After returning to the hotel, Liu Jian lay blankly on the bed. The things that had just happened played back in his mind like a movie. After careful recollection, he hadn't done anything wrong, so he lay on the bed with a clear conscience, turned on the TV, but although his eyes were fixed on the screen, his mind was completely elsewhere.
Liu Jian was thinking about his interaction with Li Li just now. The Li Li he saw today didn't have the aura of a strong female executive, but her unhurried and unperturbed attitude still left a deep impression on Liu Jian.
Li Li was only thirty-five years old, the most mature age for a woman. Unlike women from Northeast China, women from Hangzhou are generally not very tall. Li Li was only 1.6 meters tall, possessing the advantages of women from the Jiangnan region: fair and tender skin. Although she was wearing work clothes, she still looked quite charming.
After thinking for a while, Liu Jian couldn't help but smile wryly. Ever since he took possession of Ren Shanshan in Shenyang, his first thought whenever he saw a beautiful woman was to get her into bed. He was here on serious business; this investment had the potential for a hundredfold return, and he couldn't let his lust affect the investment plan.
After Li Li returned to the repair shop, she closed the door and lay on the table, sobbing loudly. Although she was completely disappointed in that man and had decided to divorce him after getting through this hurdle, she never expected that he would take his own life. Even though there was no love, they had lived together for more than ten years, and she still had a family-like affection for Wu Wenbiao. Otherwise, why would she be so busy trying to save the failing enterprise? It was a pity that all her persistence had led to this: he simply walked away. He died completely clean, but what about her and her daughter?
In reality, the biggest danger for Yuantong Company was the loans. As long as the loans were paid off, Li Li believed that these repair shops could quickly recoup funds. Moreover, although the chain store plan had failed, many locations had already been rented, and these locations could become a significant source of income if used well. The problem was how to get through this hurdle.
The news of Wu Wenbiao's suicide could not be hidden from those people. Those who had originally lent money to Li Li ran over to demand their money back after receiving the news. Fortunately, the bank was closed for the holiday, or they wouldn't have been able to get through the New Year. Li Li spent a busy afternoon sending the creditors away. When she closed the books at night, Li Li found that the repair shop had almost no money left. Li Li had already paid the workers' wages, and many of those who had come to demand money in the afternoon had taken their money away. Looking at the completely empty accounts, Li Li hated Wu Wenbiao. Why did he have to die at this time? Wasn't this pushing Yuantong Company into the abyss? Li Li began to doubt whether she could bring this company back to life. It had reached the end of the road, and Li Li realized that she herself had nowhere to go.
Back home, seeing her daughter Xu Yalan crying on the table, Li Li went over and hugged her. In the past six months, Xu Yalan had grown from a girl who knew nothing, and she was very clear about the difficulties facing the family. She had thought that everything would pass and the family would be as warm as before, but today her dream was shattered. Her father was dead, and the creditors came to the house every day. Xu Yalan was frightened by the looks in their eyes. All the little girl could do was cry. Li Li didn't try to comfort her daughter. She wanted her to bravely face everything because from now on, the mother and daughter would have to rely on each other for survival.
Xu Yalan opened her eyes wide, tears streaming down her face as she asked, "Mom, are we going to move? This afternoon Uncle Zhang said that if we don't pay back the money, they will take the house away, and he said a lot of nasty things."
A fierce look flashed in Li Li's eyes, then disappeared helplessly, and she said, "Lili, we owe them money. If we don't have money to pay back, we have to give them the house. But Lili, don't be afraid, everything will pass."
Xu Yalan said, flustered and at a loss, "Mom, I'm scared. They said if we don't pay back the money, they'll take me away. Mom, what do we do? Who did Dad borrow the money from?"
Li Li gave a bitter smile. She never imagined that after Wu Wenbiao came back, he would borrow 500,000 from loan sharks. In just one month, the money was all gone. Li Li had been wondering what the money was spent on until she discovered that Wu Wenbiao was actually doing drugs. At a time when the family was so poor, he actually borrowed money from loan sharks to do drugs. Li Li was already utterly heartbroken with Wu Wenbiao. Originally, this debt had nothing to do with Li Li, but with Wu Wenbiao's death, the debt was transferred to her and her daughter. Loan shark money isn't just any kind of money. Li Li knew that if they didn't pay it off quickly, her and her daughter would soon be swallowed up until there was nothing left. But how could she pay it back? Now her every move would be watched by those with ulterior motives, making it impossible to secretly pay off the debt.
After finally coaxing her daughter to sleep, Li Li was exhausted and covered in sweat. From afternoon to evening, Li Li hadn't eaten anything. Leaning on the sofa in the living room, she kept thinking of various ways, but couldn't find a single way out. Her hand unconsciously reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Ever since Wu Wenbiao ran away with another woman, Li Li had developed the habit of smoking. She habitually lit a cigarette and accidentally dropped something from her pocket. Li Li picked it up and a glimmer of hope flashed across her face. The business card read: Liu Jian, Deputy General Manager of Liu's Industrial Co., Ltd.
Li Li thought to herself, that young man must be very rich, staying at the Hangzhou Hotel and traveling at this time. Although she didn't know where he was from, he had a certain presence, and he had persuaded Wu Wenbiao not to commit suicide, even saying he could help him. Thinking about it this way, this young man must be a son of a wealthy family, out for fun, and he's also quite amenable. But when she thought about her millions of yuan funding gap, would he agree? Would his family agree?
Li Li thought for a long time without any clue, and gritted her teeth: "Let's try anything, even a dead horse as if it were a live one, what if he agrees?" Thinking of this, Li Li picked up the business card and dialed the phone number on it.
Receiving Li Li's call, Liu Jian couldn't help but be overjoyed. He was on Nanshan Road in Hangzhou, where there were many bars. Liu Jian didn't go to the bar to drink, but because he had just tasted the joys of women, he felt lonely at night without a woman, so he wanted to try his luck and see if he could meet a woman like Ren Shanshan. Just as he was looking for prey, Li Li's call came.
Li Li stood in the lobby of the Hangzhou Hotel, waiting for Liu Jian to return. After a while, Li Li saw an Audi stop at the hotel entrance, and then saw Liu Jian get out. The car was driven to the parking lot by a hotel employee.
Once inside the lobby, Liu Jian immediately spotted Li Li in a white outfit. He figured Wu Wenbiao had died and Li Li was in mourning. Women look pretty in mourning white. In the bright lobby, Li Li's mourning clothes were too conspicuous. Plus, with tears in her almond eyes, she didn't know how much attention she was attracting.
Liu Jian hurried forward and said, "Miss Li, why are you here so late? Shouldn't you be at home taking care of your elder brother's funeral?"
Li Li smiled bitterly and said, "Little brother, let's talk somewhere else."
Liu Jian nodded, "Then let's go to my room." Seeing Li Li's hesitant look, he said, "I'm staying in a suite, the environment is better there. In the lobby, your clothes are too conspicuous."
Li Li nodded helplessly. Li Li wore this mourning dress intentionally, to elicit Liu Jian's sympathy. She regarded Liu Jian as a naive newbie, unaware that she had actually encountered a cunning old fox.
Upon entering the suite where Liu Jian was staying, Li Li couldn't help but take a deep breath. Such a large suite must cost several thousand yuan per day to rent. It seemed Liu Jian was richer than she had imagined. Liu Jian led Li Li to the living room, went behind the liquor cabinet, took out a bottle of red wine and two glasses, and poured half a glass for each of them.
Liu Jian didn't speak, took a sip of red wine, and said with a look of satisfaction, "I went to the bar just now, but unfortunately I was driving and didn't dare to drink, it really made me crave it."
Li Li didn't say anything, picked up her glass and also took a sip. The wine was newly opened, and the glasses were taken out in front of her, so Li Li believed there was nothing wrong. Moreover, the events of the day had been too sudden, and she also felt like drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
After taking a few sips of wine, Li Li seemed to open up and slowly recounted the events that had happened at home. Although Liu Jian had heard it once before, he had no impression of Wu Wenbiao at all that time, and Xu Yalan was the one telling the story, so there were bound to be some things she didn't know. For example, Wu Wenbiao borrowed 500,000 yuan in high-interest loans, and that Wu Wenbiao was addicted to drugs. Liu Jian didn't know these things before. After hearing these things, Liu Jian admired the woman in front of him even more. How did this woman survive in this situation? Liu Jian couldn't help but gasp. Could he really control such a powerful woman?
Thinking about how Xu Yalan said that Li Li didn't recover all of her shares, was it really out of gratitude, or did she have other ideas? Also, Xu Yalan always talked about what happened to those who were good to them in the end, and what happened to those who offended them and kicked them when they were down, but it seemed like Xu Yalan never said. Looking at the fleeting look of ruthlessness in the eyes of the woman in front of him, Liu Jian hesitated. Would he be sold out? She seemed like a demon that eats people without spitting out bones.
Liu Jian turned around, grabbed a bottle of Rémy Martin, poured himself a glass, and drank it down. He suddenly felt bolder. She was just a woman, and he couldn't handle her? Besides, he was doing this to make money. As long as he had shares and waited for dividends, that was all that mattered. At worst, when the company developed, he could just sell the stock. Hundreds of times the profit was worth taking a gamble on.
Liu Jian pretended to be troubled and said, "You're older than me, so I'll call you Sister Li. I've thought about your situation, and if you want to get out of this, you'll need at least four million in funds."
Li Li shook her head and said, "It doesn't take that much, three million is enough. I plan to sell my jewelry, house, and car, which I estimate will fetch one million."
Liu Jian sighed, shaking his head, and said, "Sister Li, if you sell all of that, I reckon the people who later lend you money will also get worried. Besides, if you don't have a house, where will you live?"
Li Li opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. Her heart sank to the bottom. Why would four million strangers lend her money?
Liu Jian also lit a cigarette and took a few puffs, looking at Li Li through the haze of smoke and saying, "Sister Li, I have this money, but we just met by chance. Why should I lend it to you? And even if I did lend it to you, what would you use as collateral? Besides the empty shell of Yuantong Company, what else do you have?"
After speaking, Liu Jian smoked his cigarette, waiting for Li Li's reply. What Liu Jian wanted to do was push Li Li into the abyss of despair, then pull her back up. He believed that after such ups and downs, Li Li would be grateful to him and wouldn't betray him for quite some time. As long as the company developed, Liu Jian believed that even for her own life, she would work hard.
When Liu Jian saw Li Li's eyes wavering between anger, despair, and sorrow, he found it strange. Is giving up company shares really so difficult for you?
However, Liu Jian forgot one thing: when a woman is pleading with a man, and they are alone in a room, and the man asks the woman what she can give him, the implication is just too obvious.