Chapter 580: Time to Go Home!

Beijing. Yanjing Television Factory!

In early autumn, the leaves of the vast maple groves in Yanjiao had turned red. From a distance, the mountains and fields were a sea of fiery red, as if ablaze.

But not far from the foot of the mountain, the television factory presented a different scene. The mood among the factory’s many workers and managers was gloomy, with worried expressions on everyone’s faces.

Although the factory was still filled with the roar of machinery and everyone was swamped with work, the place appeared peaceful and bustling.

But no one knew how much longer this could last—ten days… half a month… or a month?

Almost all the workers and managers knew that the televisions produced at the factory weren’t being sold once they rolled off the assembly line; instead, they were all being sent to the large warehouse.

Compared to last month, the factory’s sales figures had improved slightly, but only from 3,000 units to 3,500.

A mere increase of 500 units—not even a day’s worth of production.

For a factory of this size, it was practically insignificant.

More importantly, everyone now knows that the month’s wages the factory paid them were allocated by the district government.

Furthermore, the factory has taken out a massive loan of 1 million from the bank.

In other words, not only have the problems not been resolved, but the factory’s debt has actually increased.

What everyone finds most unacceptable is that the guy who kept promising to solve their problems only showed up once on the day the workers protested, and hasn’t been seen since.

As a result, every employee and manager at Yanjing Television Factory is seething with frustration.

It’s like a massive powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

In the factory office conference room, several factory leaders were in a meeting!

Seated at the head of the table, Plant Manager Jiang—who had recently returned to the factory after recovering from his injuries—glanced at the “newcomer” Sun Feng sitting below him, then frowned and asked, “Deputy Plant Manager Sun, haven’t you been able to get in touch with Consultant Li yet?”

“No. I spoke with Director Jiang from the Second National Cotton Mill. He said Consultant Li is busy with other matters and is currently unavailable,” Sun Feng replied calmly.

“What are we going to do then? There are only about ten days left until the deadline we agreed upon with the Electronics Factory and the other units. If Consultant Li still hasn’t returned by then, we won’t be able to explain ourselves to anyone!” Director Jiang said gravely.

“I trust Consultant Li. Since he said he’d resolve the issue within a month, I’m sure it’ll be fine!” Sun Feng replied.

“What good is your trust? If something goes wrong, they won’t be coming after you, the deputy plant manager!” Plant Manager Jiang said bluntly.

Factory Director Jiang was thoroughly dissatisfied with this newly appointed executive.

“By the way, I heard from the finance department that your sales division spent 400,000 yuan in just 20 days. Where did all that money go? Don’t you owe the factory an explanation?”

Sun Feng frowned and said, “Director Jiang, what do you mean by that?”

“I don’t mean anything by it. You’ve squandered 400,000 yuan without any clear explanation. This factory has a right to know where that money went,” Director Jiang said coldly.

Sun Feng suppressed his anger and said, “What do you mean ‘squandered’? We used that money to expand our sales channels. If Director Jiang has any doubts, he’s more than welcome to have someone audit the books.”

“But I must warn you: I’ve noticed that the production department’s efficiency hasn’t been very high these past few days. If this causes a delay in Consultant Li’s production schedule, I think he’ll hold you accountable!”

“You…”

Before the other man could even open his mouth to explode, Sun Feng stood up abruptly and strode out of the conference room!

As soon as he stepped out the door, he heard the sound of cups shattering inside, followed immediately by Director Jiang’s furious roar.

Sun Feng didn’t look back; he just let out a long sigh and headed downstairs!

Although he had been firm just now, Li Yi’s continued absence still left Sun Feng feeling a bit uneasy.

After all, Li Yi had promised the factory’s staff and management that he would resolve the matter within a month, and he had also told the upstream suppliers that payment would be made in a month’s time.

But twenty days had already passed, and he still hadn’t taken any further action, which made Sun Feng quite worried.

Sun Feng didn’t doubt Li Yi’s capabilities, after all, he had witnessed firsthand how Li Yi had transformed the Second National Cotton Mill—a factory with a completely ruined reputation—into the most profitable factory in the Beijing area.

That extraordinary marketing skill was truly a sight to behold, and on top of that, he had casually revived the candy factory. The TV factory was in far better shape than those two plants, so there was no reason he couldn’t turn it around.

Most likely, he was currently held up by some other matter and had no time to attend to this.

He feared that by the time Li Yi returned, the one-month deadline would have passed. By then, the factory would be beset by internal and external crises, and implementing the subsequent plans would likely be fraught with difficulties!

But with things having come to this, there was nothing he could do. He could only pray to heaven that Li Yi would return as soon as possible to take charge—otherwise, the Beijing TV Factory would truly descend into chaos!

……….

Hong Kong!

Whether it was in response to Sun Feng’s prayers or not, Li Yi was indeed preparing to return.

The matter with the Lai family had only just been resolved, and with his brother-in-law and the others having just arrived in Hong Kong, there were still some matters he needed to settle.

Otherwise, even if he went back, he wouldn’t be able to rest easy.

Fortunately, things went relatively smoothly from there!

On the evening of September 21, Huang Lixing personally led a team to Wan Chai Pier to meet with Mr. Jiang of the Qinglong Society.

After a round of “friendly” negotiations, Mr. Jiang not only agreed to return all of Old Huang’s assets but also decided to retire from the underworld, handing over the Blue Dragon Society’s entire organization and assets to Old Huang to manage!

Upon hearing the news, Li Yi nodded in satisfaction!

The other side was quite reasonable, which spared them the need to resort to force.

As for the Wan Chai Pier, Li Yi was determined to secure it.

It wasn’t that he truly wanted to get involved in the underworld business on Hong Kong Island; to be honest, he didn’t really care about the Blue Dragon Society’s shady operations.

With all the investment opportunities swirling in his mind—where a few simple moves could yield tens of millions or even hundreds of millions in profits—why would he dirty his hands with those harmful enterprises?

However, the smuggling fleet under Old Huang’s control held immense significance for Li Yi—and even played a crucial role for the nation. To put it plainly, just transporting the money he earned for the country back home required Old Huang’s fleet.

Similarly, when it came to procuring equipment and technology in short supply domestically, Old Huang’s fleet was the only viable option.

Therefore, control of the Wan Chai Pier—the only place where the fleet could dock—had to remain firmly in his hands.

Shortly after news broke that Old Huang had reclaimed the Wan Chai Pier, the Li family also received good news.

Through their secret operations, they successfully acquired 16% of the shares held by other shareholders of Longheng Bank.

In addition, they acquired 11% of the floating shares through the stock market. Combined with the Lai family’s 42% stake, the Li family now held a total of 69% of Longheng Bank, securing a controlling interest.

With this, they would be able to successfully convene a shareholders’ meeting and restructure the board of directors.

At that time, leveraging their massive 69% stake and the “capital” used to resolve the Li family’s 1 billion yuan in bad debt, the Li family would be able to directly secure the position of Chairman of the Board, thereby gaining complete control over Longheng Bank.

Upon hearing this news, Li Yi realized that matters here could be temporarily put to rest, and that it was time for him to return.

So he said his goodbyes to Huang Lixing and Li Futiao, then prepared to set off on his journey back north!

…….