CHAPTER 537: CHAPTER 304 NEW ROUND TABLE OF TEN_2

...

The most involved is Shengshi No.7 product, with a scale of 1.78 billion and an expected annualized return of 6.6%.

The disclosure report of this product shows that its funds were misappropriated for repaying the principal and interest of other expiring CGG products.

Chen Cheng flipped to the very end and glanced at the total, "6.95 billion."

Wen Shulin nodded, "That’s the amount."

"Is the report true?"

At this moment, Wen Shulin’s decisiveness turned into hesitation; she looked at the man across the table and did not give her opinion for a long while.

Not speaking, that itself was the best answer.

Chen Cheng did not press Wen Shulin, but set down the summary document in his hands and closed his eyes to think.

"Actually, 80% of the profits from these 7 products were given to the parent company." Wen Shulin began, "Originally, I could have requested Alina to accept it, thereby regaining investors’ trust and stabilizing the stock market."

Chen Cheng opened his eyes, "But you are already decoupling from your parent company, Alina won’t give you the money."

"That’s right." Wen Shulin leaned back in her chair, her eyes up at the ceiling, "What I am most puzzled about right now..."

She sat upright, "What exactly is Guns & Roses Consulting? I have never heard of it before, but as soon as they made a move, they pressed down on nearly nine out of ten organizations on this street."

Wen Shulin’s gaze became sharp, "I have never felt so helpless before; after all this time, I still don’t know who the opponent is."

Chen Cheng: "I haven’t heard of them either, but I just came from Mr. Jin’s place and did hear some rumors."

"What rumors?"

"Some people have already gone to talk with Guns & Roses Consulting," Chen Cheng said truthfully, "Soon, the public opinion will be under control."

Wen Shulin finally heard the first piece of good news in days and asked eagerly, "Who went to talk? Are they likely to succeed?"

"It’s probably Chen Jin’s father, along with people from Cao Yue’s side."

Wen Shulin nodded slightly, "Their involvement might exert enough pressure on Guns & Roses Consulting..."

"But, since Guns & Roses Consulting dared to issue such a high-profile investigation report, they must be confident, and the final outcome is still hard to predict." She expressed her concerns.

Wen Shulin reclined in her chair, her eyes revealing her worries once more, "Even if public opinion is controlled, the problem with the products still exists. A financial leak of 6.95 billion is not easily patched. Investors will not easily give up; once they learn there is no hope of acceptance, the situation might spiral even further out of control."

Chen Cheng reflected for a moment and said, "The priority now might still be to first clarify the company’s internal financial condition and business processes to see if we can find some assets that can be revitalized or other solutions."

"Additionally, regarding those products that had issues disclosed, is it possible to communicate with the investors to work out a relatively reasonable solution, such as extending the investment period, adjusting the yield, etc., to stabilize their emotions."

Wen Shulin grimaced and shook her head, "Do you think I haven’t thought of these? The company internally is in chaos now, every department is busy dealing with the crisis, data sorting and analysis are slow. Moreover, investors are in a state of extreme panic and anger, they are not willing to listen to any of our explanations or solutions, they just want their money back immediately."

"That’s human nature." Chen Cheng took up the thread, "The money they invested, it’s all their hard-earned money. If it were us caught in this, perhaps, we too would be standing in the plaza of this building right now."

Both unspokenly moved to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the protesting crowd below, both weighing their thoughts.

"What do you think we should do now?" Wen Shulin looked at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng’s mind was racing; he had no real experience running such a large company as CGG, and this situation involved more than just CGG.

Whatever must be done, it had to be discussed with others.

"How much are they short?" Chen Cheng countered.

Wen Shulin replied, "I’m not sure about the exact amount, haven’t you seen how no one speaks in the group these days?"

"Then let’s call them all over." Chen Cheng offered his solution, "Have everyone sit down face to face and discuss a solution together."

"I’ll make the calls." Wen Shulin turned around.

"I’ll do it." Chen Cheng grabbed her arm, "You go wash your face first, freshen up."

Wen Shulin found her support in this moment, nodding slightly.

And Chen Cheng also took out his phone, before dialing Chen Jin, he said, "By the way, Yu Bing and Xiao Hai were just taken away directly at the airport."

Another bombshell exploded over Wen Shulin’s head, "Wha... What?"

"They’re cooperating with the investigation." Chen Cheng pressed the dial button, "So far, there’s been no news."

Wen Shulin took several deep breaths to stabilize herself.

"I’m not sure about Xiao Hai’s situation, but I know very clearly, Xia Yubing absolutely must not be in trouble. Otherwise, we’re all finished," she said.

Chen Cheng nodded, "That’s for sure. I also believe she can withstand the pressure."

"Hello?"

Before Chen Cheng could finish speaking, Chen Jin’s voice came through.

"Lao Chen, I’m back. I’m at Chairman Wen’s."

He could clearly feel that Chen Jin’s momentum was significantly lower than when he talked about the Shepherd a few days ago. Apparently, he had been given a lesson.

"Mr. Chen, this matter is getting bigger and bigger."

"So, we brothers need to meet." Chen Cheng broached the subject, "Do you see if it’s convenient for you to come over now? I’ll call Lao Zhao and the others too."

"Okay, I’ll come over now."

Chen Jin and others have been on edge these past few days. After the incident became known, everyone wanted to understand each other’s situation.

But just like at the beginning, the ten people at the round table seemed deeply connected by loyalty, but secretly, each had their own schemes.

And Chen Cheng’s appearance gave everyone a stepping stone for the conversation to begin smoothly.

"Alright, I’ll wait for you." Chen Cheng replied.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Cheng prepared to contact the next person.

But seeing Wen Shulin still standing there, he stopped his movement and instead lifted her chin.

"What’s wrong? Feeling crushed?"

Wen Shulin sighed softly, "I just didn’t expect... it to be so sudden."

She was referring to the news of Xia Yubing being taken away.

It was undoubtedly adding insult to injury, making the already precarious situation even more perilous.

"Don’t panic, we still have time."

He looked into her tired eyes, "You go get ready first, and I’ll handle things here."

Wen Shulin nodded; she knew now was not the time for her to break down.

She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and walked into the resting room.

Chen Cheng then started to contact the others one by one, all agreed to come to CGG.

About an hour later, except for Li Bo who had been sent to Shanghai, Chen Jin, Zhao Liangyou, Wang Xinan, Zhou Xiansheng, Zhang Zhenchao, and others had arrived.

The new round table of ten gathered in Wen Shulin’s reception room, with Chen Cheng naturally seated in the main chair.

In the room, the smoke from the cigars couldn’t hide the worried expressions on their faces.

Chen Cheng cleared his throat, "Gentlemen, I believe everyone is well aware of why we’re sitting here today."

"First, I have two updates," he continued:

"The situation in the media has been controlled, there should no longer be any new disclosure reports appearing on the forums."

Chen Cheng looked at Chen Jin, "This, we need to thank Lao Chen for."

Chen Jin waved his hand, "Mr. Chen, now is not the time for thanks, we’re all in the same boat."

Chen Cheng nodded, "Alright, then let me talk about the second update."

Everyone looked towards him, Chen Cheng slowly began: "I arrived in Beijing three hours ago."

"After the plane landed, the Chaoyang Economic Investigation directly took Xia Yubing away on the plane."

As soon as these words came out, except for Wen Shulin, everyone else was shocked into silence.

"What? She was taken away?" Zhao Liangyou asked.

Zhang Zhenchao even stubbed his freshly lit Cohiba in the ashtray, "What might she say?"

The tension in the air thickened, Chen Cheng pressed his hand down, "I still have a lot of confidence in Xiao Xia."

He paused, "Moreover, what we need to consider now is not her, but to come up with a viable plan to weather this storm."

Chen Cheng took the cigar handed to him by Wen Shulin, held it in his hand, and looked at everyone, "Gentlemen, why not first discuss each of your situations? Let’s exchange some information, so everyone can have a clearer picture."