For Wang Qinghai and the others, the declining profits of Baijin Home Appliance Supermarket were not the most pressing issue.
What was even more critical was that their leases were due to expire at the end of the year.
When they first opened their stores, they had chosen emerging commercial districts and signed long-term leases, typically for ten years, with very low annual rents.
However, these commercial streets had now matured and attracted significant foot traffic. Naturally, the landlords were no longer content with the old rental rates and began to demand exorbitant sums.
Many store rentals, which were previously only a little over a hundred thousand yuan annually, now saw rents skyrocket to millions or even tens of millions!
With revenues already declining, the sudden doubling of costs meant that Baijin Home Appliance Supermarket could foresee substantial losses in the coming year, or even several years.
In this situation, these individuals became incredibly envious of Bing Tian Pharmaceutical’s current daily profits.
Just then, Wang Yufei’s eyes suddenly gleamed with a mischievous idea.
“Big Brother, it’s your foresight and Ling Tian’s ability that Baijin Pharmaceutical is making money, and we’re not jealous of that.
However, during the family division, more than half of our cash was distributed to you.
Now that the year-end is approaching, my younger siblings are having a hard time, especially with paying the migrant workers’ wages.
Big Brother, could you lend us some funds to help my siblings through this difficult period?”
Wang Yufei was a very shrewd woman. She knew very well that the eldest son, Wang Qingtian, was a kind-hearted and extremely filial person.
Her feigned distress was intended for their father to see.
If their father saw his children struggling, then Wang Qingtian, as the eldest son, would surely have to step in and help.
This was essentially blatant moral blackmail, disguised with ethics and family affection.
Upon hearing this, Wang Qinghai quickly chimed in.
“My sister is right, Big Brother. We’re having a tough time now. The country is tightening its monetary policy and not lending to real estate companies. It’s incredibly difficult for us to secure loans now.
We’re not asking for much. If you could just lend us a billion yuan, it would be enough for us to get through this crisis.
Of course, we won’t let you pay for nothing. We’ll pay all the interest you’re owed, not a cent less.”
Wang Qingtian’s expression turned extremely grim. These individuals had found his weakness.
He desperately wanted to refuse this unreasonable request, but their father, sitting beside him, had a somber expression, his thoughts unreadable.
Wang Qingtian feared that a direct refusal would deeply upset their father.
At this moment, Wang Bingxia spoke up.
“Aunt, Uncle, I’m very sorry, but we don’t have that much money either!”
“Your revenue is over 3 billion yuan, how can you not have it? Cosmetics have such high profit margins…” Wang Yufei said with great dissatisfaction.
Wang Bingxia sneered, “Aunt, our new products require promotion, and we need a large amount of funds for advertising and marketing. Our advertising expenses alone amount to several hundred million yuan this month.
Furthermore, our factory’s production capacity cannot keep up, and we need to invest heavily in purchasing materials and upgrading production lines.
All of this requires money. How can we possibly have so much to give you!”
“But I refuse to believe you don’t even have a billion yuan!” Wang Qinghai said indignantly.
Upon hearing this, Wang Bingxia rolled her eyes.
“Uncle, actually, we might have been able to gather a billion yuan.
However, you instructed Xu Gang to sabotage us, which wasted over a month of our development time and nearly a billion yuan of our funds.
Don’t think your actions were seamless. Xu Gang has already confessed!”
The Xu Gang mentioned by Wang Bingxia was the former general manager of Baijin Pharmaceutical, who was Wang Qinghai’s man.
However, this individual had already been sent to prison for embezzlement.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Who is Xu Gang? I don’t know him at all!”
Wang Qinghai feigned extreme anger and vehemently denied it, yet everyone could see his palpable guilt.
Wang Qingtian was surprised that his daughter had resolved such an awkward situation with just a few words. He realized how truly intelligent this girl was.
With that, Wang Qingtian relaxed. He simply sat there, lowered his eyelids, and pretended as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that this tactic wouldn’t work on Wang Qingtian, Wang Yufei turned directly to their father.
“Dad, can you say something fair? We’re in trouble now, and Brother has the ability to help us but isn’t doing so…”
Consider how disgusting it was for a man in his forties to act so childishly and flirtatiously towards his father in front of so many people.
All eyes turned to the face of Old Master Wang Chunfeng. These people believed that Old Master Wang might compromise because of this.
However, Old Master Wang, who had remained silent, had seen everything and understood the situation perfectly.
Especially after the family division, Old Master Wang had a clearer view of his children’s true natures.
“When we divided the family assets, I said that everyone should act within their means. If you don’t have the skill, don’t take on the responsibility.
The businesses you chose, whether you can manage them well depends entirely on yourselves!”
Wang Qinghai and Wang Yufei couldn’t help but frown, as their father’s words seemed to carry a hidden meaning.
“Since we’ve divided the family, we should act accordingly. Even if this family business is ruined by your hands, that is your own affair.
I, an old man, will not clean up any messes you create, and don’t think about dragging your brothers and sisters down with you!”
Everyone was stunned. Their father was completely washing his hands of the matter.
“I know my eldest son very well. If he truly had the money to spare, he wouldn’t stand by and do nothing.
Pharmaceutical companies, while appearing to have astonishing revenues, also burn through money at an alarming rate.
Bing Tian Pharmaceutical is at a critical juncture and requires substantial funds. It’s unrealistic for him to take out so much money to support you at this time!
As I said before, find your own solutions. Get loans, seek financing, or sell if you can’t sustain it!
Don’t be here every day, eating from the pot, looking into the basin, and still coveting what’s in the bowl!”
After speaking, the Old Master stood up and declared the meeting adjourned.
Wang Qingtian, Ling Tian, and Bing Xia left with smiles on their faces, leaving Wang Qinghai and the others staring at each other in the conference room.
“The Old Master is too biased towards the eldest!” Wang Yufei complained.
“Give it a rest. You’re the youngest in the family, and the Old Master favors you the most!” the third son, Wang Qingshan, said grumpily.
“But why has the Old Master become like this…” Wang Yufei said in disbelief.
“Who knows? Dad might be getting senile,” Wang Qingshan muttered discontentedly.
Just then, the eldest sister, Wang Yulin, stood up.
“If you could also raise children like Bing Xia and Ling Tian, the Old Master would surely favor you too!”