National Tide 1980

In fact, just as Ning Weimin didn't want to give up Tan Gong Restaurant easily, Gong Mingcheng, who was behind the scenes, didn't want to really fall out with Ning Weimin.

After all, Ning Weimin's ability to make money is there for all to see.

He single-handedly brought together three major investors to establish Tan Gong Restaurant, and utilized the resources of the three major investors almost to the extreme.

In just a few years, not only did the Tan Palace Restaurant become the number one in domestic imperial cuisine, it also opened branches in other places and even opened three branches in Japan.

These branches in Japan make back their investment within a year, and not only are they all profitable, but they also earn foreign currency, with profits equivalent to ten times that in China.

If this hadn't really happened right in front of Gong Mingcheng, he would never have believed it.

Such a rake that is born to make money can be compared to Shen Wansan's treasure bowl.

Gong Mingcheng would have to be a fool to push Ning Weimin into a desperate situation.

To be honest, all his dissatisfaction with Ning Weimin was simply due to the fact that Ning Weimin was independent and even had higher prestige and status than himself. He had no objection to his abilities and admired them very much instead.

This is like Ning Weimin is a general with military power.

Even if he did not want to usurp the throne, no emperor could tolerate him using the emperor's army to show off his power overseas.

The issue of power is irreconcilable.

It is even more dangerous since this general knows how to bribe ministers with gold, silver and jewelry to speak for him.

How about Yue Fei?

He has made such great contributions to the country, but he should be executed for a "false" crime, right?

So if Ning Weimin insists on going down this path and wants to take control of the Tan Gong Restaurant, no one is allowed to touch it.

Then Gong Mingcheng had no choice but to overturn the table and part ways.

He didn't feel he was in the wrong.

In particular, the deputy general manager of Shangri-La Hotel of Guo Group also gave him a word.

They said that even if Ning Weimin was removed, their group could send someone to manage the Tan Palace Restaurant.

If Pierre Catton objects, the Guo Group can completely replace Pierre Catton, take over their investment, and continue to stand with the Temple of Heaven Park to assume corresponding shareholder obligations.

This means that Gong Mingcheng has found someone to take over.

That's why he dared to stand up against Ning Weimin and successfully won over the Service Bureau.

No matter what, the situation can't get any worse.

But then again, Gong Mingcheng certainly knew that doing so would be tantamount to completely breaking off relations.

Not only will you be suspected of being ungrateful and be branded as a traitor, but the huge changes in shareholders will also cause suspicion among subordinates and unrest among the people.

He had just arrived at the Temple of Heaven Park and had caused such a big commotion all of a sudden. Even if he could convince his subordinates, it would be difficult for him to explain to the Tourism Bureau.

The most troublesome thing is that it will offend Pierre Cardin for no reason and bear some responsibility for the future operation and development of Tan Palace Restaurant.

If he drove Ning Weimin away, and the Tan Palace Restaurant continued to operate smoothly and become even better, there would be nothing to say. But if the Guo Group does not have Ning Weimin's ability and its business performance goes downhill, it will be troublesome.

And from then on, he turned over a new leaf and truly regarded Gong Mingcheng as a deity.

Gong Mingcheng was also willing to continue to use him to work hard for him. After all, a good horse is hard to find, and there was no need for him to take unnecessary business risks.

People who pursue a career in politics rely on their brains. If they can defeat the enemy without fighting and give up military power over a glass of wine, that would be the best thing.

Therefore, what Gong Mingcheng really expected was that Ning Weimin would take the initiative to come to him for a private talk after returning to the capital, and show an attitude of surrender to him in a submissive manner.

As long as Gong Mingcheng's proposal to reform the management structure was agreed and the distinction between master and servant was confirmed, Gong Mingcheng would not even mind making some interest adjustments. After subduing this troublemaker, he would give Ning Weimin some sweet things to appease his mind.

With this premise, he can truly continue to cooperate in depth with Ning Weimin as the old director said.

No, it’s not a cooperation. From now on, Ning Weimin will serve the Temple of Heaven and be his loyal dog!

Days like this are quite interesting.

Gong Mingcheng had a good idea, but after waiting for a long time, several days had passed since he sent the fax, and the meeting was about to be held, but Ning Weimin showed no intention of coming to talk to him.

He didn't even ask someone to bring a message.

For a moment, Gong Mingcheng had an illusion that Ning Weimin was in Japan and had not received the fax and did not know about this matter.

He quickly asked someone to contact Pierre Caton to inquire about Ning Weimin and the relevant information about this matter. The reply from there almost made Gong Mingcheng angry.

A secretary to the general manager of Pierre Caton claimed that Ning Weimin had returned, but he had a lot of important matters to deal with recently, so he had no time to take care of other things.

Moreover, the company has been preparing relevant materials for Gong Mingcheng’s proposal, and specific opinions will be put forward at the shareholders’ meetings of several investors.

So if there is anything, let’s talk about it when we meet on the day of the meeting.

Well, it's obvious that the other party relies on the support of Pierre Catton and doesn't take Gong Mingcheng, the director, seriously at all!

Not to mention that he doesn't look repentant at all, where is the slightest sign of reverence?

Gong Mingcheng was really angry. He felt that all his good intentions were in vain and his kindness was wasted.

So he immediately started to build relationships with the partners in the service bureau and began to discuss the charter for establishing a new company, hoping to tighten the reins a little bit and make the other party more uncomfortable.

In Gong Mingcheng's view, the two parties together control more than half of the shares and are state-owned enterprises.

What's more, the current Tan Palace Restaurant has strong capital and has never been short of money.

Especially since the employees are from the Service Bureau and the house belongs to the Temple of Heaven Park, even if Pierre Catton firmly supports Ning Weimin, they cannot gain the upper hand in this matter.

At that time, the worst that could happen is that they would reveal the Guo Group's trump card and see what Pierre Cardin would choose.

In any case, Gong Mingcheng doesn't believe that a foreign-funded enterprise would risk withdrawing its investment and losing its shareholder status in order to protect its employees.

If they are not here to make money, why are they here?

Talking about benevolence, righteousness and emotion, are these still foreigners from the capitalist world?

What he believed was that as long as Ning Weimin's backer Hu was eliminated, he would be able to understand the situation and would have to lie down and do hard labor - at least for five, six, seven or eight years, that would be enough.

Otherwise, what choice does this kid have?

Leaving the Altar Palace? What a joke! Then what else does he have?

It has to be said that this is a misjudgment caused by information asymmetry.

Gong Mingcheng always thought that Ning Weimin had put a lot of effort into the Tan Gong Restaurant’s branches in Japan, so the Tan Gong branches in Japan naturally belonged to Ning Weimin.

Ning Weimin's luxurious life in Tokyo was probably supported by the profits he earned from the Altar Palace.

Japanese female stars are not stupid. How can they really love a man who lives off them?

Although on the surface, Ning Weimin seemed very generous as he was able to distribute his commission to the cadres of several domestic investors.

But in fact, this is buying power.

Only Ning Weimin himself knows whether he has made a profit or a loss.

For example, he can earn ten years' profit in China in just one year in Japan. Although it is amazing, how can we know whether this number is true?

With so many restaurants and so many places to spend money, it is not easy to make some adjustments.

Just like Ning Weimin arranged his acquaintances to do a lot of business in the Temple of Heaven Park, and also took advantage of the Temple of Heaven to sell handicrafts and other things, and made an unknown amount of profit.

This is called "live off the mountain when you are on the mountain, live off the water when you are on the water". Only a fool would do something that loses money.

In short, Gong Mingcheng was certain that Ning Weimin would be reluctant to leave the gold mine of Tan Gong Restaurant, which gave him considerable confidence.

As for the deputy director of the service bureau who was successfully won over by Gong Mingcheng, he must have cooperated with Gong Mingcheng's requirements and needs.

After all, the service bureau is not a monolithic entity and is divided into many factions.

He had long been jealous of Director Jin's control over the cooperation with Tan Palace, but had never had the opportunity to intervene.

Now that Gong Mingcheng has come to him and wants him to work with him, how could he miss it?

Although the money Ning Weimin earned was distributed to the service bureau, and he was considered one of the beneficiaries, how could it be as comfortable as if he had control over the corresponding rights himself?

This is like the difference between someone who asks for small amounts of money by looking at other people's faces and someone who has the power to manage the accounts.

Especially since he didn't understand Ning Weimin. As someone in the system, he completely believed that official positions and organizational structures were the truth of this world and could solve all problems, so he was even more fearless.

He wholeheartedly helped Gong Mingcheng figure out how to seize power and how to better use the system to control everything in the Tan Gong Restaurant in order to gain greater benefits for his side.

But trouble soon came, because their actions were too obvious and they did not hide anything from the people around them. Their plans had been leaked, which actually caused their reputation to plummet.

After all, people who think about things are respected, while people who think about others all day long are disgusting.

In particular, Ning Weimin's achievements are obvious. Whether it is the creation of the Tan Palace Restaurant or the planning of various well-known cultural activities in the Temple of Heaven Park, these have brought huge benefits and are the most beneficial actions for many grassroots employees of the Temple of Heaven Park and the Service Bureau.

Although these grassroots employees don’t usually say it, they all know where the benefits come from.

Is this the result you get in return?

It's really disheartening to cross the river and then destroy the bridge.

Moreover, it seems that the person who planned this incident is narrow-minded and too petty.

In a short while, the rumor became true. Whether it was the Temple of Heaven Park or the service bureau, many people privately expressed sympathy for Ning Weimin's experience but also strong dissatisfaction. This is what they call justice is in the hearts of the people.

Of course, these gossips made Gong Mingcheng feel unhappy.

The more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. He naturally knew that the first backlash of his plan had come, and the pressure increased uncontrollably.

But when the time comes, it is impossible to just stop. You can only hold on and persist until the real winner is decided.

Gong Mingcheng firmly believed that as long as he could hold this meeting, the future would be bright and promising.

…………

On June 30, 1988, when high school graduates were entering the final week of review for the college entrance examination, representatives of the three shareholders of Tan Gong Restaurant had already faced the ultimate test involving the struggle for power.

This day finally arrived, the day for the shareholders' meeting to discuss the proposal to reform the management organization structure of Tan Palace Restaurant.

In the banquet hall A of Pierre Catton China Company on the fourth floor of the Pierre Catton Building in Beijing, Zou Guodong's secretary wiped the oval conference table clean and personally placed a bottle of mineral water and an ashtray on each seat.

It must be pointed out that this was one of the few serious meetings in the history of Tan Gong Restaurant.

When the meeting officially begins, not only will there be professional meeting recorders, but several lawyers from Pierre Catton's legal department will also be present.

This is of course very different from the past when Ning Weimin always entertained the Service Bureau and the leaders of the Temple of Heaven at the Tan Palace Restaurant every time he came back. Every time they would report the expenses and then share the profits, and then there would be food and drinks in the joyful atmosphere.

What’s even more interesting is that the main characters in the confrontation between the two sides, whether it’s Gong Mingcheng, the new director of the Temple of Heaven Park, or Ning Weimin, the general manager of the Tan Palace Restaurant, had never met before.

Even they themselves did not expect that they would meet each other for the first time in front of the door of the Pierre Cattan Company's conference room. It was a feeling that was difficult to describe and put into words.

It was already 9:30 in the morning, and representatives from all parties attending the meeting had arrived as scheduled.

The atmosphere around Gong Mingcheng and his group was solemn, and the biting coldness was so severe that even the scorching summer sun could not melt it in the slightest.

Needless to say, the cadres who are qualified to participate in this matter hold high positions.

Accompanying Gong Mingcheng was another elderly deputy director of the Temple of Heaven, Chang. He and his daughter Chang Shasha were members of the first inspection team to Japan.

In addition, there is the director of the Tiantan Finance and Accounting Department, as well as the heads of the Ticketing, Sales and General Affairs departments.

These people all had serious expressions and surrounded Gong Mingcheng in silence.

Perhaps it was because they all had a good relationship with Ning Weimin in the past, but now they had to differentiate their positions.

Thinking that war is inevitable in the future, I feel a little conflicted.

Rather than looking like they were going to a battlefield, they looked more like they were attending a funeral.

They got on the elevator together and told the elevator operator their destination: "the fourth floor".

Unexpectedly, as soon as I got out of the elevator, I saw Ning Weimin. He was surrounded by several people in suits and talking to them.

The people in the Temple of Heaven Park felt extremely embarrassed and stopped walking at once. They had strange looks on their faces, as if they were at a loss as to what to do.

Say hello, that's awkward, what will the new director think?

But if I pretended not to see it, it would be hard to justify it.

I have received so many benefits from others, I feel guilty...

At this time, it was Ning Weimin who nodded first. He stopped talking to others and said to everyone gracefully, "Everyone is here. Long time no see."

At this point, the people in the Temple of Heaven could no longer restrain themselves and all called out "Manager Ning, President Ning" and greeted him in unison.

Director Chang quickly whispered into Gong Mingcheng's ear and introduced him, saying that this was Ning Weimin.

Ning Weimin did not forget the real owner, and took the initiative to extend his hand, "You are Director Gong, right? I have heard of you for a long time. It's all my fault. I have been busy all the time and never had the chance to meet you. Instead, I made you come here, and finally I can meet you."

This was said neither humbly nor arrogantly, and could be seen as a habitual courtesy, or as a tentative attitude.

Gong Mingcheng did not show any pride in himself. He nodded in return and extended his hand.

"Hey, Manager Ning, I've heard of you for a long time. Don't be so polite. I know you're busy. I understand. Anyway, it's good enough that you're here today. I was really worried that you were too busy to even attend this meeting."

However, what he said was purely official rhetoric with a fake smile, and this way of dealing with things was just as slippery and ruthless.

Yu Haining and Wei Min didn't want to say anything more. They just smiled, made a "please" gesture, and led the people into the meeting room.

At this time, Gong Mingcheng took a last close look at Ning Weimin.

He had to admit that the other person was a handsome and very impressive man.

What surprised him was that a young man in a power-hungry position would usually appear arrogant, but Ning Weimin did not show such arrogance.

Seeing that Ning Weimin's face remained calm and he did not seem anxious or irritable, I felt quite impressed.

If one considers this guy's ability to make money, it would be easy to understand why the old director is so fond of Ning Weimin.

Who wouldn't appreciate such an outstanding young man? Even he did.

If he could be more humble and sensible and come to see me earlier, his ending would probably be much better.

But now of course they are enemies.

No, he can't be considered an enemy. In fact, if you look at it objectively, you have already won.

Tan Palace Restaurant will always belong to the Temple of Heaven. Neither Pierre Cardin nor Ning Weimin has any chance of turning things around and they can only behave themselves from now on.

It's okay for young people to be ambitious.

But the thing is that you can't be impatient. Everything has rules and order.

You can't just grab what you want by force, no matter how capable you are. Otherwise, wouldn't the world be in chaos?

Thinking of this, Gong Mingcheng's mouth corners couldn't help but slightly raise. He walked into the door of the banquet hall with his subordinates, chest out.

Strictly speaking, this meeting can determine the future ownership of Tan Gong Restaurant, so he is not thinking about anything else now and just wants to go all out to win this battle.