Chapter 312 311: Tight Funds

Li Xue glared at Mu Lin again. 'He actually dared to ignore me. He's got some nerve!'

"Grandpa, the company's operations are fine, but there is a small problem with our cash flow. We can solve it, though!" Li Xue said hurriedly.

Mu Lin gave Li Xue a serious look. He found it very strange. 'I'm clearly trying to explain things for you, but you don't seem to care at all.'

It was just... so infuriating.

"Didn't Zhu Qiyu invest in the company? Logically, this shouldn't be happening. How could the cash flow be tight?"

Li Xue said, "Ever since we acquired Yuelong Group, our group has been developing very quickly, and we need money for many, many things. It's not like it just appears out of thin air."

Mu Lin nodded. It sounded reasonable; at least, her explanation was enough to convince him.

But then Li Xue changed the subject. "First, the funds in Yuelong Group's accounts vanished. Then, Zhu Qiyu's heavily invested stocks were suddenly ambushed, and he had to mobilize a large amount of capital to protect his own funds. As a result, he left our group in the lurch."

Mu Lin's eyes widened. "Seriously? The money in the accounts just... disappeared?"

He had never heard Zhou Qianfan mention Zhu Qiyu's existence, so he couldn't yet connect the Li Group's current difficulties with the Zhou Family.

Li Xue lowered her head, her tone defiant. "Right now, the company only has enough funds to maintain part of the original Old Li Group's operations. Any more than that and we'll fall into a state of robbing Peter to pay Paul. It's not that we can't get by, just that things are extremely tight."

"This is really damaging to morale," Li Xue said with a sigh, her head still bowed. "It's so despairing."

It's just...

"Can't you get a loan?" Mu Lin asked. "I would think that's the most obvious solution, isn't it?"

Li Xue pursed her lips. "They won't let us. I don't know whose idea it was, but all the banks treat us politely—but that's all it is, politeness. The moment we bring up the matter of a loan, they immediately ask our representatives to leave..."

Mu Lin paused, chopsticks in hand, and tilted his head.

Li Xue found Mu Lin's expression unsettling and said with great earnestness, "I'm telling you, I'm not lying to you!"

Mu Lin just said, "Oh." He didn't say anything else, but Li Xue was instantly filled with regret. 'Why am I in such a hurry? It's like I'm desperate to prove something.'

"I heard a rumor from my secretary that all the banks have received orders from above. If any manager approves a loan for us, they'll be fired, and the loan will be blocked."

"So no one is willing to take on such a thankless task."

Li Xue's eyes were bloodshot. The days Mu Lin had been away were incredibly difficult for her. She was busy everywhere, trying to secure investments and manage project costs, doing her best to stretch what little money they had to cover as many projects as possible.

The mental toll was something an ordinary person could never imagine.

But this was a finite solution. If she couldn't secure a loan soon, Li Xue would have no choice but to offload some of the projects.

If it's not meant to be, you just have to let it go.

Listening to Li Xue's soft complaints, Mu Lin frowned slightly.

He had thought the Li Group had already overcome its struggles and was on the verge of taking off and flourishing. He never expected there to be so many new complications.

A setback like this would be painful for anyone to deal with; being wealthy didn't make it any easier than it would be for an ordinary person.

"Let's eat," Elder Li said with a wave of his hand as he listened to Li Xue's account. The heavy reality had made the atmosphere at the dinner table tense.

Everyone ate in silence. After the meal, Elder Li beckoned Mu Lin to play a game of chess with him.

But he couldn't get into it. Elder Li eventually just pushed the board aside and went into his study.

Seeing this, Mu Lin took a shower and was heading back to his room to rest when he saw Li Xue, dressed in a silk nightgown, watching him quietly.

Mu Lin wanted to keep walking, but Li Xue's gaze made it impossible for him to dare take another step forward.

He could only turn around and go in.

With Mu Lin gone these past few days, Li Xue had felt an emptiness inside, as if life was only stable when someone was occupying the other half of the bed.

'I've only shared a bed with Mu Lin once. How have I already developed such a strange feeling?'

Li Xue couldn't understand it.

Mu Lin looked at Li Xue, his own mind racing.

He had a tremendous amount of capital on hand. The few families who had apologized to him had compensated him with huge sums of money.

'There's no use in me holding onto this money. It would be better to leave it with the Li Group, where it can be put to good use.'

'I've never considered giving the money directly to the Li Group. Doing so would create a lingering bond of obligation between us, one I wouldn't be able to easily walk away from.'

'He and the woman beside him weren't husband and wife at all. They had no real relationship with each other.'

He had already found a sufficiently strong network of contacts for the Li Group.

There was the Lin Family in Di Yang, the Bai Family in Songyang, the Zhou and Liu families in Anhua, and Captain Wu Henghai of the Military Suppression Bureau.

They were all very reliable people who were faithful to any trust placed in them. They could get the Li Group completely sorted out.

Mu Lin suddenly asked, "What is the company's current funding shortfall?"

Li Xue glanced at Mu Lin. 'What does this have to do with you?' she thought.

But since they were just sitting here idly, she said, "Over ten billion. It's mainly because the requirements for those Yuelong Group projects are too high and need a massive amount of capital."

"If you can't do it, just sell some of them off. You don't have to force it."

But Li Xue retorted, "What do you know? These are once-in-a-lifetime projects, the kind the old Li Group would never have had the qualifications to even touch. If the Li Group can complete them, it will show the outside world that we have completely absorbed all of Yuelong Group's strength."

Mu Lin considered this and nodded. "You have a point!"

He was about to get ready for bed when his phone suddenly vibrated twice. He picked it up and saw it was a message from Lin Shishi.

It said she had something to discuss. 'I can't miss anything important,' Mu Lin thought, so he said to Li Xue:

"I have something to do. I need to go out for a bit."

Li Xue pouted and avoided his gaze. "What's it to me if you go out? You don't have to report to me!"

Mu Lin hummed in response. "Don't wait up for me!"

With that, he left.

Li Xue was so angry her face contorted. She had caught a glimpse of the name, and it was clearly a woman's.

'What else was there to say?'

'That bastard Mu Lin, abandoning me for another woman...'

'This is absolutely intolerable!'

'But what could she do about it?'

'It's not like Mu Lin was her dog, that she could tie him to the bedpost and not let him move.'

Mu Lin arrived at a barbecue stall near Lin Shishi's hotel.

Mu Lin hadn't expected Lin Shishi to choose a place like this.

When Lin Shishi saw Mu Lin arrive, she gave him a brilliant smile, drawing countless looks of envy and jealousy.

Mu Lin said, "Miss Lin, how can you like a stall like this? Even I wouldn't eat at a place like this. It's too chaotic."

Lin Shishi said, "My family doesn't let me eat at places like this. I'm going back to Di Yang tomorrow, so shouldn't I hurry up and enjoy it one more time?"

Mu Lin said, "That makes sense. I'll get you some anti-diarrhea medicine for later."

Lin Shishi frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? My stomach isn't that delicate!"

"It's better to be prepared," Mu Lin said with a slight smile. "Otherwise, what will you do if you regret it later?"

Lin Shishi snorted and grabbed a skewer, eating from it.

"You eat too!" Lin Shishi grabbed a skewer and thrust it at Mu Lin.

Mu Lin took it and ate it deftly.

Lin Shishi flagged down the proprietress who was serving food and said with a smile, "Ma'am, get me a pitcher of beer! No, two pitchers!"

Mu Lin looked Lin Shishi up and down, surprised she was ordering alcohol. "Miss Lin, you have to go back to Di Yang tomorrow. What if you get caught for a DUI?"

Lin Shishi waved her hand dismissively. "None of your business! Just drink with me to your heart's content!"

Mu Lin shrugged. "Since Miss Lin insists, I'd be happy to oblige!"

Two pitchers of beer were brought over. Mu Lin took a glass and downed half of it in one go. The foam clung to the sides, looking quite atmospheric as it reflected the orange glow of the streetlights.

Lin Shishi also took a big gulp, finishing a third of her glass and leaving a red lipstick print on the rim.

"Miss Lin, you can really hold your liquor," Mu Lin said with a slight smile.

"Whenever I'm unhappy, I like to have a drink. I guess I've built up a tolerance over time?"

"Don't Uncle Lin and Grandmaster Lin have anything to say about it?"

Lin Shishi said, "Families like ours always have to show up for social events and things. You can't just be a teetotaler, right? So Grandpa doesn't really bother with these kinds of things."