Chapter 99: The Assembly

Professor Li glanced at Lu Chen, turned his head, and walked straight toward the conference hall.

He was humming a little tune under his breath.

"Hey, have you thought about how to talk to that group of old men?"

Luosha's cold voice came from nearby; she was leaning against the wall with her high heels propped up against it, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Heh, those old guys just want some profit, don't they? As long as the control remains in our hands, even if we give them more profit, would they dare to swallow it?"

Lu Chen paused, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he gave Luosha a deep look.

"If they don't act with us, it's their loss."

"Since you don't need me to hold down the fort, should I go back and catch up on some sleep?"

Luosha shot Lu Chen an annoyed glance, her tone seemingly carrying a hint of sulkiness.

"I do need you, how could I not? If our beautiful Luosha isn't there, who among those old foxes would listen to me?"

Lu Chen froze for a moment, a flash of sharpness crossing his eyes as his tone unconsciously became a bit exaggerated.

"Hmph, smooth talker."

Luosha turned and walked toward the conference hall.

Her tone seemed to carry a hint of satisfaction.

Lu Chen's mouth curled up slightly, but he didn't follow Luosha closely; instead, he beckoned to Butler Wang.

"Have Elder Wang and Elder Chen arrived?"

"It is 9 o'clock now, one hour until the meeting time; they haven't arrived yet."

Butler Wang glanced at his watch before responding.

Lu Chen nodded with a solemn expression.

"If they don't arrive, it's their loss. What about the other big shots?"

"They have been arriving one after another."

Butler Wang bowed slightly and whispered a few names.

Lu Chen nodded slightly, and after a long while, he spoke softly.

"Let's go, to the study, wait a moment."

After returning to the study, Lu Chen looked at the newspaper with some boredom, but his mind was elsewhere as he looked out the window.

"Sir, Elder Chen is here."

Butler Wang knocked lightly on the study door and said softly.

Lu Chen snapped back to reality, checked his watch—9:30—and then spoke softly.

"Please bring him in. We only have ten minutes; when the 10 minutes are up, Butler Wang, remind me."

"Elder Chen!"

Lu Chen stood up, shook hands with Elder Chen, and invited him to the sofa.

"There are only a dozen minutes left until the assembly, and I can only chat with you for 10 minutes. Let's keep it brief, what do you think?"

Lu Chen did not offer Elder Chen a Cigar, but a 555 cigarette instead.

"Little Lu, now is fine. Alright, let's chat for the length of two cigarettes."

Elder Chen laughed heartily, shook hands with Lu Chen, a flash of sharpness in his eyes.

He lit it directly and took a deep drag.

"If you gathered everyone this time to talk about investing in Crown, then I think there's no need to discuss it; no one is going to let their own interests be harmed."

"If that's how you feel, Elder, then there really is no need for me to talk to you further."

Lu Chen's expression turned cold instantly.

"As for the money lent to you, I personally will not call it in before the agreed time, but the matter was decided by Miss Luosha. Why don't you talk to her directly?"

"That won't be necessary. Tell me about the cooperation plan first; after all, Miss Luosha isn't exactly free."

Elder Chen's expression shifted; he took a deep drag of the 555, and a smile reappeared on his face.

"Young people are just so impatient; you have to be so pushy about this kind of cooperation."

"Miss Luosha is in the main conference room right now, why don't you go down directly? She has the plan."

Lu Chen looked up at Elder Chen, a flash of disgust in his eyes; although his words were firm, his tone remained calm and steady.

"The plan is determined based on each of your families' loans and investments in Crown. As for the specific distribution, we will discuss that at the assembly. Communicating with you in advance is just to unify our thinking."

"Little Lu, you're not right about that. Why should our families form a united front with you?"

Elder Chen narrowed his eyes, his tone filled with deep dissatisfaction.

"And why should we tell you about our families' investments and loans?"

"Yesterday, Director Wei Er of Crown told me something: he used 30% of the funds from your investments and loans to invest in the Nitan Project."

Lu Chen paused, then spoke softly.

"If you know about this, Elder, do you still think this meeting is meaningless?"

Elder Chen froze for a moment, then slowly lit a second 555.

"Wasn't the money we invested with Wei Er for Rainbow?"

"How much Rainbow do you think Wei Er has in his hands?"

Lu Chen's mouth curled slightly, he let out a scoff, his tone carrying a hint of contempt.

"Two? Or just one? And are you aware, Elder, that the offshore market for Rainbow has already reached the ten-billion level in funds?"

Elder Chen finished smoking the 555 in silence, stood up, and walked out.

"I invested all 300 million pounds; I agree to your plan."

Only, as he walked out, his body looked slightly more hunched than before.

"You are close with Elder Wang, so I have troubled you, Elder Chen."

Lu Chen's tone carried a hint of respect as he bowed slightly toward Elder Chen's back.

After seeing Elder Chen off, he finally let out a sigh.

Fortunately, Elder Chen did not realize it; if Elder Chen had been a bit quicker to react, what he said might not have truly convinced Elder Chen.

With five minutes left until the meeting, Lu Chen straightened his suit before walking out of the study and heading toward the grand reception hall.

"Sir, everyone has already arrived."

Housekeeper Wang walked beside Lu Chen and spoke in a low voice.

Lu Chen nodded slightly, took a deep breath at the entrance of the grand reception hall, and then pushed the door open to enter.

He glanced at the bustling bigwigs and nodded slightly toward Luosha.

He cleared his throat before walking to the center.

"Welcome, everyone, to today's venue."

Lu Chen felt a bit of pressure as he looked at the gazes gathering from the various bigwigs.

But he still glanced at Professor Li, only to see Professor Li nod slightly.

Only then did Lu Chen speak again.

"As for the specific matters, I presume you are all clear on them from the exchanges just now."

"I will only state two points next: first, the offshore funds for Crown Financial Innovation have now exceeded 10 billion; second, Director Wei Er has decided to use 30% of the entire project's funds to invest in the Nitan Project."

Lu Chen ignored the questioning gazes of the bigwigs and continued speaking.

"In view of the fact that the underlying assets of the Rainbow Project mentioned by Crown are severely insufficient, and given the volume of gathered funds, I have convened everyone here at the behest of Ms. Luosha."

Lu Chen nodded toward Luosha, and Luosha gave a slight nod in return.

After scanning the room, Lu Chen continued to speak.

"For the sake of Xianggang's financial stability and the security of the funds drawn from various industries, we have decided to keep these funds in Xianggang and will absolutely not allow any capital flight!"

After Lu Chen finished speaking, the bigwigs in the entire venue suddenly went silent.

After several seconds passed, it became like a vegetable market as they began to discuss in low voices!

The corners of Lu Chen's mouth curled up slightly, and Luosha secretly gave Lu Chen a thumbs-up.