Chapter 377: Withdrawing from Xingcheng Heavy Industry

"Boss, this junior of yours is quite strange. Manager Zhong contacted her several times, but she kept making excuses to put him off. Today she actually took the initiative to let me come over to sign the contract. And she isn't even charging an advertising fee…" Shen Anna looked at the contract in her hand, somewhat incredulous.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang feigned calm and said, "Our company already paid the advertising fee, so it's normal for her not to charge it, right?"

Shen Anna nodded half-believing, half-doubting, then suddenly felt something was off and immediately asked Chen Yang, "No, her reaction is too abnormal. Could it be that you personally went to talk to her?"

"No, she didn't answer my calls." Chen Yang, to dispel Shen Anna's doubts, deliberately showed her his phone's call and message logs.

"Then why did she suddenly change her mind and want to cooperate with us?" Shen Anna looked at Chen Yang's proof and became even more puzzled.

"Don't overthink it; just get the contract signed." Chen Yang, to stop Shen Anna from overthinking, immediately changed the subject: "This user‑acquisition campaign will probably cost a lot. Go draft a budget first, then we'll discuss how much we need to borrow from the bank."

"Okay!" Although Shen Anna also had a gossipy side, she valued her work more. She immediately went to find the finance manager, Qian Duo Duo, to work on the budget.

After confirming she had left, Chen Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Given Shen Anna's relationship with Lin Wei, if she discovered anything wrong between him and Liu Qingqing, she would surely report it truthfully.

In that case, not only would Lin Wei divorce him, but the Lin and Hu families would likely not let him off either.

Don't look at his current wealth and status; if the Lin and Hu families moved against him, all of that would vanish in an instant.

Just thinking about that outcome made Chen Yang involuntarily rub his forehead.

In fact, before seeking Liu Qingqing, Chen Yang had already taken precautions. But he never imagined that, in order to have relations with him, she would slip a drug into his drink.

What baffled Chen Yang most was what Liu Qingqing hoped to gain by doing this.

As for feelings, Chen Yang could not possibly give her any.

Money, she wasn't lacking.

If it were merely a need in some respect, she could easily find a man of equal standing to start a new relationship.

Moreover, Liu Qingqing despised mistresses the most; how could she bear to become the very person she once hated most…

Chen Yang called Liu Qingqing to ask what she was thinking, but she wouldn't answer.

This left him feeling gloomy.

To avoid letting his emotions show to people at the company, Chen Yang greeted Shen Anna and then headed straight back to his villa on Jiangmen Dao.

Over the next few days he stayed holed up in the villa until Liu Jianghua's secretary called, telling him to go to the Provincial State‑Owned Enterprise Reform Group Office.

"Chen Yang, the relevant authorities have already dealt with the law‑breaking management of Xingcheng Food Co., Ltd. Have you prepared the handover work on your end?"

"No!"

"Any other problems?"

"The Old Hundreds E‑commerce Platform is currently running a user‑acquisition rewards campaign and may need to raise over a hundred million yuan for promotion. If the bank loan isn't disbursed in time, I'll have to use my own money as an emergency fund for the company. So the matters concerning Xingcheng Food Co., Ltd. might have to be delayed a bit."

Liu Jianghua frowned slightly; he had already heard from his secretary about the Old Hundreds E‑commerce Platform's "user‑acquisition campaign."

At first he didn't understand it, but after thinking it over he found the strategy quite effective.

When advertising, uninterested people just glance and move on. But by using visible cash and cash vouchers to attract internet users to learn about the Old Hundreds E‑commerce Platform, even if they're only after the benefit, they'll seriously go through the motions.

Whether they can be retained is a later matter; at least the goal of drawing them in has already been achieved.

Of course, what he admired most was Chen Yang's daring to invest. The budget per new user is at most a dozen yuan; one million new users would require a budget of tens of millions; ten million users would push the budget up to hundreds of millions.

Liu Jianghua has lived many years and seen countless strange things, but he had never seen anyone like Chen Yang who would spare no expense to boost fame.

The essence of capital is profit‑seeking, yet Chen Yang goes against the grain, acting more like a philanthropist.

"Chen Yang, I can intervene to push the bank loan along. The Xingcheng Food Co., Ltd. side really can't be delayed any longer."

Seeing Governor Liu's stern expression, Chen Yang immediately said, "Governor Liu, you needn't worry too much about the Xingcheng Food Co., Ltd. side; since I've promised to take it over, I'll certainly follow through."

"But I don't yet know enough about the internal situation of Xingcheng Food Co., Ltd.; what's written in the documents isn't necessarily all true."

"So, before taking over, I want to conduct a private investigation to uncover the company's actual problems. Only then can the reform's ultimate goal be achieved."

Liu Jianghua considered it and found Chen Yang's point reasonable. He then said, "Then I'll give you another week. If you still haven't taken over after a week, I'll have to replace you."

"Okay!" Chen Yang had already instructed Shen Anna to conduct due diligence; a week was more than enough time.

Seeing Chen Yang nod in agreement, Liu Jianghua felt a bit relieved. He then shifted the topic to the stock of Xingcheng Heavy Industry.

"Wu Junhui's removal has left some board members of Xingcheng Heavy Industry with hard feelings toward you. After you withdraw from the company's stock, don't provoke them any further."

"Among them are people whose backgrounds even I must treat with three parts of respect. If you don't want to cause trouble for Old Hu, it's best to stay away from that circle of right and wrong."

"Okay!" Chen Yang nodded again. Even someone Liu Jianghua doesn't want to provoke, an ordinary commoner like him would rather not invite trouble.

After returning from the Provincial State‑Owned Enterprise Reform Group Office, Chen Yang immediately contacted Qi Yunxiang and, before the afternoon market close, successfully sold his Xingcheng Heavy Industry shares.

This trade still lost him a hundred thousand yuan.

To save face after Wu Junhui's dismissal, he had lost a hundred thousand yuan for nothing, and he suddenly felt it wasn't worth it.

That money could be used by the Old Hundreds E‑commerce Platform to attract tens of thousands of new users.

However, when Xingcheng Heavy Industry's shareholders were suppressing the stock price, Chen Yang had initially budgeted for a loss of several million yuan; now losing only a hundred thousand is practically a blessing.

Since it's no longer convenient to re‑enter Xingcheng Heavy Industry, Chen Yang is also heeding the advice.

No matter how strong the funds, they can't beat the market manipulators.

And Chen Yang didn't know that, after his funds were withdrawn from Xingcheng Heavy Industry, red wine, this stock had been quietly falling for a long time, with its price dropping below ten yuan at its lowest.