Chapter 887: A Successful Performance

He Yuzhu glanced at the two people in front of him, feeling quite comfortable in his heart, and said in a low voice: "At noon today, to welcome Mr. Mark, prepare a hearty meal!"

Mark's expression, however, looked as if he had eaten bitter melon.

For the next week, with Mark's cooperation, money flowed out of the Black Stone Group's accounts like water.

He Yuzhu had a scale in his heart and knew the timing was just about right.

Once that money was completely withdrawn, he personally directed a good show—having Mark call the headquarters to say they had been attacked.

"Boom!"

The villa was blown to the sky, and not much was left even of the debris.

He Yuzhu then took Elize and Mark, flew out of Hong Kong overnight, and headed straight for Babylon.

Upon arriving at the destination, he disposed of both of them cleanly, and drove a boat back to Hong Kong all by himself, swaying along slowly.

After this whole operation, even if the Black Stone Group wanted to investigate who did it, they would have no way to start—the clues were all broken, clean and thorough.

When He Yuzhu returned to Hong Kong, the moment Shen Guizhi saw him, her eyes turned red on the spot, and she refused to stay any longer, insisting on returning to Si Jiu Cheng.

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and then realized—they had been cooped up in this world of flowers and willow for nearly two months.

It was time to go back.

The group stepped into Si Jiu Cheng, travel-worn and weary; the willows outside had long since turned madly green, with branches growing wildly all over the streets—it was already May.

No sooner had He Yuzhu stepped through the door than he was called away by people from the Industry and Commerce Association.

When he arrived at the place and took a look, good heavens, the lineup today was not small; even Deputy Mayor Zhang was personally presiding over it.

As soon as the meeting started, the Deputy Mayor didn't beat around the bush and directly laid out the city's difficulties for the year.

He Yuzhu didn't rush to speak from beginning to end, just listening quietly.

After the heads of several large enterprises finished speaking, he had a pretty good idea in his heart—state-owned enterprises were suffering large-scale losses, and a large number of real estate projects had stopped construction.

But he knew better than anyone that this was the labor pain before the revival of Huaxia; once they carried through it, it would be fine.

Just as he was pondering, Deputy Mayor Zhang suddenly turned his head to look over, his tone carrying a hint of probing: "Chairman He, why don't you say a few words as well... offer everyone some ideas on how to break this deadlock."

He Yuzhu smiled, stood up, and without taking any notes, spoke directly: "I have listened to everyone's discussion, and it mainly comes down to a lack of money. I will state my position here—I can borrow 1.5 billion US dollars from Hong Kong, with an interest rate of only two percent. Those who truly have a need can come talk to me."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the eyes of the entire room fell squarely on him.

Even Deputy Mayor Zhang stopped his pen.

He Yuzhu continued unhurriedly: "I want to use this money to set up a relief fund. I will adopt methods such as equity participation, loans, and acquiring unfinished land plots to help enterprises solve their difficulties. The goal is only one—to truly help those struggling enterprises. But I will say the ugly words first: I am not here to loot a burning house; I will not do things like swallowing state-owned shares at low prices. But I am not a sucker either; those 'A-Dou' who cannot be helped, I certainly won't help them..."

The entire conference room went quiet.

That kind of silence wasn't awkward; it was that everyone had been shocked.

Even Deputy Mayor Zhang couldn't help it, a trace of obvious surprise flashing in his eyes.

For today's meeting, he had indeed hoped He Yuzhu could contribute some effort, but he never expected that this "effort" could be this significant.

The heads of the state-owned enterprises sitting below, who were still struggling in losses, had eyes that were brighter than ever.

1.5 billion US dollars; converted into People's Currency, that was over 10 billion.

He Yuzhu, however, was crystal clear in his heart.

This money had just been siphoned out from Black Stone, and he hadn't really decided where to invest it anyway.

Going to circle around the United States stock market again, he just felt it wasn't right, and his heart didn't feel secure.

He might as well use Xu Tian's hands to route the money back to the Mainland and do some solid, tangible things.

After he finished speaking, Deputy Mayor Zhang walked straight over, grabbed his hand, and shook it firmly, his tone full of genuine gratitude: "General Manager He, thank you so much. With this money coming in, it can at least save a large area."

He Yuzhu said: "Mayor, I won't say polite words; I will still say the ugly words first—I won't save those enterprises that cannot be saved, and I won't save those enterprises that have no future."

Deputy Mayor Zhang nodded: "Understood, we can establish a Review Committee to be responsible for reviewing this matter."

He Yuzhu said: "No problem."

At the Film Academy, the lights in the auditorium hadn't fully dimmed yet; as soon as Ma Rui's report performance ended, thunderous applause erupted from the audience, wave after wave, making people's ears buzz.

After the curtain call, Liu Wei leaned over to Ma Rui's side, her eyes bright: "Ma Rui, we have double happiness today; shouldn't you treat us?"

"What double happiness?" Ma Rui asked, puzzled.

"Look at the notice posted in front of the teaching building; Deputy Director Liu has been fired, and Li Xiang has also been expelled." Liu Wei laughed happily.

Ma Rui's eyes lit up, and his voice grew a bit louder: "Then I'll treat! Let's go, let's go to the international student cafeteria for a meal!"

In the small private room of the international student cafeteria, a table that could originally only seat eight people was forcibly squeezed with sixteen. People were pressed against people, elbow bumping elbow, chest against back, all standing, holding cups, beer and cola clinking with a jingle.

Ma Rui raised his beer, tilted his neck, gulped down half the glass, and wiped his mouth: "Tonight I thank everyone! I forgot my lines in several places, and it was all thanks to you covering for me; otherwise, I would have definitely failed on stage."

Li Xin said with a smile: "You can't blame yourself for that; you only took over a week ago and went on stage; anyone would have panicked."

Ma Rui grinned, his tone carrying a bit of smugness, "I was able to get this role, and I have to thank Deputy Director Liu. If he hadn't courted his own death, this role wouldn't have fallen to me."

Liu Wei raised a cup of cola, her voice crisp: "Everyone knows by now, right? Deputy Director Liu has been dismissed from public office and can no longer control us."

A group of people burst into laughter, cups clinking together, bubbles surging, and liquor splashing everywhere.

After Liu Wei finished that sip of cola, she couldn't help but add, "Once Deputy Director Liu left, I felt comfortable everywhere. That kind of... indescribable oppression from before is gone."

As soon as these words were out, the private room went quiet for half a second.

Then came a burst of tacit laughter, laughter that carried relief, and also a taste that was hard to describe.

Ma Rui asked with a smile: "Wasn't it rumored a few days ago that just dismissing Deputy Director Liu from his position would be enough? Why was he fired from public office directly this time? Does anyone know what happened?"

Zhao Jian said: "I heard some gossip—it seems Li Xiang went to pull strings, and someone from above wanted to suppress it, but it ended up angering a leader who was investigating this matter. In a fit of rage, that leader investigated Li Xiang as well. And what a discovery—they found that as a person from Si Jiu Cheng, he had actually gone to Yun Province on a directed self-funded basis, squeezing out someone else's quota in Yun Province."

Li Xin also chimed in, his tone carrying a bit of schadenfreude: "Originally, the Investigation Team didn't intend to dig deep, but with Li Xiang making such a fuss, well, everything was shaken out. Not a single misdeed was missed."

Liu Wei shook her head, sighing: "Deputy Director Liu really had the guts. A directed quota—that was someone else's spot, and he just snatched it for his own relative to use—he was just too bold."

Ma Rui raised his cup, the corners of his mouth curling up, smiling meaningfully: "Whom the gods wish to destroy, they must first make mad. Goodbye, Deputy Director Liu!"