Chapter 495 - 406: Donation

After all, not everyone knew the actual situation with Little Red Car’s security deposits. Seeing so many companies online letting things fall apart or even absconding with funds because they couldn’t pay back deposits, these mid-to-senior-level managers were, to varying degrees, worried.

The fact that some manufacturers were even suing bike-sharing companies for defaulting on payments only amplified their concerns.

Such industry-wide turbulence was rare. And with the government issuing a notice about cracking down on the chaos, Wu Yun felt that everyone had been on edge for the past few days.

Noticing that some of the tense faces in the room had begun to relax, Wu Yun said with a smile, "President Li! Why don’t you tell everyone about our upcoming plans? Let’s put their minds at ease about the government’s announcement."

Li Qiuliang sat up straight and said seriously, "Because we placed our security deposits with ICBC, we signed a corresponding agreement with them at the time."

"And I have to mention President Wu’s incredible foresight here. When he founded the company, he predicted that something like this could happen! So rest assured, the company’s funds are more than sufficient!"

Li Qiuliang glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "I’m sure if we just wait a little longer, everyone will see an announcement from ICBC."

Li Qiuliang then had someone from the finance department come up and briefly go over the company’s liquid assets and the total amount of security deposits.

As soon as these confidential figures were revealed, the sight of the enormous amount of liquid capital immediately put the minds of those not in the know at ease.

During a break, someone exclaimed, "ICBC just posted an announcement!"

Everyone in the room immediately pulled out their phones. Someone asked, "Minister Li! Where did you see it?"

"It’s on the news sites, Weibo, and ICBC’s official website!"

The woman they called Minister Li, who was in her thirties, then posted the news link she was looking at to the Management group chat.

Wu Yun watched the scene unfold, exchanged a look with Li Qiuliang, and broke into a knowing smile.

"Repost ICBC’s announcement on our official website and Weibo!"

The moment ICBC’s announcement was released, it spread across the entire internet.

Seeing the massive sum in Little Red Car’s dedicated security deposit account brought joy to some and sorrow to others.

Of course, this was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

With the exception of Little Red Car, none of the other bike-sharing companies could produce proof of their bank deposits, let alone get a bank to issue a public statement like ICBC had.

For a while, it was as if every bike-sharing company besides Little Red Car had ceased to exist; they all went completely silent.

The internet was flooded with high praise for Little Red Car, so much so that even Wu Yun felt a little embarrassed by the sheer volume of compliments.

"Someone online is fanning the flames. They’re trying to use us to divert attention!" Wu Yun said from his sofa, looking at Li Qiuliang, who sat bolt upright before him.

"Don’t worry, President Wu. The government has already issued regulations, and the situation has blown up. It can’t be suppressed now, even if they wanted to," Li Qiuliang replied, looking completely confident.

"President Wu, from what I’ve heard, the government is taking the security deposit issue very seriously. They’re preparing to form a special task force to conduct a thorough investigation! So we need to be ready for an inspection at any moment."

Wu Yun nodded. "No problem. Keep a close eye on it. I doubt Little Yellow Car and the others will halt their operations. If they suspend business for a restructuring, where would they get the income to pay back their users’ deposits?"

Li Qiuliang was taken aback. "President Wu, are you saying the government might change the approach they announced a few days ago?"

"Exactly. They’ll have to let them pay back the deposits while continuing to operate. If they’re not allowed to operate, many of these companies will have to declare bankruptcy."

Wu Yun smiled. "However, President Li, we still need to prepare to take on a large number of users from Little Yellow Car and Mobike."

Taking down Little Yellow Car and Mobike wouldn’t happen overnight. After spending several days straight at the Little Red Car office, Wu Yun grew restless and dumped all the work on Li Qiuliang.

Just as Wu Yun was about to leave his office, he heard a knock at the door.

Wang Hao walked over, holding Wu Yun’s personal phone. "President Wu, a man named Wang Xuanmin just called for you. He said he’s the dean of your university and wants to discuss something."

"Alright, give it to me." Saying this, Wu Yun took the public-facing phone from Wang Hao, quickly found the recent call in the history, and dialed the number.

BEEP...

It only rang once before Wang Xuanmin answered.

"Hello, Wu Yun! This is Wang Xuanmin."

Hearing the familiar voice on the other end, Wu Yun smiled. "Dean Wang, what can I do for you?"

Wang Xuanmin first asked, "Wu Yun, is everything alright with Little Red Car? I’ve been seeing in the news that the bike-sharing market is quite turbulent!"

Wu Yun replied, "Thank you for your concern, Dean Wang. Little Red Car is operating normally; we haven’t been affected by the market shifts."

Wu Yun then gave Wang Xuanmin a brief rundown of the recent situation in the bike-sharing market.

After a few minutes, Wang Xuanmin felt the time was right and stopped beating around the bush. "Wu Yun, I’m actually calling you today because there are two things I was hoping you could help with."

"Please, go on," Wu Yun said, not committing to anything just yet.

Wang Xuanmin laughed. "First, with the new semester approaching and a new class of freshmen matriculating next month, the university would like to invite you to speak at the opening ceremony. I was wondering if you might have the time."

Wu Yun thought for a moment before agreeing. "No problem, Dean Wang. I’ll be there on time for the event."

This was something they had already discussed when Wu Yun had previously offered to make a donation to the university. Figuring this was also on Wang Xuanmin’s mind, Wu Yun continued, "Dean Wang, the donation I offered before still stands. I will donate fifty million to the university."