Chapter 405

By the Yintong River that runs through Jichun, at a place still some distance from the city center, is a large area of newly built building complexes, with community hospitals, Long Teng shopping malls, and many bus stops. Its architecture and planning are reasonable, and it is no exaggeration to call it the best residential area in Jichun.

This is naturally the residence developed by Long Teng for its employees. Long Teng is not short of money, and land prices are not expensive now, so they definitely pick good places. And Zhou Bingkun's place is the same; he knows his good brother is doing big things, so he discussed getting a piece of land nearby to take advantage of the business district. And the villa area he developed is also here.

Originally, he wanted to get a piece of land and build two villas, and use the rest of the large area for landscaping, which was quite arrogant. It was Wang Yan who persuaded him to stop, and that's how eighteen villas were built. Although they are not cheap, there are many rich people in these years, and plus Zhou Bingkun's business friends, before they were finished, the remaining sixteen had already been sold.

And the ones Wang Yan and the old Zhou family live in are exactly the two on the far left of the six in the first row.

At this moment, in the old Zhou family's house in the first building, Wang Yan is coming over for dinner as usual. It's mainly because living close is convenient; although there are nannies to cook, living next door, there's no need to eat separately. Chen Jing is also not at home; she ran to the film crew to follow the filming and is busy.

Watching his granddaughter eating and drinking heartily, Zhou Zhigang sighed: "Hey, now the children in the family are all in college, leaving only one Zishan at home, which is quite lonely."

Zhou Zishan was eating with her mouth full of oil: "Grandpa, I'll be taking the college entrance exam in a few years too."

"Good, you study hard, and in the future, you will be like your brothers and sisters, all getting into prestigious universities."

Zhou Bingkun looked at his little daughter with a smile: "You haven't even graduated from elementary school, and your test scores are failing, yet you're talking about college? Are you going to take the exam with your mouth?"

"Go away, you can't tell anything now; in the future, my eldest granddaughter will definitely do as well as her brothers and sisters. Isn't that right, Zishan?"

"Hmm." These words deeply won Zhou Zishan's heart, and she nodded repeatedly, looking at her biological father unconvinced.

Zhou Bingkun shook his head and smiled, looking at Wang Yan and saying: "You say this is also strange; our family of seven children, six are good at studying, and only this one is worrying."

"It's okay, with a father like you, what does it matter if she's good at studying or not? As long as there's no problem with her character, then there's no problem; as long as she plays well, right?" Wang Yan smiled and picked up a piece of meat for the little girl: "Eat hard, you have to keep this body healthy. Brother-in-law, how has work been lately?"

Zhou Zhigang got angry with Zhou Rong several times and it took two years to recover. Once he recovered, he couldn't stay idle; he swept the big courtyards of the two villas every day, and whenever he had nothing to do, he would prune the flowers and plants. Seeing him bored and uncomfortable, Zhou Bingkun got him a job watching the gate at the factory, and the old man was quite active.

"Fine, quite good."

"Dad, if you ask me, you should just stay at home; you're sixty-seven, what are you still tossing about? Why not go traveling with Mom and see how everywhere has changed over these years; isn't that also quite good?"

Zhou Zhigang took a sip of wine and looked at his old son with annoyance: "What you're talking about is what's called tossing; your mother and I are both this old, our bodies can't take it."

Seeing Zhou Bingkun looking at him, Wang Yan shook his head and said: "Better not toss; Aunt and Uncle are indeed old, and if they go out and get sick from the change of environment, they'll have to suffer for a while. It's quite good as it is now; isn't Uncle working quite energetically? If he gets tired of staying, he can change places; it's just finding something to do, otherwise, he can't stay idle."

Zhou Zhigang laughed: "Worked for a lifetime, how can I stay idle? Let's just do it this way; it's quite good."

"You, you just can't enjoy happiness. Our house is so big, it's enough to roll around in, yet you can't stay idle?"

"Yes, your old son is capable, only you can enjoy happiness." Zhou Zhigang shook his head and smiled, ignoring his old wife, and looked at Wang Yan: "When Bingyi came back last month, I heard him say he wanted to move the Guangzi area? Is there any follow-up?"

Without Wang Yan, Zhou Bingkun spoke first. He said: "They wanted to demolish it back in '89, and the city committee leaders have changed a wave, but there's been no movement. If they really want to move the Guangzi area, it will take a few more years; the city's opinions are not unified, and my brother was just talking about it last time. After demolition, where to arrange these people is a problem, and there are several other urban villages; if the Guangzi area is demolished, can they have no opinions? Adding in the problems we told you about a few years ago, it's a mess, and one move affects the whole body; it's not something that can be demolished just because you say so."

"Sigh, I don't know when this poor nest will be demolished. You say this Jichun, everywhere is new high-rise buildings, and looking at those broken flat houses in the Guangzi area, it's uncomfortable; I don't know what the city leaders are thinking. Oh, right, Bingkun, you get some materials; our house and Xiao Yan's old house should be repaired. I'll go back and take a look in these two days and repair them."

Zhou Bingkun nodded in response, not saying anything about leaving the broken house there; that is his father's memory, and until it's time to demolish, it cannot fall.

Chatting and laughing after the meal, Wang Yan and Zhou Bingkun went to the garden by the river on the east side to drink tea and smoke.

"Brother, I've negotiated with Shui Zuliu."

"Hmm."

"Back then Luo Shibin kicked him out, and he still remembers it, even calling him a good brother." Zhou Bingkun snorted: "It's just that this person is barely passable, otherwise I'd let him go beg for food with Luo Shibin."

"Play with it as you feel." Wang Yan exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at the sparkling Yintong River: "Since he's begging for food, he must have the appearance of begging for food. After you finish the matter, don't forget to break his two legs, get him a small cart, and let him paddle around for fun."

"Brother, it has to be you who is ruthless enough, but I think it's good; let's do it that way. And I have to get him a sound system, let him perform some talent like those people. Hahaha..."

Zhou Bingkun laughed wildly, looking just like a big villain...

Shui Zuliu tossed and turned, took a car for the whole journey, and he didn't rest, going directly to the Luoshui Group headquarters. In the past, he felt that he and Luo Shibin had achieved some success together, but after seeing the imposing Kun Zheng Building in Jichun, and looking back at the broken six-story building in front of him, a feeling of "it's just like this, no matter how you do it, it's futile" inexplicably arose.

Sighing secretly, he stepped into the building, greeted people along the way, went to the door of the chairman's office on the third floor, knocked on the door, and after getting a positive response, he pushed the door and entered.

Luo Shibin, sitting behind the desk, looked up at his good brother who entered, stood up with an "Oh my": "How is it, Brother Shui? What did Wang Yan and Zhou Bingkun say? Did you see Zheng Juan? What is her meaning? You say you are too, no news for several days; you should have called me from Jichun. This made me anxious. Oh, Brother Shui, sit down, sit down, come, come, drink water, drink water."

After drinking some water, looking at Luo Shibin's anxious appearance, Shui Zuliu pondered for a while, shook his head and sighed: "Binzi, give up; don't think about the child."

"What did they say?"

"Zhou Bingkun said if you dare to secretly go find Jianhua, he will kill us. You know Wang Yan; he's not that easy to talk to. We met, smoked a cigarette, and he sent me away; if he hadn't broken my other leg, it would be his grace." Shui Zuliu said: "This matter, speaking of it, we are in the wrong. Binzi, Wang Yan asked back then: if you wanted the child, he would give him to you; it was you who didn't want him. Yes, you can't have children now, but that's not our reason.

If Wang Yan and Zhou Bingkun were really nothing, that would be easy to talk about. But the problem now is that they can crush us with a flick of their fingers. Besides, whether you can recognize Jianhua or not, he is your child; that is an undeniable fact, so what is the meaning of knowing or not knowing? And Zhou Bingkun is richer and more powerful than us, not to mention there is also a Wang Yan. You also know that Jianhua can't go abroad; what level are they at? Can our little arms and legs compare with them?

Binzi, change your perspective and think: someone else is raising your son for you, and he is the first heir to such a large industry; isn't this great? Isn't it?"

This is the truth, but it is also a method of spiritual victory. For someone who wants a son, this is undoubtedly painful.

Luo Shibin sat on the sofa, his brows tightly furrowed, looking at his good brother with hope: "Is there really no room for maneuver?"

Shui Zuliu shook his head helplessly: "Binzi, they have already been very polite. Put yourself in their shoes; if you were in Bingkun's position, we would have died eight times already."

Luo Shibin lowered his head, covered his face with both hands, and was silent for a long time.

Just as he said to Zheng Juan in the original drama, he thought that having served a few years in prison and losing his fertility was punishment enough. Now, he thinks very simply: the crime has been redeemed, he just wants the child to know he has a biological father; what did he do wrong?

This is a cheap disease that most people have: high demands on others, low standards for themselves. Countless tearful complaints from people who persecuted others and then became victims interpret this truth, and they are interpreting it all the time, and will continue to do so in the future.

After a while, Luo Shibin sighed long, his eyes slightly red, and said to Shui Zuliu: "Brother Shui, you've worked hard on the journey; go back and rest first. I'll treat you to a drink tonight."

Shui Zuliu didn't say much, just patted him on the shoulder, stood up, and left...

In October, Luoshui Group went public, opened high, and everyone was happy.

Zhou Bingkun's subordinates actively connected with other shareholders, planning to kick Luo Shibin out first.

The shares held by Luo Shibin were less than 40%; the remaining shares were held by others, including Shui Zuliu, Luo Shibin's wife Ceng Shan, and Zhou Bingkun's agent, as well as some outstanding employees, who together held more than 30% of the shares, and there were 25% of tradable shares.

With Zhou Bingkun's abundant funds, wanting to deal with those people was really easy.

So, naturally, when they met again after many years, Luo Shibin was not very happy, or it could be said that he wanted to die.

It was already late January 1994, at the shareholders' meeting before the New Year.

Luo Shibin, as a newly risen and recently glorious chairman of a listed company, didn't go early to wait for others, but pressed the time, stepped on the point, and set off from home to the headquarters that had just moved to the building.

When he opened the door and entered the spacious conference room in high spirits, the shareholders inside had long since arrived, and at the same time, the smell of secondhand smoke permeated the air. He couldn't help but frown, because he didn't smoke, and when he held meetings, others generally didn't smoke either. Although it was never explicitly stipulated, these people all knew this was his rule.

What surprised him even more was that he actually saw his wife, Ceng Shan, here. She was lowering her head to trim her nails and didn't look at him. He saw Shui Zuliu sitting by the deputy's side, looking at him with complex eyes.

Finally, his gaze fixed on the main seat in the middle; that was his position, but now someone was sitting there, looking at him with a smile.

"Long time no see."

"It really is long time no see; compared to back then, you're even more spirited." Luo Shibin suppressed the bad feeling in his heart, maintained his demeanor on the surface, and with his hands behind his back, he also smiled: "It's been so many years, and a busy person like you suddenly appears in my company; it's really surprising. I don't know what kind of act this is today?"

"No need to put on an act and pretend to be deep with me." Zhou Bingkun said with a smile: "Since everyone is here, come, Lawyer Zhang, read the documents to him, and convey the attitude of everyone present."

A capable middle-aged man sitting on the side pushed his glasses and stood up, greeted Luo Shibin very politely, and then picked up the document in his hand and read it: "Luoshui Group shares... Mr. Luo, simply put, from now on, the largest shareholder of Luoshui Group is my client, Mr. Zhou Bingkun. At the same time, the directors of the board of directors exercise their rights, with Mr. Zhou Bingkun serving as chairman, and Mr. Zhai Jinghong serving as general manager of Luoshui Group, responsible for company operations, responsible to the directors, and reporting work to the board of directors."

Zhou Bingkun followed up: "That is to say, there is no position for you here, Chairman Luo."

This was bad news; Luo Shibin could no longer maintain his demeanor. He turned his head to look at the others present; there were those he had promoted, his good brothers, and his wife.

Not to mention others, just counting his wife and Shui Zuliu's shares, he had more than 40% of the shares, and counting the subordinates he promoted and rewarded with shares, he could fully reach 51%. He had thought about being betrayed, but he hadn't thought that everyone would betray him; this was the fatal part.

He suppressed the raging anger in his heart and frowned at Zhou Bingkun: "What is your relationship with Shengjie Group?"

"That is mine."

"You have long intended to target us?"

"Obviously." Zhou Bingkun was still smiling like that, full of mockery: "However, I want to correct one point: I am not targeting you guys, but you."

"The matter back then has passed, Zhou Bingkun, why must you be so unforgettable? You could have crushed me at any time, why go to such trouble?" Luo Shibin still had his reason; he didn't dare to speak in detail in public, as that would really be seeking death.

"No other meaning, just to let you feel the feeling of falling from a high platform; I think that feeling must be very good, don't you think?"

"It is very good." Luo Shibin gritted his back teeth, unwilling to look at his smug appearance, and said: "Don't forget, I still hold 38% of Luoshui Group's shares."

"I'm waiting to see how you operate." Zhou Bingkun spread his hands: "Now, we are going to hold a shareholders' meeting; you are also a shareholder, are you interested in listening?"

The shares are under Luo Shibin's name; as long as Luo Shibin doesn't sign to transfer them, or doesn't die, there is no way to get them. But what does that matter? His stocks are restricted; who would take them in this situation? Even if he stubbornly refuses to sign, it doesn't matter; this Luoshui Group can completely delist and go bankrupt; it doesn't matter, just play with him.

Luo Shibin took a deep breath, glared at Zhou Bingkun, turned around, and left. He needed to calm down; everything happened too fast, and although he appeared strong, in reality, he hadn't reacted yet.

Seeing his great enemy leave, Zhou Bingkun smiled, then sat up straight and looked at everyone present: "Alright, next I will talk about the future planning of Luoshui Group."

In the afternoon, Shui Zuliu followed Ceng Shan back to Luo Shibin's home. Both of them knew that at this time, Luo Shibin must be at home; otherwise, where else could he go?

The usually tidy home was now a mess, and one could feel Luo Shibin's anger at a glance. Entering the living room, they saw Luo Shibin sitting on the carpet, drunk, holding a bottle of foreign liquor and drinking from it.

Kicking the glass shards under his feet, Shui Zuliu sighed: "Binzi, why bother?"

Luo Shibin slowly raised his head, his eyes full of confusion: "Why? A brother, a wife, and those white-eyed wolves I promoted with my own hands, why on earth? I don't care about her; I know she has always been for money, but she served me quite well, so I won't say anything. I won't mention those white-eyed wolves; they are all useless. Brother Shui, what about you? Why? We have been brothers for nearly thirty years..."

"From the day you kicked me out of the company, it hasn't been!"

"I did that for the development of the company; I wanted the company to do better, and you produced without even a contract; did I do wrong?"

"And then? You gave me a sum of money and took away half of the shares in my hands; to put it bluntly, where is there any trust left for me? Compared to the current stock price, the money you gave me is more like sending off a beggar. Binzi, it's already this time, why can't you see it clearly? What's the meaning of saying those things? You don't know yet, right? Back when we were in Yangcheng, Zhou Bingkun noticed us. From beginning to end, every move of ours was under his eyes; how can we play with him? Just this, and his brother hasn't even made a move yet."

Shui Zuliu couldn't help but shake his head. He lit a cigarette, exhaled comfortably, his voice still as gentle and calm as usual: "Binzi, don't blame me; I had no choice. You also know how capable Zhou Bingkun is; if I didn't do this, my end wouldn't be much better than yours. In the final analysis, the matter back then was done by you, and now that he is settling old scores, you have to admit it.

If we were still like we were back then, and I was a lonely person with no ties, maybe I would really share life and death with you. But Binzi, we can't go back; we can't go back anymore...

You should understand this little thing; where is there anything that has passed? Where is there any crime that has been redeemed? How could it possibly pass... Binzi, take care of yourself..."

He sighed, looked at the lonely Luo Shibin one last time, turned around without hesitation, and left limping.

He came just to say goodbye to the past and to give an account to his old friend and good brother.

Just as he said, we can't go back; we can't go back anymore...

---Side note---

Thanks to (Hongyan Boming Yingxiong Lei) (Chen Ge 1982) (Qingqing Youyou) (Yuan Kuangshi) for the continued support of the four big brothers.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for the monthly tickets for their support.

Thanks to the brothers who voted for the recommendations for their support.

Thanks to the big brothers who read silently for their support.