Chapter 95: Can the Young Man Handle the Situation?

The South Lake Hotel was built specifically for Nanjiang City to match its international metropolis status, constructed to the standards of top international hotels. However, despite the high standards, most people still preferred the old Dongmen Hotel for business meetings and government conferences, as it was more familiar. No one expected that shortly after the South Lake Hotel's opening, a conference that could impact the entire Nanjiang financial circle would be held there.

Kong Xiaolin was the manager of the South Lake Hotel. She was a very assertive and legendary businesswoman, having started as a small government official before transitioning into business following the central government's call for reform and opening up. She earned a fair amount of money and, when the South Lake Hotel opened, she left her previous career to become its manager.

That morning, Kong Xiaolin arrived at the South Lake Hotel. Dressed in a sharp black business suit with her hair styled in an elegant updo, she exuded an air of authority. The receptionists greeted her, and Kong Xiaolin noticed that two of them seemed somewhat lax. She furrowed her brows and said, "Get it together! Today is the most important day since our hotel's opening, with many VIPs coming. Don't embarrass our hotel!"

The two receptionists straightened up immediately, their qipaos accentuating their figures perfectly.

At this moment, an Audi pulled up to the hotel entrance. It was Du Peng's car.

Seeing the car, Kong Xiaolin hurried out to welcome them. Zhou Ming and Du Peng got out, and Kong Xiaolin greeted them with a smile, "Welcome, Mr. Zhou and Mr. Du."

Zhou Ming nodded to Kong Xiaolin and asked, "Is the conference room ready?"

Kong Xiaolin replied, "It's all set. Mr. Zhou and Mr. Du can rest in the lounge for now. I'll come get you when the guests arrive."

Zhou Ming agreed and followed Kong Xiaolin. After they left, the two receptionists let out a sigh of relief. One asked, "Who are those young men? Why does Manager Kong seem so nervous around them?"

"I don't know, but judging by the car they arrived in, which we don't recognize, it looks high-end. They must be significant figures," the other receptionist speculated.

Soon, several Santana cars arrived. The receptionists recognized these cars and their eyes widened when they saw the people getting out. "Look, isn't that President Tian from the Bank of China? And President Xue from the Construction Bank, President Xu from the Agricultural Bank, and President Wu from the Transportation Bank. This is incredible! No wonder Manager Kong was so nervous. It seems like there's a major event happening at our hotel today!"

However, these receptionists could only see the bank presidents entering the hotel. If they saw that these presidents were holding large amounts of capital and went into the conference room, they would have been even more shocked.

In the lounge, Du Peng and Zhou Ming were seated on the sofa. Zhou Ming was casually watching TV and drinking tea, while Du Peng glanced at the time repeatedly, looking a bit anxious.

"Zhou Ming, is it really alright for just the two of us today? At least we should have invited Secretary Chen's secretary if he can't come. Without a government official here to oversee things, those bank presidents, who are very proud, might be hard to deal with," Du Peng said worriedly.

"Actually, without a government official present, these presidents might show their true colors and not just give us superficial respect," Zhou Ming said. Seeing Du Peng still worried, Zhou Ming continued, "Don't worry. Whether today goes well or not doesn't matter much. The mayor's office has already communicated with the provincial bank, and we're just here to make a show of it."

Du Peng waved his hand dismissively, "Whatever, it's all your doing. You're an exceptional guy, not bound by common sense."

Zhou Ming laughed, and then Kong Xiaolin came in to announce that the bank presidents had arrived. Zhou Ming and Du Peng stood up and headed towards the conference room. By the time they arrived, the bank presidents were already seated.

Du Peng took a seat in a nearby spot, while Zhou Ming went up to the podium. Kong Xiaolin personally handed him the microphone. Zhou Ming tapped the microphone and said, "Everyone here are the financial giants of Nanjiang City, so I am very grateful that you could take the time out of your busy schedules to attend this meeting. My name is Zhou Ming. I believe some of you might already know me. I am a specially appointed development advisor to Mayor Chen Yunfei, and I was also in charge of Nanjiang's first land auction."

Hearing Zhou Ming's words, someone below impatiently said, "Mr. Zhou, please skip the pleasantries. We're all very busy. Get to the point."

This response made Du Peng's heart skip a beat. Without any government officials present, these people were indeed bold. Zhou Ming was also a specially appointed advisor by Mayor Chen; this lack of respect was quite surprising.

But for Zhou Ming, this was expected. After all, these individuals were significant figures in Nanjiang. They would typically show some respect in ordinary circumstances, but being summoned to a meeting by Mayor Chen and then having to listen to a younger person ramble on would naturally cause frustration. Some with a sharp temper would express their dissatisfaction.

Zhou Ming smiled slightly and said, "This must be President Tian from the Bank of China. Please be patient; I'll get to the main topic soon."

"The reason I introduced myself is because I was responsible for the auction of the first piece of land in Nanjiang. It was also me who advised Du Peng to go to the government to acquire land and hold it for resale. Now you should understand what I'm here to discuss today, right?" Zhou Ming asked.

"You're referring to the current land speculation trend in Nanjiang? And how does that concern us?" someone below said.

"It concerns you greatly," Zhou Ming replied, "According to what I know, currently, only a few companies in Nanjiang City and the entire Lingnan Province can afford to buy land worth millions. Yet, there are dozens of companies involved in land speculation. These companies have no money of their own; all their money is borrowed from banks."

President Sun of the Industrial and Commercial Bank said, "Advisor Zhou, I understand your point. But these companies use land as collateral for their loans, and all the procedures are legal and legitimate. What's the problem?"

"Does President Sun really think there's no problem? If you truly believe there's no issue, then you're free to leave. I know none of you wanted to attend this meeting anyway, so I don't mind," Zhou Ming shrugged.

Zhou Ming's comment immediately caused an uproar. The participants started banging on the tables and shouting at Zhou Ming, "You're too arrogant! We respect the Municipal Committee and Mayor Chen, so we address you as 'Advisor Zhou'. Don't think you're really in charge! Don't forget who you are! If we ignored you, you wouldn't be anything!"

Zhou Ming listened quietly to the uproar below. Although they were loud-mouthed, they were all aware of the importance of the meeting, so they were just venting frustration and no one dared to leave.

After the commotion subsided, Zhou Ming said, "Whether you believe it or not, I'm here for your benefit. As to why, you're all from the banking system, so you should be aware of the recent notices from your provincial banks and the frequent trips Mayor Chen has been making to the province, right?"

Initially, some were still dissatisfied with Zhou Ming's previous remarks, but his next statement silenced them. What Zhou Ming said was exactly what they were worried about and wanted to clarify.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Zhou Ming continued, "Recently, the provincial bank issued a notice requiring all banks to carry out a review of bad and non-performing loans and use this as a basis for evaluating the performance of bank leaders. This notice, although it appears to be a temporary policy within the banking system, is actually closely related to the current land speculation situation in Nanjiang."

At this moment, President Xue from the Construction Bank spoke up, "Advisor Zhou, since you're a development advisor for the city government, this idea must have come from you, right?"

This remark stirred up a storm. President Xue's comment immediately triggered other participants' anger: "Are you saying that this young man can't manage to curb land speculation and deal with those unscrupulous traders? Instead, he's targeting our banking system? Do you think we're easy to bully?"

Seeing this scene, Kong Xiaolin, who was accompanying the meeting as the hotel manager, was stunned. She had attended many meetings in the past as a government official, but she had never witnessed such a chaotic meeting. How could the host and the attendees be arguing like this? Was there no basic meeting discipline? Would the meeting still proceed under these conditions?

Kong Xiaolin sighed inwardly: Even though he's a specially appointed advisor by Mayor Chen, he's still too young and not a government official. How could he expect these senior bank presidents to respect him? Especially with his confrontational approach today, it seemed like he was deliberately provoking conflict. It looked like this meeting was going to turn into a farce. It was surprising that the South Lake Hotel's first major meeting would end up like this.

Kong Xiaolin thought about it and glanced at Zhou Ming on the stage. To her surprise, Zhou Ming remained calm and unruffled, showing no signs of anxiety. This made Kong Xiaolin wonder: Was this his intention?

At this point, Kong Xiaolin felt puzzled, but she had no idea that she was about to witness something she had never seen before in her life.