were to say that, Zhou Zixu probably wouldn't believe him, so Zhou Ziwei had no choice but to hold off on explaining for now and let the facts speak for themselves, allowing his younger brother in this life to gradually understand him!
Sitting back down on the sofa, Zhou Ziwei ignored the matter of Masao Mita and continued talking with Liu Xiaofei and Luan Yuqing about the current situation of the Zhou family.
"By the way... is the drug research institute that Zhou's used to have still there?" Zhou Ziwei asked Liu Xiaofei.
"Of course it's still there..." Liu Xiaofei quickly got into the swing of things when talking about the company, and immediately began to introduce it in detail: "The group company's original three pharmaceutical factories have now expanded to five. Three of them mainly produce traditional Chinese medicine preparations, while the other two mainly produce Western medicines. Our group company's drug research institutes have also been divided into two according to different development directions: the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute and the Western Medicine Research Institute. And the scale of each research institute is at least five to ten times that of before."
Zhou Ziwei nodded upon hearing this and said, "Call me here immediately for the director in charge of the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I have some things to tell him to do."
"Okay...Chairman." Liu Xiaofei replied immediately and politely.
Liu Xiaofei is a person who knows when to advance and when to retreat. She understands that this is the Zhou Group company, not a private occasion. Therefore, at this time, she will never overstep her bounds in front of Zhou Ziwei just because she is Zhou Ziwei's woman, and she fully plays her role as a subordinate.
After Liu Xiaofei turned around and had her secretary, who was waiting outside, immediately take care of the matter, Zhou Ziwei continued, "Does the group currently have any industries related to electronics and machinery? Are there any involvements in automobile manufacturing?"
Liu Xiaofei replied, "We don't have any good projects in the electronics and machinery industry yet, so we haven't gotten involved. As for automobile manufacturing... last month, our Zhou family just acquired a medium-sized automobile manufacturing plant in Zhongdu. We are currently in the integration phase, and it is estimated that it will take some time before we can officially start production."
Zhou Ziwei nodded, crossed his hands on his thighs, and tapped his fingers lightly as he pondered for a moment before saying, "Don't rush to put that medium-sized car factory into production. I might come up with a new car design soon... Oh... Of course, once this new car is actually produced, it might no longer be called a car... As for what to call it, you guys can help name this new product after the samples are ready! I'm not very good at that. Also... Immediately start acquiring an electronics factory. The factory doesn't need to be too big, and we don't need the original manufacturer to have many product patents. Just having a factory with complete hardware facilities will be enough. Let me know after the acquisition, and I will make a targeted plan for the subsequent restructuring."
“Okay…Chairman.” Although Liu Xiaofei found Zhou Ziwei’s decision a bit strange, and was extremely curious about what kind of car design Zhou Ziwei would produce, she wasn’t in a hurry to ask since Zhou Ziwei hadn’t announced it yet.
"And..." Zhou Ziwei said, looking up at Liu Xiaofei's increasingly mature and charming face, and smiled slightly, "Next time you're in a magazine, remember not to let them photograph you like a plastic model... that... really doesn't look like you at all."
Liu Xiaofei was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then blushed slightly and said, "Okay, Chairman... next time... if there's another opportunity like this, I'll definitely wash my face before letting them take the photos, and they can only use old-fashioned film cameras, not digital cameras. Is that alright?"
"Haha...that's right." Zhou Ziwei laughed heartily and said, "Nature is the most beautiful. Those guys who do art have all gone crazy. They don't understand what real art is at all."
As the group was chatting and laughing, Luan Yuqing's phone suddenly rang. She immediately smiled apologetically at Zhou Ziwei, then stepped back a few paces and went to the window to answer the call quietly.
But after only a few words, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "What...is this real? How...how could this be?"
Zhou Ziwei asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Assistant Luan? What happened?"
Luan Yuqing rushed over and looked at Zhou Ziwei with some fear, saying, "Chairman, something bad has happened. The security guard downstairs just called me and said that a Japanese man carrying a samurai sword ran to the front of our Zhou's Building and is blocking the entrance. He won't come in or leave, but keeps saying that he wants to see the chairman."
And...and according to the security captain...he said that the Japanese man looked somewhat familiar, like...like the president of Mita Corporation, an island nation that has a cooperative relationship with our Zhou Group...What should we do...Chairman? It seems that Mr. Mita has most likely come here to challenge you to a duel, right?
"I know you're quite capable, Chairman. Defeating Mr. Mita shouldn't take much effort at all. But... if you were to injure Mr. Mita in front of our Zhou Group building, I'm afraid... I'm afraid it could easily escalate into an international dispute... And... and if the Mita family were to turn against our Zhou Group because of this and completely terminate the overseas agency agreement for Life Spring Beverage, that would be an unimaginable blow to our Zhou Group."
"Ah... Mr. Mita has come to challenge my brother to a duel, what... what should we do!" The people present were not too moved when they heard the news, but Zhou Zixu was even more alarmed. He hurriedly advised Zhou Ziwei to lay low for the time being, saying that they should not have any violent conflict with Mita Masao at this time.
Zhou Ziwei just smiled and said, "It's okay... It's just a dog. If it dares to pounce on me and bite me, I'll just kick it to death at most... Hahaha... Let's go see what tricks that dog is trying to play. If it's not fun... I don't have time to play with it."
With different thoughts in mind, the group took the elevator reserved for the company's senior management directly downstairs.
With a "whoosh," the elevator doors opened, and a large group of company security guards in uniform immediately surrounded them, respectfully greeting Liu Xiaofei, Zhou Zixu, and the others: "Hello, Chairman, Hello, President Liu, Hello, Assistant Luan..."
Zhou Zixu's face flushed when he heard the security guards address him that way. He then straightened his face and shouted at the security guards, "Don't call me Chairman. Didn't I say I'm the acting chairman? This is Zhou Ziwei, the real chairman of our Zhou Group. Remember not to get it wrong again... Oh, right... Now that the chairman is back, I can step down as the acting chairman. From now on, you can just call me Mr. Zhou."
After reprimanding the security guards, Zhou Zixu turned to Zhou Ziwei and hurriedly explained, "Brother, I have no intention of usurping power. I've told them countless times before that I'm the acting chairman, but... I guess they think the title is too long and too troublesome to say, so people always address me incorrectly..."
Zhou Ziwei smiled and waved his hand, saying, "We're brothers, how could I not trust you? Besides... although I'm back, you don't need to step down as acting chairman yet. I have a lot of things to do, and I'm afraid I won't have much energy to devote to this company, so... I might need you to take care of it more in the future..."
Seeing that his brother did not suspect him because of this, Zhou Zixu breathed a slight sigh of relief and also admired Zhou Ziwei's magnanimity.
In fact, he had long known that Zhou Ziwei was only his half-brother, sharing the same mother but different fathers. Zhou Ziwei had no blood relation to the Zhou family. However, Zhou Ziwei did not change the name of the Zhou Group because of this, nor did he distance himself from his younger brother. This was a magnanimity that not everyone could possess.
Moreover... there have been many examples in the past where people could only share hardship but not wealth. Now it seems that Zhou Zixu doesn't need to worry that his older brother will become envious and greedy because of the large amount of wealth owned by the Zhou Group, and kick him, his younger brother, aside.
The security guards were all taken aback when Zhou Zixu introduced Zhou Ziwei as the real boss and chairman of the Zhou Group. They suddenly remembered hearing that the Zhou Group had a very mysterious boss. The company had developed so rapidly in recent years, yet the boss had never shown his face in the company. They never imagined that the man in front of them, dressed in a handsome silver-white suit and with perfect skin that would drive women crazy with envy, was actually the legendary richest man in China and the boss of the Zhou Group.
"Hello, Chairman." At least twenty uniformed security guards bowed respectfully to Zhou Ziwei again. This scene made Zhou Ziwei quite embarrassed. He quickly smiled and nodded to everyone, saying, "Hello...hello everyone too, hehe...it's our first meeting, and I didn't bring any gifts. How about...how about giving each of you an extra month's salary as a bonus...Mr. Liu?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaofei gave a helpless wry smile. Although she personally felt that this kind of reward had no practical meaning and could only stimulate the potential laziness of some employees, since Zhou Ziwei had already said it, she naturally wouldn't object. So, she could only agree with a somewhat forced smile...
Sigh, it seems he really doesn't seem like a qualified boss!
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 439 Self-Mutilation as Atonement
"Hello Chairman, Hello Acting Chairman, Hello President Liu..."
At this moment, a security guard dressed in a uniform that was noticeably different from ordinary security guards hurriedly walked over. After greeting each of the important figures from the group companies present, he said urgently, "Mr. Mita is standing on the steps outside the main gate, holding that samurai sword... He has already attracted a large crowd of onlookers. If... if he were an ordinary person, our security department would have taken him down long ago. But Mr. Mita... his... his identity is too special, and we dare not make a decision on our own. So we had to notify Assistant Luan."
Zhou Ziwei glanced at the man, guessing that this must be the company's security captain. He smiled and nodded at him, then called everyone to walk towards the door.
The Zhou Group's office building is located in the city center of Dangyang, in one of the city's busiest commercial streets, with a constant stream of pedestrians. In just a short while, the entrance of the building attracted a large crowd of onlookers because of a strange Japanese man standing there holding a Japanese sword.
Chinese people love to watch a spectacle; this is a habit passed down for thousands of years. Moreover, the spectacle happening now is in front of the Zhou Group, a source of pride for Dangyang City and a source of shame for the people of Dangyang.
The reason why the Zhou Group is the pride of Dangyang City is naturally due to its development in recent years and its influence both domestically and internationally.
The small city of Dangyang has produced the richest man in the country. While the people of Dangyang are envious and jealous of this, they also feel proud to be from Dangyang.
However, recently, news has spread that the Zhou Group is about to move its headquarters to Japan at the invitation of the Japanese, which has led many passionate young people on the Internet who are not aware of the truth to start wantonly cursing and attacking the Zhou Group.
Because of the Zhou Group's expansion and rapid development over the past year, it has extended its reach into almost every industry in Dangyang City.
According to incomplete statistics, at least 10% of the adults in Dangyang City work in or are affiliated with the Zhou Group, while another 30% or so have relatives or friends working for the Zhou Group. So, almost half of the people in Dangyang City are connected to the Zhou Group in some way. When these people see people online criticizing the Zhou Group, they naturally want to refute them, and thus a war of words begins online.
When those passionate young people discovered that almost all the people standing against them and arguing with them were from Dangyang, they naturally expanded their attack to the entire city of Dangyang. They even called Dangyang a "traitor city" online, believing that the people of Dangyang, for the sake of their businesses' growth, had betrayed their country and let the Japanese invaders into the country, and that everyone in the city was a big traitor.
Driven by some individuals with ulterior motives, this matter escalated, leading many uninformed people to launch a massive online attack against the people of Dangyang, making them almost public enemies.
As a result, those who had little to do with the Zhou Group, or who were dissatisfied with their salaries and benefits despite being members of the Zhou Group, naturally began to complain about the Zhou Group and regard it as a disgrace to the people of Dangyang.
As a result, people from Dangyang split into two major factions online, attacking and hurling insults at each other, creating a chaotic and unpleasant atmosphere.
The people standing on the street watching the commotion naturally belong to two different camps. Among them are even several of the most vocal online celebrities. When they saw that a Japanese man was actually blocking the entrance of the Zhou Group with a Japanese sword, they immediately realized the news value of the situation.
Several people in the crowd took out their phones and took pictures of the man with a Japanese sword blocking the entrance to the Zhou Group building. They then used their phones' internet access to post the photos, along with a few comments they added on the spot, on Weibo.
Several photos taken from different angles were uploaded to the internet almost simultaneously by different people, instantly attracting the attention of countless netizens. These posts were quickly pushed to the top of the website's homepage, so even more people saw these pictures and comments.
Most netizens could only guess that the person holding the Japanese sword was probably a Japanese soldier. However, the journalists in the media could naturally recognize that the person holding the Japanese sword was indeed a Japanese soldier, but he was not an ordinary Japanese soldier. He was a powerful Japanese soldier who could cause a magnitude 7 or 8 earthquake in the entire island nation with a stomp of his foot.
Why did Masao Mita suddenly run to the gate of the Zhou Group with a knife? What was he going to do? What did he want to do?
Although no one knew the answer, those who recognized Masao Mita knew that whatever Masao Mita was up to, some earth-shattering news was bound to happen. So at least a dozen media outlets with bureaus in Dangyang City sent the news to their reporters in Dangyang at almost the same time. Even reporters from media outlets in nearby cities started driving like mad to Dangyang after receiving the news.
And so... less than ten minutes after Masao Mita arrived, a media corps of at least ten companies, totaling nearly thirty people, arrived and crowded to the front of the crowd, excitedly pointing their cameras at Masao Mita, who stood expressionless in front of the Zhou's Building, holding a Japanese sword...
Masao Mita turned around and glanced at the reporters, a bitter smile creeping onto his lips. He made no attempt to avoid these reporters, whom he usually disliked, and continued to stand before the main entrance of the Zhou Group building, his long Japanese samurai sword still in his hand, his expression a mixture of calm and underlying fear and despair…
With a "whoosh," the gate of the Zhou Group, which had been closed by security guards due to a momentary panic, slowly opened, and then a group of people led by Zhou Ziwei walked out.
Although Masao Mita had never actually seen Zhou Ziwei's face, it did not prevent him from recognizing Zhou Ziwei from the group of people at a glance.