Tofvsky found that he had underestimated the situation. News of his shortage of working capital had leaked out.
Their doorstep was surrounded by countless workers. "Tofvsky, give us our hard-earned money! We need bread, we need food! Didn't you say you were going to raise our wages?"
"Forget raising wages, even giving us what we were getting before would be fine. We demand our salaries!"
"You can't be eating and drinking well while we workers freeze! We can't go on living like this."
Seeing the workers' rising clamor, Tofvsky grew annoyed. He stepped out and shouted,
"Please, stop making a fuss! I have everything under control. A train car full of Zhang Ji canned goods is arriving soon. Once this batch is sold and the money is in hand, I'll immediately pay your salaries, okay?"
Upon hearing Tofvsky's words, the workers quieted down slightly, then shouted again.
"No way! To prevent you from not paying us after you get the money, we have to go with you."
"We'll go too, we'll go too!"
"I have a suggestion. Aren't we afraid he won't pay us? Why don't we just divide the canned goods directly and consider it our wages? That way, Tofvsky saves trouble, and we get the canned goods. We can figure out how to exchange them for cash ourselves. What do you think of this idea?"
"This idea is good, this idea is brilliant, this idea is fantastic!"
"Agreed!"
"Seconded!"
Hearing the workers' words, Tofvsky was dumbfounded. His original intention was to use some of the money from these canned goods to pay the workers' wages and then revitalize some assets. Otherwise, he would be in deep trouble.
He never expected the workers to want to divide the canned goods directly. That would make his future path much more difficult.
However, looking at the situation, he had no right to refuse.
This was the land of the fighting nation, and they couldn't handle these workers; there were too many of them.
They were all Russian, and they understood each other. No one was pretending to be foolish.
Tofvsky nodded in agreement. He would deal with one crisis at a time. No mountain was too high to climb.
Everyone excitedly went to the train station and saw a full train car of Zhang Ji canned goods. Tofvsky's face was incredibly bitter.
"I've made a preliminary estimate. These canned goods should be enough to cover your wages. What I want to say is, after you divide the canned goods, please continue working. I need your labor. You don't want me to go bankrupt, do you?" Tofvsky said with a wry smile.
The crowd burst into laughter. "That's not a problem. We trust you. After all, we know a starved camel is still bigger than a horse."
"No problem. If you don't have enough money, another train car of canned goods would be acceptable. But let's make it clear beforehand, we only want Zhang Ji canned goods. We don't want any other brands."
Tofvsky agreed to everything one by one. As long as they worked, everything could be negotiated. Right now, he had no choice but to agree.
He didn't want to think too much about it now. It seemed he still needed Zhang Tianxing's help.
Tuofunawa walked over. "Brother, I have some bad news."
"Go ahead. I can take anything now. Let the storm come harder!" Tofvsky thought, things were already this bad, how much worse could they get?
"Several stocks we hold have been suspended. The resumption time is yet to be determined." Tuofunawa delivered the news. Tofvsky spat out a mouthful of blood.
Tofvsky had planned to sell the shares at a steep discount, but now that opportunity was gone.
"This must be Chen Sancang's scheme! Otherwise, it wouldn't all happen like this. Chen Sancang wants us dead!"
At this point, everything seemed clear. However, he and his sister had never dealt with Chen Sancang.
What was going on? They had no interaction with this Chen Sancang.
"Sister, let's not think about this for now. Our top priority is to raise money. Right, contact Zhang Tianxing again and see if he can provide us with more support." Tofvsky said.
"Brother, Zhang Tianxing can't support us indefinitely. After all, we are one family, but his business is just a canned goods factory!" Tuofunawa hit the nail on the head.
Tofvsky finally said, "Let's do this. Starting with China B-shares, we'll cut our losses on this deal. We'll admit the loss on this one and start looking for our next target."
Just then, an assistant rushed in. "Young Master Tofvsky, bad news! The cotton-padded clothes from last time have quality issues. People are demanding returns now. The quality of these cotton-padded clothes is completely substandard; they're filled with shoddy cotton!"
This news was the last straw that broke Tofvsky's composure. "Chen Sancang, may you die a horrible death!!"
Seeing the chaotic scene, Tuofunawa shouted, "Everyone, calm down! Register one by one. See how many cotton-padded clothes they have and what their losses are. Register everything clearly. We won'trenege on our debts, but we request time. If you push us too hard, we will have no choice but to declare bankruptcy, and you will get nothing!"
Hearing Tuofunawa's words, everyone quieted down. They were all trying to minimize their losses, and now Tuofunawa had made a promise. They began registering according to her instructions.
At this point, Tuofunawa had no choice but to call Zhang Tianxing. "Brother Tianxing, something big has happened at our home. It's like this: we have no working capital right now, only some China B-shares, and those stocks are suspended, so we can't trade them. My idea is, can we use these to cover your payment for the goods? We really have no other choice right now."
Tuofunawa didn't want to make this call. She didn't want her weak and helpless appearance to be seen by Zhang Tianxing, but the survival of the family left her no choice.
Zhang Tianxing was stunned when he heard this. "China B-shares are undervalued. They will definitely recover in the long run and will converge with A-shares. You can hold onto them with confidence."
He wouldn't guarantee anything else, but at present, B-shares were at historical lows. How much lower could they go?
Tuofunawa was on the verge of tears. She knew this, but they had no other options. There weren't many choices available to them.
After much deliberation, they decided to ask Zhang Tianxing to take over. After all, Zhang Tianxing would not treat them unfairly.
"Alright, I can accept your suggestion. However, what is the market value of your B-share holdings?" Zhang Tianxing asked after a moment's thought.
"It's not much now, about 150 million US dollars on the market."
What? Zhang Tianxing thought he had misheard. He didn't have that much money.
Even if he sold himself, he wouldn't have that much money.
"I don't have that much money, nor do I have that many goods," Zhang Tianxing said with a bitter smile. The number was too large; it scared him to death.
"Brother Tianxing, what we actually need now are goods, preferably high-quality leather jackets, cotton-padded coats, and your Zhang Ji canned goods. We only want good quality ones. Don't send any poor quality ones. My brother misjudged and bought a batch of cotton-padded clothes filled with shoddy cotton, which is like adding insult to injury," Tuofunawa said helplessly, stating her requirements. Now it all depended on how helpful Brother Tianxing could be!