Chapter 1271: Two Kinds of Orders
Now that Lu Man and Han Zhuoli were married, Lu Man would also have to be responsible for some of these as well.
Old Mr. Han explained to Lu Man, "There are two orders. One is the House Order, and the other is the Clan Order. The House Order can control all the manpower in the Han Family, including all the private soldiers and servants. It can also chase anyone out of the family."
Han Dongping did not know what Old Mr. Han was thinking. When he said this, he actually threw a glance at him!
What was that glance for?!
"As long as the House Order is shown, everyone in the Han Family has to obey any kind of manpower change in the family," Old Mr. Han explained. "As for the Clan Order, it is not something that can be casually laid out."
Lu Man could tell that the moment Old Mr. Han said "Clan Order," everyone's expression changed. They became unusually serious.
"Once the Clan Order is laid down, it means that we will use the power of the whole clan. Without caring about the consequences, no matter how tough this battle will be, no matter what impact it would bring to the family after it ends, we will have to use the strength of our whole clan to defeat the opponent!" Old Mr. Han said. Suddenly, his aura became very imposing.
"The House Order and the Clan Order are controlled by the head of the family, and they can also be issued by the next heir with the approval of the current head of the family. Clan Orders, however, are much more important than House Orders."
The head of a clan was certainly much more important than the head of a family.
"When Old Mr. Han was young, he once used the clan order. It was to use the whole power of the clan to support the war back then," Han Zhuoli quietly explained to Lu Man. "Once the clan order is out, it means that the Han Family is really furious."
Actually, even Old Mrs. Han did not expect Old Mr. Han to activate a clan order.
"Alright." Han Zhuoli nodded in agreement.
As the current head of the family, Han Xijin agreed as well. "If we don't do this, they will think our family can be easily humiliated by others."
Lin Liye was so touched that her throat swelled a little. She never expected that the two elders would be so angry for Han Zhuoling that they'd treat the matter so seriously, to the extent that they'd execute a clan order.
It was precisely because they could not let Han Zhuoling be taken lightly that they had to use the power of the whole clan to deal with the Xias.
They wanted to let everyone know that the Hans were not people who could be easily humiliated.
At first, she was still worried that even if Han Zhuoling did not mind, once the news of their divorce got out, Han Zhuoling might still be mocked by other people.
His own wife made him a cuckold and the child she bore was not even his.
Her son was so outstanding—why would he have to be mocked like that?!
However, things would be different with this clan order. This would fully display the Han Family's stance on the matter.
Who would dare to mock Han Zhuoling then?
She wondered if Old Mr. Han had thought of this when making this decision.
Lin Liye really felt immensely grateful from the bottom of her heart.
Han Xijin and Shen Nuo did not have any objections, seeing how supportive everyone was being.
It was as if they thought that activating the clan order was something that ought to be done and never felt that it was too much of an effort or making things out to be too serious.
The people in the Han Family had always been like this. For their family, they would never give in and would do anything.
This was also why, even though she could no longer stand Han Dongping since a long time ago, she still chose to stay in the Han Family.
She could bear to leave Han Dongping, but she could not bear to leave the two elders who were so protective of their descendants, and she could not bear to leave the other people in the Han Family—apart from Han Dongping.
They were all so united and protective of their family members.
She felt really lucky and assured to be able to become a family with them.
Because she knew that in this family, no matter what happened, there would always be a bunch of reliable family members supporting her and protecting her.
Having been married into the Han Family for decades, she had also been influenced by the atmosphere among them.
Chapter 1272: You Deserve a Scolding
That was why she never felt that it was inappropriate for the Han Family to directly stand up for Lu Man to protect her from the gossip in her school even before Lu Man married into the family.
When Lu Man came to visit with Xia Qingwei, Old Mrs. Han only told her and Han Zhuofeng and did not tell Han Dongping.
She knew clearly what her own husband was like, so she could understand.
When she came with Han Zhuofeng, she was very polite towards Xia Qingwei and Lu Man as well. Whenever they needed help, she was always willing to help and support them. This was all because she had been influenced by the two elders, as well as by Han Xijin and his wife.
The people she cared about was probably not Han Dongping, but the people in this big Han Family.
With all these people in the Han Family around, what was Han Dongping even?
Lin Liye lowered her head to hide the redness in her eyes.
She did not like to say words of gratitude to fit the occasion in situations like these. However, Old Mrs. Han saw her reaction.
Old Mrs. Han liked Lin Liye's personality.
Although she would not say it, she would always keep it in her heart and remember the good you did.
This kind of people was much better than those who would only pay lip service but not keep it on their minds.
The less they said it, the more they remembered it in their hearts. This was how people really remember the good you did.
Those who only know how to pay lip service but never keep your good deed in their heart would always placate others with words and even think themselves to be smart for doing so.
Old Mrs. Han simply loved people like Shen Nuo and Lin Liye.
One was straightforward and spoke her heart, but with good intentions.
The other did not really know how to talk, but they would remember the good you did for them in their hearts.
Yet in times like this, someone had to try to prove their existence.
Han Dongping said in a low voice, "Dad, Mom, we don't need to do this, right? It's just the marriage problems of a child. Why would we need to activate a clan order? Using the whole power of our clan, isn't that too serious? It's not such a big deal to begin with."
Lin Liye turned to glare at Han Dongping immediately.
The two elders aside, even Han Xijin and Shen Nuo, who were only Han Zhuoling's uncle and auntie, knew to feel the injustice on Han Zhuoling's behalf. They did not have any opinions about Old Mr. Han's decision and were super supportive of it.
It was actually Han Dongping, the father, who felt that protecting his son like this was not worth it, that they were kicking up a big fuss over nothing.
"Dad, Mom, and Zhuoling's Uncle and Auntie all know that we should protect Zhuoling. You, as a father, actually felt that the grievance Zhuoling suffered is not a big deal?" Lin Liye's eyes reddened as she questioned him. "Han Dongping, is it that in your eyes, aside from yourself, all other matters are unimportant?!"
Han Dongping scolded her, "What nonsense are you saying?! What kind of attitude is this?!"
"What's wrong with her attitude, you say? I think Liye's attitude towards you is considered polite!" Old Mrs. Han already wanted to scold Han Dongping when she heard the ridiculous things that Han Dongping had just said.
It was just that Lin Liye beat her to it first.
However, Old Mrs. Han did not think that Lin Liye did anything wrong by saying that of Han Dongping in front of them.
Han Dongping simply deserved a scolding!
"Just how did we teach you from the time you were young?" Old Mrs. Han asked. "Members of our family cannot be bullied. As long as we did no wrong, if outsiders dared to bully us, even if they only bullied one person in the family, all of us must unite and bully him back on behalf of that one person!
"The Han Family shields our shortcomings, but we are also reasonable people. We want to twist together to form a rope—to unite and work together. The strength of the Han Family is something that outsiders would never dare to underestimate. This was never because of our family's assets, or because we have deeply-rooted and closely-intertwined relations with the eight great families. The most important thing is the unity of the Han Family." Old Mrs. Han stared squarely at Han Dongping with her clear, sharp eyes.
Chapter 1273: This Knife Is Stabbed Too Viciously
"Because, as long as they offend any one member of the Han Family, it means they've offended the whole of the Han Family. Hence, no outsider would dare to offend any person in this family." Old Mrs. Han scoffed at Han Dongping and said, "You still think you're so great? That that's the reason other people are being all respectful and courteous to you? If not for the unity of the Han Family, who would care about you?! Everyone would have already gone and sucked up to Xijin and Zhuoli. Why would you have any part to play?"
Lu Man secretly gave Old Mrs. Han a thumbs-up in her heart. This knife was stabbed too viciously.
Han Dongping never thought he was any lesser than Han Xijin, yet he had always been undervalued in every aspect compared to Han Xijin.
Still, to have Old Mrs. Han talk of him in that manner, how could he bear that?
"Enough!" Old Mr. Han said to Han Dongping, "Aside from seeking justice for Zhuoling on this matter, there is still another layer to it. Have you ever thought of that? If our family just lets this matter go so easily and lets other people think we, the Hans, are so easily to bully, don't you think other people will come and try to sully our reputation, thinking that we won't do anything about it? If we don't shake them up, they will really think that anyone can just come and taint us!"
Old Mrs. Han continued, "You simply think that we're making a big fuss going after the Xia Family because you're so fixated on those marginal gains and think that we will suffer losses ourselves no matter what if we did that. But have you ever thought what would happen in the future if things like these occur more and more? It's not just on personal matters, but also on work. They will feel that actually, the Han Family is not that great and only looks impressive but does nothing, like a paper tiger. They will all want to trample on our family in the business field. You don't think that's insulting either?!"
Han Dongping was stunned. He had really never thought of that.
This matter did not just involve Han Zhuoling. It involved the long-term development of the Han Family.
"Xijin, Zhuoling, Zhuoli, and even Zhuofeng, who hasn't stepped into the business world yet, could think of this, but you couldn't," Old Mr. Han said. "Why don't you reflect on yourself properly? Don't keep blaming others for not giving you a chance or that other people are fighting with you for recognition. There are some things that once owned, no one else will be able to snatch from you."
Han Dongping was stunned. He subconsciously stared at Han Zhuoli and the rest.
Did they all really think of that?
Was he the only one who did not?
Han Zhuoling remained as stern as usual, yet he had an intellectual aura around him.
Han Zhuoli was not surprised at all by Old Mr. Han's words, so it seemed like he thought the same as well.
Needless to say that as for Lu Man, she was unbelievably calm.
Even Zhuofeng gave him a look of disapproval.
It was as if, in this whole family, he was the only dumb person!
Han Dongping stopped talking. He could no longer sit there any further.
"Up to you all," Han Dongping said in a low voice. "As for the rest of the matters, you can decide among yourselves. Anyway, whatever I say, no one will listen to it!"
Han Dongping stood up. "Then I won't stay here any further."
When he left, Old Mrs. Han even pointed at the door as her finger shook and said, "How did I give birth to such a ridiculous bastard?! I don't expect him to think of the big picture, but even as a father, he shouldn't have said those things either!"
"Grandma, it's okay," Han Zhuoling said calmly. "I don't mind."
Old Mrs. Han's heart twisted in pain. How disappointed must he be in Han Dongping as a father to the point that he would not even care about this?
He had long been accustomed to how unreliable Han Dongping was. His disappointment probably turned into a habit—that was why he no longer had any hope in him.
Lin Liye only felt terrible.
At that moment, Han Zhuoling reached out to hold her hand and comfort her silently.
Chapter 1273: This Knife Is Stabbed Too Viciously
"Because, as long as they offend any one member of the Han Family, it means they've offended the whole of the Han Family. Hence, no outsider would dare to offend any person in this family." Old Mrs. Han scoffed at Han Dongping and said, "You still think you're so great? That that's the reason other people are being all respectful and courteous to you? If not for the unity of the Han Family, who would care about you?! Everyone would have already gone and sucked up to Xijin and Zhuoli. Why would you have any part to play?"
Lu Man secretly gave Old Mrs. Han a thumbs-up in her heart. This knife was stabbed too viciously.
Han Dongping never thought he was any lesser than Han Xijin, yet he had always been undervalued in every aspect compared to Han Xijin.
Still, to have Old Mrs. Han talk of him in that manner, how could he bear that?
"Enough!" Old Mr. Han said to Han Dongping, "Aside from seeking justice for Zhuoling on this matter, there is still another layer to it. Have you ever thought of that? If our family just lets this matter go so easily and lets other people think we, the Hans, are so easily to bully, don't you think other people will come and try to sully our reputation, thinking that we won't do anything about it? If we don't shake them up, they will really think that anyone can just come and taint us!"
Old Mrs. Han continued, "You simply think that we're making a big fuss going after the Xia Family because you're so fixated on those marginal gains and think that we will suffer losses ourselves no matter what if we did that. But have you ever thought what would happen in the future if things like these occur more and more? It's not just on personal matters, but also on work. They will feel that actually, the Han Family is not that great and only looks impressive but does nothing, like a paper tiger. They will all want to trample on our family in the business field. You don't think that's insulting either?!"
Han Dongping was stunned. He had really never thought of that.
This matter did not just involve Han Zhuoling. It involved the long-term development of the Han Family.
"Xijin, Zhuoling, Zhuoli, and even Zhuofeng, who hasn't stepped into the business world yet, could think of this, but you couldn't," Old Mr. Han said. "Why don't you reflect on yourself properly? Don't keep blaming others for not giving you a chance or that other people are fighting with you for recognition. There are some things that once owned, no one else will be able to snatch from you."
Han Dongping was stunned. He subconsciously stared at Han Zhuoli and the rest.
Did they all really think of that?
Was he the only one who did not?
Han Zhuoling remained as stern as usual, yet he had an intellectual aura around him.
Han Zhuoli was not surprised at all by Old Mr. Han's words, so it seemed like he thought the same as well.
Needless to say that as for Lu Man, she was unbelievably calm.
Even Zhuofeng gave him a look of disapproval.
It was as if, in this whole family, he was the only dumb person!
Han Dongping stopped talking. He could no longer sit there any further.
"Up to you all," Han Dongping said in a low voice. "As for the rest of the matters, you can decide among yourselves. Anyway, whatever I say, no one will listen to it!"
Han Dongping stood up. "Then I won't stay here any further."
When he left, Old Mrs. Han even pointed at the door as her finger shook and said, "How did I give birth to such a ridiculous bastard?! I don't expect him to think of the big picture, but even as a father, he shouldn't have said those things either!"
"Grandma, it's okay," Han Zhuoling said calmly. "I don't mind."
Old Mrs. Han's heart twisted in pain. How disappointed must he be in Han Dongping as a father to the point that he would not even care about this?
He had long been accustomed to how unreliable Han Dongping was. His disappointment probably turned into a habit—that was why he no longer had any hope in him.
Lin Liye only felt terrible.
At that moment, Han Zhuoling reached out to hold her hand and comfort her silently.
Chapter 1274: Attack on All Fronts
Han Zhuofeng hugged Lin Liye around the shoulder and said, "Mom, Big Brother and I are already grown up. With two grown men like us around, you don't have to worry."
Lin Liye sniffled. She patted Han Zhuofeng's hand and said, "Alright, I know."
Old Mr. Han's orders having been given, Han Zhuoli and Han Zhuoling went to carry them out together.
Previously, Han Zhuoling had stayed in Europe to oversee and expand the Han Family's sphere of influence and power.
Although he was not in the country, both of them had great chemistry working together.
Whatever Han Zhuoli did on his end, Han Zhuoling would cooperate with accordingly on his end. This spared Han Zhuoli of any lingering worries.
Now that Han Zhuoling was back, both of them had even more chemistry working together with redoubled power.
The various branches of the Han Family in various locations all received the clan order.
In T City.
In the Han Family Clan Group.
The First Elder stood up and said, "Go. Investigate the situation of the Xia Family in T City carefully."
Z City.
In the Han Family Clan Group.
The Third Elder said, "Does the Xia Family not have any assets in Z City?"
"Yes."
"Contact G City. We will join hands to uproot the Xia Family from G City! Whatever the clan group in G City needs, we will provide with full support on our side!"
The same situation played out in various other locations.
All the branches of the Han Family across the country were mobilized.
That same afternoon, Han Zhuoling let his lawyer announce the divorce statement.
Of course, the exact reason was not stated.
However, Han Zhuoling did not even want his son. This was more than enough to answer many doubts.
Of course, this would inevitably invite lame, malicious gossip.
The moment the divorce statement was released, Xia Zhancheng suddenly received a call.
The Xia Family's mega-malls in various locales suddenly had their supply chains cut off.
Numerous brands wanted to pull their products off the shelves.
Some of the malls had cinemas owned by the Han Corporation. All of them announced their closure.
More than half of the hotels were closed down, and the supermarkets that were operating in these malls closed down as well!
At the same time, the Han Corporation released a public statement online that it will pull out fully from all the malls under the Xia Family Organization.
"CEO!" Xia Zhancheng received a call from the General Manager. "Ever since the Han Corporation's cinemas closed down, the human traffic in our malls have been reduced by half. The physical stores of the malls have long had their revenues cut largely because of the sales from their online shops, so the malls now largely rely on the cinemas and hotels to attract customers. But now, not only the cinemas, even half of the hotels have closed down. At this rate, we will..."
Why would we still open the malls?
They could all close down now!
"Which of the malls are affected?" Xia Zhancheng asked in a solemn voice.
"It's not which, it's all of them. No matter which city, every mall that belongs to the Xia Family across various locations have all met with the same situation," the General Manager said anxiously.
"That's impossible!" Xia Zhancheng was in disbelief. "They could not have acted so fast. The impact cannot be so huge either!"
To do this, the losses of the Han Family would by no means be any less than that of the Xia Family.
That was an astronomical figure impossible to determine.
It would be too difficult for even the Hans to do this!
"It's true," the General Manager said. "On my end, my assistant's number has already gone bust from all the calls he is getting. It's all the various people in charge of the different locations calling in to report the situation. The Han Family has gone crazy."
The Hans not only withdrew on its own. It also mobilized its connections and asked other businesses to pull out as well.
Aside from the special relations with the eight great families, the Hans would naturally have to compensate for the losses of the other businesses that moved out.
Not only that, the thing that astounded Xia Zhancheng the most was this: the Han Family's actions were too fast!
How on earth did they do it? Within a span of a few hours, they managed to attack the Xia Family on all fronts!
Chapter 1275: Exterminating the Xia Family
"I got it. Wait for my call later."
Xia Zhancheng ended the call and was about to go crazy.
Didn't the Han Family promise not to go after them?
Why was it that right after he had left, the Hans attacked them right away?!
Their actions were way too fast!
Furthermore, it was not just in B City. Everywhere across the country, as long as there was a mall that belonged to the Xia Family, all of them would be attacked by the Han Family.
How on earth did the Hans do it?
Such orderly execution of a plan of such a large scale seemed to have been arranged right from the start.
However, such a situation was usually only possible after planning for a long time.
But he had only just returned from the Han residence. Furthermore, Xia Yixin's incident happened just last night.
Even if the Hans had decided on this yesterday night, it was impossible for them to have planned it to such an extent within one night.
Almost at the same time, everywhere across the country, as long as it was a property of the Xia Family, none could be spared.
However, this also showed Xia Zhancheng how scary the Han Family could be.
Wherever the Xias had assets, the Hans did so too.
And where the Xias did not have assets, the Hans did.
The Han Family seemed to be omnipresent. Everywhere across the country, their presence could be seen.
Just thinking about it was scary enough.
Xia Zhancheng felt a sudden surge of panic in his heart. The Han Family was unusually aggressive this time.
"Zhancheng, what's wrong? Did the Han Family take action?" Cen Mengqing asked nervously.
"They didn't just take action." Xia Zhancheng's face was pale and aghast. "Judging from their stance, they are on the verge of exterminating the Xia Family."
Xia Zhancheng thought about it and gave one of his friends a call.
"Old Xia." The other party addressed him familiarly once he saw that it was Xia Zhancheng's number. "I was just about to look for you. How did you offend the Han Family?"
"You know about it too?" Xia Zhancheng was shocked.
"Aye, everyone on the web is going crazy over this. Within our circle, there's probably no one who doesn't know about this now," the other person said.
"Old Gu," Xia Zhancheng said. "The Hans did this all of a sudden. There was no sign of it happening at all before, but I feel like there's something amiss. Unless they wanted to deal with the Han Family since a long time ago, it is unlikely that they would be able to execute this on such a large scale, isn't it? Unless the Han Family suddenly wanted to do this? I don't believe it."
Old Gu thought about it and said, "Cheng, let me help you get some info about this."
"Alright. Thanks a lot."
After ending the call, Xia Zhancheng contacted the General Manger urgently. "Gather everyone. We're having a meeting!"
Xia Zhancheng rushed to the company to come up with a response plan with the top-level management in the company.
It was not about resolving the matter anymore. The top priority was to tide over the situation at hand first before discussing the next step.
Xia Zhancheng started a video conference with the top management of the company, as well as the managers in the various locales.
Based on the reports earlier, the impact could still not be felt fully.
However, this time, the managers from various locales live-streamed the emptiness of the malls for them.
More than half of the restaurants, fashion shops, and accessory shops were closed. Only the makeup counters were open, but not a single soul was around.
The cinemas on the top floors were already closed. The whole mall was so empty that it made people's hearts ache.
"We have already contacted the managers of the Han Corporation's cinemas. Hopefully, they can reopen. However, no matter what kind of terms we offered, they simply refused us and they wanted to pull out completely from the mall, ceasing to work with us anymore," one of the local managers said.
"We have also contacted the restaurants and fashion stores that have closed. Most of the restaurants are owned by Han Zhuoli's friends. Of all the restaurants, half of them are owned by the Yan Family. Although the others refused to clarify, from their words, we could tell that the Han Family gave them some irresistible terms."
Chapter 1276: Anger and Frenzy
"It's the same on our end. They all refused to come back. Furthermore, some of them stated very clearly that even if we gave them even better offers, they would not return, because they would not dare to. Since they had an agreement with the Han Family, they would not dare to go back on their word. They clearly said that they could not afford to offend the Hans."
Xia Zhancheng immediately thought of Xia Yixin's matter.
She married into the Han Family, yet she did not know her place, so the whole Xia Family had to suffer the vengeance of the Hans.
The Hans would not pick on a woman. They would go straight to settling scores with the Xias, who was backing her up.
Xia Zhancheng felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Even those people understood that logic, yet his family had to be the one getting on the bad side of the Hans.
No, he should say that it was Xia Yixin who got on the bad side of the Hans.
It was something that everyone understood, yet Xia Yixin could not understand it!
"Quickly, contact all the businesses that can sign on with us. See whoever we can contact. No matter how big or small the brand is, just let them come on board first. Change the shopfront as fast as possible," Xia Zhancheng said.
"We already contacted them, but..." one of the managers said timidly.
"But what? Stop stuttering!" Xia Zhancheng said impatiently.
"No one dared to come to an agreement. I don't know how the Han Family did it. Within such a short time, they actually managed to contact all our possible business contacts first," said the manager. "This happened so suddenly, so we activated our emergency plan and split into two groups immediately. One group would contact the businesses that suddenly pulled out while the other would contact all other businesses that can come in as replacements. It was a two-pronged approach to handle the situation.
"But in the end, the businesses that pulled out refused to come back. The Han Family actually managed to calculate our every step within such a short period of time. They even predicted that we would approach our emergency business partners and notified them beforehand first." That manager paused for a moment in despondence. "To be honest, us competing against the Han Family is... That's why as long as the Han Family says one word, those businesses will not dare to work with us. The back-up businesses that we found would surely not be as huge or as powerful as those that moved out. All the more these businesses wouldn't dare to offend the Hans."
"What about the supermarkets?" Xia Zhancheng asked.
"All the supermarkets we worked with had backed out. They are not coming back." Not surprisingly for Xia Zhancheng, the answer was the same.
"What about our own family's supermarket?"
"For our own supermarket, our Purchasing Department is already contacting other supply channels. It's just that our supply channels have all been selected after careful comparison of the quality to the prices, and this process of selection took a long time before it was completed. If we suddenly change suppliers, we cannot be fully assured. If there is something wrong with the quality of our products, we will be in big trouble."
Xia Zhancheng massaged his temples. What they said was right. However, he still could not contain the rage and frenzy in his heart.
He knew that no matter what, they would not be able to find a suitable solution. At this rate, their organization would not last for long before they were doomed.
Hence, he got even more furious, even more frenzied.
At that moment, Xia Zhancheng's phone suddenly rang.
However, Xia Zhancheng was so frenzied and unsettled that he could not even tell that his own phone was ringing.
He bellowed, "We're already in this state, who's the one who didn't even turn off his phone for the meeting?!"
Everyone stared at each other dumbstruck.
They all took out their phones to check. In the end, everyone put their phones on silent mode and none of them had any incoming calls.
Everyone turned to look at Xia Zhancheng.
The sound of the ringtone seemed to be coming from his side.
Xia Zhancheng also reacted and took out his phone. He saw that it was a call from Old Gu.
Chapter 1277: Reduced by a Whopping Two-Thirds!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He did not care about the looks from everyone and answered the call. "Old Gu."
"Old Xia, I got the news for you." Old Gu's voice sounded somewhat somber.
"How is it?" Xia Zhancheng felt his heart leap to his throat.
"The Han Family sent out a Clan Order," Old Gu said somberly.
Xia Zhancheng shuddered and his hands and feet turned cold. "Are you sure?"
"It's not a great feat that I managed to find out—the Han family did not hide this at all. So, even by probing just a bit, I was able to find out," Old Gu said. "Old Xia, my capabilities are limited. This is the most I can help you with. Any more than that, I won't be able to help."
Even this Old Gu was thinking whether he should just deny his ties with Xia Zhancheng and avoid being mistakenly attacked by the Han Family.
"This..." Old Gu asked, "Is this related to your daughter's marriage with Han Zhuoling? I saw the divorce statement that Han Zhuoling's lawyer published this morning..."
Even the son was returned to the Xia Familly. Wasn't it obvious that there was some foul play going on here?
The moment the divorce statement was released, the Hans started to deal with the Xias.
They even sent out a clan order and used the power of their whole clan to decimate the Xia family.
Alas, many people probably guessed it right. It was probably because Xia Yixin made a cuckold of Han Zhuoling and that even the son she bore was not Han Zhuoling's.
Old Gu sucked in a deep breath. He could not help but admit that Xia Yixin really had the guts!
How could she dare!
Now everyone knew that the Han Family activated a clan order to deal with the Xia Family. Without the clan order, there would surely have been many people laughing at Han Zhuoling.
Although they would not dare to do it openly, they would surely be waiting for a good show behind his back.
Someone who had always been high up in the air and made people fear and respect him actually ended up in such an embarrassing situation.
However, now that they'd issued a clan order, who would dare?
Han Zhuoling had been betrayed, but the endgame for daring to humiliate the Han Family like this would be similar to the plight of the Xia Family at present.
There's a saying that goes, "For every debt, there is a debtor." However, this was not the case for the Han Family.
If they wanted to settle scores, they would directly seek out the whole family that was behind it!
You'd dare to bet your whole family to offend the Hans?
Now everyone's attention was on the Han Family's magnificent move. They were in awe and fear. No one would dare to laugh at Han Zhuoling again.
He had been made a cuckold by his wife, but his ex-wife dragged down the whole Xia Family to a terrible end!
Everyone was left with fear. No one would dare to wait for a good show anymore.
As for Old Gu's question, Xia Zhancheng did not answer. "Thank you so much for this."
"No problem." Old Gu laughed twice and did not continue asking.
Judging from Xia Zhancheng's reaction, he already knew the answer.
After ending the call, Xia Zhancheng continued to think of other ways to sustain the mall operations.
However, after a mere 10 days, Xia Zhancheng had no choice but to start to close down his malls.
Many of his malls closed down across various locales.
Those brands that still remained in the mall and did not pull out were reorganized and placed in one mall.
The Xia Family's market share was reduced by a whopping two-thirds!
As for the cinemas, because the Han Corporation pulled out completely, Xia Zhancheng could only contact other cinema operators.
Due to the past incidents with Greedy Wolf Operation, Red Tiger, and Attack Force, the Han Corporation's cinema chain could be said to have deep grudges with the remaining three cinema operators.
Xia Zhancheng also knew of this, so he contacted those three operators.
However, no matter how unhappy they were with the Han Corporation, they still did not want to aggravate the Han Corporation at this point in time.
The Han Family clearly wanted to exterminate the Xia Family.
This was entirely because of the personal feud between the Hans and the Xias.
There were only a few businesses left in the Xia Family's malls. It was not worth offending the Han Family for the Xia Family.
Chapter 1278: Best Newcomer Award
They were very annoyed with the Han Corporation's cinema chain for monopolizing the entire film industry.
From the artistes to the production and distribution of films and television dramas, to their powerful cinema operators, the Han Corporation had a series of long and winding industrial chains—which was really annoying.
However, their rationality was telling them that no matter how annoying they were, they were undoubtedly no match for the Hans.
So there was no point in intentionally getting involved in a messy situation like this.
Hence, these three operators all rejected Xia Zhancheng in unison.
Aside from these three operators, there were other smaller operators who would all the more not dare to agree.
Hence, the Xia Family was left only with those few malls that had not a single cinema in them.
This greatly reduced their customer traffic.
Customers would go and watch a movie, and after watching a movie, they would have a meal in the mall, forming a cycle.
Now that there was no place to watch a movie, even the business of the restaurants in the malls were severely affected.
As the number of customers in the malls dwindled, it became even harder to sustain the business.
The worst phase after the Han Family sent out their clan order had already passed.
Now, the Han Family's branches retracted their hands again and returned to assume their silence, as if they had never appeared before.
What was left was just to wait and watch the Xia Family die a slow and painful death.
***
After half a month, the impact of Han Zhuoling's divorce was also slowly fading away.
Everyone's attention was turned to when the Xia Family would be finished.
At the same time, they had also been scared out of their wits by the Han Family's magnificent move this time.
The people who had once gotten on the bad side of the Hans all patted their chests and were secretly relieved that the Hans did not stoop to their level to pick on them.
With this move, although the Han Family had to pay a sizeable price, the result they got far exceeded what they had to pay for it.
Today, Lu Man received a call from the organizers of the Fei Yue International Film Festival.
They informed her that she had been nominated for the Best Newcomer Award and asked her if she had the time and can attend the awards ceremony.
"Yes, I can," Lu Man replied.
Hence, the other party told her the exact date and time, as well as the things to prepare and take note of.
Lu Man noted them down one by one.
When she returned home and told Han Zhuoli about this, she coincidentally got a call from Yan Zhiqing.
"Zhiqing." Lu Man did not expect to receive a call from her. "I haven't gotten the chance to thank you for Liang Chengbing's matter yet."
"What would you thank me for? Don't need to be so polite, we all know each other." Yan Zhiqing's voice was crisp and clear and she sounded very forthcoming.
"I called you to tell you this. Didn't you want to participate in the film festival? If there are no hiccups along the way, the Best Newcomer Award should be yours," Yan Zhiqing said. "Didn't the organizers contact you before? The silent acknowledgment for this kind of awards ceremony is that the artistes that show up will get an award. If you don't show up, then the award that is supposed to go to you will go to the next person in line. Since you're attending, then the award should be yours this time. This was what we judges have decided on."
"Is it okay for you to tell me that beforehand?" Lu Man asked.
"It's fine, just don't tell other people." Yan Zhiqing laughed. "However, given your calm temperament, I don't have to worry about it.
"The organizers must have invited Liang Chengbing this time, but he was not nominated for any award. Be it for Best Director, Best Film, Best Actor, or Best Actress Awards, none of his works were nominated." Thinking about this vindicated Yan Zhiqing's anger. "He still thinks he's so great. What kind of films did he shoot? I thought I would need to use my veto vote. I didn't expect that his films would all be voted out normally. I'm telling you this, but don't tell other people. I want to wait and see Liang Chengbing's reaction on the day of the awards ceremony."
Chapter 1279: Needs Consoling Too
"Of course I won't say it. I also have a huge present waiting for him," Lu Man said, giggling.
The moment Yan Zhiqing heard that, she knew that Liang Chengbing was in for a bad time.
She had heard of Lu Man's glorious track record.
Lu Man chatted with Yan Zhiqing for a while. Although both of them had met only once, they felt as if they had known each other for a long time and were not awkward with each other, as if they had endless things to talk about.
Han Zhuoli had been busy handling the matters involved in dealing with the Xia Family, together with Han Zhuoling.
He had worked overtime consecutively for a long period of time and almost always came back home late at night.
Lu Man would always wait for him, but sometimes, she would fall asleep while waiting.
When he came back, he would see that the lights in the living room were still on and that Lu Man was dozing off on the sofa.
At times like these, Han Zhuoli would carry her back to the bedroom every single time.
Lu Man would sleepily wait for him to pack his things and come to sleep, without a proper conversation even happening between them.
The next morning, Han Zhuoli would get up early and leave.
Both of them were clearly living together. However, Han Zhuoli felt as though he had never seen Lu Man during this period.
He finally managed to finish up this busy period and come back early today.
In the end, both of them spoke only a few sentences before Yan Zhiqing called.
As both of them chatted, they actually showed no sign of ending their conversation.
Han Zhuoli felt really aggrieved.
He had not seen Lu Man for such a long time and had not even had the chance to get intimate with her. Yan Zhiqing was outrightly interrupting his intimate time with Lu Man!
Han Zhuoli sat beside Lu Man and wrapped his long arm around her waist.
Instantly, he felt a little gratification.
He had not hugged her like this in such a long time. It felt as if Lu Man's waist got one round thinner.
"You haven't finished chatting?" Han Zhuoli asked pitifully. "Man Man..."
Lu Man quickly covered the phone and glanced sideways at Han Zhuoli. It would be so embarrassing to let Yan Zhiqing hear that!
However, Han Zhuoli purposely said this so close to her so that Yan Zhiqing could hear it.
She held back her laughter and said, "Am I disturbing both of you right now? I'll call you again next time."
"Okay." Lu Man ended the call feeling a little bad. She then jabbed at Han Zhuoli's waist and said, "She heard you!"
"I wanted her to hear and stop disturbing us." Han Zhuoli pulled Lu Man over to sit on his thighs. "I worked for such a long time and couldn't even have a proper conversation with you when I got back home every day. Now that I'm finally back home early, you are actually busy talking to some other people."
"Ah, Hubby, it's been hard on you these last few days," Lu Man immediately said, comforting him. She cupped his face in her hands and gave him a lovely kiss.
However, she kissed only his cheek. Han Zhuoli was not satisfied and touched his lips. "What about here? This needs comforting too."
Lu Man then kissed him on the lips twice.
"Call me 'Hubby' a few more times for me to hear." Han Zhuoli placed his hands on both sides of her waist. "Ever since we got married, I rarely hear you call me that."
"Who said so? I clearly always call you that." The moment she said that, Lu Man regretted it and her face started turning red.
Han Zhuoli's lips curved up in a smile.
Didn't she call him that often?
Every time they were doing "that" and he pushed Lu Man to her peak, he would always urge her to call him "Hubby."
In those times, she could not even control herself and would always call him that as her voice trembled.
The more she was like this, the more he wanted it.
Yet, he would often want her. As long as he did not work overtime, he would not rest.
He was just one step away from making her call him "Hubby" every day.
In the end, afterward, her calling him "Hubby" became a secret code.
Every time Han Zhuoli said "call me Hubby," it meant he wanted her.
Now that Han Zhuoli had said it, Lu Man felt a little hot.
Chapter 1280: Is There Something Wrong with His Brain?
Han Zhuoli chuckled lightly. The sight of his Adam's apple jutting out seemed exceptionally sexy.
He lowered his eyes and stared at Lu Man's reddened face and knew what she was thinking about already.
"Quick, call me that twice." Han Zhuoli held back his laugh. "Aside from those times, you rarely call me that."
Lu Man did not know why, but usually, when she was in her right mind, she would feel very shy calling him that.
Both of them had been married for a while and she had already been used to married life and to putting herself in the position of a wife.
However, she just could not bring herself to say it.
She felt that it was extremely mushy.
"Zhiqing had legit matters to discuss with me when she called just now." Lu Man tried to change the topic.
Han Zhuoli laughed dryly. "Don't try to change the subject!"
Seeing Han Zhuoli's handsome face that she could never get tired of, Lu Man felt that she could not bring herself to call him that probably because she felt shy looking at his face.
Her face was flushed red as she finally managed to force it out and say, "Hubby!"
Han Zhuoli laughed tenderly and kissed her on the lips. "If you call me a few more times like this, you will get used to it."
To him, hearing her soft voice call him like this sounded exceptionally melodious.
"What did Yan Zhiqing tell you?" Han Zhuoli only asked her this now.
"She told me that the Best Newcomer Award is mine and notified me beforehand so that I can prepare for it," Lu Man said. She also told him about Liang Chengbing's results.
Han Zhuoli looked at Lu Man and said, "This is your first time attending such an important awards ceremony. This weekend, I'll take you out to pick a gown."
Lu Man also knew that at such an event, her image should not be overlooked. She immediately agreed.
At that moment, Xia Qingwei called.
"Man Man, are you going to attend that Fei Yue International Film Festival?" Xia Qingwei asked.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Lu Man was still in Han Zhuoli's arms and he did not let go.
"Just now, the organizers called your dad and invited him to go. He wanted to ask if you are going. If you go, he will go too. If you are not going, he won't go either," Xia Qingwei said as she smiled.
Wang Juhuai was totally listening to his daughter's words right now. Xia Qingwei thought it was really funny no matter how she thought about it.
"I am going," Lu Man said. "You can go with Dad too."
"Alright, I will tell him. Let's see if he's willing to bring me along."
The moment Xia Qingwei said that, Lu Man could hear Wang Juhuai's voice from that end of the call saying, "I'm willing—of course I'm willing. I will bring you. I will, I will. It's a must!"
Liang Chengbing also received an invite from the organizers on his end.
Although Liang Chengbing was not sure if his works would win an award in the end, he was still very confident that he got through the nomination round.
The reporters did not have the nominated name list on hand. They could only judge the likelihood of the person getting into the nomination round based on the participants' list for the film festival this time.
One of them was Liang Chengbing.
The next day, the news online released a reporter's interview with Liang Chengbing.
Lu Man was at school. Once her first class ended and it was time for a break, the students in the classroom started chatting at one side and scrolling through their Weibo.
Suddenly, someone said, "Quick, look, it's Liang Chengbing's interview!"
Zhuang Tingting was heard saying, "Seems like Director Liang does not have a good opinion of Lu Man."
"What has this got to do with Lu Man?" Zheng Yuan was perplexed and turned around to look for Lu Man. "Quick, look. Why is that Liang Chengbing dissing you again?"
Pan Xue and Han Leilei also opened the video to watch.
The moment Lu Man tapped on it, she heard Pan Xue shout, "What the f*ck! Is there something wrong with this Liang Chengbing's brain?!"
"Where is it?" Lu Man asked.
She did not follow any media outlets and did not follow a lot of people on Weibo. Hence, she could not find it so quickly like Pan Xue did.