Back to the teenage years

Chapter 604 The First Showdown

The next morning, the streets of Lijin City were still wet after the rain, filled with the dampness of the soil. Wang Guibing had already led more than 30 people from the core departments of United Times Group, including finance, legal affairs and security, to the Jinzhao Industrial office building on Huangxing South Road.

Without further ado, Ma Shi's security team cleared the way, removing the receptionist and security guards who tried to stop them, and pinning anyone who resisted to the wall in a fight scene.

Wang Guibing led the rest of the group straight to Jinzhao Industrial's office area. As they walked, he said, "Listen up, everyone. The equity transfer agreement was just signed yesterday. The procedures for business registration changes and articles of association revisions will take at least another week. Lu Yuanzhou has definitely taken the company seal and financial seal. But Qingwu Street is about to open, and time waits for no one. We need to make Jinzhao's people understand that we are not Liu Mingde! Everyone split up and take all the materials from each department. If they don't give them to us, just take them!"

"Roger that!"

The dozens of people dispersed, and Liu Mingde led the finance department straight to the seventh floor.

The atmosphere in the finance department on the seventh floor was more subtle than I had imagined.

The office doors on both sides of the corridor were open, revealing half-packed cardboard boxes and empty filing cabinets. Several young accountants peeked in, their eyes filled with curiosity and unease.

The door to the CFO's office was ajar.

When Wang Guibing pushed open the door, Zhou Wenbin, the financial director of Jinzhao Industry, was standing by the window making a phone call.

Upon seeing him enter, Zhou Wenbin said into the microphone, "We'll talk later," then turned around with a very professional smile on his face: "Mr. Wang, welcome, welcome. Please have a seat."

"I won't sit down." Wang Guibing took out a copy of the equity transfer agreement from his briefcase and placed it on his desk. "Director Zhou, please take a look at this document. As you should know, yesterday afternoon, Mr. Liu Mingde transferred all of his 50% equity in Jinzhao Industrial to Mr. Zhang Yunqi. Although the business registration change will take some time, legally speaking, Mr. Zhang is already a shareholder of the company."

Zhou Wenbin picked up the photocopy, glanced at it, and put it down, his smile fading slightly: "The formalities aren't finished yet. Mr. Wang brought so many people here today..."

“I understand the situation.” Wang Guibing pulled up a chair, lit a cigar, and said, “Qingwu Commercial Street is about to open, but as far as we know, the company’s financial situation still has some minor issues. As the incoming new shareholder, Mr. Zhang has the right to conduct a preliminary assessment of the company’s assets, liabilities, and operations before the formal change of ownership. Is that too much to ask?”

“That makes sense.” Zhou Wenbin nodded, but then changed the subject: “However, Mr. Wang, you may have come at an inopportune time. The city’s joint investigation team has already taken away all the company’s financial documents since its establishment, including accounting vouchers, ledgers, bank statements and contract copies, a total of 132 boxes.”

Zhou Wenbin was clearly prepared for the possibility of United Times Group coming to audit the accounts, and the data he presented was very detailed and accurate.

Wang Guibing took a puff of his cigarette and asked, "What does Director Zhou mean by that?"

Zhou Wenbin smiled and said, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to tell President Wang that the investigation team is led by Zhou Yunxian, the director of the Economic and Trade Bureau. He said it was necessary for the investigation and everything was sealed up. You can contact the investigation team to find out more."

The office fell silent for a few seconds.

Xu Ruyun, the finance manager of United Times, chimed in, "Director Zhou, the investigation team took away the original documents. Shouldn't the finance department have backups of the working papers, detailed ledgers, and monthly reports? These don't need to be sealed!"

Zhou Wenbin glanced at Xu Ruyun, pushed up his glasses, and said in a neither soft nor hard tone, "Of course there are backups, but before the investigation team arrived, President Lu called me and said that in order to cooperate with the investigation and avoid data confusion, he requested the finance department to hand over all backup materials to the general manager's office for safekeeping."

At this point, Zhou Wenbin turned to Wang Guibing and said, "Those documents should be with President Lu now. If President Wang wants to know more, he can call President Lu."

Wang Guibing nodded: "Okay."

He turned his head and gestured, and everyone left.

When the door closed again, only Wang Guibing and Zhou Wenbin remained in the finance office, and the atmosphere became quiet and oppressive.

Wang Guibing stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, walked over to Zhou Wenbin, and suddenly grabbed him by the collar: "Zhou, you won't listen to reason, will you? You've worked at Jinzhao for so long, do you really think you're clean?"

Zhou Wenbin's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure: "Mr. Wang is joking. I'm just an accountant."

Wang Guibing slapped Zhou Wenbin hard, leaving half his face swollen. He then threw a black USB drive in front of Zhou Wenbin: "Open this and take a look. Liu Mingde gave it to you before he left. Do you want me to read a few lines about you inside? Last December, there was a 1.8 million yuan decoration consulting service fee from Jiangxinzhou Entertainment City, which was deposited into an account called Lemei Decoration. I think the account holder is your mother? What happened with this money? After going through several twists and turns, who did it subsidize for their business expenses? You know better than me."

Zhou Wenbin's hand trembled slightly.

You could hear a pin drop in the office.

After a full half minute, Zhou Wenbin finally spoke, "Mr. Wang, what do you want?"

“Two choices.” Wang Guibing stepped back to his chair and sat down again. “First, you write a report now, detailing the sales data of Jinzhao Industrial’s shops. Sign it and put your fingerprint on it, and I’ll guarantee your safe departure from Lijin. I might even be able to arrange a new place for you.”

"What about the second one?"

“I’ll take the materials on the USB drive to report this. You know better than I do what 1.8 million means.” Wang Guibing glanced at his watch: “I’ll give you ten minutes to think it over.”

The wall clock ticked.

The sunlight slanted in through the window, revealing fine dust particles floating in the air.

Zhou Wenbin suddenly reached out and rubbed the swollen cheek of the boss: "President Wang, do you think you can turn me with such little information? Do you think President Lu would still keep me in this position? You can go and sue my mother. She's eighty years old and paralyzed from the waist down."

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It was another morning, fresh and clean after the rain.

In an office in the city, Xu Kai sat at his desk, holding a copy of the Xiaoxiang Evening News. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the blinds, casting alternating light and shadow on his face.

Zhang Yunqi sat on the sofa opposite, with a cup of cold Longjing tea on the coffee table in front of him.

He'd been there for a while, and aside from Xu Kai greeting him when he entered, he hadn't said anything else. But he wasn't in a hurry; a leader's office wasn't something anyone could just sit in. Today, he wanted to see what clever methods this guy had used to push Liu Mingde to such an extent. The office was quiet.

The only sound was the rustling of newspaper pages turning.

About five minutes later, Xu Kai put down the newspaper, rubbed his temples, and said, "I just took another careful look at the Xiaoxiang Evening News report on Qingwu Commercial Pedestrian Street. President Zhang must have read it too, right? It's excellent. The data is detailed and the logic is clear. I almost thought the author had worked on the project team."

Zhang Yunqi sensed that Xu Kai's first sentence was somewhat sarcastic, so he picked up his teacup and said, "Well, I think facts are facts, and there's nothing wrong with presenting them for everyone to see."

Xu Kai smiled, got up and walked to the window, his back to Zhang Yunqi: "President Zhang, we are all sensible people. This article has a very bad influence. Any problems can be solved internally. Why make a big fuss about it?"

Xu Kai was practically accusing Zhang Yunqi of orchestrating the report. Zhang Yunqi, having nothing to lose, nodded and said, "Mayor Xu is right. My statement just now was somewhat ill-considered. If I have any issues in the future, I will definitely report to you immediately."

Xu Kai was quite satisfied with Zhang Yunqi's attitude. He sat down on the sofa and softened his tone: "I also heard about Liu Mingde's transfer of shares yesterday. To be honest, I admire your courage. Daring to take on this deal at this critical juncture is something not everyone can do."

"You flatter me, Mr. Xu." Zhang Yunqi picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Actually, I had no choice. Liu Mingde came to me and said that if I didn't want it, his 50% stake would have to go to President Lu. I thought about it again, and rather than let President Lu work so hard by himself, I might as well help share the burden."

Xu Kai chuckled and said meaningfully, "Since Mr. Zhang puts it that way, I have another idea. Last year, the city launched ten key projects, which are quite large. In addition to Qingwu Commercial Pedestrian Street, there are also the Wuyi Avenue key renovation project and the Xiangjiang River Scenic Belt West Bank quality improvement project, which are all very good."

Zhang Yunqi sensed something was amiss. His relationship with Xu Kai was far from good, so Xu Kai's sudden offer of substantial benefits must have only one purpose: to get Liu Mingde to relinquish his 50% stake in Jinzhao, just as he had done with Liu Mingde. Of course, the difference was that Xu Kai pressured Liu Mingde, while he was enticing Zhang Yunqi with bribes.

That's ridiculous.

If we had known this, why did we do it in the first place?
If Xu Kai had offered Liu Mingde such generous terms back then, given Liu Mingde's circumstances, he might not have refused.

Zhang Yunqi pressed his advantage: "Mayor Xu, are you planning to give me all these projects?"

Xu Kai was taken aback, but his expression remained amiable. Times had changed, and he knew that with this young man's current strength, he wouldn't be as easy to appease as Liu Mingde.

He said, “Mr. Zhang, as you know, Lu Yuanzhou and Liu Mingde have had many disagreements on the Qingwu Commercial Pedestrian Street project, which has caused considerable negative impact and delayed the opening time. To be honest, this is my mistake, my problem. I shouldn't have made it a joint venture in the first place, and it should have been a 50/50 joint venture. Now you have taken over Liu Mingde's 50% stake, but the problem still exists. Once your development philosophies and ideas diverge, it will seriously slow down the project's progress. So I think…”

At this point, Xu Kai paused for a moment: "Is it possible for President Zhang to transfer these 50% of the shares to Lu Yuanzhou? Let him develop it independently, speed up the project's progress, and achieve the city's opening goal as soon as possible. As for you, the city can give you some preferential treatment in other projects within a reasonable and legal scope."

Zhang Yunqi nodded and said directly, "Okay."

Xu Kai was taken aback; Zhang Yunqi's straightforwardness was indeed far beyond his expectations.

He then clapped his hands and said, "That's good, that's excellent. As one of the city's leading young entrepreneurs, Mr. Zhang certainly has vision and a sense of responsibility! As for the share transfer, what are your requirements..."

Zhang Yunqi stated directly, "My demands are threefold. First, Lu Yuanzhou must give me 10% of the upfront development costs. Second, based on the cost calculations for the first and second phases of the project, I should receive 50% of the shares valued at 500 million yuan. Third, Lu Yuanzhou should give me 50% of the actual profits from the sale of shops in the first phase of the project."

Upon hearing this, Xu Kai's smile froze, slowly turning dark: "President Zhang, as the coordinator, the city will do its best to protect your rights fairly and justly, but your current demands seem a bit outrageous and irrational. How could Lu Yuanzhou possibly agree to that?"

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Mayor Xu. This is just a rough estimate, and it shouldn't be taken too seriously. After all, I don't have access to the financial data. However, now that I'm a shareholder of Jinzhao Industrial, and Lu Yuanzhou wants to discuss the share transfer with me, shouldn't I first understand the company's financial situation before talking to him? But as far as I know, all of Jinzhao Industrial's accounts have been taken away by the joint investigation team. Mayor Xu, could you please step in and coordinate so that I, as the major shareholder, can also see the company's books?"

Xu Kai understood the hidden meaning; this young man was simply using a ruse to get closer to Liu Bang!

He leaned forward slightly: "I am also aware of this matter. Lu Yuanzhou requested that the accounts be sealed. During Liu Mingde's tenure, Jinzhao Industrial's financial management was extremely chaotic. In order to cooperate with the investigation team and to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to tamper with the data, the investigation team has temporarily sealed all the original vouchers."

He paused, then looked at Zhang Yunqi: "If Mr. Zhang really wants to know the situation, I can call Lu Yuanzhou and have Jinzhao Industrial's finance department prepare a concise report for you."

Zhang Yunqi laughed and said, "Since Mayor Xu puts it this way, I'll be even more frank. Liu Mingde is willing to give me the shares for free for a simple reason: Lu Yuanzhou has almost emptied Jinzhao Industrial's assets. He sold the gold shops to his designated company at 20% or 30% of the market price, and paid his affiliated companies two or three times the market price for construction projects. With this inflow and outflow, hundreds of millions of yuan in revenue have been transferred away. So I'm very worried about this. Before discussing the share transfer, I need to look at these data before making a reasonable offer. I think these transactions must be clearly reflected in the original contracts and bank statements. The investigation team has been investigating for quite some time now. Can you give us an explanation?"

Xu Kai's face darkened: "President Zhang, the investigation team is still investigating. Once they have a clear understanding, they will give you detailed data and an explanation. But with the opening of the street imminent, please prioritize the overall situation. It's best not to make statements without evidence."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunqi pulled a stack of documents from his briefcase and slammed them onto the coffee table: "Yes, although I don't have a list of Jinzhao Industrial's shops for sale, Liu Mingde provided several reports on the sales of shops. I would appreciate it if Mayor Xu could take a look. The average market price for shops of the same size and in the same location is 18,000 yuan per square meter, but Lu Yuanzhou sold them to this company called Xinghong Trading Company for only 2,000 yuan."

Xu Kai's face darkened further. He picked up the list and flipped through it page by page, his fingers lightly tracing the paper. After a while, he said with a grim face, "President Zhang, business negotiations are inherently flexible. A few isolated cases don't prove anything. Lu Yuanzhou has also explained the situation in detail to the investigation team. This company is a long-term partner of Jinzhao, and the price discounts he offered were to maintain the strategic relationship."

Zhang Yunqi felt that Xu Kai's words were really subpar and openly biased towards Lu Yuanzhou. He said, "Mayor Xu, are you trying to convince me with his reasons? There's no need for that. You can agree that this is a strategic relationship, but you can't deny that he transferred my assets!"

"Enough!" Xu Kai's patience with this stubborn and persistent guy seemed to have reached its limit. When had he ever been so polite to a businessman before!

He slammed his hand on the coffee table, making the teacups rattle. "Zhang Yunqi, I've tried to reason with you, but you won't listen. If you don't want to transfer your shares, fine. But I'll say it again: the investigation team is already working on it. If you have evidence, hand it over to the investigation team! If not, don't make baseless accusations here! Qingwu Street must open next month. This is crucial. Anyone who dares to hold it back, anyone who dares to cause trouble, is making an enemy of the 868 million citizens of Tianjin!"

The office was deathly silent.

The cicadas outside the window were chirping loudly, making the atmosphere inside the room even more oppressive.

Zhang Yunqi slowly stood up and looked at Xu Kai: "Mayor Xu, since you've put it this way, I'll also make my position clear today."

He said, word by word: "First, I, Zhang Yunqi, am not Liu Mingde. Don't bang on the table and yell at me. Second, since I took over the Qingwu Street project, I will definitely get back the transferred assets, not a single penny less! Third, if the formal channels don't work, then I will handle it my way. If I lose even a single penny of what is rightfully mine, Xu Kai, you can forget about opening the street!"

A few seconds later, Zhang Yunqi pushed open the door and left.

The corridor was empty except for his footsteps and the sound of a teacup shattering coming from Xu Kai's office, followed by a low growl: "Outrageous!"

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