Gu Lou's face was still pale as he thought of the gunfire just now.
It had been truly terrifying. He hadn't expected the people from the National Chamber of Commerce to be so ruthless, to the point of hiring assassins to kill him.
If it weren't for the 24-hour protection provided by Chen Jiayuan's residence, he would have wanted to hide away right now.
"How did I get exposed so early?" Chen Jiayuan frowned, puzzled. Logically, it shouldn't have happened this quickly; it should have taken at least another year or two.
How could this idiot have exposed himself ahead of time?
Fortunately, there was nothing left of him to exploit. As long as he didn't reveal anything about the bank, Chen Jiayuan didn't care how he dealt with himself.
"It's all because of that Zhang Liunian causing trouble. Wasn't there a discussion about project development at the National Chamber of Commerce today?
He insisted on pinning me down, calling me a spy sent by the Hong Kong merchants.
I don't know how those people believed him, but they all treated me like a spy.
Chairman Chen, you must help me.
Now that my identity is exposed, I can't stay in Pengcheng. I have to go to Hong Kong to lie low for a while. I'll need your ships to escort me. When we depart, you'd better send more men. Those radical elements from the National Chamber of Commerce are waiting outside. If I show up, I'll probably be shot to pieces."
Gu Lou cherished his life immensely and had never considered throwing it away here. Thus, when something like this happened, his immediate thought was to seek help from Chen Jiayuan.
However, he overlooked Chen Jiayuan's character. Chen Jiayuan was a self-serving individual. For someone with no value to him, he wouldn't bother expending any manpower or resources.
Still, Gu Lou still had a sliver of value left to be extracted. Chen Jiayuan had to get this last bit before anything else.
"That's no problem, but you have to pay the price. I remember you haven't repaid the tens of millions you borrowed from me. Now that this has happened, you probably won't be able to. In that case, all your factories will be transferred to my name, and you will still hold 5% of the shares.
What do you have to offer in exchange now that you want to go to Hong Kong?"
Chen Jiayuan was not one to perform charity. If Gu Lou wanted him to handle something, he had to show sincerity. Although he didn't intend to truly help him, he wouldn't go against his own interests.
"I'll give you all my 5% shares in the factories. From now on, those businesses will have nothing to do with me. With these shares, I can trade for safe passage to Hong Kong, is that acceptable?" Gu Lou had planned this when he came. He definitely wanted to keep his existing wealth and assets for his only son, San Qing. However, he considered the 5% shares of the factories as a bargaining chip to give to Chen Jiayuan.
He believed Chen Jiayuan would be delighted. After all, obtaining such a large factory for free would earn Chen Jiayuan a significant profit, so why would he object?
The reality was as Gu Lou expected. Chen Jiayuan naturally would not refuse. He immediately produced a contract and finalized the agreement with Gu Lou.
Once the contract was signed, Chen Jiayuan prepared to arrange for someone to escort Gu Lou away.
But Gu Lou suddenly decided to depart at midnight. He felt that the people outside wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
By midnight, they would be at their most exhausted, and he would be safer then.
Seeing his cowardly nature, a hint of disdain flashed in Chen Jiayuan's eyes, but he still agreed to let him stay overnight and leave at five in the morning.
With Chen Jiayuan's nod, Gu Lou felt much relieved. He contentedly rested until the next morning, then left Chen Jiayuan's courtyard escorted by Chen Jiayuan's bodyguards.
Along the way, they encountered gunfire, but they managed to narrowly escape. Gu Lou only felt at ease after arriving at the ship bound for Hong Kong.
However, he had clearly relaxed too soon. As he stood on the deck, gazing towards Hong Kong.
At some point, a pair of hands appeared behind him. These hands gave him a forceful shove, pushing Gu Lou overboard, his fate unknown.
When Gu San Qing received the news, he was not surprised. Instead, he instructed people to quickly retrieve his father's assets in Hong Kong.
As for the family's properties, he paid them no further mind. Before Gu Lou left, he had said that all these things would become Chen Jiayuan's.
This old man was truly wasteful. A vast enterprise was given away to someone else overnight, and he, as his son, only received a small portion of the assets and some real estate, with negligible value.
However, that Chen Jiayuan was indeed extremely cunning. Although he hadn't safely delivered his father to Hong Kong, he still accepted all of their family's assets.
Fortunately, Plot 10 still fell into his hands, and it could be developed in the future.
Meanwhile, Chen Jiayuan, who was being spoken of, was furious. He discovered that he had been outmaneuvered by that old man, Gu Lou.
Because yesterday, he hadn't mentioned that the bank was also exposed. He had only said his identity was exposed, never mentioning that the bank was their venture and that the National Chamber of Commerce had discovered this fact.
And so, when the bank opened its doors this morning, the old cronies from the National Chamber of Commerce were all withdrawing their money, every last cent.
The responsible person below discovered this and immediately reported the news to him. Although he was surprised, he still instructed them to proceed with the transactions.
There was no other way. The bank had only been open for less than a week. If word got out that deposited money couldn't be withdrawn at this time, wouldn't it mean their bank lacked creditworthiness?
How could that be? If such a reputation were to arise, who would ever deposit money in their bank again?
Therefore, without hesitation, he ordered people to process the withdrawal requests.
Afterward, he sent people to investigate why the National Chamber of Commerce old-timers had become so shrewd, withdrawing their funds early.
Upon inquiry, he discovered that the matter had originated from Gu Lou and Zhang Liunian. However, Gu Lou had not informed him of this, which put him in such a passive position.
"He died well. If he hadn't died, I would have killed him today. He kept such important information from me, causing all the chess moves I had set up to fall apart. He deserves to die a hundred times over."
Chen Jiayuan was truly furious. According to his original plan, this bank could have attracted at least billions in capital before he closed it down.
Now, with the National Chamber of Commerce members boycotting his bank, forget billions, they wouldn't even get tens of millions.
This was all Gu Lou's fault. If he had spoken up earlier, perhaps there would still have been a way to salvage the situation, but now it was too late.
The National Chamber of Commerce members had firmly decided that their bank was a scam designed to trap them, and they would never deposit money into it again, no matter what.
And when their main patrons, the National Chamber of Commerce members, refused to cooperate, no one else would.
His move was completely ruined.
"Give the order. From now on, do not provide any assistance to Gu San Qing. As for the bank matter, let it be. We will operate it as an honest bank, and all previous plans are canceled."
Chen Jiayuan understood that it was impossible to scam the National Chamber of Commerce again. Now, they would have to rely on long-term accumulation to become the people's financial depositories.
Whether they could make money or not would depend on time. They would just have to proceed like this for now.
"Yes." The subordinates acknowledged and left.