Chapter 436: On the Verge of Bankruptcy
It turned out exactly the way as Du Jingtang had worried. The Lis’ company fell swiftly. In less than a few days, their head office started to experience technical issues followed by major flaws with their finances. Some employees from the technical department secretly jumped ship and joined another company. The Lis’ company was mostly emptied from their personnel.
Mr. Li was so anxious that he was practically foaming at his mouth. This was a huge problem which was also way out of his league. He had no solution, and all he could do was watch helplessly as his company crumbled. Li Manxuan had initially been so passionate and swore to produce good results. However, lately—for some unknown reason, he had been spending all his days at the bar. His actions angered his father so much that Mr. Li wished he could wake his son with a few tight slaps across the face. There was not a single person he could rely on.
Recently, he was overwrought with the problems in his company. With each passing day, he watched his company crumble; and the number of his employees reduced. If things continued, it wouldn’t take long before his company—which had been passed down through the generations—ends with him. He would have to declare bankruptcy.
Oh, yes. Chu Lui. He had Chu Lui, his son-in-law. Everything would be resolved if he agreed to lend a hand. Although his son was a good-for-nothing, he still had a capable son-in-law. He slapped his forehead at his own stupidity. How could he have forgotten about Chu Lui?
However, he had been calling Chu Lui for the past few days. His calls were either rejected or directed into a voicemail. He even went personally to the Chu Enterprise and stormed into Chu Lui’s office, but still, there was no sign of the man.
In reality, he was not the only one. Li Manni had also not seen Chu Lui for some days now. In the end, she went to his parents’ house and found out that he had gone on a business trip abroad. Song Wan was not aware of his whereabouts. She was just told that it was an urgent business trip. Chu Lui had made a reservation for his flight ticket on that very same day. For all she knew, he could be in a meeting right now.
When Li Manni heard this, she couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong… just that she felt troubled. How could he not tell her that he was going on a business trip? His parents knew, but he had deliberately hidden it from her. No. They had not been sleeping on the same bed for a long time.
Song Wan saw the troubled look on Li Manni’s face. She comforted her quickly, “Manni, Ah Lui left in a hurry, and he barely had time to inform us. He saw you resting, and he did not have the heart to disturb you. He’s worried about upsetting you and the baby. You shouldn’t let your imagination run wild. Be careful of your baby.”
“Mom, I understand.” Li Manni smiled, but it was so fake that her whole face froze.
Could she believe such a lame excuse?
She was resting. Shouldn’t Chu Lui know whether she was resting or not?
Li Manni ran her hand around her stomach as she took a few deep breaths. At last, she managed to suppress her anger. As for her father, she knew what she should say. She knew nothing about his company, and she couldn’t ask Chu Jiang for help in the Chu family because he no longer oversaw the affairs of Chu Enterprise. On top of that, Chu Lui was nowhere to be found. For the first time in her life, she knew what it meant to be truly helpless.
“How was it?” Mr. Li asked Li Manni the moment he saw her. Beads of cold sweat were popping out on his forehead constantly. His usual fat body had lost quite a considerable amount of weight lately due to the frustration of his business. However, his mouth had an outbreak of ulcers. They were increasing by the day so his mouth was swollen and resembled a pig’s snout.
“What about Chu Lui? Have you found him?” Mr. Li was searching for his son-in-law, hoping that Chu Lui could help to salvage his business. Now that his son-in-law was absent, what should he do about his company?
“What happened? Didn’t Chu Lui come home?”
He suddenly pulled a long face and started to reprimand Li Manni. “What exactly did you say to him? Why isn’t he here? Is he going to look on while our company collapsed? How will it benefit you if we become beggars?”
Li Manni rested a hand on her stomach. She was beginning to be unhappy with her father’s reproaches.
“Dad, he’s out on a business trip. Where do I go to look for him?”
She didn’t respond kindly. “Is it my fault that the company has landed in such a state? You will only go to him when something is wrong. Why don’t you try and run your company better? You didn’t have Chu Lui in the past. Don’t tell me you can’t operate a company without him.”
This was what she disliked about her family. They depended on Chu Lui on everything and used his name, too. Without Chu Lui, was their company going to fail? Now that things had gone wrong, how was it her fault?
What about her older brother? He was part of the Li family, too. As a member of the family, why wasn’t he doing anything? To think that she, a daughter who was already married to another, was trying to find a solution for them… what did they think she was? Would Chu Lui listen to her?
Weren’t they even the least concerned or worried about her current situation?
Li Manni could care less. Her attitude was one of repulsion, and it caused her father to be irate. Mr. Li gave her a tight and loud slap across her face. “Li Manni, do you think you are that great? You are rejecting your own family now that you are married into the Chu family. You don’t want your parents? Who do you think brought you up? Has your conscience been eaten by the dogs?”
“Li, you old fool. You dare to hit my daughter?” Mrs. Li ran straight at him. Her body slammed into Mr. Li as she shouted, “I’ll fight it out with you. You dare to hit my daughter!” Mrs. Li was vexed beyond herself. The thought of her humiliating photographs had been weighing on her. If she didn’t release her frustration, she would go crazy. Mr. Li was unlucky to have let her witnessed his actions.
Li Manni stood aside. Suddenly, she could feel herself going dizzy. What exactly had happened? Why had her family become like this? The atmosphere was foul, and it was hard to breathe.
She turned around, pulled the door open, and left. Whatever happened inside was none of her business. There was still her older brother. Since he wasn’t caring, why should she—a daughter—care?
Mr. and Mrs. Li were exchanging blows, and both of them smashed everything in the Li family’s living room. It was out of Li Manni’s hands. Li Manxuan coped himself in his room as his face twisted with frustration. Whatever happened outside—whatever happened to his parents, he had nothing to do with it.
Mr. Li felt remorse after he slapped Li Manni. He was simply too flustered and exasperated by what was happening in the company that he lost his mind and slapped his daughter. Moreover, now that his company was in such a predicament, it would be the end of the Li family if he didn’t have his daughter and his son-in-law.
The next day, he brought some gifts and went personally to visit Li Manni. Actually, it was not so much as to see Li Manni and more of whether he could see Chu Lui. With the way things were, it was time for Chu Lui’s intervention.
However, he was unaware that whatever was happening to his family and company was the making of Chu Lui.
