When he heard Wu Feng’s words, the smile on Su Yang’s face disappeared. He stopped in his tracks and tried his best to calm himself down. “I don’t think so.”
Even though that was what he said, he still asked, “Brother Wu, why are you asking this? Have you heard some kind of rumor?”
Wu Feng hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, no. It’s just that I feel like something’s not right.”
He explained, “As you know, our movie is a military-themed movie. With the support of the Lingnan Military Department, there shouldn’t be any problems with this movie, you do understand after all… But today, there’s a big shot in the National Film Department who has a good relationship with me who says that someone is trying to pressure our project.”
Su Yang did not quite understand that term. “Pressure?”
Wu Feng explained, “That’s right. As you’re well aware of how things work in our country. Many matters can’t go smoothly just because they are in accordance with the rules. If we accidentally provoke someone somehow, they will purposely create trouble for us.”
“Generally speaking, they can’t do anything about our project since we aren’t breaking any rules. So, what would they do? They’ll pressure us… To drag our project. They won’t reject our project, but neither would they approve of our project.”
“In the film industry, it takes a lot of capital to produce a movie. Once it’s being pressured for too long, not many companies would be able to handle it.”
Wu Feng said, “That’s why I was wondering if we’ve offended someone. I also called Lu Jian (producer) and asked him to think if he had unintentionally offended someone.”
When Su Yang heard Wu Feng’s words, his heart was as clear as a mirror. ‘If I’m not mistaken, it should be me who’s the problem.
‘After all, at noon, Li Zijun said that Han Yi is being defamed. Then in the evening, Wu Feng says that there might be a problem with the movie. Coupled with the mission given by the system, I have every reason to believe that I’m the reason for this problem.’
Therefore, he told Wu Feng, “Brother Wu, if I’m not mistaken, I must have offended someone. Don’t worry, I will handle this matter as soon as possible. It won’t affect our movie.”
When Wu Feng heard that, he asked softly, “Brother Su, do you know who you’ve offended?”
Actually, Su Yang had not made any progress in the afternoon. However, after Wu Feng gave him a call, he had a rough idea. However, he could not say anything about this before he confirmed it. Hence, he merely smiled. “I should be able to guess.”
Wu Feng did not probe further. He had been through that as well, hence he said, “My friend, there’s an old saying in our country where the commoners shouldn’t go against the leader. In China, no matter what business you have, you won’t be able to survive without having good connections with various departments. Hmm… if you can take a step back, just do it. Let bygones be bygones if possible. After all, we’re the ones who have to rely on them for our success.”
Su Yang smiled and agreed.
The two of them chatted for a while more before Wu Feng hung up.
However, after hanging up the phone, the smile on Su Yang’s face gradually disappeared.
‘The commoners shouldn’t go against the leader?
‘The leader isn’t the one with the most power, the law is…
‘I refuse to believe that this world would allow these country’s parasites to do as they please!
‘Pressure?
‘My movie hasn’t violated any rules! So what right do they have!’
When he arrived home home, Su Yang entered the virtual space and asked Little Deeny, “Little Deeny, do you have any leads?”
Little Deeny said, “Master, not yet. This time, the other party seems to have been very careful. From the looks of it, the news was all released by the media. Although the content seems completely different, they were all released at the same time. Obviously, a specialized team of people are handling this matter.”
Su Yang pondered for a moment. “Since there are no leads, we’ll lock onto a suspect based on motive. Firstly, look into what Sun Hao from [In] company is up to. Have a look and see if it’s done by him. Then, we’ll check on the current situation of all the people who have a grudge against me.”
Su Yang said, “Actually, I suspect that it’s the Fengs doing. The culprit definitely wouldn’t be some low-levelled person or businessman for them to be able to get the head office to apply pressure onto the movie. I’ve only offended them till date.”
Su Yang continued, “I’ll ask Young Master Ying for more information later. I’ll see if he has any news about this.”
Little Deeny replied, “Yes, Master.”
Right after she agreed, her eyes suddenly lost focus as she stared straight ahead. After a moment, she smiled bitterly and said to Su Yang, “Master, I don’t think I need to investigate Sun Hao anymore. He…”
Su Yang asked, “What happened to him?”
Little Di said, “He self-destructed.”
Su Yang’s mind went blank. ‘Self-destruct? He exploded?’
Little Deeny said, “Just now, he posted a letter of complaint on Weibo. He reported that you were colluding with the relevant departments and banks within Baoshan District. He said that you used loopholes in the rules to take loans from the banks at low prices and illegally merged with other companies.”
For a moment, Su Yang’s head was buzzing. He raised his tone a lot. “Has he gone mad?”
Little Deeny did not dare say anything. That was because she could not clearly identify what Sun Hao was doing based on her intelligence.
‘Generally speaking, unless it was a life-and-death struggle, there’s no way that someone of his status would personally file a report, especially if it was against some relevant departments of the country. This is not only a huge crime, but it could also easily cause the relevant departments to retaliate.
If Little Deeny could think of all these, so could Su Yang. In fact, Su Yang was able to think deeper into the matter.
‘I doubt Sun Hao himself has fainted. If he has, the system would not have given me this mission, so there has got to be a reason behind this.
‘My instincts are telling me that the Fengs are related to this.’
With that thought in mind, Su Yang stood up from the sofa and said to Little Deeny, “Give Young Master Ying a call. I want to meet him now. Also, send a message to Li Zijun. Ask her to use her resources to suppress the news and not let it spread.”
Then, Su Yang left the virtual space.
Little Deeny bit her lips. She knew that this was a critical moment, so she quickly followed Su Yang’s instructions.
Su Yang went downstairs and Young Master Ying picked up the call.
Young Master Ying did not seem surprised when he received Su Yang’s call. He said awkwardly, “Young Master Su, I knew you would look for me.”
Su Yang laughed as he sucked up to him. “Young Master Ying, it’s only been a few days since we last met, yet you’ve gained such godly foresight.”
Young Master Ying said softly, “Stop insulting me. I know why you’re calling me, but… I can’t help you with this matter.”
Even though Su Yang did not intend to ask Young Master Ying for help, he was still curious when Young Master Ying said that he could not help. “Why?”
Puzzled, Su Yang asked, “The other party has already gotten someone to report it online, saying that the policy your father gave me was bought. Does that not affect your father?”
Upon hearing Su Yang’s words, Young Master Ying quickly said, “Young Master Su, don’t try to change the subject. The Fengs have got nothing to do with this. In fact, they are very particular about what they do and have only restricted the matter within the district.”
Su Yang knitted his brows. “Young Master Ying, how about this? I don’t need your help. I can settle this matter myself. However, it’s too sudden and I don’t know what they’re doing. So, if you help me analyze the current situation, I’ll owe you a favor. In the future, if you ask me for help, I won’t refuse for sure.”
Young Master Ying hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can you promise that you won’t tell anyone that I’m the one who disclosed this information to you?”
Su Yang replied, “I promise. I’m a man of my word. I will never betray you!”
Young Master Ying thought about it and made up his mind. “Alright, I’ll tell you what I know.”
Following that, Young Master Ying told him everything he knew.
Actually, he did not know much about the matter. In fact, whatever he knew was not critical information either. It was roughly during that afternoon when the head of the Fengs personally gave his father a call and said that he had some conflicts with Su Yang that he wanted to resolve. He hoped that Ying Tianhou could make an exception.
Old Master Feng from the Fengs was an influential figure in the whole of China. Although Ying Tianhou was in a high position now, he still had to show some respect for him. Therefore, Ying Tianhou agreed to not help either side and not interfere in the matter.
That night, a letter of complaint was sent to the city. It reported that Su Yang had bribed the big boss in the district to obtain land and support. It also reported that the big boss was corrupted.
There may not have been evidence of Su Yang’s bribery, but the big boss had all the evidence there needed to be. Hence, the city started to take the matter seriously and wanted to open an investigation against Su Yang.
‘According to what Young Master Ying said, the Fengs are extremely cunning and vicious. Regardless of whether the report is true or false, my assets will definitely be frozen the moment they open up an investigation, wouldn’t they?
‘Does this mean I can’t develop that piece of land anymore?
‘Even my other assets could be frozen, couldn’t they?
‘In that case, the Fengs would’ve achieved their goal, stalling me.’
Su Yang was actually still a little puzzled, hence he asked Young Master Ying, “But why are they stalling me?”
When Young Master Ying heard Su Yang’s question, he said with disappointment, “Because if they manage to stall you, your company will go bankrupt!”
“In the past, your company was small and had few employees, hence you had a rather healthy cash flow.
“However, in order to develop the company, you borrowed more than 40 million yuan from the bank and distributed the money to several companies. Then you invested another 60 million yuan in a movie.
“After that, you researched health supplements, opened up channels, opened up a branch company in Hangzhou. All in all, you kept on expanding relentlessly. Recently, your company paid a large sum of money as penalty in order to sign a contract with Han Yi. Plus, you couldn’t even take out the 10 million yuan to buy the piece of land that you bought. Didn’t you calculate how much money you have left?”
“Other than that, do you know how many employees you have in your entire group? Almost 200 people! Just a month’s salary is going to cost you more than one million yuan. Including your rent and your company’s daily maintenance expenses, you should be spending a few million yuan a month, right?”
“Once your company falls into a crisis of trust, the bank will ask you to repay the loan in advance. Once your cash flow is depleted, your whole company will explode with a ‘Boom’! Do you understand?
“Your operations aren’t even a secret within our circle, we were able to find out immediately, so the Fengs will definitely know about it as well. That’s why they’re “stalling” you so that you crumble to dust.”
Su Yang was confused for a moment. ‘Is that so…?
‘Or perhaps… Am I like this in the eyes of the outside world?
‘But… Why do I feel like I haven’t been spending much money at all?
‘Jiadian E-Commerce Company has been able to break even on its own. The remaining money, coupled together with the cash saved by Pool’s milk tea shop, can barely support the research and development budget for the special effects of “Wolf Warriors”.
‘Han Yi has paid more than 10 million yuan for her breach of contract on her own, I didn’t have to spend any of my own money. The health supplements were researched by Sanque using his own tools, so I didn’t have to spend any money either. The land had been bought through a loan, so there’s not even a single yuan spent on that…
‘I haven’t spent any of the money I have on hand. All my cash on hand is locked in the stock market.
‘Eh?
‘Does everyone have some kind of misunderstanding?’
…
At the same time, at [In] Company in Hangzhou, Sun Hao was also meeting a very ordinary-looking woman.
The woman had appeared in Sun Hao’s office as a guest, but her presence felt like she was in her own turf.
If Su Yang was in front of this person, he would definitely remember that this was the woman whom he had once used [Heaven’s Eyes] to ask Mr. Jia about Zhao Xiao.
Sun Hao personally brewed a cup of tea for this woman and brought it to her. Then, he said, “Ms. Feng, I’ve already followed your arrangements and made a public report on Weibo. But is this really useful?”
The woman picked up her tea and took a sip. There was no joy or sadness on her face. She said, “You don’t have to think too much about this matter, just do as we tell you to. Each and every step that we make has been planned.”
Then, she put down her cup and explained, “We’ve been keeping an eye on him for a very long time. He’s been developing very quickly in the past six months and this has caused his business to expand too much. Initially, he seemed to have financial support, so he did not develop using loans. However, recently, he’s begun to run out of money since he’s gotten two consecutive loans. This in itself shows that his cash flow has become tight.”
“Also, he’s recently bought a piece of land to develop some buildings. Furthermore, he’s even paid for a female celebrity’s penalty for her breach of contract. Tsk tsk, I refuse to believe he still has that much cash on hand.”
“I’ve already called the film department to stop his movie. Once Shanghai investigates it, part of his funds will be frozen. When the time comes, I’ll call the two banks who gave him his loan. Then, the banks will be able to demand for an early repayment on grounds of his credit being at risk, the decreasing value of his assets and the insufficient collateral he has.”
“With all of these at play, I doubt he will be able to survive this. Once he loses his cash, he’ll either have to sell his assets or go bankrupt.”
“Actually, we’ve been observing him for a very long time, he’s never revealed any flaws before, except recently. Hence, we’ve found the opportunity we need.”
Sun Hao wiped the sweat off his forehead. ‘There are many companies in the country that aren’t listed, but only a very minute number of them have loans..
‘Just like me, because my company isn’t listed yet, other than a few rounds of financing, I have also received loans from the bank based on mortgages.
‘If they’re able to use this trick on Su Yang today, they’ll be able to do the same thing to me in the future.’ At that thought, Sun Hao helplessly felt a chill down his spine.
‘As I thought, domestic businessmen can’t ever hope of competing with these people.
‘How are we supposed to compete against them? Unless we become big shots. When we are big shots, who wouldn’t be able to establish connections with the bank and other related departments?’
With that thought in mind, the smile on his face became even brighter. “Ms. Feng, what should I do next?”
The woman changed her position on the sofa and said nonchalantly, “Wait. We’ll wait and see how Mr. Su reacts. Although we’ve been investigating him for a long time, we still haven’t found out who he really is.”
“Plus, I could take this chance to see if he’s really that strong.”
“The issues that happened to him before were all solved mysteriously. In fact, our men have also vanished into thin air and are nowhere to be seen.”
When she said that, there was a hint of fear in the woman’s eyes. Obviously, this had shocked her and her family.
However, in the end, she still said, “Now that he’s revealed a flaw, we’ll test him out openly. There’s no way money can appear out of thin air. As long as there’s a trail, we’ll be able to find it.”
“If there really is someone behind him, I don’t believe that person will just stand by and watch Mr Su. sell all his assets and go bankrupt.”
“Even if that person is really able to bear with it, what’s the difference between having a backup who can’t act and not having one at all? When that time comes, Mr. Su will have to pay for my brother’s life with his own.”
“So, all we have to do now, is wait patiently.”
“After the tide recedes, we’ll know if he’s swimming naked or not…”
…
At the same time, Su Yang had just hung up the call with Young Master Ying.
‘From what Young Master Ying said, it’s not hard for me to guess that the enemy is the Fengs. Also, the other party’s plan is to make me bankrupt while I haven’t got money.
‘But… Do I really not have any money?’
With that thought in mind, Su Yang took out Little Deeny’s avatar from his pocket and opened WeChat to check his stock account.
[Total Value Of On-Hand Stocks: 346.25 million yuan…]
