Back to the teenage years

Chapter 583 Bloody

late at night.

The cold rain was drizzling.

Xie Yun returned to the Health Department compound at 11 o'clock.

As soon as he entered the door, he heard his wife, Liu Huihui, talking on the phone in the living room, her voice low but barely concealing her excitement. The conversation was nothing more than about their beloved son's tuition fees, car and apartment for studying in the United States, and a "decent" living allowance.

Those numbers were like cold needles, piercing Xie Yun's eardrums one by one.

As soon as Liu Huihui saw him, she hung up the phone.

She brought over a cup of hot tea, muttered a few words about why she was home so late, and then said, "By the way, Lao Xie, your sister's family is having a housewarming party at their villa in Yuexin Lake Villa the day after tomorrow. Are you free?"

Xie Yun knew that her brother-in-law, Li Jilin, had bought a large villa in Yuhuayue Xinhu Mountain Villa.

Rumor has it that Yuhua Yuexin Lake Villa covers an area of ​​2300 acres and is built around the 600-acre Yuexin Lake. It is said to be the best villa complex in Lijin besides the south gate of Yuelu Mountain. The land is so valuable that it is a luxury residence that ordinary people cannot afford.

In recent years, my brother-in-law Li Jilin has had a very successful business and has made a fortune, making him a well-known entrepreneur in southern Hunan. Coincidentally, my niece Li Yufei came to Lijin to study at university, and my wife is also a teacher at the High School Affiliated to Hunan Normal University in Lijin. It was only natural for them to buy a house and settle down in Lijin.

Thinking of this, Xie Yun felt rather uneasy. His brother-in-law, Li Jilin, used to run a state-owned cannery, which was doing very poorly. He himself was also imprisoned and couldn't hold his head high in his wife's family. His sister would ask him to help her find connections to get her brother-in-law a different job every now and then. He never expected that in just a few years, he would be doing so well, making a lot of money and gaining fame.

Xie Yun felt that fate was playing tricks on him, and nodded: "Okay."

Liu Huihui sighed and exclaimed, "I went to help my sister tidy up her new house today. It's so big and beautiful. There are four toilets alone, and it's equipped with all kinds of famous foreign brand appliances. The scenery is also amazing. There's a lake in front and mountains in the back. Wow... it's breathtakingly beautiful."

As Liu Huihui spoke, a hint of sourness gradually crept into her voice: "Thinking about their house, I really feel like I can't stand living in our house for even a day longer. Lao Xie, when do you think we'll be able to live in a mansion like that? We'll never have that chance in China, but abroad, our son is just right..."

Xie Yun glanced at his wife.

He suddenly felt a mix of emotions.

Thinking back to when he was just a junior staff member, he lived in a shared apartment building with a kitchen and toilet. Back then, Liu Huihui was so envious when she saw that the department-level leaders were allocated 60-square-meter apartments. She would whisper in his ear all day long, saying that when they could have a two-bedroom apartment with a separate kitchen and bathroom, their lives would be worthwhile.

Now, the family lives in a large four-bedroom, two-living-room house. Materially speaking, he has no other desires. In fact, how many of China's hundreds of millions of ordinary people can enjoy such living conditions? Some time ago, he went to Jiangchuan to investigate schistosomiasis. In those vast, disaster-stricken rural areas, he saw countless farmers, ragged and living in dilapidated thatched huts, struggling to survive in the muddy fields for a bite to eat! His wife, now living in a large house provided by the government and enjoying generous benefits, actually said that she couldn't even live in this house for another day!

Her matter-of-fact manner made him feel that there was no point in exchanging a single word with her. This wife, with whom he had shared more than twenty years of hardship, had long since developed an unfathomable abyss of desire.

Liu Huihui comes from a background in folk art performance and previously worked at the Xiangnan Mass Art Center as an ordinary employee. However, as her husband's position has risen over the years, his wife's position has also risen accordingly. She is now the head of the theater management department. In fact, considering his position, it's only a matter of time before she gets a senior professional title.

However, this deputy director's wife is now occupying the position but unwilling to do her job. She has neglected most of her work, and considers herself to be at work as long as she shows up for work every day, but she still receives her full salary. She focuses all her attention on how to live a meticulous life and push her living standards to the extreme. She wants everything she eats, wears, and uses to be of the highest quality. She insists on sending her precious son abroad to study, and now she is also eyeing luxury cars and mansions.

People sing whatever song they're on, there's never a peak.

The question is, how long can this mountain hold up?

Liu Huihui, however, still dreamed of climbing to an even higher mountaintop and singing even more passionate songs!
******
The rain is still falling outside the window.

The pitter-patter of raindrops tapped against the glass, and also against Xie Yun's heart.

He and his wife could no longer talk to each other.

He returned to his study alone.

Only one desk lamp was on in the study, its dim light elongating his tired shadow and casting it onto the table piled high with documents.

A well-worn copy of the "Interim Regulations on the Administration of Stock Issuance and Trading" lay like a heavy stone on the pile of documents, with several briefings on the discussion of the "Securities Law (Draft)" scattered around it.

He lit a cigarette, his gaze falling on the calendar, where a date was circled in red:
July 1st.

Xie Yun dared not forget this date for even a day, because the joint audit team dispatched from above would officially enter Xiangtai on July 1st to conduct a financial audit!

The holes and losses in Xiangtai's accounts cannot withstand scrutiny under the magnifying glass of a professional auditor.

Personally, he wasn't afraid of auditing. Even if an audit report came out, it would only confirm the company's chaotic management. He himself had never taken a single penny of non-compliant money! But Director Wang, who had promoted him, was getting old and was about to reach the end of his term. He still needed to make progress and wanted to remove the title of deputy. Director Wang knew his situation very well, and at this critical juncture where the schistosomiasis problem hadn't been resolved, he couldn't afford to make a mistake in his approach.

This is the core reason why Lu Yuanzhou was able to get close to him!
He needed to smoothly hand over this deeply entrenched mess before the audit team arrived, creating a seemingly reasonable transition. The best way to do this, of course, was to restructure the state-owned pharmaceutical company into a private enterprise, thus avoiding many audit risks. The astute Lu Yuanzhou had long been eyeing this company and had proactively extended an olive branch, which was exactly what he wanted. However, Lu Yuanzhou, this young man, was clearly not easily persuaded.

Lu Yuanzhou's plan was to borrow 100 million yuan from the bank, use it all to buy up company stock, and then announce the restructuring after the stock price went up, selling the stock while the positive news was going.

He would take out loans to accumulate shares, gradually drive up the price, then use the positive news of restructuring to sell off his holdings, causing the stock price to plummet, and finally buy at the bottom to complete the acquisition! In this way, Lu Yuanzhou could become a billionaire overnight with nothing to his name! And he could swallow up the listed company he had nurtured and a whole bunch of pharmaceutical licenses.

It's shady, but it's legal in this day and age.

The Provisional Regulations on the Administration of Stock Issuance and Trading implemented in 1993 had no effective means to define or combat this kind of elaborate manipulation that utilizes information and capital advantages. Meanwhile, the Securities Law, which is truly effective, is still in the draft discussion stage, and it is unknown when it will be truly implemented.

Lu Yuanzhou's grasp of timing and his trampling of rules are precise and bloody!

Jingle Bell……

At this moment, the phone on the desk rang.

Xie Yun stubbed out his cigarette, picked up the phone, and heard the rather somber voice of Han Changjun, General Manager of Xiangtai, on the other end: "Director Xie, there's something very important. I don't know if it's good news or bad news, and I might need to report it to you in person. It's not convenient over the phone..."

Xie Yun's heart skipped a beat.

Lu Yuanzhou is really quick.

In just a few hours, they've already taken down Han Changjun!

He then thought, perhaps not; Han Changjun might have been waiting for this moment all along…

******
The next morning, the sky was overcast.

The drizzling plum rains of the Qingming Festival are still falling.

Xie Yun didn't wait long in the office before Han Changjun arrived. He had fine beads of sweat on his forehead, whether from rushing to work or something on his mind, it was hard to tell.

After rubbing his hands together and sitting down, Han Changjun swallowed and said, "Director Xie, there's something I've been thinking about all night, but I really can't make up my mind, I don't know..."

He paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, or perhaps observing Xie Yun's reaction.

Xie Yun picked up the rough porcelain teacup, blew away the foam, and said calmly, "Changjun, speak your mind. The sky isn't falling!"

Han Changjun glanced at the office door and lowered his voice, saying, "Lu Yuanzhou from Xiongsen, he came to me yesterday and proposed to push for the restructuring of Xiangtai."

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Xie Yun paused for a moment, the tea rippled slightly, and his action seemed unexpected and surprising.

Upon seeing this, Han Changjun broke out in a cold sweat: "What do you think..."

The rain outside seemed to have intensified, pattering against the windowpane with a dull thud.

Xie Yun slowly put down his teacup, a complex and indescribable expression slowly appearing on his face: "Changjun, I know a bit about Xiongsen, such a large company. After all, it's a private company. Would they really be so kind as to save Xiangtai? I don't know the specifics yet, but restructuring sounds nice, humph! To put it bluntly, it's just a low-price acquisition. Isn't the purpose of doing this to swallow Xiangtai whole?"

Han Changjun nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, that won't do. Xiangtai is also a state-owned enterprise. We can't do something like selling off our ancestors' land without a care in the world."

Xie Yun looked at Han Changjun, and after a while, a trace of fatigue appeared on his thin face: "Old Han, this company is something we raised from scratch. Now that it's in this state, who could be more heartbroken than us? At yesterday's shareholders' meeting, the shareholders' voices were like knives, keeping me up all night! Although I hold the title of chairman, you've been the one running the company all along. Now give me the truth: is there any hope for Xiangtai?"

Han Changjun was speechless after Xie Yun's words. He then said with a bitter face, "Boss, the company's current situation... Actually, our medicine is not bad, but we have always lacked funds. We can't get our advertising going, and Huiren is gradually eroding our market share, resulting in losses year after year. Now it's too late to turn things around. It's so difficult! It's really difficult."

Xie Yun's face darkened: "Then what do we do now?"

Han Changjun opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Xie Yun ran his fingers along the rough surface of the cup without saying another word, but his face was unusually gloomy and his eyes were filled with worry.

The atmosphere in the office suddenly became oppressive. Time passed silently, and sweat poured down Han Changjun's face.

He gritted his teeth and tentatively asked, "Then, Director Xie, shall I contact Lu Yuanzhou again?"

******