Chapter 58: The Crisis of the Su Family

The residents and passersby around the Su Family Herbal Medicine Company had already been evacuated, and all the neighboring shop owners had been urgently relocated. The fire brigade finally arrived, and after an hour, the blaze was extinguished.

Yet the Su Family was finished; their herbal medicine company was utterly ruined. Over a dozen tons of medicinal herbs were destroyed, and their apparent losses exceeded two hundred million, but that was only what could be seen on the surface—the true losses suffered by the Su Family were even greater.

Two days later, at the ancestral home of the Su Family.

All the family members had gathered, convened to discuss a way out of the crisis. Sitting in the seat of honor was the matriarch, Madam Su. Thanks to Jiang Hao’s treatment and her recent rest, she had nearly recovered, her complexion much improved.

But now, her face was pale and her expression bleak; her hair, white and disheveled, made her resemble any ordinary old woman working the fields, with nothing of the dignity befitting the head of the Su Family.

“Tianming, report on the current situation of our family so everyone can hear it,” Madam Su spoke weakly, her tone heavy with despair.

Su Tianming was silent for a few moments before finally rising, clearing his throat and speaking in a low voice, “Uncles, aunts, let me explain our current situation on behalf of grandmother.”

“This fire burned over ninety percent of our stockpile of medicinal herbs—seventeen point five tons in total. Our direct loss is two hundred and twenty million. But this is only the visible loss. The destruction of our herbs means that next quarter, we will have nothing to sell, and that is another huge blow.”

He paused, then continued, “The most serious issue is that news of our warehouse fire has spread. Now, all of Maple Leaf City knows that our herbs are gone. Thirty major pharmacies and three mid-sized pharmaceutical research companies, all previous partners, are preparing to end their cooperation with us. I’ve received word—they will choose other suppliers.”

“If we cannot quickly acquire a new batch of herbs, not only will we have nothing to sell next quarter, but we will also lose most of our partners. That is the greatest crisis we face now!”

Having finished, Su Tianming sat down again.

Several minutes passed in silence; no one spoke.

Madam Su could not wait any longer. She urged impatiently, “You’ve all heard it clearly, haven’t you? It’s time for you to speak! Who among you has an idea to turn things around, to save our family?”

Still, no one spoke.

After a while, Zhang Liping finally ventured, “Grandmother, has the cause of the fire been determined?”

“Is that important now?”

Madam Su was so angry she began coughing loudly, flecks of saliva spraying from her mouth. She took several deep breaths to steady herself, then glared at Zhang Liping and shouted, “Is this the time to dwell on that? The cause is still under investigation, but it no longer matters! What we must do now is find a way to reassure our partners as quickly as possible, or our family will truly be finished!”

The total assets of the Su Family were around one billion, and losing just over two hundred million seemed not too severe. But most of those assets were tied up in real estate and similar fixed properties.

Their cash reserves had always been meager; in order to purchase nearly twenty tons of herbs, Tianming had spent almost all their cash. Now, the Su Family had no adequate cash flow!

In the end, it all boiled down to one thing: without money, how could they solve anything?

Without money, all talk was meaningless!

As for the cause of the fire, it no longer mattered. Even if they determined it, it would not change the fact that their herbs were destroyed. And if they focused solely on investigating the fire, they might miss the opportunity to save the situation.

A long time passed before Su Bingming finally sighed and said, “Grandmother, our family is willing to contribute two million.”

Two million!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liping’s shoulders trembled. She glared at Su Bingming, but the words had already been spoken; there was no taking them back.

“Well done, Bingming. You have a good heart!” Madam Su’s expression finally eased somewhat.

With Bingming taking the lead, the other family members began to speak up, offering their own contributions. Yet even as each family offered a sum, it was not enough. Altogether, the money barely exceeded one hundred million.

One hundred million, still short by one hundred and twenty million from the two hundred and twenty million loss!

How could they fill that gap?

Madam Su was truly at a loss, left only to sigh repeatedly.

Suddenly, Su Tianming said, “Grandmother, if nothing else works, I’ll go to the Pan Family. Perhaps they’ll be willing to help.”

The Pan Family’s financial strength did indeed surpass that of the Su Family.

But even so, what reason would the Pan Family have to offer such a large sum to help the Su Family?

Madam Su understood this perfectly. After some thought, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she turned her gaze to Su Qingli, who sat at the end of the table.

“Qingli, Tianming’s suggestion to seek help from the Pan Family is indeed a good idea. But Tianming’s influence may not be enough. Why don’t you go with him and ask the Pan Family for assistance?” Madam Su asked tentatively.

Hearing this, Su Qingli’s heart sank halfway.

She was no fool; she knew exactly what her grandmother was planning.

All of Maple Leaf City knew that the eldest son of the Pan Family, Pan Yixuan, had his eye on her, Su Qingli, and wanted her to divorce Jiang Hao so he could marry her.

Now, Madam Su wanted Su Qingli to accompany Tianming to the Pan Family—wasn’t this sending her into the lion’s den?

The Pan Family might indeed agree to help, but they would surely demand that Su Qingli divorce Jiang Hao and marry into their family.

“Grandmother, do you mean to trade me for the Pan Family’s help?”

Su Qingli suddenly stood, incredulous, staring at Madam Su in the seat of honor.

Madam Su replied helplessly, “Qingli, I have no other choice… I must think of our family… Besides, that eldest son of the Pan Family isn’t bad at all—he’s fully worthy of you…”

“This isn’t about whether he’s worthy or not!” Su Qingli retorted stubbornly.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Su Tianming slammed the table and shouted loudly, “Enough! Su Qingli, do you have any idea how much trouble you and Jiang Hao have brought to our family? Now we ask you to make a small sacrifice—isn’t it only right? You are a member of the Su Family; you should be ready to give yourself for its sake!”