Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 434 Despair
The people around him looked surprised but not too surprised. It was obvious that this Mr. He was not doing this for the first time...

For a moment, Yu Zetao seemed to have no idea how to react. He could only remain silent, his smile awkwardly frozen in place.

"You fucking..."

After all, Yu Fei, who was younger and more energetic, could no longer sit still.

Anger appeared on his face and he picked up the wine bottle on the table.

This time, even Yu Zetao's stern look could not stop him. Once upon a time, in his circle, Yu Fei was the big brother who had the final say. If it weren't for his sudden growth due to his family's decline, Yu Zetao would have been unable to control him just now.

Just when Yu Fei was about to take a step forward, a slender hand grabbed his sleeve.

Yu Fei turned around and saw Yu Duo pursing her lips and shaking her head slightly. She glanced at Yu Zetao, who was slightly hunched over. Her big, bright eyes were already filled with shaking tears, but Yu Duo still tried to maintain a smile and whispered:

"Brother, don't..."

When he saw the pleading look in his sister's eyes, Yu Fei was stunned and instantly calmed down a lot.

Only then did he notice his father's slightly trembling hands hanging under the table.

The mutual understanding between the brother and sister made him quickly understand Yu Duo's meaning.

The person who was insulted was Yu Zetao. Shouldn't he be angry?

As a businessman who started from scratch and once had a glorious past, Yu Zetao has seen all kinds of people and has come into contact with many second-generation people who behave in a flamboyant manner, including some who are similar to He Jiang.

But...when he dealt with those second-generations, he always acted as an elder or a successful person. When had he ever been pointed at and insulted like this?
But he couldn't get angry.

Why can’t it happen?
Because he needed help from others, because... he was carrying the burden of an entire family.

This is the helplessness of middle-aged men, and also the self-awakening sense of responsibility of those who have started a family.

It is certainly a pleasure to be angry, but if it also involves your family, it is better to be a "coward" who is ridiculed by others...

Yu Fei had clearly thought of this just now, but he still couldn't help but lose control, and this might make all of Yu Zetao's previous compromises go to waste...

However, at this moment, seeing Yu Fei froze in place after picking up the bottle, He Jiang sneered:
"What? Do you want to smash me or cause trouble? Come on, I'm sitting here. If you have the guts, come and smash me. Hide for a moment, I'm your son! Who the hell are you trying to scare, you idiot? I want to see how much consequences you can bear..."

Yu Fei gritted his teeth silently, but ultimately did not take that step.

"Old Qi..."

Seeing that He Jiang was still chattering, Yu Zetao could only turn to Qi Kai for help.

Seeing this, Qi Kai could only bite the bullet and say, "Mr. He, Secretary Ge, that... Old Yu didn't mean it. You two adults are magnanimous. Don't take it personally..."

"Do you have a say here?"

He Jiang, however, did not give Qi Kai any face. He turned around and sneered, cursing: "You old sly fellow, don't think I don't know what you are up to today. You invited Director Gao and President Xu here under the guise of me, what else could it be for..."

Director Gao and General Manager Xu in He Jiangkou, one is the director of the financial department of China Merchants Bank's Shanghai branch, and the other is the general manager of Ginkgo Capital, a well-known private equity fund in Shanghai. Both can be called "God of Wealth" in a sense.

After hearing what He Jiang said, Yu Zetao was a little confused. After all, in his understanding, this dinner party was specially organized by Qi Kai to help him, but now listening to what He Jiang said, it seemed that there was another hidden story.

As for Qi Kai, his expression changed slightly, and he smiled awkwardly: "Mr. He, you are joking. How dare I do anything under your guise? It's just that today happened to be the right time, and I thought that you haven't gathered together for a long time, so... Oh, Mr. He, I talked too much, so, I will punish myself with three cups, three cups!"

Before He Jiang could say anything, Qi Kai picked up the wine glass and drank three glasses in a row, choking until his face turned red.

Seeing that he had indeed finished three cups, He Jiang glanced at Qi Kai slowly and said calmly: "Okay, Lao Qi, considering that we have known each other for quite a while and you have done a decent job in helping me with those things before, I can give you and your friend another chance."

"Mr. He is generous. Mr. He is like this. Don't worry, Mr. He. I promise that the thing that made everyone unhappy just now will not happen again..."

Qi Kai quickly put on a flattering smile and gave a thumbs up repeatedly.

He Jiang stopped talking and just turned around to chat and laugh with Secretary Ge again, as if nothing had happened.

Yu Zetao was still standing there in a daze, at a loss as to what to do. At this moment, Qi Kai put his arm around his shoulders and took him to the side.

When they arrived at the lounge area of ​​the private room, Qi Kai whispered:
"Old Qi, listen to my advice. Young Master He is not someone we can afford to offend. When you live under someone's roof, you have to endure some grievances..."

"Am I not humble enough?"

Facing the familiar Qi Kai, Yu Zetao finally couldn't help but feel a little angry, "Old Qi, you also know that I have a bad stomach. When have you ever seen me drink so much? Do you think I can still stand here because I can drink a lot..."

"I understand, I understand, Lao Qi, don't be angry first. What I mean is, no matter what, let's finish this meal in peace. If you think about it carefully, Mr. He's request is not that excessive..."

"What do you mean?"

Yu Zetao's expression changed slightly when he realized something was wrong.

"That's right, well...it's okay for you to let Duoduo sit next to him. After all, there are so many people here, and Mr. He is not the kind of person who would do anything wrong..."

Qi Kai said hesitantly.

"Lao Qi, are you speaking human language?"

Yu Zetao finally became furious, "You watched Duoduo grow up, and she has always treated you as her uncle. Is this how you treat your niece?"

"Old Qi, how could I really push Duoduo into the fire pit? I mean, no matter what, let's calm Mr. He's emotions first. After all, you still need his help. You can see that there are so many important people at the table, and they all have to look at his face. As long as you make him happy, you will have everything..."

"Qi Kai! When did you become..."

Yu Zetao first shouted angrily, but suddenly stopped talking and looked at him questioningly, "Wait a minute, you specifically asked me to bring my family with you today, weren't you planning this from the beginning?"

"How is that possible? I was thinking that if your whole family came, it would be more lively with more people..."

"..."

Yu Zetao didn't say anything, just stared at Qi Kai.

The two have known each other for so many years, how could he not see that Qi Kai was feeling guilty at this moment?

Yu Zetao found it a little hard to believe. In his impression, Qi Kai sometimes acted a little flamboyantly, but it was impossible for him to do such a thing.

Seeing that Qi Kai still wanted to explain something vaguely, Yu Zetao took a deep breath and finally resisted the urge to lose his temper on the spot, but at the same time, his expectations for this dinner had been reduced to the lowest level.

"Stop talking, Lao Qi. I don't want to pursue what you were thinking, but let's end the meal here today."

Yu Zetao, who suddenly felt disheartened, finally gave up all his fantasies at this moment and said this lightly.

"Stop it, Lao Yu, do you know how much effort I put into getting all these people here..." "Stop talking."

Yu Zetao waved his hand, ignored Qi Kai, turned around and walked back.

While everyone at the round table was still chatting and laughing, Yu Zetao poured himself a cup of tea and then placed the teapot heavily on the table.

The noise finally attracted everyone's attention. Amidst everyone's slightly stunned gazes, Yu Zetao looked around with a teacup in his hand, "Mr. He, and all the bosses, I can't hold my liquor, so I'll use tea instead of wine. Finally, I'll toast to everyone. Enjoy your meal, and I'll leave with my family first..."

"Walk?"

He Jiang frowned, looked at Qi Kai who was standing behind him with an embarrassed expression, squinted his eyes and said, "Why, Lao Qi, is this the result of your communication?"

"Mr. He is a big shot. We ordinary people cannot afford to be his acquaintance. Naturally, we can only take our leave first. Mr. He, please don't take it to heart..."

"So you are going to be shameless?"

He Jiang sneered.

Being insulted by He Jiang again, Yu Zetao forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart, and just smiled and bowed: "Goodbye!"

After saying that, Yu Zetao turned around, winked at Yu Fei and the others, and prepared to take them away.

"Then Mr. He, I'll see them off first..."

Qi Kai also quickly followed them and walked out of the private room.

But at this moment, following He Jiang's glance, two burly bodyguards in black suits emerged from the corner of the porch and blocked their way.

"Mr. He, what do you mean? Don't we even have the freedom to leave?"

Yu Zetao finally couldn't hold it anymore, anger appeared on his face, and he turned around and questioned.

It's already 2024, and he really doesn't believe that He Jiang dares to do anything to them.

"Don't get me wrong, Mr. Yu, I'm a law-abiding citizen. How could I do something illegal?"

At this time, He Jiang, whose expression changed very quickly, smiled and said,

"But I see that Mr. Qi is also planning to run away with you. This doesn't seem appropriate. One of you two has to stay and talk things out. Otherwise, even if I let you go, Director Gao and Mr. Xu may not agree... Old Gao, and Mr. Xu, what do you think?"

"Mr. He hit the nail on the head. Today, Mr. Qi, who had disappeared for a long time, contacted me on his own initiative. I was quite happy. I thought that with Mr. He here again, I could finally put my heart at ease. If Mr. Qi ran away again, wouldn't that put Mr. He in an unkind and unjust position?"

Ms. Xu Qing from Ginkgo Capital elegantly wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue and said with a chuckle.

"Yes, Mr. He is the guarantor of your President Qi. We can't embarrass Mr. He, right?"

Director Gao from the Finance Department of China Merchants Bank also sighed, "You know, we agreed to do special things for you because of Mr. He's kindness. You can't just turn your back on us and turn your back on us, right?"

Listening to what they said, Yu Zetao turned to look at Qi Kai in confusion.

"Lao Qi, what do they mean by guarantee?"

While Qi Kai was a little flustered and stammering, He Jiang slowly lit a cigar for himself.

"It seems like what I guessed, you really don't know anything!"

"what are you talking about?"

Yu Zetao frowned.

"Okay, let me explain it to you."

He Jiang crossed his legs and said with a smile, "To put it simply, more than a month ago, Qi Kai borrowed a sum of money from China Merchants Bank and Ginkgo Capital, totaling 100 million yuan, and I guaranteed it... But, the money was due three days ago, and our President Qi has been out of contact. He only brought us together today. Tell me, what does he want to do?"

"One hundred million?"

Yu Zetao's face turned pale. At that moment, many doubts flashed through his mind and he had a bad premonition, but reason told him that the most urgent task was to get away from here as soon as possible.

So Yu Zetao just forced a smile and said:
"Mr. He, I'm not too clear about the debt dispute between you two, and it has nothing to do with me. If there's nothing else..."

"Hey, don't be impatient. I haven't even finished what I said. How do you know it has nothing to do with you?"

He Jiang waved his hand and turned to signal Director Gao. Director Gao then waved to the secretary standing behind him. The young man immediately took out several photocopied documents from his bag and walked up to hand them to Yu Zetao.

At the same time, He Jiang also said, "Although I have the guarantee, this is a loan of 100 million yuan in total, so of course there must be corresponding collateral, and the collateral that Lao Qi gave them are all assets under your name. The legal person Yu Zetao is your name, right?... Well, to put it another way, this is actually a loan that you all borrowed together. Here, this is the power of attorney you wrote to Lao Qi in your own handwriting, right?"

In fact, He Jiang didn't need to explain. When Yu Zetao saw those documents, he understood everything instantly.

He turned his head tremblingly, looking at Qi Kai who was avoiding his gaze in disbelief:
"More than a month ago, you asked me for a power of attorney, saying that you wanted to use the factory for asset evaluation, but you ended up using it as a mortgage loan?!"

"Lao Yu, you, please listen to my explanation..."

"What's the point of saying such a grandiose thing? It's only one hundred million. How dare you do that?"

Yu Zetao's chest rose and fell. "The factory building plus all the medicines shouldn't be worth that much money, right?"

"Boss Yu, you are wrong again. I am afraid it is not a question of whether it is worth that much money. The problem now is that even Boss Qi can't take out these assets that have been pledged..."

"what?"

Yu Zetao asked blankly: "Lao Qi, what did he mean?"

"Well, I sold those assets a few days ago. I was thinking of cashing them out. Lao Yu, you... don't worry, I will find a way and will definitely not implicate you..."

Yu Zetao could no longer hear what Qi Kai said next. He just felt dizzy and the accumulated effect of alcohol surged up at this moment. Coupled with the anger in his heart, his eyes went dark in an instant and he fell backwards.

"dad……"

……

"Can anyone help me? My dad is dying..."

Somewhere in the hall of Weijing Pavilion, Xu Wenxi, who was whispering with Lin Ran beside her about whether the new essence lotion from Estee Lauder was useful, suddenly heard a familiar crying voice and turned around in surprise.

"Yu Duo?"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Xu Wenxi quickly stood up.

(End of this chapter)