After winning the case on stock ownership, Gao lodged another lawsuit at the end of 2007 to divide up the company's property. But she asked for more than 35 percent of the shares.

"Since these are property held jointly by the husband and wife, it should be divided 50:50, with each party getting half."

Gao said that when she left the company, the economic benefits were significant. A conservative estimate would put the total capital at about six million yuan, or 800,000 US dollars. But Yao says the company was in very poor condition.

"To put it bluntly, the company was, in fact, all empty. It doesn't have any fixed assets at all. The vehicles there were owned by others and affiliated to the company."

Yao said that the business had been affected by the couple's conflict. There used to be more than 300 vehicles affiliated with the company, but quite a number of owners had since turned to other companies. In addition, the company provided guarantee to vehicle owners on their loan applications, so as to attract more customers. But some vehicle owners failed to pay back the loans and the company had to take on joint liability. Yao explains.

"Although we had placed some cases on file for investigation, the owners had not yet been found, nor had the vehicle. The debt was owed all along and the company's property was not great enough to pay off the debts."

So far, the court has not reached a verdict. It is still everyone's guess as to how much property the company has and how much Gao Weiping will get. But one thing is for sure. Once family property is entangled with company property, a seemingly simple divorce can quickly grow complicated.