amaotonovel Chapter 1338 1988
Chapter 1338 1988
Chapter 1338 1988
Qin Hao arranged a new place for Liang Sichen to stay in an apartment on the Upper East Side of New York, a quiet and secure environment.
That evening, Liang Sichen made an overseas call to her parents.
After the call connected, Liang Sichen's voice was slightly tense: "Dad, Mom, Grandma's will has been published. She left all her property to me."
Due to the nature of their work, Liang Sishen's parents returned to China immediately after her grandmother's funeral and were unaware of what happened afterward. Liang Sishen took a deep breath and recounted the contents of her grandmother's will, as well as the relatives' doubts about its authenticity and their threats to sue her.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Liang's mother's voice came through: "Sishen, money doesn't matter. What worries me is that you'll be all alone in America without anyone to take care of you. Why don't you... come back to China?"
Liang Sichen immediately shook her head, even though her parents couldn't see her: "Mom, I've already been accepted to New York University. Going back now would be a waste of all my efforts."
Mr. Liang sighed, his tone hesitant: "Sishen, actually... our family doesn't lack that little bit of money, so why don't we just let it go? There's no need to ruin our relationship with our relatives over a little inheritance."
Liang Sichen pursed her lips, feeling a little disappointed. She had thought her parents would support her, but they seemed more concerned about what their relatives thought.
Just then, Qin Hao's voice came from the side: "Mr. Liang, I am Lei Hao."
The person on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback, obviously not expecting anyone else to be there.
Qin Hao said calmly, "I think I need to remind you that, firstly, this inheritance is not a small amount; secondly, it was left to Liang Sichen by her maternal grandmother. Whether from the perspective of respecting the wishes of the elderly or from the perspective of respecting Liang Sichen's wishes, she should inherit this inheritance."
He paused, then said solemnly, "Putting everything else aside, that villa alone holds so many shared memories between Liang Sichen and her grandmother over the years. These are things that money can't buy."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. Mr. and Mrs. Liang exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shame—as parents, they had failed to consider things from their daughter's perspective, and had even almost sided with those so-called relatives to harm her.
Mr. Liang took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Mr. Lei, I've often heard Sishen mention you before, and I'm sorry to have made you laugh at me. We, as parents, have not put ourselves in Sishen's shoes... Thank you so much, otherwise we don't know what we might have done to hurt Sishen."
Liang's mother's voice choked with sobs: "Sishen, I'm sorry, Mom was wrong. No matter what you do, Dad and Mom will support you. Please forgive us, okay?"
Liang Sichen's eyes reddened, and tears silently streamed down her face: "Mom and Dad, I don't blame you... but I'm very happy that you understand and support me."
Upon hearing this, Liang's mother burst into tears, and Liang's father also couldn't help but shed tears.
Seeing the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Qin Hao changed the subject at the right time: "Mrs. Liang, although the will states that all the property is left to Liang Sichen, she is not yet eighteen years old. If your relatives request to become her guardians, they can handle these inheritances on her behalf before she comes of age."
He said calmly, "Tomorrow I will have my legal department prepare a guardianship agreement and send it to you. After you sign it, fax it over so I can arrange a lawyer for Liang Sichen to respond to the lawsuit."
Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Liang fell silent. Although their daughter had mentioned Qin Hao before, they had never met him and were inevitably worried about his true intentions.
Sensing her parents' concerns, Liang Sichen said directly, "Mom and Dad, I trust Hao Ge 100%, so just do as he says."
Although his daughter said that, after receiving the fax the next day, Mr. Liang still asked a translator who was fluent in English to translate the entire contract into Chinese. He also asked a friend who was familiar with American law to check the risks word by word. Only after confirming that there were no problems did he sign and fax it back.
Liang Sichen's maternal relatives were incredibly efficient; they took her to court just a week later. Qin Hao arranged a top-notch legal team for her, and they caught the opposing side completely off guard as soon as the trial began.
The opposing lawyer was initially full of confidence, but when Qin Hao's lawyer presented the complete notarized will, witness testimonies, and even a recording of Liang Sichen's grandmother speaking to the lawyer before her death, the opposing defense appeared weak and powerless.
The result was self-evident—Liang Sichen won the case.
At first, these relatives thought it was because their lawyer was incompetent, so they went to a larger law firm. However, after hearing about Qin Hao's legal team and the chain of evidence, the firm immediately shook its head: "Even if you find the same legal team that defended Hinckley, you still can't win this case."
However, these relatives were still unwilling to give up and spent a lot of money to hire an even more expensive legal team to appeal, and the result was, of course, an inevitable defeat.
Now, they've completely given up hope.
To Liang Shenshen's surprise, these relatives were surprisingly kind to her after the appeal failed. Some even came to her door with smiles on their faces and said, "Shenshen, the lawsuit wasn't about fighting you for the inheritance. We were worried that you were too young to manage these assets, so we wanted to help you manage them first and then return them to you when you come of age..."
Liang Sichen was completely bewildered by what these people were saying. She was very intelligent, but when it came to this kind of social etiquette, she couldn't help but scratch her head.
"Isn't their attitude strange?" Qin Hao asked with a smile on the way back.
Liang Sichen nodded repeatedly: "Yes, even though they lost the case, why are they being so polite to me?"
Qin Hao smiled and said, "The reason is actually very simple—if your grandmother's inheritance had been divided up by them, you, her niece, would naturally be dispensable. But now that the inheritance is in your hands, of course they will try to curry favor with you."
He paused, then said meaningfully, "There's a Chinese proverb: 'When you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, even distant relatives come to visit.' That's the point."
Liang Sichen suddenly realized: "So that's how it is!"
After the lawsuit ended, Mr. and Mrs. Liang were extremely grateful to Qin Hao and made a special call: "Mr. Lei, thanks to you this time, Si Shen was able to inherit the estate smoothly. After you return to China, you must come to our house so we can thank you in person."
Qin Hao smiled and agreed, "Definitely."
The two lawsuits lasted nearly two months, and Liang Sichen is about to start her studies at New York University.
The day before school started, Qin Hao took her to a Western restaurant.
"Brother Hao, can I still visit your company when I have time off in the future?" Liang Sichen asked nervously, pursing her lower lip.
Qin Hao raised an eyebrow: "Of course you can, but you're an adult now. You can't just sit around doing nothing like before. You have to help me with the work."
Liang Sichen's eyes lit up, and she replied with a smile, "No problem! But you have to pay me accordingly; I can't work for you for free."
Qin Hao deliberately put on a stern face: "Of course you can, but you have to be prepared to get scolded if you don't do things well."
Liang Sichen snorted: "Hmph, I won't give you that chance!"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
……
Time flies, and it's already 1988.
In the past two years, Haoran International's stock price has risen to HK$68, and its market capitalization has exceeded HK$10 billion. The soaring stock price is due to two main factors: the recovery of the Hong Kong stock market and Haoran International's continuous breakthroughs in operating performance.
Among them, the high-tech industrial park invested by Donghai played a key role—not only in reducing costs, but more importantly in integrating the upstream and downstream industrial chains. The resulting scale effect made Donghai Port the busiest port in the mainland, without exception.
Compared to two years ago, Haoran International's foreign trade orders have also undergone significant changes - from initially focusing on low-end and mid-range products to gradually shifting to mid-to-high-end products.
Of course, this process was not smooth, and it was met with resistance from Japanese and South Korean companies, especially Japanese companies. But Qin Hao's choice to enter the mid-to-high-end market at this time was for a reason—after the Plaza Accord, the United States had been continuously exploiting Japan, and its suppression of Japanese companies had never stopped.
Many South Korean companies were supported by the United States during this period to suppress Japanese companies. Haoran International's push into the mid-to-high-end market at this time, in a sense, was also impacting Japanese companies. Therefore, the United States turned a blind eye to Haoran International's actions and did not intervene.
Qin Hao also took advantage of this time to gradually establish several new mid-to-high-end brands, effectively enriching Haoran International's product line.
In March, the grass grows and the birds sing. For the past two years, Qin Hao has spent most of his time in the United States building a mid-to-high-end brand, rarely returning to China. Taking advantage of March's off-season, he decided to return home and give himself a break.
Shanbei Brigade.
When Qin Hao's Crown sedan slowly drove into the village entrance, it didn't cause much of a stir. The deepening of reform and opening up had made the villagers accustomed to cars, and the initial novelty had long since worn off.
"What's so interesting about it? It's just a Japanese car. If you ask me, Mr. Yang is much more impressive; he drives an American car!" a villager said dismissively.
"I heard Yang Xun is worth tens of millions. Haozi has probably been struggling these past few years; he can't even afford to change his car," another person chimed in.
With the car window open, Qin Hao heard all the villagers' chatter and couldn't help but chuckle—the phrase "returning home in glory" was indeed quite fitting.
Of course, not everyone is snobbish. Mr. and Mrs. Song didn't care what kind of car Qin Hao drove; when he parked in the yard, the two elders immediately came to greet him.
After exchanging pleasantries, Song's mother made Qin Hao a bowl of hot noodles. As he ate, he listened to them talk about the changes in Shanbei Brigade over the past two years.
The biggest change is in Xiaolei Village—
The wire factory and cattle farm grew larger and larger, and Lei Dongbao even acquired a state-owned copper factory. Today, every villager in Xiaolei Village receives a pension and can get medical expenses reimbursed, enjoying better benefits than some state-owned factories.
The other production teams in Shanbei Brigade were extremely envious. Xiaolei Village had completely shed its reputation as a "bachelor village." As soon as the adult men in the village reached marriageable age, people would come to propose marriage.
Speak of the devil, and he appears. Qin Hao had just finished eating his noodles when Lei Dongbao rode in on a brand-new motorcycle, rushing into the yard at breakneck speed.
"Haozi! You're finally back!" Lei Dongbao jumped out of the car laughing and patted Qin Hao on the shoulder: "Come on, let's go to my house for a drink!"
Qin Hao shook his head with a smile: "You're still as energetic as ever."
Lei Dongbao grinned: "Hehe, isn't it because you're such a busy person and it's rare for you to come back? If I don't hurry up, I don't know when I'll be able to see you again."
Qin Hao smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then turned to Song's parents and said, "Dad, Mom, Dongbao and I are going over there for a bit, we'll be back later."
He then took out a few gifts from the car trunk before getting on the back of the motorcycle.
Lei Dongbao grinned: "Look at you, being so polite with me again..."
"Don't give me that. If I go empty-handed, my aunt will give me a hard time," Qin Hao said with a laugh.
Lei Dongbao felt a little embarrassed by what was said, so he quickly turned on the accelerator and sped out of the yard.
"Slow down. I'm asking you to ride a bike, not to participate in a cross-country championship. You may not be afraid of dying, but I am."
Lei Dongbao sped along the way, and Qin Hao cursed him in annoyance, which made Lei Dongbao slow down.
Before long, they arrived at Xiao Lei's house. The original farmland was almost gone, and the brick factory and cattle farm were much larger than before.
Lei Dongbao said with a hint of pride, "How about it, Haozi? The Lei family has changed quite a bit in the past two years, hasn't it?"
As they spoke, they arrived in the village. Along the way, there were two- or three-story villas everywhere, mostly modeled after those built by the Song family. From a distance, they really did look like a villa complex.
"Look how smug you are, you're practically wagging your tail in the air." Qin Hao laughed and scolded, but still nodded in agreement: "Xiao Lei is lucky to have you as their Party Secretary."
Lei Dongbao was a little embarrassed by the praise: "Hehe, you also deserve credit for this. If it weren't for the ideas you gave me, I wouldn't be where I am today."
As they spoke, the motorcycle stopped in front of a newly completed three-story villa. Qin Hao frowned: "If I remember correctly, this should be my home, right?"
Lei Dongbao quickly explained, "It's not that you've been away from home all this time. Two years ago, there was a heavy rain here, and your roof collapsed. After that, every household in the village built a new house, and I thought I might as well tear down the old house and rebuild it."
Seeing Qin Hao remain silent for a long time, Lei Dongbao became somewhat nervous: "Haozi, I know I acted on my own initiative. I was just thinking that all the ideas you've given me over the years have helped our Lei family so much, and we don't have any other way to help you, so..."
Qin Hao patted Lei Dongbao on the shoulder: "Alright, Dongbao, I understand your intentions. Let's go, let's go to your place for a drink."
"Sigh, I knew Haozi understood me. Let's drink! We'll definitely have a good time today!"
When Qin Hao arrived at Lei Dongbao's house, he found that it was still the same mud house, and he couldn't help but frown.
"Haozi, don't misunderstand. It's not that I don't have the money to build a new house. The main problem is that there are still many poor households in the village who haven't built one yet. As the Party Secretary, if I don't help them build new houses first, how can I live in a new house?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao couldn't help but give Lei Dongbao a thumbs up: "Dongbao, putting everything else aside, I admire you for this alone!"