Looking at the court hearing notice that had just been delivered, the presiding judge had a very unique signature style, Sharif.
Lu Ming nodded. It seemed that this old man was determined to fight against him and did not pass the responsibility to others.
After I came back yesterday, I also thought about whether Sloan was acting with me and was going to report his father or something. It was all Sharif's instigation, and the father and son were setting a trap for me.
However, at least I couldn't tell it, but I felt that the child was telling the truth. If he was really acting, then he was at a master level.
Now that the presiding judge is Sharif, the possibility of father and son acting together is even lower. There is no need for him to tell me in advance because he already knows my true identity.
Well, what will he do with himself
Will he, as soon as he goes to court, question his qualifications to sue here
If your identity is false.
Not only can you dismiss the lawsuit with justification, but you can also prosecute yourself for crimes such as fraud
On a lawyer's certificate obtained in Longgang County, his name was Lu Ming.
But he had also made preparations in advance. Before taking part in the unscheduled lawyer certification examination, he had already registered his household registration in Longgang and his name was Lu Ming.
The household registration system in the five provinces of Jiangnan and the core areas of the empire is not the same, but the East China Sea region recognizes the existence of multiple household registration systems.
Because in Donghai, there is no such thing as household registration. As long as you obtain Donghai citizenship, you can move freely within the Donghai jurisdiction. But it is different in many external provinces. Therefore, for the rights and interests of Donghai citizens, Donghai City Hall recognizes the multiple household registrations of Donghai citizens in some special provinces that require household registration to maintain their business and other rights. It has never said that the name of the household registration in other places cannot be changed.
In addition, according to the Household Registration Management Law of Jiangning Province, there is no provision that Donghai citizens cannot obtain household registration here.
The acquisition of one's own household registration is also handled in full accordance with formal procedures.
Therefore, if he wants to start from this point, he will not get any advantage.
Just as he was thinking, the phone rang. Heitou picked up the phone, asked a few questions, and turned back to say, "Master, a man named Cao Deheng said he was the owner of the Zuodun Coal Mine. He is now in the lobby with Zuodun Town Mayor Li Zhaoming. Do you have time to meet them?"
Lu Ming nodded: "Please ask them to come up."
…
There were four people who came. Cao Deheng was a white-bearded old man wearing a mandarin jacket and a long gown; his eldest son, Cao Jiashun, was a middle-aged man in his forties with a wealthy appearance; the mayor of Zuodun Town, Li Zhaoming, was a tall and thin old man in his fifties; the other one was a young man in a suit, who was Cao Jiashun's secretary.
Lu Ming knew that the Zuodun Coal Mine was now fully managed by Cao Deheng's eldest son Cao Jiashun, but many things had not gone well over the past year and Cao Deheng had to step in again for many things.
Seeing him now, Cao Deheng obviously felt that if his son came alone, it would not be important enough.
Li Zhaoming introduced the Cao family and took out a small red book, which was a work permit or a letter of authorization, and showed it to Lu Ming.
Naturally, it was to prove the identities of the group of people. After all, they came here directly without any introduction.
Lu Ming smiled and took a look. In fact, he had seen the photos of Cao Deheng and Cao Jiashun before.
"Boss Lu, I wonder if my Cao family can participate in the class action lawsuit against the Mining Bureau?!" Cao Jiashun asked anxiously as soon as he sat down.
Lu Ming had guessed their intention long ago, but Zuo Dun Mine was not one single matter. Zuo Dun Mine was targeted by Commander Hu. His current lawsuit was just a minor dispute with the Hu family. If Zuo Dun Mine was added to the mix, there would be too many variables.
Many things need to be understood from the basics to the complex. It is not a wise move to start with a lawsuit between Zuodun Mine and people in the core group of the Hu family.
Moreover, there is really no way to include the Cao family now.
With all sorts of random thoughts in his mind, Lu Ming said, "The complaint has been submitted. Look, the court hearing notice has also arrived. We definitely can't add any more plaintiffs now!" As he spoke, he pointed to the court appearance notice with a big red seal on the coffee table.
Cao Deheng also frowned and looked at his eldest son, obviously blaming him for losing his temper.
"Boss Lu, do you think there's any hope of winning this lawsuit? Are you going to challenge the mining regulations for being unreasonable?" Cao Deheng said in a serious tone, and looked at Lu Ming's expression with concern.
Lu Ming glanced at the town mayor Li Zhaoming.
Cao Deheng nodded slightly: "Boss Lu, please speak frankly. Zhao Ming is my good friend and has served as the mayor of Zuodun five years ago." The implicit meaning of his words was, of course, that he had been helping this old friend to the position since he obtained the mining rights for the Zuodun coal mine.
Five years ago, when Chakson had just arrived in Jiangning, the Zuodun family auctioned the mining rights of the coal mine, which was won by Cao Deheng's Cao Mining Company.
At that time, the Hu family was still a poor family, so they could not show their fangs immediately. Moreover, most of the Hu family members were idlers who followed Mrs. Hu to make a living. Naturally, their ambitions were not as big as they are now.
Many things can only be described as changes at different times.
The mining rights of the Zuodun Coal Mine belonged to the Zuodun family permanently. When the first generation of Westerners came to plunder the resources, they were naturally ruthless.
In other words, the Cao family still owns the permanent mining rights of the Zuodun Coal Mine today, and this super coal mine will have no problem being mined for another two hundred years at its current mining rate.
However, after the Cao family obtained the mining rights to the Zuodun Coal Mine, when registering with the Mining Bureau at the time, the mining price soared from 10,000 yuan a year to 250,000 yuan.
Of course, the reason why it is called a surge is that the Zuo Dun family was too ruthless in the beginning, and the mining costs were almost free. Moreover, it was only in recent years that the price increased to 10,000 yuan.
In fact, the annual coal production of Zuodun Coal Mine is worth more than two million yuan, and the mining cost of 250,000 yuan is not high. After deducting various expenses, there is no problem for Zuodun Coal Mine to generate a net profit of one million yuan for Cao’s Mining Company a year.
However, in the past year, the Cao family has been plagued by various troubles and has suffered heavy losses.
Lu Ming pondered over it, and seeing that Cao Deheng showed that Li Zhaoming was trustworthy, he thought for a while and said, "Boss Cao, I'm sorry that I still can't reveal the specific strategy to you."
Five years ago, you arranged for him to be the mayor, but that was all you could give him. Now your Cao family is in bad luck, and I'm afraid he will sink with your ship in the end. Who knows what he is thinking now
Moreover, the defense strategy must not be easily revealed to irrelevant people.
However, Lu Ming suddenly discovered that Cao Deheng winked at him and glanced at his old friend beside him.
Lu Ming was startled, then smiled and said, "It's mainly about the procedures. There are many problems with the enforcement procedures of the inspection team, which is the best breakthrough point. For example, they closed the mine directly based on my words without verifying with the miners. However, what I said, such as not providing safety training for miners and not investing so much money in the safety fund according to mining safety standards, were actually just angry words. How can it be used as evidence to close the mine?"
Cao Deheng was stunned, and immediately squeezed his eyes harder.
Li Zhaoming seemed to be thinking about something.
Outside, someone knocked on the door, interrupting the conversation. Cao Deheng looked relieved.
Blackhead walked to the door and looked out through the peephole, saying, "Master, Madam Red Jackal and her gang moved into this floor. The one knocking on the door was her follower, who was deliberately provoking me. He knocked and then walked over."
Lu Ming smiled, "Really?" He stood up and walked over, "Open the door, let me see who's knocking?"
In the corridor, there was a bamboo chair with a gorgeous red cloud curled up lazily inside. The chair was carried by two very strong but pretty girls.
There were six beautiful girls dropping flower petals in front, behind, left and right.
There were also two female suona players who started playing a very strange and harsh tune.
Heitou whispered beside him, "This temptress is quite arrogant."
Lu Ming frowned as he looked at the mess in the corridor, which looked like a sorcerer's outing. He raised his voice slightly and asked, "Who was knocking on my door just now?!"
On the bamboo chair, an extremely charming and slender jade hand was raised, with long colorful gilded finger gloves shining with golden light, which was enchanting, terrifying and charming.
The team stopped immediately, and the suona also stopped.
A voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz rang in Lu Ming's ears: "Silly dog! Wait until I castrate you with my own hands!"
Lu Ming was stunned. He never expected that this enchanting woman who looked like a god or devil would utter such vulgar words. He simply couldn't believe his ears.
On the chair, the charming slender hand was put down, the team continued to move forward, the suona started to play, and slowly turned across the corridor.
Lu Ming came back to his senses and glanced at Heitou beside him. He thought it was a good thing that no one else could hear it, otherwise, this would be the first time that he was scolded so much that he was stunned and unable to fight back.
However, this witch was farther away from him this time than last time, so her voice was much quieter. It was obvious that she had reached the limit of her secret technique.
Lu Ming returned to the outer hall of the suite. Cao Deheng, who was deep in thought, smiled and said, "Boss Lu, do you have any intention of cooperating with Cao's Mining?"
Lu Ming pointed to the study and said, "Director Cao, let's talk inside."
…
As soon as he entered the study, Cao Deheng sighed and said, "Boss Lu, the tricks you just described in such detail about litigation can't be true, right?..."
Lu Ming smiled: "Don't worry, yes and no, it doesn't matter if the other party finds out."
It is easy to imagine that Mr. Cao was making eyes at him because it was obvious that his "old friend" had become estranged from him and had even become a spy in his coal mine. He wanted to come up with a fake strategy to confuse the other party.
However, he did not understand court skills, and these little tricks were useless in some cases, such as his current one.
After hearing what Lu Ming said, Cao Deheng's expression relaxed and he said with a smile, "Boss Lu is so young and has been entrusted with such an important task. How could it be a trivial matter? I am the old man who is meddling in other people's business!"
Then he said, "I have something to say, I wonder if it's abrupt or not?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "What Director Cao is most concerned about is my chances of winning this case, right? To be honest, about 80%."
If I were in the legal community in Donghai and someone close to me asked me, I would definitely say "60%". People who are knowledgeable about the subject would naturally know that I have a high chance of winning.
But when it comes to Mr. Cao, I can't be so confused.
Cao Deheng's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. He shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, my coal mine is still closed." He looked up at Lu Ming and said, "Boss Lu, if the coal mine owner wins the lawsuit, then I will also sue the Mining Bureau. Will there be a good chance of winning?"
Lu Ming nodded: "In theory, yes, but this case was heard in secret. So, although your case is similar, it is difficult to cite this case because ordinary lawyers should not know about this case. If they know about it and want to hold someone accountable, where did they get the case file?"
Cao Deheng smiled meaningfully: "So, I can only ask Boss Lu to fight this lawsuit."
Lu Ming waved his hand. "Honestly, Mr. Cao, as a lawyer, I am only explaining the objective situation. It is not what you think. Besides, it seems that Commander Hu has set his sights on Zuodun Coal Mine, right? It is very different from the current lawsuit situation. Mr. Cao also knows that the rule of man is greater than the rule of law here, so even if this lawsuit is won, when you sue, the result is still hard to say."
Cao Deheng nodded silently, and suddenly asked: "Mr. Lu, do you know County Master Pan? Not Agent Gong, I mean, the real County Master..."
Lu Ming nodded.
Cao Deheng looked at Lu Ming and asked cautiously, "How much control can you have over her? Are you in charge of all the economic affairs here?"
Lu Ming nodded: "Yes, I can make the full decision."
Cao Deheng gritted his teeth and said, "Well, Boss Lu, I will be a villain first and a gentleman later. If Boss Lu can win this lawsuit, I am willing to transfer my shares in Cao's Mining to Pan Xianzun, Agent Gong and you. How about that?"
Lu Ming also thought about some of the cooperation conditions that he would propose when he came to visit, so he was not surprised by what he said.
He smiled and said, "Boss Cao, let's be honest. Zuodun Coal Mine has been targeted by the Hu family. If you win the lawsuit, even if I help you get the coal mine unsealed, there will be troubles in the future. I think that although County Master Pan has an old friendship with the Governor, and that old friend's family is a hundred times more powerful than the Governor's family, County Master Pan came here to make money in harmony. I don't think she would easily want to provoke the Hu family, especially when it involves two families. How can she turn them against each other?"
Listening to Lu Ming's introduction of County Lord Pan's background, Cao Deheng's breathing became heavy. Although the other party was definitely bragging, to the extent it sounded, the Western County Lord should not be too afraid of the Hu family. Of course, the prerequisite is that he could impress her and invite her to participate.
Gritting his teeth, Cao Deheng said, "If Boss Lu can win this lawsuit, I am willing to transfer 20% of my company's shares to Pan Xianzun, 3% to Agent Gong, and 2% to Boss Lu. How do you think?"
Lu Ming smiled, knowing that he was determined to win the lawsuit because in his opinion, this lawsuit was actually a competition of connections between County Lord Pan and the Hu family. If he defeated the Hu family in Montenegro, it would mean that what he said was not all bragging, but was somewhat reliable. In this way, offering shares to the Western County Lord and getting her protection would be much better than being eaten up by Commander Hu.
But now, in his heart, Agent Gong's status is much higher than his own. If he is not the person directly in charge, he is afraid that he will not get any share in the distribution of shares.
Cao's Mining is not just the Zuodun Coal Mine. The mining rights of three or four other coal mines are in the hands of Cao's Mining. In addition, there are two iron mines in Lin County, which also belong to Cao's Mining.
However, all other assets combined are less than half the value of the Zuodun Coal Mine.
During its heyday a few years ago, the entire Cao Mining Industry made a net profit of about one million from the Zuodun Coal Mine, and the other coal mines and iron mines together made a net profit of three or four hundred thousand.
In this way, if he is given 2%, and his company returns to normal, he can get about 30,000 yuan a year. In his opinion, he is just a money-maker, and the shares are stable every year, so it should be enough.
Looking at Cao Deheng, he smiled and said, "Boss Cao, County Master Pan gives me an annual salary of 200,000 yuan."
Cao Deheng was stunned. This revealed two pieces of information. First, three or five thousand yuan was not something this money-spinner would take seriously. Second, the Xiyang County Master gave Golden Gloves such a huge commission, so one could imagine how much property she had.
Well, they are not short of money at all, and their confrontation with the Hu family in Jiangning is probably a political issue. What is the price for someone who is not short of money to intervene in the political struggle
Cao Deheng gritted his teeth and said, "Then, if Boss Lu can win the lawsuit, I, Cao's Mining, am willing to transfer 30% of the shares to Pan Xianzun and 10% to Boss Lu. As for how much Boss Lu is willing to give to Agent Gong, it's up to you." He added, "Boss Lu, this is the limit of what I can offer. The shares of my Dong family and my two cousins, together, we only hold about 80% of the shares. There are also many shareholders with other surnames in the company who hold about 20% of the shares. Now, what I'm giving to you and Pan Xianzun is almost half of my Dong family's shares. I still have to convince my two cousins!"
He sighed again, "We bought the mining rights from Zuo Dun's family back then, and we still owe the bank millions! In addition, there are more than one million yuan that need to be paid to Zuo Dun's family." He smiled bitterly, "If we continue like this, I really don't know if I can pay off the debt in this lifetime, no, in the lifetime of Dao Jiashun."
Lu Ming nodded. "I've heard that your father was the translator for the Zuo Dun family back then, and he saved the life of a young master of the Zuo Dun family. So when the Zuo Dun family evacuated here, they transferred it to you at a very favorable price of eight million, and they personally helped you to borrow the money from the bank. Because although your Cao's Mining was doing very well at the time, it was difficult to raise one million, let alone eight million, so most of the money was borrowed from the bank."
Cao Deheng smiled bitterly. Until now, he really didn't know whether the Zuo Dun family wanted to repay their gratitude, or whether they wanted to rob their so-called "benefactor's family" before leaving.
At that time, I felt that eight million was a good deal. I would be able to get my money back in at least ten years, and then my descendants would enjoy the life.
But who knew that it would become like this today? Before Governor Chakson came, various mining operations, although they also involved a lot of competition, could still be operated as long as they were sufficiently filial. It was a matter of making more or less money. Even if the governor was extremely greedy, it would not matter if he and officials at all levels took the lion's share. After a few years, there would always be a more relaxed governor.
But the Hu family completely broke all the unspoken rules of this place. Come to think of it, I wonder if the people of the Zuo Dun family had anticipated this.
Cao Deheng was shaking his head and sighing, and Lu Ming pondered and said, "How about this, County Master Pan will definitely not have any economic relations with the business community here, but I can invest here and spend money to buy shares in your company."
Cao Deheng nodded repeatedly: "Boss Lu is right."
This is naturally a high-sounding process, with Qianchuanzi buying shares instead of the county lord directly taking dry shares. However, a symbolic gift of tens of thousands of yuan is already very good.
Lu Ming pondered and said, "You spent eight million to buy the mining rights of Zuodun Coal Mine, but in today's environment, I can't calculate it based on eight million."
Cao Deheng smiled bitterly, "It's what I should do." Let alone eight million, if anyone offers four million now, my company will give it to you immediately as long as I can pay off the loan. As for the money from Zuo Dun's family, I won't pay it back. It's up to you what you want. This Westerner is a piece of shit.
Lu Ming calculated and said, "For 40% of the shares, I will give you 2 million. In addition, the small shareholders together have about 20% of the shares. I am willing to buy them back for 500,000. I think, under the current circumstances, they will be more than happy to do so, right?"
Cao Deheng was stunned. The old man was over seventy years old, but his eyes were as big as bells. He could hardly believe his ears.
I almost said, "If you pay me four million, I'll give you all the shares in my company."
"Boss Lu, are you telling the truth?"
Cao Deheng regretted it as soon as he asked the question. In the business world, this was equivalent to telling the other party that the offer was far beyond his psychological expectations.
But you really don't believe it, right
But looking at the young man's smiling eyes, Cao Deheng's old face turned red. What didn't he understand? He naturally knew that no one would be willing to buy his shares at any price.
He was willing to buy his own shares, naturally because he was confident that Cao's Mining Company could get out of its current predicament. In the final analysis, he just didn't take the Hu family's affairs seriously.
Moreover, he is willing to offer such a price, which shows his kindness and righteousness. What else can I say
"Boss Lu, I'm so ashamed to say that. I'm really a mean person. As long as Boss Lu wants to sign this agreement, I can sign it at any time. There is no need to win or lose a lawsuit."
Naturally, Cao Deheng was eager to sign the agreement immediately to prevent things from changing, but he now knew what kind of person Boss Lu was. Although he was young, he was much more experienced than himself. What he said must have been well thought out. Since such a big thing had been said, he would not change his mind suddenly. He just had to follow his pace.
Lu Ming nodded: "If Mr. Cao agrees, we can sign the contract now."
Cao Deheng was overjoyed immediately, and after a moment of hesitation, "Boss Lu, how about this? For your two million, my Dong family is willing to sell you 50% of the company's shares. As for the 20% of shares from the small shareholders, I will go back and help you arrange the acquisition immediately. I will definitely complete the equity change before the end of this lawsuit, lest if this lawsuit is won, someone will have different ideas. Oh, the lawsuit is confidential, so I will also help you complete the acquisition before the end of the lawsuit, just in case. As for my Dong family, they will hold 30% of the shares in the future, but I think it will be much more comfortable and cozy than now."
Lu Ming nodded. "Well, write me your account number and I'll have someone wire the money in. It'll only take a while. Once the money is in the account, we'll sign the agreement."
"Okay." Cao Deheng smiled bitterly, thinking about his proposal to give the young man 2% of the shares, he really wanted to find a hole to hide in. Millions of dollars, people can pay in advance, what is this? First, he is absolutely confident that no one can cheat him of his money; second, he does not take these millions of dollars seriously.
Fortunately, this is such an outstanding young man that he doesn't care about my previous contempt for him at all.
Yes, for a person like this, who would care about cats and dogs