The next afternoon, I was taking a nap, and Uncle Jiange woke me up from my sleep after a while, saying that he wanted me to accompany him out for a walk, but as for where he was going, what he was going to do, and whether he wanted to meet anyone, he mysteriously refused to reveal in advance.
"Let's go out first, I'll tell you in detail on the way."
So, in this way, I followed him out the door.
"In the past two days, I asked the Public Security Bureau to check the operation of Li Shilan's company as a whole." On the way, Uncle Jiange told me.
"Is it easy to check?" I said, "I remember saying earlier that he had a coal mine in Shanxi and then a couple of Internet companies in Hangzhou. "
"Frankly, it's hard to check. It also took us a lot of effort to sort out his property operation through the penetration of heavy equity. "
"How is his company doing?"
"To be honest, it's not good. His family's small coal mine is not large, the annual output is about 300,000 tons, properly belongs to a small coal mine, calculated at about 400 yuan a meal, the annual income is more than 100 million points, but the production cost is not low, Li Shilan in order to reduce costs, is not concerned about safe production, a few years ago there were several underground production accidents, paid a lot of compensation, and then was fined hundreds of millions by the Shanxi Provincial Work Safety Supervision Bureau. Then, under pressure, it began to improve safety production measures, and invested a lot of money in safety protection and automated production, but even this safety improvement was not enough, because after all, it was only a small coal mine with an annual output of 300,000 or 400,000 tons, and there was no way to share the cost by further investing software and hardware resources. Therefore, at present, his small coal mines can only be said to barely meet the standards in terms of production safety and environmental protection, but in the past two years, because the economic situation is not good, the government has been carrying out macroeconomic regulation and control, vigorously reducing the capacity of coal mines, and shutting down and turning a large number of small coal mines. As a result, his small coal mine in Shanxi may face the problem of closing if the initial safety and environmental protection investment has not been recovered. "
"Then he has to find another way out."
"Yes. So in addition to digging coal, he also wanted to expand his business and make some other investments. Hasn't the Internet been hot these years? So he returned to Hangzhou and invested in several Internet companies hoping to make some profits in this regard, and when the small coal mines in Shanxi were closed, it would be up to these Internet companies in Hangzhou. "
"And then what? Have these Internet companies done it? "
"Where is it so easy? He does the Internet, and I guess I didn't even understand how to play the Internet, so I put money in my brain. "
"How? "
At the beginning, he invested in a company that does Web3, probably because he heard that Web3 was very popular, so he also engaged in blockchain and virtual currency, probably thinking that this thing is the same as his small coal mine in Shanxi, there is no difference between mining. As a result, it didn't take long to do it, just after a project to issue coins, the state began to liquidate mainland users, and his company had to develop overseas, but after tossing for half a day, he did not make any name for himself , and is currently in a half-dead state. Then he began to engage in cross-border e-commerce, at the beginning it was indeed hot, the income was good, his cross-border e-commerce company expanded rapidly, and the number of employees soon expanded to more than 2,000 people , but the good times did not last long. "
"And then large-scale layoffs on the break of the capital chain? "I remembered that I was unemployed.
"Pretty much. His cross-border e-commerce business did not last long, overseas because of high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, resulting in a sharp contraction of import capacity, the scale of foreign trade suddenly plunged, his cross-border e-commerce company followed the big layoffs, and then survived. "
"And?" I think Li Shilan's experience of diving into the Internet is very interesting. He is a figure who has gone from coal mine owner to Internet entrepreneur, but his transition does not seem to be smooth.
"That's probably it." "He founded a company focused on metaverse development a year ago, but this field is highly competitive, technically difficult, and the market demand is not clear." He has invested a lot of money and manpower, but has not seen any return. "
"Then he may be in financial crisis now." I said, "The Internet industry is not so easy to enter, especially in a frontier field such as the metaverse. Does he have enough money to back it up? "
"I'm afraid not." The other party shook his head, "The police investigation found that he has been in a state of loss in recent years, and he owes hundreds of millions of debts to banks and investors." His only source of income is a few coal mines in Shanxi, but they also face both policy and market pressures and could be shut down or closed down at any time. And he doesn't have much room for profit in the coal mine, because safety and environmental protection require a lot of costs, and equipment needs to be constantly updated and maintained. "
"That's why he decided to shift his focus to the Internet?" I asked, "So it seems that he moved from Shanxi to Zhejiang a year ago to build his own metaverse empire." "
"That's probably why." The other party said, "There is no development prospect in Shanxi, perhaps in his opinion, the Internet is the future." So he rented an office building here in Hangzhou, hired some programmers and designers, and began to develop his own metaverse project. "
"So how has he adapted to the internet industry?"
"According to the police investigation, it is not very good." Uncle Jiange said, "Although he has ambitions to create a new virtual world, he does not know much about the Internet industry. He also managed the company the same way he managed the mine, emphasizing hierarchy, execution, efficiency, and so on. This management style may be suitable for traditional industries, but it is not suitable for the Internet industry with high requirements for innovation and flexibility. Therefore, many employees feel that the pressure is high, the degree of freedom is low, the creativity is limited, and they cannot stay in the company. "
"So has his internet company done anything?" I asked, "What exactly does his metaverse project look like?" "
"Well, I don't know." "It is said that his metaverse project is a platform called 'City of Dreams', which allows users to freely create and experience various content in the virtual world." For example, you can build your own house, open your own shop, participate in various activities, make all kinds of friends, etc. It sounds great, but the project is still in development and hasn't been officially launched yet. "
"So did he test the project?" I asked, "Has he let some users try out the platform?" "
"There are some." The other party said, "The police investigation found that he had invited some friends and partners to experience the platform, but the feedback was not very good." Many people feel that this platform is not perfect enough, there are many bugs and bugs, and the content is not rich and attractive enough. And he doesn't pay much attention to the opinions and suggestions of users, and always thinks that he is the one who knows the metaverse best. "
"Then it seems that Li Shilan is going to play himself to death." I said half-jokingly.
"Let's put it this way. His cash flow in recent years has been negative, and Internet companies have only seen input but no output, which is a bottomless pit that burns money, and he does not know when he will achieve a turnaround. "
We drove along the busy streets and arrived at our destination in a short time. In front is a tall commercial complex with the words "Wanda Plaza" written on it. After I parked my car, Uncle Jiange led me into a tea restaurant in the square called "Shin Shin". He was going to meet someone here to talk about the case.
As soon as we found an empty seat to sit down, Uncle Jiange's cell phone rang. He answered the phone, said a few words, and hung up. Then he said to me, "She's coming." "
I followed his gaze and saw a woman walk in the doorway.
She was a very beautiful woman, probably in her thirties. She is tall, with long hair and a shawl, and fair and translucent skin. She painted light makeup and wore a long blue dress that sparkled in the light. She wears a pair of red legging-type high-heeled sandals on her feet, which looks very fashionable and temperamental.
"Hello, hello! I'm Shi Xiaoyu, are you Mr. Liu Jiange? She smiled and walked up to us and held out her hand to shake hands with Uncle Jiange.
"Hello, hello! That's right, that's right! I am Liu Jiange! Uncle Jiange also responded enthusiastically and introduced me to her.
"Please sit down! Uncle Jiange beckoned her to sit down and asked, "What would you like to drink?" "
"Matcha latte, thank you! Shi Xiaoyu replied.
"Okay, okay. Uncle Jiange beckoned the waiter over, "Add us another matcha latte, a cappuccino, and a Blue Mountain coffee." "
While waiting for the drinks to arrive, the three of us chatted about the weather, traffic, news, and other insignificant topics. However, I can feel that under these polite words, there is actually some nervousness and expectation.
Then we finally got down to business.
"How long have you known Liu Xiaojing? "
"She, I've known her for almost a year, we met when their family first moved in. I happened to be in a swim club together, so we met. As soon as we met each other, we often met together and got to know each other very well. "
"Then you have a good relationship with her. "
"Yes, we both had a lot of hobbies in common, we both enjoyed swimming, shopping, food, etc., and then we became good friends who talked about everything. "
"What do you know about her?"
"Not too much, but not too little. She is from Shanxi and met her husband, Li Shilan, as soon as she graduated. At that time, he was his secretary and followed him for many years. Later, Li Shilan divorced and married her, and it is said that it has been about five years. "
"What kind of person do you think she is? "
"Liu Xiaojing? I think she is a very gentle, very calm person, she loves her husband very much, and she is also very good to her husband's ex-wife's children, what is the name of her husband's ex-wife's children? Li Mingming, right? She is not a few years older than Li Mingming, but she is very good to Li Mingming. He has never had children, and he always says that he is still young and is not in a hurry to have children. "
"Would she do it herself?" Uncle Jiange asked.
"It's not a good thing to say, every time we ask her, she says she wants to." But.... "
"But what?"
"She actually likes children very much, so I guess if she made some agreement with her husband to never have children." "
"Just because she likes children?"
"Sort of. When we go shopping together, we see children's clothes and toys, and she will always stop and linger, and every time at this time, we will always see that she is a little unhappy. "
"Is her relationship with her husband good?"
Hearing this question, Shi Xiaoyu laughed: "The two have been together for so many years, isn't the rest family affection?" Xiaojing herself said that her relationship with her husband was not bad. But," she paused, "I always felt that something was not quite right, but I couldn't tell if something was wrong." "
"Oh?"
"Supposedly, the two of them have a good relationship, and they have never heard of the two arguing or anything. Li Shilan is also very good to Xiaojing, we have met several times, and I feel that Li Shilan is a very family-oriented man, and I heard that his ex-wife treats him very badly and often acts as a domestic violence, so Li Shilan is not a strong character, but feels a little weak. But Xiaojing is also a very gentle and weak woman, and when these two come together, it makes people feel... "
"Too polite? "
"Yes, I feel that the two of them are very polite to each other together, to say that it sounds good is to raise eyebrows and respect each other like guests, and to say it is not good, isn't it to live a life together under the same roof?" "
"Besides you, do you know what other good friends Liu Xiaojing has?"
"And Wang Meimei, I think the police also investigated her." We all met in the same swimming club, and Mei Mei met before I met Xiaojing. Later, the three of us had a very good relationship, the same sisters, how to say? It's so good that when you go to a party, you even go to the bathroom. "
While speaking, Shi Xiaoyu opened the mobile phone buttoned on the table and found a photo for us to see, this is a photo taken by the three of them together, on the photo, Shi Xiaoyu is intellectual, Wang Meimei is funny, Liu Xiaojing is gentle and delicate.
After showing us the photos, Shi Xiaoyu put her phone on the table again, and then said to us, "Sorry, I'll go to the bathroom." Then he stood up and walked in the direction of the bathroom.
When Shi Xiaoyu returned, Uncle Jiange asked Shi Xiaoyu to sit down and patiently asked her about the details of their party on the afternoon of the accident. Shi Xiaoyu nodded and said, "Okay, no problem, you let me recall." "
"We made an appointment the day in advance to meet at the tea restaurant for tea and chatting together. We made an appointment to meet at two o'clock that afternoon, and Wang Meimei and I arrived early and found a seat by the window. Liu Xiaojing arrived a little late, about two ten o'clock. She looked anxious when she walked in, saying that her husband was drunk at noon and making a fuss at home, so she came a little late. We all reassured her that it was okay and not to be angry. "You guys just talk together and drink tea?" Uncle Jiange asked.
"Yes, we spent almost two hours together. We talked a lot about entertainment, family, shopping, and so on. We also ordered some snacks and desserts. It was about 3:50 and less than 4 o'clock. Shi Xiaoyu said.
"How did you confirm this time difference?" I heard that the surveillance camera at this tea restaurant was broken. Uncle Jiange asked.
"Yes. It's been broken for a while, we all know it. We went to the bathroom together, and when we returned, the three of us sat together watching small videos to pass the time. I sit in the middle, Mei Mei sits on my left, and Xiaojing sits on the right. My phone is on the table and we use my phone to watch videos. Shi Xiaoyu explained.
"Can you elaborate? The three of you also went to the bathroom together? Uncle Jiange asked.
"It's not." Shi Xiaoyu shook her head, "Actually, it's just me and Mei Mei who have been to the bathroom. That's around two o'clock, right? Xiaojing said that she hurried over and felt a little tired, so he stayed in his seat to rest. So Mei Mei and I went to the bathroom. Is there anything wrong with this? Shi Xiaoyu asked with her innocent eyes open.
"Nothing." Uncle Jiange said, "I just want to figure out the situation." "
"And what about later? You've been watching little videos together? Uncle Jiange continued to ask.
"Yes!" Shi Xiaoyu said enthusiastically, "We are very happy watching small videos together!" Some videos are funny and funny! Some of the videos are touching and heartwarming! Some videos also teach us how to make food and crafts! We still play with each other every now and then! Have fun just like that! "
"How long have you been watching together?" Uncle Jiange asked.
"It will take about an hour." Shi Xiaoyu replied, "Looking at it, Xiaojing suddenly exclaimed, 'Ah, time flies so fast, it's all at this point!'" So we looked at my phone together, and sure enough, it was past 3:50. I remember it very well because we happened to be watching a video about dogs, which was cute and funny. Shi Xiaoyu said.
"You're going to break up right away?" Uncle Jiange asked.
"Not right away." Shi Xiaoyu said, "We also had a few words. Xiaojing said she had made an appointment with another friend to talk about things at 4 o'clock, and although it was at a nearby café, it was time to go. Mei Mei and I both advised her not to be too nervous and worried, saying that she would definitely get things done. Then we checked out and left. "
"How did you settle the bill? Cash or card? Uncle Jiange asked.
"In cash." Shi Xiaoyu said, "The three of us share the expenses equally. I remember very well that each person paid 350 yuan. "
"Did you pay and just leave? Have you also greeted the waiters or other guests at the tea restaurant? Uncle Jiange asked.
"Nope." Shi Xiaoyu said, "After we paid, we walked directly out of the door of the tea restaurant and said goodbye at the door. Xiaojing walked to the right in the direction of the café, and Mei Mei and I walked to the left in the direction of the parking lot. "
"Did anything else happen along the way?" Uncle Jiange asked.
"No more." Shi Xiaoyu shook his head, "I don't remember anything noteworthy that happened in the middle. It was Xiaojing who called her little nanny and said that she planned to eat lobster at night and asked her to go to the supermarket to buy some steak and lobster to make back. That's all. "
Then we chatted for a short while, making sure we couldn't recall more details, and then we decided to end the conversation, get up and get ready to leave. Uncle Jiange took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Shi Xiaoyu, telling her to contact us at any time if she had any ideas or discoveries.
We drove out of Wanda Plaza and followed the familiar road back to the Li Family Manor. Taking advantage of the red light, I turned to look at Uncle Jiange and wondered what he thought of the conversation.
"What do you think? Did we find any new clues through this conversation? I asked.
"Well," Uncle Jiange mused, "there is actually a small discovery, but I am not sure if it is useful. "
"Oh? What small finding? I asked curiously, "Is it related to Li Shilan's case?" "
"Of course it's related to the case." Uncle Jiange said, "Didn't you notice? When Shi Xiaoyu was chatting with us, he had a small habit movement, and I want to say that this child's heart is really big. "
"Her habitual movements? What kind of action? I was confused, "Could it be that she had to take out the mirror and lipstick to touch up her makeup every once in a while?" "
"Not that. Uncle Jiange shook his head, "That's just a manifestation of her love for beauty." You just don't like to pay attention to details. Uncle Jiange shook his head.
But when I asked him which details it was, he was reluctant to say any more, saying that further confirmation was needed, and it was just a small guess of his own.