Chapter 476: Only My Method Chapter 476: The Gold War (6)

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Protagonist:

Chen Yi

Cao Yuan spent a day regrouping, then resumed his arduous bank-run operation.

Starting from the third day, the gold he purchased daily was concentrated and shipped to the train station warehouse, guarded by private bodyguards hired by the Wang Family; once a week's quantity was accumulated, it was transported under armed escort to the insurance company headquarters in Xijing.

Fifteen tonnes of gold per week was not an excessive figure, even within the buyback range, but if this continued, Gao Qiu worried it would trigger panic and a severe crisis of confidence — though neither had materialized yet…

At 8 p. m., the lights at the Jiangning Head Office were still on.

Gao Qiu entered the conference room shared by the Planning Department and the Marketing Department, and the buzzing discussion instantly died down.

Dozens of pairs of eyes turned his way — bloodshot like wolves ready to devour a man, exhausted like sheep half-eaten by wolves.

"Hard work." Gao Qiu offered a word of comfort, then immediately asked, "Any mature strategies?"

Deputy Bank President Tang Kun sprang up as if on springs and said quickly, "There is one point."

"Go on."

"We need to increase advertising investment, boost bond circulation among merchants, and strive to publicize the advantages of the Gold Bonds." Tang Kun's voice was loud, but the content was vague and general — barely qualifying as a strategy. There was no help for it; a currency not backed by mandatory enforcement lacked foundation to begin with, let alone one under fierce attack.

Knowing this full well, Gao Qiu still felt a pang of disappointment. He looked at the weary staff below, forced a smile, and said, "Not bad, keep at it."

He didn't even listen to the specifics before leaving the conference room.

Inside, the staff sighed and groaned; days of intensive discussion had left them without even the energy to feel ashamed.

Tang Kun shifted his buttocks, wanting to chase after him to explain a couple of sentences, but ultimately chose not to go out and get scolded.

For the past two weeks, President Gao's mood had been poor. The extra 50 tonnes of gold redeemed beyond normal levels might explain half the reason.

His deputy asked in a low voice, "Continue?"

"Continue. The president hasn't left; whoever wants to leave can leave."

The staff instantly fell deathly silent.

Gao Qiu walked unhurriedly to the end of the corridor and entered the Public Relations Department's conference room. Twenty-odd people were arguing heatedly; the atmosphere seemed a bit better than in Marketing and Planning, but the eyes were the same bloodshot red, as if blood had surged into them.

Since last week, the bank staff had all looked like this; anyone unaware would think the Spanish had invaded.

A certain unnamed deputy president's description was now widely circulated: "The bank nurtures scholars with high salaries; when the time comes to use them, they do not hesitate to risk their lives."

Several senior managers who couldn't share the hardship were dispatched on business trips elsewhere by Gao Qiu, confirming that saying from another angle.

And at the Bank Party Committee meeting, Gao Qiu had also said: "If the Gold Bonds live, Jiangning Bank prospers; if the Gold Bonds die, Jiangning Bank perishes. From today until the crisis is resolved, this bank has only employees who work themselves to death, no staff who go home early. Whoever can't take it, just take extended leave."

He had already hitched himself to the Chen Family's chariot; besides charging forward, the only alternative was to be smashed to pieces.

Under immense pressure, the Bank Party Committee members all declared: "A Party member must die in the most dangerous place."

Within the bank, a movement to vie for "death by overwork" model worker status erupted.

The current late-night conference room discussions were an activity evolved to compete for "death by overwork" honors.

Carrot-and-stick, no one knew when it started, quietly began circulating inside Jiangning Bank. Gao Qiu stayed up night after night, not going home, rotating from one conference room to another. Some he listened to, some he touched and left; good suggestions were praised on the spot, bad ones dismissed with a smile, but if a department had people who long failed to participate in the activity, they would be swiftly transferred out.

Whether Gao Qiu's actions were effective was unknown, but the grand momentum was inevitable.

Chen Yi had actually made no demands or set any targets, but Gao Qiu felt the responsibility was his. He had said more than once: "Mr. Chen's half-year of cultivated confidence cannot be destroyed in an instant by my hand; any bond or gold is built on the foundation of confidence!"

However, the development of events always deviates from human ideals.

In the following days, Cao Yuan continuously redeemed gold, and also spent money writing press releases and commentary articles, with better effect than Jiangning Bank's — destruction is always easier than construction.

Although on a side Gao Qiu couldn't see, Cao Yuan was equally hard-pressed, the bank-run trend gradually emerged; were it not for the three families still having scruples, wanting to take over the bonds, the Gold Bonds' credit would have been severely devalued.

In the third week, Cao Yuan claimed to have absorbed 60 tonnes of gold; adding what others redeemed, he felt Chen Yi's remainder was not much. At this time, he finally showed his face in Jiangning and instructed the insurance company to host a grand banquet on his behalf — both a show of force and a form of peace talks.

Unless the Chen Family is completely crushed, peace talks are inevitable sooner or later.

Several Chen Family members, Gao Qiu, and the Xu Family all received invitations. Chen Yi simply called Han Jie, asking her to attend with him.

Magnificent clothing, neon decorations, and million-yuan crystal lamps adorned the insurance company's hall with cinematic colors; aside from being paid for by a state-owned enterprise, everything displayed a warm, harmonious Western elegance.

"Mr. Chen." Cao Yuan was not the nominal host of the banquet, so he could move freely in the hall until Chen Yi appeared, then came to greet him.

"I'll go see a few friends first." Although Gao Qiu really wanted to spit in Cao Yuan's face, he still nodded to Chen Yi and left.

Chen Yi nodded, forced a smile, and said, "Cao Yuan."

"Now, do you think it's time to shake hands and make peace?" Cao Yuan revealed a modest smile, just a bit too fake. The corners of his mouth curled up, unable to suppress a laugh, yet he feigned calm and said, "I admit, at the beginning, you caused us no small trouble. But the play is over; it's time for it to end."

"You really think so?" Chen Yi gave a hehe laugh.

"Let's talk peace." Another man of similar age, with puffy eyes, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a bright red tie, appeared before them and introduced himself: "My surname is Liu, Liu Chuanzhong."

"Brother Liu." Cao Yuan laughed, patting the puffy-eyed man familiarly, and said to Chen Yi, "Brother Liu is the Liu Family's representative; the Wang Family is represented by us. Let's talk now."

Liu Chuanzhong looked like he hadn't woken up, and smiled: "If you're dissatisfied with the previous terms, now is exactly the time to bring them up."

Han Jie didn't understand a word they were saying, gave a light laugh, and said, "I have sisters outside, I'll step out for a bit."

"Go together." Chen Yi didn't let go of her, but smiled at Liu Chuanzhong and Cao Yuan: "You think you've won… I'll give you a peace-talk baseline: return the gold, then scram out of Jiangning."

With that, Chen Yi pulled Han Jie to leave.

Liu Chuanzhong's puffy eyes finally opened wide, and he said calmly, "Chen Yi, be polite."

"Two tonnes of gold I don't care about, but 50 tonnes total over three consecutive weeks?" Chen Yi shook his head and said, "You've crossed the line."

"Crossed the line? So what!" Cao Yuan finally couldn't hold back; he lifted his chin,

Chen Yi didn't answer, taking Han Jie forward.

Cao Yuan's face flushed with anger, but inside he felt a bit uneasy; thinking carefully, for the past two weeks Chen Yi had indeed not sought trouble again, simply treating them as ordinary people.

Liu Chuanzhong said quietly: "Hurry and notify your people — first, secure the gold. Chen Yi has a martial arts hall under his name; who knows what high-flying figures might show up."

"Got it." Cao Yuan nervously called back, giving a thousand instructions and ten thousand exhortations; returning, he said regretfully, "This time was too rushed; we should have waited until the gold was fully transported before holding the banquet."

"How much is stored in the warehouse?"

"Almost 10 tons."

"I'll try to find some connections; official ones are better." Liu Chuanzhong always felt it was dangerous. Ten tons of gold was worth 2.5 billion; selling them wouldn't cover it even if they were all young masters. In his view, the danger of this gold run lay in the danger of where the gold was stored; tens of billions kept anywhere would make anyone uneasy.

Liu Chuanzhong found a corner and began contacting people he knew.

Jiangning had all kinds of armed forces: police, Armed Police, field army, and garrison troops, as well as various security institutions. Railway stations, ports, and other transport hubs had their own security personnel. Liu Chuanzhong wound his way through mid- and low-level leaders, relatively easily avoiding the Chen Family's restrictions.

In an era where decision-makers bore no responsibility, leaders judged and decided based entirely on preference. Liu Chuanzhong didn't need to promise too much; naturally, he could find someone to take the bait.

After ending the call, his expression toward Chen Yi was no longer so friendly.

Business worth tens or hundreds of billions—if there was even a slight chance of swallowing it all alone, they wouldn't easily give it up. Even promising not to pursue Chen Yi over the gold vouchers already issued was based on the foundation of both sides being evenly matched; once they made money and their confidence swelled, it wouldn't be surprising if they thought of settling accounts after the autumn.

"Everything's ready. Action?" Liu Xinyu wore a black latex dress, brushing past Chen Yi.

"The Liu Family found help."

Liu Xinyu was surprised for a moment, then said: "No strangers were discovered in the warehouse..."

"Perhaps they haven't arrived yet. Then quick battle, quick decision. Let's move."

Chen Yi held the Divine Art Knight in his hand, wanting to create something; no matter how tight the encirclement, it would be useless.

Liu Xinyu's destructive desire was even stronger. At this moment she smiled mysteriously and went to give instructions.

"She seems to be a counselor at the school?" Han Jie suddenly interjected.

Chen Yi muffled an "En."

Han Jie really wanted to use violence, but Liu Chuanzhong walked over again.

"Mr. Liu." Chen Yi greeted him first this time, saving himself first.

"I just found a few friends on the railway and asked them to look after my warehouse." Liu Chuanzhong said half-seriously, his watery eyes smiling as they bulged out.

Chen Yi boredly said "En," while glancing at his watch.

"Are you waiting for time?"

Chen Yi waited 20 seconds, then slowly said: "Yes and no."

"What? We can talk slowly, no rush." Liu Chuanzhong smiled, preparing to get to know Chen Yi better.

Cao Yuan hurriedly caught up from behind him. He took huge steps, his movements exaggerated and rapid, only because of the environment did he not shout out loud.

"The gold... is gone." Cao Yuan's voice was hoarse, exactly the state of having just scolded someone.

Liu Chuanzhong didn't catch on, his heart "thump-thump-thumping" wildly: "What nonsense are you talking?"

"In the blink of an eye, it was gone." Cao Yuan had a grief-stricken face; those he should have scolded he had already scolded, but now it was his turn to be scolded. (Unfinished. If you like this work, welcome to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian. com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)