Chapter 16
“Li Lu, look, the total capacity on this list is 6 million kilowatts, which accounts for more than half of the total newly installed capacity in this region. Apart from a few leading companies in the industry, I have never heard of any other company with this capability.”
Jiang Yu found a small conference room, and the two of them held a closed-door meeting inside.
Li Ye nodded. The Xining project was somewhat related to the wind power industry, so she remembered some of the industry data. According to the industry's regional production capacity ratio, this company's figures, combined with those of several other companies, had long exceeded the official data.
So either the official data is problematic, or the report is fabricated?
What do you think?
“Attorney Li, I don’t think the official data is wrong, even if there are problems, the discrepancy shouldn’t be this big. Moreover, when we look at the grid-connected capacity, power generation, and wind curtailment, none of them match up.” Jiang Yu’s voice trailed off, but her meaning was very clear: there was something wrong with the report.
“Well, each wind turbine and its capacity are supported by data.” Li Ye pointed to the procurement contracts, general contracting contracts, etc. listed in the report.
"I think the person who wrote this report must have assumed that lawyers wouldn't go to the site to verify the specifics."
Before Li Ye could finish speaking, Jiang Yu interrupted with a disdainful look: "So... he thinks... as long as we provide these materials, we'll blindly produce a report?"
"Well, he's right about one thing: I really don't plan to go to the site to verify the situation." Li Ye said nonchalantly.
Jiang Yu was somewhat shocked: "Boss, can't you do this? Our team's reputation will be ruined by you. You still have to be worthy of your clients; you are the great lawyer Li Ye! The great lawyer Li Ye!"
“I didn’t say to write according to his report.” Li Ye rolled her eyes at her.
"This report and these materials were given to me by Zhang Gang."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu gasped. What? They're already making things difficult for us on the very first day? These big companies are all like this, aren't they? But our luck is just too bad! We finally encountered a normal legal department staff member, but it turns out his boss is a disgusting man.
"But don't worry, I'll take care of this. Go back and get back to work, do what you're supposed to do. When the team does due diligence on this company, be strict with them, and of course, let me know immediately."
“Okay, Lawyer Li.”
"Okay, go ahead. Delete the data on the USB drive, just keep this report, and then leave the USB drive with me."
After Jiang Yu finished and left, Li Ye held the USB drive, turning it around with her fingers. None of them knew that she knew Xu Wanyi, which had inexplicably become a huge advantage.
Her method was simple and direct: she went directly to Xu Wanyi.
Then she thought, "Chairwoman Xu is completely ignoring you, Li Ye. Where do you get the confidence that you'll definitely see her? And that you can get her to listen to such a long speech? The key point is that this speech involves the innocence of one of her important subordinates, and you currently have no evidence whatsoever..."
Oh well! Who cares! We'll see if we don't try.
She opened WeChat, "President Feng, is Chairman Xu in his office?" and sent the message.
Feng Jing quickly replied to her, "Li Lu, Chairman Xu went to the airport to fly back to Beijing after meeting with you, and he probably won't be coming to Haixi for the next few weeks."
Looking at the message, Li Ye felt a sudden emptiness in her heart. So she wasn't there. She touched her nose and realized that she secretly hoped they would work in the same building, even if one of them was on the 49th floor and the other on the 21st, meaning they would never see each other.
But not coming to Haixi for several weeks is a bit much, isn't it? There's such a huge mess to deal with! Li Ye thought bitterly, but still spoke his mind perfectly.
"I understand. So, when will Chairman Xu be coming to Haixi?"
"Please wait a moment, let me ask the chairman."
"Okay." Li Ye put down his phone. He stood up, stretched his back muscles, and turned his head.
All she can do now is wait. To others, her request seems very personal; they hope Xu Wanyi doesn't hate her so much that she won't give her a chance to meet privately.
"Ding," another message came in.
"Li Lu, the chairman said it's next Monday at 7 PM in her office. I'll come down to pick you up then."
"Received, thank you, Mr. Feng!"
"Attorney Li, you're too kind."
After saying this, Feng Jing looked at the chairman's reply on WeChat and felt quite puzzled. The chairman had just returned to Beijing, and was coming again next week? This had never happened before.
She swiped the screen to see if she had misread something.
Her message read, "Chairman, Attorney Li said she has something to discuss with you and would like to ask when you are expected to arrive in Haixi."
Five minutes later, I received a message from the chairman: "Next Monday at 7 pm, in my office. Go pick her up then."
That's right! After verifying it several times, Feng Jing seemed to smell something different from before. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but with her many years of experience as the chairman's personal assistant and her understanding of the chairman, there was definitely something unusual, she just hadn't noticed it yet!
Xu Wanyi was sitting in her office in Beijing when she sneezed, completely unaware that her little assistant had noticed her unusual behavior.
She deliberately didn't add Li Ye on WeChat, because she didn't want to contact her directly. She simply didn't want her to be easily reached. She could leave whenever she wanted, and then come back just as easily? There's no such thing as a free lunch.
When she received Feng Jing's message, she was first delighted, then shocked. They had just met today, so what couldn't be said on the spot? Why did they have to meet afterward? Could it be that she really had something on her mind?
That won't do. No meeting whatsoever!
After typing a few words on the keyboard, Xu Wanyi hesitated again. Should she just refuse like this?
As she hesitated, her mind flashed back to her meeting with Li Ye. From their chance encounter on the roadside to their meeting in the conference room this morning, Li Ye didn't seem to have any particular interest in her, at least not in that way.
It's only been a day, could it be that she discovered something?
Xu Wanyi suddenly realized that there are many hours in a day, and theoretically, one can read a lot of materials. The reason why Li Ye can become one of the leaders in the capital market business of the legal industry must be that his work efficiency is also top in the industry. So... she may have really discovered something.
If he didn't see her, and something really happened, it would be a loss. And so, Chairman Xu convinced himself.
So she deleted what she had just typed, retyped a line, and sent it to Feng Jing. After clicking send, she closed her eyes, gently pressed her hand to her heart, and let out a long sigh. An indescribable sense of loneliness welled up in her heart. Li Ye, oh Li Ye!
While Li Ye's team was writing furiously in the conference room of Leguang Group, Chen Chunlin was feeling uneasy in his office.
Although Li Ye informed him immediately after the employment contract with Le Guang was signed, and he knew that Le Guang's legal fees would be paid in installments, he still felt that things were a bit uncertain after learning that Huang Peng's inside man in the legal department had been sent to a subsidiary.
As I pondered this, I felt something was amiss, and before I knew it, I had wandered into the office area of Li Ye's team.
The bright light from the LED lamp shone on the desk, where piles of documents and files cast their shadows. There was no one there; the surroundings were quiet.
Chen Chunlin turned his head and saw that Li Ye's office door was closed, and it looked gloomy because the lights were off.
He couldn't take it anymore, so he quickly walked back to his office, took out his phone, and made a WeChat call to Huang Peng.
"Hey, Lao Huang, it's me, Chen Chunlin."
"Isn't that obvious? Your WeChat name is right there in the open, how could I not know it's you?" Huang Peng's voice sounded very excited, after all, he had already received the first pimping fee from Li Ye.
"Hey, that's not what I meant. I meant what happened at your company."
"Wait, wait a minute."
Upon hearing this, Chen Chunlin consciously shut his mouth, waiting for Huang Peng to find a convenient place to talk before continuing.
"Hey Chen, what happened at our company?"
“I said, no, you’re so happy about receiving such a small amount of money? You’re a typical case of looking at the big picture but not the back.”
The down payment was nothing to these lawyers, but for Huang Peng, who worked in an office, it was a fortune. And the money came so easily that he was genuinely happy.
"Oh, you mean the payment? Our group does indeed use installment payments; Li Ye wasn't playing us."
"Well, but your acquaintance is no longer in the legal department, so we can't offer any substantial help anymore. I'm worried things might have changed." Chen Chunlin finally voiced what had been troubling him for the past few days.
"The renowned lawyer Li, surely he wouldn't go this far?"
Although he wasn't familiar with Li Ye, he was a man who had weathered many storms and was confident in his judgment of people. He felt that Li Ye wasn't that bad.
"You can't judge a book by its cover, Lao Huang, we have to be vigilant!" Chen Chunlin said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Although this kind of money is standard practice, it's hard to say who's breaking the law and who isn't when it comes down to it. Besides, there's no evidence, it's all gentlemen's agreements, and they can be broken off at any time. There are far too many disputes over this kind of money in the legal profession!"
What Chen Chunlin didn't say was that he himself had done this kind of thing, and more than once. They would agree on a certain amount of money to the introducer, specifying how it would be paid, but then he would simply renege on the agreement and refuse to pay.
If he's not wary, who is?
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Huang Peng's heart started pounding when he heard this. What if Li Ye really refused to give it to him? That would be a huge sum of money.
"Go find that acquaintance of yours, the one who connected us, Chen Fang, right? Go ask him if there's anything else we can do, and while we're at it, find out what we can hold onto, so that even if Li Ye doesn't pay, we'll still have something to play."
"Hey, that makes sense. You're really smart, lawyers always have sharp minds. Let me ask around, I'll get back to you later."
With a "beep," Huang Peng hung up the phone. Chen Chunlin took out his earphones. "What an idiot! How did he manage to stay in such a big company for so long!"
After hanging up the phone, Huang Peng immediately dialed Chen Fang's number.
"Mr. Chen, are you free? Let's have a casual lunch together."
After being removed from this project, Chen Fang was assigned to another important subsidiary of the group to be in charge of legal affairs.
Although he was no longer in charge of this major project, he wasn't abandoned. Strictly speaking, he was promoted and left in a very dignified manner.
Previously, his title in the group was Legal Manager, but now he is the Deputy General Manager of the Legal Department of a subsidiary. The title after "Deputy General Manager" is in parentheses, which says "in charge of the work".
This means that although you are the deputy, there is currently no head in this department. You should work hard and keep striving, and when the time is right, you will be the general manager of the legal department. This is typical bureaucracy.
Moreover, the subsidiary's headquarters are located in this industrial park, not far from Leguang's headquarters, making it very convenient for them to arrange lunch together. They can just find any restaurant along the river.
Upon hearing this, Chen Fang was overjoyed. He had been wondering what excuse he could use to contact Huang Peng since his superiors had assigned him the task, but now the guy had come to him on his own.
"Hello, Mr. Huang. No problem. It's been a long time since I've seen you. I still have to thank you for what happened last time."
Huang Peng, being quite sensible, made sure everyone got a share of the spoils, including Chen Fang. As the saying goes, "If there's meat, we eat; if there's soup, we drink; we're still brothers." And so, today Huang Peng needed to consult Chen Fang about something.
"Don't mention it, we're all brothers. Let's head over early, 11 o'clock at our usual spot by the river, I'll reserve a private room. See you at the restaurant entrance!"
"Okay, see you later!"
At 11:00 AM sharp, Chen Fang arrived at the restaurant's front door, where Huang Peng was already waiting.
"Mr. Chen, let's go inside."
It wasn't lunchtime yet, and the restaurant wasn't crowded. The waiter had already spotted the two of them, and he went to greet them as soon as they stepped into the restaurant.
How many guests are there?
“Two people. They booked a private room, Mr. Huang,” Huang Peng said.
The waiter glanced at the iPad, then looked up at the two of them.
"You must be Mr. Huang and Mr. Chen. It's been a long time since you two have come."
"Oh, you still remember us?"
Chen Fang was quite surprised. They used to come often, but after he was transferred, he had been busy with the new company and came less often.
"Yes, I have a deep impression of Mr. Chen's ears. He looks like a blessed person!"
No wonder she works as a greeter; she's perceptive and knows how to speak.
The two followed the waiter to the private room, ordered a set meal, and Huang Peng immediately closed the door.
“Mr. Chen, we’re so familiar with each other, I won’t beat around the bush. Yuande Law Firm’s business is all thanks to your help. But this project has been going on for too long, and the legal fees have been split into several installments. To be honest, I’m a little worried.”
Chen Fang's eyes darted around and his ears perked up. "Does President Huang mean he's afraid Li Ye will renege on the debt?"
Huang Peng slapped his thigh.
"Mr. Chen is so experienced; he knew exactly what I was talking about right away. It's about this. What do you think?"
Chen Fang smiled inwardly; this was like having the best luck in mahjong, getting exactly what he needed. He knew Chen Chunhua was Huang Peng's childhood friend, and the two had been working together on this business.
"Mr. Huang, Yuande Institute has now also secured the Leguang project. I saw that Yuande Institute even published news about this major project on its official WeChat account and website. In fact, their director was interviewed by Haixi TV recently and boasted about this project as the institute's most important business."
"Mr. Chen, what... what do you mean? I don't understand."
"What I mean is, spilled water can't be taken back, you know? Don't you and Attorney Chen want to pull off a big heist?"
Huang Peng turned to look at him, and he seemed to understand something, yet he also seemed not to understand something.
"Let's find an opportunity together to take down Li Ye."
“But all the resident lawyers are Li Ye’s people. If we replace Li Ye, wouldn’t everything come to a standstill? Your group wouldn’t do something like that.” Huang Peng felt that the plan was unrealistic.
"Therefore, the key to this plan is to only kick out Li Ye and keep the original team, or at least most of the staff. Although Li Ye is very talented, I don't believe that with the full strength of your department, you can do worse than her."
Huang Peng was still a little doubtful. "Mr. Chen, how about this, I'll call Chen Chunlin now and discuss the feasibility of this plan."
“No problem, let’s start now, the sooner we start, the sooner we can finalize the decision,” Chen Fang said impatiently.
Huang Peng dialed the phone.
"Hey, Lao Huang, what's up?"
Chen Chunlin had been waiting for Huang Peng's reply in his office. As soon as the phone rang, he answered it immediately.
"Old Chen, I'm with Mr. Chen Fang right now. I've put the call on speakerphone. Let's discuss this together."
Then, Huang Peng repeated exactly what Chen Fang had just said.
Upon hearing that he could keep all the lawyer's fees and receive such a large sum of money, Chen Chunlin was willing to do anything, no matter how impossible, and take any risk.
"Well, I'd like to ask Mr. Chen, how exactly does this work?" Chen Chunlin was shrewd; he wouldn't act until he saw the benefits.
Upon hearing this, Chen Fang thought there was hope! So he explained the procedure in detail over the phone, "We do it like this, like this..."
Huang Peng looked troubled. The idea was good, but the risk was too great.
"It's a bit difficult, but not entirely impossible," Chen Chunlin's voice came through the receiver.
"Based on my understanding of our Chairman Xu, she will absolutely not accept such a thing and will definitely kick Li Ye out cleanly. You can rest assured about that."
Chen Fang was confident; he knew all too well that the chairman would not tolerate the slightest mistake when it came to important matters.
“Okay, let’s do it this way. We’ll split up and keep in touch.” Chen Chunlin paused for a moment before making his decision.
Although Huang Peng was timid, thinking about the money, he felt that he had to take the risk. Besides, he wouldn't directly get involved, so if something went wrong, he could cover it up. So he nodded.
"Alright, brothers united, their strength can break metal!"
"Alright, let's do this well. If we close this deal, it'll be enough for everyone to rest for several years. That's all for now, Attorney Chen, keep in touch."
Chen Fang hung up the phone, chatted and laughed with Huang Peng while eating lunch, and then went back to work.
Chen Chunlin was also in high spirits. He immediately sat down at his desk, turned on his computer, and began to research. Thinking that all the money would be his, he happily hummed a little tune.
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