Marvel Salted Fish Kryptonian

Finally, everything on the table was eaten, and Henry, looking only half full, picked his teeth. Tony Stark, on the other hand, was so stuffed that he slumped over in his seat, sucking his greasy fingers.

Seeing Tony about to wipe his hands on his clothes, Catherine finally couldn't stand it anymore. She slapped Tony's hand and cursed, "You dirty bastard!"

Then she took out wet wipes from her handbag and wiped Tony's fingers one by one like a stick, just like a doting grandmother.

But this grandson didn't bother to experience the warmth, but stared at a Kryptonian with his big eyes.

Henry believed that if Tony Stark also had the ability of heat rays, he would have been pierced by now.

But this guy didn't! So Henry enjoyed the baptism of this gaze with peace of mind.

They say that if you are not envied by others, you are mediocre. If you are hated by a genius, you must have done something right. So Henry was very proud of it.

After a moment, as if realizing his gaze wouldn't cut it against such a shameless person, Tony gave up his unblinking death stare. Rubbing his crimson eyes, he casually asked, "What if I were to give up Stark Industries?"

The two Hepburn ladies were shocked again! But before they could think of a good way to persuade him, Henry casually replied, "What do I think? It's good. It just surprised me. It's different from what you did before."

"What's the difference?" Tonya asked in a high voice.

After Henry drank his coffee, he called the waitress for another cup. Then he said slowly, "If old Mr. Stark were still alive, and you gave up Stark Industries and chose to start from scratch, it would certainly be more difficult than joining Stark Industries.

"But now that Mr. Stark has passed away unexpectedly, I don't know how well he prepared for you to take over. However, the current situation is clear: you are surrounded by wolves and tigers.

"At this time, you said you wanted to give up Stark Industries and start from scratch. I can only say that this is quite wise, isn't it? Because it is obvious that it is too difficult to save Stark Industries from a group of greedy bosses.

"In contrast, abandoning Stark Industries, which is being targeted by others, and starting from scratch in your own garage. In just another seventy years, you can create another Stark Industries.

"This result is almost inevitable. After all, if old Mr. Stark can do it, how can you not do it? It's as easy as picking up a piece of pie, right?

"Oh, maybe old Mr. Stark has arranged everything. You just need to stand on the stage, and like the heirs of the kings in the past, you can find a pope or a bishop and be crowned king.

"That way, if you manage to build Stark Industries, people will say it was Old Stark who laid the foundation. Even a pig could accomplish the same thing.

"If Stark Industries were to fail, people would definitely say that the young Stark is not as good as the old Stark, and that the Stark family is going backwards.

"It's really hard to make everyone speechless and acknowledge your strength and achievements. Instead of doing that, why not put everything aside and start over? Isn't that great?

"Let's talk about social responsibility. I don't know the total number of employees at Stark Industries, but I'll assume it's 200,000. Assuming everyone is married and has two children, then behind these 200,000 people are 800,000 families.

"As someone with absolutely no experience, it's too difficult for you to suddenly shoulder the responsibility of supporting the livelihoods of 800,000 people. It's better to hand it over to a bank or some other big player willing to take over.

"We all know how Wall Street handles these kinds of physical assets. They basically look at the financial statements, cut off unprofitable divisions, and then package the remaining assets and sell them at triple or quadruple the price.

"So how many of the 200,000 employees would be left? Let's assume a 10% elimination rate. That means if we fire 20,000 people, we'll still have 180,000 left.

"For those who remain, their salaries and jobs will be adjusted. They may end up with more or less money than before. Let's assume another 10% of people are affected and end up worse off than before.

"So, if we allow Stark Industries to be harmed by Wall Street, only 30,000 to 40,000 people will suffer, and behind them are only about 160,000 families.

"Ah, the livelihoods of over a hundred thousand people—what a heavy burden. It's really better to just throw it all away and go back to the garage and do it yourself. After all, you're now in a state where you feed your whole family. Who cares about tens or hundreds of thousands of people, right?

"So I believe that your choice today was definitely not based on the difficulty of the matter, but simply because you wanted to stay away from Mr. Stark and his career.

"If you think about it that way, your attitude is consistent with before. Accusing you of acting differently than before is simply me being stupid and speaking without thinking carefully. I was inconsiderate, and I apologize."

Tony was speechless after hearing all this talk. He could only pound the table, cursing, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Chapter 137 Civilized Language

Seeing Tony was determined to break the table, Henry quickly stopped him and said, "Hey, hey, don't break the table, you have to pay for it.

"If you're starting over from a garage, your bank account is all you have. Trust me, you don't want to waste money on unnecessary damages. The best thing to do is not to break anything."

Tony Stark stopped pounding the table and pointed at Henry with a grin. He then made tiger claws with his hands, as if trying to strangle him. He extended his hands several times, then retracted them several times.

Even the two Ms. Hepburns standing by were stunned. They didn't know that it was possible to "persuade" people in this way.

It's like someone lying on the ground in frustration, not wanting to get up at all. So someone takes a knife and stabs him/her desperately, until he/she jumps up in pain and can no longer lie on the ground.

I have to say, it seems to be quite useful for Tony, a shy little brat...

Tony Stark, who had been holding it in for a long time, finally gritted his teeth and said, "Can't you speak less harshly?"

"Why not?" Henry looked at Tony Stark curiously, who was looking at him with resentment, and said, "I'm not your father, so I don't need to educate you. I'm not your mother, so I don't need to protect you. I'm not your brother, so I don't need to cooperate with you.

"I'm not your wife yet, so I don't need to help you. I'm not even your son or grandson, so I need to give you some face. I'm especially not your employee yet, so I don't need to consider you as the boss.

"I don't know if we can be considered friends, we've only met a few times. But no matter how close we are, this is how I treat my friends. And I only tell the truth, I don't lie.

"So if you think my words are harsh, it's probably because your ears are too sensitive. You need to look for the problem within yourself, not in others.

"Besides, what did you mean by telling me you wanted to give up Stark Industries as soon as we met? Do I have the right to decide on such matters? Or do I have the right to choose?

"In my opinion, your behavior is like looking for someone to take the blame when you make mistakes in the future. If you mess up in the future, you can write in your memoirs: Ah, when I was young and ignorant, I actually listened to a young driver and made a decision.

"And then accidentally reveal my name. Then your assessment changes from being stupid to blindly believing someone else. Which is stupid, but it feels less stupid than screwing up Stark Industries yourself.

"And I am bad, the kind that everyone hates and everyone despises. I shouldn't be treated like a rat crossing the street, but who knows what I will be like when the time comes."

Although Henry hadn't experienced much in this life, he had met many people like him in his past life. No matter how close or distant the relationship was, when it came to shirking responsibility, they would never let it go.

"You!" Tony Stark looked like he was about to bite someone. He turned to the two women, as if seeking support. "Can I kill this pickled carrot and not eat it?"

Without a word, Katherine slapped Tony on the back of the head. "Use polite language!"

This scene made Henry shudder with fear, yet secretly happy.

This genius brain, worth at least tens of billions in the future, is simply amazing. Truly worthy of being the Queen of Hollywood, Katharine Hepburn. The nemesis of both the Stark father and son.

If someone like Thanos saw this, he would be so envious that he would drool all over the floor.

Look at the future Iron Man's shrinking grandson. Katherine accomplished what countless supervillains couldn't, and with just a slap. While there was no concussion, it definitely left a psychological scar.

Henry regretted not getting some kind of secret recorder first. If he had recorded this scene, it would have been enough to threaten Tony, a lifelong source of blackmail.

However, Audrey Hepburn couldn't stand her assistant's bad taste. Although it sounded like a provocative method to persuade people, Audrey guessed that Henry simply wanted to provoke people, and every word he said was intended to hurt people.

He slapped Henry's arm and said angrily, "How dare you talk like that? Shouldn't you think about how you can help Mr. Stark, Henry?"

Rubbing his arm with a look of grievance, Henry said, "Boss, what advice can I give you? I don't know what Mr. Stark's will was, nor do I know the situation of Stark Industries.

"Instead of asking me, why not find a gypsy girl and have her use a crystal ball to tell fortunes? Maybe her advice will be more constructive than mine. If Tony wants to ask, he should ask the people around old Mr. Stark. They know the answer best."

Henry certainly wasn't trying to offer any advice. As a seasoned keyboard warrior, when he wanted to criticize someone, he'd choose to criticize them where he couldn't find any major faults, lest it backfire.

I don't know the situation of Stark Industries, so if I give random advice and it works out, that's fine. But if something goes wrong, I will really be blamed.

But now, Tony finally got his chance. He put on his usual condescending expression, as arrogant as ever, and said, "Oh, so good at talking. I thought you could do anything. But it turns out you can't do it either."

Henry shrugged it off and retorted, "Of course, I'm just a small assistant driving. Even in Hollywood, I'm a relatively unknown actor. It's perfectly normal that I can't manage a large enterprise or company."

Henry was still not satisfied after just saying this. Pointing at Tony, he said to the two ladies, "Maybe we should just leave this person with a confused mind and questionable logic here."

"Let him go wherever he wants. I'm afraid if I take him in the car and listen to his nonsense all the way, I'll end up becoming as stupid as him. That would be terrible."

Catherine's hands were still faster than her mouth. She reached out and slapped Henry's finger away, saying, "How rude! Since we brought him out, we should take him away properly.

"So if we see an orphanage on the road, we can just drop him off. The old ladies there will take good care of him. There's no need to leave any money behind. Even a hair of this kid is worth more than us."

Wow, when it comes to stabbing, Grandma Catherine is the real expert. If she doesn't attack, it's fine, but once she does, she's got the ability to deal critical hits, defense penetration, and true damage.

Tony's arrogance, which had lasted only three seconds, was instantly broken. He shouted helplessly, "I'm twenty-one, the legal drinking age. Not two!"

Another blow to the head, and Catherine glared and said, "Use civilized language!"

Chapter 138: Inventory of Stark Industries

Around Christmas, a time when couples and families should be spending time together, New York City's Stark Tower was anything but peaceful. The accounting, tax, and legal departments were ablaze with activity, and every employee was working overtime.

The heads and managers of Stark's businesses across the country also gathered in New York with their company's financial information in order to respond to the group's dramatic changes.

A continuous stream of condensed reports and detailed financial figures were delivered to the chairman's office at the top floor.

As the heir to Stark Industries, Tony Stark had been staying in this room for three days without leaving. With bloodshot eyes, he was rushed into the bathroom to clean himself up. If he didn't wash up, he'd start to go bad...

Fighting alongside him were Howard Stark's most trusted and long-term business partner, Obadiah Stane, and the Stark family's butler, Edwin Jarvis.

Both of them have families and other jobs, so it is impossible for them to hide in the chairman's office like Tony and never leave. They just returned to the company from their respective homes to help this young master.

Finally, the young master, who had gone mad for no apparent reason, was driven to take a shower. The bald man, who was sorting out the reports, was the first to say, "Did Tony take the wrong medicine? I couldn't find him on the day of the funeral, and I thought he'd run away like before.

"Even if we persuade him to come back, we'll have to keep persuading him for a year or two before he'll reluctantly agree to inherit the group. I didn't expect him to be more enthusiastic than us now. Did he really take the wrong medicine? Or has he been replaced by someone..."

Edwin, who was tidying up the mess in the office, said, "Master Tony has come to his senses. This is a good thing. Although the inheritance tax payment deadline is nine months, it's actually very urgent. The sooner he gets on top of things, the more time we have."

"That's true. But now that we're in such a hurry, I'm actually worried that he might impulsively do something irrational."

"Obadiah, do you think I will do something irrational? Shut down all departments of Stark Industries?" Tony took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes and walked out.

Obadiah was not at all embarrassed by being caught talking behind someone's back. He said bluntly, "Tony, you have to understand one thing. According to US law, whether you want to shut down Stark Industries or do anything else, you have to pay the inheritance tax first before you have full legal authority.

"If you lose your mind and destroy Stark Industries, and you can't pay the inheritance tax, then you won't achieve your dream of starting from scratch, but will have to start from scratch again."

"I do want to do this." Tony said simply, making the two veterans of the Stark family nervous. "But it might not be what you think."

Obadiah, feeling like he'd just been on a roller coaster, felt his heart pounding. Fighting the urge to faint, he said, "Tony, please tell me more. Don't scare your uncle to death."

Picking up a few handwritten papers from the table, Tony gestured to the guest sofa and said, "Obadiah, please sit down. If you fall ill now, it will be very troublesome for me. Jarvis, whiskey, please."

"Okay." Jarvis walked to the mini-bar and asked, "Mr. Stanley, do you need anything?"

"Yes, I'll have one too."

Tony sat on the sofa, staring at what he had written, and said, "Jarvis, get yourself a drink too. Then sit down together. I have something I want to hear your ideas about."

"Okay, young master." The old servant placed three cups on the silver tray, poured the wine in, and carried the wine bottle to the low table.

Tony then began to speak, "I believe you all know Stark Industries' situation better than I do. Although we have shareholders, we're not listed on the OTC market, and we're not traded in the primary or secondary markets. I think this is the biggest reason those Wall Street demons are keeping a close eye on us."

Obadiah said, "Yes, I have advised Howard on this matter. Although we have the support of the military, in the United States, trying to monopolize a business will not end well."

"Stop, stop, stop. I have a plan for this." Tony interrupted his uncle's lingering words. He knew that if he let him ramble on, he would probably never finish.

Tony said: "The point I want to make is that, fortunately, we haven't entered the stock market, so our equity structure is relatively simple. Stark Industries should actually be called Stark Group, and you all own a considerable amount of shares in certain companies.

"But there are two foundations involved: the New York City Veterans Foundation and the Stark Education and Cultural Promotion Foundation. What do these two foundations do?

"In many companies, these two foundations hold a significant proportion of shares. The latter is found in almost all companies under the group, while the former is found in almost all companies with particularly good financial reports."

Edwin Jarvis replied, "Master, the Stark Education and Culture Promotion Foundation was established by the master to learn from the Jewish practice and avoid the huge inheritance tax.

"You have always been the registered person in charge of this foundation. However, there are certain annual restrictions on the transfer of property. Although the master has been doing this, he still has a large amount of property registered in his name."

"What about the New York City Veterans Foundation? What does it have to do with the Veterans Association?"

The latter was an official U.S. organization, while the former was the white glove of the Strategic Homeland Defense Attack and Logistics Support Agency. Jarvis couldn't reveal this part because it was a confidential matter.

He thought for a moment and could only say, "The Veterans Foundation is different from the Veterans Association. It's a private organization, and its head has always been Ms. Peggy Carter, who is considered Captain America's widow. However, she has recently been looking for a successor and plans to retire."

"Ah, it's Auntie." Tony shuddered. This was another woman he couldn't afford to offend.

However, considering the old man's camaraderie with those people, it's not surprising that he would do anything. There might even be the shadow of the military behind it, so Tony didn't plan to pursue this part of the shares, just to gain their support.

Tony said, "Based on the results of the overtime work I've done these past few days and the audited amount, I'm going to contribute a total of 3.4 billion to the US government, not counting the fraction. Is that the correct amount? It's several times more than the entire group's total working capital."

Obadiah, however, seemed to be gloating over the situation. He said, "That's because we don't need to release our financial statements, so the outside world can't be sure of Stark Industries' situation. Otherwise, according to those newspapers, the inheritance tax you'd have to pay would be an astronomical figure, in the hundreds of billions."

Chapter 139 Transformation Plan

"Let those guys eat shit." Tony had no good feelings towards reporters, only towards beautiful women. But that was only for the reporters themselves. As for the reports... he had never linked a particular report to a particular beauty.

Tony said with a bit of disgust: "I think the biggest problem with old guys is that they want to do everything, they dabble in everything, and they are not very good at anything.

"Of course, what I mean by not so good is not that the product is not good enough, but that the product's competitiveness in the market has not been fully utilized. This is related to the fact that we are involved in too many industries and the marketing and public relations department is unable to effectively exert its strength."

Pointing out the marketing and public relations department is almost like blaming Obadiah Stane. After all, the division of labor between him and old Stark is that Howard is in charge of scientific research and he is in charge of marketing.

So Bald Obadiah said with dissatisfaction: "Discussing this issue will not solve your predicament, Tony. This is the mess your father left behind. We can find a way to solve it later. But for now, you have to find a way to squeeze out the taxes you are required to pay."

"This is the solution I'm talking about. I plan to streamline Stark Industries' structure and sell off some businesses. In other words, I plan to adjust the strategic layout and develop in a more targeted manner, rather than making decisions based on my mood."

At the same time, Tony handed over a piece of paper in his hand and said, "This is the property I plan to sell."

Seeing the documents included Stark Industries' Texas oil fields, overseas mineral resources, and other assets that could be considered cash cows, both Obadiah and Jarvis instinctively knew this was a prodigal son, and said with a bitter heart:

"Tony, are you serious? These are profitable businesses. You're going to sell them just like that?"

Tony Stark said, "Only things that can make money can be sold at a high price. If anyone tries to lower the price, we will find other buyers. Loss-making businesses will be despised even if they are given away as toilet paper. How much can we expect to get in return?"

"But... that's no reason to waste it." Obadiah said distressedly. The old one is unreliable, and the young one is also unreliable! This damn father and son.

Tony held out two more sheets of paper and said, "This one lists the companies I think are worth keeping but need to be adjusted or consolidated. As for this one, it's for the companies I need to sell or close."