Early in the morning.
As soon as Xu Tianhou arrived at the company, he saw his beautiful secretary, her plump hips swaying, rush into the office with an anxious expression.
"Mr. Xu, something terrible has happened!"
"What's all this rushing for? Speak slowly." Xu Tianhou said with dissatisfaction.
The beautiful secretary took a breath and said weakly, "I received calls from two major clients who are terminating our cooperation."
Hearing this, Xu Tianhou's brow furrowed: "Did you ask for the reason?"
"I did. They said that Lu Group's new project is seeking cooperation with them. With Lu Group as their backer, they simply don't have the capacity to cooperate with us anymore." The secretary said aggrievedly.
These two major clients were the pillars of the company.
The profits were basically entirely reliant on them.
Now, with them suddenly terminating cooperation, it was no different from a financial storm, catching them completely off guard.
Xu Tianhou's face darkened, and he waved for the secretary to leave.
He then rubbed his temples, a look of annoyance on his face, and picked up the phone to call one of the major clients.
As soon as it rang twice, it was hung up. When he tried again, the number was invalid.
It was obvious he had been blocked.
Trying the other one yielded the same result, angering him to the point of almost smashing his phone.
Damn it, when it rains, it pours. Tong Chuan is missing, Hengmen has withdrawn from Qin Zhou, and now this.
Has heaven gone blind!
"Damn it, they were fine, practically wearing the same pants as us. As soon as they hooked up with Lu Group, they turned their backs. These bastards!"
While he cursed, Xu Tianhou knew that this kind of thing was normal. They only had single supply contracts, no long-term strategic contracts, so the clients could withdraw at any time.
But for him, it was an unexpected blow.
The economic environment was already very bad.
With the company's current financial strength, losing these two major clients meant it could only last for another half a month at best.
The interest on bank loans alone could drag him down completely.
He couldn't just wait to die!
He had to find other solutions.
Xu Tianhou made over a dozen calls, and most of the replies were that they already had partners and wouldn't consider changing in the short term.
Qin Zhou was a small place, and there were only so many similar companies.
Once relationships were fixed, it was very difficult to poach clients, unless it was a behemoth like Lu Group.
This was an unsolvable dilemma.
But he couldn't just watch the company be slowly drained dry. He had to develop new business.
*Ring, ring...*
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the phone rang.
Seeing the number, it was a broker named Huang Yongshou. He vaguely remembered meeting him at the Confucian Temple and buying a couple of genuine items from him.
"Hello, what is it?" Xu Tianhou was annoyed and his tone was very unfriendly.
"I have a big deal. I don't know if Mr. Xu is interested?" Huang Yongshou's voice was full of temptation.
"What big deal can a small broker like you have? You have quite the ambition!" Xu Tianhou sneered, as if this could alleviate his annoyance.
Huang Yongshou didn't care and chuckled: "A deal worth hundreds of millions. I'm just seeing if Mr. Xu is interested. If not, I'll find someone else."
This statement made Xu Tianhou's heart skip a beat, but he quickly regained his composure.
Hundreds of millions?
It sounded tempting. The antique circle could indeed have deals worth hundreds of millions at any time.
But what did that have to do with him? He was just a player. Not to mention that he didn't have the financial capacity now, even if he did, he would be afraid of making a bad investment and losing everything.
"Be my guest!"
With that, Xu Tianhou hung up.
He propped his legs on the desk, closed his eyes, and rested.
On the other end of the phone, Huang Yongshou looked at Li Chonglou with a helpless expression: "Master Li, this kid isn't taking the bait."
"It's normal. If he were that stupid, he wouldn't have his current business." Li Chonglou's expression remained unchanged; everything was within his grasp.
Huang Yongshou was merely a catalyst, planting a seed in Xu Tianhou's heart.
At this time, Lu Yunxu should have already sent people to contact Xu Tianhou's two major clients.
No company, no matter how large, could ignore financial pressure.
Especially in these economically depressed times.
Even if Xu Tianhou had a hundred minds, he wouldn't be able to get through this.
"Brother Wang, it's your turn." Li Chonglou called Wang Dehai and instructed him faintly.
Soon, a piece of leaked information about a tomb excavation began to circulate throughout Qin Zhou's middle-class business circles.
This information was extremely precise. It didn't reach the ears of the high-end business circles like Lu Group, nor did it alert the antique circle.
But it ensured that Xu Tianhou would hear about it.
Wang Dehai, though fallen, was still a big player. He was the former leader of Qin Zhou's underworld. Such a small matter was easy for him.
"Wang Dehai? That former local thug in Qin Zhou? Isn't he about to go bankrupt?" Less than half an hour later, Xu Tianhou heard this news in his office and immediately stood up.
Greed flickered in his eyes.
He hadn't known what the deal worth hundreds of millions was before, but he found out when his subordinate reported it.
It turned out to be an incompletely excavated ancient tomb.
It was said that a piece of cloisonné enamel, in perfect condition, had already emerged, and Wang Dehai had acquired it.
Next, it was said that he was going to excavate the entire tomb.
"That's right. I inquired. Wang Dehai sold some of his family's collection to ease the pressure. Now he's probably tasted the sweetness of reselling antiques." The subordinate whispered.
This made Xu Tianhou's pupils contract sharply.
He was the first to be contacted about this matter, and unexpectedly, a thug like Wang Dehai had gotten ahead of him.
If he hadn't known, it would have been fine. But now that he had heard about it, how could he be at peace?
He was currently worried about money. If he could earn tens of millions from this, he would have a chance to revive the company.
With the money he still had on hand, this deal could be made.
"I understand. You may leave." Xu Tianhou calmly dismissed his subordinate.
Immediately, he dialed Huang Yongshou's number, his tone now more amiable: "Master Huang, I was in a meeting this morning and couldn't talk in detail."
"The deal worth hundreds of millions that you mentioned, shall we find a place to discuss it properly?"
"There's nothing to discuss. Someone has already taken it. Opportunities wait for no one. Perhaps next time, Mr. Xu." Huang Yongshou hung up the phone decisively.
Hearing this, Xu Tianhou's face turned pale and green, and a trace of malice rose in his eyes.
The fatty meat that was almost in his mouth flew away in an instant. Who could stand this?
Especially when he was in dire need of money!
"Wang Dehai, is it? An outdated old thug, and he wants to snatch the meat from me? Does he have the qualifications!" Xu Tianhou's greed flashed intensely in his eyes.
He sneered and made a phone call, instructing, "Old Lin, this is Xu Tianhou. I'm going to report someone."
"His name is Wang Dehai. He's been to prison before; he's an old thug."
"Yes, that's right. Help me investigate him. It shouldn't be too difficult. Find a way to detain him for three days. I don't believe he has no skeletons in his closet."
After finishing this call, Xu Tianhou's face showed a smug expression.
Direct competition was not his forte.
But doing people in secretly, he was very experienced.
Compared to him, Wang Dehai was still too young to contend with him!
As long as he was locked up and couldn't get out for three days, wouldn't Huang Yongshou proactively contact him?
Waiting for the rabbit to come to the door!