Chapter 1700: Don't Get Me Wrong

This time Xu Ke mainly came to first get a grasp of the situation. As for what comes next, he still hasn’t figured it out yet.

Besides, he doesn’t really understand these companies at the moment; he needs some time to work out a more detailed plan.

What’s more, to him right now these shares aren’t of much practical use.

But no matter what, they were left by his grandfather, and on top of that, many of these companies have already grown into major players in the capital, ranking among the top.

Xu Ke feels it’s very necessary to invest in these companies.

Moreover, in this day and age, Xu Ke believes that whatever you’re doing, you can’t afford to stop.

Once you stop, people stronger than you will soon overtake you.

Everyone says the waves behind in the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and the waves ahead die on the beach.

Xu Ke strongly agrees with this view: if you keep stagnating, you’re destined to be replaced by those who come after.

History is usually written by those who move forward, not by the failures who stand still.

Right now Xu Ke doesn’t have much of an impression of Hongyu Group; it’s just that their company happened to be the first file in the stack.

It’s just that Xu Ke’s impression of this Zhang Hongyu is quite good; he feels this is someone worth befriending, someone who should have a certain role in his future development.

“President Zhang, the main purpose of my visit this time is to understand how the company is developing now. As for your shares, I’m not planning to do anything with them for the time being, so please rest assured. I won’t interfere with the company’s overall operations, and I certainly won’t meddle in your decisions.”

After hearing what Xu Ke said, Zhang Hongyu’s heart relaxed a little.

Although he’s deeply grateful to old Mr. Xu, the company really is the work of his entire adult life.

If Xu Ke came in and immediately started pointing fingers at the company’s development, Zhang Hongyu absolutely wouldn’t be able to tolerate that.

But from Xu Ke’s words he could tell that Xu Ke was just here to test the waters for now.

As for future plans, Xu Ke hadn’t revealed much.

After all, Zhang Hongyu is a seasoned old fox in the marketplace; with one glance he could see that Xu Ke is actually setting up a big game.

But none of that really matters to Zhang Hongwei; as long as it doesn’t affect his business, Xu Ke can stir things up however he likes.

Besides, his company has recently run into a major crisis; if Hongyu Group can’t make it through this, they stand a very real chance of facing bankruptcy.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll briefly introduce to you, President Xu, our company’s main industries at the moment. Ever since our founding, we’ve been in the precious metals business. Right now, 50% of our business comes from the domestic market, and the remaining 50% comes from cooperation with other countries. Among them, we work most closely with the U.S., because they’re constantly engaged in various industrial activities over there, so their demand for precious metals is especially high. On top of that, domestic precious metals business has been sluggish lately, so in recent years we’ve been racking our brains to expand our markets overseas.”

The problem Zhang Hongyu has run into recently is a particularly tough opponent he encountered while expanding overseas.

And this opponent is extremely well-known in the domestic market, especially in the heavy metals sector, where its reputation far surpasses that of Hongyu Company.

The other side is precisely relying on their vast family assets and business empire to harass Hongyu’s operations again and again.

Last month they had already signed a contract with a foreign company, but this opponent suddenly stuck a foot in.

They even paid an enormous penalty fee just to snatch the deal from Hongyu’s hands.

Through an investigation afterwards, Zhang Hongyu learned that the boss of that company is named Zhang Rui.

Zhang Rui’s Star Group is not based in the capital; his main base is actually in Su City.

But simply because his family business is so large, they basically have a branch in almost every city.

The main job of these branches is to collect market intelligence in the precious metals field.

And once they get the intelligence, their Headquarters over in Su City will spare no effort and no cost to take that business.

Some time ago, Zhang Hongyu did a deal, and the funds still haven’t come back yet. Coupled with the sudden appearance of Zhang Rui, his company is now facing a massive cash shortfall.

Although Star Group paid them a very large penalty, that penalty is ultimately nowhere near enough to plug such a huge funding gap.

And because of the funding issues, Zhang Rui has already run to several banks, but Zhang Rui had already made prior arrangements—no bank is willing to grant Hongyu a loan.

You have to understand, with the project they’re working on right now, if they don’t inject funds in time, it’s very likely to be deemed fraudulent.

If it’s once determined to be fraud, then Zhang Hongyu will be finished in the business world.

Everyone knows the most important thing for a company is its reputation; nothing is more important than that.

If a company loses its reputation, then no matter how much business it has, it’s all for nothing.

After listening to Zhang Hongyu, Xu Ke quietly took out his phone.

Before coming to Hongyu Group, he had already sent his people out to investigate.

Just now, his men had sent the results of the investigation to Xu Ke’s phone.

Xu Ke opened his phone and saw detailed information on Hongyu Group’s recent situation.

When he read about the entanglement between Hongyu Group and Star Group, Xu Ke’s brows furrowed slightly.

He actually knows this Star Group; although their main base is in Su City, they’re very active in other cities as well.

Practically every city in the country has one of their companies, and Xu Ke has even visited them before.

It’s just that they weren’t in the same industry, so Xu Ke hadn’t paid too much attention.

But he hadn’t expected Star Group to pull something like this now. In the report, Xu Ke could clearly see everything Star Group had been doing recently.

On the surface they’re using very standard commercial tactics, but anyone with eyes can see they’re being vile and shameless.

This Star Group is practically ruthless in its pursuit of business, utterly devoid of conscience.

At this point Xu Ke also understood that Hongyu’s capital chain is suffering a severe shortage.

The report even noted that over the past few days, Zhang Hongyu has been shuttling around from bank to bank.

Judging from his itinerary over these days, it seems not a single bank is willing to lend to him.

Xu Ke doesn’t even need to think to know this is definitely Star Group’s doing behind the scenes.

After all, banks are in the business of making money; they’re obviously going to help whoever can bring them more profit.

Given the current situation, Star Group can definitely bring the banks the most profit.

They’re certainly not going to offend Star Group just for Hongyu Group’s sake. Banks aren’t stupid; when it comes to making money, they’re sharper than anyone.

Xu Ke felt he’d come at exactly the right time. Originally, he hadn’t wanted to meddle in other people’s business, but now it’s clear that staying out of it is no longer an option.

If he doesn’t step in, Hongyu Company might not even be able to survive this crisis.