Chapter 43: Mr. Xu, It's Time to Repay Your Debt
At this moment, Xu Fugui felt a surge of heroic grandeur, as if he were a general commanding his troops from the central tent, strategizing with supreme confidence.
I truly live up to my role as the leader of the Young Masters’ Alliance. With just a single command, I can unite the five great families as one. Su Group, this time you are doomed! If you don’t want to end up losing everything, your only option is to dress up Su Qianqian beautifully and send her to me to beg for peace—ha ha ha!
Lu Ye, my apologies! The world is just this unfair. What can I say? I was born with wealth and power. I can do as I please, even if it means taking your wife!
Lost in his own glorious fantasies, Xu Fugui could not extricate himself. Brimming with self-assurance, he called his assistant with a smile. “So? Has Su Group taken the bait?”
The assistant sounded a bit perplexed. “Young Master Xu, there’s something quite baffling…”
Xu Fugui paused, suddenly uneasy. Could something have gone wrong? “What is it?”
The assistant replied, “All the businesses under Su Group, except for those involved in the Jiangbei District development project, have closed down and suspended operations!”
Was Su Shiming planning to avoid confrontation? Given the current situation, suspending business was the only way to minimize losses. Was he hoping to wait out the storm and resume operations later?
Thinking of this, Xu Fugui laughed. “It’s useless for him to do that. If they stay closed, all their clients and partners will be snatched up by the five great families!”
The assistant continued, “Not only that, but Su Group is planning to hold an annual gala in three days, inviting all their clients and partners to attend.”
Xu Fugui was stunned… An annual gala? In the midst of this crisis, Su Group still has the mood to throw a party?
“Young Master Xu, someone just delivered an invitation at the door, inviting you to Su Group’s annual gala at 8 p.m. three days from now.”
What the hell? If you want to hold an annual gala, fine, but why invite me, the mastermind behind your predicament?
“All right, I understand.”
During the first three days of the siege on Su Group…
The Zhang, Lin, and Yang families had been half-heartedly running promotions on some insignificant businesses. In contrast, the Sun and Huang families had squandered vast sums, making countless promises to the public, only to receive little more than a chorus of “Thank you, boss” from merchants and customers.
This much-anticipated blow, meant to strike at Su Group, landed squarely on empty air, having no intimidating effect whatsoever.
Why on earth did you pick these days to hold your gala? Xu Fugui was utterly exasperated!
Nor was he alone; the other scions from the Young Masters’ Alliance also received invitations.
Thus, at eight o’clock that evening, they all arrived at Su Group, curious to see what kind of trick Su Group was playing.
Below the main building of Su Group, the open plaza had already been transformed into a venue for the annual gala, with the festivities and banquet proceeding simultaneously.
Huang Shaojun, scion of the Huang family, joined their table and was surprised to find Xu Fugui had arrived even earlier than he had. “Young Master Xu, you’re here too.”
“Yes. I have a feeling Su Group is acting a bit strange tonight,” said Xu Fugui.
Huang Shaojun frowned. “Even if they throw a gala, it’ll only buy them three days at most. Tomorrow, they’ll still have to face us, won’t they?”
Xu Fugui nodded. “Exactly, which is why it feels so off.”
At precisely eight o’clock, the lights at the gala suddenly went out, and several spotlights converged on center stage.
To the astonishment of the crowd, Lu Ye, dressed in a sharp suit, swaggered onto the stage and waved flamboyantly to the thousands of Su Group employees, partners, and guests below.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend Su Group’s Annual Gala. I am Lu Ye, the current Vice Chairman of Su Group.”
The audience erupted in an uproar!
Lu Ye? The Su family’s live-in son-in-law? Wasn’t he just a security guard at Yi Ren Group? How had he become Vice Chairman of Su Group? And where was Su Shiming?
“Ladies and gentlemen, my father- and mother-in-law are currently vacationing on an island somewhere in the Pacific. Having devoted decades of hard work to Su Group, it’s about time they enjoyed a well-deserved break.
“So, I’ll be hosting tonight’s gala. And, rather than spouting grandiose words, let’s get straight to the point and show our appreciation for our loyal partners with real, tangible rewards!”
Xihua Door Industry: year-end bonus, 17 million.
Xiyang Sanitation: year-end bonus, 36.6 million.
Chengfeng Real Estate: year-end bonus, 88 million.
Nearly every business under Su Group was granting year-end bonuses double those of previous years!
Futai, Kangtai, and Hetai shopping centers: all merchants would receive a 50% rent reduction for a year, and there would be a storewide 50% promotional discount for three months, with Su Group covering all costs.
The generosity of these three shopping centers instantly outmatched anything the Sun Group could muster!
Additionally, all Su Group employees would receive year-end bonuses multiplied by five!
A massive raffle was also held at the gala…
Third prize: Huawei P30 phones, 3,000 units.
Second prize: Audi A4L, 100 cars.
First prize: Mercedes S600, 10 cars.
Grand prize: A luxury Pearl Seaview Villa, one unit.
Wow!
Damn, what a lavish display! Leaving aside the rest, even the cheapest seaview villa in Pearl City was worth no less than 20 million!
Every invitation contained a raffle number, meaning everyone present had a shot at overnight riches.
The audience broke into thunderous cheers: “Long live President Lu! Long live President Lu!”
At Xu Fugui’s table, the young scions were all dumbfounded!
Huang Shaojun exclaimed, “No way, is Su Group really this rich? Our Huang family couldn’t begin to play at this level!”
Sun Tongwei from the Sun family wailed, “Damn, our shopping centers gave all merchants half a year’s rent reduction and storewide 30% off for a month, and that’s already stretched us to the limit. With what Su Group just did, our last three days of effort have basically been a total loss.”
Even Xu Fugui himself couldn’t help but click his tongue. Never mind the Sun and Huang families—even his own capital in the Xu family in the capital couldn’t withstand such extravagance. Just how much money did Su Group have to burn?
Damn it, the answer was obvious: the Jiangbei District development project!
Together with Yi Ren Group’s construction team, building materials, and decoration businesses, Su Group had raked in massive profits from everything related to construction!
Counting the bank loans, they had likely siphoned off at least 20 billion from Xu Fugui alone. Su Group’s liquid assets were probably greater than the Xu family’s in the capital. No wonder they were so flush with cash!
Never mind that only two of the five families had truly aligned with Xu Fugui—even if all five united against Su Group, it wasn’t certain they would win!
On the surface, it looked like the Zhang, Lin, and Yang families were secretly assisting Lu Ye. In truth, Lu Ye was simply looking out for his allied families, not wanting them to suffer undue losses…
On stage, Lu Ye suddenly grinned. “Number 1066, Xu Fugui, congratulations! You’ve won a Huawei P30 phone!”
Xu Fugui froze, then trudged up to the stage with a miserable expression to claim his prize.
Lu Ye plucked a phone box from the prize table and, speaking loudly into the microphone, said, “Didn’t you break your phone a few days ago, Young Master Xu, and complain you couldn’t afford a new one? Winning a new phone should make you happy!”
The audience erupted in laughter…
Everyone thought, President Lu, you sure know how to joke! A scion of the Xu family in the capital, short on cash for a phone? Impossible!
Just then, Lin Zhongze suddenly stormed the stage with a group of men, grabbing Xu Fugui by the collar.
“Young Master Xu, your three-day grace period is up. Isn’t it time to pay your debt?”
He was, of course, referring to the one-billion lost in the ring contest. There was no way Xu Fugui could deny it; the contract was in black and white, stamped and sealed!
And Lin Zhongze was not really a businessman at heart—he was a gangland boss! He had no fear of so-called business reprisals from the capital’s Xu family.
A hush instantly fell over the crowd…
No way, Young Master Xu owed money to Lin Zhongze? Was it possible he was really so broke he couldn’t afford a new phone?
No one was more shaken than the Sun and Huang family scions. To help Xu Fugui, they had thrown their entire family fortunes into a price war against Su Group!
So you were just bluffing behind the name of the capital’s Xu family, but you yourself are nothing but a paper tiger?
Xu Fugui wanted to cry but the tears wouldn’t come!
With Lin Zhongze pressing him for the debt, Xu Fugui’s gaze darted toward Su Qianqian in the VIP seats, as if he’d spotted his savior.
“Qianqian, didn’t you already start the presale for the Jiangbei District apartments?”
“Hurry up and pay me back!”