Li Yonghua could understand the arrangement regarding investment ratio and shares. After all, Ye Feng and the Ye family were the core of this venture.
But asking him to take full responsibility for everything was excessive.
All his energy and businesses were based in Jiangbei.
He immediately said, “Young Master Ye, I have many capable people under me. You can choose any one of them to serve as CEO. I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of time.”
Ye Feng frowned and said, “CEO Li, if you don’t come, then who will suppress the Jinling Clothing Market and keep those mid-tier and lower-tier players in check?”
“My Ye family is strong, but I don’t understand the clothing market. We might bring down the Zhang family only to end up feeding others.”
That single sentence instantly woke Li Yonghua up.
In Ye Feng’s strategy, one key point was allowing other businesses to participate in dividing up the Zhang family.
Once the Zhang family fell, they would be dealt with one by one, and the market share would be reclaimed.
This was a core tactic.
Li Yonghua had a strong reputation. With him in charge, he could suppress those schemers and prevent them from growing too powerful.
Without him, things would be uncertain.
After a moment of silence, Li Yonghua said firmly, “Alright, Young Master Ye. I’ll stay in Jinling and stand with you to conquer the world!”
The next day.
Ye Feng transferred 250 million yuan from the Ye family account. Together with Li Yonghua’s contribution, they invested a total of 500 million yuan to establish Ye’s Clothing.
Ye Feng directly published a declaration in the Jinling Business Daily, openly declaring war on the Zhang family. He angrily accused Zhang Zehao of leading people to smash his girlfriend’s company and claimed that the Zhang family had underworld connections.
Ye Feng stated that he would seek revenge against the Zhang family for his girlfriend.
As soon as the newspaper was released, the entire Jinling business community was in uproar.
“I thought Young Master Ye vented his anger yesterday in the group chat and that would be the end of it. I didn’t expect this move today.”
“Same here. I thought he’d at most beat up Zhang Zehao. Who would’ve thought he’d go straight for their roots?”
“The Ye family is the number one wealthy family in Jinling. The Zhang family is probably finished.”
“Don’t say that too quickly. The Zhang family may not match the Ye family or the Four Great Families, but they are the leader of the Jinling Clothing Market. The Ye family might not win on their home turf.”
“Exactly. Even powerful nations have fallen in graveyards of empires.”
“I don’t care. I’ll just watch the show. If the Ye family wins, I’ll eat popcorn. If the Zhang family wins, I’ll still eat popcorn.”
“Forget popcorn. Jinling is about to change. Bring your cash and let’s follow Young Master Ye and go after the Zhang family.”
“That’s right. The clothing industry has long suffered under the Zhang family.”
“I’ve never liked Zhang Yuanshan, the patriarch of the Zhang family. He even married a widow in her second marriage. Shameless!”
Almost everyone in Jinling’s business world believed that Ye Feng was raging for love and seeking justice for his girlfriend.
No one knew that the CEO of Ye’s Clothing was actually the powerful Li Yonghua from Jiangbei.
Even when checking disclosed shareholder information, Li Yonghua’s name did not appear.
His shares were held through a proxy.
At the same time, Ye Feng moved swiftly and directly targeted the Zhang family’s weak points.
On one front, he sent people to negotiate with all of the Zhang family’s manufacturing partners. By offering higher prices than the Zhang family, he secured the clothing orders.
Contracts were signed for one year, and those manufacturers were forbidden from supplying the Zhang family during that period.
Most manufacturers readily agreed. After all, no one would refuse easy money.
Some factories, however, had close ties with the Zhang family and refused cooperation. Ye Feng placed them on his elimination list.
As for those who accepted Ye Feng’s favorable terms while secretly continuing to supply the Zhang family, Ye Feng made it clear that his legal team would have a long and detailed conversation with them.
On another front, Ye Feng targeted all of the Zhang family’s physical retail stores in Jinling. He persuaded landlords to breach their leases, with Ye’s Clothing covering the penalty fees, and then rented or purchased the stores at high prices.
Landlords were also prohibited from renting other properties to the Zhang family.
On the online side, Ye Feng established a dedicated e-commerce department to specifically target the Zhang family.
For a time, the entire Jinling commercial scene was on edge.
Ye Feng was serious.
And he was directly striking at the Zhang family’s production and sales channels.
“Only the Ye family has the money to play like this.”
“I didn’t expect Young Master Ye to be this capable. The Zhang family may really be in trouble.”
“Don’t speak too soon. I want to see how long this prodigal son can keep burning money.”
“Shut up. You dare look down on my Young Master Ye? The Ye family crushing the Zhang family would be like crushing an ant. What do you know?”
Although the Ye family had many supporters and many people hoping for the Zhang family’s downfall, most people did not believe Ye Feng could truly bring them down.
Their impression of Ye Feng was still that of a wealthy second-generation heir.
The most likely outcome, in their view, was that Ye Feng would burn money until the Zhang family felt pressured, then they would offer compensation and apologize.
That would be a lose-lose situation.
But given Ye Feng’s reputation, that would be typical behavior.
His impressive performance today did not change their perception.
Even Zhang Zehao, sitting in his office enjoying a secretary’s shoulder massage, thought the same.
“Ye Feng wants to burn money? Let him burn it slowly,” Zhang Zehao said calmly.
Although production and sales were being disrupted, causing the Zhang family’s business to stall, he was not worried.
The family had not even held a single meeting.
If Ye Feng wanted to stir trouble, he could talk all he wanted. Zhang Zehao would remain as steady as a mountain. Let him dig and burn money. He would simply lie back at home and laugh.
The female secretary kneaded his shoulders while pressing closer and asked worriedly, “Young Master Zhang, how long do you think Ye Feng can keep burning money? I heard the Ye family’s assets are in the ten-digit range.”
“Why do you care how long he burns? It’s not my money anyway,” Zhang Zehao rolled his eyes and added, “I hired you to massage my shoulders, didn’t I? So clueless. Do you still want a raise or not?”
“Please calm down, Young Master Zhang,” the secretary apologized quickly, her gaze drifting toward his zipper.
…
After a long day, Ye Feng returned home at 7 p.m.
His father, Ye Longzhou, was sitting at the dining table. There was a small plate of peanuts, a few side dishes, and two bottles of beer.
When he saw Ye Feng return, he waved and said, “Ye Feng, come have a drink with me.”
“Dad, you got off work this early today?” Ye Feng asked curiously. His father was a workaholic and usually worked overtime until after 10 p.m.
“You established Ye’s Clothing with 500 million yuan, right?”
“The other 250 million yuan came from that Li Yonghua from Jiangbei, didn’t it?” Ye Longzhou said calmly.
He was usually quiet, steady, and capable, known as the top business genius of Jinling.
He immediately saw the key point.
“As expected of my dad. You got it right,” Ye Feng said with a smile.
No one in Jinling knew about Li Yonghua’s investment.
He was Ye Feng’s hidden card, used in the early stage to mislead the Zhang family and other businesses, and in the later stage to take charge of Ye’s Clothing and suppress schemers.
For Ye Longzhou, uncovering this was not difficult, since the core team of Ye’s Clothing had been transferred from Ye Group.
Ye Longzhou, who rarely showed emotion, suddenly smiled and patted Ye Feng on the shoulder. He said, “Alright then. Do your best. If 250 million yuan isn’t enough, you can keep investing.”
“Huh? Dad, did you drink too much?” Ye Feng asked curiously.
In the past, his father would have scolded him as a prodigal son first, then silently supported his actions.
Today felt different.