1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 372 Six Crimes of September st Daily News
"Hong Kong breaking news, since the explosion at Tsim Sha Tsui Centre in late June, two more bomb attacks occurred in Taikoo Shing and Admiralty Government Offices in July, with more than 20 injured..."

Hong Kong is not peaceful this year.

Just as July began, three bomb explosions occurred in Hong Kong.

Before each explosion, a mysterious person would call the mall and the police in advance to inform them. Before the other party could react, a fireball more than ten feet high would rise up at the scene, full of provocation.

The then Commissioner of Police, Foreigner Ngan Lee-kuo, vowed that the case would be solved within 72 hours.

But now the whole month of July is almost over, and there is still no news about the terrorists.

"The other party claims to be HKTA, the Hong Kong Terrorist Association. They have no reason, no interest, no basis, and only want to cause chaos in the city of Hong Kong."

In the interrogation room, a foreign police officer with the title of Chief Superintendent was asking Zhai Yuan about his situation.

"Mr. Zhai, we understand that you wrote a movie script for Jiahe Film Company called "Police Story 2", which happened to include a plot about terrorists planting bombs in shopping malls. Just one month after Jiahe submitted your script to the relevant departments for review, a series of explosions occurred in Hong Kong. Is there any connection between the two?"

After all, he is a movie tycoon and also a district councilor.

Even when he was invited into the police station for questioning, the officers were still very polite to Zhai Yuan.

But the content of the inquiry made Zhai Yuan feel that it was absurd and funny.

After all this time, the prototype case of "Police Stories 2" was derived from the bombings this year, and now that I have written the script in advance, I am suspected of being related to terrorists?
It seems that to be a plagiarist, one must not only understand the original work, but also be familiar with real cases...

"Sir, it is impossible for my client to predict the future. Besides, film creation is full of wild imagination. If you must make far-fetched claims, please arrest the relevant officials of the script review department. Did they leak the script and lead to copycat crimes? Or are the terrorists inside the Hong Kong government?"

Zhai Yuan, who suffered from the unexpected disaster, did not say a word. The arrogant Shen Wei on the side directly questioned the Chief Superintendent in front of him and put the blame on the inspection department.

The white police superintendent also looked helpless. He signaled his assistant to turn off the recording equipment and said with a bitter face, "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhai. I absolutely believe that these bombings have nothing to do with you, but the incident is too big. The Hong Kong government is in chaos now. As long as there is even the slightest suspicion, the relevant personnel must be asked to come back to assist in the investigation."

"clear."

Zhai Yuan nodded to show his understanding. Three terrorist attacks occurred in a row within one month. Now Hong Kong is like a dead city. All shopping malls have been closed, and even his own 1024 cinema chain has been temporarily closed.

"If I can provide help, I will fully cooperate and bring back those street shovelers as soon as possible."

Zhai Yuan sighed: "But sir, I really can't help you."

"I understand. Thank you for your cooperation." The white police superintendent smiled again and again, glanced at Mr. Shen, and softened his tone and attitude: "However, in this extraordinary period, we also have to submit materials to our superiors. We still have to trouble Mr. Zhai to record a statement."

Shen Weiwang asked Zhai Yuan for his opinion, and the latter nodded slightly.

At this time, a voice was heard outside the door.

"There's no need to record his statement. Mr. Zhai is very busy. Don't waste his precious time."

The door of the interrogation room was opened from the outside.

The white chief superintendent frowned in displeasure and was about to start a reprimand when he saw a familiar face in the crowd outside, he immediately put on a smile.

"Director Yan!"

Zhai Yuan looked in the direction of the voice and it was not difficult to tell from the address that the foreigner in the white shirt in the lead was the current top police officer Yan Liguo.

Standing next to Yan Liguo was an acquaintance, Li Zhiying, who had a kind smile on his face.

……

"I heard you were locked up, so I immediately went to the Commissioner of Police to ask why. Ha! These police officers are really desperate now, so stupid that they dare to arrest anyone."

Came out of the police station and got in the car.

Li Zhiying smiled and explained the reason why he appeared in the police station, and his words revealed his disdain for the police.

"Don't worry, I've already made everything clear. You're my good friend, and no one will dare to cause trouble in the future."

Li Zhiying's tone was as arrogant as ever, and he teased, "But I doubt whether you are a prophet, as you actually wrote down the details of the bombing a month in advance."

Zhai Yuan forced a smile and said, "It was just a coincidence. You don't think I planned this, do you?"

Li Zhiying grinned, looked at Zhai Yuan meaningfully and said, "Why is it you?"

Zhai Yuan's heart skipped a beat, his brows raised, and he stared at Li Zhiying.

Suddenly I remembered that this black-gold governor in front of me had planned more than one such case later, and some of them were even larger in scale and aroused great outrage among both humans and gods.

"Pick! Don't stare at me like that~"

Li Zhiying and Zhai Yuan looked at each other for two seconds, then looked away, with that fat smile on his face again.

He patted Zhai Yuan on the shoulder as if to encourage him: "Let's not talk about the bomb, which is a disappointing thing. Your column "Inland Past" is very good. A group of young people have never seen coal, so they scrambled for coal as snacks to fill their stomachs. I translated it into English and reported it to the "Hong Kong Economic Times" in England and the "New York Times" in the United States. I heard that the foreign readers there waited at the newsstand every day for the serials. It really opened a window to the world!"

The topic changed so smoothly that Zhai Yuan felt more and more that the three series of bomb cases were related to the fat man in front of him.

"Then remember to pay my writers for their work."

Zhai Yuan suppressed his guess and grinned: "Now that I have changed my position, my friends from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles keep calling me to ask if I am rebelling. Hey, isn't it time to take me to see the big boss?"

"Don't worry, there will be a chance sooner or later." Li Zhiying said with a smile: "First, you will take over the sign of the Forbidden Fruit Daily. After that, an overseas trust fund will provide one million US dollars every month for the normal operation of the newspaper. Once your sales volume increases, we can talk about other things."

One million dollars a month, and still have to maintain the loss of "Forbidden Fruit Daily"?

What about sending beggars away?

Zhai Yuan frowned in dissatisfaction: "There is not much surplus left, why not arrange for me to meet with the big boss directly to discuss it?"

Li Zhiying looked at Zhai Yuan for two seconds and said with a smile, "Okay, but I will go to the Philippines to recuperate next month. Let's first sort out the merger of the two newspapers. Are there any contractual issues?"

Zhai Yuan paused, then nodded and said, "Okay."

…………

'Industry restructuring, Forbidden Fruit Daily and September 1st Daily announced a merger, will they linger on or lead a new era? '—— Ming Pao

"The prodigy Yuan suffered a setback in his first venture into the newspaper industry, and lost 50% of his shares in the September st Daily News." - Sing Tao Daily

"Jordan Li founder Li Zhiying has announced his withdrawal from the newspaper industry due to poor management and loss-making business. " - Oriental Daily

Early August.

A series of newspaper headlines announced the merger of the September 1st Daily and the Forbidden Fruit Daily.

The two newspapers were operated for three to two months respectively. One sold at a loss at a low price, and the other was printed in full color. This forced many tabloid newspapers to close down, and major newspapers also complained about it.

The merger and reorganization has received little praise from print media peers, who are full of ridicule. The newspaper still retains the name of "September 1st Daily".

However, the shares were changed into a structure where Zhai Yuan and Li Zhiying each held 50%.

"Each of them holds 50% of the shares? Even if you want to put him on the stage, you should add a third-party shareholder or an independent director. Otherwise, how are you going to kick him out in the future?"

Situ Mingzhu found Li Zhiying and questioned the content of the merger.

"It's impossible. Zhai Yuan is not a puppet. He will do whatever I tell him to do."

Li Zhiying shrugged helplessly: "One million US dollars a month is too little operating funds. He doesn't trust me now. He refuses to agree to arbitration mechanism, third-party shareholders or independent directors, including special voting rights. If there is a management deadlock in the future, he can always raise a flag and start a new business."

Situ Mingzhu frowned and said, "Then you should keep the Forbidden Fruit Daily sign."

"What's the difference?" Li Zhiying smiled indifferently: "Hong Kong has its own inheritance law. Brother Situ, if you want to enter the Legislative Council, you must have obtained the qualification of a licensed lawyer long ago. I don't need to explain too much about these legal provisions, right? I think it's easy to kick him out."

Situ Mingzhu's eyes twitched when he heard this, and he reminded, "It's easy for him to kick you out."

"That's right." Li Zhiying smiled indifferently, "But I can't think of a reason for him to kick me out. Don't forget that I haven't introduced you or Mark Simon and other middlemen to him yet. This young man is just looking for money. He has tried several times to contact the big boss, hoping to increase the price. As long as I hold him back and give him some benefits, it will be enough."

Situ Mingzhu snorted without comment: "You treat others as stinky four all day long, playing so hard, be careful that he will be destroyed."

"Our network is very strong, how could it be broken!" Li Zhiying smiled proudly: "Zhai Yuan has now torn his face with the mainland. The Ta Kung Pao directly listed six of his crimes. Even the Shuangnan Cinema Line of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles announced that it would no longer cooperate with Jiuyi Entertainment or 1024. What other way out does he have except to stay in the network? Don't worry, Brother Situ, I will go to the Philippines for vacation next month. There are several bank projects there. I will give you a copy of them then. Please keep an eye on Hong Kong first..."

…………

"Six charges against the September 1st Daily News?"

The day after the acquisition was completed, Zhai Yuan felt a pain in his cheek when he read the sensational headlines in the mainland newspaper Ta Kung Pao.

"Sister Meng, do you have to be so scary? Have you explained clearly what I did to you as a traitor?"

Near his own factory in Yuen Long, Zhai Yuan met with Aunt Xia Meng and pointed at the newspaper headline with a bitter face.

"You must choose this path. Isn't it time for us to do the whole show?"

Xia Meng smiled and shook his head, teasing, "At present, the only people who know your thoughts are me and a few other friends. The editors of Ta Kung Pao are still in the dark, so the criticism of you as a traitor is all from the bottom of their hearts."

"pick!"

It was rare for Zhai Yuan to swear in front of Xia Meng.

After the two newspapers were reorganized, the editorial staff of the new September 1st Daily retained some remnants of the forbidden fruit.

In addition to the "Past Events in the Mainland" column, it also incorporates the style of Forbidden Fruit itself, which is notorious in the left camp.

So the Ta Kung Pao criticized:
Crime 1: confusing the public.

Crime 2: Vulgar pornography.

Crime three: spreading rumors.

Crime 4: Political suppression.

Crime 5: Attack and vilify at will.

Crime six: Violating media ethics.

Basically, Zhai Yuan only recognized the second and fifth columns, namely the two columns of "Lotto Nightlife" and "Inland Past", and the rest were the work of the Forbidden Fruit Remnants.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Even if I didn't write about forbidden fruit, I would have written about it. Now that I have the initiative in my own hands, the worst that can happen is that I can just shut down the newspaper in the future."

Zhai Yuan scratched his hair vigorously and said, "Also, Shuangnan Cinema Line has now publicly announced that it will no longer co-screen with 1024. Will this affect your scheduling?"

"Take care of yourself first." Xia Meng smiled helplessly: "I really don't understand, when these negative news are written in the newspaper, the foreigners in Europe and the West will actually support it with real money? If you hadn't told me, I would have thought it was a fantasy."

Propaganda and public opinion sounded quite new at that time. A lot of information was not available until the Soviet Union collapsed and the archives were declassified, and we found out that they could still be operated in this way.

Since Xia Meng does not work in the media, her vision is inevitably limited.

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "That's normal. Whether it's sabotaging Hong Kong to create panic or creating a weak imaginary enemy for American citizens, it's worth spending money on foreign propaganda."

"It seems that you have learned a lot of new things after being a newspaper boss for a few days." Xia Meng frowned and asked, "Since the situation is so serious, what are you going to do next? Why not just shut it down as soon as possible."

Zhai Yuan narrowed his eyes and smiled at Xia Meng: "50% equity per person, I don't have the decision-making power now, so wait a little longer."

Send Xia Meng away.

There are two more people in the office.

Satellite and Shen Wei.

"Generally speaking, when a shareholder dies, his or her shares will be transferred to the shareholder's heirs or executed in accordance with the shareholder's will."

Shen Wei explained: "If there are no heirs, according to Hong Kong's Inheritance Law, the deceased's estate will be transferred to the Hong Kong government or acquired by another shareholder, which involves the management, valuation and final distribution of the estate."

Zhai Yuan asked: "To put it simply, if I die now, Li Zhiying can buy out the remaining shares and become the boss?"

Shen Wei hesitated for a moment and said with a wry smile: "Mr. Zhai still has family members who can inherit the shares..."

Zhai Yuan nodded in understanding after hearing this.

Unless his family becomes wealthy, Li Zhiying can regain control of the forbidden fruit or the September 1st newspaper.

That's why he felt confident in merging and reorganizing the two newspaper companies.

Zhai Yuan raised his eyelids and continued to ask: "On the other hand, if I want to control the right to speak for the September 1st Daily now, unless Li Zhiying takes the initiative to transfer his shares, or his whole family becomes rich?"

Shen Wei pursed his lips and hummed softly.

Zhai Yuan nodded.

understood.

Li Zhiying is now certain that he dare not turn against him, it is simply because the so-called big boss has not been introduced to him yet.

Confused!

If I were the only shareholder left in the September 1st Daily, wouldn't the big boss you mentioned come to me on his own initiative?
"I'm planning to go to Japan tomorrow for a short vacation, and by the way, I'll take a look at how the post-production of "Hiroshima Monster" is going. Is Old Xu just slacking off?"

Zhai Yuan smoothed his hair back, exhaled, and looked at Wei Xing beside him: "Brother Xing, did you understand what Lawyer Shen just said?"

(End of this chapter)