Chapter 977: Chapter 947:
It was true as well, the news of Li Ruo’s death had reached the United States and Tianya Group, leading to some internal strife. Some people even prepared to resign early, fearing that by the time Tianya Group went bankrupt, they wouldn’t even receive their hard-earned money. So they submitted their resignation applications early, settled their wages, and calculated their allowances before leaving.
As a result, Tianya Group’s stocks plummeted drastically, and many companies stopped doing business with Tianya Group, fearing they might supply goods to Tianya Group without receiving payment. After all, Tianya Group’s situation was evident. If Tianya Group were to go bankrupt, wouldn’t that be a disaster?
“Xiao Bing, I think we should resign; it looks like Tianya Group is really going down!” a girl who was usually close to Xiao Bing advised. “Yesterday, I saw Minister Liu in his office preparing his own resignation; if even the minister knows it’s over, how can we not leave?”
“No way!” Xiao Bing immediately shook her head and said, “Mr. Li has been so good to us, how can we leave when Tianya Group is in trouble?”
“It’s one thing to be good, but we also have to think about our own future!” the young girl urged.
“Mr. Li brought me from Jianghuai City to the United States and even funded my further studies at an American university. The company has invested so much in me; how can I be ungrateful?” Xiao Bing kept shaking her head. She was a kind-hearted girl with a sense of justice, so she would never leave Tianya Group.
The girl beside her tried her best to persuade Xiao Bing, but to no avail. Xiao Bing refused, saying, “No way, you can leave if you want, but I’m going to stay here until Tianya Group either fires me or goes bankrupt.”
“Sigh, forget it, I won’t talk to you anymore!” Seeing she couldn’t persuade Xiao Bing, the young girl quickly said, “I’ll go write my resignation letter first and maybe cry about it to secure last year’s year-end bonus. The company can’t refuse to give us our year-end bonus just because we’re leaving, right?”
“Go ahead, Tianya Group won’t be as heartless as you cold-hearted people!” Xiao Bing snorted lightly.
“That’s also true!” the young girl replied without thinking, but she quickly realized, blushed, and ran off swiftly.
In Jianghuai City, Tianya Group also stirred up a commotion. The stock market in Mainland China wasn’t doing well from the start, and now came such bad news. It was not only a blow to the Chinese stock market but also a major setback for Tianya Group’s stocks. Its stock price, which had been soaring, suddenly seemed to experience a Waterloo, plummeting rapidly.
From a price above 150, it fell to 100, then below the one-hundred-dollar mark. At this critical juncture, Tianya Group’s Acting President Lin Ziwen had no choice but to announce a trading halt for reassessment. The news stirred the stockholders holding large amounts of Tianya Group stocks into a frenzy. No one knew what Tianya Group intended with this trading halt.
At Jianghuai City’s Haitong Securities Exchange, a large crowd of stockholders gathered together.
“Tianya Group is swindling our money; we absolutely can’t let this slide!” a middle-aged balding man gritted his teeth and said, “We must unite and go to Tianya Group to demand our money back. We cannot let them swindle our hard-earned money!”
“That’s right!” a man wearing sunglasses next to him also raised his arm and said, “Unity is strength; we must unite so we can get our hard-earned money back!”
“Exactly, let’s go, let’s go confront Tianya Group together!”
With that, a group of people marched towards Tianya Group, and along the way, more people from other securities exchanges joined the debt-collecting crowd. Originally a group of dozens quickly expanded to over a hundred people. Naturally, this included some companies hostile to Tianya Group, including some large domestic enterprises. Upon learning about Tianya Group’s President Li Ruo’s accident, they all tried to find ways to overthrow him. However, they had never found an opportunity to act.
Soon, they discovered a great opportunity, which was to start with Tianya Group’s stocks. Once the stock price plummeted, Tianya Group’s downfall would be near. Thus, this farce unfolded today.
“Assistant Lin, it’s not good, a lot of people are heading towards Tianya Group!” the female secretary who went out for business came rushing back. She encountered that crowd on the road, initially thinking they were headed to the City Government to cause trouble. But before she went far, she heard them shouting about confronting Tianya Group. Frightened, she hurriedly pulled a few passersby to understand the situation and realized that this crowd wasn’t causing trouble for the City Government, but for Tianya Group.
“Why?” Lin Ziwen was stunned.
“That group said they’re coming to demand money from Tianya Group, claiming they’ve lost a lot of money in the stock market!” the female secretary quickly explained.
“Lost money, what’s that got to do with us?” Lin Ziwen was stunned, hurriedly saying, “Let them go to the securities exchange! We’re not the ones who swindled their money!”
“But they’re already coming our way!” the female secretary said anxiously.
“Quick, send the security to stop them!” Lin Ziwen said hurriedly.
“Okay, okay!” The female secretary rushed to the Security Department. Upon hearing that people were heading to Tianya Group, they quickly set up a barrier, notified the police, and started making defensive preparations for a long confrontation with the troublemakers.
Very soon, the crowd finally reached the gates of Tianya Group, unfurling banners as if they had planned it all along. Among them, several men in sunglasses raised their arms, shouting, “Tianya Group, return our hard-earned money!”
“Return our hard-earned money!” The crowd followed suit, shouting.
Lin Ziwen could not stand it any longer, so he went down. Little Mei, Milking Girl Xingxing, and others gathered at the entrance. Xingxing was no longer just an ordinary department staff; she had been promoted to department manager, overseeing the entire department’s operations. Xingxing was no longer the same person she was a few years ago. Upon graduation, she was just a young naive girl, unable to control her emotions when teased by Ye Chen.
If it were her today, she would certainly hide her emotions well, secretly despising Ye Chen while making things difficult for him at work. As Li Ruo’s little cousin, she naturally stood on Tianya Group’s side. Seeing so many people coming to confront Tianya Group, Xingxing rushed out and coldly said, “What exactly do you people want?”
“What do we want?” The middle-aged balding man leading the group laughed heartily, “Tianya Group has swindled so much money from us and still asks what we want? Folks, tell them what we’re here for!”
“We’re here to take back our hard-earned money; Tianya Group, return our hard-earned money!” The men in sunglasses in the crowd roared. Other people also joined in the clamor, and the atmosphere became heated. Most people didn’t even know what they were doing there; they were just there for the commotion, as is typical of the Chinese.
There is nothing wrong with joining a commotion, but it only encourages the wrongdoers, so these people were essentially helping the bad guys. Milking Girl laughed and said, “What international joke is this? You people have no relation or kinship with Tianya Group. Since when does Tianya Group owe you money?”
“Uh…” The crowd was puzzled; many hadn’t considered how to answer. The stock market inherently carries risks; losing money can’t be pinned on the companies. They couldn’t even blame anyone unless it was those institutions or speculators. While the crowd was silent, the man in sunglasses waved his hand and said, “Folks, don’t be fooled by this girlie. How could Tianya Group not owe us money? We poured our lifelong hard-earned savings into the stock market, bought Tianya Group’s stocks, and now suddenly, it tanked to the bottom. Our hard-earned money is gone!”
“Hmph, you’re all adults; didn’t anyone explain the risks of the stock market, that you should exercise caution, when you opened an account with the securities company?” Milking Girl snorted disdainfully, then scolded, “You people call yourselves adults, but it’s like your minds are dog-eaten, isn’t it? Didn’t your account’s contract clearly state: The stock market carries risks; exercise caution. Responsibility lies with the investor. Now you’ve lost money, and you come after us. Whom should Tianya Group seek if we lose money?!”
Milking Girl Xingxing’s words stunned everyone present—not because her voice was overpowering enough to suppress the hundreds with one person, nor because her stance was intimidating. It was her composure, rhythm, and the undeniable logic within her words that left everyone silent.
The balding middle-aged man spoke again, “Hmph, whatever the case, debts need repaying, that’s a universal truth! If Tianya Group doesn’t pay us back, then we won’t leave here today!”
“That’s right, pay back! Pay back!” The men in sunglasses in the crowd shouted.
Lin Ziwen hurried to Milking Girl and asked, “Xingxing, now… now what do we do?”
“Let me think!” Milking Girl’s cleverness was beyond question; she was a smart and quirky girl who could always think of ways to outwit her opponents. Xingxing’s eyes darted around, then she laughed coldly, “Alright, you want repayment? Fine.”