Leon Hua got a phone call when the dinner just began. He sprang from his chair in surprise and said, “Which hospital? I’ll be there right now!”
I was shocked. I knew something serious had happened by the way he looked.
“My father has been attacked and is being rushed to the hospital. We have to get there.” Leon said to me hurriedly.
On the way to the hospital, Leon was calling all the way to find out what was going on in the hospital. From the content of his phone calls I knew what had happened. When Yaohui Hua was drinking tea with his friends in the teahouse, a man suddenly broke into the room and struck Yaohui on the head with a heavy object. Yaohui was in a coma on the spot and when he was taken to hospital, he was in a critical condition. The doctors were trying to save him, but the result was still unknown.
Leon showed unprecedented nervousness and kept urging me to drive faster.
When we arrived at the hospital, Yaohui was still in the emergency room. Members of Hua family and Feng family were almost there, waiting outside the emergency room.
Xiang Feng sat in a chair and kept wiping away tears. I went over to try to console her. But I didn’t know what to say as the result was unknown,
Leon was talking with Chenxing Hua. They had already called the police and the police was catching the assailant.
After waiting for a few minutes, the door of the emergency room finally opened. A crowd of people rushed up to ask how’s Yaohui doing, and the doctor said the vital signs were still there, but it’s not encouraging.
Yaohui was transferred into the ICU. Only one family member was allowed to look after him in the ward and of course Xiang was there.
An hour later, an emergency meeting of Hua’s group was held overnight in a small conference room at its headquarters.
Xiang rushed backed from hospital and told a few core directors that Yaohui was still in a deep coma. And the doctor was not sure if or when he would regain consciousness.
That is to say, Yaohui was in a vegetative state. No one knew what would happen in the future.
“The question now is how do we inform the outside world about this? Do we shut it down or release it?” Xiang said.
“The news cannot be released. If the outside world knows what’s going on, there will be panic and the stock price is going to crash. So we must keep it in secret.” One director said.
“Yes, we can’t tell the outside world that the chairman was attacked. Or the stock price will surely crash.” Another director said.
Most of the people present were in favor of blocking the information and being highly secretive to the outside world.
“Leon, what’s your opinion? Why have you been silent?” Xiang said to Leon suddenly.
“I’ll take your advice.” Leon said with a frown.
I was surprised at his answer. When did he become so obedient that he didn’t give his own opinion and listen to these people?
“What do you mean, Leon? You’re a director and vice president, but you don’t voice your opinion at this juncture. Then what are you doing here?” Xiang said angrily.
“Do you really want to hear my opinion?” Leon raised his head and said.
“Of course. I asked you to come to the meeting to discuss this matter. If you don’t air any opinion, why are you here?” Xiang said.
“I think we should hold a press conference to inform the public of father’s condition. In the age of mobile Internet, nothing can be kept in complete secrecy. It is said that there isn’t a wall which hasn’t a rack. If it’s just a day or two, that’s fine. But if dad can’t regain consciousness, the truth will be known by outsiders. And there will be more panic and the reputation of Hua’s group will be damaged by then.” Leon said.
“But once the news is released, the stock price will surely fall sharply. What if the stock price keeps falling down?”
“Exactly. This is completely irresponsible. Leon, are you anxious to see the world in disorder? Can you be responsible for it if the stock price falls sharply?” Someone said adversely.
“We can inform the public that dad is ill, but we don’t have to go into detail. It’s just that he isn’t well enough to work. In this way the stock price will not fall sharply. In the meantime, if we can stabilize the situation and let investors see that the group has not been affected by dad’s illness, and then release further details, there will be not much turbulence. But if we block the news, the consequences will be very serious when it leaks.” Leon said.
Leon said patiently and reasonably. He is the most charismatic person among them.
Several other directors objected, but Leon refuted back.
“Well, since you have a dispute, let’s take a vote. Please raise your hand if you are in favor of withholding the truth.”
Chenxing and several other directors raised their hands and Leon’s opinion was rejected.
Leon stood up and said, “Since you don’t agree with me, why don’t you go on and talk about how to keep it in secret? I’m going to the hospital.”
I also stood up and followed Leon went out of the meeting room. No one asked us to stay. But Chenxing questioned our attitude and said we left in a fit of pique.
Leon has been silent along the way to the parking lot.
He was with a heavy heart and I didn’t speak. We were silent all the way. As the car passed through the street at night, it suddenly began to rain. Large raindrops smacked against the glass. The wipers were in the fastest gear, but the sight was still blurred.
Leon slowed down and moved on slowly. Then he sighed.
His sigh was clear and heavy in the silence. I can’t help asking him, “They don’t agree with you. What will you do?”
“It’s normal that they don’t agree with me. I don’t want to do anything else right now. I just want to find the best doctor to get dad back on his feet as soon as possible. That’s the priority.” Leon said.
“But there’s a problem you have to face. If the chairman doesn’t regain consciousness for a while, you have to think about the battle for the master of Hua’s group. It’s also your responsibility to keep the company in order. The chairman also wants you to do so.” I said.
Leon shook his head and said, “The company is bound to be in chaos. It’s not sure how long the chaos will be and how it ends, but there is bound to be chaos.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Do you think they will block the news as they said it seriously? They won’t do that actually, and they can’t do that. If dad doesn’t regain consciousness within two days, they will take some actions. Then the strange actions will be amplified and the news of dad will soon leak out and the stock price of Hua’s group will fall sharply. Hua’s group is bound to encounter crisis. Unless the god bless father and he can come to consciousness within two days.”
“Are you so pessimistic? What are you going to do with it?” I said worriedly.
“I don’t know what to do as it happened suddenly. The only way, just as I said at the meeting, is to take the initiative to release the news. In this way we can be more confident and the stock price may fall a little less. But as you can see, they don’t agree with me. I can’t release the news by myself, because they will blame it all on me. Just let they do whatever they want to do. I might go to capital city tomorrow to get some top-notch brain experts. You have to be careful and protect Alex.”