Lin Xiao qia was enraged by the two young officers. He took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and then blew the smoke across the table at the two men. He slammed his hands heavily on the table. "I've seen plenty of cocky cops, but this is the first time I've seen one who talks back to me. Maybe it's because I've always run a legitimate business and haven't had much contact with people like you. When did cops become so arrogant? You can't refuse, huh? Fine, how about we take you to shooting range right now?! Trying to scare me? Even Foreign Devil wouldn't dare talk to me like that! Say it again, and I'll have my lawyer come see me!"
After being taken back to the Marine Police Headquarters, no one paid any attention to him for a long time. When he asked to call his lawyer to come over, he was ignored. After waiting for two hours, two seemingly useless young men finally appeared and asked him questions. They immediately adopted a tone that made it clear that he, Lin Xiao qia, was the recipient of the rubber tree seedlings.
Lin Xiao qia's self-control was already quite good; if it were a younger Lin Xiaosen, he might have immediately started arguing with the two policemen.
"Our questioning is not over, Mr. Lin, and we will not grant your request," the policeman holding the pen said firmly.
Lin Xiao qia slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and walked towards the door. "Then I'll go make the call myself!"
He had only taken two steps when he heard a familiar sound—the sound of a pistol being released. Lin Xiao qia turned around in disbelief, looking at the two Political Department policemen who had stood up at the table. "You two lowly cops dare point guns at me? Do you think you're Foreign Devil Britain soldiers?!"
One of the police officers had already pointed his pistol at him, while another calmly said, "Mr. Lin, you should calm down. We're not Foreign Devil, but we are Britain citizens. I hope you can cooperate with our investigation. The biggest difference between the Political Department and other departments of the Police Force is that we treat China person in Hong Kong the same, regardless of their wealth, because we don't need to rely on wealthy China person to pay our dues. If he fires a warning shot, you won't be put in a detention cell, but will be directly transferred to the Political Department Small Prison located in the military barracks in Kowloon Kwun Tong, Kowloon. So, I advise you to calm down and cooperate with our work."
After standing there for a few minutes, Lin Xiao qia slowly walked back to his seat and sat down. "Provocation won't work. Someone wants to trap me in this short time? Not so easy. You say I'm the receiver? Fine, where's the evidence?"
"Here are a few photos, Mr. Lin, please take your time to look at them." Seeing Lin Xiao qia return to his seat, the officer put away his service weapon, took three or four photos from a file folder on the table, and pushed them in front of Lin Xiao qia: "This is evidence obtained by the Political Department. Forgive my bluntness, Mr. Lin, but for other departments of the Police Force, a few photos may not be convincing, but for the Political Department, it is sufficient."
Lin Xiao qia picked up the photos. The first one was of him and other Big Brother, including Wo On Lok and Su Wenting, being detained by the military and police. The second one was a photo of him meeting Da Zui Cai at a teahouse.
"You must have heard about the allegations that several members of Wo On Lok are involved in smuggling contraband in the Federation of Malaya, and that the sailor who scattered tree seeds on this cargo ship tonight has Wo On Wo On Lok connections. Can we talk about that now, Mr. Lin?"
"Tell all the securities companies that as soon as the exchange opens, dump all the shares of Xizhen Properties and Prosperity Rubber. Let everyone see that we're ready to cash out and leave at any cost. Don't hold back. We need to tell everyone that the Lin Family is in big trouble this time." Jonathan Gore threw the English newspaper he was holding back on the table, dialed Luo Zhuankun's office number, and got straight to the point.
Actually, even without the Britain's instructions, Luo Zhuankun knew what to do. He had already contacted several securities companies, including the Jardine Group securities company that had previously agreed to help Zhaofeng Trading Securities borrow shares.
However, when Jonathan Gore called, Luo Zhuankun couldn't help but ask, "When are you planning to take in more shares?"
"Buy it? What's the point of buying such lousy stocks? Of course, we'll make a quick buck and walk away, never to look at them again. That's more like our style. All that talk about a snake swallowing an elephant, or acquiring Xizhen Properties, is just a smokescreen. We're going to dump them all," Jonathan Gore said with a grin.
With so much news, the stock might be suspended from trading.
"Of course trading will be suspended. It will probably be suspended about half an hour after the market opens, so you need to act quickly within that half hour and sell as much as possible. The Lin Family did something that displeased the Britain, so the Britain- run stock exchange won't give them much time. I think trading will be suspended in the morning and resume after lunch. At that time, you still need to maintain a strong momentum so that the Shanghai people who still have illusions can't hold back and start selling off their shares. Then, Jardine will come out to clean up the mess."
"Jardine? Shouldn't it be us?" Luo Zhuankun paused for a moment on the phone. "You mean the Lin Family's stock...?"
"Mr. Luo, this is Hong Kong in Britain. You must understand that in the face of class distinctions, rules and contracts are worthless. The only rule is that in Hong Kong, regardless of whether we or the Lin Family have the last laugh, the Britain will always reap the benefits. This is the topic Mr. Song and I discussed when we met with John Keswick last time. The Lin Family clearly doesn't share Mr. Song's understanding. Therefore, Jardine has a greater affinity for Mr. Song than for the Lin Family. With the Lin Family in trouble, as the second-largest shareholder, Jardine now has a legitimate reason to formally take over Xizhen Properties."
Chapter 410 Zheng Ruilian
"Sister Xiang... no, let's just call her Sister Ling. It's rare that you have time to come back and visit. Six... isn't she busy these days? Speaking of which, there are fewer and fewer elderly people in the family. In recent years, many new people have been added, but they always seem less steady in their work than you were back then." Madam Zheng Ruilian, the second wife of the Lin Family, returned from her stroll in the small garden and saw Sister Xiang standing outside her door. She spoke with some surprise and delight.
When Lin Xizhen was alive, some of the servants and other subordinates who worked for the Lin Family dispersed after Lin Xizhen death. When Hong Kong fell to the Japanese and the Lin Family went to Guangzhou for refuge, some more dispersed. Later, Lin Xiaoze, Lin Xiaohe, and Lin Xiaosen returned to Hong Kong to take charge of the family business, dismissing many of the older members of the Lin Family and replacing them with many new faces. As she grew older and her memory declined, Zheng Ruilian could hardly remember Lin Family servants by name anymore. Most of them were people who joined the Lin Family when she was older and did not have a deep master-servant relationship with her.