Chapter 24 Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkey... (1/2)

Chang Baji and Hao Lei were riding a Mercedes S500 at the front, while Qin Sheng drove a Maserati with Han Bing at the back seat. All three man had a well-defined role in this. Their only mission was to ensure Han Bing's safety no matter what happened. They did not wish to blow this matter up in Shanghai. After all, Shanghai was not Tianshui.

Han's corporate office was situated in Zhongyin Tower within Lujiazui, which was not far from Tomson Golf Resort. For Hao Lei, who was in Shanghai for the very first time, the busy streets of Pudong was a refreshing and exciting sight. He could not take his eyes off all the skyscrapers. As for Chang Baji, this was not the first time he visited Shanghai, so he was not especially excited about the city sights. On the other hand, he was observing the surrounding cars to make sure he did not miss any danger. He was determined to do a good job since he had come all the way to Shanghai.

It was as Hao Lei had said, Chang Baji could probably be successful in whatever he laid his hand on and wherever he was. Hao Lei did not understand why he wanted to spend his life working. Moreover, he had rejected the offer of promotion by his boss.

Why?

The reason being that the Old Master Qin had once foretold that because he had a tough life for the first half of his life, if he did not conceal his capability and assume a humble and abased identity, he might die young bring bad luck to his parents and wife. However, if he hung on until he turned 40, he would strike rich and be blessed with many descendants.

Perhaps not many people would believe in fortune-telling, but Chang Baji did. Just as not many people would believe that there were people like his master who still existed. Chang Baji had seen with his eyes since he was young so there was an excuse not to believe.

In the first half of his life, Chang Baji had indeed had a hard life. At this juncture when he just passed his fortieth birthday, his master had instructed him to leave Xi An for Shanghai. He saw this as a sign, and this became the main reason he actually agreed and came to Shanghai.

In the Maserati, Qin Sheng could see that Han Bing was fidgety from anxiety. ”In the director's meetings, you may wait for the directors to voice out their opinions, then when they are done, just say out your decision. I will handle the rest,” Qin Sheng instructed.

At this juncture, Han Bing could only obey what Qin Sheng suggested. She nodded gently and said, ”I know what to do, you can be at ease.”

Han Guoping's company, being named after himself, was called Guoping Holding Group. All the directors of the group had arrived in the meeting room of Guoping Holding Group situated on the 33rd floor of Zhongyin Tower. The directors consisted of the elders and confidantes who had entered the society and worked hard alongside Han Guoping, as well as the senior management.

At the moment, three main groups led by Zheng Ping, Liu Hejun and Zhao Dongsheng respectively were in the mids of a heated argument. Although they were all waiting for Han Bing to arrive, in their hearts, they regarded Han Bing with contempt.

When the door of the meeting room was pushed open and Hao Bing entered with Qin Sheng and the two others, silence ensued. While Hao Lei and Chang Baji stood by the door, guarding, Han Bing sat down at Han Guoping's usual seat and Qin Sheng stood behind her, wearing a severe expression on his face. As he scanned the room full of directors, he was sizing up each of them simultaneously, especially Liu Hejun and Zhao Dongsheng.

Conversely, the directors were sizing up on Qin Sheng and his men.

When the directors nominated Zheng Ping to facilitate the meeting, Han Bin nodded towards Zheng Ping and the meeting finally began.

The voices of discussion started to fill the room as the directors were not confident of Han Bing's ability to shoulder the great pressure of taking over Master Han's business.

”Quiet. Let's begin the discussion since Han Bing is here. There is no fixed itinerary planned for this meeting, so we are open to any comments. We all know that the company is going through a rough patch at this moment and there are so many problems,” Zheng Ping stood up and addressed everyone in the room.

”As for Han Bing, you are finally back. We are at a lost of what to do if you haven't returned. Many of our premises had been closed by the police for investigation, and our men were making a lot of troubles. You have to think of the solution to this first,” Liu Hejun was the first to speak up.

Han Bing remained silent...

”A number of the big banks had decided to withdraw their loans. They would have sued us at the courts had I not hang on. The tourist project at Chongming Island, as well as the Property in Su Zhou, had been put on hold. We need fundings urgently,” Zhao Dongsheng began speaking thoughtfully.

Han Bing remained silent...

”There is only a few million dollars left in the company's account. With the shortage of funds, we don't even have enough to pay our employees. The creditors are coming after me every day that I am going crazy,” Zheng Ping continued.

After the leaders of the three main authoritative groups finished speaking, the others began conferring with each other about other impending problems. The entire meeting room became extremely noisy. It seemed that everyone was trying to force an answer out of Han Bing. Trying hard to conceal her weakness, she bit her lips and tightened her fists although tears were welling up in her eyes. She maintained a brave front.

”Say something, Han Bing. You are representing Master Han,” Zheng Ping said, being unable to hold it any longer when the noise level came down.

Han Bing gave a depreciating laugh and said, ”All of you have been talking so much, but I am totally clueless about what you were saying. What can I do?”