Chapter 1669: Facing Courageously
Xu Ke roughly shared some of what he saw with Wang Cuixia.
Upon hearing, Wang Cuixia also fell into silence.
Clearly, he did not know why Old Master Xu was doing this; or what those companies were thinking, gathering them back after all these years?
In short, all of this looks very suspicious.
Xu Ke decided to investigate this matter as soon as possible, as he also did not know what assets those companies stacked up over the years.
To understand the specific situation inside, he must ask his grandfather in person.
After chatting with Wang Cuixia a bit more, Xu Ke went straight back to the Xu Family.
When he returned, he was very cautious, fearing he’d suddenly run into Dongfang Yanran.
Luckily, when Xu Ke entered the study, he did not encounter anyone from the family.
It seemed Xiao Keyi had gone out with Dongfang Yanran, and the other family members must be busy with their own affairs.
Now was a rare opportunity, Xu Ke knew that at this hour, his grandfather would definitely be in the study reading.
Xu Ke pushed the door open and, unsurprisingly, Old Master Xu was sitting at the desk leisurely reading.
"Grandpa, what are you doing?"
Upon hearing Xu Ke’s voice, Old Master Xu hurriedly put down his reading glasses.
"You brat haven’t visited me for days, do you almost forget about your grandfather?"
Old Master Xu had been very happy these days, as he felt like destiny brought him and Dongfang Shuo together.
The two deeply regretted losing touch all these years and missing out on so much time together.
However, Dongfang Shuo hadn’t visited the capital, and he really wanted to see how the city had changed over the years. So, his grandson Dongfang Yan took him to explore the capital properly.
As a result, only Old Master Xu was left at home, but he also found the rare peace quite enjoyable.
"Grandpa, didn’t I just recently set up a new department? I’ve been busy with this new department, so I haven’t come home these days."
"A new department?"
Old Master Xu perked up at the mention.
He had been in the company for so many years, and the departments hadn’t changed much.
Except in recent years, with the fast pace of development, he had specifically separated the design department from the original marketing department.
Besides that, Old Master Xu hadn’t set up any new departments.
He didn’t expect Xu Ke to boldly start reforming as soon as he took charge.
"You brat, what are you making up now? The company is fine as it is, why do you want to add a new department?"
Xu Ke knew his grandfather probably wouldn’t understand if he tried to explain everything, so he simply told his grandfather the main role of the department.
Old Master Xu heard the term "network security" for the first time; during his time, the network was still very distant.
Although they were starting to use computers for work, most of the time, people weren’t particularly dependent on them.
The most important documents were almost all paper-based, and there was seldom computer file transmission.
During the last few years before Old Master Xu’s retirement, computers began to be widely used.
And because of this, Old Master Xu didn’t have a deep impression of computers.
"You brat, establishing some network security department, can it really protect our company’s security? I remember I once had a friend design a new system for those important files’ security. Although I didn’t understand it, others said it was excellent."
His grandfather’s words reassured Xu Ke; no wonder his grandfather was so cautious about handing over the computer to him, it seemed that system was indeed a treasure.
The person mentioned by his grandfather must have been a computer expert, unfortunately, he had retired from public view now. Otherwise, Xu Ke wished he could come back to aid him.
Xu Ke exerted a lot of effort to finally explain things clearly to Old Master Xu.
Old Master Xu understood it was a network era now. If preparations aren’t made in network security, all of a company’s secrets might get stolen.
But after all, Old Master Xu was halfway to the grave and had long been indifferent to these matters.
Especially after reuniting with his old friend, he cared less and less about the company matters.
After all, he had accomplished what he needed in his life, and the rest would be up to his grandson.
Xu Ke talked for quite a while without addressing the main point, which made him anxious.
"Grandpa, I’m here this time to ask about that batch of bad debt in the company’s computer, what really is going on? I just asked my mom, you indeed privately set up such a company, but I want to know, why haven’t these bad debts been dealt with all this time?"
Old Master Xu was initially pondering other things, but his gaze turned serious upon hearing Xu Ke’s question.
"You brat actually discovered those bad debts. Originally, I didn’t intend to tell you much, but since you’ve found them, I’ll briefly explain to you. Those bad debts are from 15 years ago, when I lent money to some small startup companies in the capital, seeing their promising future. I didn’t ask for asset pledges but bought shares with the money instead. Although some companies closed down or were acquired later on, overall, the investment was completely profitable. Those acquired or defunct companies, of course, couldn’t return the debts. But that’s business; there are losses and gains. The ones you see in the document should be the companies that closed down. I kept those records to constantly remind myself to be cautious in all endeavors. You can’t understand how losing over 3 billion was a huge hit for the company back then. Luckily, I made some money a few years ago, otherwise the company wouldn’t have survived that ordeal."
After listening to his grandfather, Xu Ke felt a mix of emotions, not expecting such events had happened in the past.
Moreover, he was even more surprised at his grandfather’s far-sightedness.
If as his grandfather said, then the investment in those stocks must have exceeded the value of the principal by now.
Although Xu Ke wasn’t well-versed in this area, he knew the stock market was a lucrative industry in some aspects. He just wondered what those companies’ stock prices had turned into today?
This indeed intrigued Xu Ke greatly, as the allure of unknown wealth was enough to captivate anyone.