Chapter 434: Conflict of Interest

Detecting He Zhihui's abnormality, He Jingping kicked him under the table without a trace.

His tone carried a bit of warning and reminder: "Zhihui, Chairman Tang is about the same age as you, but his achievements are far stronger than yours; you can communicate more with Chairman Tang in the future and learn from him."

He knew his son very well.

He Zhihui's personal ability and quality were quite good, but he was fond of beauty and his style was somewhat dissolute.

On weekdays, he would just turn a blind eye, but today the occasion was different—Lin Mu Xue was Tang Song's female assistant and was so beautiful; obviously, their relationship was unusual.

If Tang Song were offended because of He Zhihui's frivolous actions, it wouldn't be worth the loss.

He Zhihui quickly reined in the strange emotions in his eyes, turning his gaze toward Tang Song, a smile piling up on his face, "Indeed, I must learn from Chairman Tang; I heard that Lanfeng International Hotel is also an asset under Chairman Tang's name, and I am a regular there."

"You flatter me." Tang Song tapped his finger on the crystal glass wall, the crisp clinking sound making his voice even more calm.

He Jingping heard this, laughed "haha" twice, raised his wine glass, and enthusiastically greeted everyone to clink glasses.

Following the topic, he chatted with him about Huashang Apparel's quarterly report and the strategic planning meeting from a few days ago.

Tang Song always had a faint smile on his face, talking and laughing with He Jingping, his words confident and casual.

He Zhihui on the side interjected many times, but didn't get much response.

Detecting Tang Song's attitude, He Zhihui subconsciously pursed his lips; it was obvious that the other party didn't take him, this "relying entirely on his father" second generation, seriously.

However, he had to admit that the other party truly had such capital.

Tang Song suddenly acquired 35% of Huashang Apparel's shares; how could He Jingping, as Chairman, not investigate his background.

According to the information they could find online, besides Songmei Apparel, Tang Song also held 80% equity in Lanfeng International Hotel and 34% equity in Imperial Capital Bocai Yingrui Management Consulting Co., Ltd.

Being able to possess so many high-quality assets at this age was enough to prove the other party's extraordinariness.

Of course, he wouldn't be overly fearful.

Their family had struggled in Yancheng for so many years; besides Huashang Apparel, they also had multiple enterprises in fields like trade, medicine, and agriculture; they were considered true local snakes.

Immediately, he secretly aimed the periphery of his vision at Lin Mu Xue opposite again.

Compared to over a year ago, she was much more beautiful now.

Mainly her temperament and outfit; she looked truly eye-catching.

He had come into contact with many, many women, and among them, there were only a few he had a deep impression of; the model Seeing Xiao Xue was one of them.

After all, the other party had rejected him many times.

Men, after all, always miss their regrets.

Just at this moment, the foot under the table was kicked by his old man again; He Zhihui quickly sat up straight, a look of serious listening appearing on his face.

He Jingping coughed lightly and opened his mouth: "Currently, the IP 'He Yiyi' has already occupied a place in the apparel track on Douyin and has received industry attention and recognition. Chairman Tang, you cut into the live-streaming track and built Songmei Apparel to this scale in such a short time; it truly makes me, an old soldier in the apparel industry, very impressed."

His tone was sincere, his gaze carrying a bit of appreciation, but there was a trace of probing at the bottom of his eyes.

Tang Song put down his chopsticks, his voice steady and indifferent: "He Dong flatters me; the success of Songmei Apparel has a certain randomness. Huashang Apparel has stood firm for so many years; He Dong's ability is what deserves admiration. I believe our cooperation between the two companies next will benefit both sides."

He Jingping shook his head, raised his wine glass and clinked it lightly with Tang Song, his tone carrying a bit of emotion: "To tell the truth, Huashang Apparel is now somewhat unable to keep up with the times. This time I went to Hangcheng and contacted many apparel e-commerce and MCN companies, and I felt deeply about it. Our reform is imminent!"

Following this, he began to talk endlessly about his insights from this business trip, from the explosive growth of live-streaming e-commerce, to the importance of flexible supply chains, to the trend of brand IP.

Listening to his long-winded speech, Tang Song raised his eyebrows slightly, already realizing that something was wrong.

He just wanted to borrow the new production line of Huashang Apparel's headquarters factory to OEM some of Songmei Apparel's products. But He Jingping was rambling on and on, never mentioning the main point, obviously having other plans.

Waiting for a gap in He Jingping's speech, Tang Song looked at him and said directly: "He Dong, I think President Wu has already chatted with you about my plan; I want the new production line of Huashang Apparel's headquarters factory, 5-year exclusivity agreement + production capacity priority."

He Jingping put down his wine glass, pondering for a moment, his tone carrying a bit of caution: "Chairman Tang, to tell you the truth, Huashang Apparel's transformation and upgrade of these two new production lines is to build a flexible supply chain, and the goal is e-commerce!

For this, we spent more than half a year, cumulatively invested over 60 million, completed full-link digitalization, and achieved C2M customization capability!

The new production line has the capability of 50-piece minimum orders and 7-day rapid response, SKU quantity increased by 3 times, and capital occupation reduced by 60%!

This production line can of course become Songmei Apparel's dedicated workshop, but my opinion is, we can cooperate more deeply!"

"Oh? How so?" Tang Song leaned forward slightly, his eyes deep and bright.

He Jingping's eyes flickered, and he said with a smile: "My idea is, why don't we set up a joint venture company.

Huashang provides the production line, resources, design, and management team; Songmei provides the IP and traffic; the equity ratio is negotiable.

Let's operate the new company independently and, through resource integration, fully build this apparel brand.

This can ensure Songmei's independence while sharing all of Huashang's resources."

Hearing this, Tang Song instantly understood.

He Jingping had his eyes on Songmei Apparel's IP and traffic.

Currently, Huashang Apparel is running both its own brands and OEM in parallel; the OEM business is going downhill due to the impact of the Southeast Asian market, and its own brands haven't had any major improvement.

Huashang Apparel, which has been seeking to go public, is looking for new growth points.

Seeing Tang Song, who was silent, He Zhihui on the side followed up: "I once chatted with President Zhang of Sequoia; the live-streaming e-commerce + flexible supply chain model is currently a very hot investment trend.

If our joint venture company can achieve 500 million GMV in the future, calculated at a 4x price-to-sales ratio (PS), that's a valuation of 2 billion!

Most importantly, this can accelerate Huashang Apparel's overall listing, and the value of the equity in your hands will at least triple by then!"

Tang Song's gaze looked at He Zhihui, "President He knows a lot."

He Jingping patted his son's shoulder and smiled: "Chairman Tang, Zhihui was once responsible for the brand operation of 【Huashang·Lingyu】, and has rich experience in this regard; later he did management at Huashang Cultural Creation and had close cooperation with many large live-streaming e-commerce companies.

After our joint venture company is established, I want to recommend him to serve as the person in charge."

He Zhihui showed a confident smile on his face, his voice clear: "Chairman Tang, you are also a shareholder of Huashang Apparel; our interests are consistent.

The era of fighting alone has passed; now to become bigger and stronger, we must integrate resources and develop together.

With Huashang Apparel's multi-dimensional full support, inventory risk and capital pressure will be eliminated, and the joint venture company will definitely have a bright future!

Huashang Apparel and Songmei Apparel will also welcome new opportunities!"

After speaking, the father and son looked at Tang Song with confidence.

No matter how you look at it, this is a great thing.

Especially Huashang Apparel's listing, which is definitely a temptation no one can refuse.

Huashang Apparel, which currently has net assets of 800 million, plus the prospects of the joint venture company, can reach a PB of 3.55~4.55 times after listing, and the final market value may exceed 3 billion.

They didn't think Tang Song would refuse.

With Tang Song's silence, the private room fell into a quiet and tense atmosphere.

Lin Mu Xue shifted her legs, and her attention was also attracted.

Although she didn't understand much of it, she had at least spent enough time in a financial firm to grasp the general meaning.

Out of personal emotion, she really disliked this He Zhihui and didn't want him to have too much cooperation with Tang Song.

However, she also knew the importance.

This is listing! It is the ultimate goal of many enterprises and the most important channel for shareholders to cash out.

"Sorry, He Dong." Tang Song shook his head regretfully, his tone serious: "I have a clear direction for Songmei Apparel's future, including the positioning and development path of this new brand 【HEYIStudio】. I think what Songmei needs currently is to focus on its own brand construction, rather than dispersing energy on a joint venture company."

As his words fell, the atmosphere in the private room seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

He Zhihui furrowed his brows, and the gaze he looked at Tang Song with underwent some subtle changes.

The smile on He Jingping's face stiffened slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

He picked up his wine glass, took a light sip, his tone carrying a bit of probing: "Chairman Tang, are you worried about the control of the joint venture company? We can discuss this to ensure your interests are guaranteed."

"No." Tang Song placed his hands crossed on the desktop, "The joint venture model will affect my strategic layout for Songmei Apparel and also runs counter to my goals, so I'm very sorry."

He Zhihui, seeing this, couldn't help but interject: "Chairman Tang, the current market competition is so fierce, relying on a single company..."

Tang Song interrupted directly, his tone calm: "Let's talk about the OEM business."

Although what He Jingping and his son said was very tempting, it couldn't affect him at all.

Songmei Apparel carried his 【Growth Plan Task】 and must proceed step by step according to the plan.

Moreover, the future was full of uncertainty, and the scale of the two companies was completely unequal; cooperation would only make Songmei Apparel a vassal, so there was no need at all.

He didn't need to rely on selling the company and listing to make money.

The topic was directly interrupted by Tang Song, and a burst of inexplicable anger rose in He Zhihui's heart.

This guy didn't take him seriously at all, and his attitude toward him was also very casual.

Gritting his teeth, He Zhihui said: "Chairman Tang, we have already contacted several live-streaming e-commerce companies in Hangcheng; two of them are willing to set up a joint venture with Huashang Apparel, and even intend to cross-hold shares, while our current flexible production line is only one."

"Alright, Zhihui!" He Jingping waved his hand, his face still maintaining a smile, "Chairman Tang, we can talk about the cooperation slowly, no rush."

Tang Song glanced at He Zhihui indifferently, firmly: "He Dong, I attach great importance to this matter and don't want to drag it out; give me a definite answer."

As a director of the company and a shareholder holding 35%, his active contact with He Jingping to seek cooperation was also creating output value and business for Huashang Apparel.

And He Jingping obviously had his own little thoughts.

Finding a new growth point for Huashang Apparel was one purpose, but more of it should be to cultivate his son.

After all, he was already 55 years old this year, and if he wanted to cultivate He Zhihui into a successor, he must have enough heavyweight achievements.

Hearing Tang Song's impolite words, the smile on He Jingping's face also gradually faded.

Lowering his head to drink wine, He Jingping said: "If that's the case, Chairman Tang might as well wait a bit; we have already started planning the third new production line, at the second factory in the suburbs. We can use the previous production line to carry out preliminary cooperation first, and after the new production line lands, we will customize the production plan for Songmei Apparel to ensure product quality and delivery cycle."

His words were watertight; in fact, the meaning was very clear, which was to refuse Tang Song.

He Jingping, as Chairman, had absolute control over the company; his refusal meant Huashang Apparel's refusal.

He Zhihui's mouth turned up slightly, his gaze looking at Tang Song's face.

However, it was a pity that he didn't see the "rage" he had hoped for, but instead, he remained calm and confident.

"Mm, okay, I understand." Tang Song nodded lightly, his face light and breezy, as if he didn't take this matter to heart too much.

He Jingping furrowed his brows, but didn't say anything more.

Although Tang Song was a shareholder and director of the company, this was, after all, a cooperation between two companies.

His refusal had a legitimate reason and didn't violate the Company Law; even if Tang Song wanted to attack him, he had no reason to make a move.

Lin Mu Xue beside him felt her heart jump, and excited light flashed in her eyes.

Good guy! I'm directly a good guy!

Bold! You father and son actually dare to refuse Chairman Tang!

The dinner party continued, and He Jingping and Tang Song still talked and laughed, but the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.

9:00 PM.

Watching Tang Song and Lin Mu Xue sit into the Rolls-Royce Phantom and drive away slowly.

He Zhihui showed a low expression, "Dad, what should we do now? Continue to talk about cooperation with Yingqu Media? Although they have larger scale and traffic, the conditions are a bit harsh, and other shareholders might have opinions, especially this Tang Song, he has 35% equity."

Major matters in corporate governance must be passed by shareholders representing more than two-thirds of the voting rights.

If the establishment of a joint venture involves the company's core business or assets, it can also be classified into it.

Even if they pass it directly at the board meeting as a non-major matter, Tang Song can still defend his rights through legal means.

The reason they wanted to prioritize a joint venture with Songmei Apparel, besides being a local Yancheng enterprise that was convenient to operate, was also because they were wary of Tang Song's "veto power."

He Jingping's gaze was deep, "It hasn't reached the point of tearing faces yet, wait a bit, I'll have Wu Wei contact him privately; whether it succeeds or not, it's not a big deal."

In his view, this matter was indeed not big.

It was just that both sides had some "small conflicts of interest."

He hoped to use the joint venture company to build a hit internet-famous brand, help his son stand firm in the company, boost Huashang Apparel's performance, and strive for future listing.

While Tang Song valued his Songmei Apparel very highly and didn't want to lose control of the brand.

Since they couldn't cooperate deeply, then just do OEM business.

However, he could only wait for the third intelligent production line; after all, each one required an investment of at least 30 million yuan in cash.

For the current Huashang Apparel, it was not in the plan in the short term.

In the quiet Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Lin Mu Xue twisted her body, her gaze looking at Tang Song on the right.

He sat there quietly, his posture tall and relaxed.

Under the high bridge of his nose, his thin lips were slightly pursed, and his fine hair shone with a soft luster under the dim yellow light.

At this very moment, he was full of charming charisma.

Seeming to notice her gaze, Tang Song turned his head.

Their gazes met, and a warm and gentle smile appeared on his face.

Instantly, Seeing Xiao Xue turned into water, a faint blush rising on her face.

Immediately after, a clear and magnetic voice rang out: "Seeing Xiao Xue, you know He Zhihui, right?"

Lin Mu Xue trembled, biting her lip and whispering: "I had contact with him in work before, but I'm not familiar with him at all, and I haven't seen him for almost two years; if it weren't for meeting today, I would have forgotten such a person."

"Mm, it's okay, I was just asking casually." Tang Song turned up the corner of his mouth, reaching out to place his hand on her smooth thigh, gently kneading, as if comforting her.

He had once obtained the 【Passive Skill - Observer】 after completing the branch task 【Observation and Control】 on Lin Mu Xue.

With his current temperament and observation ability, he could naturally detect the gaze exchange between He Zhihui and Lin Mu Xue.

This was also one of the reasons for his poor attitude toward He Zhihui.

Lin Mu Xue leaned back on the soft leather seat, looking at the gorgeous starlight ceiling above, gently rubbing her legs, her face hot and red.

Tang Song moved his hand, lowered the rear car window by a crack, letting the cool night breeze blow on his face.

Lin Mu Xue took a deep breath, grabbed Tang Song's left hand forcefully, her voice trembling as she asked: "Chairman Tang, will you continue to cooperate with Huashang Apparel?"

She had drunk quite a bit of red wine just now, and she didn't want to draw a map in the car.

Tang Song looked at her and smiled: "Of course I will continue to cooperate."

"But... He Jingping obviously has no sincerity, and the so-called third production line doesn't know when it will be implemented; he is stalling you."

"Not bad, Seeing Xiao Xue, you've improved a lot."

Lin Mu Xue licked her lips, somewhat shyly: "It's all thanks to your teaching."

"Hehe." Tang Song chuckled, reaching out to pinch her fair, pretty face.

His tone was calm: "It doesn't matter, since He Jingping won't agree, then I will obtain control of Huashang Apparel and reorganize the board of directors. Seeing Xiao Xue, your new task is here."

"Ah?" Lin Mu Xue was stunned, sitting up straight immediately, "Chairman Tang, please tell me!"

"Notify the Investment Department and Research Department of Rongliu Investment to conduct a comprehensive investigation of Huashang Apparel, study the company's shareholder composition, and formulate a holding plan; I want to obtain more than 50% of the shares."

The system had already arranged the task, and Tang Song was determined to get the exclusive high-end workshop of Huashang Apparel.

And with the development of Songmei Apparel in the future, it would definitely need deep cooperation with Huashang Apparel.

Holding this company was absolutely a correct decision, which could avoid many constraints.

"Okay, Chairman Tang!" Lin Mu Xue took a deep breath, her body trembling slightly with excitement.

He Jingping, He Zhihui, your good days are coming to an end!

Don't you know the energy of a multi-billion private equity boss?

Don't you know the gold content of the man behind Su Yu?

(◣_◢)┌∩┐

Hahaha, I, Emperor Empress Mu Xue, can finally truly participate in a financial business war!

This is all capital for bragging in the future!

Shengyuan Jiajing Residential Quarter.

The bathroom door was pushed open gently, and the steamy heat overflowed slowly with her footsteps.

Wen Ruan stood naked in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the cloakroom, carefully sizing up her body.

Her skin appeared increasingly delicate and smooth under the moistening of warm water, glowing with a faint luster.

Her plump and moist figure, coupled with the vest line and muscle lines formed by frequent exercise, exuded the mature charm of a woman at every point.

Pinching her face and chest, Wen Ruan's face was filled with rich joy.

Don't know if it was an illusion, but ever since she started playing ball with Tang Song, her skin had become better and better.

Her current state was almost back to two years ago.

She had also heard that harmonious marital life could promote blood circulation, regulate endocrine, relieve stress, and improve skin to a certain extent.

Just didn't expect her effect to be so good!

Thinking of this, Wen Ruan couldn't help but lick her plump lips.

It seems she still has to squeeze Tang Song more!

Narcissistically posing in front of the mirror for a while, Wen Ruan reached out to take the silk bathrobe hanging on the hanger, shook it lightly, and put it on casually.

The bathrobe slid over her skin like flowing water, fitting her exaggerated undulating curves.

Returning to the bedroom, she checked the unread messages on her phone.

Besides work reports about the printing factory, there were also some relatives she hadn't contacted for a long time, all coming to climb the relationship.

In the past few days, her assistant team had begun to take over the Yanbei Printing Factory.

Although she intended to let her father serve as General Manager, with her old man's ability, it was truly difficult to be competent.

After all, it also involved precise docking and cooperation with Tang Yi.

Finally, she still entrusted Deju Renhe to help look for a professional manager.

Let her old man be a Deputy General Manager with peace of mind, and it wouldn't be too late to be the number one person when the time was ripe in the future.

Sitting on the soft large bed, Wen Ruan opened Tang Song's chat box, lifted her pajamas, took a sexy selfie that was half-hidden, and sent it over.

Seeing that Tang Song didn't reply for a long time.

Wen Ruan couldn't help but feel a bit jealous; she could almost be certain that this dog man was currently fooling around with other women.

Stretching, Wen Ruan was about to open "Honor of Kings" to relax, when her phone suddenly vibrated, and a friend request popped up.

Seeing the nickname, Wen Ruan's body trembled, and her phone fell directly onto the bed.

【Qingning】

Application message: "I am Liu Qingning."

Staring at this application for a long while, Wen Ruan took a deep breath and clicked the accept button.

No matter what, she had to face what she had to face; after all, she had even met Su Yu herself.

Liu Qingning wasn't much either!

Comforting herself, Wen Ruan's fingers hovered above the chat box, hesitating in her heart about how to bring it up.

At this moment, the phone vibrated again.

【Qingning: "Hello Wen Ruan, I'm very sorry to contact you after so long, mainly because I haven't been mentally prepared. At the same time, this past period of time has also been the busiest month of my life."】

【Qingning: "I added you as a friend for no other reason, mainly because I want to tell you about the story between Tang Song and me, I don't know if you are willing to listen?"】

Wen Ruan bit her lower lip, her fingertips quickly typing a reply on the screen: "Hello, Qingning. Very happy to meet you. If you are willing to share, I am very happy to be your listener."

【Qingning: "Our story starts from 2005..."】 ===== CHAPTER 435 =====