Chapter 235: The Crazy Little Butterfly

When Wu Shengli and Su Ma returned to the house, they saw Su Ya with her head down, wielding a rolling pin, furiously beating the sun-dried quilt in the yard that smelled strongly of sunshine.

"This girl, is she trying to beat the cotton out?"

Seeing her daughter's unusual behavior, Su Ma immediately went over and took the rolling pin away. Su Ya blushed, turned, and went back inside.

Seeing his daughter's strange state, Su Ma was puzzled.

Watching this scene from his own room, Li Xian touched his lips, still lingering with the fragrance, and chuckled into the phone, "Brother Xu, I'll head to Harbin shortly!"

Hearing this, Wu Shengli put aside the large carp that was still flapping in the plastic bag and asked, "Son, why are you leaving just after coming back?"

Li Xian, discreetly covering his slightly swollen face, replied, "Ah, there's a little issue."

...

In Ice City.

At Xu Mahe's house, the rarely used air conditioner was whirring, blowing cool air. However, Li Xian didn't find it very comfortable.

The room was smoky, as if someone had thrown a smoke grenade into the final circle of a game.

"Now that I think about it, I'm just a country bumpkin!" Xu Mahe had become dejected recently, no longer using his expensive Kouros perfume. His appearance had become more downbeat, wearing a big vest and loose shorts at home, looking both gloomy and silly.

Smashing his head with a cigarette butt, Xu Mahe stubbed it out in the melon rind.

"Enough whining."

Li Xian wrinkled his nose, waved his hand, turned off the air conditioner with the remote, and opened the window.

With the windows opened, the smoke quickly dissipated, but the room still carried the smell of tobacco.

Seeing over ten million yuan wasted and no sign of it coming back, Xu Mahe was really burning with anger.

Li Xian, standing by the window in the hot air, could understand his frustration. Reflecting on it, Xu Mahe's investment was made at the right time with favorable conditions. Even though Russia was a bit chaotic, the government was stable now. It would be impossible to recreate the chaos like Gaidar's downfall.

If this had happened to him, he would also be furious.

"Xianzi..."

Xu Mahe was about to light another cigarette, but hearing the lighter flick, Li Xian turned around and snatched the cigarette and lighter, tossing them out onto the balcony.

"Stop smoking. I just want to ask, do you want that money back or not?"

"Yes!" Xu Mahe answered resolutely.

"Then fine," Li Xian said, placing his hands on his hips, "We'll use some tricks."

"What tricks? This bastard is nowhere to be found. Even if we find him, what can we do? I was thinking of finding a chance to kidnap him and force him to return the money, but he's always surrounded by bodyguards!" Xu Mahe's face showed a hint of bitterness.

Seeing Xu Mahe's pitiful look, Li Xian smirked and took out a piece of paper from his pocket, which contained all the methods he could think of to ruin Wang Hongcheng from the trip here: "Try everything we can think of. Whether we hit the rabbit or not, we should at least grab some grass first."

...

At a certain department's cafeteria in the capital city, Wang Hongcheng was chatting and laughing with a group of experts.

Wang Hongcheng had been doing well recently.

After ten years of accumulation, he was surrounded by praise and admiration wherever he went.

Previously, he had to put a lot of effort into demonstrating the water-to-oil technology to impress people, but now his reputation was established, and he didn't need to do that anymore.

Watching the experts in front of him ask almost reverently about his latest scientific invention—the Wang's Perpetual Motion Machine—its principles and production feasibility, Wang Hongcheng waved his hand, "The principle is too complex. I've been researching perpetual motion machines since I was young. Over the decades, I've tried thousands of methods and made countless mistakes before finally succeeding. It's hard to explain in a short time. Since the leaders are here, let's not discuss it. I plan to invite domestic and international industry authorities to demonstrate the perpetual motion machine publicly. I'll invite you all to the event then."

Upon hearing this, the experts' eyes lit up.

"That sounds great!"

"I always thought that a perpetual motion machine would never be invented by humans. I'm amazed..."

Seeing an old expert sighing, Wang Hongcheng threw his wine glass on the table, crossed his legs, and waved grandly to the leaders and experts, "As researchers, the worst attitude is to believe everything others say! Thousands of years ago, who could have imagined that airplanes could fly thousands of kilometers in a day? Hundreds of years ago, who could have imagined rockets sending people into space? If we always use empirical attitudes in research, how can we make progress? The most important thing in research is to negate everything! Only by doing so can we achieve success. I refuse to believe that there's anything impossible in the world. As long as we're willing to climb and work hard, there's nothing that the Chinese people can't accomplish."

"Comrade Wang is right!"

"That's the attitude towards research! Comrade Wang, we've learned a lot!"

"Cheers to Comrade Wang's words and to the upcoming advancements in Chinese technology. Let's drink to that!"

The table saw another round of toasts.

At this moment, Wang Hongcheng's cell phone on the table rang.

He answered it, then waved to the group of people holding their wine glasses, saying, "There's something happening in the lab," and left the room.

"Brother, what's going on?"

Outside the cafeteria, Wang Hongcheng lowered his voice on the phone.

"Chengdi, damn it. The court called and said someone sued us for fraud."

Hearing this, Wang Hongcheng coldly smiled, "Which court? Ice City?"

Receiving confirmation from his cousin, Wang Hongcheng relaxed. He looked around, seeing that the corridor was empty, and walked away from the cafeteria while instructing, "Ignore that guy. I'll call Director Wang later and let him handle it. I'm in the capital right now, so don't call me unless it's urgent. Keep a close watch on the factory, and no production in the workshop. Handle the rest yourself."

He hung up the phone.

...

Harbin Hongcheng Company.

Wang Hongcheng's cousin, Yuan Guoqing, felt relieved after hanging up the phone.

He had mixed feelings about Wang Hongcheng.

At the beginning of the water-to-oil technology, he didn't believe it at all. They had grown up together, and he knew his cousin's capabilities. A bus driver with only a fourth-grade education, could he really make soap, let alone turn water into oil?

In the 80s, he had a low opinion of Wang Hongcheng.

However, as the water-to-oil technology created a buzz in Longjiang Province, the Three Eastern Provinces, and then nationwide, and as more honors and accolades piled up on his cousin, Yuan Guoqing began to feel uncertain.

Could his aunt's child really be a genius with unlearned skills?

With this thought, Yuan Guoqing quit his job as a technician at a farm machinery factory and joined his cousin. But after a few months working with Wang Hongcheng, he discovered—he had been right.

His cousin was a fraud!

But there are different kinds of fraudsters. By the time Yuan Guoqing joined, Wang Hongcheng had already become a master fraudster, deceiving academic experts and technology leaders alike.

Seeing Wang Hongcheng mingling with government officials and buying several properties and cars, Yuan Guoqing was tempted.

As the only person related to Wang Hongcheng by blood in the company, Yuan Guoqing quickly became the vice president, handling everything for the company when Wang Hongcheng was absent.

Just after hanging up the phone, there was a knock at the office door.

"Who's there?"

He quickly put the investment records into the drawer and asked loudly.

Outside, the secretary's voice came, "Vice President Yuan, someone is here to see you. They say they are from a brokerage firm."

"A brokerage firm?" Yuan Guoqing stood up suspiciously. Opening the door, he saw a man around thirty years old, looking quite capable, behind the secretary.

"What do you want?" Yuan Guoqing asked, eyeing the visitor.

The man smiled ingratiatingly, handing over a business card... and an envelope.

"Vice President Yuan, I have a favor to ask. Please give me a chance."

Yuan Guoqing took the business card and envelope, his eyes brightening. The envelope was thick, filled with a wad of cash.

He immediately waved the secretary away and invited the visitor in.

The visitor straightforwardly explained that due to business needs, they wanted to use a company with strength and limited business like Hongcheng to issue invoices for a certain amount to be used for tax evasion and other purposes.

Yuan Guoqing understood the ins and outs of it.

The visitor, seeing him silent and smiling, promptly made a promise—actual value twelve, with half of the extra going to Hongcheng.

Hearing this, Yuan Guoqing laughed heartily, "I thought it was something serious. Brother Lü, it's just invoices! Leave it to me!"

The visitor was pleased with his agreement but seemed worried, "Vice President Yuan, I must let you know that our company has a high demand for invoice amounts."

Yuan Guoqing's smile grew wider.

Since Hongcheng Company had no external business, with its diesel foaming agents, water solutions, and other products still not in production, despite Wang Hongcheng's grand reputation, the company's books were dismal. Wang Hongcheng had been worried about how to make the company's finances look better to attract investment.

Now, with someone offering to issue invoices, it was a win-win situation!

Moreover, issuing invoices was an easy way to make money. Although Yuan Guoqing was a vice president, his salary was low.

Seeing great potential in this, he was eager.

He thumped his chest and said, "Brother Lü, if you can find another company like Hongcheng in Harbin, I won't charge you a penny for issuing invoices!"

Manager Lü from Tianzhong Brokerage Company nodded with his fists clenched and a smile, "Then I'll leave it to you, Vice President Yuan. Let's arrange it now. Let's have some fun tonight. Vice President Yuan, would you grace us with your presence?"