Chapter 1701: I Can Help You

After reading the report, Xu Ke silently closed his phone.

Now he had a general understanding of Hongyu Group.

At the same time, he already had an initial idea in his mind; he decided to lend a hand to Zhang Hongyu.

After all, he still held a 30% share in Hongyu Company. Although these shares were not of much concern to him, they were ultimately related to someone his grandfather had helped in the past.

In terms of both emotions and reason, Xu Ke could not just watch Hongyu Group encounter trouble without doing anything.

After all, the benefits that Hongyu Group had brought to Xu Group over the years were significant; Xu Ke fully understood the idea of shared destiny.

“President Zhang, judging from what you said earlier, I’m curious about the company’s current operating situation. What kind of business is the company involved in at present?”

Upon hearing Xu Ke’s words, Zhang Hongyu was slightly taken aback.

He had not expected Xu Ke to inquire about the company’s recent business situation, which far exceeded his initial expectations.

After all, he hadn’t planned on informing Xu Ke about the company’s recent issues initially.

After all, he and Xu Ke were not that closely related, so there was no need to share these internal matters with him.

Also, Zhang Hongyu didn’t want to trouble Xu Ke.

After all, the elder Xu had helped him so much in the past, and he had no reason to constantly bother them for further assistance.

“Mr. Xu, recently, the company has been engaging in the precious metals business, and we’ve been expanding into overseas markets. So far, the situation has been very favorable.”

Upon hearing Zhang Hongyu’s words, Xu Ke’s expression was slightly playful.

He immediately saw through Zhang Hongyu’s intentions; Zhang Hongyu evidently didn’t plan to disclose the real situation to him.

“President Zhang, I’m already aware of everything you just said. However, what I’m really curious about is, is this really the business our company is currently engaged in? How come I heard that the company has encountered some tiny troubles recently? You’ve reportedly been visiting several banks because of this.”

Xu Ke’s words left Zhang Hongyu completely stunned; he didn’t expect Xu Ke to know about the recent occurrences in their company.

Even if Zhang Hongyu were foolish, he understood that Xu Ke must have investigated their company’s recent condition before coming.

The strength of Xu Group is well recognized in the industry; if they wanted to investigate a company, it would be as easy as pie.

Seeing the situation could no longer be concealed, Zhang Hongyu had no choice but to reveal everything.

“Mr. Xu, I had no other choice, honestly, I didn’t want to trouble you. Initially, all our business was running smoothly, but then the Xingxing Group suddenly intervened out of nowhere. This completely disrupted our original plan. Our company does have a lot of money, but it has all been invested in other projects. This fund cannot be retrieved in the short term, and if these funds cannot be filled, our company will be charged with fraud. You know once our company reaches that stage, it’s practically synonymous with bankruptcy.”

What Zhang Hongyu said aligned perfectly with what Xu Ke had learned; indeed, he was facing this exact issue.

The cooperation Zhang Hongyu mentioned was already in its final stages.

If he couldn’t gather the funds at this crucial moment, it might render all prior preparations in vain.

It must be noted that Hongyu Group had invested a full five hundred million in this project.

If the project succeeded, they could earn at least three hundred million in profits.

However, if this final step of fundraising was not completed, they would incur catastrophic losses.

Moreover, they would also have to face legal consequences, and perhaps even charges of fraud.

“What you just mentioned, I’m already aware of now. What ideas do you have for the current predicament? I’d like to hear what insights you, as chairman, might have.”

Xu Ke quietly watched Zhang Hongyu.

Zhang Hongyu was extremely nervous, even though Xu He in front of him was about the same age as his son, this young man exerted immense pressure on him.

Zhang Hongyu had never seen this kind of aura even in Old Man Xu; it was unexpected that he would feel it today from the grandson of Old Man Xu.

Zhang Hongyu didn’t even dare to breathe heavily, fearing any mistake in his words would make Xu Ke go into a rage.

“I really don’t have any good ideas now; the company has indeed reached a dead end. I have also sought help from several banks, but they have all been bribed by the Xingxing Group.”

Bringing up this matter caused Zhang Hongyu’s anger to surge again.

This Xingxing Group was only capable of scheming behind the scenes; if it were a fair competition, how could they be a match for Hongyu Group?

In terms of precious metals, although they are leaders in the industry, Zhang Hongyu had never feared anyone in the overseas market.

Xu Ke saw that Zhang Hongyu had reached the end of his rope; he truly had no solutions left now.

Xu Ke suddenly remembered Zhang Hongyu’s worried face when he first arrived. It seemed that this must have been the reason for his distress.

“President Zhang, we both understand each other well, so I won’t beat around the bush with you. Frankly, I can help you with this matter. But you know that doing anything requires a price; naturally, I can’t help you for free.”

Xu Ke’s words were quite clear, indicating that he could assist Zhang Hongyu through this crisis. However, nothing in life is free; Zhang Hongyu needed to offer him something in return, or he wouldn’t provide assistance.

Zhang Hongyu was already at his wit’s end, and upon hearing Xu Ke’s words, it felt like grasping at a life-saving straw.

As long as Xu Ke was willing to help, his company could surely overcome this difficulty.

“Mr. Xu, as long as you lend a hand, anything I can do, I will agree to.”

Zhang Hongyu now considered Xu Ke his only lifeline, knowing that if he missed this opportunity, it would truly be the end for him.

Xu Ke was not surprised at all by Zhang Hongyu’s answer.

Because he now had no other choice, he was Zhang Hongyu’s last hope.

Xu Ke had already made up his mind; he was actually quite interested in the precious metals business.

However, he knew he couldn’t openly compete with Hongyu Group for the business.

Therefore, Xu Ke planned to use another way to involve himself in that business.

“President Zhang, in fact, this demand is quite simple. It’s a win-win situation for both of us. After I help you overcome this obstacle, you’ll need to give me a 15% share of all future business from your company. But I certainly won’t just sit back and reap benefits for nothing. I will utilize Xu Group’s resources to provide various conveniences for you. In other words, your business can henceforth leverage our connections.”

Listening to Xu Ke’s proposition, Zhang Hongyu fell into deep thought.

Honestly, a 15% cut from every deal was indeed quite substantial.

But the condition Xu Ke proposed afterward was incredibly tempting.