Chapter 64

Lehman Brothers exploded.

The American financial market had played with "opium."

Yu Xing, separated by a screen, witnessed this scene in near real-time.

Compared to such a storm of the era, he was merely an ant, yet across the Pacific, the storm had already lashed fiercely before the ant.

Oh, and before the ant's uncle who grew grapes.

Chu Jinxiang was exceptionally heartbroken. His money was all earned from growing grapes. Especially this year, encountering a cold snap, grape production plummeted, failing to even cover costs. He had intended to stop after the investment and wealth management of the second half of the year ended, but he hadn't expected...

While heartbroken, he listened to his nephew's entrepreneurial history and suddenly felt... it didn't seem so heartbreaking anymore; instead, he was extremely astonished.

"1 million??"

"Three companies competing to buy your company??"

"A company established for just over three months??"

Chu Jinxiang reached out to touch his nephew's forehead; there was no fever.

Yu Xing also made a gesture to touch his uncle's forehead, laughing: "I'm the one who studied medicine."

Chu Jinxiang fell into doubt.

Yu Xing didn't offer too much explanation; he followed the same method, letting his uncle go to the study to use the computer to search for media reports.

Reports that could be seen upon a single search, backed by the credibility of the media, indeed quickly made Chu Jinxiang walk out of the study doubting life. His first sentence was: "Good heavens, how many grapes is this three months of yours equivalent to harvesting..."

His second sentence also carried the similar regret of an elder: "You studied medicine for so long, and now you're in your first year of graduate school—no, second year now, right? It just feels like a pity."

Yu Xing laughed: "My dad and mom feel the same way. Bai Jiujiu, do you think I can keep this company going?"

Chu Jinxiang was silent for a while, hesitating as he said: "Having read so many books, it is quite a pity. But if you can run the company well and not mess around... sigh, where is there such a perfect thing."

Since the matter was true, he still supported his nephew in starting a company.

Yu Xing gave an "um" and pondered: "Bai Jiujiu, I'll see what I can make of this company. If I earn more money, we won't need to get so worked up about this investment and wealth management matter. When you go back, persuade Aunt as well."

Chu Jinxiang frowned and said seriously: "Xingxing, these are two different things. Although your uncle is a grape grower, if you ask me, since you're no longer a doctor and you want to build a career, then do it well. Investment matters are investment matters; what does that have to do with you? I will make it clear to your Aunt."

He leaned back on the sofa and shook his head: "It's nothing more than continuing to grow grapes!"

Chu Jinxiang emphasized again: "Rest assured, it's just growing grapes. Your Aunt won't make a scene with you. You just do your own thing well."

He had already sensed the potential family storm.

Yu Xing did not respond to this stance and continued to speak: "Regarding Xiaoguang's work, I'll think of a way. If it doesn't work, let him come to Shanghai with me. The company is indeed short of people, but he needs to be tempered. Anyway, tell all of this to Aunt."

Upon hearing this, Chu Jinxiang's eyes lit up: "Cough, Xingxing, if you put it that way, I'm not at ease with others, but I am at ease with you. But what can he do if he goes?"

Yu Xing hadn't thought it through yet, but this wasn't a major issue. Once the company was sold, he could arrange something regardless.

He asked in a self-deprecating manner: "It's better than staying here talking about 'loyalty' all day, right? If it really doesn't work out, he can drive for me and go to a big city to broaden his horizons."

Chu Jinxiang nodded silently. His son hung out with a bunch of buddies all day, neither willing to grow grapes with him nor working properly; it would be better to go out with his nephew.

He thought left and right, then suddenly asked: "Xingxing, what car did you buy?"

Yu Xing replied: "Tailin."

Chu Jinxiang scratched his head: "Xingxing, are you serious?"

Yu Xing answered seriously: "Serious. Bai Jiujiu, in two years, Tailin will be replaced by a Mercedes-Benz."

Chu Jinxiang calculated in his heart that his son wouldn't make anything of himself in his hometown. He had admired his cousin since childhood, and now that his nephew was running a company and had achievements, it seemed better to go out no matter how he looked at it.

He nodded: "Good! I'll tell your Aunt tonight!"

Yu Xing immediately said: "Bai Jiujiu, go back and tell her now, or call Aunt over to have dinner together tonight. This Lehman matter will spread by tonight. Little Aunt, Second Bai Jiujiu, they all invested money. It seems there's also Grandpa and Grandma's retirement money. This matter cannot let them know; they are all getting on in age."

Chu Jinxiang's brow furrowed deeply, knowing how tricky this was now. His younger sister had that kind of fiery personality; if she made a scene, she would be the type to disregard everything.

He sighed: "Your Grandpa even said he would go to Datong, Shanxi, to take a look when the weather gets cooler."

Yu Xing's Grandpa was not a local; he had come here from Datong decades ago to put down roots, but he still missed his hometown.

"It will get better, everything will get better." Yu Xing could only say, "I'll strive to earn money quickly, and then I'll charter a plane to take Grandpa to see it."

Chu Jinxiang was amused.

He stood up and took out his phone: "I'll call your Aunt and talk about this matter."

Yu Xing nodded and looked at his own phone. The comforting message he had just sent to Liu Wan Ying had not received a reply, but this was not strange. Lehman's bankruptcy would be the focus of global attention, and a company like Bain would likely be significantly affected as well.

Judging from her sending him a text message the first moment she could, perhaps she still remembered the small agreement from before.

This angel investment was almost a certainty now.

Yu Xing thought and thought, deciding to comfort his future shareholder again, and sent another text message: You might as well have invested in me directly a few days ago; it would have saved everyone trouble, right?

Liu Wan Ying replied very quickly this time: Yu Xing, you will definitely succeed. You are so cold-blooded; if you don't succeed, there's no justice!

Yu Xing replied: Thanks, then will you still invest in me?

She didn't reply again.

Seeing his uncle go out to make the call, Yu Xing reached out to change the TV channel, only to find that several were reporting the latest news on Lehman's bankruptcy.

It was currently early morning in the United States, but with the largest investment bank bankruptcy in history, many had already foreseen the impending landslide and tsunami.

After Chu Jinxiang finished his call, he chatted with his nephew about the family's wealth management situation.

From January 2007 until now, except for the first time Yu Xing made the connection, the subsequent ones were actually contacted by each family themselves. Later, the two rounds of follow-up investments were just a notification, so the total scale of the wealth management funds was actually very vague.

At 3:30 PM, Chu Jinxiang's wife, Yin Peili, hurried over. As soon as she entered the door, she heard her husband and nephew chatting enthusiastically about grape cultivation.

Yin Peili smiled reluctantly: "It wasn't clear on the phone. What's wrong with the wealth management? How could there be a problem?"

Chu Jinxiang briefly explained the matter.

Halfway through hearing it, Yin Peili's face changed, but she still insisted on listening to the end.

Chu Jinxiang subsequently talked about his nephew's entrepreneurship and his son's work.

After listening, Yin Peili didn't express a stance; there was no smile on her face, and her eyes were full of doubt.

Clearly, she couldn't accept the sudden situation and her nephew's so-called startup company.

This was the third time the computer in the study had undertaken the task of answering, but unlike the first two times, Chu Jinxiang and Yin Peili spent quite a while inside before coming out, and Yu Xing faintly heard their argument in the living room.

"Aunt, the matter has already happened; no one wants to see this situation." Yu Xing stated his position, "My company is doing okay now. Although it's not profitable yet, the future is good, and investors are optimistic about the new project. As for Xiaoguang, I'm thinking of letting him follow me first so he can plan for a good development in the future."

Yin Peili's expression was still somewhat reluctant, but who should this matter be blamed on...

In fact, for the past few days, she had been instigated by her sister-in-law, who felt something was amiss, to call her nephew, but she never did.

At that time, she felt that if something really went wrong, the one who should be held accountable was the swindler, not the family.

It was just that something had indeed gone wrong now...

The blow of wealth loss was heavier than imagined and completely shattered any wishful thinking.

Yin Peili adjusted her mood and still said reluctantly: "Yes, Xiaoguang does need to do proper work. He has listened to you since he was a child. This company of yours, this company... sigh..."

She couldn't continue halfway through and sighed deeply.

"Xingxing, your Aunt and I are going out for a walk. We'll continue to chat about that Japanese grape you mentioned tonight." Chu Jinxiang wanted to talk more with his wife, but he also couldn't forget the grape variety his nephew mentioned earlier.

Yu Xing made an "OK" gesture. Just as the couple Chu Jinxiang and Yin Peili were communicating outside, some had already received calls from Yu Guosheng and Chu Qiying, and some had received news of the big movement in the US, all rushing to the eldest's home.

At 5:00 PM, before the Yu Guosheng couple arrived home, Yu Xing had already received three batches of blood relatives.

If it were "before," he would be very confused, because there were even quite distant relatives visiting, elders who didn't even visit much during the New Year, but this time... it was considered familiar.

Pouring tea, handing out cigarettes, stating positions.

First, their own family had also invested money, and if something went wrong, it was money down the drain.

Second, he had not gained any extra profit from it, and he was currently unclear about Yu Xuhui's situation in the US.

Finally, he suggested reporting to the police together to see if the law could be used to punish the swindler.

By the time Yu Guosheng hurried home, the temporary ashtray on the coffee table already had many cigarette butts, there were quite a few disposable tea cups on the table, and the chairs were scattered about.

"Everyone is here." Yu Guosheng looked at the situation at home and felt some regret. If he had known that the thunder would explode today, he wouldn't have gone to work, so as to avoid his son facing the situation alone.

But the next moment, a sense of comfort welled up in his heart; the situation didn't seem to be out of control, and his son had held steady.

This was probably...

A thought inexplicably popped into Yu Guosheng's mind: was this probably President Yu?

"Big Brother, I heard from Xingxing that Zhenpeng and the others have been here before." Yu family's second son, Yu Jiacheng, had a somewhat heavy expression, "They have already gone to report to the police. I'm thinking we should go tomorrow."

Yu Guosheng nodded; reporting to the police was following the formal process.

However, he was not optimistic about the effect of this measure. He had already chatted a lot with his son last night; the situation was even worse than imagined. Perhaps Yu Xuhui had really managed wealth initially, but later, the fake portion probably occupied an increasingly large share.

This was not a very clever scam.

It was just that if greed arose in the human heart, the scam didn't need to be very clever to be effective.

Yu Guosheng looked at his younger brother Yu Jiacheng, then at his brother-in-law Chu Jinxiang's family, and his own cousin Yu Wenheng, and said seriously: "On the way back, I already made a call to the Economic Investigation Department. Tomorrow, we will register first, and then see if we can pursue..."

Before he finished speaking, a boisterous voice had already come in from the hallway.

"Sister, how do you expect me to stay calm!"

"I even sold my house! Why didn't you stop me before!"

"Where do I live? The money is gone, where do I live?!"

This voice made everyone in the living room frown.

Soon, Chu Qiying followed her younger sister Chu Jin Hui's footsteps back home.

Seeing so many people at home, she had to raise her voice a little: "Jin Hui! This matter can't be rushed; everyone calm down first!"

However, Chu Jin Hui had been the youngest child in the family since she was small and had a fiery personality; she couldn't control her emotions at all: "Calm down, calm down, how can I calm down? You didn't sell your house, you have no worries about food and clothing, what about me!"

Yu Xing said at this time: "Little Aunt, if you are short of food or clothing, just tell me."

"Xingxing, I called you, I asked you about that Yu Xuhui, why didn't you say anything!" Chu Jin Hui was both panicked and angry, "I called you, why didn't you give me his number!"

Yu Xing was very helpless: "I really don't have it."

Chu Jin Hui questioned: "Wasn't he introduced to us by you? Wasn't he your senior? How could you not have it? Are you still trying to shield him at this point?"

Yu Xing heard words similar to "before" and sighed: "Little Aunt, I am also a victim. My dad, my mom, my uncle, my uncle and aunt, my cousin, including you, everyone is a victim. No one wants to lose money, everyone wants to punish the swindler. What reason do I have to shield someone who swindled me?"

Chu Jin Hui glared at her nephew who was speaking with such conviction: "Then why did you bring this person over in the first place?"

She turned her head to question her own sister: "Big Sister, it was your son who said his senior was reliable! Big Sister, I put my house into this! And Grandpa and Grandma's money! Aren't you going to give me an explanation?"

Chu Jinxiang couldn't listen anymore and pinched out the cigarette in his hand: "You took Grandpa and Grandma's money to do this; did you discuss it with us? And you still have the nerve to talk!"

Chu Jin Hui retorted: "Discuss what? Didn't you invest? If I discussed it, would you have disagreed? Didn't you invest? I'm asking you!"

Chu Jinxiang's wife, Yin Peili, after a long talk with her husband, had already determined where the battle line was. Seeing her sister-in-law's arrogance, she couldn't help but retort: "Jin Hui, that's not how you put it. You took Grandpa and Grandma's money to manage wealth together; were you thinking of managing it for them, or were you thinking of splitting the money earned? When you moved that money, did you say a single word?"

These words were quite piercing.

Hearing her sister-in-law's words, Chu Jin Hui pointed a finger: "Who has been asking me every day these past few days, asking me to come up with ideas every day, who??"

Yin Peili refused to accept: "It was asking you for ideas, not asking you to point your gun at your own family!"

The argument in the living room became more and more intense. Watching this scene and listening to their voices, Chu Qiying felt a headache; one was the youngest sister who had been spoiled since childhood, and the other was a sister-in-law with a tough personality.

Watching this situation and seeing his mother's heartbroken and embarrassed expression, Yu Xing said loudly: "Enough! Stop arguing!"

Hearing her nephew's voice, Chu Jin Hui turned her head and said angrily: "I am your aunt! Is this how you talk to your elders!"

Yu Xing's second uncle, Yu Jiacheng, had been silent, but he wasn't happy hearing this. He said in a deep voice: "Jin Hui, don't be unreasonable like this. Go to the bureau to register tomorrow."

Chu Jin Hui was just about to speak when she heard her brother's voice.

Yu Xing's uncle, Chu Jinxiang, also protected his nephew: "Don't be like this towards Xingxing; what he said is very reasonable! You are an elder, and you know you are his aunt; what are you shouting for? Who hasn't suffered a loss? What are you shouting for?"

Yu Xing's cousin, Yu Wenheng, also said: "Chu Jin Hui, that's enough. There's no conclusion to this matter yet; perhaps in a while, the police will recover the losses."

Chu Jin Hui listened to this and then the next, and looking at Chu Qiying and Yu Guosheng's serious expressions, she turned to leave: "I'm going to find Dad!"

Chu Jinxiang took a step forward and locked the door: "What are you going to find him for! If you dare to tell Dad about this today, don't recognize me as your brother in the future!"

Chu Jin Hui said angrily: "I won't recognize you..."

Chu Qiying's calm voice sounded: "Don't recognize your sister either."

Chu Jin Hui glared at her sister.

Yu Guosheng let out a breath, using both soft and hard tactics: "Jin Hui, if you are like this, when the Economic Investigation Department recovers part of the losses later, don't say I'm your brother-in-law."

Chu Jin Hui's expression changed abruptly.

Could the losses still be recovered? Part of the losses would be fine, but how would they be distributed?

She looked at her big sister and second brother, then at her brother-in-law, and saw Yu Jiacheng and Yu Wenheng were both staring at her.

"You don't feel the pain in your hearts; I even lost my house! Where do I live? Xiaode isn't your nephew! You can just watch him sleep on the street!" Chu Jin Hui's voice was lower, but she was still angry.

Chu Jinxiang said loudly: "You live at Big Sister's on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and at my place on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On Sunday, you stay in the fields and watch the grape vines for me! Where can't you live! Xiaode's tuition and living expenses, I won't be short of a single cent for you!"

Yu Guosheng felt the softening of the attitude and added: "Jin Hui, this period is the golden period for recovery. We still have to trust the organization. When the money is recovered, I'll let you be the first to collect it!"

Listening to these words and looking at the expressions of the people around, feeling their consistent attitude and stance, Chu Jin Hui closed her eyes, pulled away her brother's hand, and walked out with her head down.

Chu Jinxiang asked: "Where are you going!"

Chu Jin Hui didn't look back and said muffledly: "Going back to cook for the kids!"

Chu Jinxiang was still worried and urged: "Don't talk nonsense when you go back! Bring Xiaode to my place tomorrow!"

After a long time, a faint response came from outside.

"Got it!"

Yu Xing breathed a sigh of relief, took out his cigarette case, handed them around to his second uncle, cousin, uncle, and father, and then lit one himself.

Although there was a small argument, it was much better than the heartbreaking mess.

Chu Qiying watched her son handing out cigarettes and didn't stop him, letting this group of men puff away in the living room. When trouble struck, the small family had two pillars, the relationship among everyone was maintained, and the parents' side could be temporarily kept in the dark...

Thinking again of her son's achievements in the company, this situation gave her a hope to hold onto in her heart.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 65 =====