Long Jufang couldn't hide his disdain at Long Jian but quickly covered it up with an insincere nod. Then he leaned closer to Iris, making her flinch backwards. He didn't notice her reaction because he was looking at another direction. If he noticed it, he probably would feel offended.

Iris frowned and held her breath. Her lips pressed together into a tight line. The foul smell of alcohol, sweat, and old man body odour emitted by the elder assaulted her nose and almost made her faint on the spot. She was about to flee for fresh air when his next words stopped her.

"Look over there, Xiulan," Long Jufang whispered and used the jerk of his bearded chin to point at a group of people a few tables away. "That old man owns 3% shares."

His words temporarily distracted her from his foul smell. Immediately understanding why he was saying this, she focused on his next words.

He pointed at another table. "That madam owns 5% shares. That fella over there, 2%..."

She listened as he continued to point out a few other minor shareholders of Long Industries in attendance at the party. There were some names she recognized from the list Qiao Yu had which the financial manager was using to contact the individuals and offer to purchase their shares. Qiao Yu's efforts were sadly lackluster so far. They refused to sell once they learned of his connection to her.

Now it came to a point that she was considering of using another person to buy the shares for her and then transfer them to her name afterwards. As much as possible, she didn't want to use this method because she wanted to take over Long Industries in a transparent way to prevent any major repercussions against her reputation in the business industry, especially now that her Orchidia Beauty was at an important stage where it was booming at an insane rate even though it just started this year.

Jin Liwei also offered his help in acquiring the shares for her but she wanted to do it herself. She didn't want other people to say that she used THE Jin Liwei to take over Long Industries. Nobody would accept her as the true leader of the company in this way. This was why although it was a big pain in the ass to do everything the "proper" way (or as close to "proper" as possible), she chose to do it in order build a secure foundation for her future power and position in Long Industries, and in extension, in the clan as well.

However, if Qiao Yu's efforts to acquire shares continued to fail, then she would have no choice but to use other less "proper" ways to buy them, including asking Jin Liwei. After all, she wasn't the only one trying to purchase shares at the moment. There was no way she was going to allow Long Hui to maintain a big lead in terms of shares ownership in the company. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]

It seemed that Long Jufang was aware of her current difficulties. "If you're interested, I could negotiate with those shareholders for you. Although the amount of shares I own is considered negligible compared to theirs, they still hold a certain degree of respect for me because of our acquaintance throughout the decades. If I make a tempting offer to purchase their shares, I have a higher chance of succeeding than if you did it on your own because they would give me face as an elder of the Long clan and also as a long-time fellow shareholder."

Iris tilted her head to the side as she considered his logic. He had a point.

He continued, "As for you, it's very unlikely that you'll be able to persuade them to sell their shares to you. First of all, your bad reputation in the past before the car accident is deeply ingrained not only in our clan but also in the entire company. Even if you changed a lot for the better right now, most of the old fellows still don't believe in you.

"Secondly, you've never shown any interest in working for the company before...until now, that is. Being the brand ambassador isn't really considered as officially working for the company. At most, it's just an honourary position. It holds no administrative power, even though you're the one who solved the stock price crash caused by your brother and the reason why we're having this party tonight. Compared to you, I know that those shareholders will be more willing to sell their shares to your brother Hui because he's the Deputy CFO, a position of legitimate power in the company. What's more, he has always been known as your father's successor before you were even born. Also, don't underestimate your brother's maternal family. The Zhengs are on par with us Longs. They'll do everything in their power to assist your brother Hui so that he could succeed your father as the next head.

"And lastly, people won't trust that you'll be able to successfully manage a big company like ours while at the same time continuing your work as a celebrity. Unless you quit showbiz and focus on being a full-time businesswoman, you'll find it very hard to gain the trust of the old fellows in the company. They'll only start believing in you if you can guarantee that you'll put in a large amount of time and energy into the company. So listen to me, Xiulan. As your elder, I suggest that you stop playing around, quit showbiz, and start working on a serious career from now on. I'm only saying this for your own good."

Iris' hands balled into tight fists as she fought the urge to punch something, or in this case, someone.

Stop playing around?

Quit showbiz?

Start working on a serious career?

Hah!

What did this old coot mean? That being a critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning musician who composes her own music at a young age was just playing around? That it wasn't a serious career?

The insult!!!

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