Chapter 143: Fierce Battle in the Stock Market (3)

Hearing what Tan Xue said, Old Xie smiled warmly, "If you have something to say, just say it. Between us, you shouldn't be so formal. Tell me whatever is on your mind. It wouldn't be right if you treated me like an outsider."

"Then let me thank you in advance. The situation is that the construction of our Aerospace Building has entered the final finishing stage, which you probably already know. However, Yinlong is currently facing some difficulties with a funding gap. I was wondering if President Xie could consider extending an additional loan?" Tan Xue had no patience for pleasantries and cut straight to the chase regarding her purpose.

"Oh, is that so?" The smile vanished from Old Xie's face as he turned to her with a troubled expression. "Little Xue, you know our bank has already lent quite a bit for the Aerospace Building. While the initial loan was manageable, approving an additional one is rather difficult." Scratching his balding head, Old Xie put on a heavily distressed look.

"President Xie, I know I'm causing you trouble, but could you please discuss it further? If at all possible, I would greatly appreciate your help." Tan Xue had never begged anyone before; this was already the most humble she had ever spoken. Seeing Old Xie's attitude, she wanted to push a little further, hoping to make it happen.

"This..." Old Xie muttered hesitatingly. "Well, I'll do my best. I'll bring it up at a meeting for discussion. You know this isn't something I can decide on my own. Why don't you go back and wait for my call?"

"Alright then. Please let me know if there is any news." Even with her limited experience, Tan Xue knew what such an excuse meant, so she took her leave.

She then visited several other banks, receiving almost identical responses, which made the young lady stomp her foot in frustration before returning to Yinlong.

"What's wrong with you? Who upset my wife?" Chu Dong asked when he saw Tan Xue in the cafeteria. She was taking her anger out on her food, poking her small spoon back and forth across the vegetables.

"None of your business." Tan Xue had originally intended to reply, but hearing him call her his wife made her swallow her words again.

"Is the food not to your liking?" Chu Dong placed his own tray in front of Tan Xue, picked up his chopsticks to taste a piece of vegetable from her plate, and was promptly swatted away by her small spoon.

"It's not like you don't have your own. Why eat mine?" She curved her arm around her plate to guard her food. "I'm annoyed, so don't provoke me, or you'll regret it."

"Regret it?" Chu Dong sat down across from her. Earlier, when the young miss had looked like she held a personal grudge against her meal, no one had dared to approach her to make trouble, leaving her surrounded by empty seats. "In all my years, I've only regretted one thing."

"What's that?" Tan Xue's interest was piqued.

"Regretting that I didn't snap you up when we were kids and left you to grow your own stubborn mind." Chu Dong sighed with deep remorse.

"You jerk!" Tan Xue had been listening attentively, but upon hearing this, she grabbed her small spoon and chased Chu Dong as he carried his food tray around the cafeteria several times.

The Yinlong cafeteria was quite spacious; four or five hundred square meters was more than enough for Chu Dong to evade her. The dining employees watched in stunned silence as their two top executives chased each other around like children.

Unable to catch Chu Dong, Tan Xue finally abandoned her spoon, dropped it onto the table in a huff, and stormed off angrily.

"Ahem... Why isn't anyone eating? Is it not to your taste?" Chu Dong ran several more laps with his tray, spilling most of his soup. Seeing everyone frozen in place and staring at him, he asked the crowd as if nothing had happened.

"No, no, it's delicious. Everyone eat, go ahead and eat." Prompted by someone's voice, the employees finally snapped back to reality.

Back in his office, Chu Dong closed his eyes to rest for a moment. The stock market fluctuations today had been minimal, which Chu Dong felt was somewhat abnormal, but he didn't have the luxury of time to ponder why. Rapidly "raising" funds was the safest course of action, so the entire morning had been spent in intense tension.

He had barely rested for long when the internal desk phone rang. Pressing the speakerphone button, Xie Yaomei's voice came through.

"President, President Xie just called saying he wants to discuss the matter regarding the loan. Miss Tan isn't here. What do you think—"

"Put it through."

"Alright, please hold."

A moment later, the call was connected.

"President Xie, what can I do for you?" Chu Dong feared nothing else at the moment quite as much as calls pressing for loan repayments.

"Ha-ha, Brother Chu, here is the situation: Little Xue came by my place this morning to discuss extending the loan and applying for a secondary one. I looked into it over lunch, and although it was ultimately approved, the interest rate will have to be slightly higher. Look, I really did my best here." Old Xie's phrasing was artful; on the one hand, he portrayed himself as having actively fought for the loan, while on the other hand, he highlighted current difficulties. In short, not only did he want to raise the interest rate, but he also wanted some kickbacks.

"Oh, is that so? Well, thank you very much, President Xie. Xue'er isn't here right now, but I'll let her know as soon as she returns, and we will certainly thank you in person when we have the time." Chu Dong avoided making a firm commitment, leaving himself some room to maneuver before hanging up.

Before Chu Dong could carefully ponder what might be going on behind this, calls came in one after another. They were all from the banks Tan Xue had visited that morning, and almost without exception, they all called back to say that additional loans could be granted, with some even offering their services proactively.

Once the phone finally quieted down, a wicked smile played at the corner of Chu Dong's mouth. "Trying to play dirty with me? Not that easy."

He immediately called Tan Xue to brief her on what had happened. The young lady was exceptionally excited, feeling she had finally accomplished a major task, and proudly demonstrated her triumph to Chu Dong. "Well? Aren't I amazing? I solved your urgent crisis in just a single morning. Tell me, how are you going to thank me?"

"Thank you?" Chu Dong feigned ignorance, then acted as though he had suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I certainly need to thank you. If you hadn't made this trip, I wouldn't have known why they were behaving so quietly today. It turns out they were just waiting for our loans to be finalized before making their move. It seems the time they've left us has been extended a bit further."

"What are you talking about, behaving quietly or not?" Tan Xue had no idea what he was talking about.

"Never mind that. Here is what you'll do: keep making the rounds over the next two days, but under no circumstances should you finalize any of the loans, you hear me? Do not finalize them. Find reasons, make excuses, or even haggle over the price or demand interest-free loans—anything works as long as you don't sign the loan agreements. Remember this strictly." Now that Chu Dong understood what was happening, he was terrified that Tan Xue might act on impulse and actually secure the loans, so he repeatedly admonished her.

"Why? Aren't we short on money? Why wouldn't we take loans when they're offering them?" Tan Xue insisted on getting a clear explanation.

"It's a trap, but we can turn the tables and buy ourselves some time." Chu Dong explained the sequence of events to her and finally instructed, "Remember, under no circumstances can you take out the loans, but you must still give them the impression that we are desperately in need of funds. Xue'er, you are a crucial link in this chain, and I'm counting on you for good news."

Hearing Chu Dong speak this way puffed Tan Xue up with pride. "Hmph, finally realized my importance, haven't you? When it counts, it still takes me to save the day."

"Indeed. Even the Queen Mother of the West holding her immortal peach banquet would have to wait for a dish like you." Chu Dong went along with her remark to flatter her.

"Good that you know." Tan Xue was immensely pleased, though she immediately registered the double meaning. "What dish? Did you just call me a dish? You better explain yourself—"

Chu Dong had already hung up the phone; otherwise, there was no telling when this little tigress's temper tantrum would end.

Tan Xue had been angry at noon and gone home, but now, after receiving Chu Dong's call, her mood was much improved. She dug her phone out of her small bag, lay on her bed, and contacted the banks one by one. "President Zhao? Ah, it's me, Tan Xue. By the way, how much was the loan you mentioned you could offer? Oh, three hundred million? That seems a bit insufficient. President Liu said five hundred million would be no problem at all. Your amount is too low; you should know that getting a loan from any bank is pretty much the same to us... Mhm, mhm, the interest rate is a bit high. I do need money right now, but your rate is way higher than others'... Well then, think it over first and let me know if there's any news. Yes, this number will do. Alright, goodbye."

As soon as one call finished, she dialed another bank. "Director Wu? Yes, it's Tan Xue..."

Tan Xue's phone calls kept ringing one after another. Wang Dongliang was not idle either; upon hearing that Tan Xue was in such a rush, a smile spread across his face, and he instructed those connected banks to hold their ground, adding that he would thank them individually in due time.

When Luke Hans received Wang Dongliang's report, he was equally pleased. Normally, he would disdain engaging in such petty maneuvers, but when it came to dealing with Chu Dong, he felt any measure was fully justified.

In the afternoon, Chu Dong appeared in George and his team's office. Everyone inside was waiting for Chu Dong to give his orders, yet not a single face held any joy.

Ever since its founding, the Sturgeon Fund had roamed like a phantom across the world's financial markets, dominating everywhere it went. When had they ever suffered such indignity, working themselves to the bone like madmen over pocket change? Even when facing formidable opponents, they had never taken them lightly.

As the leader, Chu Dong naturally noticed the shift in everyone's mood. With his hands behind his back, he didn't issue any commands immediately; instead, he struck up a casual conversation.

"Partners, we are currently faced with two choices: either fight Luke Hans of Heng Hai to the death right now, or endure this temporarily to build up our foundation and prepare for a real war. Naturally, the former would be heroic, while the latter offers better odds of success. However, I am leaving the choice to you all. Because we have never suffered the humiliation of someone riding roughshod over our doorstep—we have always been the ones bullying others. Since when is it our turn to let a mad dog into the house without hitting back?" Chu Dong smiled gently. "If you feel aggrieved, we can play a round with him. Even if we fail, it will serve as another learning experience. I truly cannot bear to suppress your spirits."

"Boss..." George was practically moved to tears. It was too touching; purely for the sake of his team's morale, the boss was willing to gamble Yinlong just for the thrill, sparing no expense of billions simply to let his employees vent their frustrations.

"Boss, we can endure it." George understood Chu Dong wasn't just talking empty words or saying it merely to make them feel good—he was entirely capable of doing it.

Looking across the entire world, Chu Dong was perhaps the only person with such boundless audacity who dared to speak like that.

"We can endure it," everyone declared firmly.

"Very well. May we step over one miracle to create another. Our target for this afternoon: five hundred million. Brothers, let's go to work!" Blood surging with passion in his chest, Chu Dong waved his hand and led his multi-millionaire brothers into the tense and bustling afternoon.