Chapter 289: Withdrawal of Investment If There’s No Solution
"Zijin, do you know her?"
Seeing Winnie act so familiar with Yun Zijin, Su Mengyao asked casually.
Although she was often invited to luxury brand fashion shows, Su Mengyao didn’t know many people from the entertainment industry, and she certainly didn’t know Winnie.
"We just happened to sit together today, that’s all. Don’t worry about it."
Yun Zijin didn’t have a good impression of Winnie, so of course she wouldn’t do her the courtesy of saying they were acquainted.
From Yun Zijin’s response, Su Mengyao and the others pretty much understood the situation.
They glanced at Winnie, with no intention of greeting her.
"Hello, my name is Winnie. I’m an actress."
It didn’t matter that Su Mengyao’s group had no intention of greeting her; Winnie wanted to seize this rare opportunity that had presented itself.
"Hello. We’re leaving now. Please excuse us."
Su Mengyao was always blunt with people she disliked.
"This is my business card. Feel free to contact me if you need anything."
Regardless of what Su Mengyao and her friends thought, Winnie quickly took a pre-prepared business card from her handbag.
At these kinds of shows, besides celebrities and the media, some rich young masters and heiresses were also invited. It was all a matter of luck who you might run into.
After all, not every socialite, heiress, and young master would attend.
Su Mengyao took Winnie’s card between her fingers, gave her a slight nod, and said nothing more.
She only took the card to avoid making a scene. As for calling her?
’Once I get home, who knows where this card will end up.’
When Yun Zijin, Lu Yunque, and the others left, they used the VIP exit, went straight down to the parking garage, and drove away.
Yun Zijin sent photos of all the clothes she liked today to Mei Lin.
Lu Yunque did pretty much the same thing, but Mo Bin was the one handling it for him.
Lu Yunque drove Yun Zijin back to Xingyu Mansion and, using the excuse that he wanted some Lingwu tea, followed her into the villa.
Yun Zijin saw right through Lu Yunque’s terrible acting but didn’t call him out on it, simply leading him into Villa No. 1.
"If you like it so much, how about I give you some to take home?"
The Lingwu tea was a reward from Randomly Spend. She’d been saving it up for a while and had a decent stash, so giving some to Lu Yunque was no problem.
"Sure."
Lu Yunque didn’t ask where Yun Zijin got the Lingwu tea from. Everyone has their secrets.
"Oh, right. You wanted me to bring you meals. What do you want to eat tomorrow? Since you’re here, you can put in a request with the chef."
"You can decide. I’m not a picky eater."
Lu Yunque was lying through his teeth.
’It’s not like I’ve never eaten with him before. If he eats everything, then there’s no such thing as a picky eater in this world.’
Still, Yun Zijin had a good idea of Lu Yunque’s preferences. Since he told her to decide, she dropped the subject.
Lu Yunque hung around Yun Zijin’s villa until almost midnight before reluctantly leaving.
Yun Zijin wouldn’t have minded him staying the night, but Lu Yunque, considering that she was a woman and her reputation was important, ultimately decided to leave under the cover of night.
＊
「The next day, at the Xia Group.」
Xia Zhengguang and Xia Zhiyun sat upright and tense in the conference room, their expressions grim.
People filed in through the door one after another, and soon the entire conference room was full.
"Since everyone is here, let’s begin today’s board meeting."
Xia Zhengguang said in a heavy voice, sitting at the head of the table.
"Chairman Xia, we’re not here to talk about anything else today. We’re here to talk about what’s been happening with the company recently."
"That’s right. The company’s stock has plummeted lately. We may not hold many shares, but we can’t just sit back and watch this happen."
"Exactly. If this problem isn’t resolved, I’ll consider pulling my investment."
The Xia Group had numerous shareholders. Apart from the shares held by the Xia father and son, the other shareholders mostly held around 5% each. The largest among them might have had 8%, but none held more than 10%.
But if these people banded together, they could cause a major headache for the Xia father-son duo.
"How do you propose we solve it?"
’I’m already at my wit’s end, forced to sell shares. What more do they want from me?’
’It was just one bad decision. These people are never involved in the day-to-day, but as soon as there’s trouble, they show up to point fingers.’
Xia Zhengguang really hated dealing with these people.
"We sell the South Suburb project as a package deal, of course! The company has already lost a ton of money on it. If this continues, the entire Xia Group will be dragged down!"
’Is the Xia family’s money the only money that matters? What about our money, the shareholders’ money?’
"We want to sell it, but do you see any buyers?"
It wasn’t that Xia Zhengguang didn’t want to sell; it was that no one was willing to take it off his hands.
Yun Zijin was willing to buy it, but she demanded they provide the approval documents for building a private manor.
The land in the South Suburb was so large that if they dared to submit the application, they’d have the authorities knocking on their door the very next day.
The current situation was that the Xia Group was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"How come I heard that Chairman Xia’s daughter wanted to buy it, but you refused to sell?"
These shareholders might not be involved in daily operations, but they never missed a piece of gossip.
The fact that Yun Zijin wanted to buy the South Suburb land and had negotiated with the Xia father and son was no secret in Dijing’s social circles.
"She wants to build a private manor and is demanding we provide the permits. If you all can handle that, I’ll contact her immediately."
Xia Zhengguang was starting to feel resigned. Let them cause a fuss. As long as the South Suburb land couldn’t be sold, the Xia Group’s situation would never improve.
Unless they could find a company to inject capital into the Xia Group in a short amount of time, the only likely outcome was that they would fail to hold on and eventually go bankrupt.
The other directors opened their mouths upon hearing Xia Zhengguang’s words but ultimately said nothing.
"Regardless, we need to come up with a plan today. Otherwise, I’m considering pulling my investment."
They invested in the Xia Group to make money. If they couldn’t make money, they certainly weren’t going to go down with a sinking ship.
The question was, if they wanted to sell off their shares now, would anyone even be willing to buy?
Throughout Dijing, the Xia Group had already become a company that investors were explicitly steering clear of.
"The only solution now is money. Whoever can fill the hole left by the South Suburb project can bring the Xia Group back from the dead."
The most pressing issue was still the South Suburb land.
But with investors steering clear and banks refusing to approve loans, they were caught in a vicious cycle.
"Easier said than done. Who would be willing to inject capital into the Xia Group now?"
Hearing the shareholders mention a capital injection, a thought flashed through Xia Zhengguang’s mind.
’No, there is one person.’
Xia Zhengguang thought of the Mr. Shen who had previously bought 5% of his shares.
However, to keep the others from finding out he had sold his shares, Xia Zhengguang didn’t mention it.
"I will figure something out about the money. Is there anything else? If so, say it all today."
Xia Zhengguang really didn’t want to have to call another board meeting over some other matter down the line.