PFC Chapter 638 Debt Collection
Chapter 638 Debt Collection
The next morning, Li Xiangyang boarded the train to Guangzhou. Throughout the journey, he kept pondering Tian Guoqiang's words. Selling a house to start a business seemed too risky to him. But from another perspective, it also showed how much Tian Guoqiang valued this collaboration.
The train arrived at Guangzhou Station in the afternoon. Tian Guoqiang was already waiting at the station, and when he saw Li Xiangyang get off the train, he quickly went to greet him.
"Mr. Li, you must be tired from your journey." Tian Guoqiang took Li Xiangyang's luggage, his smile somewhat forced.
"Mr. Tian, you don't look too well." Li Xiangyang carefully examined Tian Guoqiang and noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes, obviously because he hadn't rested well.
"I've been quite busy lately, so I've been sleeping a bit lately," Tian Guoqiang waved his hand. "Come on, let me take you to the hotel to rest first, and we'll have a good talk tonight."
On the way, Li Xiangyang observed the street scene of Guangzhou through the car window. Compared to Xiaoliang Village, the commercial atmosphere here was much stronger, with various shops lining the streets and a constant flow of people.
"Mr. Tian, what's the cost of living like in Guangzhou?" Li Xiangyang asked casually.
"Very good." Tian Guoqiang's tone was filled with pride. "People here have a more open-minded approach to consumption and are more receptive to new products. Our agricultural products sell very well here."
"Is the competition fierce?"
"It's indeed fiercely competitive," Tian Guoqiang frankly stated. "In the agricultural product processing sector alone, there are over a dozen companies competing. However, high-quality products still have a market."
That evening, the two found a Cantonese restaurant near the hotel. When ordering, Li Xiangyang noticed that Tian Guoqiang was very price-sensitive and always chose relatively inexpensive dishes.
"Mr. Tian, to be honest, what is Tianrun's current financial situation?" Li Xiangyang asked bluntly.
Tian Guoqiang put down his chopsticks and remained silent for a moment: "Mr. Li, since you've come all this way, I won't hide it from you. Tianrun has indeed encountered some difficulties."
"What difficulties?"
"The main problem is accounts receivable," Tian Guoqiang said with a wry smile. "Several customers owe me money, totaling about 300,000 yuan. I've been chasing them for payment, but they keep making excuses."
Li Xiangyang frowned: "What's the creditworthiness of these clients?"
“Some of them are long-term clients, and we used to have a good working relationship. But the recent economic climate isn't good, and they're facing difficulties too,” Tian Guoqiang sighed. “My concern is that if we can't collect the money, Tianrun's cash flow will really dry up.”
"So that's why you're thinking of selling the house?"
“Yes.” Tian Guoqiang nodded. “That house was my wife and I’d have when we got married, but we can’t worry about that now. If Tianrun goes bankrupt, we’ll have nothing left.”
Looking at Tian Guoqiang, Li Xiangyang could sense his inner struggle. For a man to be able to set aside his pride and openly discuss his difficulties meant he was truly desperate.
"Mr. Tian, I have a question for you," Li Xiangyang said seriously. "If I gave you two choices right now—one is that I'd help you solve your funding problem, but we'd have to adjust the cooperation model; the other is to maintain the status quo, but you'd have to find your own way to overcome the difficulties—which would you choose?"
Tian Guoqiang was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Li Xiangyang to be so direct.
"Mr. Li, what do you mean?"
“What I mean is, instead of letting you risk selling your house, let’s redesign our cooperation plan.” Li Xiangyang picked up his teacup and took a sip. “For example, I can increase my investment in Tianrun, but the shareholding ratio will need to be adjusted accordingly.”
Tian Guoqiang's eyes lit up for a moment, but then dimmed again: "Mr. Li, in that case, my say in Tianrun will be..."
"President Tian, you need to think this through. Is having a stronger voice more important, or is the company's survival more important?" Li Xiangyang's words were direct. "Besides, who says that increasing investment must weaken your position? The key is to make Tianrun bigger and stronger."
Tian Guoqiang pondered for a moment, then finally asked, "Mr. Li, what exactly are your thoughts?"
“In this way, I will invest another 500,000 in Tianrun, increasing my stake to 51%. However, you will still be responsible for Tianrun's daily operations, while I will primarily focus on strategic planning and resource integration,” Li Xiangyang said. “In addition, we can establish a performance evaluation mechanism. If Tianrun achieves its predetermined targets within three years, you can repurchase some of the shares.”
This proposal caught Tian Guoqiang's eye. It solved the funding problem, preserved his management rights, and offered the possibility of a share buyback.
"Mr. Li, this plan sounds good," Tian Guoqiang said excitedly. "But how do we set specific performance targets?"
“We can discuss this in detail,” Li Xiangyang said. “However, there’s one thing we must do first: resolve the accounts receivable issue. If we can’t collect this money, any further investment will be wasted.”
“You’re right,” Tian Guoqiang nodded. “I’ll go and collect the debt tomorrow.”
“Just chasing after them isn’t enough,” Li Xiangyang shook his head. “We need to develop a more systematic plan. Tomorrow, take me to meet with these clients who owe money; I want to understand the specifics.”
“Okay, no problem.” Tian Guoqiang was a little surprised, obviously not expecting Li Xiangyang to be so proactive.
The next morning, Tian Guoqiang and Li Xiangyang began collecting the outstanding debts.
The first company is a medium-sized supermarket chain, which owes 120,000 yuan.
"Mr. Liu, this is our boss, Mr. Li," Tian Guoqiang introduced Li Xiangyang to the other party.
Mr. Liu was a middle-aged man in his forties, who looked somewhat tired. He sized up Li Xiangyang and said politely, "Mr. Li, I've heard so much about you."
"Mr. Liu, you're too kind," Li Xiangyang said with a smile. "I heard from Mr. Tian that we have some accounts to settle?"
Mr. Liu looked somewhat embarrassed: "Mr. Li, it's not that I don't want to pay the bill, it's just that I'm a bit short on funds lately."
“I understand,” Li Xiangyang nodded. “Every business has its difficulties. However, Mr. Liu, delaying payments is bad for both parties, don’t you think?”
“Mr. Li is right,” Mr. Liu sighed. “How about this, I’ll give you 60,000 first, and give me two months to pay the remaining 60,000.”
“Mr. Liu, two months is too long.” Li Xiangyang shook his head. “How about this, you pay 80,000 first, and the remaining 40,000 can be settled within a month. As compensation, we can offer you a more favorable price next time we cooperate.”
After a moment's hesitation, General Manager Liu finally nodded: "Okay, let's do as Boss Li says."
Stepping out of General Manager Liu's office, Tian Guoqiang exclaimed excitedly, "Boss Li, your trick really worked!"
“This is just the beginning,” Li Xiangyang said. “The key is to show the other party both sincerity and pressure.”
For the next few clients, Li Xiangyang employed different strategies. Some he reasoned with them, some appealed to their emotions, and others directly presented the stakes involved.