Chapter 235 A Pot of Boiling Water!

o to hell, Old Han." Han Xingye stopped crying and laughed. "Just wait for me to make you proud."Zhang Yanqing wanted to interject but didn’t know where to begin; her sudden decision left her at a los...Chapter 235 A Pot of Boiling Water!

Right at this moment, Su Tianran's phone started to vibrate. Upon seeing the number, his expression immediately turned serious.

However, since they were currently in a family meeting and the old man detested others answering or making calls during meetings, Su Tianran could only hang up the call.

Yet, he did not expect that after hanging up three times, the phone continued to vibrate persistently. It seemed like there was something urgent on the other end of the line.

"Answer it," nodded the old man, Su's grandfather.

Hearing this, Su Tianran pressed the接聽button.

“Something terrible has happened! The diamond mine has exploded. All tunnels have collapsed and are now filled with debris!”

Su Tianran heard this and hung up immediately, his hand holding the phone slowly sliding down from his cheek, expressionless.

The hall was silent at that moment; all Su family members were quiet as they sensed something unusual about today from Su Tianran's reaction, sensing a major event might be unfolding.

However, Su Qingli and Su Tianya and others wore an expression of schadenfreude. They knew that the worse news for Su Tianran would be more beneficial to them. If Su Tianran were to step down due to this incident, it was possible that Su Tianya might become the biggest beneficiary.

"What's going on" asked the old man, Su's grandfather.

“Nothing important,” Su Tianran hesitated before deciding not to cause a panic by revealing the news and choosing not to disclose the truth.

“Ahem, Brother Tianran, there’s no need to hide anything. We’re all family here.” Su Tianya followed up immediately.

"Come on, Tianran, if you have any news, it's better to tell everyone. Even if it's bad news, we can face it together, right" Su Qingli said, also with a hint of amusement.

Su Tianran remained silent.

“Tianran, your brothers and sisters are right. Whatever the matter is, you might as well speak up; let’s help you figure out how to handle it together,” Su Tianran's second grandfather, Su Fudan, said.

Su Tianran raised his face, with an unspoken emotion in his eyes. He sighed heavily and said, "The South African diamond mine was destroyed by an explosion. The cause of the blast is currently unknown."

Boom!

The impact of Su Tianran’s words on everyone was like a bomb dropped into calm waters, creating huge ripples!

Although they had lost Zhongding Gas and hurt the Su family's foundations before, since most people only knew about it through rumors, they couldn’t be certain that Zhongding had been taken over overnight. However, this news of the diamond mine being destroyed was directly confirmed by Su Tianran, so there could be no doubt.

Everyone fell silent, still processing and absorbing the shock of the news.

The reason why the three major diamond brands under the Su family were able to stand firm in China for so many years included political factors; but more importantly, it was because they owned a diamond mine in South Africa.

Different from other brands, the Su family could complete the process of mining, processing, and selling diamonds all by themselves in South Africa. This naturally reduced a lot of unnecessary costs in their supply chain, making their overall cost significantly lower than that of other brands. In the past, their prices were always slightly cheaper than others, which was exactly what made these three brands popular. It wasn’t realistic or feasible for any diamond brand to compete with the Su family on price.

But recently, a new player called Phantom Crystal Diamond emerged. Within just a few months of appearing, they used extensive advertising and extremely low prices to quickly capture China's luxury market and severely impact the established three major brands. This lightning marketing strategy has been included in textbooks as a classic case study taught in university classrooms.

Phantom Crystal Diamonds had the capital and confidence to compete with the Su family on price for the same reason: they also owned a diamond mine in South Africa!

In addition, faced with Phantom Crystal Diamonds' willingness to spend whatever it takes to fight to the death, these three brands collectively withdrew their defenses to avoid greater losses, ceding territory to others.

"Are you joking The South African diamond mines have been operating for so many years without any incidents. Why would they be blown up today" Su Tianqi finally excitedly noticed that everyone shifted their attention from him to Su Tianran due to this shocking news! Perhaps because the South African diamond mine was destroyed, he could escape unscathed!

"Damn it, you don’t have the right to speak here!" Su Nan Guo was so furious that he kicked his youngest son down on the ground again.

The main hall of Lixin Estate was quiet. Everyone held their breath and remained silent, as if they were waiting for a storm to break out at any moment.

"The diamond mine has been blown up…" Old Su Fuhua surprisingly didn’t get angry but instead fell into silence due to the shocking news before speaking in a low voice: "With such tight security, it could still be blown up; it seems that the other side is quite professional."

Su Tianran also nodded: "It should have been done by mercenaries or retired special forces."

"Retired special forces" Su Fuhua raised his head, a flash of insight crossing his mind: "Could it be…"

Old Su Fuhua didn’t say the remaining two words, but Old Su Fudan and Su Fulian silently nodded.

The three elders were well aware of what had happened in the past and knew exactly what those two words meant.

Could it be that someone among the first generation of Dragon Scale managed to break out during the ambush Otherwise, how could this diamond mine have been blown up so mysteriously

A million-strong army couldn’t match a single squad of Dragon Scale. This was the shared view of Su Fuhua and others who had personally witnessed the might of the most mysterious force in China’s history from its establishment to its destruction.

The Dragon Scale was the Republic's strongest fighting force, the dream of a generation of Chinese soldiers. However, after Su Fuhua transitioned from being a soldier to a politician, he forgot about the initial mission of establishing Dragon Scale and only wanted to keep this national strength under his control.

Su Fudan’s voice was equally low: "If it is truly remnants of the Dragon Scale, we must quickly eliminate them; otherwise, like prairie fires, they will never be completely extinguished, and spring breezes will cause them to flourish again."

At this moment, Su Qingli's voice sounded out: "Tianran, why are you being defeated time after time Zhongding fell into your hands; the three major diamond brands are in jeopardy. Without the raw materials from the diamond mines, they could collapse at any moment. Year-end dividends have been reduced by eighty percent. In this situation, if our family’s businesses continue to be managed by you, will we face losses next year"

At this moment, Su Qingli stood up and was the first to criticize Su Tianran, directing the entire incident towards this future successor of the Su family.

In fact, what Su Qingli said at this time also reflected the hearts of many young members of the Su family. Among them, no one envied Su Tianran's position as heir more than he did; everyone wanted to take his place but lacked the opportunity. The Old Master Su had always trusted Su Tianran immensely, and nobody dared to voice such a disrespectful idea in front of him.

However, when Su Tianran announced that each person’s dividend would be reduced by eighty percent, these people who had waited for a long time realized an opportunity had come.

Hearing Su Qingli's words, Su Tianran merely gave a cold snort and didn't even glance at her once.

Previously, if Su Fuhua heard such remarks, he would have been furious. But now, with his eyes narrowed as he looked up at Su Qingli, two sharp glances that seemed to pierce through her thoughts, it was clear he wasn’t going to be swayed by these words.

Being scrutinized like this by the Old Master made Su Qingli feel a bit nervous. But she had already stepped forward and couldn't back down now; opportunities wouldn’t wait for anyone who lacked preparation or courage. If she didn’t manage to bring Su Tianran down this time, it was unclear when they would have another chance.

Therefore, Su Qingli stood upright with composure in her eyes, hiding the nervousness she felt inside.

Seeing that Su Fuhua wasn't speaking up, Su Tianran's heart began to sink gradually.

"I think Miss Qingli is right," at this moment, Su Tianya took a step forward and stood beside Su Qingli: "If we really lose Zhongding, if the diamond mines in South Africa are lost, cutting off our main economic lifelines, then it’s clear that the Su family is facing an extremely critical situation. It could even be said that it's about survival or extinction. For the Su family to fall from its peak within just half a year, I believe someone needs to take responsibility."

As he spoke, Su Tianya looked at Su Tianran, his meaning clearly being: "You should take the responsibility."

Su Tianran didn't refute him; instead, he coldly said, "I am willing to bear all responsibilities."

In truth, before Su Tianran stepped forward, it was always the Old Master and two sons who managed everything in the family. The Su family's businesses were overly concentrated, with Zhongding Natural Gas alone generating astronomical figures annually. Add to this the enormous profits from their three diamond brands, making the members of the Su family not worry about money at all; they had never considered what would happen if these two major industries collapsed one day. Of course, there was no need for them to think about such useless things—the natural gas industry was a national strategic resource, and with the Old Master's influence, nobody dared to challenge it.

But now, the most undesirable thing had happened: The equity agreement of Zhongding was stolen, ninety percent of its shares were transferred; the documents clearly stated in black and white without any room for denial.y foreseen the consequences of this incident and knew that such a crash was likely to end badly, it was fortunate that there was no explosion. With such a steep slope, survival chances were extremely...