Chapter 538: Chapter 305: Beijing Reputation Alliance

Until Chen Cheng’s voice faded five minutes later, no one in the room spoke.

Chen Cheng’s proposal for “honest discussions” would have been strictly confidential business information in the past.

But now, the situation was different. Without laying everything out, no one could get through the day.

Seeing that nobody was speaking, Chen Cheng turned to Wen Shulin beside him, “You go first.”

Wen Shulin pondered for a moment and set an example for everyone:

“You all know, until now, Gunhua Consulting has disclosed a total of 7 products with a scale of 6.95 billion.”

She looked at everyone, “Currently, redemption requests have already exceeded 3 billion, and I have about 400 million in available funds on my account.”

After stating the specifics, Wen Shulin spread her hands, “This is the problem CGG currently needs to solve.”

Chen Cheng nodded, then turned to Lao Chen, “What about you?”

“The situation on my side isn’t optimistic. Gunhua Consulting has disclosed 5 of our products, with a total scale of 3.2 billion, and redemption requests have already exceeded 1.5 billion and are still increasing. I have about 300 million in available funds, but the gap is huge.”

Seeing that both CGG and LinkedIn had made their statements, Zhao Liangyou from Red Mountain also spoke up,

“My situation is similar, two products, a scale of 1.2 billion, about 1 billion in redemption requests, and only 300 million in liquid assets, which is also a lot of pressure.”

Wang Xinan pushed his glasses, his tone somewhat trembling: “On my side, four products, a scale of 2 billion, redemption requests have already reached 1.8 billion, I have less than 200 million available funds, it’s almost like running out of food and ammo.”

Zhou Xiansheng was relatively calm, but his tone also showed helplessness: “My situation is a bit better, only one product was disclosed, with a scale of 800 million, redemption requests of 600 million, I still have 400 million in liquid assets, barely enough to cope for a while, but if this continues, it won’t last long.”

Zhang Zhenchao’s face was pale, he took a harsh puff of his cigarette, his tone low: “I have three products, with a scale of 2.15 billion, redemption requests have already exceeded 2 billion. I have just over 100 million in liquid assets, it’s just a drop in the bucket.”

“And what I’m most worried about now is, if the run continues to spread, other products will also be affected, and then it will really be beyond redemption,” he said, then heavily sighed, looking as though he had aged ten years.

The rest of them spoke about their situations one by one, and after hearing everyone’s accounts, Chen Cheng also had a rough understanding.

9 institutions, a total gap of approximately 20 billion couldn’t be filled, the situation was even more severe than he had anticipated.

Lao Chen also said: “This is just the beginning, just like Lao Zhang said, if we can’t stop it in time, then the things that follow, we’ll be even less able to control.”

Chen Cheng knocked on the table, “Everyone, what we can do, and must do, is just one thing.”

Everyone looked at him, only to hear Chen Cheng say two words, “Honor payments.”

“What?”

“Where do we get so much money?”

“I know this is difficult.”

Chen Cheng looked around at everyone, “But we must find a way to do it.”

He paused, “You all have issued notices of suspension of redemptions, but have you thought about it, it’s because of this that the current situation has arisen.”

Chen Cheng put down his cigar, “Moreover, now that Xia Yubing has been taken away, if we don’t find a way to get her out, then the ‘confidence’ I just mentioned really can’t be assured anymore.”

The room instantly fell into silence.

Everyone was very clear, if Xia Yubing really confessed something, what they would face was not the denunciation of investors, but the scrutiny of relevant departments.

“Mr. Chen, it’s not that we don’t want to honor payments, but we really don’t have the money. The liquid funds on our accounts are simply not enough to fill this gap,” Zhao Liangyou complained bitterly.

“Lao Zhao is right, the money we can raise now is all laid out on the table, totaling about 2 billion, far from the 20 billion gap,” Zhang Zhenchao echoed.

Chen Cheng took a deep breath, “Everyone, you have also earned quite a bit these years. The money you pocketed, whether to use it to settle this matter, or have it found out, taken away, and then go in yourself, I think I don’t need to say more, right?”

Chen Cheng’s words had a resounding impact, everyone in the room heard the implicit meaning in his words.

This was not a request, it felt more like an ultimatum.

They had made a fortune, now it was time to spit it back out.

The room once again fell into silence, the atmosphere was oppressively stifling.

Everyone was weighing the pros and cons, figuring out how much money they could actually raise, and whether it was worth it to protect themselves by paying this sum.

“I’ll put up five billion.”

Wang Xinan was the first to break the silence, he adjusted his glasses.

But before he could finish speaking, Chen Cheng corrected his figure, “10 billion, even if you have to break the pot and sell the iron, you must raise this much.”

Wang Xinan’s face turned pale, he opened his mouth to argue, but swallowed his words under Chen Cheng’s fierce gaze.

He knew, Chen Cheng was not joking.

The 10 billion, he would have to raise even if it meant breaking the pot and selling the iron.

“I… I’ll do my best,” Wang Xinan’s voice trembled, fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Chen Cheng did not look at him again, but turned his gaze to the others, “Lao Zhou, how about you?”

Zhou Xiansheng took a deep breath, “I’ll put up eight billion.”

“Lao Zhao, five billion,” Chen Cheng turned to Zhao Liangyou.

Zhao Liangyou looked troubled, but still nodded, “Alright.”

“Lao Zhang, you too, five billion,” Chen Cheng then looked at Zhang Zhenchao.

Zhang Zhenchao clenched his teeth, “Okay.”

Lao Chen was silent for a moment, then took a harsh drag of his cigar, exhaling a cloud of thick smoke, “I’ll put up ten billion.”