38: Chapter 38 Li Zeyu Launches a Series of Attacks!

Li Group headquarters, Chairman's office. Li Guoxiong sat behind a large mahogany desk, clutching a newly delivered audit report, his face ashen.

Opposite him, Li Zeyu stood straight, but fine sweat had already broken out on his temples.

"Explain this." Li Guoxiong slammed the report on the desk. "For the 'New Thermal Conductive Material R&D Project' declared by Lis Sci-Tech last year, the government subsidy was eight million, and the company put in twenty million, with actual R&D expenditures of 13.2 million. Where did the remaining 14.8 million go?"

Li Zeyu's Adam's apple bobbed. "Dad, R&D expenditures have many hidden costs, equipment depreciation, personnel training..."

"Bullshit!" Li Guoxiong slammed the table hard. "The audit team has dug out every single account! What did you do with this money? Bought three sports cars! Two apartments! And..." He flipped to a certain page, his fingers trembling, "And the endorsement for that little starlet, what role did that play?"

"Dad, these were all necessary business socializations..."

"Socializing all the way to bed?!" Li Guoxiong stood up and walked around the desk to his son. "Since your grandfather's generation, the Li family has most avoided two things—stealing and cheating! Now look at you, cheating the government's money and cheating the company's accounts!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, and he grabbed the teacup from the table and smashed it fiercely onto the floor.

Porcelain shards flew everywhere.

"Do you know what time it is? The real estate sector has hit all three red lines, and the banks are chasing debts every day! Retail business has been squeezed by e-commerce until it only has half a breath left! In the entire group, only Lis Sci-Tech is still profitable and keeping up appearances! And you squander it like this?!"

"Dad, don't worry. Regarding the thermal conductive material, our technology is currently leading. A new batch of material is about to come out, with a 5% performance increase." Li Zeyu was actually emboldened; he knew that as long as the company had performance, his father would at most scold him a few times, and he could just coax him a little to get through it without any substantial punishment.

"You're an adult now; you need to restrain your temper in the future." Li Guoxiong had been very doting on this only son since he was a child, leading Li Zeyu to have such a lawless personality.

"Keep a close eye on the contract renewal with Sheng Guo Group. There can be no mistakes with this. Don't be too confident either; if this order is lost, stop being the general manager." Li Guoxiong warned.

"Rest assured about this!" Li Zeyu looked very confident.

"Alright, alright, get out." Li Guoxiong impatiently drove Li Zeyu out.

It was already slightly dark. Chen Fan borrowed a van and drove Wang Defu to Xincheng Factory.

Lin Hao was already waiting at the factory. Chen Fan handed Lin Hao a bottle of water and bread. "Hao Zi, it's been hard today. Have something to eat first." Because the factory was too remote and there was nothing to eat nearby, Lin Hao hadn't eaten since noon and was really a bit hungry.

He ate the bread in large bites and gulped down several mouthfuls of mineral water. "Fan Zi, did you put something in this mineral water? After drinking it, I feel like my mind is so clear."

"Guess. I put in a mysterious substance." Chen Fan smiled.

Wang Defu also chuckled on the side.

"Let's go, Uncle Wang, Fan Zi, let me show you around the factory building." Lin Hao took them on a tour of the entire factory building.

"Hao Zi, the area here is large enough. Max out all the production lines!" Chen Fan was very satisfied after seeing the site.

"Maxing them out is no problem, but are the production machines ready?" Lin Hao was still a bit worried.

"Don't worry, I'll handle the machines!" Chen Fan was full of confidence.

Lin Hao was skeptical anyway, but since Chen Fan said so, he didn't say much more.

After seeing the factory, Chen Fan had a plan in mind. In the next few days, he would prepare for the production machines.

Early the next morning, Chen Fan received calls from the Environmental Protection, Market Supervision, and Tax Bureaus one after another, all saying that someone had anonymously reported problems. Several departments would send people to the site for actual testing.

"Li Zeyu is moving fast; trouble is coming one after another so quickly. I hope the speed at which you update your thermal conductive materials can be just as fast." Chen Fan talked to himself with mockery.

"Xiao Zhi, help me prepare materials to deal with Environmental Protection, Market Supervision, and Tax." Let's solve the immediate problems first.

The next day, three official cars with different department logos parked side by side, actually arriving together as if they had planned it.

A total of seven or eight people got out. Chen Fan stood at the factory gate with a perfectly humble smile, holding a pre-prepared folder.

"Leaders, thank you for your hard work, coming so early to guide our work." He stepped forward. "I am the factory manager, Chen Fan. All the documents are ready. Where shall we start?"

The leader was a staff member from the Environmental Protection Bureau, a Section Chief surnamed Zhao. With a stern face, he said, "We received a public report that your factory has issues like illegal discharge and noise pollution. Let's look at the sewage treatment facilities and exhaust gas treatment devices first."

"Alright, alright, this way please." Chen Fan led everyone into the factory area.

Wang Defu also followed behind, his face a bit pale. He knew what these inspections meant—if problems were truly found, fines were a small matter; stopping production for rectification would be fatal.

But Chen Fan's steps were steady.

"This is the ultraviolet disinfection device." Chen Fan pointed to a tank and introduced, "The treated water all reaches Grade A standards. Part of it is reused for the greenery at the entrance, and part is discharged into the municipal pipe network. These are the test reports for the past three months."

He pulled a stack of documents from the folder, each page stamped with the official seal of a third-party testing agency.

Section Chief Zhao took them and flipped through, his brow gradually furrowing. The data in the reports was so good that no faults could be found, even better than the data from many large factories.

Section Chief Zhao was skeptical but still signaled his subordinates to take samples.

Next were exhaust gas treatment, noise monitoring, solid waste storage... At every point, Chen Fan was able to provide complete records and test reports.

The tax people checked the accounts; the accounts were clear, and every transaction had a voucher.

Two hours later, the group of people looked at each other at the factory gate.

"Mr. Chen, your factory..." The market supervision person said hesitantly, "Although it's small, the management is quite standardized."

"It's a small business, but we dare not be careless about compliance." Chen Fan handed over the cigarettes he had prepared. "Leaders, it's been hard. Why don't we have a simple lunch nearby?"

"No need." Section Chief Zhao waved his hand, his tone softening. "The content of the report does not match the actual situation. We will close the case according to procedure. However, you must still maintain this and not slack off."

"Certainly, certainly!"

After seeing off the inspection team, Wang Defu breathed a long sigh of relief: "Xiao Fan, the materials you prepared were too complete..."

"It wouldn't work if they weren't." Chen Fan watched the departing vehicles, his gaze turning cold. Since Li Zeyu has made a move, he won't stop at just this. Xiao Zhi reported two other situations: "First, after Jieke Electronics canceled the order, Lis Sci-Tech snatched away the 'Hongda Electronics' order we were negotiating this morning at a price 1% below cost, with an estimated loss of 800,000. Second, 27 new smear articles have appeared online, accusing us of 'tax evasion' and 'using child labor.' Countermeasures have been initiated."

"As expected." Chen Fan sneered. "Price wars, public opinion wars, administrative harassment... a whole combination of punches."

"Li Zeyu, these things you're doing to me are just a drizzle. When I counterattack, I'll let you experience what real pain is!" Chen Fan secretly vowed to make Li Zeyu pay the price!