bookbashuk Chapter 1823 At least you can save your mother.
Chapter 1823 At least you can save your mother.
"Who knows?" Xu interrupted him abruptly, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. Then he burst into a shrill and manic laugh, until his eyes were red. "Who knew you would ruin the entire Xu family's livelihood?"
After laughing wildly, he slapped Xu Zhi across the face again.
This slap was even harder than the last one.
Xu Zhi was knocked to the ground and crashed into the leg of the desk, the pain making his vision go black.
"You think you can just move 15 billion like that? Do you even know that 15 billion represents ten years of my hard work? It's the life-saving money I painstakingly scraped out of a 2.4 trillion hole!"
Xu Jiayin clutched his aching chest, pointed at Xu Zhi's nose, and said, his words dripping with anguish, "And you! You used it to speculate in stocks! Now look what's happened, you owe 237 billion! And what about the money from those powerful and wealthy people! Tell me, how are you going to pay it back?!"
The commotion in the study was so loud that it finally alerted the upstairs neighbors.
There was a sound of hurried footsteps at the stairs.
Lin Wanqiu's voice, filled with panic and unease, came through the door: "Old Xu? A-Zhi? What are you arguing about in there?"
The door was gently pushed open a crack, and Lin Wanqiu peeked in. She immediately saw Xu Zhi lying on the ground with blood on his lips, and her face turned pale instantly.
Ignoring the lingering lingering scent of decadence in the study, she rushed in, knelt down to help Xu Zhi up, her voice trembling.
"What happened? Why did he suddenly start hitting someone?"
When Xu Jiayin saw her, the madness in his eyes intensified. Pointing at Xu Zhi, he roared at her, "Ask your good son! He embezzled 150 billion yuan of our family's overseas funds to speculate in stocks, lost it all, and even owes 237 billion yuan! He also dragged those powerful and wealthy people into it! Our Xu family is going to be ruined by him!"
Lin Wanqiu held onto Xu Zhi's arm, her fingertips trembling. "What? Zhi, is what your dad said true?"
He was the one who did it, and Xu Zhi had no way to defend himself. He could only cover his face and nod.
Seeing this, Lin Wanqiu slapped him with her hand in exasperation.
After sighing, he advised, "Old Xu, what's the use of hitting or scolding him now that it's happened? Ah Zhi just wants to help the family..."
"Share the burden?" Xu Jianhong seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He suddenly raised his voice, spitting all over Lin Wanqiu's face. "He's digging up our Xu family's ancestral graves!"
He pointed at Lin Wanqiu's nose, his chest heaving violently: "It's you! It's because you spoiled him since he was a child! You never gave him what he wanted, and you always covered for him when he got into trouble! You turned a blind eye when he embezzled company money; you even said he was capable! Now look what's happened, he's really messed things up! He's ruined the entire Xu family's livelihood!"
"I didn't..." Lin Wanqiu's tears finally fell. She turned her head away, looking at the shattered celadon paperweight on the ground, her voice choked with sobs, "I just didn't want him to suffer..."
"Don't want him to suffer?" Xu Jianhong sneered, took a step forward, and kicked the mahogany chair next to him hard. The chair crashed to the ground with a jarring sound. "Now our whole family will pay for the injustice he suffered!"
Just then, Xu Jiayin's phone, which was on his desk, vibrated.
He paused for a moment, then quickly walked over and grabbed the phone.
The name of the group's vice president flashed on the screen. His heart skipped a beat, and his fingertips trembled as he pressed the answer button.
"Hey?"
"Chairman Xu! Something terrible has happened! Our bidding qualification for that plot of land in the south of the city... has been cancelled!"
Xu Jiayin's pupils suddenly contracted, as if he couldn't believe his ears: "What did you say? Say it again!"
"It's true. The bidding office just sent a notice saying our company's 'creditworthiness is questionable,' and they've kicked us out! And...and the shantytown redevelopment project in the west of the city, the government also said they need to reassess our qualifications for cooperation, and they've told us to suspend all contact with them!"
With a "boom," it was as if something had exploded in Xu Jianhong's mind.
That piece of land in the south of the city was a lucrative target he had been eyeing for half a year.
This was the only chance the Xu family could turn things around before their cash flow dried up.
The urban renewal project in the west of the city was a lifeline he managed to secure after countless drinking sessions.
Now, it's all gone.
He stood frozen in place, and his phone fell to the ground with a "thud".
"So fast...how could it be so fast..."
Jiang Cheng's revenge came so suddenly and so ruthlessly.
After standing frozen for three seconds, he suddenly bent down, picked up his phone from the ground, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and opened his contacts.
In the address book, the names marked "Old Zhao," "Chairman Wang," and "Director Zhang" all looked like red-hot branding irons at that moment.
He stared at the screen, his throat tightening. He raised his hand to dial, his fingertips hovering over the call button, but then suddenly stopped.
The night outside the window was so dark it was almost impenetrable; the clock had already passed two in the morning.
At this hour, those people are either sound asleep in a boudoir or socializing in a private club; aren't they all arrogant and haughty?
Calling now would only make you an enemy.
Xu Jiayin's chest heaved violently as he gritted his teeth and gripped his phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Wait until dawn, then we'll fight."
He had to beg these people, even if it meant abandoning all his dignity and self-respect.
The money of those powerful and wealthy people is tied to the Xu family. If the Xu family falls, they won't benefit either.
He was betting on this last bit of mutual support, a bond that would be unbreakable if one of them were to perish.
Seeing his distraught yet pretentious state, Lin Wanqiu's tears fell even harder, but she dared not utter a single word.
Xu Jiayin's gaze shifted from the shattered celadon paperweight to Xu Zhi's face, which was filled with resentment.
His taut jawline relaxed slightly, and his tone lost its previous hysteria, replaced by a deep-seated weariness.
"What do you think I moved that 500 billion overseas for?" He tugged at the belt of his bathrobe, the trembling of his fingertips hidden in the wide sleeves. "So that one day when the empire collapses, your mother can live a peaceful life with this money, and you can have a way to survive without having to go to jail with me!"
Xu Zhi suddenly looked up, the fierceness in his eyes fading slightly, replaced by a hint of surprise.
“In my whole life, I’ve bowed at the dinner table, played dumb in front of others, and walked on the edge of a knife to scrape this little bit of money out of a 2.4 trillion hole,” Xu Jiayin’s voice grew hoarse. “Every transaction, every overseas trust contract, I signed it all, I handled it all. It has absolutely nothing to do with your mother or you! I’m going to take all the blame upon myself!”
"I want you and your son to be able to live a peaceful life abroad with that money, even if I fall one day!" Xu Jiayin's eyes reddened, but he stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.
Xu Zhi opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Most of the surging hatred and grievances dissipated in his father's words, leaving only a sharp, inescapable sense of guilt.
Lin Wanqiu stood to the side, covering her mouth, her tears falling silently onto the floor.
It turns out that all those shady dealings her husband had been doing all these years were for the sake of this family.
Xu Jianhong looked at Xu Zhi, who was speechless.
His voice turned cold again: "I'll clean up this mess. But let me tell you, this is the last time. From now on, don't touch any overseas accounts. If you dare to act on your own again, I'll personally send you to jail, at least to save your mother!"
The next morning, Jiang Cheng carried a box of snacks to his grandfather's residence alone.
The old man was sitting in a wicker chair, tending to an old bonsai tree, pruning its branches and leaves with unhurried movements.
Hearing footsteps, he didn't even look up, and slowly said, "I know about what happened last night..."
Jiang Cheng sat down next to him, his fingertips casually brushing the leaves of the bonsai, his tone relaxed yet earnest: "Grandpa, I didn't cause you any trouble, did I?"
Hearing this, the old man put down the scissors and glanced at him.
A faint smile played in his eyes, but his tone exuded an undeniable confidence: "Trouble? What trouble? He's just a real estate developer who rose to power through scheming and currying favor; he can't cause any trouble."