bookrandom Chapter 610 Run quickly
Chapter 610 Run quickly
The tin roof of Hongda Machinery Factory pounded loudly in the downpour, and the atmosphere inside the meeting room was even more somber than the sky outside the window.
“Their weaknesses lie in the ‘legality of funds’ and ‘public panic’,” Li Xiangyang said seriously. “Third Brother, can your classmate find evidence of ‘related-party transactions disguised as unrelated-party transactions’ in the audit report? For example, whether the flow of funds in Dongfang Trading circumvented regulatory red lines.”
“I’m working on it.” Ma Laosan exhaled a smoke ring, his phone screen lit up with an encrypted file sent by his auditing classmate. “But Tianhua Industrial uses multiple layers of offshore companies. It’s like peeling an onion; the deeper you go, the more irritating it becomes.”
Mr. Wang, who runs a food processing business, suddenly slapped his thigh: "I remember now! Last year, an accountant resigned from the 'Southern Technology Research Institute' because he said they were falsifying accounts until midnight."
"Where is this person now?" Li Xiangyang's pen paused on the words "internal breakthrough".
"It seems like he runs a convenience store at the west end of the county town." Mr. Wang flipped through his contact list. "His name is Accountant Zhao. He used to come to our factory to deliver reports."
The rain outside suddenly intensified, large raindrops pounding against the glass, blurring the outline of the distant factory buildings. Li Xiangyang suddenly remembered something, pulled Chen Jianguo's "Technical Cooperation Agreement" from the file folder, and pointed to the Hong Kong company seal at the bottom: "Director Chen, this seal is a 'photosensitive seal,' while genuine Hong Kong companies usually use a 'steel seal.'" He then flipped through Oriental Trading's business cards, "And this Zhao Ming, his business card says 'General Manager,' but a senior executive of a legitimate trading company wouldn't have such a casual title."
The timber merchant suddenly realized: "They even make such crude fake seals, are they in a hurry to make money?"
“The more you rush, the more likely you are to make mistakes. We can contact investigative reporters from the provincial newspaper; they would likely be very interested in the story of ‘Hong Kong-funded companies suspected of engaging in fraudulent acquisitions.’ But we need more solid evidence—such as original bank statements showing Tianhua Industrial transferring assets through overseas accounts,” Li Xiangyang suggested.
At this moment, Ma Laosan's phone suddenly vibrated: "Found it! Dongfang Trade had a 3000 million yuan fund last year, nominally for 'equipment procurement,' but the recipient was a shell company in Panama, and its registered address was in the same office building as Tianhua Industrial's Hong Kong parent company."
"That's right! They're using 'fake trade' as a channel for funds to leave the country. The problem now is, how do we get the original documentation?"
The meeting room fell silent, broken only by the sound of rain and the scratching of pens on paper.
After a moment of silence, a glint flashed in Li Xiangyang's eyes: "The transfer of property rights requires an asset appraisal report and proof of fund transfer. Let's go to the archives now!"
The iron gates of the archives creaked in the downpour, and a musty smell mingled with the stale scent of paper wafted out. Li Xiangyang and Ma Laosan, wearing white gloves, quickly flipped through the property transfer registration book.
"Found it! The files of Dongfang Trading's acquisition of Hongxing Plastics Factory contain the fund transfer voucher!"
As Ma Laosan spoke, he pulled out a brown paper file folder and shook out a stack of bank statements.
Li Xiangyang took a closer look and found that the bank statement from HSBC in Hong Kong clearly showed "Tianhua Industrial Holdings Limited" as the remitter, while the recipient was "Ocean Trading Limited," a shell company registered in Belize. The remarks section vaguely stated "equipment purchase payment," which perfectly matched the 3000 million yuan funding path that Ma Laosan had previously investigated.
"And this too!" Chen Jianguo pulled out an asset appraisal report from another stack of documents. "The land appraisal price of Hongxing Plastics Factory was reduced to one-third of the market price, and the legal representative of the appraisal agency 'Huayu Real Estate' is actually Zhao Ming's distant cousin!"
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed in the stairwell. Ma Laosan turned off his flashlight: "Something's not right. There shouldn't be anyone in the archives this late." Li Xiangyang gestured for everyone to be quiet. Through the gaps in the file shelves, two men in black suits could be seen using a master key to unlock the duty room door, walkie-talkies peeking out from their waists.
"It's Tianhua Industry!" the timber boss exclaimed in a low voice. Li Xiangyang pulled everyone to hide behind the back bookshelves, and just as they squatted down, they heard the sound of shattering glass coming from the duty room. The leader of the group was sweeping the filing cabinets with a powerful flashlight, and a hoarse voice came from the walkie-talkie: "Boss, Li Xiangyang and his men are probably checking the files of Dongfang Trading."
Inside the archives, Li Xiangyang pressed down on the trembling shoulder of the timber merchant and gave Ma Laosan a wink. Ma Laosan silently reached for the fire axe in the corner. The metal frame of the archives formed a natural barrier, and the sound of the leading man in black kicking over the iron ladder echoed in the empty space: "Search!"
Chen Jianguo suddenly grabbed Li Xiangyang's sleeve and pointed to a hidden compartment at the bottom of the file shelf—where half a roll of yellowed film was tucked diagonally. Ma Laosan pried open the sheet metal with the handle of his axe, revealing documents wrapped in a waterproof cloth. At the top was the registration document of Tianhua Industrial's parent company in the Cayman Islands, and in the signature column was a familiar name: "Zhao Mingde... Zhao Ming's father?" The timber merchant gasped.
Footsteps drew closer. Li Xiangyang shoved the film into Ma Laosan's arms: "Go through the ventilation duct! I'll draw them away!" He grabbed a stack of obsolete assessment reports and threw them at the bookshelf opposite, immediately attracting the black-clad man's flashlight beam. Ma Laosan gritted his teeth and grabbed him: "If we die, we die together!" He grabbed a fire extinguisher and smashed it against the emergency light at the end of the corridor. In the brief moment of darkness, the group rolled into the narrow metal passageway of the ventilation duct.
The torrential rain roared outside the pipes. Suddenly, a metallic clanging sound came from ahead. After climbing for an unknown amount of time, the group finally saw the exit.
Just as everyone was about to climb out of the exit, the man in black roared, making the metal door tremble: "They're at the exit! Tell the guards to lock the back door!"
"Jump!" Li Xiangyang was the first to roll into the garbage heap from the three-meter-high pipe opening, his face covered in rotten vegetable leaves. Ma Laosan followed closely behind, protecting the documents. Chen Jianguo and the timber boss had just landed when they heard car engines roaring in the rain. Two black sedans were parked across the garbage station exit, their headlights casting the four men's shadows onto the damp brick wall.
The lead car rolled down its window, and Zhao Ming, sitting in the driver's seat, grinned maliciously: "Director Li, playing cat and mouse?" He waved the walkie-talkie in his hand, "I was watching you from the monitoring room when you entered the archives."
Suddenly, Ma Laosan shoved the documents into Li Xiangyang's arms, grabbed half a cement brick from the garbage dump, and smashed it against the car's windshield. Zhao Ming jerked the steering wheel, the brick grazing the roof before hitting the electrical box next to the car, sending sparks flying.
"Run!" Li Xiangyang dragged everyone towards the narrow alley on the right. The sound of tires skidding followed behind as a car scraped against the wall. Chen Jianguo suddenly stopped in front of the scrap metal recycling station at the alley entrance, grabbed a pair of wire cutters from the door, cut the chain, and pushed open the iron door piled with old tires: "Hide here!"
Just as the four slipped inside, they heard Zhao Ming's car screeching to a halt at the alley entrance. Ma Laosan held his breath and saw two men in black carrying flashlights walking in through the tire gaps.