Chapter 88: The Divestment Controversy

The security guards reacted quickly, mobilizing at once.

Within five minutes, they had caught the ringleaders and dispersed the crowd.

Captain Meng handed a list to Li Xue, who glanced at it. "Hmph, just a bunch of dogs from the Lu Family. The same troublemakers as last time..."

A thought struck her, and she said urgently, "The Lu Family and Yuelong Group are in cahoots. Could this be Yuelong Group's doing?"

Li Xue immediately called Li Yinhe, who answered, "You guessed right!"

"I accidentally called someone at Yuelong Group. The moment I introduced myself, his reaction was odd. I decided to bluff a little, and sure enough, he spilled the beans!"

"The Yang Family was behind this, but Yuelong Group had gotten wind of it long before the bank representatives showed up."

"I couldn't get any more out of him, but I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple."

"Dad, I think we need to call a shareholder meeting to explain the situation. And you'll have to be the one to placate the board of directors."

"You think I don't know that? It's already in the works! First, we'll hold a board meeting to set the tone. You need to prepare yourself, too. The directors will definitely see you as a pushover."

Li Xue hung up, her head throbbing. She clutched it in her hands and bowed her head in pain.

Facing those aggressive directors again... It was just making a difficult situation even worse.

She told her secretary, "I need to rest for a bit. Let me know when the board meeting starts."

The secretary closed the door, asked Captain Meng to have his men stand guard, and went to attend to other matters.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Li Xue had barely closed her eyes when her secretary came knocking.

"President Li, Chairman Li requests your presence at the board meeting."

Li Xue pursed her lips and glanced at the time. It had been less than half an hour.

"Why so soon?"

"When the directors heard about the banks calling in their loans, they rushed right over. They didn't even need to be notified... The conference room is ready. If you'll please follow me."

Li Xue thought, 'Today is going to be rough.'

She set aside the pillow, took a deep breath to steel herself, and walked out.

The atmosphere in the conference room was incredibly somber.

Many of the directors were treating this day as the Li Group's last.

Even the Lu father and son, who were in on the plan, felt a sense of unease. After all, they had no idea if they would be cast aside once the Li Group fell.

The moment Li Xue walked in, Lu Baichuan slammed his hand on the table.

"Li Xue, look at this mess you've made! Out with it! How much did you embezzle?"

His accusation instantly ignited the room's tense atmosphere.

A few of the directors who weren't aware of the facts actually thought Li Xue had embezzled money, and their expressions soured.

With Elder Li absent, people were less concerned about keeping up appearances.

"Don't you dare make baseless accusations! Every cent this group spends goes through your son's books. If money's missing, he must have secretly used it to treat his impotence!"

Li Xue's retort was just as sharp. Things had already come to this; there was no need to save face.

The Lu father and son wanted the company to go under. It would be absurd to show them any courtesy now!

Lu Yi flinched, stung that she would bring something so personal up in a board meeting.

His expression turned hideous, and he glared at Li Xue with a look that could kill.

Li Xue met his glare with one just as sharp. She wasn't about to give him an inch.

Li Yinhe leaned back in his chair, watching their exchange with a blank expression. No one could guess what was on his mind.

Chen Quan frowned, steering the conversation back on topic. "President Li, we're here today mainly to understand the situation with the banks calling in their loans."

He was a close friend of Elder Li and had watched Li Xue grow up. His tone was questioning but also reassuring.

"Is it true the banks are calling in the loans?"

Li Xue said, "It's not just the banks. The list left by the six representatives includes over twenty different entities. Besides banks, there are also financial management firms..."

The boardroom erupted in an uproar.

"What... That's a death sentence for the group!"

"Without those loans, what chance does the Li Group have?!"

Lu Yi stated with a grim face, "Fellow directors, I'm afraid you don't grasp the situation. This isn't a matter of hindering our development. The construction industry relies on operating with significant debt. If these loans are pulled, we'll immediately become insolvent. The group will be facing bankruptcy."

He was telling the truth. Many of them had already realized this, but out of deference to the Li Family, they hadn't wanted to say it out loud.

But now that Lu Yi had brought it up, they were forced to confront the cruel reality.

"We can't pay it back! If we do, the group's cash flow will dry up, and we'll never get back on our feet!"

"That's right, let's talk to the banks. Maybe something can be worked out?"

Li Xue pressed her lips together. "We have to pay it back. Otherwise, the six representative banks will sue us. At that point, we'll be well and truly finished."

"You... you..." The directors instantly panicked.

If the company paid back the banks, their own investments would surely go down the drain.

"So when are you paying the banks?"

Li Xue replied, "The process has already started. We'll complete the payments to the representative banks before three this afternoon. The payments to the asset management firms will be completed by the end of the business day tomorrow."

One of the directors couldn't stay seated any longer and shot to his feet.

"No! Give me my money back first!"

In a bankruptcy liquidation, shareholders are paid after creditors. If the company ran out of money and had to declare bankruptcy, these directors stood to lose every last cent.

"You're a shareholder. The company doesn't owe you a cent. Please sit down!" Li Xue commanded.

These were the men, the "uncles," who had watched her grow up. Now, with disaster looming, they were all showing their true colors.

"Then I'm cashing out my shares!" he declared, pulling stock certificates from his briefcase and slamming them on the table.

'He had them ready? That was fast,' Li Xue thought.

It was then Li Xue realized he'd been in league with the Lu father and son all along.

This whole charade of cashing out was probably planned in advance.

As long as they could cause a panic, the Yuelong Group could logically step in to acquire shares and swallow the Li Group whole.

"Give me my money back! I'm out, too!"

This one didn't produce any certificates, which meant he was just caught up in the fervor.

But Li Xue couldn't say he was wrong. With the group on the brink of bankruptcy, anyone would have to take responsibility for their own assets.

Lu Baichuan stood up and slapped his hands on the table. "I'm pulling out, too!"

As the second-largest shareholder, his words carried immense weight, and his declaration sent shockwaves through the room.

Many directors who had been on the fence hurriedly raised their hands. "Me too! I'm out!"

More than half of them wanted out.

Lu Yi laughed. "Everyone, after you cash out, don't be in a rush to invest your money elsewhere. My father will be founding a new construction company, and you are all welcome to buy in!"

Poaching their shareholders right to her face—how despicable! Li Xue's eyes turned red with fury.

"Li Xue, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and process our withdrawals! Didn't you say the money would be gone by three?"

Li Xue was at a loss. She looked to her father, and saw Li Yinhe give a silent, somber nod.

Some things were just inevitable. 'Let them go,' she thought.

Keeping them here would only shatter what little morale was left.

Li Xue turned to find her secretary and have her print the forms, but to her surprise, the secretary was already walking over with a stack of documents.

"President Li, Xiaoliu from the finance department asked me to bring these... What's happening? Are people really cashing out their shares? Is this a joke?"

The young secretary never missed an opportunity to gossip, her questions coming fast and eager.

'The finance department... so this really is Lu Baichuan and Lu Yi's conspiracy,' Li Xue thought bitterly.

Her face a mask of cold fury, Li Xue took the documents and returned to the conference room.

Seeing the forms, the directors, terrified of being too late, swarmed forward, scribbled their signatures, and thrust the papers at Li Xue.

The only ones who remained seated were the grandfathers of Sun Lele, Chen Xi, and Zhou Yu.

They shared a bond with Elder Li that had been forged through thick and thin; how could they betray him at a time like this?

Besides, they had other, thriving businesses. They didn't need to scramble for this money to save themselves.

Loyalty was more important.

The stack of forms in Li Xue's hand felt searing hot.

If she paid out this much money, the Li Group would surely go bankrupt.

And yet, she had to do it.

Li Xue's heart was bleeding. The Li Group was her grandfather's life's work, and she couldn't believe she had failed to protect it.

She stood up and handed the forms to Lu Yi. "You're the CFO. You'll be responsible for processing these transfers."

Lu Yi chuckled. "Alright. Then let me perform this one last duty for the Li Group!"

With that, he turned and walked out.

Li Xue watched Lu Yi disappear from the conference room, her body slumping as if her strings had been cut.

It felt as if something vital had been ripped from her body and had vanished into thin air.

The Li Group's last hope was gone.