My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 296 - 204: Scapegoat

Chapter 296: Chapter 204: Scapegoat

Xu Group.

Since yesterday, two pieces of news had started spreading rapidly within the entire company.

One said that the Xu Group had precisely fallen into a pit before the vaccine incident exploded, with nine billion yuan in funds deeply trapped in the stock market, leaving the company’s financial chain on the brink of danger!

The second piece of news happened in Anxi City, Shan Province.

It said that the current CEO of the group, Xu Jingsong, had gone ahead with a villa project at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, fully aware that the procedures were incomplete and in violation of national regulations.

Although he had obtained the construction permit under the guise of tourism development, he secretly carried out villa construction.

He was also suspected of acquiring land use procedures and other irregular operations through illegal means.

On the internet, some related document photos were even leaked, claiming it was all factual and evidenced!

Finally, the message ambiguously revealed,

that now the local relevant departments in Anxi City had received relevant materials and had already intervened in the investigation. The project had been forced to halt, and Xu Jingsong might even end up in prison, and so on...

...

"Bang!" "Damn it!"

Xu Jingsong slammed the table, his face livid.

"Who is it? Who is behind this sabotage!"

"I am still investigating, but it seems the news came from within the company. So, I think it’s very likely that there is a mole!"

"Find them! Find this person for me!" Xu Jingsong was uncontrollably angry.

"Mr. Xu, if the other party came prepared, we might have difficulty catching them.

The most urgent thing now is to think about how to remedy the situation!"

Cui Jizhong suggested.

Once he received the message, he had already realized the seriousness of the problem.

These two pieces of news.

The nine billion in funds being deeply trapped is true, the company’s financial chain being in critical danger is false.

The illegal use of land is true, Xu Jingsong going to prison is false...

The mastermind behind this obviously mixed truth with lies.

The two explosive false pieces of news were clearly meant to attract public attention, presumably with the intent of pushing Xu Jingsong into the limelight.

"Getting stuck in the investment is one thing, but how could the villa project at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains suddenly be exposed?"

Xu Jingsong paced with a grim expression.

Watching Chang Chun Biological’s trading limit down every day for the past few days had already made him extremely irritable.

And now, someone was spreading rumors that he was about to be "put away"?

How could he tolerate this?

"Here’s the situation: today, an official from Shan Province suddenly called me, first complaining about how we were being targeted.

He also said that due to recent tight investigations, once the news spread, they had no choice but to temporarily suspend the construction for safety reasons."

Cui Jizhong reported.

"Damn it! That project was almost finished!" Xu Jingsong was pained by the losses the suspension would cause.

The Xu Group’s main businesses include finance, real estate, hotels, tourism, healthcare...

Among these, Changqing Biological was the main company laid out in the healthcare sector; however, that part was obviously ruined now.

Real estate was the pillar industry of the Xu Group, which was also the foundation of their fortune.

Their real estate development projects were spread all over the country, even extending to overseas properties.

With domestic housing prices soaring in recent years, the Xu family had made a fortune!

Moreover, the real estate industry was known for its snowball-style debt-driven development model, which rapidly expanded the group’s size.

After diversified development, the group had achieved its current scale.

The villa project at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains was one of the real estate projects handled by a subsidiary of the group after Xu Jingsong took over as CEO of the group.

Its profits were extremely substantial!

Of course, high returns naturally did not come without risks.

"Qinling" is China’s geographical dividing line between north and south and a key ecological barrier nourishing the 800-mile Qin Chuan area.

It has always been known as "China’s Central Park" and "China’s Green Lung."

It serves many functions including climate moderation, soil and water conservation, water source enrichment, and biodiversity maintenance.

In recent years, numerous illegal villas had emerged around Qinling, resulting in the occupation of a vast amount of agricultural and forest land.

To protect Qinling, the Shan Province government issued in 2003 the "Notice on Carrying Out Special Rectification Work for the Ecological Environment Protection of the Northern Foothills of the Qinling Mountains" which explicitly stated,

"Prohibit any unit and individual from engaging in real estate development, constructing commercial housing, and private villas in the northern foothill area of the Qinling Mountains."

But for Shan Province, whose economic conditions were far less than that of coastal provinces, the northern foothills of Qinling were undoubtedly an extremely tempting source of fiscal revenue.

As the saying goes, there’s a policy above and countermeasures below.

"Tourism development land" thus became a breakthrough point for real estate developers.

For the sake of fiscal funds, the local authorities turned a blind eye.

Originally, this matter was tacitly understood.

The government sold the land, property developers made money, wealthy people got green mountains and clear waters, and everybody quietly made a fortune.

After a few years, once it became a fait accompli, then the villa clusters too would become a historical issue...

As for environmental protection, that was naturally left to future generations.

After my death, why should I care if the flood is overwhelming?

That’s why, in 2014, there were only over 200 illegal villas in the northern foothills of Qinling, but by 2018, it had reached over a thousand, showing the craziness of its development.

This was also why Xu Jingsong was fearless in initiating this project.

However, this matter was, after all, an illegal development and involved some secretive under-the-table deals, initially known only to him and Cui Jizhong among a few others.

Being exposed today, if someone higher up really started an investigation, it would indeed be a significant but manageable problem...