Chapter 395 How Much Did You Donate

Xu Yang said, "I want Duan Shaohui’s family to donate two billion, cash or assets will do, consider it redemption for his grandfather’s sins, and I hope this doesn’t affect Miss Fang in saving my wife."

Fang Bingqing thought for a moment and said, "I am willing to believe what you are saying is true. I won’t interfere with whatever you’re planning to do. I will present my terms tomorrow, and as long as you can meet them, I will save your wife."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Miss Fang."

Tang Jinglong also made his stance clear, "Xu Yang, I’m not going to get involved in this either."

Of course he knew Xu Yang was telling the truth, because Duan Shaohui was his underling and an outsider. He naturally needed to thoroughly investigate Duan Shaohui’s family background.

Duan Shaohui’s grandfather was really capable, draining a whole county dry and leaving so many peasants destitute and ruined.

Xu Yang’s story, he had heard of it, of breaking down Changsheng Furniture.

However, he didn’t take it to heart.

With his own family background and capabilities, bringing down a hundred billion yuan furniture company was quite simple.

Duan Shaohui was his underling, and in his heart, he actually wanted to stop Xu Yang from targeting Duan Shaohui.

But now, Fang Bingqing had already stated she wouldn’t get involved in the matter.

If he did, that would mean going against Fang Bingqing.

Better to just say he would stay out of it.

Moreover, Duan Shaohui being targeted by Xu Yang didn’t necessarily mean bad news for him.

"That’s great, thank you both," Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

If either of the two had spoken up, offering to deal with the matter, then he would have no choice but to give up targeting Duan Shaohui.

He would have to wait until Fang Bingqing had treated Zhao Yuxin before making a move against the Duan family in secret.

Luckily, both Tang Jinglong and Fang Bingqing believed what he said and appeared to be people who could discern right from wrong.

After talking for a while longer, Xu Yang and Jiang Yuheng left and returned to their original seats.

At that time, Duan Shaohui was still being interviewed by reporters, speaking eloquently.

"My family moved to the provincial capital more than a decade ago; I think life here is great, this is my home. My grandfather always taught me that when you succeed, you must contribute to society. Tianxiong Foodstuff is willing to provide whatever assistance we can to help the impoverished masses within the province to escape poverty..."

The reporters listened, nodding incessantly.

It was then that a somewhat discordant voice rang out.

"May I ask how much Tianxiong Foodstuff is donating, is it the twenty million you just shouted?"

This voice was abrupt and didn’t come from a reporter.

Duan Shaohui was slightly stunned, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes.

Twenty million?

During the auction, the calculations were based on one percent of the bid.

That’s two hundred thousand.

Shouting that big number at the auction was no problem.

But when facing reporters, you can’t mention the specific number.

Otherwise, it becomes the actual amount.

If you say ten million, should some reckless reporter take it seriously and later insist on checking it only to expose it, that would be trouble.

But one can’t say it’s just two hundred thousand.

Too embarrassing to utter.

So, when facing reporters, just talk about donating money, discuss your understanding of charity at length, and use it as an advertisement for your own company.

Who would be so tactless as to ask this question?

Duan Shaohui was somewhat irritated in his heart, but he didn’t lose his temper or even look in the direction the sound had come from. Facing the reporters, he continued to speak confidently, "Of course, I am aware that what we do is not enough, and we will continue tirelessly until all the people facing hardship can live comfortably..."

"May I ask how much Tianxiong Foodstuff is donating, is it the twenty million you just shouted?"

At this moment, that same voice rang out again.

This time, Duan Shaohui couldn’t hold back and quickly looked toward the source of the sound, spotting Xu Yang.

He recognized Xu Yang instantly because it was he who Tang Jinglong instructed to check Xu Yang’s background.

Yet, he was somewhat puzzled as to what Xu Yang meant.

Thus, he asked, "Oh, it’s Mr. Xu. May I then ask how much you’re donating, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Yang smiled and said, "I haven’t donated yet because I wanted to see how much you’re going to donate. After all that talk, just tell us how much you’ll donate."

Feeling cornered by the questioning, Duan Shaohui clenched his teeth and said, "I’ll donate two million. How much will you?"

Xu Yang responded, "Only two million? Didn’t you just say you’d donate twenty million?"

Hearing this, Duan Shaohui’s face immediately darkened.

Was the bidding just now to be taken seriously?

All that was just for show, one percent of the bid would suffice.

Now Xu Yang’s pressing questions were blatantly undermining him.

However, with so many reporters present, he couldn’t just disclose such matters outright.

Even though the reporters knew these people would not donate so much money and were expecting some discounts...

They were here for an interview, having received red envelopes, and wouldn’t be foolish enough to raise these questions.

But with someone now pressing the issue, they were naturally thrilled to see it unfold.

Thus, a bold reporter seized the opportunity to ask, "Mr. Duan, you bid twenty million during the auction—how did it become two million now?"

Duan Shaohui’s face was no longer just overcast; it had turned pitch-black.

This was all fucking Xu Yang’s doing. He was definitely messing with him.

But Duan Shaohui couldn’t fathom why Xu Yang would want to mess with him.

The two were supposedly meeting for the first time.

Xu Yang was from Cang County in Hubei Province; they were essentially fellow townsfolk.

This encounter between fellow townsfolk seemed quite different from what others had described.

Unable to figure it out, Duan Shaohui stopped pondering over it.

Given the current situation, he didn’t have the luxury of contemplation.

Facing the reporters’ relentless queries, he had to give an answer quickly.

Otherwise, tomorrow’s front-page headlines would certainly be about how most donated tens of millions at the charity gathering, with only Duan Shaohui, a second-generation rich kid, donating two million.

By then, he would be lambasted by netizens, which could also drag down his grandfather’s company, incurring immeasurable losses.

Duan Shaohui’s mind raced, and he soon came up with the perfect answer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am indeed going to donate twenty million. However, I only have two million in cash, and the other eighteen million will be donated in products from our Tianxiong Foodstuff Company."

Invisibly, it became an advertisement for his family’s company.

Duan Shaohui’s family business was in food processing.

Pork processing, chicken processing, beef processing...

In this line of business, there’s an issue with inventory overstock.

Their company’s inventory was full of pork, chicken, and beef that were nearing expiration...

And these were definitely valued at well over twenty million.

All he needed to do was to haul these near-expiry meats to impoverished counties and donate them.

Although this would also entail a considerable loss, it was much better than shelling out eighteen million in hard cash.

Upon hearing Duan Shaohui’s words, the reporters were shocked.

They were clueless about Duan Shaohui’s intricate schemes and the state of his family’s business.

All they knew was that Duan Shaohui had indeed pledged eighteen million worth of goods and two million in cash.

Seeing the reporters’ shocked expressions, Duan Shaohui smiled proudly and glanced at Xu Yang, asking, "I heard Mr. Xu is a billionaire who made his fortune in just one year. He probably hasn’t done any charity work yet, right? I wonder, for Mr. Xu’s first time at a charity event, how much does he plan to donate?"

Since Xu Yang had forced his hand, he would put pressure on Xu Yang as well.

Originally, a donation of two hundred thousand would have been enough to advertise his family’s company.

Unexpectedly, Xu Yang’s pressure had led to a donation of two million in cash plus eighteen million in goods.

Although those eighteen million worth of goods were about to expire, they could still be sold at a low price to his chain of fast food restaurants.

Turning them into fast food could recoup six or seven million.

But now, after being forced into this situation and losing so much money, he had to make Xu Yang bleed as well.