Chapter 116: Daring to Humiliate President Chen?

“Group? Huading Group?” Chen Yang immediately frowned and asked.

In fact, Chen Yang was quite surprised to hear that Huading Group was having problems. After all, in his eyes, Huading Group had always been a perfect entity. What kind of problem could they possibly have?

“You tell me,” Chen Yang said seriously, without beating around the bush. If there’s a problem, solve it—there’s no need to hesitate.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Qianyao, looking solemn, paused thoughtfully before suddenly expressing embarrassment: “To be honest, this might be a bad debt.”

“A bad debt? Go on,” Chen Yang replied calmly.

“Here’s the situation. Before you invested in Huading Group, the company went through a period of crisis. That crisis was caused by this bad debt.”

“This bad debt came about because I was too impatient back then. In urgent need of funds to ease the company’s financial crisis, I borrowed fifty million yuan from a man named Gao Song in the provincial capital, using five villas under the company’s name as collateral.”

“This Gao Song is a sworn brother of Xu Tianmeng from the provincial capital. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Xu Tianmeng, but he’s a dominant figure in the underground forces there. Many businessmen fear him and usually show him respect, trying to stay on his good side and rarely provoke him.”

“As for that fifty million loan, we originally agreed it would be repaid in a year with ten million yuan in interest. But after a year, the value of the five villas had appreciated significantly, nearly enough to cover the ten million in interest. So I suggested using the villas’ increased value to offset the interest.”

“But Gao Song refused. He insisted the villas be valued at their price from a year ago, saying the appreciation shouldn’t count.”

“Because he answers to Xu Tianmeng, I didn’t press the matter too hard and negotiated with him, but he was very firm and wouldn’t budge. As a result, this bad debt dragged on for a year. According to Gao Song’s calculations, the interest ballooned to fifty million yuan.”

“Last night, Gao Song called again demanding the money, asking for one hundred million yuan including principal and interest. I tried reasoning with him, but it was useless. He even invoked Xu Tianmeng to pressure me.”

“Mr. Chen, I really have no choice, so I’m calling you to discuss this. If it were a minor issue, I could handle it alone.”

Chen Yang had listened attentively to every word Lin Qianyao said and quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.

In reality, this bad debt was a straightforward dispute between Lin Qianyao and Gao Song.

However, there was a key figure behind the dispute. If that person could be dealt with, the debt issue would be much easier to resolve.

Chen Yang’s analysis identified that crucial figure as none other than Xu Tianmeng.

Gao Song’s arrogance stemmed solely from Xu Tianmeng backing him.

If Xu Tianmeng stepped in and told Gao Song not to be too unreasonable, Gao Song wouldn’t dare push too far.

The focus of the problem was undoubtedly Xu Tianmeng.

Chen Yang didn’t know much about Xu Tianmeng, and he was even less familiar with the underground forces in the provincial capital.

Intent on learning more, Chen Yang asked seriously into the phone, “Who exactly is this Xu Tianmeng? Is he powerful?”

Lin Qianyao squinted, his expression grave: “He’s the boss of the underground forces in the provincial capital. He deals in both legitimate and illegitimate businesses. Basically, anyone doing business there respects him. Xu Tianmeng is truly a formidable figure.”

“If you were to compare the Yu family to Xu Tianmeng, who’s stronger?” Chen Yang suddenly asked with a smile.

Lin Qianyao gave a helpless chuckle: “Mr. Chen, aren’t you joking at a time like this?”

“I’m not joking. I’m serious. I just want to understand Xu Tianmeng’s strength,” Chen Yang said earnestly.

Lin Qianyao smiled wryly again before replying seriously, “If we really compare the Yu family to Xu Tianmeng, the Yu family is slightly inferior.”

“Is that so? Then Xu Tianmeng really does have power,” Chen Yang said in astonishment.

Lin Qianyao nodded solemnly: “If Gao Song didn’t have Xu Tianmeng backing him, what kind of man would he be?”

Chen Yang narrowed his eyes, nodded, and smiled thoughtfully before suddenly opening his eyes wide and laughing: “Mr. Lin, tell me, if I were to conquer Xu Tianmeng, wouldn’t no one in the provincial capital dare to trouble me anymore?”

Lin Qianyao trembled all over upon hearing this.

What did Chen Yang just say? He wanted to conquer Xu Tianmeng? Lin Qianyao bit his lip, his mind spinning. He wasn’t sure if Chen Yang was serious or joking.

After a confused silence of three seconds, Lin Qianyao asked, “Mr. Chen, you really want to conquer Xu Tianmeng?”

“Yes. Is that unrealistic?” Chen Yang squinted.

Lin Qianyao replied softly, “In practice, it would be a bit difficult.”

“Since this is a bad debt, it has to be negotiated properly. Arrange a meeting with Gao Song tonight. I’ll speak to him as the chairman of Huading Group,” Chen Yang suddenly said.

Lin Qianyao thought this was feasible. After all, having Chen Yang, a fresh face, negotiate with Gao Song might produce a different outcome. He readily agreed, “Alright, Mr. Chen, I’ll arrange it tonight.”

“Good.”

Chen Yang smiled and nodded, then hung up the phone.

After ending the call with Lin Qianyao, Chen Yang exhaled deeply, thinking to himself that lately, troubles had indeed been piling up. But if he could really conquer Xu Tianmeng, would the troubles stop?

At ten in the morning, Chen Yang drove off to the provincial capital.

It took only two and a half hours, and by half past noon, Chen Yang arrived at Lin Qianyao’s office.

As Chen Yang entered the office, Lin Qianyao immediately stood from his chair, surprised: “Mr. Chen, you’re here.”

“Please, have a seat,” Chen Yang said, gesturing for Lin Qianyao to sit.

Lin Qianyao furrowed his brow slightly but sat back down. He felt guilty that Mr. Chen had to come all this way for such a matter and smiled wryly: “Sorry, Mr. Chen, for making you come over for something like this.”

“No problem. It’s also a good opportunity for me to grow,” Chen Yang replied with a smile.

Lin Qianyao nodded with a bitter smile.

Just then, Chen Yang curiously asked, “By the way, have you contacted Gao Song about tonight?”

“Yes, he’s willing to talk,” Lin Qianyao replied seriously.

“Good. Then let’s go and have a proper conversation with him tonight. I want to see just how tough he really is,” Chen Yang said with a faint smile.

Lin Qianyao smiled bitterly again and, seeing it was noon, quickly said, “Right, Mr. Chen, it’s lunchtime. Let’s go get some food.”

“Forget the restaurant. Let’s eat at the company cafeteria,” Chen Yang said lightly.

“The cafeteria?” Lin Qianyao looked surprised. He certainly didn’t expect Chen Yang to want such a simple meal.

“Come on,” Chen Yang urged when he saw Lin Qianyao’s disbelief.

Lin Qianyao nodded quickly, “Alright, alright, let’s go.”

He immediately stood up, walked over to Chen Yang, and said, “Mr. Chen, let’s go.”

“Let’s go,” Chen Yang replied calmly.

Chen Yang stayed in Lin Qianyao’s office until five thirty in the evening. During the day, Lin Qianyao also showed him around the company’s floors.

At five thirty, it was time for the meeting with Gao Song.

When the time came, Chen Yang and Lin Qianyao went downstairs and drove to Xiao Nanjiang Restaurant.

The meeting place was chosen by Gao Song.

They entered private room 209 on the second floor, only to find three young men inside, all with a rough and roguish air.

One sat in the middle, smoking, with medium-length hair and a two-centimeter vertical scar on his right cheek—clearly the leader.

He looked at Lin Qianyao with a disdainful smile and slowly stood up.

“Where’s Gao Song?” Lin Qianyao asked directly.

The young man sneered, “Master Song has other matters. You can talk to me today.”

Lin Qianyao frowned deeply. He wasn’t a fool—he could tell Gao Song was deliberately avoiding him, trying to spite him.

Bang!

Just as Lin Qianyao felt at a loss, Chen Yang suddenly overturned the round table, scattering cups and chopsticks across the floor.

Lin Qianyao was shocked by this, and the three young men’s expressions instantly changed.

The private room floor was immediately in chaos.

The medium-haired young man was furious at Chen Yang’s actions and pointed his right index finger at Chen Yang’s nose: “Don’t you have enough trouble already?”

“Tell Gao Song to come here, or you’ll all be crippled,” Chen Yang said coldly.

The young man ignored Chen Yang, took out his phone, dialed a number, and sneered at Chen Yang, “If you’ve got guts, don’t leave. Today, this grudge is settled.”