Xiao Chaoren did not refuse Old Ma Ge this time. Although the situation had become unpredictable with the appearance of the insignificant person Yi Bei, Old Ma Ge had persevered step by step and even made a comeback, truly a son of destiny. Perhaps he could weather this storm too?
If he refused Old Ma Ge this time, there would be no further investment opportunities in the future.
Therefore, Xiao Chaoren quickly went to Hangzhou. The two parties enjoyed a convivial dinner. During the banquet, Old Ma Ge nonchalantly dismissed Yi Bei's actions as mere "vermin."
"Not necessarily. Yi Bei China is backed by the massive Yi Bei Group, a publicly traded company with a market capitalization exceeding $70 billion. This campaign has cost the Forty Thieves a significant amount of capital, severely wounding them. But for Yi Bei, it's less than an hour's fluctuation in their stock price!" Xiao Chaoren retorted.
He had to retort, otherwise, how could he acquire shares in the Forty Thieves at a good price!
"Yi Bei is bound to fail!" Old Ma Ge shook his head, a confident smile on his face. "I'll just mention one thing: the delivery problem. Yi Bei can't find a single courier in China willing to cooperate with them. All the couriers are still handling the business of our Forty Thieves platform. For at least a month, they won't be able to accept Yi Bei Mall's business!"
"By then, even if Yi Bei Mall can sell, they won't be able to ship!"
"Is that so!" Xiao Chaoren showed surprise. He hadn't considered the delivery issue. Could it be that Yi Bei's campaign was just a lot of noise and fury, signifying nothing, and unable to pose a fatal threat to the Forty Thieves?
"Xiao Chaoren, we were partners before, so I'm telling you the truth and being upfront," Old Ma Ge said. "In life, offering help in times of need is always better than adding splendor to an already glorious occasion!
"I do need your funding right now, so we can sit down and discuss financing. But in a few days, once my problems are resolved, we will lose the opportunity to cooperate forever!
"Let me put it this way: if you agree to invest today, I can offer you the biggest discount. But if you don't agree today, my price will increase by one cent every day until I no longer wish to sell!" Old Ma Ge was indeed Old Ma Ge, daring to threaten Xiao Chaoren at this moment, causing the latter to hesitate.
Just as Xiao Chaoren was about to be persuaded and prepare to invest, his secretary suddenly walked in and whispered a few words into his ear.
"Mr. Ma, let's wait a few more days and see," Xiao Chaoren said, standing up and smiling at Old Ma Ge after hearing his secretary.
"What happened?" Old Ma Ge instinctively felt that something might have gone wrong again.
"It's not a big deal! You'll know soon enough!" As Xiao Chaoren finished speaking, Old Ma Ge's secretary also hurried in and handed a document to Old Ma Ge.
Old Ma Ge glanced at it, and his entire body seemed to tremble.
It was an announcement from Yi Bei, officially declaring their cooperation agreement with Jiangnan Express. Jiangnan Express would fully integrate with Yi Bei Mall to assist with its logistics and delivery services!
The delivery issue that had plagued Yi Bei Mall was now completely resolved.
"Mr. Ma, we'll see you in a few days!" Xiao Chaoren left with a reserved demeanor. Old Ma Ge remained seated for a full twenty minutes until many of his company's senior executives came to check on him.
"Don't worry, it's just a minor funding issue. I have a way. It's only a little over a billion yuan, easily obtainable!" Old Ma Ge's smile returned to his face, and he then said to Lou Wensheng, "Wensheng, go and post an announcement on Zhuanqianbao. Zhuanqianbao is launching a brand new campaign. You draft the announcement, the general idea being that for every amount of money deposited into Zhuanqianbao, users can receive an equal amount of free spending credit.
"For example, if someone deposits 10,000 yuan, not only will they have an extra 10,000 yuan in Zhuanqianbao, but they will also receive 10,000 yuan in half-price cash coupons in their Gouhuasuan wallet for spending. However, this 10,000 yuan cash will be unlocked at 5% per month, spread over 20 months.
"Furthermore, the 10,000 yuan in Zhuanqianbao will only be unlocked after all the cash coupons have been redeemed, meaning it will be unlocked after 20 months.
"Yes!" Lou Wensheng swallowed as he listened. Despite Old Ma Ge's casual delivery, the idea he came up with was astonishing and earth-shattering.
10,000 yuan directly became 20,000 yuan. Even if it took 20 months, that was an annual interest rate of nearly 60%, a rate that would make all funds kneel and sing praises of submission.
Except for a company called "America First Foundation" in the United States this year, no other fund had ever produced such exaggerated interest rates.
It was conceivable how many people would want to deposit money into Zhuanqianbao once this campaign was announced. It was possible that the Forty Thieves could attract over a billion yuan in funds overnight.
However, in this case, when it was time to repay the money after 20 months, they would truly be committing suicide.
Of course, even if it was suicide, it would buy them 20 months. Perhaps after 20 months, the Forty Thieves would have completely resolved their funding issues and be able to repay this extraordinarily high interest loan!
Old Ma Ge was using his life to buy time!
But at this moment, this seemed to be the only way!
Just as Lou Wensheng was about to grit his teeth and publish the announcement, the secretary rushed in again with a very troubled expression.
"What bad news is there now?" Old Ma Ge rubbed his head.
"Mall users are requesting a large number of returns!" the secretary said softly. "Currently, over 4.6 million orders have applications for returns and refunds. These orders were for goods that had not yet been shipped due to logistics reasons, so the system had no reason to reject them and processed the returns directly.
"We have already refunded over 100 million yuan in cash to users, and more return applications are continuing to come in. Our finance department colleagues are asking if we should stop the user return and refund function, otherwise, the accumulated funds in the account might all be returned to users within three days!"
"..." Old Ma Ge's pupils widened instantly, and his entire being contorted into a look of sheer ferocity.
It was hard to believe that just yesterday, Old Ma Ge had been holding a joyous celebration party, his face beaming with smiles.
"Why? Why are there so many return orders?" Old Ma Ge couldn't help but ask.
"Our colleagues analyzed that it's likely because Yi Bei Mall's promotions are more favorable, offering an additional 10% discount compared to ours. Moreover, our products are delayed in shipping, so consumers are returning their orders, using that money to purchase from Yi Bei Mall, which would be even cheaper," the secretary explained.
"These scoundrels, don't they have any business ethics? How can they have the nerve to return orders that have already been placed?" Old Ma Ge roared in anger, seeing these consumers as heinous villains at this moment.
Old Ma Ge seemed to have forgotten that he was the first to break faith and forcibly alter contract terms.
"Boss, why don't we just find an excuse to stop the refund function?" Jin Yuanying suggested.
"No... that won't work. Even if you use system malfunction as an excuse to delay, it won't last long, maybe a day or two at most. And this time it's the buyers, the consumers, not the merchants.
"No matter how much merchants fuss, they are the business entities, and it can be handled as a commercial dispute with GS.
"But if consumers make a fuss, and their numbers are large, it becomes a social issue, and we will be in serious trouble!
Old Ma Ge was still rational enough to know that consumer interests could not be touched.
"The key to solving the problem still lies with Zhuanqianbao. Hurry, hurry and release the new promotional announcement. As long as Zhuanqianbao can accumulate more than 2 billion yuan in funds for us, we can survive!" Old Ma Ge clenched his fists.
Lou Wensheng quickly went, but not long after, he returned in terror. "Boss, our Zhuanqianbao's fund account has been frozen!"
"What, what did you say? Who dares to freeze my account?" Old Ma Ge had just started to recover, but another bolt from the blue struck him.
"It's HSBC Bank!" Lou Wensheng said in distress. Since Zhuanqianbao was a joint venture with HSBC Bank and Yingke Fund, Zhuanqianbao's accounts were naturally opened with HSBC Bank. Therefore, it was only natural for HSBC Bank to freeze Zhuanqianbao's account!
"On what grounds did they freeze my account?" Old Ma Ge demanded.
"I asked. HSBC Bank said they need to conduct a quarterly fund audit. According to the company's articles of association, during the audit period, funds can enter but not exit the account!" Lou Wensheng explained.
"Nonsense, the fund audit is on the 20th. There are still nine days left."
"I did mention that, but HSBC told me that the audit time in the contract is not fixed. It's centered around the 20th, and the investigation can be flexibly conducted within the 20 days from the 10th to the 30th.
"HSBC also specifically told me that when the bank initially set this rule, it was to prevent people from manipulating the 20th to forge funds and deceive the investigation, hence the flexible audit rule!"
"HSBC, I'll screw you..." Old Ma Ge suddenly stood up, staggering as if he couldn't stand steadily.
"Boss, there's a court summons..." Jin Yuanying walked in, panicked.
"Shut up!" Lou Wensheng quickly stopped her.
"No, let her speak!" Old Ma Ge struggled, gasping for breath.
"The court has issued a summons stating that over a thousand merchants have jointly filed a lawsuit against us, alleging that we unilaterally modified the contract and violated the principles of fair trade. They demand that we immediately revert to the previous contract and immediately disburse the funds that are due to them.
"Additionally, someone has reported us for the illegal use of company funds, and the court requires an investigation into our accounts. They might also freeze our company's accounts!" Jin Yuanying said.
"..." Old Ma Ge's eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
This was the first time Old Ma Ge had fainted since the campaign began on October 20th.
Despite enduring countless hardships and crises before, Old Ma Ge had never fainted. But now, he had.