365: The shareholders who harm others are not simple

"Oh, Sister Shi is a university teacher, my apologies for not recognizing you sooner." Liu Xiaolin thought to himself, no wonder this lady in front of him had such good temperament and looked so young; she was a university teacher, that explained it.

"Yes, I only transferred here five or six years ago. My child started first grade here, and is about to graduate from elementary school now," Shi Yuer said.

"Is your child's school far from here?" Liu Xiaolin started asking random questions because he had asked most of the things he wanted to know.

"My child's school is very close to here. Because our financial situation is good, we bought a school district house. As you can see, this area is in the city center," Shi Yuer said.

"Yes, I can see that. It's very prosperous here, and I really like the mountain city style of Yuhai City," Liu Xiaolin said with a smile. "But I don't quite understand, why is a mountain city called Yuhai City?"

"Because Yuhai City is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the sea on one side, that's why there's a 'Hai' (sea) character in the city name. We consider the mountains as treasures given to us by nature, hence the character 'Yu' (jade)," Shi Yuer briefly explained.

"I didn't expect a city name to be so interesting," Liu Xiaolin quickly finished the last bite of rice in his bowl.

"Yes, Yuhai City is a beautiful city that attracts a large number of tourists every year," Shi Yuer answered absentmindedly, her eyes growing more anxious. She didn't know why Liu Xiaolin was asking a bunch of unrelated, messy questions.

"I'm finished eating, and I've finished asking my questions." Liu Xiaolin picked up the document and said, "I'm going back to my room to look at the information now. Sister Shi, you should go back and rest. I'll call you if I have any questions."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yuer stood up and said, "Okay, you should rest too. If you don't mind, you can come to my place for dinner."

"Thank you, but please don't trouble yourself," Liu Xiaolin naturally felt it wouldn't be good to bother her at her home.

"It's no trouble. You came all this way for my husband, so inviting you to my home for dinner is just a way to express my gratitude," Shi Yuer said again.

"Sister Shi, please don't be so polite. I came here with a certain selfish motive as well, so please don't feel any guilt," Liu Xiaolin opened the window and spoke frankly.

"Since you insist, then forget it. Call me if you have any questions. I'm a university teacher, so my time is quite flexible," Shi Yuer said.

"Okay, I'll definitely have to trouble you. You can head back, I won't see you off. I'm going straight upstairs," Liu Xiaolin was eager to go back and look at the documents, so he directly gave the order to leave.

After Shi Yuer left, Liu Xiaolin took the elevator upstairs to the suite.

This was a large two-bedroom, one-living room suite. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window on the east side, he could see the sea.

No wonder, even though this was a mountain city, the air was filled with a humid scent.

"I should call Tongtong first." Liu Xiaolin sat on the sofa and only then remembered that he hadn't contacted Hong Tongtong yet.

"Tongtong, I've arrived in Yuhai City," Liu Xiaolin said immediately after the call connected.

"Ah? You just got there? It's been over six hours since you left!" Hong Tongtong asked in surprise.

"After I arrived, I found a hotel and checked in. Then I was too hungry, so I ate lunch first. I called you after I got back to my room," Liu Xiaolin quickly explained, afraid that Hong Tongtong would be angry that he called so late.

"Good job, you should always eat first," Hong Tongtong praised him instead. "Just remember, no matter what, always take care of yourself first."

"Got it, I thought you'd be angry," Liu Xiaolin said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Why would I be angry? You're thinking too much," Hong Tongtong said. "So, are you going to find that expert this afternoon?"

"No, I plan to rest this afternoon, I'm a bit tired. I'll make an appointment to go tomorrow," Liu Xiaolin said with a smile.

He planned to visit Hai Zhezhe in prison with Shi Yuer tomorrow. After all, he was the one who knew the inside story best; everything Shi Yuer knew was what she had heard from Hai Zhezhe.

"Okay, then you rest. I'll continue reading," Hong Tongtong said obediently.

"Okay, you must eat well and rest well, and wait for me to come home obediently," Liu Xiaolin said affectionately.

"Got it, hanging up," Hong Tongtong hung up the phone with a smile.

She was very confident in Liu Xiaolin because she could see that he was devoted to her.

After hearing the busy signal on his phone, Liu Xiaolin thought that Hong Tongtong must be smiling shyly at this moment, and his heart felt as warm as if it had been basking in the sun.

"No time for thinking, I need to look at the documents quickly and then finalize tomorrow's itinerary," Liu Xiaolin quickly calmed himself down.

Flipping through the documents in his hand, he found that they were based on a company profile. In the first few pages introducing the shareholders, a resume for each shareholder was added. The following pages contained relevant information about Haizhe Technology, including the park area, company philosophy, corporate culture, company achievements, and so on.

There were also financial statements from the previous few years and a financial audit report.

What Liu Xiaolin was most concerned about was the situation of the other shareholders.

He didn't need to look at Hai Zhezhe's information; it was clearly documented in the previous documents from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

As he looked at the information for the other three shareholders, Liu Xiaolin became more and more surprised, and more and more alarmed. He hadn't expected that Hai Zhezhe had chosen a few hungry wolves as partners!

The first one was Cai Chenghan, forty-eight years old this year, a local. He didn't like studying when he was young, and after dropping out of junior high school, he became a street thug and a local bully. Later, he made a lot of money in the steel business and gradually cleaned up his act. Twelve years ago, through the connection of the Yuhai City Development Committee, he invested twenty million and became a shareholder of Haizhe Technology.

Although he was a shareholder of Haizhe Technology, his own businesses were still operating. Not only did he own the largest local steel wholesale market, but in recent years, he had also gotten involved in real estate and opened several demolition companies specializing in demolition work. His company employees were unreasonable during the demolition process, often forcibly demolishing other people's homes, and they proudly boasted everywhere that Cai Chenghan was the local 'Horse King' (a slang term for a ruthless boss).

The resume of this first shareholder made Liu Xiaolin gasp: "Dr. Hai, didn't you check the background of your shareholders before partnering with them? How could you agree to partner so rashly? People in scientific research shouldn't be this foolish, right?"

"It seems Dr. Hai hasn't experienced the harsh realities of society. Well, this time, not only did he experience them, but he was also beaten into prison," Liu Xiaolin sighed while looking at the documents.

Next was the second shareholder, Han Xiaoguo, fifty-one years old this year. He made his first fortune through transportation and later entered the construction industry, growing his company during the period of reconstruction. However, while he appeared to be doing legitimate business on the surface, he secretly harbored a group of gangsters.