At this moment, a stout middle-aged man asked, "Mr. Long, what should we do about our business affairs during this period? We can't just remain idle, can we?"
The crowd exchanged glances, all looking towards Long Zecheng.
Long Zecheng smiled calmly, "I've already discussed with Mr. William. Chengming Group currently has one ongoing project, and the companies that are currently without business can participate in it together."
The stout middle-aged man frowned slightly, "Mr. Long, with so many of our companies, one project might not be enough to go around, right?"
William Yormann suddenly interjected, "This is only temporary, not a long-term arrangement. Moreover, once we get through this period and secure our alliance with the Long family, wouldn't that be beneficial?"
Another middle-aged man stood up, "Mr. William is right. However, we still have bank loans to repay. President William, are there no other projects? Could you allocate more to us?"
"Or perhaps, gentlemen, could you share some of your recent projects with us?"
Upon hearing this, the other bosses quickly waved their hands, "No, no, no, we also have loans to repay, and business is difficult for everyone right now."
"That's right, our projects are only enough to keep our companies running, and the clients specifically recognize only our companies. It's impossible for you to come in as material suppliers."
A silence fell over the room.
Long Zecheng's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at William Yormann beside him.
William Yormann's expression also appeared somewhat grim.
After all, he had just arrived at Longhua, and his company's cash and projects had all been seized by Hengchang Real Estate. Now, his company was also short on funds to take on more projects.
"President William, we have already terminated our contracts with Hengchang Real Estate and paid the liquidated damages. Shouldn't this project you have be given to us?" a man asked.
"Why should it be given to you? We also paid a considerable amount in liquidated damages," a middle-aged man retorted.
The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly tense.
However, at this moment, the middle-aged woman's phone suddenly rang.
The middle-aged woman cast an apologetic glance at everyone before answering the call.
"Boss, no, it's bad news! Lin's Real Estate has announced they are unilaterally terminating our contract! They said they will no longer use the materials we provide." As soon as the call was connected, a man's hurried voice came from the other end.
"What! Unilateral termination? Why?!" The middle-aged woman was stunned.
"We asked them, and they said... they said we targeted Hengchang Real Estate, that we lacked commercial ethics, and that we were not fit to continue cooperating with them."
Boom!
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her face turning deathly pale.
"Boss, what... what should we do now?" the man's urgent voice sounded again on the phone.
"I... I understand," the middle-aged woman had no idea what to do.
After replying, she hung up the phone with a devastated expression.
The middle-aged woman's sudden cry attracted the attention of everyone present.
Seeing the middle-aged woman hang up, the middle-aged man beside her quickly asked, "Manager Li, what happened?"
The middle-aged woman slumped back against her chair, "Lin's Real Estate has announced they are terminating our contract."
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, some were surprised, while others were excited.
They felt this was their opportunity.
William Yormann frowned slightly, "Manager Li, why did Lin's suddenly announce their termination with you?"
The middle-aged woman replied, "Because they said we united to target Hengchang Real Estate, that we lacked commercial ethics, and therefore, they would no longer cooperate with us."
William Yormann's expression instantly turned grim.
"What?!" The people around were shocked.
Just then, two middle-aged men's phones rang almost simultaneously.
After hearing the situation on the phone, they also looked incredulous.
"Lin's has terminated our contracts too!"
"Us too!"
Suddenly, everyone else's phones began to ring.
A moment later, everyone's faces turned extremely grim.
One person said, "The boss of Huilong Real Estate just called me. A prominent figure contacted him and told them to stop cooperating with our companies."
The crowd looked at each other.
Finally, all eyes fell upon William Yormann and Long Zecheng.
The middle-aged woman couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Long, President William, what do we do now? Our dozen or so companies, with at least a thousand employees, we can't just starve with you, can we?"
"That's right!"
Seeing someone take the lead, everyone nodded in agreement.
Those who had previously said they would follow Mr. Long's arrangements now turned their accusations towards Long Zecheng.
William Yormann looked at Long Zecheng.
Seeing that Long Zecheng remained silent, his face grim, William Yormann had to brace himself and say, "Everyone, please hold on for a moment. If Hengchang Real Estate collapses, you will be the ones to benefit."
"President William, we are afraid we will collapse before Hengchang Real Estate does."
"Yes, how about you cover our company's monthly loan payments and employee salaries? Then we can wait with you for a few months."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
William Yormann's expression became even more grim.
What a joke. For over a dozen companies and a thousand employees, even if each person received just five thousand yuan, it would cost five million yuan a month, not to mention the loans. Combined, their Chengming Group would likely collapse within a month.
"President William, our cooperation requires sincerity. You can't just draw a pie for us and expect us to follow you to our deaths?" the middle-aged woman said, standing up directly.
Seeing that William Yormann remained silent, the middle-aged woman said coldly, "Since that's the case, our cooperation must be forcibly canceled."
With that, the middle-aged woman turned and walked out of the conference room.
Seeing someone leave, the rest of the crowd also stood up and left.
In just a moment, only Long Zecheng and William Yormann remained in the conference room.
"Is this your plan?" Long Zecheng asked William Yormann.
Today, he, Long Zecheng, had lost all face! It was like picking up a rock only to drop it on his own feet.
William Yormann explained, "Mr. Long, you can't blame me for this. It's all because of that Chen Mo. He took away three projects from us. After paying the liquidated damages, our group is now out of money."
Long Zecheng said sternly, "President William, if this is all you're capable of, I think our cooperation can end here."
As he finished speaking, Long Zecheng stood up to leave.
Seeing this, William Yormann quickly stood up, "Mr. Long, I have another plan that will ensure Chen Mo never gets back on his feet."