Chapter 41

"Jin Meifeng is back!"

This news spread like a whirlwind throughout most of Jinzhou City.

It was said that around nine o'clock this morning, someone saw Jin Meifeng driving a brand new BMW X6 to the Jinzhou City Government Building.

When this news was combined with the rumors that had been circulating in the city for the past few days about the possibility of Hengyang Group ending its bankruptcy liquidation and instead undergoing bankruptcy reorganization, anyone involved in the matter couldn't help but perk up their ears...

In the afternoon, it was said that Jin Meifeng was seen visiting the Hengyang Group's office building again, and it was rumored that Secretary of the Party Secretary of the city, Ma Wenkang, got out of the car with her...

Zhu Changyuan, who had been trying to get information for several days but had not heard any solid evidence, returned to the company in the afternoon and locked himself in his office, smashing many things. By evening, he had put on a contrite smile, grabbed his briefcase, and hurried out the door.

That evening, the banquet hall on the eighth floor of Jinhu Grand Hotel in Jinzhou City was bustling with people. Every invited guest, upon seeing the banner hanging at the entrance of the banquet hall, would involuntarily shudder...

The banner was prominently displayed in red with yellow letters, reading, "Warm Congratulations on the Successful Opening of the Hengyang Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. Bankruptcy Reorganization Seminar."

Before coming to Jinhu Grand Hotel, most people didn't even know what the theme of the banquet was tonight!

Upon entering, they found that the Party Secretary of Jinzhou City, the Mayor, the Executive Vice Mayor, and other district leaders were sitting at the same table as the radiant Jin Meifeng. As the largest creditor of Hengyang Group, the branch manager of the Construction Bank was also chatting and laughing at that table!

At 7:30 PM, Jin Meifeng stood up and walked to the temporary stage.

As she stood up, the previously noisy banquet hall suddenly became so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping, and everyone's attention was focused on Jin Meifeng.

Party Secretary Ma Wenkang, sitting in the main seat, turned to look at Jin Meifeng and smiled at the people at the same table, saying, "This matter has taken a dramatic turn, but from the look on General Manager Jin's face, it seems she is confident of success."

Everyone at the same table nodded and smiled in agreement. As one of the top taxpayers in Jinzhou City, no one wanted to see Hengyang Group go bankrupt and close down.

On the other hand, the groundwork laid by Yang Chen also played a significant role.

Most of the district and city leaders present tonight had their children involved in the affairs of Zhao Zeran and Meng Haobin.

The benefits they were supposed to receive had already been distributed, and since this was a matter that would benefit everyone, these leaders were not about to refuse Jin Meifeng's face. Therefore, upon receiving the call tonight, they all rushed over, no matter how busy they were.

With the support of the main leaders of the city and district governments, Jin Meifeng's smile was confident. She scanned the people sitting there tonight and said, "I believe many of you here tonight are wondering... what exactly is Jin Meifeng up to. Let me be straightforward: Hengyang Group... will not go bankrupt!"

"Most of you here are creditors of Hengyang Group. I know the past few months have been tough for everyone, just as they have been for me. But tonight, I want to tell you all... after our efforts, Hengyang Group has found a new partner. This partner will invest several billion yuan to initiate the bankruptcy reorganization plan of Hengyang Group..."

"According to an authoritative third-party evaluation report, if Hengyang Group were to go through bankruptcy liquidation, the total value of all its assets would not exceed 800 million yuan, and all of you here would suffer significant losses..."

"But if we undergo bankruptcy reorganization, we are confident that we can minimize your losses, at least recovering more than 15% of the economic losses compared to bankruptcy liquidation! Moreover, after the bankruptcy reorganization of Hengyang Group, we will re-sign cooperation agreements with all of you and pay the relevant amounts for the next quarter in advance to help you through the current difficulties..."

The 15% figure was quite significant. Although some people were skeptical about the valuation of the assets, it was not far off from their own estimates.

When Jin Meifeng got to this point, someone asked, "Our company is almost broke... 15% more is indeed tempting, but if it drags on for one or two years, we would rather choose bankruptcy liquidation!"

Hearing this, many people who had already shown interest nodded in agreement... In business, cash flow is crucial. If the bankruptcy reorganization would make them wait for one or two years, they would rather take less and not wait any longer, as everyone had their own difficulties and could not afford to be owed by Hengyang Group!

The hall buzzed with discussion, clearly weighing the pros and cons.

However, Jin Meifeng raised her hand and gently pressed it down, waiting for everyone to quiet down before smiling and saying, "You don't need to worry about this. As long as everyone approves this resolution tonight, the payments will be made to your accounts by mid-October, the 15th at the latest!"

This was a soft but pointed statement, implying that if the resolution was not passed tonight, they would not get their money back anytime soon.

Jin Meifeng had discussed with Yang Chen the previous night that if it didn't work out, they would let Hengyang Group go through bankruptcy liquidation and then buy it back piece by piece with sufficient funds!

If not for Yang Chen's repeated emphasis on the importance of the Hengyang Lab and his concern that competitors like Sujiang Group might interfere, Jin Meifeng had even considered registering a new company to complete the acquisition of Hengyang Group...

That way, the cost would be much lower than the investment required for bankruptcy reorganization.

So she was very confident. After saying that, she even added, "This reorganization opportunity was something I fought hard for. Our partner's original plan was to wait until Hengyang Group went through bankruptcy liquidation and then step in to complete the acquisition..."

At that point, you wouldn't even have the chance to negotiate!

Everyone understood Jin Meifeng's meaning.

But someone still called out, "We trust General Manager Jin's credibility... but this is a matter of real money. What if we sign the agreement tonight and don't get the money on time?"

Jin Meifeng remained silent.

Party Secretary Ma Wenkang stood up at the right moment and said calmly, "A 250 million yuan deposit can be transferred to Hengyang Group's account at any time. This is a guarantee we can provide as the municipal government."

With Ma Wenkang's words, all the creditors of Hengyang Group present tonight put aside their concerns.

Shortly after, several young people entered the banquet hall with trays holding the pre-printed consent forms.

It took nearly half an hour for everyone to sign.

Only after Jin Meifeng received the signed consent forms did she finally break into a radiant smile. Standing on the stage, she raised a glass of red wine and said, "Thank you all for your understanding and tolerance over the past few months, which has given Hengyang Group a chance to be reborn... This glass of wine is to you all!"

"General Manager Jin is generous!" someone responded loudly, causing a burst of laughter.

These four words had a story behind them and were clearly inappropriate for a woman, but they had become one of Jin Meifeng's labels—bold, generous, and decisive.

The banquet was a harmonious affair. Although everyone would suffer some economic losses, it was much better than Hengyang Group going through bankruptcy liquidation... They never intended to get all their money back with interest!

Moreover, some of them had been doing business with Hengyang Group for over a decade. Now that Hengyang Group had secured new funding and was regaining vitality, the better Hengyang Group did, the more benefits they would receive.

To be honest, apart from the difficult period of the past year due to the cash flow crisis, Hengyang Group had always been a trusted brand. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let Hengyang Group owe them more and more, right?

The district and city leaders did not stay until the end but left the hotel one by one after seeing that everything was settled.

Before leaving, each of their cars was given a small bag of heavy "local specialties" by Tang Yino... The leaders pretended not to see it; if they couldn't handle this in the political arena, they shouldn't be in it.

The banquet, which lasted for several hours, continued until around 11:00 PM. After the leaders left, the seats around Jin Meifeng were never empty, as people lined up to talk to her.

Most came to congratulate her, while a few came to apologize... including Zhu Changyuan, who had already drunk a few glasses of white wine before coming!

Alcohol emboldened him, and Zhu Changyuan, half-drunk, didn't care about his dignity anymore.

He waited until most people had left before slowly approaching Jin Meifeng. His face was flushed, whether from shame or alcohol...

"General Manager Jin, about that matter last time..."

"I understand. We are all business people; who hasn't been tempted by money at some point?" Jin Meifeng smiled, but her words carried a hint of sarcasm. She knew why Zhu Changyuan was here.

"Ha... ha..." Hitting a soft nail, Zhu Changyuan laughed awkwardly and then said cautiously, "I, Old Zhu, was blinded by the Sujiang Group's tricks..."

"How big of an order did Sujiang Group give you?" Jin Meifeng was very interested in this.

But mentioning this made Zhu Changyuan angry. He laughed bitterly, "We agreed on at least a two-year cooperation period, producing paper packaging for Sujiang Group... but... but we only lasted one month."

"The quality of the packaging didn't meet their requirements?" Jin Meifeng looked at Zhu Changyuan with interest.

Zhu Changyuan complained, "You know the quality of our company. Sujiang Group was deliberately making things difficult. The first batch of 150,000 boxes was returned, 130,000 of them... just because the edges were a few millimeters off!"

"Ah..." Jin Meifeng smiled faintly but said nothing.

Zhu Changyuan's face turned red like a monkey's bottom, and he scratched his head, "I, Old Zhu, did something wrong, but a few days ago, I had my son apologize on my behalf..."

"That white BMW 520? You were thoughtful."

"General Manager Jin, I've been feeling guilty these past few months. How could I do such a despicable thing when you were in your most difficult time? When I saw your son buying a car at the store, I just wanted to show my sincerity..."

"I know about this." Jin Meifeng nodded lightly, "Let's put the past behind us. I'm not the type to hold grudges. Have your people send over a new quotation, and I'll see if there's a possibility of continuing our cooperation."

"Thank you, General Manager Jin... Thank you, General Manager Jin!" Zhu Changyuan was overjoyed and thanked her repeatedly.

After the cooperation with Sujiang Group failed, his company's situation also worsened. Some of the companies he was working with canceled their cooperation after seeing what he did to the Yang family.

If he could regain the cooperation with Hengyang Group, it would be like a second chance for him!

The banquet was a great success, and most of the issues were resolved tonight.

After leaving the hotel, Jin Meifeng got into the car driven by Tang Yino. For some reason, when she looked at Tang Yino driving from the side, a thought suddenly came to her...

Jin Meifeng thought, "This girl is quite pretty... and she's very efficient and capable, a good match for a wife... If it weren't for her humble background and low education, she would be a good choice for a daughter-in-law..."

But this thought didn't last long, and she shook her head lightly. She decided to let her son handle his own affairs, wondering if he had any such thoughts.

"Achoo..."

At that moment, Yang Chen, who was far away in the central part of Nanhe Province, sneezed. The crazy Taoist beside him looked at him curiously and asked, "You're at the peak of the fourth stage, and you can still catch a cold?"

"Is someone at the peak of the fourth stage not human? Can't they get sick?" Yang Chen glared at him and said, "Don't get distracted. After drawing the talisman, we still need to do some work on it to make it look like a proper talisman..."

At the moment, the crazy Taoist, under Yang Chen's guidance, was drawing a talisman that was a complex pattern of lines and symbols, a significant departure from traditional talismans!

The crazy Taoist held his breath, nodded slightly, and then focused on drawing the lines on the paper...

Drawing a talisman at the mid-third stage was a first for him!

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