Ma Rong kept his head down, not daring to face the silent crowd below and the mute silence above.
Upon finishing speaking, everyone fell silent.
Unprovoked black lines crept onto their faces; they had been too excited just moments before.
Now, hearing such news, they no longer had the energy to be excited or to curse.
Now, they just wanted to hear Xia Liu's rebuttal.
Another reason they hadn't turned hostile yet was that no one had exchanged any money, so interests were not touched; they might as well enjoy the show for now.
"Xia Liu! What else do you have to say?" Seeing that the crowd was not as agitated as expected, Yan Gang angrily pointed at Xia Liu and shouted.
"Old man! Don't shout so loud, be careful or I might not be able to control myself and…"
"Xiaotian, don't speak." Xia Liu quickly stopped Lin Xiaotian, who was typically impulsive. If he threatened Yan Gang in front of everyone and several cameras, Xia Liu would be unable to clear his name.
"Tsk tsk! What's the matter? Can't control yourself and might kill me?" Yan Gang caught Lin Xiaotian's weak point and smirked triumphantly.
"Deputy County Magistrate Yan, as a person of stature, I don't know what benefit you are after. And you, Ma Rong, let me ask you solemnly, if your arbitrary accusation against a major corporate enterprise is proven true, can you bear the consequences?"
Xia Liu's tone was sharply challenging; he couldn't understand why, as a member of the county government, Yan Gang would think of framing him.
Now, Xia Liu also saw the light. No wonder Ma Rong had entered the company a few days ago; it had all been Yan Gang's plan.
"I can... of course I can bear it... As for you, deceiving so many people and even trying to deceive Huaxia!" Ma Rong shouted angrily.
"If I were to deceive the world, I would certainly be punished. But you, it's different. I would very much enjoy seeing the outcome," Xia Liu confidently stated.
Truth be told, Ma Rong was somewhat panicked. He had no solid backing; everything was fabricated. If proven, he could really end up in jail.
However, thinking of Yan Gang's Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today! I heard it firsthand; could that possibly be false? Besides, I have investigated the company. The entire company is just a shell with absolutely no capital. If it weren't for the government's subsidies, the development of the Eastern District would have been halted long ago."
"Since you insist on saying that, I have no choice but to bring out something tangible."
Xia Liu slightly smiled, since Ma Rong had brought up money, he had no choice but to show no mercy.
"Firstly, please allow me to invite someone to the scene." Saying this, Xia Liu waved his hand, and then the main doors of the movie theater flung open.
In the shining light, a figure walked slowly in.
"That's the Bank President of Industrial and Commercial Bank: Xu Zhi!"
"Damn! I just went to the Industrial and Commercial bank to open an account a few days ago, and it was Director Xu who served me!"
"Shit, why would Director Xu come here?"
"Didn't you just hear? It was Xia Liu who asked him to come out!"
"Could it be that Xia Liu wants to prove the Osmanthus Group's finances?"
"It must be so. With Xu Zhi here to authenticate, there definitely won't be an issue!"
Many people in the audience recognized Xu Zhi. Although not all were businesspeople, they frequently visited the bank.
And having some money at home, in this small county, they were certainly supposed to know Xu Zhi. After all, being acquainted with him would make future bank transactions much more convenient.
"Director Xu, I'm very glad you could come here." After Xu Zhi took the stage, Xia Liu reached out his hand and briefly shook it.
"Chairman Xia, you are too kind. Even if I was busy, I would still come to such an important occasion," Xu Zhi said, smiling as he shook hands with Xia Liu.
"I'm sure everyone here knows Director Xu. I invited him as a notary; I'm sure you all trust him, right?" Xia Liu addressed the crowd below.
"Of course, I've known old Xu not just from today."
"Ha ha! When Director Xu has some free time, let's get together for chess and tea."
Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Xia Liu said with a smile, "I won't say much. You must be doubting Osmanthus Group's funds. I came prepared today to dispel all doubts. Please look at the big screen."
When the canvas that was blocking the background was pulled aside, a computer desktop appeared on a white wallpaper.
It turned out that Lin Xiaotian had taken advantage of the moment the canvas was drawn to plug in the laptop he brought, projecting the screen onto the background wallpaper.
Moreover, the operation on the scene was completely public. Taking the cue from Xia Liu, Zhang Xiaoxue opened the web page in front of everyone, entered the bank's official website, and logged in.
"What everyone is seeing now is the official website of the Industrial and Commercial Bank. Currently, President Zhang is logging into the corporate account..."
As Zhang Xiaoxue operated, Xu Zhi commented, and finally, after a few minutes, an image appeared on the wallpaper.
All present held their breath at that moment, for what met their eyes was a string of numbers too large to count!
"Hmm, this is the account balance of Osmanthus Group, over 230 billion!"
When Xu Zhi announced the balance, a gasp of awe echoed through the venue.
A person's lifetime is long, but they definitely wouldn't have the chance to see that much money.
But today, those present did see it!
And they saw it very clearly!
"Absolutely inhumane!"
"With that much money, if it were mine, damn it, I'd Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today!"
Finally, the crowd erupted, their eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets with blood.
So much money, enough to shock everyone's soul.
But two people were trembling uncontrollably.
It was Ma Rong and Yan Gang.
They had never imagined Xia Liu actually had so much money.
With this, the public presence would definitely lean towards Osmanthus Group.
No one could withstand the assault of so much money.
Even Ma Rong felt envious and jealous.
"Okay, talking about money is too vulgar, let's put that aside for now."
As Xia Liu spoke, Zhang Xiaoxue closed the web page, leaving the audience sighing.
"You say Osmanthus Group has no money, now I have proven our strength, Director Chen!" Xia Liu said sharply, looking at the panicked Ma Rong.
"Here we go! Handcuff Ma Rong!" As soon as Chen Jin, who had been waiting backstage, heard Xia Liu's command, he immediately directed his people to handcuff Ma Rong and take him away. As for how to deal with him later, that would be discussed after the press conference ended.
"Deputy County Magistrate Yan, you say I colluded with County Magistrate Li to embezzle public assets. If you don't present evidence, I might have to bring out mine," Xia Liu said with a knowing smile at Yan Gang.
"Yeah! Deputy County Magistrate Yan, bring out the evidence! Don't wrong our Chairman Xia!"