weddingnovel Chapter 126 The Meat Grinder and Blind Spots of Capital
Chapter 126 The Meat Grinder and Blind Spots of Capital
Chen Yan's thumb hovered above the phone's keyboard.
The sounds of water droplets hitting the concrete floor formed a continuous line.
He pressed two words.
"Lock the door."
Click send.
The screen went out.
He stuffed his phone into his jacket pocket.
BJ.
Yanying Culture Conference Room.
Seven people were sitting on either side of the long solid wood table.
Wang Jianguo sat opposite Su Wan.
He pushed a termination agreement to the center of the long table.
The paper slid across the table and stopped beside Su Wan.
"The screening deposit will be refunded, including principal and interest."
Wang Jianguo tapped his fingers on the table.
"Thunder" will be taken offline by midnight tonight.
Su Wan leaned back in her chair.
She didn't look at the agreement.
"The contract was signed for three months."
Su Wan spoke.
"You can't afford the penalty for breach of contract."
"Vision Capital is shorting Star Media's suppliers."
Wang Jianguo loosened his tie.
"They placed orders worth 300 million overseas. Star Media's stock price dropped seven points at the opening."
That's your problem.
Su Wan looked at Wang Jianguo.
"Chen Yan offended someone he shouldn't have."
A Mediterranean investor standing nearby chimed in.
"Lu Haiming's case is too complicated. We won't get involved."
The screen of Su Wan's phone, which was on the table, lit up.
A text message from Chen Yan popped up.
She glanced at the screen.
She stood up.
"Zhang Yuan."
Su Wan turned her head.
Zhang Yuan walked to the door of the conference room.
He pulled down the blinds on the glass door.
He turned around and turned the door lock.
The sound of a metal latch popping out echoed in the room.
He pulled out the key and put it in his pocket.
"What are you doing?"
Wang Jianguo stood up.
The chair slid backward, rubbing against the carpet.
Su Wan opened the drawer.
She took out a stack of documents and slammed them onto the table.
"Look at the data."
Su Wan pointed to the top report.
"Thunder accounted for 60% of the box office on its opening day. The occupancy rate was 95%. Lin Qingqiu's speech at the school gate garnered over 100,000 comments on NetEase and Sina."
Wang Jianguo looked down at the report.
"If you withdraw your investment now, Xingmei's stock price will drop another ten percent tomorrow."
Su Wan braced her hands on the table.
"Without 'Thunder' to back it up, your theaters wouldn't be able to fill their screening slots."
"Gu Changchuan has made his statement."
Wang Jianguo looked up.
"Whoever dares to release Chen Yan's films, he'll cut off their funding chain."
"He can't cut me off."
Su Wan pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Yanying currently has 20 million in cash in her account. The offshore account access has been established."
She picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip.
"No one is leaving this room today."
Su Wan put down her water glass.
"Until things are settled in Tianjin."
No one spoke in the meeting room.
Zhang Yuan leaned against the door, tossing the bunch of keys in his hand.
Tianjin.
Abandoned tower.
Gu Changchuan's voice was still playing over the loudspeaker.
The sound of electricity was mixed with echoes.
"Your time is running out."
Gu Changchuan said.
Chen Yan ignored the voice coming from the loudspeaker.
He took two steps back.
The leather shoes stepped into the puddle.
Water splashed onto my trouser legs.
He raised his hands.
Cross your thumb and forefinger to form a rectangular viewfinder.
He observed the courtyard through the viewfinder.
His gaze swept over the water tank, the pulley system, the steel cable, and the wooden plank under Liang Qinian's feet.
The water level in the tank has dropped to the bottom.
The sheet metal emitted a dull, creaking sound.
The angle of inclination of the wooden board has increased.
Liang Qinian knelt on the wooden board.
Heavy breathing echoed in the courtyard.
Chen Yan moves the viewfinder.
The gaze falls on the tower's load-bearing structure.
Twenty years of photography experience have made him extremely sensitive to spatial structure.
He figured out the stress points of this device.
Gu Changchuan used the water tank as a counterweight.
The pulley system is fixed to the top beam.
The weight of the beam rests on the load-bearing walls on both sides.
The surface of the load-bearing wall is covered with cracks.
The cracks radiate outwards.
Those are traces of cement weathering and peeling off over a long period of time.
Gu Changchuan accurately calculated the weight of the people and the water.
However, he overlooked the material fatigue of this old building.
Chen Yan lowered his hands.
"Wu Gang".
Chen Yan spoke.
Wu Gang threw away the rope in his hand.
I turned to look at him.
"Three o'clock direction."
Chen Yan pointed to a load-bearing column on the right.
"That pillar."
Wu Gang looked in the direction Chen Yan was pointing.
Large sections of cement have peeled off the surface of the pillar.
The rusty steel mesh inside was exposed.
"Smash it."
Chen Yan issued the order.
Wu Gang did not ask why.
He walked toward the pile of junk in the corner.
He bent down and picked up a one-meter-long threaded steel bar.
The steel bars were covered in machine oil and rust.
He walked up to the load-bearing column.
Hold one end of the steel bar firmly with both hands.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
He swung the steel bar.
Use your waist to generate power.
The steel bars struck the load-bearing column.
Metal collides with cement.
Sparks flew everywhere.
A large chunk of cement peeled off and fell to the ground.
The rough, rubble inside is exposed.
Gu Changchuan's laughter came from the loudspeaker across the street.
"Smash the wall?"
Gu Changchuan's voice was mocking.
"Chen Yan, are you crazy?"
Chen Yan ignored him.
He stared at the pulley system at the top.
Wu Gang swung the steel bar again.
It crashed down.
The second piece of cement fell off.
The steel bars struck the internal load-bearing main reinforcing bars.
It made a crisp, metallic cracking sound.
The water flow at the bottom of the tank has stopped.
All the water has leaked out.
The counterweight disappeared.
Liang Qinian lost his balance on the wooden plank under his feet.
One side suddenly tilted downwards.
Liang Qinian leaned forward.
He slid off the edge of the plank.
The steel cable connecting to the waist tightened instantly.
The pulley made a piercing friction sound.
The steel wire slides rapidly in the pulley groove.
Liang Qinian fell downwards.
Wu Gang lifted the steel bar.
Muscle bulge.
He concentrated all his strength in his arms.
The steel bars were driven into the weakest crack in the load-bearing column.
A dull cracking sound came from inside the pillar.
Three rusty main tendons broke simultaneously.
Without support, the load-bearing column bends outward.
The wall on the right side of the tower has lost its balance.
A huge diagonal crack appeared on the wall.
The cracks quickly spread to the top beam.
The crossbeams lean downwards.
The pulley system track fixed to the crossbeam deforms as a result.
The metal pulley was stuck in the twisted track.
The rapidly sliding steel wire came to an abrupt stop.
Liang Qinian was suspended in mid-air.
Ten meters away from the bottom ruins.
The steel cable tightened around his waist.
He let out a painful groan.
The right-side exterior wall of the tower could not withstand the weight of the tilt.
Large areas of bricks have fallen off.
Bricks were thrown into the water on the ground.
Large amounts of dust and cement powder rose into the air.
Dust filled the air between the tower and the residential buildings.
It forms a gray curtain wall.
The rooftop of the residential building across the street.
Zhou Man stared at the monitor screen.
The image on the screen turned gray.
I can't see anything clearly.
Zoom in!
Zhou Man shouted at the photographer.
The photographer rotates the lens ring.
The image remains a blurry mass of dust.
"It's blocked."
The photographer answered.
Inside the abandoned tower.
Chen Yan stood in the dust.
He patted the cement dust off his jacket.
He looked up at Liang Qinian, who was suspended in mid-air.
"Put him down."
Chen Yan said to Wu Gang.
Wu Gang threw away the bent steel bar in his hand.
He walked up to the winch that controlled the steel wire.
Hold the joystick.
Chen Yan turned around.
He walked toward the loudspeaker tied to the pillar.
The red light inside the loudspeaker was still flashing.
Chen Yan raised his right hand.
He tapped the horn's outer casing with his index finger.
"Gu Changchuan."
Chen Yan spoke into the microphone hole.
"Your viewfinder is broken."