Chapter 478

When the president arrived at the party venue, the vice president and several investors were chatting happily.

This made the president’s mood improve slightly. He briefly tidied his appearance and then strode over to join them.

These few investors were well-known independent investors; there were many such people on Detran Street.

Someone had once tried to investigate where a certain independent investor’s funds came from—

There would always be people who were very interested in these famous or not-so-famous independent investors. They even thought that if they could get in touch with the source of funds behind these independent investors, they could bypass these people and talk directly to the capital providers.

But in a terrible turn of events, many of the people who investigated these sources of funds disappeared.

People quickly realized that this was a forbidden zone that could not be casually explored.

Perhaps behind these ordinary faces were those who were high and mighty, faces that often appeared in political news.

Even faces that appeared in the largest office of the Presidential Palace, it was all possible.

People no longer cared about who the money came from. They only cared about whether this money could be invested in them.

“Sorry, something held me up,” he said as he arrived at his seat.

The vice president was sensible enough not to occupy his seat, but had specially reserved it, which, although it didn’t give him any special, good feelings about the vice president…

But he also didn’t have any other bad thoughts about him, wouldn’t think this person was no good.

If you are good to a person, it may not necessarily be remembered by that person.

But if you are bad to a person, he will definitely remember it, and remember it for a lifetime.

“What were you talking about?” he asked.

The vice president explained from the side, “We were talking about the recent malicious short-selling against us in the market.”

The president immediately picked up the topic. “Yes, malicious short-selling. It’s very bad.”

“Actually, you all know that the annual profits of the Liji Group are very stable, especially this year, our financial report will give all investors a huge surprise.”

He glanced at the vice president, who acted as if he hadn’t seen his gaze, which made him relax a little. This showed that the vice president hadn’t said what he was about to say.

He couldn’t always repeat what others had said. It would make people think that he, the president, was not very capable. “The implementation of Prohibition has caused the prices of all crops that can be used for brewing to skyrocket, especially grapes, the price has already multiplied more than twenty times.”

“The company’s assessors believe that this is not its end.”

“We have signed agreements with many vineyards, for two or three years. We will purchase their grapes at a low price according to the price on the contract.”

An investor raised his hand. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“If the price of grapes has risen by more than twenty times, what if the vineyard owners are unwilling to sell to you?”

“Do you have any countermeasures?”

A reserved, yet proud smile appeared on the president’s face. “We would not allow such an obvious loophole in this transaction. If they breach the contract, then we will claim a penalty from them for three times the value of the grapes at the market price.”

“No one would risk bankruptcy to refuse to perform the contract.”

They always used various unequal clauses and their regional monopoly power to madly squeeze the plantations below.

If they breached the contract, they only needed to pay a small sum of money to tear it up.

But if the farmers and the like breached the contract, they would face the possibility of bankruptcy. Capital has never been sentimental.

And the sentimental can never become capital.

The investor was very satisfied. “Then it seems your profits in these few years will be very high.”

The president nodded repeatedly. “Yes, very high.”

“So you can completely trust that the Liji Group is an investment project that can be held for a long time. The company’s rate of return is far above the industry standard.”

Several investors all nodded. This was indeed the truth. In terms of shamelessness, the Liji Group was indeed number one.

But everyone was here for the benefits, not for a good reputation. So in the world of capital, the Liji Group was, on the contrary, more famous.

The conversation had reached this point and had pretty much stopped. The small ripples from the tail end of it spread in everyone’s heart.

What the president wanted, he didn’t say, but everyone knew. For a time, the room became exceptionally quiet, and the few of them became more focused on the food in front of them.

The president glanced at the vice president and gave him a look. The latter then spoke, “Although our expected profits will continue to rise, the market has become less friendly now because of the performance of some hyenas.”

“To avoid some situations that shouldn’t occur, we hope to get some help.”

One of the investors repeated his words, “Some help?”

The president took over the conversation, nodding in agreement. “Yes, some help.”

“Help us hold up the stock price. The annual financial report, which was originally scheduled for January, we may release it two to three weeks earlier.”

“So this is not a particularly high-risk matter, and there is also a considerable profit.”

The few investors discussed in low voices for a while. The president had thrown out his purpose and ideas. They naturally also had to discuss for a while.

A few minutes later, one of the investors said, “Mr. President, what you are saying now is just what you are saying. We are not actually clear about the company’s situation.”

“However, we are very willing to believe you, and to gain benefits for both of us from this opportunity.”

“If you can, in these two days, we would like to have a deeper understanding of the Liji Group’s situation, and then make a decision. What do you think?”

The president nodded. “No problem, you are very welcome.”

He pursed his lips. “Are you free tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow we can have a deeper mutual understanding of the investment issue.”

The so-called mutual understanding certainly meant that these people wanted to check the company’s operating situation and the like. If it were six hours ago, he would have urged the other party to hurry, but not this quickly.

Now that the chairman of the board was dead, the stock market would inevitably plummet when it opened tomorrow. In addition to the short-selling by those financial hyenas before, it would inevitably trigger a chain of market reactions.

So now he very, very much needed someone to provide a safety net for them in the market, and these rich and mysterious independent investors were the best choice.

Not only because they had money, but also because of the connections behind them.

These connections, in order to protect their own wealth, they would definitely give some help to the Liji Group.

The investors naturally would not refuse. This was considered a successful exchange.

After seeing these people off, the president’s expression immediately became serious. He said to the vice president beside him, “There’s something I need to inform you of. Mr. Chairman has passed away due to an accidental fall into the water.”

The vice president looked at him, his mouth slowly agape, with a look of disbelief.

The president sighed. “Tomorrow morning, the company’s stock will definitely plummet. You have to appease the emotions of the employees, and also the board of directors and the shareholders.”

“We will get through this. At this critical moment, everyone needs to unite.”

He patted the vice president on the shoulder. “I will propose to give you a part of the shares left by Mr. Chairman.”

“After this is over, my position will also be left for you.”

The vice president quickly lowered his head. His eyes flickered in the darkness, not showing much desire for the words the president had said, nor much respect for him.

There were only some inexplicable emotions churning in his eyes.

He had thought that Lance would use the same method to deal with Mr. Chairman as he had with Steven, but he didn’t expect that his methods this time would be so “meticulous,” so much so that the president seemed to have accepted that Mr. Chairman’s death was an “accident.”

The next morning, sure enough, as the president had expected, the Liji Group’s stock price began to plummet. It fell by 7% as soon as the market opened.

For a company with a market value of over ten billion, 7% meant that $70 million of wealth had evaporated in an instant.

And it was still continuing to slide. No one knew where it would go.

The president came to the company early in the morning to wait for the investors. If a large amount of capital was invested in the market at this time, coupled with some public relations influence, it might make people think that this was a “wash-out” action.

But he waited and waited, and they didn’t come. The president could only take the initiative to call the number on the investors’ business cards.

“…Hello, I am…, we just met last night,” he communicated in a gentle tone with a hint of a smile.

But the person on the other end of the receiver did not seem so tactful. “Mr. President, I read this morning’s Detran Financial News. You didn’t tell me that your company’s chairman of the board drowned yesterday.”

“In addition, I also found some reports about a director named Steven, who has also recently disappeared.”

When he heard these words, the president’s mouth was already a little dry. “Sorry, I indeed did not mention this, but I don’t think these matters have any relationship with the company’s development.”

He emphasized, “Whether it’s Mr. Chairman, the board of directors, or myself, it is impossible for us to affect the company’s profits and development.”

“We have the largest and most channels in the same industry in the Federation. Our profits do not come from the work of any management. Can you understand what I mean?”

But the investor on the phone was obviously not very keen on investing anymore. “Although that’s what you say, the current situation will have more and greater risks with the disclosure of some reporters. you cannot deny this.”

“Every penny in our hands is very precious. We cannot possibly invest more in a project with huge risks, unless…”

The corner of the president’s eyebrows twitched slightly. “Unless what?”

The loud laughter of the investor suddenly coming from the receiver made the president vaguely feel that this might be a “plan.”

“Unless the risk is as great as the return, Mr. President.”

The president vaguely realized their idea, his tone a little heavy. “I’ll think about it.”

He hung up the phone and rubbed his temples. However, at this moment, he didn’t have that much time. Soon the phone in front of him rang. He said a few words and then hung up.

About ten minutes later, several shareholders directly burst into his office.

“If the newspapers hadn’t told me that there was a major change in the board of directors, I wouldn’t even have known what was happening.”

The shareholder at the front immediately launched an attack. The president had no choice but to stand up. “I can explain…”

“I don’t want to hear any explanation. I just want to know what you can do to deal with the current situation.”

“Many people outside are singing the company’s downfall. Our wealth is shrinking rapidly. What we want is a solution, not an explanation.”

This was actually a very bad situation, just like Mr. Jobav’s bank.

If it weren’t for the run on the bank, then he might not have been unable to hold on.

If the depositors had trusted him and not made a run on him, then those public utilities he had invested in, those bonds, those options, all kinds of wealth…

Perhaps waiting for them to mature and be cashed in would have been enough to fill everyone’s loopholes.

Even if it couldn’t fill them, the scale of the hole would not have been too large. But it was precisely because the run came too quickly and too wildly, and people had all lost their reason and trust, that he had no way at all.

A company, especially a listed company, especially a listed company under a capitalist system, is actually similar to a bank.

Credit, confidence, are very important elements.

Most enterprises will borrow money, will have debt problems, and will have a debt ratio.

If a company’s debt ratio does not exceed half, then it is considered a financially healthy company.

The larger the enterprise, the more places there are that need to be paid for. For example, the Liji Group’s trade relations with those contracted farmers were often not settled immediately.

They would first take the agricultural products from the farmers’ hands, and then, without processing them, or after rough processing, they would put them on the market.

Those big customers would not immediately settle the payment for them. They would first sell 70% of these goods before settling a portion of the payment.

After almost all of them were sold out, they would settle the payment when they were restocking, and then continue to restock and delay payment.

The Liji Group, which had received the money, had to pay employee salaries and various expenses. They would also not immediately settle the payment for the farmers, but would settle a portion.

The purpose of doing this, besides needing cash flow, was more of a business strategy.

As long as you don’t settle all the payments, then if the farmers encounter unfair treatment, they will also endure it.

Because there is still a large sum of money in the hands of the company. If they have a falling out, the farmers will worry about whether they can get this money back.

After all, in the Federation, asking for the final payment also requires a lawsuit, and a lawsuit means hiring a lawyer, which means an unbearable litigation cost.

The larger the scale of the Liji Group, the more places it owes money.

The farmers’ payments, the payments of some upstream and downstream enterprises, and also a series of bank loans and private loans, there were many.

When the Liji Group’s operation was normal, these people would not take the initiative to ask them for this payment. After all, they would have to do business in the future, and they couldn’t tear their faces apart.

But once the Liji Group’s operation had problems, or there was a lot of negative news, which led to the creditors losing trust and confidence in them, then they would also face the terrible situation of a “run.”

One by one, phone calls kept coming in, asking for the owed money. The farmers, those upstream and downstream enterprises, and even the banks began to urge them to pay back the money as soon as possible.

A company owes you a million, and now you hear that this company is going bankrupt. The only thing you will do is to call them and urge them to pay back the money as soon as possible.

And this would exacerbate the company’s capital depletion and possibly lead to bankruptcy.

This was also why the president had gone to find those investors.

He needed someone to provide a safety net for the stock, to rebuild the trust and confidence of the investors and business partners.

He wanted to let these people know that this was not an insurmountable difficulty, and that the company would soon return to normal.

But first, you have to come up with something convincing, you have to show determination and decisiveness.

Of course, the situation was not particularly bad now. After all, for the company, it was just that the board of directors had had a little accident, and there were some rumors outside.

So the president immediately said in a deep voice, “If we ourselves become uncalm, how can we make the outside world believe that everything in the company is normal?”

“Trust me, I will solve these problems. I am more worried about the company getting into trouble than you are.”

“But I also know better than you that the company will not have any accidents. Next week, next week we will release this year’s financial report to the public. I believe that when they see these, everything will be fine.”

He comforted these shareholders, “Three days, I promise, three days to make everything better, one to two weeks to let everything return to its original position.”

Several shareholders stared at him with slightly reddish eyes. The one at the front said, “You’d better be able to do what you promised.”

After a good deal of comfort, after the emotions of these people had been soothed, he then had the Vice President go to deal with the shareholders and creditors, while he himself summoned the heads of several departments to his office.

“I need to respond immediately. Go and state our position, collect those unfavorable statements, and then sue them.”

“This is obviously premeditated. They and those financial hyenas are all in cahoots. Have the news department issue a notice.”

“We will pursue the legal responsibility of all media that maliciously spread rumors, including individuals and organizations. We will pursue them all.”

“In addition, also tell people that the members of the board of directors will change. The former chairman of the board falling into the water and dying is nothing more than changing a person in advance. This has no connection with our operating situation.”

“In addition, go and crush those most reactive muddy-legged dogs in their mud pits.”

“I’ll give you a week. If the situation doesn’t improve after a week, then you can go back and pack your things and get out of the company.”

The president’s roar in the conference room became the focus of all the employees’ discussion. Some felt that these were all small problems, but some felt that the company had encountered a big problem.

They even speculated in private about when the company would go bankrupt.

If even the people inside the company thought so, let alone the people outside.

The president was extremely busy. He was constantly meeting with bank executives, meeting with the mayor, councilmen, and meeting with all kinds of people.

In two or three days, he had actually managed to turn the situation around quite a bit.

But just as he was breathing a sigh of relief and feeling that things would get better, another very bad thing, something that no one had expected, happened…

(End of chapter)