Chapter 1779
Shu Xue noticed that Wu Qiangwei was in excellent condition today. Her already great skin was glowing, making people envious.
A faint smile hung on her face, clearly indicating she was in a very good mood.
On the other side, just as Song Guanchao took a sip of tea, Tan Miao arrived.
"Director Song, everyone is under control now, but they’re not cooperating. They deny everything we ask."
"Has Mr. Lin gone over?"
"Lin Jingsheng?" Tan Miao said, "He’s not from the Disciplinary Committee, so he can’t go."
Song Guanchao said, "Just list him as an advisor."
"This..." Tan Miao hesitated, "We need Secretary Bao’s consent for that."
"Tell Secretary Bao about it. He will agree," Song Guanchao said confidently, making Tan Miao doubt himself a bit.
In front of Song Guanchao, he called Bao Qi, and to his surprise, Bao Qi actually agreed.
Since Secretary Bao had given his nod, there was no longer any reason to hesitate. He immediately contacted Lin Jingsheng, then stood up, "I’ll head over now."
"I’ll go with you. I have some things I need to discuss with them too."
After all, we’re talking about billions. Unless the consequences were truly unbearable, no ordinary person would willingly give up such an amount of money.
So, he wasn’t very confident that Lin Jingsheng could persuade the other parties.
They arrived at the hotel designated by the Disciplinary Committee for detention.
Song Guanchao went to the surveillance room. On the screen, each small box showed a scene of interrogation.
Lin Jingsheng arrived shortly thereafter and went straight to the room of Chairman Fang.
When Chairman Fang saw him, there was a visible moment of surprise.
Lin Jingsheng sat down and looked up towards the direction of the surveillance: "Turn off the cameras. I want to have a few words with Chairman Fang."
In the monitoring room, Tan Miao looked at Song Guanchao.
"Turn them off," said Song Guanchao.
Tan Miao’s mouth twitched. Gritting his teeth, he turned off the surveillance.
...
Seeing the camera’s indicator light go off, Lin Jingsheng directly asked, "How much did you take?"
Chairman Fang said, "That was my salary and dividends, nothing illegal."
Lin Jingsheng said, "Are you really ignorant of the law, or are you knowingly violating it? The unsealing procedure is illegal, and everything done afterward based on this is illegal. Chairman Fang, take my advice: surrender the money, and you can leave today."
Chairman Fang sneered, "Since when did the Lin Family get so close with Director Song?"
Lin Jingsheng said, "That’s not your concern. I’m only asking you one question: will you hand it over or not?"
Chairman Fang leaned back, "I told you, it’s my rightful money. If you think I’ve broken the law, let the prosecutor’s office charge me."
Lin Jingsheng’s face darkened, squinting his eyes: "Your son is at the Foreign Language Academy, doing quite well, very outstanding."
Chairman Fang’s expression changed as he violently stood up, glaring at him with a distorted face: "Are you threatening me?"
"Threatening? You think I’d stoop to that?"
"This matter is very important to the Lin Family. If you mess this up for us, once you’re out of prison after a few years, I will ensure your entire family disappears."
With an emotionless face, Lin Jingsheng left this heavily loaded statement and left the room.
Chairman Fang stood behind the table, his chest heaving violently, half with anger and half with fear.
He was very well aware of the power the Lin Family wielded in Jiangzhou.
Lin Jingsheng was not Lin He; he was one of the most influential members of the Lin Family.
Although he was a businessman, his connections in both the legal and illegal realms were profound.
While he was just an ordinary company executive.
The connections he had maintained over the years were nothing in front of the Lin Family.
If the Lin Family really decided to target him...or even make him disappear, they could truly make it happen.
Thinking about this, Chairman Fang felt a chill run through him.
Beyond fear, there was also confusion.
He couldn’t understand, when the Lin Family was clearly aligned with him, why would they suddenly turn against him?
The sudden transfer of billions was precisely their strategic advantage.
Shouldn’t the Lin Family be exerting more pressure on the City Government based on this?
He was bewildered, unable to comprehend.
Now wasn’t the time to ponder these; he collapsed dejectedly into the chair.
Every time he thought of Lin Jingsheng’s threatening words, he couldn’t help but envision one grim scenario after another...
Last night, when he was brought in, he was indeed mentally prepared for prosecution.
But even if ultimately sentenced and jailed, he never considered surrendering the money.
That was fifty million!
Even if he served a few years, it would be worth it.
But Lin Jingsheng’s presence disrupted his entire plan.
The money might be something he could claim to have but not necessarily be safe to spend!
...
Lin Jingsheng went to Yang Wan’s room next, still employing a strategy of diplomacy followed by intimidation. If talks failed, he’d resort to threats.
Yanghe Petrochemical was the largest company under these shareholders’ names. Despite their net worth in the billions, the gap between billionaires can sometimes be larger than that between people and dogs.
Some billionaires have nothing besides money.
And the Lin Family is a family with wealth spanning generations, having been rooted in Jiangzhou for nearly a century, incomparable to the likes of Yang Wan.
Under Lin Jingsheng’s threats and intimidation, their anger seemed laughable.
...
Knock, knock.
After finishing his talks with the last shareholder, Lin Jingsheng knocked on the door of the monitoring room.
Tan Miao went over to open the door: "Mr. Lin."
Lin Jingsheng smiled at him, stepped inside, and said, "I’ve talked to them."
Song Guanchao asked, "Are they willing to return the embezzled funds?"
Lin Jingsheng replied, "Returning a portion won’t be a problem. There might be some discrepancies, but the Lin Family will cover the shortfall."
He fully understood that expecting them to return everything was almost impossible and was prepared for the Lin Family to bear some losses.
The monetary loss was not a significant concern.
What truly troubled him was how his actions today had thoroughly offended Yang Wan and others.
In business, harmony is precious, and one would never go to extremes unless absolutely necessary.
But what he did today effectively planted a potential threat for the Lin Family.
With the Lin Family’s vast resources, there was no immediate reason for worry.
But future developments remained uncertain.
Three decades east of the river, three decades west—who can say whether these fortunes will skyrocket in the future, possibly even exceeding the Lin Family’s stature.
Yet, despite knowing these actions carried enormous risks, he still had to proceed.
"Let me go and talk to them," Song Guanchao stood up.
Tan Miao followed his back, asking, "Can we turn the surveillance back on?"
"Yes, turn it back on," Song Guanchao replied without turning his head.
He opened the door to Chairman Fang’s room and saw his complexion, filled with an unpleasant mix of emotions. He could roughly guess that Lin Jingsheng must have said something threatening earlier.
"Chairman Fang, how about a cigarette?" Song Guanchao offered him a cigarette.
Chairman Fang looked up at him, not accepting the cigarette, just staring coldly.
"I’ve looked at the bank transactions; you’ve taken fifty million."
Song Guanchao lit a cigarette for himself and continued, "I’ve reviewed your company’s financial statements. Your salary from last year has already been claimed; all that remains is the equity incentives and bonuses. Due to closure and restructuring, the equity incentives will likely be calculated after that’s all finished. The bonus is about six hundred thousand before taxes, and less than four hundred thousand after taxes."
"How about this, I’ll round it up for you, you keep four hundred thousand, and return the rest."