Chapter 85: Creating History
At the headquarters of Wanan Group, inside Lin Wanan's office.
When he saw Lin Haoran walk in, Lin Wanan was a bit surprised.
This month, he had rarely seen his son come by.
"What's the matter? Having trouble as Vice Chairman at Qingzhou Cement?" Lin Wanan asked with a smile.
"Dad, actually, I did come today to ask you about something — and yes, it's related to Qingzhou Cement," Lin Haoran said honestly.
Since he was preparing to take control of Qingzhou Cement, it was time to reveal more of his actions there to his father.
"Go ahead and speak. I've been in business for many years; I might be able to give you some useful advice," Lin Wanan said seriously.
"Dad, I wanted to tell you — I plan to take over Qingzhou Cement in the next couple of days. But since I'm still inexperienced, I need your advice. I also hope you can assist me because I'm still lacking in influence," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"You're crazy! That's impossible. Even if you're now Qingzhou Cement's largest shareholder, with your small stake, you can't defeat Halier Centurion. His control over the company isn't as simple as you imagine. I've dealt with him many times — he's not easy to handle!" Lin Wanan shook his head.
"What if I told you I own more than one-third of the shares — even more than that?"
"One-third? It's possible... I heard there are a few Chinese shareholders at Qingzhou Cement. If you can win their support, maybe you could challenge Halier Centurion and become the de facto controlling shareholder. But how could you possibly own that many shares?" Lin Wanan said skeptically.
Just a few days ago, he had seen in the newspaper that his son owned 13.7% of Qingzhou Cement and had been appointed Vice Chairman.
How could things have changed so quickly?
"Haoran, are you crazy about becoming Chairman or what?" Lin Wanan approached his son, looking him up and down for signs of delusion.
"Dad, I'm not crazy. To tell you the truth, I currently control 40% of Qingzhou Cement's shares. Even if all the board members combined their shares, they wouldn't have more than me.
Previously, I only publicly disclosed owning 13.7% — but I've actually been acting in secret.
Remember that bet we made? At that time, I already controlled over 30%, which is why I was so confident. Qingzhou Cement was already basically in my pocket.
Over the past few days, I sped up my acquisition and today, I officially surpassed 40%.
I didn't bring the stock certificates with me today, so I can't show you proof right now, but everything I'm saying is true — there's no need for me to lie to you," Lin Haoran said calmly.
Seeing Lin Haoran's serious expression, Lin Wanan calmed down too.
"Haoran, tell me — where did you get that much money? To hold 40% of Qingzhou Cement's shares, you would have needed over HK$100 million. That's almost enough to buy an entire Wanan Group," he said, deeply puzzled.
This was far beyond anything he could have imagined.
Owning 13.7% he could understand — Lin Haoran had previously said he made big profits from the Wharf Holdings deal.
But over HK$100 million?
Even Lin Wanan couldn't come up with that easily without mortgaging Wanan Group.
"Dad, I sold my Wharf Holdings shares for over HK$111 million.
I told you before that I earned several times my investment there.
Here, I even brought the share transfer contract I signed with Mr. Bao Yugang," Lin Haoran said, pulling the contract from his bag and handing it over.
The contract showed 1.478 million Wharf Holdings shares sold at HK$75.53 per share, for a total transaction amount of HK$111.63 million.
Both Lin Haoran's and Bao Yugang's signatures were clearly there.
Seeing this, Lin Wanan finally believed him.
With that kind of funding, it was entirely plausible that Lin Haoran had secretly accumulated 40% of Qingzhou Cement's shares.
In fact, Lin Haoran had spent just HK$104.86 million to acquire 20.05 million Qingzhou Cement shares.
The only thing he withheld was the fact that some of his capital came from loans — something he didn't intend to tell his father.
After all, he still owed HK$100 million.
But he also had HK$63 million in liquid funds left, so his debt ratio was actually quite low.
"Good, very good! My son is truly capable — even more capable than his old man!" Lin Wanan said, filled with pride.
There was no way this contract could be fake. Bao Yugang's signature and company seal were authentic — he could tell immediately.
His son had indeed earned over HK$100 million from Wharf Holdings.
No matter how strong Lin Haoran was, he was still his son — how could he not be proud?
"Dad, this is why I was so confident about our bet. Don't blame me for setting you up!" Lin Haoran said playfully.
"Haoran, you've made history. You've brought glory to the Lin family!
Do you realize?
Until now, there had never been a case where a Chinese businessman took control of a British-owned listed company.
Even Mr. Li Jiacheng only bought an American-owned firm, not a British one.
British companies rarely get acquired by Chinese businessmen — and certainly not listed ones!" Lin Wanan said, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
Seeing his son achieve something so historic filled him with mixed emotions — some bitterness, but mostly immense pride.
Compared to giants like Wharf, Hutchison Whampoa, or Jardine Matheson, Qingzhou Cement wasn't as large.
But still — it was a listed company valued over HK$200 million.
And now, his son, silently and steadily, had gained control of 40% of it — enough to take over fully.
In Lin Wanan's mind, he could already see the Lin family rising to the top of Hong Kong's elite families under Haoran's leadership.
"I wonder... will I live long enough to see that day?" he thought wistfully, feeling the burden of his declining health.
He had visited many prestigious hospitals. Doctors urged him to rest properly — otherwise, his life expectancy would be shortened.
This was why he had been so anxious to find a worthy successor for the family business.
Now, seeing Haoran's achievements, he had no more doubts: Haoran was the heir he had been hoping for.
"Dad, besides asking you to assist me in taking over Qingzhou Cement, I also have something else to tell you.
Through my investigation, I found that Qingzhou Cement is far more complicated than I initially thought.
That's also why I didn't reveal earlier how many shares I controlled," Lin Haoran said.
He then told Lin Wanan everything he had learned — including the rumors from Liu Zhenxing about embezzlement and shady dealings.
Lin Wanan listened carefully, frowning deeply.
After a long silence, he said, "Halier Centurion must be highly skilled to control Qingzhou Cement for so many years.
These rumors you heard are probably true.
Finding evidence won't be too hard — but you must first control the finance department."
He continued, "The best way is to call a board meeting and remove Halier Centurion as Chairman and fire the CFO.
Then, I can assign Wanan Group's CFO to temporarily take over.
Once you control the financial documents, you'll easily uncover problems.
If Halier is smart, he'll resign quietly.
Otherwise, report him to the Securities and Futures Commission — if they find evidence of wrongdoing, he'll not only face fines but also jail time.
Without him in the way, you'll easily take full control of Qingzhou Cement."
Lin Haoran nodded and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking too. That's why I came to you, Dad.
I don't have time to waste — I have other plans coming up.
But if I call a board meeting now, Halier might drag it out for weeks.
I don't have his kind of influence yet to gather everyone quickly.
I was hoping you might have a way to help me speed up the process."
In truth, Lin Haoran could have waited until he returned from handling his other projects.
But now that he knew about the financial scandals at Qingzhou Cement, he was unwilling to let the company continue bleeding under Halier's watch.
The sooner he called a board meeting and expelled Halier, the better.
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