52: Chapter 52 Property Rights Disputes

"Alright, let's eat first," Elder Chen interrupted the discussion.

"Teacher, this is Ganoderma pork bone soup. It's made with wild purple Lingzhi I found in the mountains. Please try some. This is yam stewed with pig's trotter; the yam is also wild old yam. You should take some back with you later..." This wasn't the teacher's house, so one shouldn't talk too much during the meal. Cao Xiao enthusiastically placed food into his teacher's bowl.

Elder Chen looked at his bowl, where the food completely covered the rice. He interrupted with a wry smile, "Alright, that's enough. Hurry up and eat yourself."

Wang Chengan and Ren Pingnian watched the teacher and student with envious eyes. They both had the thought: maybe they should also take on a student to show them filial piety; it seemed even more heartwarming than having children or grandchildren.

Cao Xiao's cooking skills weren't exactly top-tier, but since the ingredients were all natural and wild, they had a unique flavor. Before long, the food on the table was wiped clean. The ones who ate the most weren't Cao Xiao or Chen Huaiyu's driver and secretary, but rather the elderly men.

After the meal, everyone went to the living room. Cao Xiao brewed tea in glass cups for everyone and placed a plate of flowers and fruits picked from the garden on the coffee table.

"Teacher, tell me what's going on," Cao Xiao asked Elder Chen after sitting down.

"I'll be the one to tell you," Chen Huaiyu took over the conversation. "You should have some understanding of the original owner of Tianxing Garden. The problem now doesn't lie with him; after all, he's been sentenced and won't be out for eight or ten years. The issue now is the property rights of Tianxing Garden. You might not know, but this woodland was invested in by two people at the time. The other investor was Dong Xunli. You shouldn't be a stranger to Yunkai Group; it's a multinational group in Southeast Asia, and Dong Xunli is the eldest son of the chairman of Yunkai Group. At the same time, Dong Xunli is the deputy general manager and a shareholder of Yunkai Group, owning three percent of its shares. His investment in Tianxing Garden at the time accounted for forty percent. He was also involved in that incident and originally should have been sentenced, but he is not a citizen of this country. Yunkai Group has great international influence, and we could do nothing to him. We only confiscated his illegal gains, which included Tianxing Garden. We thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, he saw the chicken blood stone you placed at the entrance online and developed wicked ideas again. Through some means and internal operations within Yunkai Group, he laundered the investment funds of Tianxing Garden and transferred the shares to Yunkai Group. Recently, he filed for arbitration through the court, demanding the return of forty percent of the shares. The court did not accept it, but Yunkai Group took the matter to an international arbitration institution, and arbitration will be initiated soon. You know how those foreign messes go; our chances of winning are not high. He also exerted pressure on us through the environmental protection and resource departments, starting with the undeveloped half of the woodland, attempting to force us to hand over the remaining shares to him. We did not compromise and have been wrestling with him these past two days. Therefore, you must be prepared to lose Tianxing Garden. If it truly becomes impossible, we will refund your transfer and contracting fees. If you still want to lease land, we will also provide you with some favorable conditions."

Cao Xiao remained silent, his mind constantly thinking. He hadn't expected things to be so complicated. It not only involved a major international group but also the nature of the land at Tianxing Garden. He knew of Yunkai Group; it was ranked over 240th among the Fortune Global 500 companies, with a market value of tens of billions of us dollar, involving multiple livelihood industries and possessing huge influence in Southeast Asia. To Cao Xiao, it was a colossus, impossible to face head-on. But it wasn't that there was no way to solve this, though even if it were solved, it would be equivalent to offending Yunkai Group. However, he could not retreat. This was China; as long as he was law-abiding, what could Yunkai Group do to him? At most, he would just have to be careful when going abroad in the future.

Having made up his mind, he slowly raised his head and said with a firm gaze, "Big Brother, I've decided. I'm keeping Tianxing Garden, and no one is taking it away!"

"It's good that you've thought it through. It's no big deal, a great man can... What? You said you're not giving up on Tianxing Garden?" Chen Huaiyu thought Cao Xiao had thought it through and decided to give up on Tianxing Garden. In his view, there was no need to clash with Yunkai Group over a small property. Although Tianxing Garden was rare, it wasn't indispensable. He had breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, but he didn't expect Cao Xiao's words to be completely different from what he predicted, and he looked at Cao Xiao in shock.

"Yes, I don't plan to give up. I, Cao Xiao, am not the kind of person who can be pushed around. That Dong Xunli has miscalculated," Cao Xiao said, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

"Xiao Xiao, forget it! It's not worth doing something foolish for this little property. If you really need land, I'll help you find a better plot to lease," Chen Huaiyu advised Cao Xiao.

"Big Brother, you don't need to worry; I won't do anything reckless. If... I mean if that woodland becomes a barren wasteland where not a single blade of grass grows, would the pressure on your side disappear?" Cao Xiao said with a faint smile on his face.

"Are you planning to clear that entire woodland? Or set it on fire? Hmm? That would make things even more serious! Destroying woodland is against the law. You must not do that, or I'll be the first to deal with you!" Chen Huaiyu stood up to warn him, thinking Cao Xiao's method was to directly destroy the evidence.

"Big Brother, don't get excited first. How could I do something so brainless? I'm saying that I recently discovered some bad conditions in that woodland. If it continues to develop, it might become unsuitable for plant life. This is caused by natural reasons, not man-made. If you don't believe me, you can have someone come over to investigate when the time comes," Cao Xiao quickly helped Chen Huaiyu sit down and then said with full confidence.

"Alright, even if it's really as you say, how will the share issue be resolved? You should know that Yunkai is not easy to deal with, and Dong Xunli is even more unscrupulous in his actions. If he really gets the shares, you might be eaten until not even your bones are left." Chen Huaiyu felt half-relieved hearing it was due to natural causes. Seeing Cao Xiao's confident look, he was somewhat curious if Cao Xiao had a countermeasure.

"I spent thirty-five million in transfer fees when I bought this place at auction. That means Tianxing Garden is only worth thirty-five million, and the total share capital is also that much. Forty percent of the shares would only be fourteen million. Plus, because half of the woodland cannot be planted, it will depreciate by at least another third. According to the law, even if I only auctioned the other person's shares, I still hold sixty percent and have absolute controlling interest. Later, I made a series of investments here with a huge amount of capital. Dong Xunli's shareholding ratio might drop to less than ten percent. I can completely force a buyback of all shares. He's making such a fuss, and the fact that Tianxing Garden couldn't be sold back then was likely his doing. In the end, all he'll get is just a few million. He brought it upon himself. This money won't even come from me; logically, you guys should refund the corresponding transfer fee to him, so I won't lose anything. Am I right, Big Brother?" Cao Xiao slowly stated his reasons for not backing down.

"Uh, it does seem to be the case. But are you really decided on doing this? Yunkai Group has some influence domestically as well. I'm afraid you'll encounter a lot of trouble in business later." Chen Huaiyu thought about it and realized it made sense. Concern leads to confusion; if it couldn't be solved through legal channels, it could be easily resolved through business means, preventing the opponent from gaining any advantage. The main issue was whether one dared to go up against Yunkai Group.

"No matter how powerful Yunkai Group is, what can they do to me? If I do business in an upright and honorable way, why would I fear competition? If he really resorts to underhanded tactics, don't I still have Big Brother?" Cao Xiao said with an air of righteousness.