Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

Chapter 780: Chapter 587: Massive Outbreak

After Gao Hu received Chang Fu’s call,

he smoked three cigarettes but still couldn’t understand—Old Friends was doing so well, why did it suddenly need to be sold?

Though he felt reluctant, Old Chen said this was the way it had to be, and Gao Hu never doubted his judgment.

Over the years, relying on discipline and integrity, Old Chen hadn’t made a single mistake.

There were many people who had wanted to invest in Old Friends, but now the situation left everyone on the sidelines.

Those who previously offered high prices for the restaurant could now only offer its cost price.

When the timing is lost, it’s truly lost. When Gao Hu looked back, he realized just how limited human power really is.

He wanted to work hard but found there was no opportunity left.

It’s not just him; countless others in the restaurant business were in the same situation.

Gao Hu went to see Xiao Danchun again. She was still diligently working as a waitress.

The difference was, now her store manager was chasing after her. If this had been in the past, Gao Hu would have stormed over in his flashy Mercedes-Benz.

He wouldn’t have even glanced at the man, saying straight out, “Who do you think you are?”

But now, he couldn’t muster a single word.

Gao Hu eventually sold the restaurant despite the confusion and misunderstanding of others. The future? Nobody knew what lay ahead.

He closed the shop earlier than many others. If he’d waited any longer, there likely wouldn’t have been anyone willing to take over such a large restaurant business.

The situation was dire. In the past, entertainment news would frequently trend on social media,

but now? Nothing of the sort. All focus was on Wu City, capturing the hearts of everyone.

This was the era we lived in. No one knew what might happen in the next moment; all we could do was cherish the present.

Even when Chen Pingsheng returned home, he faced inquiring gazes and provided simple answers.

Most of the details were closely related to the happenings in Wu City.

As New Year’s Day approached, the spoiled brat and Er Piya were on holiday. They remained carefree, playing to their hearts’ content.

The days felt endless, and then Wu City went into lockdown.

There was no more reason to hide it; the severity of the crisis was now known to the whole world.

Be it on the streets or in alleyways, everyone was talking about the pandemic.

It could be said that such a city lockdown hadn’t happened since the nation’s founding, but here it was today.

No matter what reason you had for going to Wu City, or how urgent your desire was to leave,

none of it mattered. Inside, people couldn’t get out; outside, people couldn’t get in. Everyone was shouting encouragements: “Stay strong, Wu City!”

As the end of the year approached and the Spring Festival travel rush began,

after working hard all year, people were boarding trains to head home.

Not only that, this was a year of heavy snowfall.

With Wu City locked down, Tengying Group preemptively withdrew ten thousand employees from the city.

These employees were idling at home, with their daily wages totaling no less than ten million yuan.

If you added up all kinds of expenses, a single provincial lockdown meant Tengying Group might lose around five hundred million yuan per month.

This wasn’t considered particularly high because the entire group was absorbing the losses.

But this was just one city. If other places also experienced outbreaks, the weaknesses of traditional enterprises would surface.

This was a natural disaster, an unprecedented catastrophe.

The goal wasn’t even profit anymore—merely ensuring that employees’ wages were paid on time was already commendable.

Chen Pingsheng set the highest standard at the group headquarters: no matter what, employee income must come first.

When Gao Hu returned to Magic City, he realized Chang Fu had spoken too lightly before. If he’d dared to wait a bit longer to sell the restaurant,

the losses would have been so heavy he’d question his existence.

The burden on Tengying Group was immense, given how many offline stores they’d had in the past. The only hope was to eliminate all risks in Wu City.

But the reality was far from that; as far as Chen Pingsheng was concerned, it seemed impossible.

He immediately convened a global shareholders’ meeting for Tengying Group.

Regardless of whether it was Tong Zelan overseas or Shen Nanpeng, early investors all promptly participated in this video conference.

During the meeting, Chen Pingsheng directly announced that he would personally take out two billion yuan in cash to counter the potentially full-scale crisis.

Other shareholders would also have to contribute proportionately; those unwilling would have to sell their shares.

There was no other way.

Once he finished speaking, nearly everyone unanimously agreed to sell their shares.

At such a time, the best choices were layoffs or salary cuts.

Take Wu City as an example: each month required over three hundred million yuan just for employee wages.

Who could bear such a cost?

If Chen Pingsheng didn’t agree, and everyone refused to contribute cash, he would end up paying entirely out of pocket while others proportionately offloaded their shares to him.

Undoubtedly, this was the wisest choice. Any rational person understood that, in crises like this, the first priority was to safeguard corporate cash flow. No one had just one or two listed companies.

If we plan for the worst, within a year many publicly traded companies could become worth next to nothing.

If anyone was willing to take over, it would be considered lucky; the worst scenario was no one willing to step in.

Chen Pingsheng didn’t own many shares, but he still maintained absolute control. If he paid two billion yuan in cash, how much would everyone else have to contribute proportionately?

The other shareholders could only sell their shares—there was no other choice.

Most of the shares previously sold ended up back in his possession.

If the crisis passed, these shares would be highly valued; if not, they’d be a liability.

Worthless.

Chen Pingsheng had no choice but to pay. Whether it was Antler Coffee, Tengying Entertainment, Bobo Milk Tea, or Snacks Dash,

in previous years, they had all expanded aggressively. While a good amount of cash had been preserved, it was far from enough to withstand such a massive disaster.

Especially Fei Yangyang Catering—this was an absolute money pit.

Gao Hu had made a major comeback there previously, but as soon as things started recovering, this wave hit even harder.

If no money was injected, Fei Yangyang’s tens of thousands of employees absolutely wouldn’t survive this market crisis.

They’d be finished, completely wiped out.

Other ventures might be able to await timing, but Fei Yangyang couldn’t delay even one day; it needed funds immediately.

Many people were shocked when they heard he’d taken out two billion yuan in cash.

Even before the outbreak had escalated in Wu City, Tengying Group seemed already prepared, announcing a city-wide employee withdrawal order.

Now, outside of Wu City, other areas had yet to escalate. And what did he do? Convene a global shareholders’ meeting, take out two billion yuan in cash, and shout for survival.

“Bro… You’re already impossibly strong, and now you need two billion yuan to pull through.”

“What about us?”

To be fair, many traditional corporations, despite their billion-dollar valuations, couldn’t produce tens of millions of yuan in cash.

Even three or five million might be unreachable because their funds were tied up in multiple investments.

Or worse, their bosses were out flaunting their celebrity companions, playing philanthropist.

This wave of crisis exposed their first thoughts—cut salaries, cut salaries again, and then cut salaried employees.

And not from management levels. The cuts primarily affected regular staff.

Chen Pingsheng couldn’t bring himself to make that choice.

He had no idea how long this wave of illness would last.

Ultimately, as the boss, after enjoying his employees’ years of dedication and hard work, he had to share the burden during a crisis.

This wasn’t an isolated company’s problem—it was an issue the entire Magic City had to face together.

If enterprises immediately resorted to salary cuts and layoffs, how many people would lose their jobs?

If so many people faced unemployment and job cuts, the problem wouldn’t just be one of downgraded consumption.

It would pierce straight through the floor.