Chapter 310: One Month is Too Long!
"Nonsense!" Qin Hongbo suddenly became furious. "Do you think being the president of the Qin Corporation is child’s play? That you can just quit whenever you feel like it? If Luo Li really resigns, who do you think will take over? You?"
To an uninformed listener, Qin Hongbo might have sounded quite sensible, but everyone present knew that he and his son were playing good cop, bad cop to force Qin Luoli to take a stand.
Qin Hongshu said indifferently, "Brother, you need to discipline your son properly. If he continues to be so disrespectful, what will become of our family’s decorum?"
"Indeed," Qin Hongbo said. "Old Madam, Hao’er is young and ignorant. He’s said some things he shouldn’t have. Please forgive him."
The Old Madam was in a good mood and chuckled. "Hehe, children will be children. It’s fine if they misspeak, as long as they don’t do anything wrong."
"Understood." Qin Hongbo glared at Qin Hao. "Now get out of here! Stop embarrassing the family!"
Seeing Qin Hongbo scold his son, Chen Xinlan became displeased and couldn’t help but interject, "The Old Madam is right. It’s one thing for young people to misspeak, but doing wrong is unforgivable! Lin Mu disrupted a funeral and disgraced the Qin Family. Both of his actions are unforgivable!"
Qin Luoli looked anxious, but she knew now wasn’t the right time for her to speak.
"Enough!" The Old Madam waved her hand. "Even Rich Master Qiao hasn’t come to demand an explanation, yet here you all are, quarreling amongst yourselves. What, just because Lin Mu married into our family, does that mean he’s no longer a member of the Qin Family?"
Everyone was taken aback. What does the Old Madam mean? Is she planning to shield Lin Mu?
Qin Hao’s expression changed, and he was about to speak, but Qin Hongbo shot him a glare.
Chen Xinlan, however, countered, "The Old Madam is right. Lin Mu is indeed one of us, so he should be punished according to the Qin Family’s rules."
Qin Luoli’s face fell. She knew all too well how severe the family rules were. If Lin Mu...
"That’s right! He should be punished according to the family rules!" Qin Hao added eagerly.
The Old Madam sighed. "Very well. Since you all insist... from this day forward, Lin Mu is to be struck from the Qin Family’s genealogical record!"
Struck from the genealogical record?! This was the most severe punishment possible. Yet, Qin Hao and the others couldn’t bring themselves to celebrate. Lin Mu had married into the family; he was never on the Qin Family’s genealogical record to begin with.
"Great-grandmother, this..." Qin Hao began to say, but the Old Madam cut him off with a hum. "What now? Lin Mu has been removed from the record. What more do you want? We’re all family. Why must you take things so far?" She sighed deeply, her face filled with sorrow.
"Yes, we will obey the Old Madam’s wishes!" Qin Hongbo replied quickly, afraid his son would say something else to upset her. He, too, was inwardly frustrated that Lin Mu had seemingly escaped punishment so easily.
"As for Luoli..."
At the Old Madam’s words, everyone’s heart leaped into their throats. Even Qin Luoli grew nervous. She was only president of the Qin Corporation thanks to the support of her grandfather and the Old Madam. If the matriarch asked her to step down now, she wouldn’t dare refuse.
The Old Madam continued, "I will give you one month to handle the company’s affairs and recover the losses. If the results don’t satisfy everyone, you will resign and accept the blame."
Everyone was shocked. Recover nearly a billion in losses in one month? Even if Qin Luoli were a business prodigy, that would be impossible!
"Fine! I agree!" Qin Luoli accepted without hesitation.
She knew if she refused, her position would immediately be given to someone else. She didn’t particularly care about the title of president, but her gravely ill grandfather had personally entrusted the company to her, and the Old Madam also had high hopes for her. She would be wracked with guilt if she couldn’t protect what they had given her.
"Hmph! Then we’ll give Qin Luoli one month," Qin Hao snorted. "Even with all the talent in the world, you can’t do it!"
No one believed Qin Luoli could actually recover the company’s losses in just one month. This wasn’t a matter of tens or hundreds of thousands. It was nearly a billion! That was almost the entire annual revenue of the Qin Corporation. Recovering it in a month was next to impossible.
The key problem was that even if Qin Luoli somehow had the ability, would their former business partners even be willing to cooperate? The deficit was only going to grow larger.
Qin Hao and Chen Xinlan exchanged a look, a hint of delight visible in both their eyes. Qin Yan appeared worried but didn’t know what to say. Qin Ming’s expression, however, remained unchanged, his thoughts a mystery.
Just when everyone thought the matter was settled, Lin Mu finally spoke.
"One month?"
Thinking Lin Mu was about to object, Qin Hao interjected, "What, you have a problem with that, Lin Mu? The Old Madam set the deadline, and Qin Luoli herself agreed! Your opinion is worthless now! You’re no longer part of the Qin Family!"
Lin Mu gave Qin Hao a flat look. "You and I have nothing to do with each other, that’s true. But I am still Luoli’s husband."
"So what?" Qin Hao sneered. "This is a Qin family matter!"
Chen Xinlan added, "That’s right. Lin Mu, instead of wasting time here, you should go discuss with Qin Luoli how you two plan to overcome this crisis."
No one there believed that Qin Luoli could possibly recover all the losses within a month.
Lin Mu shook his head. "You misunderstand me. I’m saying one month is too long."
The room fell silent. What? One month is too long?
"Give Luoli one week," Lin Mu stated. "She won’t just recover the losses; she’ll turn a huge profit for the Qin Corporation."
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief. Has this guy gone insane? Or is he so furious that he’s just spouting nonsense?
Even Qin Luoli stared at Lin Mu in disbelief. She couldn’t do it in a month, let alone a week.
"Fine! One week it is!" Qin Hao exclaimed eagerly. "You said it yourself, Lin Mu! Nobody forced you!"
"Yes," Lin Mu affirmed. "I said it."
"And what if you fail?" Chen Xinlan, suspecting Lin Mu had some other motive, moved to corner him. "If you fail, you will immediately divorce Luoli and get out of the Qin Family!" she said venomously. "Furthermore, you will go to the Chen Family estate, kneel before my father, and formally apologize to him for your transgressions!"
"And if I succeed?" Lin Mu asked calmly.
"You can’t!" Qin Hao blurted out, never one to mince words. He simply didn’t believe it was possible.
"I’m speaking hypothetically," Lin Mu said, his gaze fixed on Chen Xinlan.
"If Qin Luoli actually manages it in one week," Qin Hongbo suddenly declared, "I will give up all of my shares! But if she fails, she must also surrender all of her shares!"
At his words, the expression on every face in the room changed. This was an earth-shattering gamble