Chapter 146: A Turn for the Better

Modern information dissemination systems do not merely transmit news with lightning speed; they broadcast it to thousands of households almost simultaneously. Chu Dong’s promise on behalf of Silver Dragon spread across the vast expanse of China as if it had grown wings.

"Damn, this kid thinks he's quite the character. Is he bored of living comfortably and looking for trouble?" Wang Dongliang felt a mix of surprise and mockery upon seeing the news. However, he quickly reacted, "Since he wants to honor his commitment to Silver Dragon's stock, we'll buy it up. When the time comes to redeem it, we'll bleed him dry."

The bank representatives arrived at Silver Dragon’s headquarters as scheduled. Chu Dong arranged for them to wait in the conference room, and it was past ten o'clock before he finally made a tardy appearance.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. I've been genuinely swamped lately, hence the delay. My apologies," Chu Dong said with a smile, looking as though these people had come not to demand money, but as guests offering congratulations.

"President Chu, you surely know why we are here. We are all deeply saddened by the incident with the Aerospace Building, but our duties dictate that we must prioritize the interests of the bank first. I hope you understand," said President Liu of the China Construction Bank, taking the lead.

"Understandable, entirely understandable. It's only human nature, how could I not? If I were in your shoes, I would do the exact same thing. Please don't be so formal," Chu Dong replied, radiating warmth and showing not a single trace of displeasure.

Old Xie chimed in to stir the pot, "Quite right, quite right! Our young friend here is truly a man of exceptional breadth. I said it before, Young Chu is an elite among men, and he certainly wouldn't leave us hanging. So, tell us, when can we expect to get our money?"

Chu Dong walked over to the head of the conference table, sat down, and pulled a checkbook from his pocket. Xie Yaomei handed him a fountain pen. Taking it in his hand, Chu Dong looked up at Old Xie and asked, "You are President Xie, correct? What is Silver Dragon's total loan amount with your institution?"

"The Aerospace Building project was five hundred million, and there was another hundred million previously..." A sheepish smile crept onto Old Xie's face.

"Yaomei, calculate the principal and interest, and fill in the amount." Chu Dong swiftly signed the check, tore it off, and handed it to Xie Yaomei.

Just as Xie Yaomei took out her calculator to begin calculating, Chu Dong added, "Instruct the finance department to clear our account with Huaxia Bank so we won't have to run back and forth between so many banks anymore. Oh, and withdraw our previous one billion five hundred million in reserves and clear that account as well."

"Understood," Xie Yaomei acknowledged, lowering her head to crunch the numbers.

"What?" Old Xie was dumbfounded. Demanding the return of over six hundred million was one thing, but immediately losing one billion five hundred million in deposits was fatal! "My young friend, isn't this a bit improper? Silver Dragon's deposits and loans are two entirely different matters. How can you lump them together like this?"

"Ha-ha, President Xie, is it possible you haven't quite grasped the situation?" Chu Dong put away his pen and looked straight at Old Xie. "I made myself perfectly clear last night, and you should know that today is my day to discuss loan repayments with each of the banks. I have decided to clear all outstanding debts and sever the ties between Silver Dragon and the banking sector. From this day forward, the Silver Dragon Group will no longer take out loans from any associated banks. Naturally, the same applies to our deposits. Furthermore, while I, Chu Dong, may lack the spirit of a grand hero, I am certainly a man who repays every slight; if someone shows me a fraction of respect, I will return it tenfold. But if anyone targets me or Silver Dragon—hehe—don't blame me for being heartless. Next, President Liu, it's your turn."

Cold sweat poured down Old Xie's forehead. He was well aware that Silver Dragon held a reserve deposit of one.5 billion in Huaxia Bank. Someone might ask: if you knew that, why were you in such a rush to demand repayment? It wasn't the same. Once Silver Dragon ceased to exist, or if other banks applied for asset preservation orders, Huaxia Bank would never be able to swallow that 1.5 billion all by itself. Whether the six hundred million in loans could be recovered, and how much of it, remained completely unknown. Besides, those reserves were not to be touched unless absolutely necessary. He had never expected Chu Dong to pull such a card.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, President Liu was equally hesitant. While Wang Dongliang had indeed offered him certain benefits, the volume of transactions Silver Dragon processed through his bank annually was by no means small. Even if Haifeng Group was a major client, Silver Dragon was no mere insect easily crushed. Chu Dong showed no signs of joking; he had been so resolute in writing that check for Old Xie. If he himself ended up on Silver Dragon's blacklist, it would mean losing a major client right under his own watch.

Hesitating, he said, "President Chu, allow me some time to think. I haven't quite finished calculating my figures."

"Then there's no need to calculate. Secretary Xie should have already worked it out for you. You can collect your check immediately and then please take your leave. I am genuinely busy of late and have no time to host guests. Thank you," Chu Dong said as he wrote out another check, handed it to Xie Yaomei, and looked up at the next person in line. "President Zhao, is it?"

"Ah? Yes, no—I'm just here to see if there's any way I can help. I never intended to pressure Silver Dragon into early repayment. Besides, our cooperation has been going splendidly; why would we ever do such a thing?" President Zhao was far quicker to read the situation than President Liu.

"Hehe, much obliged. Although Silver Dragon has encountered some difficulties of late, we have not yet reached the point of defaulting on our debts. Since President Zhao has no pressing business here, please wait in the reception room. We can chat after I have dealt with these matters, shall we?" Chu Dong smiled faintly, entirely dismissing President Zhao's hypocritical pleasantries.

As for the representatives of the smaller banks that followed, Chu Dong gave them zero opportunity. He repaid their loans outright, offering not a single word of explanation. Two credit department managers, possessing thicker skins than their bank presidents and realizing that Silver Dragon showed no signs of lacking funds—and fearing the loss of future cooperation—simply turned and fled.

When Old Xie walked out of Silver Dragon, he felt like weeping without tears, cursing Wang Dongliang countless times in his heart.

Having dismissed these people, Chu Dong secretly broke out in a cold sweat. Early that morning, he had instructed George to sell off Silver Dragon's shares piece by piece at increasing prices. As coolly as he had written those checks, he hadn't had the slightest certainty about how much capital he could raise during the morning hours. One had to realize that Silver Dragon had exhausted every last reserve just to absorb the suppressive sell orders thrown out by Hengtai Fund. If the Aerospace Building incident hadn't caused construction to halt, the fact that Silver Dragon had zero circulating working capital would likely have become public knowledge.

However, good news followed in quick succession. The pledge Chu Dong made the previous night had moved many people. The very next morning, Silver Dragon's stock bottomed out and rebounded, instantly surging through two consecutive limit-up sessions. Had George not seized the moment to offload a small portion, there was no telling if Silver Dragon's stock might have skyrocketed right past its historical high.

Wang Dongliang was incandescent with rage. He had adjusted his trading blocks six or seven times in a row, yet failed to acquire any Silver Dragon shares. By the time he finally managed to secure less than one percent of Silver Dragon's equity, the stock price had already climbed close to the redemption value promised by Chu Dong. No one was willing to sell below Chu Dong's promised price, and many more were waiting for someone else to dump their holdings. The sell orders that had just appeared vanished almost instantly.

Within the space of an hour, George released ten percent of the shares in successive batches, precisely matching the total value of the checks Chu Dong had issued that morning. The funds were immediately transferred to the finance department and deposited into Chu Dong's check account, successfully averting the issuance of any bounced checks.

Only after knowing that this high-risk gamble had succeeded did Chu Dong finally set his mind at ease. He stepped out of the financial room and walked toward his office.

"Brother Dong, what do we do now? We can't keep selling our shares like bleeding ourselves dry just to pay the employees!" Tan Xue was currently acting more like a clingy shadow than her younger sister, chasing closely behind Chu Dong and firing off questions.

"Immediately arrange for us to contact the most renowned domestic construction, design, and inspection experts to conduct a thorough safety assessment of the Aerospace Building. Publicly announce that we are conducting a complete investigation into the root cause. Do it immediately—the faster, the better. Contact the news media; if any cannot make it in person, hire someone to record the entire process from start to finish and broadcast it online. The bigger the impact, the better."

Chu Dong did not break his stride, lacking even the time to glance at his watch.

"Understood, I'll make the arrangements right away." Clutching her small handbag, Tan Xue turned on her heel and hurried off.

Despite her usual lazy demeanor, whenever a crisis struck, Tan Xue revealed the latent potential of a formidable career woman. In a very short span of time, she not only gathered the experts Chu Dong required but also pulled strings across various channels to ensure the expert team gained unimpeded access to the Aerospace Building for on-site investigation.

The inspection experts combed through the building almost inch by inch, and the camera meticulously documented the entire process. From bottom to top, aside from the final floor where the issue originated, every other aspect vastly exceeded rather than merely met architectural standards. Once the results were made public, the entire nation was in an uproar. The fact that Silver Dragon had been framed became glaringly obvious.

This online video was reposted on a massive scale. Just days earlier, the Aerospace Building had been derided alongside other notorious shoddy constructions; now, it instantly transformed into the hottest topic of discussion among netizens. The facts were simply too glaringly obvious; even those attempting to use the incident to attack Silver Dragon had to think twice. Moreover, how could the authorities turn a blind eye to such blatant wrongdoing? Soon, an official directive came down, ordering the relevant departments to crack down on the case swiftly and clear Silver Dragon's name as soon as possible.

All the rumors detrimental to Silver Dragon were thoroughly shattered, and Silver Dragon's stock market value climbed seven or eight percentage points in a very short time, surpassing its all-time high.

Wang Dongliang was practically ready to vomit blood. This must-win game of chess between Hengtai Fund and Silver Dragon had collapsed once again under Chu Dong's brilliant orchestration. Luke Hans suffered yet another Waterloo in his career, getting fired for the first time in his life and departing China in disgrace.

A stake of less than one percent in Silver Dragon could no longer make up for this self-inflicted retaliatory wound, no matter how high the stock climbed. Hengtai Fund had taken a massive tumble on its very first strike.

As for Chu Dong, he retained nothing but absolute calm and composure.

Under the watchful eyes of all parties, the Aerospace Building was completed and delivered for use. Because of the expert inspection and glowing evaluation, the original sale price was raised by ten percentage points. Not only was the initial investment fully recovered, but a handsome profit was reaped as well. From that moment on, the Silver Dragon Group leaped to become a scorching hot search term on the internet.

Tan Songhai was just as unflappable as Chu Huaizhou. Regardless of how many snowflake-like reports flew in from the domestic front, he remained completely indifferent. The two old men played their chess and went on their leisure trips as if none of it had anything to do with them at all.

Yet it wasn't as if they cared about nothing. Upon receiving a retrospective phone call from Tan Xue, Tan Songhai found himself unable to sit still any longer.

"Old Chu, was it you who told Dongzi to quit? How can he suddenly insist on resigning to go revitalize that family small business of yours that can't even weather the slightest storm? Has he lost his mind? It must have been your idea, right?" Tan Songhai demanded, nearly flipping the chessboard over as he glared at Chu Huaizhou with bristling mustache and eyebrows.

"That's my boy, hehe! Why do you care so much about the affairs of the younger generation? Just play your chess, play your chess," Chu Huaizhou replied completely unfazed, wearing a cheeky grin that irritated Tan Songhai to no end.

"The devil wants to play chess with you! I'm heading back. You can play by yourself." Unable to tolerate it a moment longer, Tan Songhai packed up and flew back immediately, leaving even his wife behind.