Water and Fire~Chapter 13.2: More Experience, More Benefit

 

Chapter 13.2: More Experience, More Benefit

To prevent the three from having time to discuss matters, Yu Yue arranged for three groups to negotiate simultaneously with Du Ran, Zeng Qiang, and Di Chong.

Yu Yue assigned two of his men to talk to Zeng Qiang and Di Chong separately. He left Du Ran, the tough one, to deal with in person. They selected three conference rooms and used audio-visual equipment to synchronize the three negotiations to Ren Yan's computer. Although he was outside the three negotiation sites, he could still observe the proceedings simultaneously, allowing him to provide feedback and suggestions at any time.

Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, and Tang Yi all dragged their chairs to Ren Yan's computer screen and huddled together to watch.

Ren Yan glanced indifferently at the five people. Chu Qianmiao was huddled together with four older men. She had curled herself up into a ball, trying to create as much distance as possible from the others around her.

"Lawyer Chu, please stand up," Ren Yan said flatly.

"?" Chu Qianmiao was puzzled, but she obeyed.

Ren Yan also stood up, lifted his hips, took two steps, turned around, and sat down in Chu Qianmiao's chair.

He pointed to his own executive chair with his chin: "Sit there."

Chu Qianmiao didn't try to be pretentious, and her big eyes smiled into crescents: "Okay! Thank you for your consideration, boss!"

Qin Qianyu weakly corrected: "He's my boss, not yours..."

But no one paid any attention.

*

The negotiations began, and the results surprised Chu Qianmiao immensely.

The person who was negotiated in favor of someone was not Di Chong, but Zeng Qiang, who had been predicted to be a "powerful opponent."

Zeng Qiang was persuaded with almost no effort. Once the company representative made it clear that the patents actually belonged to the company, Zeng Qiang wavered. Then, when the company representative explained Zhou Hanhai's decision, Zeng Qiang's eyes reddened, and he was almost moved to tears.

He pinched his eyelids and said, "I'm fine with technical R&D, but I'm not very smart for anything else. So when they said I didn't have to worry about it, that they could negotiate terms and pay the company, and all I had to do was go along with them, I somehow agreed! I really regret it now. How could I have agreed so impulsively just by hearing about the money? Even now, President Zhou hasn't let bygones be bygones. He's willing to give us shares after all this has happened. I really, really don't know what to say! Please tell President Zhou that I, Zeng Qiang, will focus solely on working for him from now on. If I ever have any more frivolous thoughts, I'd be ashamed to be a human being!"

The negotiations in the other two rooms were moving more slowly. Di Chong's side, in particular, hadn't made any progress at all. No matter what the company representative said or what results they presented, Di Chong refused to accept them. It turned out he was the one who "shrugged off both kindness and threats."

If Zeng Qiang's "emotional shrug" had surprised Chu Qianmiao at a level three, then Di Chong's surprise today was already a level eight.

She couldn't understand why Di Chong was acting this way. Or rather, she couldn't understand why the shy and honest Di Chong was the only one of the three who acted this way.

With Di Chong's situation at a stalemate, everyone simply focused on Du Ran's movements.

Because Du Ran was expected to be the most difficult to negotiate with, Yu Yue personally took charge.

And the situation here surprised Chu Qianmiao again—Du Ran, who she had thought was tough and unyielding, turned out to be the one who "shrugged off" threats.

Yu Yue sternly told Du Ran: "The patent is a work-related invention and belongs to the company. If you continue to cause trouble, not only will your efforts be in vain, but the company will also be unhappy and face legal action!"

—The last sentence was a whirlwind improvisation from Yu Yue's cerebral cortex.

But unexpectedly, his witty remark immediately intimidated Du Ran.

Du Ran, who had initially maintained a tough attitude, softened immediately.

His next words triggered a wave of shock within Chu Qianmiao.

"Mr. Yu, things have come to this point. I can't hide anything from you. I didn't mean to be the first to do this. I really care about my job at Hanhai! All of this was Di Chong's idea!"

Chu Qianmiao, staring at the screen, couldn't help but raise his voice an octave: "Di Chong??"

How could it be possible? That gentle and shy old man, the one who became shy and awkward when he spoke.

Shocked beyond measure, she turned to look at the others, hoping to find sympathy for their surprise.

…But everyone else's faces bore the look of someone who'd seen it so often.

She turned to look at Ren Yan again.

Ren Yan smiled faintly, a smile devoid of any warmth. "I told you before, there are so many possibilities in the capital market, a reversal could happen at any moment."

Chu Qianmiao felt a chill run down her throat.

She heard Du Ran recounting the entire story to Yu Yue.

"Yes, Mr. Yu, don't be surprised. Actually, it wasn't me who actually initiated this. It was Di Chong. He told me before signing the agreement that someone in the know had told him that we were at a disadvantage under the terms the company offered us. After the company goes public, the patent will definitely be worth more than the current price. So, if we were to receive shares at the current price, we'd be at a disadvantage. We had to have the company make up the difference in cash. That would be fair to us."

"I told him, but we've already negotiated with the company and signed the agreement. Raising the price at the last minute wouldn't be a good idea, right?"

"Di Chong said to me, 'Think about it! This is a lot of money. It would take you three lifetimes to earn it with your fixed salary. Don't you want to buy a bigger house and send your two children abroad in the future? Without this money, you can't achieve both of those things with shares alone.'

"After hearing this, I was completely convinced. I asked him, what if the company doesn't agree? Wouldn't we be out of a job?"

"Di Chong told me, 'No, if the company doesn't agree to our terms, we won't transfer the patents, and that would definitely affect the company's IPO.' President Zhou certainly doesn't want to delay the company's IPO, so he'll definitely compromise with us. He also said we rely on our technology for a living and have real skills, and President Zhou needs us, so there's no need to worry about offending him.' He completely sold me on that, and I followed his lead. Then the two of us went together to convince Zeng Qiang."

After listening to Du Ran's words, Yu Yue took a moment to process them. Then he asked, "Since you said Di Chong was the one who came up with the idea, why were you the first to negotiate the terms with the company?"

Du Ran clasped his hands together, rubbing the bases of his palms nervously.

"Di Chong asked me to take the lead. He said I was the most eloquent and assertive of the three of us. He and Zeng Qiang blush when speaking in public, and Zeng Qiang becomes stammering and incoherent when nervous. If they were to come forward, they wouldn't have any intimidating effect. I also felt that given their personalities, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to take the lead, so I decided to do it."

Hearing this, Chu Qianmiao's heart was in turmoil.

How could it be possible? How could Di Chong be the mastermind behind this whole thing? The Di Chong who had smiled shyly and thrust a handful of hazelnuts into her. The Di Chong she had thought of as an honest man, turned out to be the one manipulating everything beneath a veneer of honesty.

She had thought Du Ran was scheming, possessing a big appetite, and a tough attitude, but he turned out to be a fool, deceived by his smooth talk and used as a pawn.

At that moment, all her perceptions of honest people were completely overturned.

"How could this happen? How could Di Chong be such a person?" She had no idea the surprise had already broken through her throat and burst out of her mouth.

Someone patted her shoulder.

"Calm down."

She twisted her head and looked up, seeing Ren Yan. He had stood beside her without her noticing.

"You haven't seen much, so you're still surprised. Look at them." He nodded with his chin at Qin Qianyu and the others, who were each calmly watching a play. "After so much experience, you'll feel like they have nothing to be disappointed about."

"The capital market, where money is involved, doesn't tolerate trust in human nature. Be more open-minded," Ren Yan said coldly.