Chapter 88: Impossible, the Loss Is Too Great!
All night long, Halier Centurion kept a close watch on the situation inside the company. Naturally, when the news that the fire had been extinguished reached him, he was informed immediately.
With his level of control over Qingzhou Cement, there was no way such information would escape him.
"That Burton… actually ruined my plan!" Halier Centurion gritted his teeth upon hearing the outcome.
He hadn't expected it — a plan so carefully arranged still ended up with an unexpected variable.
And the one who foiled him wasn't his rival Lin Haoran, but rather Burton, the company's Deputy General Manager.
At this point, there was nothing he could do.
"It seems I'll have to try negotiating with the new majority shareholder," Halier Centurion sighed heavily.
He knew that if the Securities and Futures Commission thoroughly investigated and confirmed everything, the result would be massive fines — or worse, prison.
"Escape back to England?"
The thought crossed his mind but was quickly dismissed.
Everyone knew that Hong Kong police and British police cooperated closely; escaping legal consequences was a fantasy.
"Flee to another country?"
He thought about it but realized it wasn't a sustainable option.
Generations of his family's honor and titles were deeply rooted in Britain — abandoning that aristocratic status would be like cutting out a piece of his soul. Impossible.
At this moment, Halier Centurion found himself trapped without options.
He needed to find a way to protect both himself and his family's dignity.
The night passed quickly.
The next morning, Lin Haoran woke up early.
By 8 a.m., he had already arrived at Qingzhou Cement with his two bodyguards.
To his surprise, Burton had stayed at the company all night.
"Mr. Burton, thank you for your hard work," Lin Haoran said warmly, shaking his hand.
Burton's actions had been extremely helpful.
At the very least, it ensured that Halier Centurion could no longer cling onto Qingzhou Cement.
"It was nothing, Chairman," Burton replied humbly.
Regardless, Lin Haoran now owed him a favor.
"Mr. Burton, you should go rest. Leave things here to me. See you in the board meeting at ten o'clock — don't be late," Lin Haoran said, patting the forty-something man's shoulder.
"Understood, Chairman. I will be there on time," Burton replied, despite his fatigue, feeling invigorated.
Stepping into the old Finance Office, Lin Haoran noticed scorch marks on the walls.
However, not much had been burned — only a small portion.
Most of the accounting books had been moved to the Deputy General Manager's office.
Lin Haoran carefully checked them; aside from a few destroyed ledgers, most of the crucial documents had been preserved.
Over more than ten years, a mountain of accounting records had accumulated.
Losing a few basic, pre-fabricated ledgers didn't matter much.
Lin Haoran casually flipped through one.
On the surface, everything looked normal — too perfect, in fact.
He decided to leave the professional audits to the experts.
Soon, his father Lin Wanan would bring in professional finance teams to help sort it out.
His gaze caught the figure of the CFO standing outside, his face dark and heavy with frustration.
Clearly, the man was bitterly disappointed at their failure to destroy the evidence.
This plan had been his idea — and it had failed.
"Mr. Lin, the Chairman would like to see you in his office," the CFO finally approached and said stiffly.
Clearly, after last night's fiasco, they wanted to talk.
But Lin Haoran shook his head calmly, "No rush. I'll go find him later."
He was waiting for his father to arrive.
Although Lin Haoran wasn't afraid of Halier Centurion, he knew he was still young.
Privately confronting a sly old fox like Halier without backup was unwise.
It was better to have his father present to oversee things.
Around 9:20 a.m., Lin Haoran finally welcomed his father's arrival.
Lin Wanan brought more than a dozen people with him from Wanan Group —
a full team, including finance and legal experts.
With such support, taking over Qingzhou Cement would be much easier.
"Dad, let's go meet the current Chairman," Lin Haoran said, leading the way.
They decided to postpone the investigation of the financial records until after resolving the more urgent matters.
Inside the Chairman's Office at Qingzhou Cement—
As Lin Haoran and Lin Wanan entered, the atmosphere immediately grew tense.
Halier Centurion's face froze when he saw Lin Wanan.
He muttered in disbelief, "Lin Wanan… it was you behind all this?!"
They had known each other for years, had negotiated and collaborated before.
Yet now, Halier only felt betrayal and anger.
Lin Wanan made no explanation — none was needed.
"Mr. Halier, I heard from your CFO you wanted to speak to me. What can I do for you?" Lin Haoran said with a polite smile.
Halier Centurion forced a bitter smile.
"Mr. Lin, there's no need for hostilities in business. I invited you because I hope we can settle things peacefully."
"Between us? I think we've been getting along fine.
Oh, by the way, don't forget — there's a board meeting at ten o'clock. I hope you'll attend," Lin Haoran said casually.
Halier's face tightened.
He hesitated before saying, "Mr. Lin, I'm willing to step down as Chairman… but in exchange, I hope the matter with the Finance Office can be... quietly settled."
Lin Haoran shook his head slightly.
"Mr. Halier, the Chairman position will be handled according to company rules and proper procedures.
As for the financial records — we'll discuss that later."
"Mr. Lin, let's be frank — what will it take for you to drop the matter? Surely you didn't come here unwilling to negotiate," Halier said, almost begging.
Facing the young man across from him, Halier felt all his decades of experience crumbling to dust.
Lin Haoran smiled.
"We can negotiate, of course. As long as my conditions are met, I can let bygones be bygones.
Frankly, digging into the past benefits me little — I care more about the company's future and my own interests."
Realistically, there was no benefit in obsessing over Halier's past embezzlement.
Recovering those funds would be impossible — most had likely disappeared long ago.
Even if they seized Halier's shares to offset the loss, there wouldn't be much left after fines and penalties.
And Lin Haoran hadn't even been a shareholder back then — why waste time fighting old battles?
Better to seize the chance to negotiate real advantages.
"Please state your terms," Halier said wearily, conceding.
Lin Haoran spoke clearly:
"First, I want Mr. Halier to fully resign from Qingzhou Cement's board.
Second, he must sell all his shares and promise never to interfere in the company's affairs again.
Third, General Manager Ziegler, the CFO, the Marketing Director, and the PR Director must all resign immediately.
Finally, we want a formal public announcement to protect the company's image and my own interests."
Turning to his father, Lin Haoran asked, "Dad, do you have anything to add?"
"I have a suggestion," Lin Wanan said with a smile.
"Mr. Halier should sell his shares to Wanan Group. I think HK$4 per share is a very fair price."
"Dad, I like that idea," Lin Haoran immediately agreed.
He personally had other investment plans and didn't intend to buy more Qingzhou Cement shares himself.
But Wanan Group was essentially his company too.
Buying Halier's shares through Wanan Group was practically the same as owning them himself.
If Wanan Group acquired Halier's 12.6% stake, combined with Lin Haoran's existing shares, the Lin family would own over 50% of Qingzhou Cement — absolute control.
No outside force could ever intervene without his permission again.
"Impossible! HK$4 per share?! I would lose too much!"
Halier finally exploded.
Lin Haoran had stayed silent, but at Lin Wanan's price suggestion, Halier couldn't hold back.
He was furious.
Even HK$5 per share was painful, but HK$4?
That meant losing HK$1 per share — HK$6.3 million gone, just like that.
It was like cutting his own flesh.
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