Chapter 404: Chapter 389 Shocking Domestic and International_1
Next, the inspections of Bose Company and Ruicheng Company encountered the same issues as Welgan Pharmaceuticals. These Americans were utterly arrogant. Faced with the law enforcement agencies of Liangxi City, they showed no intention of remorse; on the contrary, they all spoke defiantly.

At this time, one can imagine the anger of Nie Zhenbang. The chief engineer of the Environmental Protection Bureau, Liu Gong, estimated that just these three companies discharging waste water and waste slag without any treatment would completely ruin the entire Liangxi River Basin within less than ten years. Even the water quality of the Changjiang River would be affected.

Naturally, in their fury, the three factories, without exception, were all ordered to stop production and rectify their operations. Mobilized from top to bottom, the Liangxi City Public Security Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau sealed off everything. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Bureau began to organize work groups to investigate and compile statistics on the residents and farmlands along the pollution line. Subsequently, the Environmental Protection Department would issue massive fines, to recover all the money these companies had saved over the years, according to Nie Zhenbang’s intention.

…

Liangxi Grand Hotel

The presidential suite at the top of the hotel was still brightly lit.

At this moment, sitting in the large living room were three foreigners, with the aroma of whisky permeating the entire room.

Three voluptuous and sexy girls were each clinging to a man. They occasionally reached out their hands to touch the private areas, drawing bursts of soft moans and gasps.

“That damn guy, how dare he close our factories. Isn’t he afraid of causing a diplomatic dispute? I thought Chinese officials were most afraid of international disputes? Smith, what the heck is going on?” One middle-aged man cursed unhappily.

Smith, the person in charge of Welgan Pharmaceuticals here, had even loosened the zipper of his pants, and a pair of tender little hands had reached in. Smith swirled the whisky in his glass, his eyes flashed a cold light as he said in a low voice, “Powell, you can’t judge this man by common sense. You know, even in the United States, there are great men like Lincoln and Roosevelt. Not all Chinese officials are pigs. We have to unite on this and create a significant impact.”

With that, Smith looked at the other middle-aged man, “What do you think, Mr. Frank?”

Powell, is the person in charge of Ruicheng Chemical in Huaxia, and naturally, Frank is the person in charge of Bose Chemicals.

At this moment, upon hearing Smith’s words, Frank fell into deep thought. Unlike Powell’s fiery temper, Frank was very calm. After a while, he said, “Gentlemen, I think we should wait for Lee to talk about this matter. After all, we also need to hear his opinion.”

As he finished speaking, the doorbell rang from outside. One of the girls stood up, and Frank took the opportunity to forcefully squeeze her shapely rear.

The door opened, and Li Guohua entered, accompanied by an equally attractive woman. Seeing the three men, Li Guohua smiled and said, “My friends, I’m delighted that we can meet again. I haven’t participated in such an open gathering for years.”

An “open gathering” referred to an event where they engaged in immoral acts collectively. Li Guohua had studied in the United States for several years, and while he didn’t learn much else, he did adopt the Americans’ open-mindedness. He had also experienced plenty of such stimulating adventures when he was abroad.

Having received the invitation, Li Guohua couldn’t wait to join them. After finding a woman of disreputable character in the hotel, he went directly up.

At this moment, Smith sat up straight, poured a glass of whisky for Li Guohua, and said, “Lee, we are in trouble. Today, your Mayor ordered our factories to be sealed. We’d like to hear your opinion. Lee, you have to know, you’ve taken thirty percent of our pollution fees. It’s not a small amount.”

Li Guohua had already heard about the three foreign-funded enterprises that he personally introduced being sealed off by Mayor Nie Zhenbang in the morning.

In Li Guohua’s view, Nie Zhenbang is now standing on solid ground. Now, finally freed up, he is ready to take this opportunity to strike at him.

Looking at Smith and the others, Li Guohua frowns. He understands the thought processes of foreigners very well. At this moment, Li Guohua dismissively smiles and says: “Smith, you can’t say that. You know, I am very serious about my business. I don’t know anything about pollution charges. If you say such things, I can sue you for defamation.”

Li Guohua is meticulous in his actions, he wouldn’t leave any glaring mistakes or loopholes that these foreigners could exploit. Between them, there is no clear agreement, no witnesses, they can’t pin anything on him. The money is sent to a hidden Swiss Bank account with every penny accounted for. But if they think they can use this to coerce him, that is absolutely impossible.

The four of them are communicating in English, not worrying about the women around hearing them. After Li Guohua finishes speaking, Frank grows anxious, sits upright, and says to Li Guohua, “Li, you can’t do this. We are friends. At this time, you can’t just abandon us. There is an existing cooperation agreement between you and our headquarters.”

Seeing the few foreigners becoming anxious, Li Guohua stops hedging. He looks at Smith next to him and warns, “Frank, rest assured. I am someone who values friendships. What I just said was merely to tell you not to threaten me. I hate being threatened the most. You don’t understand the affairs of Huaxia’s officialdom, it is a system completely different from the United States. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand, I can teach you. As long as you follow my instructions, I guarantee that you can smoothly overcome this obstacle, and even drive away the scum who’s trying to screw you over.”

At this moment, a gloomy grin appears on Li Guohua’s face. In his view, Nie Zhenbang is making a bad move by trying to go against him. Now he can seize this chance to undermine Nie Zhenbang using the pressure of American public opinion.

Powell, being the most impatient, quickly says after hearing Li Guohua’s words, “Li, what’s the plan? Speak quickly, we will arrange it as soon as possible.”

Li Guohua, no longer hiding, immediately says: “Smith, you can now contact reporters from the Associated Press, Global Daily, and some large American media. I believe that with your capabilities and Wilgang Pharmaceuticals’ influence in the United States, you can mobilize reporters. Say that your factories in Huaxia have received unjust treatment and have your headquarters protest to the U.S. Embassy in Huaxia. Direct all public opinion to the Liangxi City Government, to Mayor Nie Zhenbang. This way, the Huaxia government will intervene in the investigation. In order to quell this matter, they will put pressure on Jiangbei Province. Then, your factories can resume operation, and you can receive compensation from the Huaxia government. As for Nie Zhenbang, he will definitely be suppressed and even transferred.”

Listening to Li Guohua’s words, Smith, the leader among the three foreigners, contemplates for a moment and immediately nods his head: “Good, Li, your plan is excellent. We will follow it. For now, let’s enjoy this wonderful evening.”

The actions of Smith and the others are swift. From the start, Wilgang, a world-class corporation, has been in a cooperative relationship with several media outlets, their rapport is excellent. Once they received a report from Smith and his group, the headquarters of these companies, trusting the individuals and acting immediately, utilized their media connections.

The next day, all the newspapers in the United States published news about the Wilgang Pharmaceuticals, Ruicheng Chemical Company, and Bose Chemical Company factories in Huaxia being sealed off. The article in the newspapers naturally follows the narrative given by Smith and the others. The three factories are presented entirely as the victims, and the protagonists of a deception. Liangxi City Government is depicted as a negative model that deceived them into investing, only to suppress them.

All of a sudden, the whole United States is in an uproar. At the same time, the U.S. Embassy formally protested to the Foreign Ministry, accusing the Huaxia government of adopting an unjust attitude towards foreign enterprises, and particularly those funded by the United States. They strongly demanded the Liangxi City Government to apologize to the three companies and compensate them for their economic losses. They insisted that operations be immediately resumed.

For a while, it’s not just the United States, but the whole country of Huaxia that’s in an uproar. The Huaxia newspaper and Huaxia TV station reported the entire incident, elevating the issue to foreign affairs.

At this moment, despite the storm brewing outside, in the city of Liangxi, Mayor Nie Zhenbang is as unshakable as Taishan, sitting in his chair. In front of him, the Head of the Environmental Protection Bureau, Du Nianchun presents a large stack of files to Mayor Nie Zhenbang. Du Nianchun admires how calm the mayor could be at this moment. He speaks, “Mayor, this is the waste water inspection report for the three factories in Wilgang. Please take a look.”

Nie Zhenbang accepts the materials, places them on his desk, but doesn’t look at them. Instead he asks: “Director Du, are these three factories taking action now? Are there any pollution control measures being processed?”

Director Du shakes his head, “No changes have been made, everything is still the same.”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang frowns and says in a deep voice: “Director Du, I have contacted a reporter from Huaxia TV station’s ‘News Observation’. This task is up to you to accompany their team. In addition, the Environmental Protection Bureau must issue three fines of 2 billion to each of the factories and deliver them to their management teams. Understood?”

Although he is steady as a rock, Nie Zhenbang behind the scenes has already started to make his moves and layout his operations. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for a recommendation or a monthly ticket. Your support is my biggest motivation.)