Recaps

Zhao Chen ordered Chen Xi to prepare a confidential contingency plan for a ten-for-four rights issue while delaying any final financing decision until market conditions were clearer. As the New Year approached, Su Wantang comforted him and spoke of holiday preparations, while admitting that visiting her biological parents felt awkward after their relationship had grown distant.

• Zhao Chen rejected a rights issue exceeding fifty percent and told Chen Xi to prepare a contingency plan for issuing four shares for every ten existing shares.
• Zhao Chen said the company would first release its performance report, stabilize internal affairs through the New Year, and wait for the best moment to launch the rights issue.
• Su Wantang entered Zhao Chen's office and massaged his temples until his tension eased.
• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang discussed preparing New Year goods and gifts for elders and teachers who had helped him.
• Zhao Chen asked whether Su Wantang wanted to visit her uncle and aunt, and she said their relationship had faded since she married to help her family.

Su Wantang asked Zhao Chen whether he would remain part of her life if she lost the villa in her divorce, and he promised to give her a home and return to it. The chapter then followed the market’s cautious reaction to Henglong Holdings’ annual results, with uncertainty over Zhao Jianguo holding back a stronger recovery in the share price.

• Su Wantang asked Zhao Chen whether he would still visit her if she lost the villa in her divorce.
• Zhao Chen promised that Aunt Zhang would fight for the villa and that he would give Su Wantang a new home if she did not get it.
• Su Wantang hugged Zhao Chen in relief, and he returned her embrace.
• Board Secretary Liu Mingyu released Henglong Holdings’ annual results announcement after the Hong Kong Stocks market closed, reporting expected revenue of RMB 12.8 billion and net profit of RMB 900 million.
• Henglong Holdings’ share price opened slightly higher the next day and traded within a narrow range as investors weighed its profits against uncertainty over Zhao Jianguo’s case.

Lin Wanqing used concerns about Henglong’s contraction strategy to challenge Zhao Chen at a management meeting, arguing that it was damaging confidence among employees, suppliers, and sales partners. The meeting was still underway as executives began confirming her concerns.

• Lin Wanqing grew angry over Zhao Chen’s refusal to expand and worried that the weak stock response threatened her and Zhao Jianguo’s interests.
• At the management meeting, Lin Wanqing argued that the market doubted Henglong’s decision to stop acquiring land and that this doubt was affecting daily operations.
• Lin Wanqing cited rising resignation interest among core employees, and Director Li confirmed that young employees were increasingly exploring outside opportunities.
• Lin Wanqing asked about suppliers’ expectations, and Wang Zong said several suppliers were demanding shorter settlement cycles and higher advance payments.
• A regional marketing director reported that sales channels were questioning whether Henglong would develop new projects or only sell existing inventory.

Zhao Chen exposed Henglong’s off-balance-sheet liabilities at an executive meeting, putting pressure on Lin Wanqing and announcing that he would speak with Zhao Jianguo about the company’s direction and historical issues. He went to the detention center that same afternoon and met his father, whose appearance had grown more weathered during his imprisonment.

• Zhao Chen declared that Henglong would use the True Debt Ratio and ordered Lin Wanqing’s Finance Department to prepare a cleanup plan for hidden liabilities.
• Zhao Chen announced that he would visit Zhao Jianguo and discuss the company’s strategy and historical issues, then ended the meeting.
• Zhao Chen had Chen Xi arrange an immediate trip to the detention center so Zhao Jianguo and Lin Wanqing would have little time to coordinate a response.
• Zhao Chen relied on his proxy authorization and Zhao Jianguo’s need to preserve Henglong as he considered the possible risks of the visit.
• Zhao Chen passed the detention center’s security checkpoints and met Zhao Jianguo in a cold, cramped meeting room.

Zhao Chen tested Zhao Jianguo’s response to Henglong’s off-balance-sheet liabilities and learned that his father opposed involving the police while tacitly protecting Lin Wanqing’s choice of lawyer. Zhao Chen left the detention center intending to use his father’s words to pressure Lin Wanqing into resolving the liabilities.

• Zhao Chen proposed calling the police to investigate Henglong’s hidden liabilities, and Zhao Jianguo urgently warned that doing so could ruin the company.
• Zhao Chen pretended to accept Zhao Jianguo’s objection and secured his instruction to have the Finance Department address the liabilities through negotiation and debt restructuring.
• Zhao Chen asked whether Lin Wanqing had hired a lawyer for Zhao Jianguo, and Zhao Jianguo declined to replace the lawyer she had arranged.
• Zhao Chen left the detention center and concluded that Zhao Jianguo’s opposition confirmed his involvement in the liabilities, while his reaction to Zhao Chen showed no obvious jealousy or deeper coldness.

Zhao Chen and his allies assessed the leverage gained from his meeting with Zhao Jianguo and planned for Lin Wanqing to resolve the company’s off-balance-sheet liabilities. They expected her to draw on her Cayman Islands trust, and Zhao Chen ordered his team to maintain their strategy while supporting harmless cleanup efforts.

• Zhao Chen, Chen Xi, and Zhang Qingxue concluded that Zhao Jianguo’s reaction confirmed his connection to the off-balance-sheet liabilities and constrained Lin Wanqing’s ability to resist audits.
• Zhao Chen observed that Zhao Jianguo showed no jealousy toward his alliance with Su Wantang, who was relieved that their relationship remained unknown to him.
• Zhao Chen predicted that Lin Wanqing would visit Zhao Jianguo by the next day and receive orders to appease Zhao Chen and quietly resolve the liabilities.
• Zhang Qingxue explained that resolving the liabilities would require cash from Lin Wanqing’s shell companies, while Zhao Chen suspected she would turn to her Cayman Islands trust.
• Zhao Chen told Chen Xi to proceed with the year-end welfare plan and to allow Lin Wanqing’s Finance Department cleanup as long as it did not threaten core financial security.

Zhao Chen announced a drive to reduce the company’s liabilities and pressured the Finance Department to resolve guarantees, prompting executives to warn that his payment freeze could endanger projects and the company. He acknowledged their concerns and began proposing a revised approach that would push cooperators to settle guarantees without immediately halting projects.

• Zhao Chen learned that Lin Wanqing had visited Zhao Jianguo at the Detention Center and left visibly shaken.
• Zhao Chen opened the next day’s meeting by announcing that he and Zhao Jianguo had agreed to reduce liabilities and clear opaque guarantees and off-balance-sheet risks.
• Zhao Chen ordered the Finance Department to negotiate with cooperators and proposed suspending payments for projects more than eighty percent complete until their guarantees were resolved.
• Vice President Wang, a procurement director, and Lin Wanqing objected that the freeze could trigger shutdowns, bankruptcies, safety hazards, and reputational damage.
• Zhao Chen accepted that the objections had merit but insisted the company needed to resolve its guarantee risks, then began presenting a revised plan to balance pressure with project stability.

Chen Xi and Zhang Qingxue reported that Lin Wanqing had used funds from her trust to release more than HK$350 million in guarantee liabilities, reducing Henglong’s off-balance-sheet risks. Zhao Chen saw the trust funds as only part of the problem and turned his attention to the pledged shares held by Lin Wanqing and Zhao Jianguo.

• Chen Xi reported that Lin Wanqing had transferred HK$230 million from her Cayman Trust Account to three companies that repaid loans guaranteed by Henglong.
• Chen Xi said the repayments had released the guarantees on three projects and brought Lin Wanqing’s cumulative released liabilities to more than HK$350 million.
• Zhang Qingxue estimated that continued pressure could reduce Henglong’s urgent, clearly defined off-balance-sheet liabilities below HK$1 billion by the end of the second quarter.
• Zhao Chen concluded that the trust was nearly emptied but said Lin Wanqing and Zhao Jianguo’s pledged shares still had to be dealt with more thoroughly.
• Zhao Chen raised the possibility that Lin Wanqing and Zhao Jianguo might refuse to participate in the planned 10-for-4 stock issuance and accept dilution.

Before the Lunar New Year, Zhao Chen and his allies paused their plans to use a subscription offer to pressure Zhao Jianguo and Lin Wanqing. In private, Zhao Chen admitted his exhaustion and reaffirmed that he would force Zhao Jianguo to relinquish his shares, with further pressure planned beyond the subscription.

• Su Wantang urged Zhao Chen, Zhang Qingxue, and Chen Xi to pause their calculations for the holiday, and they ended their final pre-New-Year meeting.
• After Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi left, Zhao Chen told Su Wantang that the sudden break from his nonstop work left him restless and drained.
• Zhao Chen said he could not let Henglong become a prize for Zhao Jianguo after rescuing it, and vowed to remove Zhao Jianguo from his position little by little through legitimate means.
• Su Wantang asked whether Zhao Jianguo and Lin Wanqing could protect their stake by spending their remaining cash on the subscription plan.
• Zhao Chen replied that the plan would drain their visible liquidity and that he would keep pressuring them from other directions.

Su Wantang comforted Zhao Chen as he struggled with painful memories of his previous life and feared she would judge his actions. Reassured by her unwavering support, he regained his composure and looked forward to going home with her.

• Zhao Chen asked Su Wantang whether she was disappointed in him, and she drew him close and comforted him.
• Su Wantang asked what drove Zhao Chen, and his suppressed memories of betrayal and loss overwhelmed him.
• Su Wantang affirmed that she trusted Zhao Chen's judgment and supported him in protecting what he cherished.
• Zhao Chen relaxed in Su Wantang's embrace, then held her hand as his resolve returned.
• Zhao Chen remarked that the water had gone cold, and Su Wantang offered to brew Pu'er tea when they got home.

After finishing work, Zhao Chen returned to the villa with Su Wantang and relaxed as she prepared tea. He called Shen Zhiyi to catch up, and she began telling him about helping her parents prepare New Year goods.

• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang returned to the villa, where she hung up his coat and went to make tea.
• Zhao Chen read Shen Zhiyi’s WeChat messages and saw her photo of the New Year goods she was preparing with her parents.
• Zhao Chen video-called Shen Zhiyi, who was happy to hear that he had time off until the new year.
• Shen Zhiyi cautiously asked whether Zhao Chen was in a bad mood after seeing Zhao Jianguo, and he said he was fine.
• Zhao Chen asked about Shen Zhiyi’s New Year preparations, and she began complaining about how tiring they were.

Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi shared a warm, nearly hour-long call, and she agreed to keep his identity hidden from her parents for now. After the call, Zhao Chen reflected with Su Wantang on Shen Zhiyi’s father approving of Henglong’s strategy.

• Zhao Chen teased Shen Zhiyi about her father becoming his future father-in-law, and she blushed and protested.
• Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi agreed to keep his identity secret from her parents until the company was more stable and its problems were handled.
• Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi chatted about ordinary topics while Su Wantang brought him tea and listened nearby.
• Shen Zhiyi’s mother urged her to go to bed, so Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi said good night and ended their call.
• Su Wantang said Shen Zhiyi sincerely treated Zhao Chen well, and Zhao Chen told her that Shen Zhiyi’s father approved of Henglong’s strategy.

Zhao Chen and Su Wantang spent the day preparing for the New Year, enjoying an ordinary breakfast and shopping trip together. At a lively New Year market, Zhao Chen began playing ring toss while Su Wantang watched.

• Zhao Chen woke early and joined Su Wantang for a homemade breakfast.
• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang decided to buy a Spring Festival Couplet, Window Paper-cuts, and a Fu Character.
• Zhao Chen cleared the dishes before he and Su Wantang drove to the supermarket.
• Su Wantang chose a zodiac-themed Chocolate Gift Box for Zhiyi, and they bought drinks and fruit.
• Zhao Chen noticed Su Wantang's interest in a Ring Toss stall and paid for ten rings; his first throw missed.

Zhao Chen and Su Wantang spent a carefree afternoon wandering the commercial street, and their growing closeness left Su Wantang feeling happier than she had in years. They returned to the Villa with Zhao Chen promising that they would share many more days like this.

• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang bought a book of scratch-off lottery tickets, lost more than three hundred yuan, and laughed together about spending money for happiness.
• They wandered the street, watched a performer, browsed books, and bought freshly baked pastries.
• Zhao Chen bought Su Wantang sugar-roasted chestnuts, and she fed him the first bite before linking her arm through his.
• Su Wantang told Zhao Chen that the day had been the happiest of her life, and he promised that they would have many more days like it.
• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang returned to the Villa carrying their purchases.

Zhao Chen and Su Wantang celebrated Lunar New Year's Eve together, sharing a festive meal and a quiet afternoon at home. As they settled in to watch the Spring Festival Gala, their peaceful holiday continued.

• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang pasted Spring Festival Couplets, paper-cuts, and a Fu character on their doorway.
• Su Wantang cooked a New Year's lunch while Zhao Chen helped, and they ate the meal together.
• Zhao Chen called Shen Zhiyi, who was celebrating with her family, and they exchanged New Year greetings.
• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang spent the afternoon chatting over tea, melon seeds, and candy.
• At dusk, Zhao Chen and Su Wantang reheated lunch, prepared snacks, and settled on the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

Zhao Chen spent the Lunar New Year resting at the Villa with Su Wantang, whose quiet companionship brought them closer. He turned down most business engagements and decided Chen Xi would represent him, while he prepared to leave Henglong’s real estate business and pursue a new direction.

• Zhao Chen took a break from markets and company affairs while Su Wantang cared for his daily routine at the Villa.
• Zhao Chen and Su Wantang settled into a closer, wordless companionship, spending time together reading and watching old movies.
• Zhao Chen refused President Li’s New Year gathering and told Chen Qiming to let the executive team handle ordinary engagements.
• Zhao Chen told Su Wantang he was reducing Henglong’s real estate exposure and would devote his time to deciding what came next.
• Zhao Chen chose Chen Xi to represent him at social engagements, and she attended several Spring Festival gatherings on his behalf.

Zhao Chen saw Bitcoin rise above $1,000 and reaffirmed his confidence in his 550,000-coin position. After returning to Henglong, he set reducing debt and leverage as the group’s strategy, then began ordering the sale of underperforming projects.

• Zhao Chen saw Bitcoin cross $1,000, with his 550,000 Bitcoin position showing an $82.5 million floating profit.
• Zhao Chen visited Henglong after the holiday and called an expanded management meeting for February 6.
• At the strategy meeting, Zhao Chen said Henglong’s debt ratio remained at 72 percent and declared that reducing debt and leverage would guide the group for the next three years.
• Zhao Chen warned department heads to resign if they could not carry out his strategy.
• When a real estate executive raised concerns about projects already underway, Zhao Chen said they should be sold and cited seven low-margin projects and three loss-making business segments.

Lin Wanqing chose to support Zhao Chen’s debt-reduction plan, intending to use its costs to turn Zhao Jianguo against him before the one-year voting-rights authorization expired. Zhao Chen recognized the looming threat and saw that he needed support from small and medium shareholders to prevent Lin Wanqing from regaining control.

• Lin Wanqing told her confidants to let Zhao Chen cut debt and clean up Henglong’s assets, while recording the resulting costs for Zhao Jianguo to see.
• Lin Wanqing warned her team to cooperate with the plan, keep their conduct clean, and make every cost visible.
• Su Wantang questioned whether Lin Wanqing could drive Zhao Chen out while he controlled 70% of the voting rights.
• Zhao Chen explained that the one-year authorization for the voting rights tied to Zhao Jianguo’s 40% stake was the key deadline.
• Zhao Chen warned that Zhao Jianguo might refuse to renew the authorization and give the votes to Lin Wanqing, who could then challenge him at a shareholders’ meeting.

Chen Xi presented the subscription plan’s pricing and financing calculations, showing that Zhao Jianguo and Lin Wanqing would need to commit nearly all their available cash to preserve their stake. Zhao Chen approved the model after reviewing its checks and stress tests, then learned that he and Su Wantang would need HK$282 million to HK$300 million for their own subscription.

• Chen Xi presented a proposed subscription price of HK$5.88 to HK$6.24 and a 10-for-4 plan expected to raise HK$940 million to HK$1 billion.
• Chen Xi calculated that Zhao Jianguo would need HK$376 million to HK$400 million to maintain his 40.2% stake, while Lin Wanqing controlled about HK$420 million in offshore trust funds.
• Zhao Chen praised the calculations for targeting the limits of Lin Wanqing’s available funds and asked how thoroughly the figures had been checked.
• Zhang Qingxue reported that three independent teams had cross-checked the model, with key-data errors under three-thousandths, and that stress tests supported the plan.
• Chen Xi estimated that Zhao Chen and Su Wantang would need to prepare HK$282 million to HK$300 million for their joint subscription.

Zhao Chen outlined a plan to use a discounted share subscription and a later stock-price decline to force Zhao Jianguo’s pledged shares into liquidation, then buy them back cheaply. He left Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi to refine the plan while stressing the need to time Bitcoin sales carefully and keep Zhao Jianguo’s case from becoming public until the subscription was complete.

• Zhao Chen told Chen Xi to monitor the stock price and market sentiment ahead of a Board of Directors meeting and prepare a contingency plan.
• Zhao Chen, Zhang Qingxue, and Chen Xi discussed lowering the stock price after their own pledges were released so Zhao Jianguo would face a margin call and possible forced liquidation.
• Zhao Chen planned to use funds from Bitcoin sales to buy Zhao Jianguo’s shares cheaply, while keeping Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia holdings as long-term investments unless an emergency required selling.
• Chen Xi identified the timing of Bitcoin sales and the subscription payment deadline as the plan’s main risk, and Zhao Chen instructed her to sell Bitcoin in batches after it passed two thousand US dollars.
• Zhang Qingxue warned that the subscription needed Board approval and that negative news about Zhao Jianguo’s criminal case could derail it, so Zhao Chen called for positive messaging and keeping the case suppressed until the funds were secured.
• Zhao Chen asked Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi to polish the plan, verify every number, and ensure every step met strict compliance requirements.

At Henglong Group’s first core executive meeting of the year, Lin Wanqing presented evidence that banks were resisting loan renewals and blamed the crisis on Zhao Chen’s debt-reduction strategy. She left the meeting mid-outburst, warning that the company’s credit and financing could collapse.

• Li Mao reported that banks were pressuring Henglong Group over first-quarter loan renewals.
• Lin Wanqing interrupted him and reported that renewals for RMB 1.873 billion in short-term debt faced serious risk.
• Lin Wanqing cited banks’ demands for higher interest rates, more collateral, new due diligence, and fund withdrawals.
• Lin Wanqing confronted Zhao Chen, arguing that the strategy to contract the balance sheet had made banks question Henglong Group’s ability to continue operating.
• Lin Wanqing warned that worsening credit could shut down financing channels and hurt suppliers, partners, and the share price.

Zhao Chen clashed with Lin Wanqing over blocked bank-loan renewals and the company’s transformation strategy. He ended the meeting by ordering Zhang Qingxue to lead a task force that would present a financing and debt response plan within three days.

• Lin Wanqing argued that the company’s aggressive strategy and poor communication with banks were creating unnecessary risks, while Zhao Chen blamed the crisis on hidden liabilities and the old high-debt model.
• Executives from the two factions argued over whether to prioritize immediate loan renewals or reduce the company’s dependence on banks.
• Zhao Chen stopped the argument and told Lin Wanqing that the financing departments needed to produce professional solutions instead of blaming the strategy.
• Zhao Chen ordered Zhang Qingxue to lead a special task force with Lin Wanqing, the Strategy Department, and the Board Office to prepare a detailed debt and financing plan within three days.

Zhao Chen turned Lin Wanqing’s pressure over bank loans into groundwork for a future stock issuance and instructed his team to prepare a hardline plan for dealing with the banks. He wanted the plan’s opposing choices to leak, presenting Henglong’s new management as standing firm against traditional bank risk control.

• Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi warned Zhao Chen that Lin Wanqing’s bank letters and three-day deadline could trigger a crisis and damage his authority.
• Zhao Chen asked why Lin Wanqing had chosen to challenge the strategy through the threat of bank loan suspensions.
• Chen Xi and Zhang Qingxue explained that Lin Wanqing was trying to force Zhao Chen to choose between a short-term collapse and admitting strategic failure.
• Zhao Chen said Lin Wanqing’s emphasis on financing difficulties would make a later stock issuance seem necessary and leave her little basis to oppose it.
• Zhao Chen ordered Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi to prepare a data-backed plan offering banks either reasonable loan renewals or an orderly break with Henglong.
• Zhao Chen told them to let the plan’s uncompromising stance leak so management and the market would see Henglong’s new leadership as resisting traditional financial institutions.

Su Wantang urged Zhao Chen to set work aside and spend Valentine’s Day with Shen Zhiyi, and he followed her advice by enjoying a full day together. Their date left him feeling warmed and relaxed after his recent business pressures.

• Su Wantang encouraged Zhao Chen to rest and arranged for him to spend Valentine’s Day with Shen Zhiyi.
• Zhao Chen silenced his phone and met Shen Zhiyi outside her school, where she noticed his exhaustion and took charge of helping him relax.
• Zhao Chen and Shen Zhiyi spent the day trying street food, playing arcade basketball, watching a movie, and sharing meals and tea.
• Shen Zhiyi’s attentive care softened Zhao Chen, and he smiled as he promised to follow her lead for the day.

Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi presented the Special Task Force’s two tentative plans to Zhao Chen, outlining the choice between short-term bank support and maintaining the company’s contraction strategy. Lin Wanqing emphasized the risks of the latter and urged caution, leaving Zhao Chen under pressure to choose a path.

• Lin Wanqing and several Special Task Force members joined Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi in Zhao Chen’s office to report together.
• Zhang Qingxue explained that the task force had developed two plans after facing firm bank conditions and internal disagreement.
• Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi described the risks of persistent contraction and the obstacles to finding alternative financing.
• Lin Wanqing praised Zhang Qingxue and Chen Xi’s efforts but stressed the company’s fragile market confidence and the dangers of Path B.
• Lin Wanqing urged Zhao Chen to stabilize the company through a cautious, pragmatic decision.