Chapter 28: The Shifting Tides of Fate

Just after Xinmin Group successfully completed its operation in the iron ore market, it had grown powerful enough to rival many of the country’s renowned futures firms. It had also become friends with Huayu Group, making it a rising star in the financial world.

Yet, as the saying went, a tree that stood out in the forest would be struck by the wind. The financial market was only so large, and if one more person came to claim a share, everyone else would receive less. Thus began a conspiracy by the financial world as a whole to target Xinmin Group.

Li Sen was the first to sense that something was wrong. To begin with, Xinmin Group encountered repeated obstacles whenever it sought loans. Furthermore, several small ventures undertaken after the iron ore operation failed one after another, leaving the company’s accounts frequently in the red. It was perfectly normal for a business to have both gains and losses; after all, the marketplace was a battlefield.

There was nothing unusual about people trying to take money from their pockets. But this time, it felt as though they were being deliberately targeted, as if their opponents intended to crush them without leaving them any chance to survive. There was an old Chinese saying: Leave some room in your words and actions, so that you may meet again under better circumstances. No matter when or where, one should never push matters too far— even a rabbit would bite when driven into a corner. Clearly, the powerful figures targeting Xinmin Group had never heard that saying.

Ever since the iron ore deal and the recruitment fair, Xinmin Group’s accounts had repeatedly shown losses. Chen Zijie, the secretary Li Sen had hired at the recruitment fair, reported to him with a worried expression, “Secretary-General, based on my experience, I’m afraid our company is being deliberately targeted.”

Seeing that the matter could no longer be concealed, Li Sen reported it to Li Fengyu. Sitting at his desk and reading the report, Li Fengyu said anxiously, “Li Sen, this matter is extremely serious. There’s nothing I can do about it. We must report it to Lin Chu immediately.”

“Does Lin Chu have a way to resolve it?” Li Sen asked.

Li Fengyu shook his head. “Probably not.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

Li Fengyu suddenly turned around. “None of us can resolve this matter. If the report is merely a coincidence, then there’s no problem. But if it proves to be true, our future business will become extremely difficult. We were still able to negotiate with Huayu Group before, but confronting the entire financial world is beyond our strength. The people in that world are all major figures. Even if we offer them a share of our profits, there would be no possibility of negotiation. The only option is to ask Lin Chu’s father to step in.”

At that moment, the office door opened, and Lin Chu entered Li Fengyu’s office. He seemed somewhat dispirited. Before Li Fengyu or Li Sen could say anything, Lin Chu spoke first.

“You’ve run into trouble, haven’t you? I already know what happened.”

Li Fengyu looked bewildered, while Li Sen appeared surprised. Then Li Fengyu suddenly understood. He walked over to Lin Chu and asked, “Since you already know what happened, could you ask your father for help?”

Lin Chu shook his head at first. Then he told them everything that had happened that day.

It turned out that Lin Chu had received a call from his father that morning. His father was himself a prominent figure in the financial world. After Li Fengyu completed the iron ore operation, several fellow financiers had called him. They promised that if he abandoned Xinmin Group, they would give him a larger share of the Chinese financial market.

Although Lin Chu’s father knew how difficult it had been for his son to build his foundation through years of hard work, he had finally relented in the face of even greater profits.

Some might wonder why they were willing to allocate a share of the profits to Lin Chu’s father, yet refused to give anything to Xinmin Group. The reason was simple: Lin Chu’s father shared the interests of the entire financial world. They formed a single whole. Xinmin Group, however, was an outsider.

It was much like leaving an inheritance to one’s son but not one’s grandson; and if there were no son, leaving it to one’s younger brother rather than to an adopted child. They were “family.” Xinmin Group, which had no blood ties to them, was therefore the obvious sacrifice.