Chapter 2936 — The Debt Problem

"Leader, actually, ever since I got back from the Mystic Pill Sect trial, my grandfather's attitude toward me has changed!" Zhao Qilei knew Wei Zhao would be surprised, so he held nothing back, recounting in fine detail how Old Master Zhao had behaved after his return home. Only at the end did he say, "Grandfather wants our Hidden Zhao family to acknowledge you as leader, but because of some past misunderstandings, he felt a little awkward about it. As it happened, this matter came up, so Grandfather asked me to deliver this money to you..."

"So that's how it is..." Wei Zhao was somewhat surprised by the shift in Old Master Zhao's attitude, though it was not hard to understand. Had not the Hidden Pi family and the Hidden Zhuang family once been his enemies? And now had they not become his underlings all the same?

Moreover, Zhao Qilei had returned safely from the Mystic Pill Sect trial and brought back a third-grade pill, demonstrating his true strength. A change in Old Master Zhao's attitude was only natural—compared with Zhao Qilei, Zhao Qibing was not merely a little inferior; the gap was vast.

So long as Old Master Zhao did not insist on going to extremes or losing his wits with age, choosing Zhao Qilei as the young heir and first-in-line successor of the Hidden Zhao family was an exceedingly wise decision.

"Yes, Leader, just give me your account number and I'll transfer the money right away!" Zhao Qilei said. "Grandfather said that once this matter is over, he wants to host a banquet and invite you, Leader, to formally establish our positions."

"Then, Qitan, please thank Old Master Zhao for me. My account number is..." Wei Zhao said with some feeling. Of course, he could never have imagined that Old Master Zhao was truly the extremist sort, still scheming to do him in even now, and at a cost of two hundred million. The old man had gone mad!

"All right, Leader, I'll transfer it to you now!" Zhao Qilei said. "I won't disturb you any longer—you must have other matters to attend to. Once this trouble has passed, we'll be in touch again."

"Very well." Wei Zhao nodded. Zhao Qilei's two hundred million was unquestionably timely aid. Wei Zhao's underlings were by no means poor, but neither were they people with much cash on hand. After all those phone calls, Wei Zhao had only just barely scraped together a billion, and with Zhao Qilei's two hundred million, he had one billion two hundred million in total.

For Guan Dafu Pharmaceuticals, that could only barely ease the situation. After all, the external debts Liu Tianli had racked up were far too great. Once this money was poured in, the medicines produced would generate no returns—those returns had already been collected by Liu Tianli and squandered.

"Wei Zhao, Daddy just called me. He says he can put together three hundred million in cash for you, and through business adjustments and bank loans he can scrape together some more afterward—but that part can't be rushed." Gu Mengyao came over holding the phone and spoke to Wei Zhao.

"Three hundred million is already a great deal!" Wei Zhao knew that Gu Pengzhan had expanded his company considerably of late, reaching even into Donghai City, but his cash on hand had likewise dwindled. Earlier, to pay Gu Mengyao's ransom, he had even had to borrow from Liu Tianyi. This three hundred million was likely the capital Gu Pengzhan had set aside for developing his new company.

Of course, this was also why Wei Zhao had not struck the Liu family dead in one blow. Liu Tianyi had helped him after all, so with the Liu family he had merely stripped away their status as partners of Guan Dafu Pharmaceuticals and made Liu Tianli disappear. As for the rest, the Liu family remained the Liu family under his protection.

The eldest young lady nodded and led Xiaoshu upstairs. She knew Wei Zhao needed quiet at a time like this, and did not disturb him...

Liu Tianyi had just delivered Liu Tianli to the drug rehabilitation center and was about to head back when, to his surprise, he received a call from Liu Jinghan!

"Uncle, it's Jingjing." Liu Jinghan's voice came over the line, sounding somewhat anxious. "My father... how is he?"

"Jingjing, I've just taken Tianli to the rehabilitation center... but it's not looking good..." Liu Tianyi sighed and did not conceal the truth. Liu Zhenhu had forbidden him to contact Liu Jinghan, but she had called him of her own accord, so he said, "Divine Doctor Lin's wrath is not so easily appeased. He no longer holds our Liu family responsible, it's true, but he has said he does not wish to see Tianli again... You understand what that means, don't you?"

"What..." Liu Jinghan could not help crying out in dismay. "Uncle, you mean my father..."

"Your grandfather's meaning is that he should atone with his life..." Liu Tianyi said with a bitter smile. "Only thus can our Liu family be preserved. And needless to say, we will certainly no longer be partners of Guan Dafu Pharmaceuticals..."

"Uncle, have you ever considered that there is something strange about this whole affair... My father was never such an impulsive man. How could he have taken drugs and dealt them? He should be a very conservative person..." This was the part Liu Jinghan had never been able to make sense of.

"There are certainly unreasonable aspects, but once a person takes drugs, their mind changes. Whether they might do something impulsive—who can say for certain." Liu Tianyi sighed, then explained, "Besides, your grandfather and I have known all along—and I'm sure you understand this too, Jingjing—that although Tianli was a conservative man, it was precisely because he was conservative that he was, at heart, the one least willing to accept our Liu family becoming vassals of Divine Doctor Lin. He always wanted the Liu family's enterprises to grow great without relying on Wei Zhao! Our family's businesses were already large before, but not the equal of the former secular Yu family. It was only with Divine Doctor Lin's help that we became a top-tier enterprise. Tianli felt that none of this truly belonged to the Liu family, and that if anything ever happened to Wei Zhao, the Liu family would be finished. But... who would have thought that the one something happened to was him..."

Liu Jinghan fell silent. She was one of those who understood Liu Tianli best, and there was no lack of reason in Liu Tianyi's explanation. After a long while, she said with some helplessness, "I understand..."

"Jingjing?" Liu Tianyi did not know what she meant by those words, but when he tried to ask, Liu Jinghan had already hung up.

Wei Zhao conferred with Fatso Lai about the situation. At present, the funds they could mobilize totaled one billion five hundred million, enough only to keep operations running for a while. With this money, they would first pay off the debts owed to raw material suppliers, then use the remainder to purchase raw materials, manufacture medicines, and ship them out to distributors!

However, once this process was complete, Guan Dafu Pharmaceuticals would fall into dire straits once more! Although the debts to raw material suppliers and the goods owed to distributors were both liabilities Liu Tianli had incurred, in the end they all had to do with Guan Dafu Pharmaceuticals, and Fatso Lai had no choice but to shoulder them! (To be continued)