Chapter 129: Gaining Fame

On June 7th, Li Dong and his team finally returned to Pingchuan.

The trip to the capital had its gains and losses, with the biggest gain being the fifty thousand shares of Baidu stock.

However, this trip had also depleted Li Dong's savings.

For these fifty thousand shares, Li Dong had spent at least seventy-five million in cash.

Li Dong originally planned to rest for a day after returning to Pingchuan and then visit the supermarket the next day.

However, within half an hour of arriving home, Liu Qi showed up with Sun Tao, who was in a wheelchair.

Li Dong thought Sun Tao was going to discuss the money, but before he could speak, Sun Tao's face was grim as he said, "Mr. Li, you must be quite excited right now, right?"

Li Dong frowned but remained silent.

Seeing his lack of response, Sun Tao's anger flared, "Did you go and acquire Baidu's shares?"

Li Dong was startled. How did Sun Tao know?

Only Zhou Haidong and Zheng Long knew about the Baidu share acquisition.

Li Dong trusted them not to leak information, so how did Sun Tao find out?

As if sensing Li Dong's confusion, Sun Tao threw a newspaper onto the coffee table in front of Li Dong.

"Take a look for yourself!"

Li Dong frowned and picked up the newspaper. He quickly found what Sun Tao wanted him to see.

**Weekly Morning News**

**Headline: The Youngest Billionaire?**

Mysterious young man spends billions to acquire Baidu shares… According to this report, the mysterious young man is from Jiangbei, and in his early twenties, his net worth exceeds one billion… The surname Li, engaged in retail business, rumored to be a university student in Pingchuan…

The article was accompanied by a photo of Li Dong and Xu Yong shaking hands.

The photo was taken outside the Zhonghe Building when Xu Yong was seeing Li Dong off. The image was slightly blurry, but someone familiar with Li Dong would recognize him.

Li Dong read the newspaper in silence.

After a while, he slammed the newspaper down on the table, cursing, "Damn it, do these gossip tabloids have nothing better to do? They have to meddle in everything!"

Sun Tao frowned and interrupted, "Mr. Li, now is not the time to be angry."

Li Dong, frustrated, sat down silently with a dark expression.

The transaction with Xu Yong was not classified, but it was not common knowledge either.

The fact that someone could get such detailed information about him meant that there had been a leak among those involved—Xu Yong, Gu Honglou, the lawyers, or the Baidu board…

This tabloid almost named him directly, even detailing his occupation.

Even in Pingchuan, very few people knew what Li Dong actually did.

Li Dong lit a cigarette, took a few deep drags, and then said with some hope, "Even if the news got out, it shouldn't have much impact, right?"

"Are you kidding yourself, Mr. Li?"

Sun Tao, looking furious, said, "Many people know Far East's financial situation. Can't they guess where the money for the share acquisition came from?"

"Once they realize Mr. Li has diverted funds from purchases and operational costs, you should know the consequences. I'm sure suppliers will come demanding payment. If there's a rush on vouchers, Far East could face bankruptcy!"

Li Dong opened his mouth, trying to say something but found himself at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Sun Tao scoffed, "Don't expect to convince them with talk of Baidu's potential. In today's world, only money is reliable. Those suppliers won't care about Baidu's stock value. The citizens holding vouchers won't care about the potential rise in Baidu's stock."

Sun Tao's words shattered Li Dong's last hopes.

Li Dong knew Sun Tao was right. Suppliers and ordinary citizens didn't care about the stock's potential value. What they cared about was whether Far East had money.

If Far East had no money, would they ever get their payments back?

Would the vouchers become worthless?

That was their primary concern. As for Li Dong's net worth, whether it was billions or hundreds of billions, it was irrelevant to them.

Li Dong rubbed his face, trying to clear his mind.

After a while, he said, "Contact the bank immediately. I need a loan!"

There was no time to waste. He needed to find a way to get through this crisis.

Although Sun Tao's scenario might not come to pass, what if it did?

One couldn't rely solely on luck. No matter what, being prepared was always better.

Sun Tao breathed a sigh of relief. His stern attitude was to ensure Li Dong took the situation seriously.

It seemed Li Dong was still thinking clearly. Sun Tao considered, "Bank loans take time. What if the news spreads quickly?"

Li Dong was frustrated. He had returned to Pingchuan in high spirits, only to encounter this troubling issue.

Despite his frustration, the issue had to be addressed.

After a pause, Li Dong added, "First, notify local newspapers to refrain from reprinting the news. Spending some money is fine."

**Weekly Morning News** was a gossip tabloid and mainly circulated in the capital.

It was unlikely many people in Pingchuan would see it, and Sun Tao's seeing it was a fluke.

Though Sun Tao doubted it would help, he nodded in agreement.

Then he asked, "Should I contact the Construction Bank?"

Li Dong nodded, "As soon as possible."

He wasn't worried about securing the loan. Given Far East's scale and financial flow, along with their long-standing relationship with the Construction Bank, getting a loan should be straightforward.

The critical issue was timing. Li Dong was worried there wouldn't be enough time.

...

In the era of the internet, news spread faster than Li Dong had anticipated.

On the morning of the 8th, as Li Dong was about to leave to meet with the Construction Bank's leaders, his phone rang.

Checking the number, Li Dong answered the call.

The moment the call was answered, Meng Qiping's excited voice came through, "Brother Dong, are you really not missing a warm bed?"

Li Dong was speechless, replying with a single word, "Get lost!"

Meng Qiping, undeterred, continued excitedly, "Damn, I couldn't hold it in! Brother Dong, that person in the photo is you, right? It must be you! A billionaire! Hahaha, I actually know a billionaire…"

Li Dong was exasperated, realizing the news couldn't be contained, but did it have to spread so quickly?

The gossip tabloid had just reported the news yesterday, and now Meng Qiping, who was usually lazy, knew about it. This was too much.

Not responding to him, Li Dong asked, "Where did you see this?"

"Campus forums. Several university forums in Pingchuan are going wild over it…"

Before he could finish, Li Dong hung up the phone.

Taking a deep breath, Li Dong steadied himself. Let the news spread.

At this point, arguing was pointless. The priority was to secure the loan.

Even if suppliers learned of the news, they wouldn't come demanding payment immediately.

After all, Far East was a major client. If they demanded payment without confirming the news, they wouldn't be able to do business with Far East in the future.

Delaying for ten days or half a month, until the loan was secured, Li Dong wasn't afraid of them coming for their money.

But what Li Dong worried about was the loan amount.

If it wasn't enough, it would be problematic. He needed at least twenty to thirty million as a buffer.