Chapter 87: Overbearing

Lu Yi looked on, condescending and imperious.

After being humiliated by Li Xue and Mu Lin yesterday, he had been seething with anger. But now the tables had turned. He could savor watching Li Xue's predicament.

As for the matter of collecting the debt, his father had actually given him a heads-up. It was all just a farce.

Once they drove the Li Group to bankruptcy, they'd have the chance to move in on the weakened company and completely absorb it into the Lu Group.

The countless subsequent steps were incredibly simple.

He was like a director holding the script; all he had to do was enjoy Li Xue's performance.

Li Xue couldn't sit still any longer. "Where are the bank representatives?"

"In the small conference room!"

Before the words had even faded, Li Xue rushed out the door.

She hurried to the small conference room, took a deep breath, composed her face into a faint smile, and pushed the door open.

Seated inside were representatives from their six largest creditors.

If they included the private lenders, even the main conference room wouldn't be large enough to hold them all.

If word got out that the banks were calling in their debts, a mob of creditors would soon be at their door demanding payment.

The thought made Li Xue's head throb.

But the real headache was yet to come.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you all waiting! The company has been swamped with matters large and small, and I couldn't get away."

Li Xue gave the six representatives a slight bow. "I don't understand. The company's operations are sound, so why are the banks in such a rush to recall the loans? We've had a strong partnership for many years. Has all that trust disappeared?"

"Hmph!"

Manager Xu Hong of Anhua Commercial Bank snorted. "President Li, still trying to paint a pretty picture, I see. No wonder Elder Li always called you his most prized successor!"

Li Xue instantly caught the sting in his words. Her brow furrowed. "What, exactly, do you mean by that?"

"I mean that rumors are flying around that the Li Group is about to be sold off cheap to the Yuelong Group. The stories are quite detailed. Are you telling me you know nothing about this?"

Li Xue grew frantic. 'Where are these rumors coming from?'

'And since when do banks judge a company's operational health based on rumors?'

'You're supposed to be professionals!'

"That's absurd! Absolute nonsense! The Group's operations are in full swing, with several new projects in preparation. Once those projects launch successfully, the Group's influence will grow substantially. Why would we sell it off for cheap?"

Another representative spoke up from the side. "Talk is cheap. Do you expect me to believe you? Show us the proof that business is booming."

Li Xue said, "We've already finalized discussions with Shengding Group for the South Side Plot 6 project. Construction is about to begin, and it'll be completed within half a year! The capital will be recouped very quickly!"

But the representative replied, "As far as I know, the South Side Plot 6 project is being handled by Yuelong Group. What does it have to do with your Li Group?"

A knot of anxiety tightened in Li Xue's chest. 'Why are these people slandering me for no reason?'

'Qiao Canhua already flatly rejected Wu Long. How could such a strange rumor still be circulating?'

"I bet you saw the project proposal for South Side Plot 6 on Chairman Wu's desk and are just using it to try and fool us. We only trust evidence!"

"And as for the Li Group being sold to the Yuelong Group, we have hard evidence of that!"

Mr. Zhuang produced a photograph and slapped it onto the table.

When she saw the photo, Li Xue's heart leaped into her throat. It was from the meeting between herself, Mu Lin, Qiao Canhua, and Wu Long.

But the photo only showed her and Wu Long, making it look like a private, secret meeting.

'It was purely a matter of the camera angle!'

'The real question is, who took this photo? Could Wu Long have been planning to set me up from the very beginning?'

"This photo proves nothing! It was a chance encounter with Chairman Wu at a dinner. There were many other people there!"

But when she said this, none of the representatives present believed her.

"President Li, don't struggle. Just pay our bank back first. If the Li Group weathers this storm, it won't be difficult to get another loan."

"Besides, the Li Group will be part of the Yuelong Group soon enough. Once you have access to Yuelong's financing channels, you won't need all these loans anyway. You might as well just pay us back now."

Li Xue was so angry she wanted to scream, but she could see the banks were dead set on getting their money. There was no room for negotiation.

"Fine. I'll have the finance department process it immediately and transfer the funds to your accounts."

"It should all be done by tomorrow."

But Xu Hong said, "The banks close at three o'clock. I need to have the money before then, or we'll see you in court."

'Once this goes to court, the other creditors will surely ramp up the pressure. The situation will become infinitely more difficult than it is now.'

The other representatives chimed in, their demands making Li Xue's face turn ashen.

"Fine! If that's what you all demand, then so be it!"

The representatives turned and walked out, leaving Li Xue deathly pale.

'The cash on hand should be enough to pay back these six banks, but it will be much harder to satisfy the smaller creditors.'

'Many of the creditors are our own employees, who lent money to the company through an employee financing program.'

'If something goes wrong, what will happen? It would shatter morale and leave the mid-level managers deeply unsettled.'

She sighed.

By the time Li Xue walked out the door, the news was already spreading like wildfire among the employees.

Although her secretary had instructed all department heads to reassure their staff, the truth was that even the mid-level managers were growing anxious.

While they couldn't ask the senior executives directly, they were quietly updating their profiles on job-search websites.

As Li Xue walked back to her office, she could see that everyone's morale had evaporated.

They were all wondering where they would work next.

In their eyes, she was no longer their president, but a failure who had sold out to Yuelong.

'Perhaps this is the end for the Li Group.'

As she rounded a corner, Xu Hong happened to be coming out of the restroom.

"Manager Xu, could I have a word with you?"

Xu Hong looked Li Xue up and down, a flash of greed in his eyes.

"Of course!"

Li Xue walked slowly to a window on the east side of the building and gazed outside.

Seeing where she had stopped, Xu Hong curled his lip in disappointment.

"Manager Xu, your bank and our group have been partners for so long. Why did you have to come and call in the debt today, of all days?"

"You're well aware of the Li Group's operational status. Why are you choosing to ignore the facts and believe a baseless rumor?"

Xu Hong chuckled. "I'm just a salaried employee. I do what my superiors tell me to do."

Li Xue pressed, "Please, just tell me. What is the real reason you had to recall the loan?"

Xu Hong said, "This is top secret. I can't say a word, or I won't live to see tomorrow."

Li Xue's expression turned bleak. "You can't tell me anything at all?"

"I can only say this: it's related to the three great families."

With that, Xu Hong hurried away, leaving Li Xue frozen in place.

A violent shudder ran through Li Xue, startling even herself.

'When did the Li Group ever cross behemoths like that?'

She didn't even remember how she got back to her office. Once there, her expression was grim, and she lost all motivation to work.

She picked up her phone and immediately called Li Yinhe.

After listening, Li Yinhe rubbed his head in anguish. "The three great families? They're in a league of their own. What could they possibly have to do with us?"

Li Xue replied, "I don't know. Maybe we did something to offend them."

As she spoke, her voice began to choke with emotion.

Hearing the sob in his daughter's voice, Li Yinhe grew alarmed. "What's wrong, sweetie? Don't panic. I'll start asking around!"

There's no such thing as a perfect secret. With a move against the Li Group on this scale, someone had to know the reason.

If he asked around enough, how could he fail to find out?

Li Yinhe immediately started leveraging his network of contacts to ask about the situation.

Many people clearly hadn't heard anything, but promised to ask around.

Others had clearly heard something, but they became guarded and evasive, confirming Li Yinhe's suspicion that a powerful force was indeed targeting the Li Group.

Who could it be? Li Yinhe felt like he was about to scratch his head raw from frustration.

While he was still racking his brain, a group of employees gathered outside the president's office and began pounding on the door.

"Pay us back! Pay us back!"

They howled.

Hearing the commotion, Li Xue started to panic. Fortunately, she had gained some experience from the last incident when someone had removed the spark plugs from all the company cars.

She called security, telling them to restrain the troublemakers and find out who they were.