Chapter 494: Fanning the Flames (2)

Just then, an executive held up his phone and said, “Boss! Little Red Car just released a statement! It’s on their Weibo and official website!”

At his words, everyone in the conference room immediately pulled out their phones to look.

After a moment, Dai Wei breathed a sigh of relief. “Copy Little Red Car! We’ll release the same kind of statement they did!”

And so, Little Yellow Car also released its statement to users.

“Dear Little Yellow Car users, hello! Your Little Yellow Car deposits are held in a dedicated account at a designated bank. Due to the enormous amount, our company has placed the funds in a fixed-term deposit, which also prevents any possibility of misappropriation! The slow refunds are due to the overwhelming number of requests, which has caused some system instability. Please do not be influenced by online rumors. …Finally, we wish you all happy riding!”

Once Little Yellow Car’s statement was out, and with the fact that people who had requested refunds earlier had already received their deposits back, the number of refund requests dropped significantly.

Seeing Little Yellow Car’s statement—the same old trick in a new guise—Wu Yun smiled contemptuously. He turned to Li Qiuliang beside him and said, “Looks like this fire isn’t big enough. Go add some more fuel to it.”

Li Qiuliang nodded, took out a different phone, and dialed an unknown number. “Yes! It’s me! You can start the second wave!”

Soon, a Weibo account belonging to someone claiming to be a former bank employee posted: “I’m a former bank employee, and I’d swear on my life that most of these bike-sharing companies have used the majority of their deposit money to buy wealth management products and fixed-term deposits. Some have even used it for other investments! This includes Little Yellow Car, Little Red Car, and Mobike! Don’t be fooled! Your deposit might have been gone for a long time! If I were you, the first thing I’d do is get my deposit back! It’s not a lot of money, but I don’t want to be treated like an idiot!”

These words were like pouring gasoline on a fire! The tide of deposit refund requests, which had been about to subside, surged once more.

The first to fold were the other bike-sharing companies in second and third-tier cities. One after another, their apps began displaying messages like, “Your refund is being processed in a queue, please wait,” and then there would be no further updates.

The next day, someone posted on their WeChat Moments: “Holy shit! Out of curiosity, I went to check on the bike-sharing company office upstairs on my way to work this morning, and the motherfuckers skipped town!”

The post was accompanied by a photo of a locked door, with all the bike-sharing company’s employees locked out, their faces a mixture of expressions.

A screenshot of this Moments post was forwarded everywhere and spread widely on Weibo.

By the third day, all the smaller companies had issued statements asking for patience.

“BANG!”

Dai Wei slammed his hand on the desk, staring daggers at the head of finance. “What did you say?! The company’s funds will only last until tomorrow?”

The head of finance nodded with difficulty, forcing a smile that was uglier than a grimace. “President Dai! We already withdrew the fixed-term deposits yesterday, but it was just a drop in the bucket! We can’t get the money out of the wealth management products on such short notice! The only way now is to apply for a bank loan or seek help from our investors!”

“Go back and—” Before Dai Wei could finish, a man around thirty years old rushed into the office. “Boss! This is bad! The government just issued a notice!”

Dai Wei felt the blood rush to his head and his knees go weak. He fought the urge to collapse into his chair and said in a low voice, “What are you panicking for?! It’s not like we don’t have the money for refunds!”

“No! Boss! This one is about regulating the entire industry!”

Dai Wei first looked at the head of finance. “Go contact the bank first. See if you can get a loan through a special channel!”

Only after the head of finance had left did Dai Wei ask, “What’s going on?! What kind of notice did they issue?!”

The man took out his phone and opened the news article he had just seen.

Dai Wei sank limply into his chair and sighed heavily. “Prepare for the worst.”

Dai Wei regretted not selling more of his shares when he cashed out a portion of them a while ago.

…

“Mom! Don’t worry! I’m confident we’ll be fine this time! Little Red Car has no deficit in its deposit funds!” Wu Yun answered when he received a concerned call from Yu Min.

Yu Min’s tone was calm. “Oh! Okay, then. If you’re short on cash, just tell me. I can get some funds together immediately, enough for you to cover all the deposits.”

“No need! No need! Besides, the company isn’t just mine! We’ll be fine this time!”

Wu Yun briefly explained the company’s situation to Yu Min.

And since Yu Min was the chairman of a major corporation, she could easily discern the state of Wuyun Company from his words. Reassured, she chatted with Wu Yun for a few more moments before hanging up.

Not long after she hung up, Wu Yun’s phone rang again. He looked at the screen and saw it was his grandfather, Qian Guoliang.

“Xiaoyun! I heard your company is in trouble! I may not understand this internet stuff you young people are into, but if you need any help, just tell your grandpa! If I can’t solve it, I’ll go find your maternal grandpa!” Qian Guoliang came from a military background, and even in his seventies, his voice was loud and powerful.

Wu Yun was quite moved by his grandfather’s support. They hadn’t spent much time together in total, but Wu Yun could feel that his family’s concern for him was genuine.

“Grandpa! Mom just called me a moment ago. Don’t worry! Everything’s great over here! If I run into any trouble, you guys will be the first people I call!”

It took a lot of persuading, but Wu Yun finally managed to talk Qian Guoliang out of coming to Rongcheng to back him up, promising to visit him during the National Day holiday instead.

As if on cue, Wu Yun then received calls from his uncle, Yu Bo, and his maternal grandfather, Yu Sheng. His uncle asked if he needed help, while his grandfather told him to remain calm, revealing that the government would soon be issuing new regulations for the bike-sharing industry.

…

In stark contrast to the gloom and doom at other bike-sharing companies, Little Red Car was abuzz with activity. Though things were busier, morale was soaring and everyone was highly motivated.

This was because Wu Yun had promised that once Little Red Car successfully weathered this crisis, every employee would receive a big red envelope bonus personally from him, in addition to the company’s year-end bonus!

「In the conference room.」

Wu Yun was casually crossing his legs. He picked up a Luckin Coffee from the coffee table, took a sip, and then asked a seemingly unrelated question, “So? How’s my coffee?”

The executives and mid-level managers all nodded. They had been shocked when they found out that Wu Yun was actually an investor in Luckin Coffee.

For the past few days, Wu Yun had been coming to and from work on a regular schedule. Seeing how hard everyone was working, he had called the nearest Luckin Coffee and ordered takeout for the office. For branches in other cities, he had coffee delivered. As for employees working out in the field, they could use their work IDs to get a free cup.

“President Wu! Can we get a discount when we buy coffee in the future?” a female executive joked.

“No problem! I’ll have Luckin Coffee make a batch of membership cards and give one to each of you!”

Suddenly, an idea struck Wu Yun. “That actually gives me an idea for a promotion! Once we get through this industry-wide shakeup, we can give it a try!”

Seeing everyone’s curious expressions, Wu Yun smiled. “It just so happens that Luckin Coffee has stores in all the cities where our bikes are distributed. We can run a joint promotion. For example, people could redeem riding points for Luckin Coffee coupons, or get ride coupons when they buy coffee!”

Wu Yun realized that many of his companies had been operating independently until now; it was time to consider sharing resources.

“President Wu, I think we should do more promotions like this!” Li Qiuliang said excitedly.

Wu Yun waved his hand. “Let’s wait until this whole incident is completely over. We can discuss it together then.”

“First, what’s the status with ICBC? When can they release the statement? You know the government has already issued a notice forbidding companies from delaying user deposit refunds for any reason! Any company that defaults on deposits will be ordered to suspend operations and rectify the situation!”

“Everyone should be clear on our company’s situation. We don’t have any kind of funding gap right now, so there’s no need to fear that the company will be forced to shut down because we can’t pay back the deposits!”