Chapter 245 Jardines' Ruthless Move: No Evidence Left!
A little after nine o'clock in the morning, at the Lin family villa on Shixun Road, Lin Haoran received a call from Cui Zilong.
As Cui Zilong detailed the events that had just occurred, Lin Haoran couldn't help but be a little surprised.
He had not anticipated that Jardine Properties would still attempt to get Oriental Daily to report on the incident.
Under normal circumstances, even if someone refused Jardine Properties' request, they wouldn't leak it to the public. After all, most media outlets wouldn't want to offend the powerful Jardines Matheson.
But Oriental Daily was an exception—because Lin Haoran now owned it.
From this, it was clear just how vicious Jardines' methods were.
They attempted to control multiple media outlets to manipulate public opinion, intending to deliver a fatal blow to Fortress Electrical Company and completely destroy the "Fortress" brand.
If they succeeded, even if Fortress Electrical held evidence proving that the couple's electrocution during a shower wasn't caused by the water heater, the media would still twist the narrative.
After all, the fact remained that the couple was electrocuted during a shower, and they had been using a Fortress-branded water heater.
However, Jardines was already too late.
So far, only the Hong Kong Times had reported it, and its impact was still limited. With four major newspapers joining forces, the narrative had easily been reversed.
"What's the public reaction after the four newspapers' reports?" Lin Haoran asked.
"Boss, the situation has exploded. Without a doubt, Fortress Electrical's crisis is over. Also, Hongkong Electric Holdings is holding a press conference to explain the incident. Dozens of media outlets are present, including TVB and Rediffusion Television. TVB is currently broadcasting live if you're interested," Cui Zilong said with a smile.
"Any movement from Jardine Properties afterward?" Lin Haoran asked, feeling that things couldn't be this simple.
After all, behind them stood the formidable Jardines Matheson.
If it were that easy to settle, Jardines wouldn't hold the power it did today.
This was a company that made its fortune through the opium and arms trades—hardly saints.
"No movement yet. The general manager of Jardine Properties called Oriental Daily earlier, trying to persuade us to cooperate like Hong Kong Times did. After I rejected him, he hasn't contacted me again. Also, I recorded the entire conversation," Cui Zilong reported.
As the general manager of Oriental Daily, handling sensitive news was part of his job. Thus, his office phone was equipped with a tape recorder.
"Good. Keep an eye on Jardine Properties. I suspect they won't give up so easily. I'll head to your office later," Lin Haoran instructed.
"Got it, Boss. I'll step up intelligence gathering!" Cui Zilong replied.
After hanging up, Lin Haoran picked up the remote and turned on the TV. The Jade Channel of TVB flashed onto the screen.
The broadcast showed Chen Shoulin, the Executive Director of Hongkong Electric Holdings, answering reporters' questions one by one.
After watching for a while, Lin Haoran casually turned off the TV.
His mind was already strategizing how to retaliate against Jardines.
He couldn't just let it go after being attacked for no reason.
Although he was quietly planning the acquisition of Hongkong Land, completing it would take time. Even with increased stock acquisition, he only owned close to 20% of Hongkong Land's shares. Taking control would be no easy feat.
He wasn't one to subscribe to the saying "revenge is a dish best served cold."
Lin Haoran preferred swift retaliation.
Given Jardines' shady history, there were certainly weaknesses he could exploit.
Since Jardines tried to ruin his company using public opinion, why couldn't he use public opinion to strike back?
After all, he now controlled the best-selling newspaper in Hong Kong.
With that in mind, he left the villa with Li Weidong and Li Weiguo, heading straight for Changye Building in Wan Chai.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived.
Lin Haoran rarely visited this place; he could count his visits on one hand. Usually, Cui Zilong came to report to him at Wanqing Building.
Taking the elevator to the seventh floor, they reached Cui Zilong's office.
The seventh floor was quiet—it housed Oriental Publishing's executive offices and intelligence department.
Soon, Lin Haoran entered Cui Zilong's office.
"Boss, here's the evidence we gathered—proof that Jardine Properties and Hong Kong Times collaborated to fabricate the scandal," Cui Zilong said, handing Lin Haoran a small zippered pouch.
Lin Haoran nodded, unzipped it, and found a cassette tape and several photos.
The photos showed Jardine Properties' general manager meeting with Mr. Hong, the owner of Hong Kong Times.
The tape was clearly the recorded conversation between the Jardine manager and Cui Zilong.
Together, they formed strong evidence.
"Play it for me," Lin Haoran ordered, handing the tape back to Cui Zilong.
Cui Zilong walked over to a tape recorder, inserted the cassette, and hit play.
Soon, a conversation played:
"Hello, this is Oriental Publishing."
"Is Mr. Cui Zilong there?"
"Speaking. Who's calling?"
"Mr. Cui, this is Reed, the General Manager of Jardine Properties. I have a business proposal."
"Please go ahead, Mr. Reed."
"Regarding the Hong Kong Times' report on the water heater electrocution, I assume you've heard of it. We hope Oriental Daily will also report on it.
If you agree, we will privately pay you HK$50,000 in cash to ensure discretion. In addition, you will become a valued friend of Jardine Properties."
"Sorry, Mr. Reed, but please find someone else. Oriental Daily is not interested."
The conversation ended there.
Lin Haoran knew that even with this evidence, it wouldn't be enough to severely damage Jardines.
"Cui, gather evidence of Jardines' crimes from recent years. I'll need it," Lin Haoran ordered.
"Understood, Boss!"
...
Meanwhile, the General Manager of Jardine Properties arrived at Noel Croucher's office.
After hearing the report, Croucher was slightly surprised.
He hadn't expected the backlash to be so intense.
Frankly, Croucher didn't care much about Jardine Electrical City.
Even Jardine Properties wasn't particularly important within the Jardines group.
After all, Jardines controlled more than 400 subsidiaries and listed companies.
For Croucher, this was just a small lesson to Hongkong Electric Holdings—a little revenge for past humiliation.
However, now he had no choice but to step in.
If he didn't, not only would the revenge fail, but Jardines' reputation might also be tarnished.
If Hong Kong Times exposed everything, it could cause real trouble.
While it wouldn't destroy Jardines, it was better to avoid any problems.
Pacing in his office, Croucher quickly formulated a plan.
He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
As soon as the call connected, Croucher spoke bluntly, "I have a task for you. It must be completed today!"
"Yes, Mr. Taipan, please instruct!" a woman's voice answered.
"Send the police officer who signed the technical report, along with his family, to Southeast Asia—either the Philippines or Malaysia.
Before they leave, record a video of him admitting he accepted bribes from Fortress Electrical Company and falsified the report, claiming the water heater did cause the electrocution!" Croucher ordered firmly.
He didn't bother explaining the details. His team would understand and handle it professionally.
"Understood, Mr. Taipan. I guarantee you'll have good news before tonight," the woman replied.
"Good. I'll be waiting," Croucher said, hanging up with satisfaction.
That's right—his solution was brutally direct: eliminate the evidence!
And in doing so, frame Fortress Electrical once again.
Since the key evidence was the police's technical report, he would destroy its credibility.
Without that report, who could definitively prove what had happened?
Fortress Electrical would have no choice but to bear the blame.
"Mr. Taipan, your move is brilliant!" the general manager of Jardine Properties exclaimed with admiration.
"Child's play," Croucher said dismissively, though he couldn't suppress a satisfied smile.
He had a trump card—a secret team loyal only to him, specializing in handling sensitive, complicated situations.
Kidnapping a police officer's family and coercing a false confession was nothing to them.
After all, most people couldn't resist the lure of money.
With enough profit, anything could be accomplished.
This was how they always operated—simple and efficient.
Once the officer publicly claimed that Fortress Electrical bribed him to falsify the report, the technical findings would be invalidated.
It would plunge Fortress Electrical into an even bigger scandal.
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