Chapter
40.1: He's Really Awesome
The next day, everyone took an early flight back to Beijing.
Upon arrival at Capital Airport, the company convoy Zhou
Hanhai had arranged for them to arrive was already in place. Ren Yan, Qin
Qianyu, and the others, Zhang Teng, Chu Qianmiao, and everyone followed Zhou
Hanhai and Yu Yue directly back to Hanhai Home Textiles.
Once at Hanhai Home Textiles, the group headed straight for
Zhou Hanhai's office. Before Zhou Hanhai could even take a seat, he called an
internal line to a shareholder and director named Xu Jun'ang, instructing him
to come to the chairman's office as quickly as possible.
Xu Jun'ang was the director who had stumbled upon the
minefield.
According to the report, Xu Jun'ang had purchased 4 shares
of a listed company through the secondary market that month. Another person
named Tian Ping'an had purchased 42 shares of the same listed company through
the secondary market.
The two of them had a joint action agreement.
This brought their combined purchase of listed shares to 82,
exceeding the disclosure threshold of 5, which required a written report to the
China Securities Regulatory Commission and the stock exchange, as well as
notification to the listed company for an announcement.
But the two did nothing, failing to fulfill their disclosure
obligations and illegally increasing their holdings in listed companies.
It was this violation that brought Hanhai Home Textiles' IPO
to a screeching halt.
Chu Qianmiao and everyone else waited for Xu Junang to
emerge from the doorway.
In the past, Chu Qianmiao would tease the fish in the
aquarium whenever she visited Zhou Hanhai's office. But this time, she had no
desire to tease the fish at all.
The leaders sat on the sofa, waiting for Xu Junang's
interrogation. She and Qin Qianyu, a group of soldiers, grabbed chairs and sat
behind them, notebooks on their laps, ready to write down every word the
leaders said during the interrogation.
Xu Junang arrived soon after. He entered the room with a
look of guilt, as if he were about to die.
While conducting due diligence on directors, supervisors,
and senior executives, as well as key technical personnel, Chu Qianmiao came
into contact with Xu Junang. Coming from a marketing background, he was a
strong drinker and a man of integrity. He and Zhou Hanhai hit it off
immediately, having been recruited by Zhou Hanhai from elsewhere six months
prior. Zhou Hanhai had immediately given him shares.
Chu Qianmiao remembered Xu Junang as a straightforward and
generous northern man, completely on the same page with Zhou Hanhai. He would
smile and listen to anyone's criticism, but would instantly slam the table if
anyone disapproved of Zhou Hanhai.
How could such a man deliberately betray Zhou Hanhai?
Although he had already experienced two minor setbacks in
his humanity, Chu Qianmiao still refused to believe that anyone would betray
friendship for the sake of profit.
Xu Junang, before him, was ferociously apologizing to Zhou
Hanhai, his eyes welling with bloodshot.
Then he said, "Mr. Zhou, everyone, I'm deeply ashamed
to have dragged you all down, and the company down, but I truly, truly didn't
mean to do it. I was tricked!"
Zhou Hanhai asked Xu Jun'ang to recount the entire incident
from the beginning.
Xu Jun'ang explained that he had met Tian Ping'an at a
dinner party over three months ago. Tian Ping'an was a warm and forthright
person, and they struck up a conversation that quickly led to them becoming
good friends, often discussing stock trading and investment.
"Then Tian Ping'an said he knew an investment
consultant, a formidable expert in the field, and asked if the three of us
could meet up someday to discuss it," Xu Jun'ang said. "He, the
consultant, and I quickly met up. We had a great chat, and Tian Ping'an and I
both thought he was quite professional, so we signed an agreement to help us
manage our stocks. And then, damn!"
Xu Jun'ang calmed down for a moment before continuing.
It turned out that day, he was drinking with Tian Ping'an
and the investment advisor. He had a few too many to drink, so he only glanced
at the power of attorney agreement without reading it carefully. He thought it
was fine, but it actually contained a clause stating that he and Tian Ping'an
were acting in concert.
"As soon as the incident happened yesterday, I
immediately called Tian Ping'an. I wanted to ask him what was going on. He
needed an explanation, right? At the time, I thought there was some
misunderstanding, but I didn't expect him to be so angry! F*ck Tian
Ping'an!"
Chu Qianmiao felt that this northern man was truly furious.
He cursed uncontrollably, regardless of who was present.
"At first, he was perfunctory in answering my calls,
saying he was confused. Later, he simply stopped answering and blocked me. Now
I can't even find him! It just dawned on me that he and that investment
consultant were colluding to set me up! Mr. Zhou, I'm a sinner. I'm sorry for
you and Hanhai Home Textiles!"
After listening to Xu Junang's account and putting the whole
story together, Chu Qianmiao felt a chill run down her spine.
Over three months ago, Xu Junang met Tian Ping'an at a
dinner party. Over three months. It turns out someone had been planning and
taking action that long before.
It turns out that when someone decides to do something bad,
they can be so patient and deliberate before acting, laying out subtle clues
for the sake of tripping others up. It's terrifying to think about it. This
evil intention not only harbors evil intentions, but also strategies and
ambushes. It turns out that in the workplace, there are people willing to go to
such lengths to be a bad person.
Zhou Hanhai interrupted Xu Junang's tearful confession and
self-blame, telling him to remain silent. He then analyzed the matter with Ren
Yan and Zhang Teng.
Chu Qianmiao noticed Ren Yan frowning slightly. He said,
"It's obvious that some people haven't wanted Hanhai Home Textiles to go
public for a long time. Perhaps because they hate Hanhai Home Textiles, or
perhaps because they believe that a listing would lead to even greater growth
and market share. So, they deliberately pulled off this little trick right
before the company's bell. They've really put a lot of thought into it."
Chu Qianmiao's mind had been racing since Ren Yan started
talking. She was thinking about something.
As she looked up, she met Ren Yan's gaze. As if he'd read
her mind, Ren Yan addressed her by name. "Lawyer Chu, have you thought of
something?"
Chu Qianmiao tucked her hair behind her ear and said,
"I think the other party's selection of targets is very precise. They knew
to target the directors, supervisors, and senior management. They also knew
that among the directors, supervisors, and senior management, Mr. Xu was the
most vulnerable, as he loved drinking, socializing, and was generous and
informal. So, I think the other party really has a very good understanding of
Hanhai Home Textiles and its personnel." She paused, then added, "If
Di Chong was colluding with someone, he was fired when Mr. Xu had just been
recruited by Mr. Zhou, and he didn't know what kind of person Mr. Xu was."
Chu Qianmiao paused and looked at Ren Yan. He nodded
slightly. That slight nod expressed approval of her speculation. Chu Qianmiao
lowered her eyes and couldn't help but tuck her hair behind her ear again.
Zhou Hanhai spoke up, "Although Lawyer Chu is young, he
analyzes problems very thoroughly." He turned to Yu Yue and said,
"There are still rats in the company. Let's clean them up again."
Yu Yue agreed. Then he said angrily, "Mr. Ren reminded
me when Di Chong made a fuss, so I checked them out then and cleared out two of
them, but I didn't expect it to be completely cleared out." He gritted his
teeth in anger. "I think they're so afraid of Hanhai becoming bigger after
its IPO. It must be our competitor, Gelaner Home Textiles!"
Zhang Teng said, "But we have no evidence that Gelaner
Home Textiles was behind this. Besides, the important thing right now isn't to
find out who set the trap for Mr. Xu. The most urgent thing is to resolve the
current problem."
Xu Jun'ang was eventually penalized by the China Securities
Regulatory Commission for illegally increasing his holdings in a listed
company.
Hanhai Home Textiles dismissed Xu Jun'ang from his position
as a director. Ren Yan then organized everyone to prepare the necessary
documents and responded to the CSRC: According to the Administrative Penalty
Law, Xu Jun'ang's resignation as a director constituted "actively
eliminating or mitigating the harmful consequences of illegal acts" and
therefore should be deemed not to constitute a major violation and not an
obstacle to the IPO.
The CSRC, taking into account the overall circumstances,
accepted this response.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. However, while waiting
for the Hanhai Home Textiles IPO to resume, Ren Yan received another call from
the reporter.
At the time, Ren Yan was in the Hanhai Home Textiles due
diligence office, along with Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, and four others.
Chu Qianmiao saw Ren Yan raise his finger to his mouth.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
In the silence, Ren Yan answered the reporter's call,
conveniently turning on speakerphone.
As soon as the call connected, the reporter's laughter
filled the receiver: "Congratulations, Mr. Ren, you've made it through
without a hitch!"
Ren Yan replied calmly: "You're welcome." "
The reporter smiled and said, "Mr. Ren is truly
extraordinary. I, Tong, admire your ability to remain calm in the face of
adversity! But seriously, did Mr. Ren think that my telling you about Hanhai
Home Textiles' intellectual property issues was a diversion?"
Ren Yan had indeed guessed so. But if he had answered that
way, the reporter would have been incredibly pleased.
Chu Qianmiao couldn't think of a suitable response.
Across from the desk, Ren Yan's response immediately made
her feel even more impressive today than yesterday. This time, it was a wise
one.
"You ambushed us with a diversion, but the problem you
uncovered isn't particularly difficult to solve. So, you called me this time to
tell me that besides the diversion, you have a backup plan, right?" Ren
Yan's voice was calm and composed.
"Mr. Ren is truly amazing!" The reporter couldn't
help but praise him. "Well, I won't keep you in suspense. This was just a
test run, but it should keep you busy for a while, right?" There's another
major bombshell, this time concerning intellectual property. Having experienced
the previous IPO emergency halt, you should already understand the severity of
this matter. So, Mr. Ren, do you want to have a proper conversation with me
this time?"
Chu Qianmiao admired the reporter's shameless expression
through the phone receiver, feeling like cursing.
But Ren Yan maintained his composure, beating around the
bush with the reporter just as he had on the previous call.
"What are you talking about?" he asked calmly.
"Mr. Ren, it's getting boring if you keep talking like
this!" the reporter said.
"I really don't understand what you mean unless you
explain it clearly," Ren Yan patiently said, his Tai Chi Cloud Hands.
"Okay! Then explain it clearly." The reporter
seemed to lose some patience. "Mr. Ren, the board meeting was just an
appetizer. There's a much richer feast to come. If this feast is served, Hanhai
Home Textiles won't be able to go public anytime soon," the reporter said.
"What if we don't want to talk to you?" Ren Yan's
patience remained 100%.
"I just said it, then we don't know when you'll go
public!" The reporter's patience wore thin again.
"Is that a threat?" Ren Yan asked.
"That's not a nice thing to say," the reporter
said.
"What's your demand?" Ren Yan asked again.
"You know what I'm talking about!" the reporter
replied with the same old refrain.
"You want money? Yes, you want money! I just figured it
out," Ren Yan continued, not giving the reporter a chance to interrupt.
"So, how much do you want?"
The reporter seemed to have little patience left, so he
continued, "As for the amount, we'll talk in person." "
Ren Yan led him along, finally hearing the words he wanted
to hear. He hung up the phone just like last time.
Then he took Chu Qianmiao and Qin Qianyu to Zhou Hanhai's
office for a meeting.
0 Comments