As far as the outside world was concerned, the situation at Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group was extremely grim!
For starters, Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group had suffered a defeat in the Fifth Pharmaceutical Centralized Procurement, which, in the eyes of outsiders, meant it was about to lose a huge source of cash flow.
On top of that, news of layoffs had come out of Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group. The matter had not been kept secret, so word that Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group was about to carry out massive layoffs had long since spread everywhere.
More importantly, some well-informed people had already learned that Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group's annual sales had been declining year after year.
All these factors had piled up, causing the outside world to harbor serious doubts and suspicions about Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group's situation.
Yet despite Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group being in such dire straits, the friends An Wuyang had invited were still willing to show up. An Wuyang was genuinely pleased.
As for Li Qing, who had refused earlier?
Hadn't he rejected the invitation from the very beginning?
At half past six in the evening, Zhou Xiang, the son of the Shengqing Commercial Bank Beiyu Branch Manager, arrived first. An Wuyang led him to the reserved parking space.
"Xiang Ge, thank you," An Wuyang said, expressing his gratitude first.
Zhou Xiang replied politely, "Our families have always been friendly business partners."
"This way, please." An Wuyang made an inviting gesture.
The two of them arrived at the Autumn Shadow Private Room together, then began making polite small talk.
In truth, their relationship was only superficial. Although their families were business partners, the two of them had not interacted much. Even when they had eaten together before, it had only been at banquets for business occasions.
This was their first private gathering.
Over the next twenty minutes, Zhu Guanghao, Sun Kairui, Xu Haoran, and Wu Kefan arrived one after another.
Zhu Guanghao was the last to arrive. When An Wuyang reached the Autumn Shadow Private Room with him, An Wuyang spoke loudly. "Thank you all again for accepting my invitation. I, An Wuyang, will remember this."
To those who had come, their attendance was tantamount to offering help in someone's hour of need.
"Yang Jing, everyone's here. Sorry for the trouble, but could you personally go arrange things with the kitchen?" An Wuyang looked toward Yang Jing.
Yang Jing immediately understood what An Wuyang meant. He rose and replied, "All right, Wuyang Ge. I'll personally supervise everything. If anything comes up, remember to call me."
After saying that, Yang Jing left the Autumn Shadow Private Room, closed the door, and instructed the service staff outside not to disturb them.
Everyone present was sharp. They could all see that An Wuyang had deliberately sent Yang Jing away, so they turned to look at him, wondering what exactly he wanted to say.
"Before we get down to business, I want to satisfy my curiosity first. Why did all of you accept my invitation?" An Wuyang asked curiously.
Actually, asking so directly was not the best approach. But An Wuyang was still rather young, and he lacked finesse when dealing with certain matters.
Zhou Xiang spoke first. "Our families have always had a good relationship. If Wuyang Xiongdi needs help, I'll certainly do whatever I can."
The answer was proper and expected, but given the severe situation facing Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group, it already counted as timely assistance.
Xu Haoran, the son of the Shengqing Customs Second Deputy Director, replied, "I've seen you at banquets before, and I think you're a pretty good guy. It's just a meal. Why wouldn't I come?"
Xu Haoran was the same age as An Wuyang. He had indeed seen An Wuyang at various banquets before, but they had only exchanged superficial greetings.
The son of the Shengqing Public Security Bureau First Deputy Director, Sun Kairui, snorted. "You damn well called me over for a meal. How could I not come?"
Sun Kairui and An Wuyang were good friends who played games together. Their relationship was purer, a combination of gaming partners and friends.
Wu Kefan, the heir to Shengqing Qimingxing Import and Export Trading Company and An Wuyang's friend in real life, chuckled. "Wuyang Ge summoned me. I'd come through wind and rain."
Zhu Guanghao, the son of the Shengqing Public Security Bureau Director, had the highest status among everyone at the dinner. After thinking for a while, he replied, "Under normal circumstances, I shouldn't have attended a dinner like this."
"However, your Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group has an excellent reputation. During this wave of layoffs, you even offered compensation equal to 2N+2. I personally admire that very much," Zhu Guanghao said with a sigh.
The others present nodded in agreement one after another.
In fact, everyone there knew about Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group's circumstances. They also knew about the compensation package it had offered for the layoffs.
Zhu Guanghao continued, "Your family is quite decent, and Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group is quite decent too. It's just that there are some things we can't help with."
Sun Kairui chimed in. "Wuyang Ge, the Fifth Pharmaceutical Centralized Procurement is being coordinated and managed by a department of the Central Yuan. We really can't help with that."
Huh?
These guys actually thought he had arranged this dinner because of the Fifth Pharmaceutical Centralized Procurement?
He had to admit, their imaginations were truly something else!
Did they really think An Wuyang didn't know that the Fifth Pharmaceutical Centralized Procurement was being coordinated and managed by the Imperial Capital Central Yuan Ministry of Health?
"We know that your Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group is having a somewhat difficult time lately. If the problem is funding, I'll do my best to persuade my father and try to help Wugengtian Group secure more loans," Zhou Xiang added.
An Wuyang sighed. "You guys are actually willing to help my family?"
Zhu Guanghao nodded firmly. "After all, when Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group fell into trouble, your family was still willing to offer a 2N+2 severance package. That shows your family has a sense of responsibility. We're genuinely willing to help your family within our abilities."
Sun Kairui sighed. "In this dogshit era, we've seen more than enough terrible people. It's rare to see a family like yours. Besides, I still hope you'll keep playing games with me in the future, so if I can help, I will!"
Wu Kefan chimed in. "I'm willing to help you too, Wuyang Ge."
An Wuyang suddenly felt emotional. The good reputation An Huchun had built for Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group had truly played a crucial role!
"Thank you, everyone!" An Wuyang expressed his sincere gratitude.
"However, I didn't invite everyone here because of our Wugengtian Group. It's for a personal matter," An Wuyang explained.
An Wuyang had originally still been considering how to test these guys' reliability. But since they had voluntarily expressed their willingness to help Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group, there was no need for such a test anymore!
Because the fact that they were willing to lend a hand when Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group had fallen into difficulty proved that they were not bad people. At the very least, they had not kicked it while it was down. Wasn't that so?
"A personal matter?" Zhu Guanghao asked in confusion. "What personal matter?"
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