Mu Jinyu listened to their discussions with a furrowed brow, knowing all too well that the task given to them by Manager Chen was absolutely a hot potato.
The reason she had hastily dumped this hot potato onto them was actually related to the newly arrived Gu Xiyan.
It figured.
Gu Xiyan had always been decisive and acted swiftly - she disliked dragging things out. At the time, Mu Jinyu had agreed to meet with Trotsky after a few days, yet Gu Xiyan came to her the very next day, speaking sweetly and softly, begging Mu Jinyu to meet with that pervert.
As soon as she joined the company and discovered that there were outstanding final payments owed by other companies, she naturally called for the person in charge of the matter to quickly look into it.
Consequently, it turned out to be her, the company's boss, who had to run errands for Gu Xiyan.
However, it was probably for the best. If Mu Jinyu hadn't been there, given Lin Qiaoxia's gentle nature, she might have been indirectly harmed by Gu Xiyan.
Thinking this, Mu Jinyu disregarded their sympathetic glances, following Lin Qiaoxia out of the office.
The two of them left the company, took the elevator down, exited the building, and stood by the roadside, waving for a taxi.
In the process, Lin Qiaoxia had already informed Mu Jinyu about the difficulty and complexity of the situation.
Hongmao Pharmaceuticals might not be the largest supplier of herbal medicine in River City, but it was a very capable one. According to what Lin Qiaoxia had learned, Jinyu Company had a standing collaboration with them before it changed its name.
Half a year ago, the former boss of Jinyu Company, Xu Xiaojiao, had spent a fortune to buy an allegedly powerful beauty recipe from a mountain farmer. She then made large purchases of herbal medicine from Hongmao Pharmaceuticals to invest in the development of this beauty recipe.
The development of the beauty recipe did not go smoothly. The R&D staff used a lot of medicine and could barely figure out some ideas. Seeing this, Xu Xiaojiao once again sent a large sum of money to Hongmao Pharmaceuticals, asking them to prepare the required herbs for her.
Afterward, Hongmao Pharmaceuticals gradually delivered the herbs ordered by the company, but there was still about five hundred thousand worth of herbs that had not been delivered.
When Xu Xiaojiao sent someone to inquire, it turned out that the boss of Hongmao Pharmaceuticals had fallen ill and their company was currently managed by his good-for-nothing son.
Upon taking charge, his son immediately squandered the money intended for purchasing herbs at the well-known gambling dens of River City, and eventually lost everything.
Hongmao Pharmaceuticals nearly went bankrupt, and upon seeing that they were unreliable, Xu Xiaojiao switched to another supplier for the herbs she needed. She then asked Hongmao Pharmaceuticals to transfer the remaining five hundred thousand to the company's account.
By that time, the ailing boss of Hongmao Pharmaceuticals had resumed his position. When he heard that Xu Xiaojiao was no longer cooperating with them, he kept dragging his feet and didn't transfer the money.
Later on, Xu Xiaojiao sent people to urge them to settle the final payment. At first, they were very polite, making all kinds of excuses, such as problems with cash flow, etc…
But it was clear to everyone that they were looking to default on the debt.
At that time, there was a male colleague in the PR department. Seeing this as an opportunity to excel, he volunteered to go to Hongmao Pharmaceuticals to collect the debt.
His debt collection journey obviously did not go smoothly. During the first few visits, the boss of Hongmao Pharmaceuticals was quite polite. But after a slip-up in which he spoke harshly, the boss's son ordered his men to break his leg, leaving him lying in the hospital without recovery till this moment…
From then on, the two sides had thoroughly fallen out.
Hongmao Pharmaceuticals all but declared they were going bankrupt and since Jinyu Company was no longer purchasing medicine from them, they weren't making any money. Naturally, they had no funds to repay. Want your money? Well, you'll just have to wait…
When Xu Xiaojiao heard about this situation, she originally planned to have the Xu Family behind her step in and take out Hongmao Pharmaceuticals.
But later, fearing that the Xu Family might think she was incompetent, she pressed the issue down and shifted her focus to the soon-to-be-completed research on a beauty formula, not bothering to deal with Hongmao Pharmaceuticals, the jumping clown, until she had spare time to take care of them!
So, the five hundred thousand that Hongmao Pharmaceuticals owed could not be reclaimed for the time being.
That's the reason this task was almost impossible to complete and why no one dared to take it on.
Lin Qiaoxia had not been with the company long, so she was able to recount the details clearly because she had just joined the company a few days earlier and had not much to do. Feeling it wasn't good to be idle, she asked her colleagues if there was anything she could do.
The colleagues from the public relations department then joked with her about this task.
At that time, Lin Qiaoxia, who knew nothing, was indeed planning to go collect the debt.
Then, when someone saw she was serious and feared she might end up in the hospital from a beating while acting on their instigation, and that they might have to compensate for it, they quickly pulled her aside and revealed the truth to her.
And they told her it was just a joke and that she must not go there, or with her slight frame, she would probably be beaten to death by them!
In fact, they were more concerned about not explaining clearly to Lin Qiaoxia, fearing her impulsive nature might lead her to seek trouble and cause trouble for them; otherwise, they wouldn't bother to explain so much.
...
After hearing Lin Qiaoxia's explanation, Mu Jinyu looked at her evasive eyes and timid demeanor, and couldn't help teasing, "So if we go like this, aren't we done for?!"
Hearing this, Lin Qiaoxia was on the verge of tears again. She pursed her lips, glanced at Mu Jinyu with fear, and apologized, "Sorry, it's my fault for dragging you into this. If I hadn't hesitated just now, the manager wouldn't have called you along..."
Lin Qiaoxia was a very kind girl, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt guilty toward Mu Jinyu. Then, gritting her teeth with resolve, she decided to let Mu Jinyu leave and go by herself.
She said, "If... if you don't really need this job, just resign. I'll go by myself..."
"Huh?!" Mu Jinyu raised his eyebrows.
He understood that if Lin Qiaoxia didn't really need the salary from this job, then even she knew that going to collect the debt would lead to a very bleak outcome. For a girl as timid as she was, even if she had a strong sense of responsibility, she would probably hand in her resignation directly.
Mu Jinyu thought to himself that this girl, Lin Qiaoxia, must have some unspeakable difficulties, which made her suppress her fear and go to collect the debt alone.
However, since it was her personal family matter, and they had only known each other for less than ten minutes, he didn't feel it was his place to outright ask about it.
While Mu Jinyu was lost in thought,
a taxi noticed Lin Qiaoxia's waving hand and pulled over to the side of the road.
Lin Qiaoxia gave Mu Jinyu another look, her gaze carrying a resolute meaning, then she opened the door and got in.
She was about to close the door,
but Mu Jinyu suddenly raised his hand, stopping her action, and said indifferently, "Why are you closing the door? I haven't gotten in yet."