Chapter 772: Signing the Agreement!
With the case successfully solved, Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they had already deduced the truth of the matter yesterday, Li Yi still had no idea exactly when the case would be solved.
After all, gathering evidence takes time, and he was genuinely worried that Xiao Zhanwu and his team might drag it out for ten days or even half a month—which would put Li Yi in a very passive position.
He never would have imagined that Xiao Zhanwu and his team would be so efficient, solving the case so quickly.
After declining Xiao Zhanwu’s suggestion to go to the county bureau to meet those two, Li Yi returned to the guesthouse.
Inside, Jiang Xue and her mother, Ye Lingyun, were having breakfast.
Seeing Li Yi push open the door and walk in, Jiang Xue immediately asked, “Mom said she wants to visit my old school today. Do you have time?”
“Yes, when does Mom plan to go?” Li Yi asked.
Ye Lingyun replied immediately, “Any time is fine with me. It’s just a visit—nothing particularly important!”
“Hmm, then let’s go this afternoon. I have a few things I need to take care of this morning,” Li Yi said.
He remembered the batch of “celebrity art photos” he’d ordered last night. According to the agreement, those several hundred photos should have been developed by now.
So Li Yi planned to use the morning to take Xiao Die to the movie theater to test the waters and teach her an easier way to make money.
That way, even if they left in a few days, Xiaodie wouldn’t have to work as hard as she had before.
Jiang Xue had no idea what Li Yi was thinking. Hearing that he had something to do, she immediately asked, “I heard Captain Xiao is here again. Why does he come looking for you first thing every morning?”
Li Yi paused briefly, then said, “Xiao Xue, the case is solved!”
Jiang Xue was taken aback for a moment, then asked, “What case has been solved?”
“Tang Bing and Tan Cheng. They bribed that Jiang Lin to fabricate evidence of meritorious service in order to get a reduced sentence. Now the truth has come to light. The principal and accomplices have been arrested, and they’ll face the full force of the law!” Li Yi said.
“The case is really solved?”
“Yes!”
“What kind of punishment will they face?” Jiang Xue asked again.
“Tang Bing will face at least five years, up to ten. As for Tan Cheng, in addition to having his one-and-a-half-year sentence reduction revoked, he’ll receive at least five additional years. Jiang Lin, Tan’s father, Tan’s mother, and the others will likely all get less than three years!” Li Yi replied.
“Huh, why is Tang Bing’s sentence so severe?” Jiang Xue asked, puzzled.
“Because she was the mastermind behind this case!” Li Yi said.
According to the results of the overnight interrogation conducted by Xiao Zhanwu and his team, Tang Bing was indeed the mastermind behind this case.
By reporting her brother Tang Lei and her ex-husband Liu Ermaozi’s criminal activities, she had secured a sentence reduction and was released early.
After her release, she set her sights on rescuing Tan Cheng, so she hatched this outrageous scheme.
She first visited Tan Cheng in prison, telling him she had a way to get him out, and immediately laid out her plan to him.
Tan Cheng had long been unable to stand being in prison, so the two hit it off immediately.
Subsequently, Tan Cheng asked Tang Bing to contact his parents, while he searched the prison for someone to “earn merit” with, eventually finding Jiang Lin.
It can be said that in this entire case, Tang Bing was the primary mastermind, while Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin were accomplices. Although Tan Cheng’s parents were also involved, their role was limited to raising funds.
As for Jiang Lin’s father, he only learned the truth when Tang Bing delivered the money to his doorstep after his son’s “escape” resulted in a harsher sentence.
Although he knew but did not report it, he had indeed not been involved in any of the earlier stages prior to that.
After a brief silence, Jiang Xue sighed and said, “Am… am I being too cruel, insisting on sending them to prison just to satisfy myself?”
Before Li Yi could speak, Ye Lingyun immediately interjected, “Silly girl, what are you saying? They brought this upon themselves—what does it have to do with you?”
Li Yi immediately added, “Xiao Xue, don’t feel guilty about this. Given what they did to you, even dragging them out and shooting them for half an hour wouldn’t be too much.”
“Besides, we’re just sending them where they belong. There’s nothing wrong with that!”
Jiang Xue looked at Li Yi gratefully, then at her mother.
She had been genuinely worried that her insistence on this matter might cause a misunderstanding between her two closest relatives.
It seemed she’d been overthinking it!
With that thought, a cheerful Jiang Xue looked at Li Yi and asked, “Do you have to go to the county bureau today?”
“No, I plan to take Xiaodie out to make some money in a little while!” Li Yi replied.
Jiang Xue’s eyes lit up, and she immediately said, “I’m coming too!”
“Sure!”
Before long, after the group finished breakfast, they headed to the photo studio together!
When they arrived at the photo studio, the old master had already developed the 900 photos.
After checking the quality of the prints, Li Yi and the others took all the photos with them, along with the negatives.
After leaving the photo studio, Li Yi and the others went to Xiaodie’s house and took her to the movie theater…
………..
Beijing. City Hall!
Just as Li Yi was busy teaching others how to fish, negotiations between Starry Investment and the municipal government in Jingcheng were drawing to a close.
In the conference room of the municipal building, the leadership of the Capital City government and the senior executives of Star Investment had gathered to make a final push for the signing.
At the conference table on the left side of the room, An Hong, Deputy General Manager of Star Investment’s mainland branch, was delivering a final summary of the negotiation results!
“Ladies and gentlemen, after a week of negotiations, Star Investment and your organization have reached the following consensus regarding the investment: First, we have the right to invest in all sectors that your organization has opened up, and we will be treated on an equal footing with all mainland enterprises—including in recruitment, production, and sales!”
An Hong continued, “Second, provided that we comply with all laws and regulations, your side must not interfere with our company’s normal business operations through any improper means, and must grant us a three-year tax exemption followed by a five-year period of 50% tax reduction!”
“Likewise, we promise that over the next five years, our annual investment in mainland China will not be less than $200 million…”
After An Hong had outlined the consensus reached by both parties point by point, the representative of the Beijing municipal government immediately expressed no objections.
Subsequently, the two parties immediately drafted an investment cooperation agreement centered on the terms agreed upon above.
Once the agreement was finalized, the company’s general manager, An Xinyi, and the head of the Jingcheng Municipal Government signed their names on the document and exchanged copies.
With this, Star Investment officially entered the mainland, becoming one of the earliest Hong Kong-based foreign investors!
As one of the final enterprises to invest in the mainland, this collaboration between Star Investment Company and the Beijing Municipal Government was given high priority by mainland authorities.
In particular, CCTV filmed the entire signing ceremony and quickly broadcast comprehensive coverage of the event.
With the formal signing of the cooperation agreement, many eyes turned to Star Investment. Everyone was eager to see which industry this renowned investment firm would choose to invest in first.
More importantly, everyone wanted to see if they could replicate the business miracle they had achieved on Hong Kong Island.
Overnight, Star Investment’s mainland branch became the center of public attention…
……….