All eyes were on Du Qiu, waiting to hear what else he had to say.
"My apologies," Du Qiu stood up and bowed to everyone. "I know that my actions have caused considerable trouble for the company and significant impact on Mrs. Zhan. I am willing to accept punishment, but I hope it can be through other means."
He appeared full of self-reproach, as if he had truly repented for his actions.
"Other means?" Zhan Mohan raised an eyebrow, curious to see what alternative Du Qiu had in mind.
"I believe the strength of our Du family has always been evident. If the Zhan Group were to lose us, it would certainly lose a very crucial backbone."
"And so?" Zhan Mohan continued to press.
"Therefore, to sincerely express our remorse, I am willing to represent the Du family, and pledge to always move forward with the Zhan Group, never to betray it."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the room at his words.
Some felt that it was beneficial for a company to have the absolute loyalty of a family like the Du family supporting it.
However, others thought it was too easy to let the Du family off the hook. Furthermore, even if Du Qiu pledged loyalty now, no one knew what the future held.
As expected, Wei Yumeng raised a pertinent question: "It's easy for you to say, but what about when it comes to action? Do you think that what you've done can simply be written off like this?"
"Oh, it's not?" Zhan Yichen looked surprised. He had genuinely thought that Wei Yumeng would leverage this situation for the Du family's loyalty, seeing it as a positive outcome.
"This..." Du Qiu appeared troubled. He knew it would be impossible to simply gloss over the matter. Although he was truly planning to work diligently for the Zhan Group, it was clear he had not yet earned anyone's trust.
Wei Yumeng pondered for a moment and then said, "There is another way to resolve this. As long as your Du family falls under the purview of the Ye family, we will have no worries about you going back on your word."
"Are you saying you want to acquire the Du family?"
"This is the first time I've heard of a company acquiring its own shareholder. Isn't that too unreasonable?"
Wei Yumeng scanned the room, having anticipated such a discussion. "Of course, we are not forcing you. I am merely proposing the solution that comes to mind. After all, even if you were to compensate us for this incident, it might not be enough to cover the entire Du family."
Du Qiu clenched his fists. He couldn't quite figure out if Wei Yumeng was deliberately trying to provoke him. His father had built the Du family's businesses from the ground up, and they had many overseas collaborations. Even if he left the Zhan Group, he could continue pursuing those projects. However, he had also personally ruined much of it. If he refused, the compensation demanded could indeed destroy everything.
While Du Qiu was contemplating, Wei Yumeng was also deep in thought. On one hand, she did not want to easily forgive Du Qiu's transgressions. On the other hand, she did not believe the Du family's assets could continue to develop as they had under Du Qiu's management. If it were a matter of compensation rather than acquisition, the Du family's projects might not survive. But with an acquisition, the Du family's projects and assets would directly belong to the Zhan Group, which was far more beneficial than simple compensation. Moreover, even with the acquisition, for Du Qiu, it would only mean a change in the entity controlling the Du family's lifeline, with minimal other impact.
Zhan Yichen watched the unfolding scene, finding it increasingly intriguing. "I truly never knew my sister-in-law had such a voracious appetite."
Zhan Yangyi, however, shook his head. "No, on the contrary, she is doing this merely to preserve the Du family."
"Well? Do you have an answer yet?" Wei Yumeng inquired. Du Qiu bit his lower lip, still not responding. Wei Yumeng sighed. "It seems I'll have to..."
"Alright, I agree to the acquisition," Du Qiu finally said. Though reluctant, he had no other choice. This was the only way he could preserve everything for the Du family. He also realized his previous actions were incredibly immature, leading to this consequence. In fact, he now felt that perhaps aligning the Du family with the Zhan Group in the long run might not be a bad thing.
Zhan Mohan nodded, then turned to Fang Xun. "After the meeting, please draft the contract."
Everyone present was stunned by the outcome. Before the meeting, they had only anticipated Wei Yumeng explaining her previous actions, and perhaps, if lucky, identifying the person behind the machinations. Who would have thought that the Zhan Group would acquire the entire Du family in such a manner?
With this matter settled, Wei Yumeng turned her attention to the others. "I believe you all understand that the Zhan Group has always been benevolent, but if anyone betrays the company, we will show no mercy."
The assembled crowd quickly nodded, not wishing to suffer the same fate as the Du family.
After the meeting concluded, Wei Yumeng finally let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, during the meeting, she hadn't been entirely sure if her plan would succeed, making her more nervous than anyone.
"You did very well today," Zhan Mohan whispered into Wei Yumeng's ear. "My wife, indeed."
Wei Yumeng's cheeks flushed slightly; receiving praise from Zhan Mohan felt quite good.
Zhan Yichen also applauded. "Sister-in-law, I'm becoming more and more impressed with you. To think you used this opportunity to acquire the entire Du family."
Wei Yumeng smiled. "It was just a method that occurred to me on the spur of the moment. Rather than a lose-lose situation, I believe a win-win scenario is the best outcome."
"Exactly, I've always admired your approach," Zhan Yangyi's admiring gaze was undeniable.
News of the Zhan Group acquiring the Du family spread like wildfire, and some even leaked information linking Wei Yumeng to the deal. However, those who leaked the information seemed to only grasp the general idea, lacking the details, which only served to make Zhan Mohan and Wei Yumeng appear even more formidable. Instantly, the powerful pairing of Wei Yumeng and Zhan Mohan became the hottest topic.
Yet, this good fortune was short-lived. Soon, doubts began to surface. Wei Yumeng's series of events and her drastically changed public image were too significant, leading to suspicions that this might all have been orchestrated by the Zhan Group themselves. For instance, the theory arose that they had arranged everything specifically to absorb the Du family's assets. Consequently, their reputation was once again affected.
Wei Yumeng looked at these dissenting voices with a sense of helplessness, truly a case of one wave after another.