Chapter 6

Lin Yushu returned to his own home from his older brother’s house, and it was already past nine o’clock in the evening, which was about the same time he usually arrived home after working overtime.

He opened the TV in the living room and turned on the computer in his study. He was used to sitting in the study, working on his tasks while watching TV. The interior of his home was decorated in black, white, and gray. It felt too quiet without some noise, so Lin Yushu didn’t really want to watch TV; he just liked having some activity in the house.

The TV was playing a cliché romantic idol drama, and every time he saw the protagonist giving up their career for love, Lin Yushu couldn’t help but shake his head.

What’s the value of love?

Watching the numbers grow in his bank account provided him with a greater sense of security.

After finishing most of his tasks, Lin Yushu went to his bedroom and began his favorite activity—counting money.

There were already twenty-eight gold bars in the safe. In a while, on his twenty-ninth birthday, Lin Yushu planned to buy another one to make his safe even more glittering.

“26, 27, 28…”

As he stacked the counted gold bars back into the safe, Lin Yushu suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and movement outside the front door, as if someone was moving things.

He lived in a high-end apartment building where each floor only had two units, and the layouts of the two units were completely symmetrical, with a spacious area of two hundred square meters.

The unit opposite his had been vacant since Lin Yushu moved in, so there shouldn’t be anyone moving around.

Carrying his glass of water, Lin Yushu approached the front door and looked through the peephole of the camera. He saw several workers carrying mattresses in the corridor.

The 24-hour property caretaker, dressed in a black uniform, was standing nearby. Lin Yushu decided to open the door and asked, “Is someone moving in?”

“Yes, Mr. Lin,” the caretaker replied. “The unit across from yours has been rented out.”

Lin Yushu glanced at the corridor and saw not only mattresses but also a sofa, a chest of drawers, and suitcases behind them.

Taking a sip of water, he asked, “Do you know who it is?”

“We don’t know yet,” the caretaker shook his head. “The tenant hasn’t registered with the property management. Once they come to register, I can find out for you.”

“Alright, thank you,” Lin Yushu expressed his gratitude and closed the door, returning to his room.

The level of friendliness among neighbors determines the happiness index of one’s life, but Lin Yushu’s inquiry about the new neighbor wasn’t due to that reason.

This upscale residential complex was developed by Yong Xing Real Estate and had previously sold at sky-high prices in the downtown area.

The people who could live in this community usually had some wealth, so Lin Yushu was eager to expand his social network.

What would be a good gift to give to the new neighbor?

After wandering around his house, Lin Yushu finally settled on a bottle of white wine from his wine cabinet.

It wasn’t too shabby, considering it cost a few thousand dollars, nor was it overly expensive.
———
As the negotiation date approached, the atmosphere in the company became increasingly tense.

This tension reached its peak on Friday morning when Song Qiming appeared in the office.

Through the blinds of his private office, Lin Yushu could see Song Qiming wearing a casual white short-sleeved shirt, forming a stark contrast with the lawyer beside him, who was dressed in a suit.

The front desk staff escorted Song Qiming to the meeting room. There were still fifteen minutes left until the negotiation at ten o’clock, and Shao Guangjie and other representatives from the company had not yet arrived.

The legal affairs department poked their heads into Lin Yushu’s office and asked if he wanted to urge the bosses to hurry up.

The front desk staff escorted Song Qiming to the meeting room, with fifteen minutes remaining until the scheduled negotiation at ten o’clock, and Shao Guangjie and the representatives from the acquiring company had not arrived yet.

The legal affairs department partially entered Lin Yushu’s office and asked if he wanted to urge the bosses to hurry up.

Lin Yushu simply replied, “No need,” and proceeded to adjust his tie in front of the glass of the filing cabinet. He tucked the acquisition proposal under his arm and, accompanied by the legal and finance teams, entered the meeting room.

“Hello, Mr. Song,” Lin Yushu walked straight up to Song Qiming, who was sitting down, “This is my business card.”

He held the business card in the air, but Song Qiming didn’t take it.

There was an unmistakable surprise in his eyes, as he probably hadn’t expected to see Lin Yushu again here.

Since no one took the business card, Lin Yushu decided to place it on the conference table in front of Song Qiming and then took a seat opposite him.

“Investment Manager?” Song Qiming picked up the white business card with one hand and examined it front and back. Once he had played with it enough, he placed the card back on the table and looked at Lin Yushu, asking, “Do you manage all of Shao Guangjie’s money?”

This topic came rather abruptly, and the other employees in the company office, who had been sorting through their documents, looked at each other in confusion upon hearing Song Qiming’s words.

“I am only responsible for investments,” Lin Yushu calmly responded, pretending not to catch the teasing tone in Song Qiming’s words.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps grew intense outside the meeting room. All the employees in the company office stood up simultaneously, and the next moment, representatives from the acquiring company, led by Shao Hengdong, entered the meeting room.

“Hello, Director Shao,” Lin Yushu nodded first at Shao Hengdong, then at Shao Hengxu, who followed behind, “Hello, Director Shao.”

Although both were addressed as “Director Shao,” Shao Hengxu was actually the vice chairman. It was considered improper in the workplace to address a leader as “Vice XX,” so everyone in the company had adopted calling Shao Hengxu “Director Shao” as well.

Next was Shao Guangjie, and Lin Yushu greeted him, “Mr. Shao.”

Before entering the room, all three of them had an air of preparedness, but as soon as they saw Song Qiming, they simultaneously put on polite smiles.

“Qiming, long time no see,” Shao Hengdong took a seat in the middle, “You’re truly becoming more successful.”

“Hello, Uncle,” Song Qiming was a bit more restrained than Lin Yushu had imagined. Although he had appeared quite lazy just moments ago, he now knew how to greet properly.

After some initial pleasantries, the negotiation finally got down to business.

As the acquisition of S-power was Shao Guangjie’s idea, he naturally took the lead in the negotiation.

“We have already discussed on the phone previously,” Shao Guangjie glanced at the documents in his hand, “Yong Xing is willing to offer a nine-figure acquisition price.”

“Hmm,” Song Qiming nodded, “Specifically?”

“100 million RMB,” Shao Guangjie provided the number and immediately added, “For a small-scale modification factory, this is already a high price.”

There were about seven or eight people from Yong Xing sitting on one side, each of them paying attention to Song Qiming’s reaction, and Lin Yushu was no exception.

“RMB?” Song Qiming chuckled with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, leaning back in his chair and looking at Shao Guangjie from a distance, “I thought we were discussing a deal in US dollars.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yushu immediately circled the number of 100 million in the acquisition proposal and made a note next to it: Not satisfied.

“If it’s in US dollars,” Shao Guangjie controlled his micro-expressions and looked somewhat embarrassed, “I’m afraid it won’t reach nine figures, cousin.”

He deliberately emphasized Song Qiming’s identity, clearly trying to remind them of their relationship.

Song Qiming neither agreed nor disagreed, crossed his arms, and asked, “100 million RMB for what percentage of the acquisition?”

Lin Yushu continued to make notes in the blank space of the proposal: Crossed arms, guarded.

“100%,” Shao Guangjie said, “Of course, we also need you to serve as the Chief Engineer.”

Acquiring 100% of S-power’s shares for 100 million RMB meant buying the company outright, and Song Qiming would no longer be a shareholder.

Lin Yushu had anticipated that Song Qiming might not be satisfied, but now it was almost certain that he would not be.

“So, Yong Xing has a total market value of 70 billion US dollars,” Song Qiming said calmly, showing no signs of anger or panic, “but is only willing to spend 100 million RMB to acquire S-power.”

“Of course, 100 million is our valuation,” Shao Guangjie said, “Cousin, you can share your thoughts as well.”

Since S-power was not a publicly traded company and didn’t have a market value to refer to, they could only negotiate a mutually satisfactory valuation based on the acquisition.

Lin Yushu made another note beside the “100 million” in the proposal: In US dollars?

Clearly, Song Qiming had no objection to the nine-figure range. By requesting the change to US dollars, it indicated that he considered the acquisition price to be at least above 600 million RMB, and it was uncertain how much of his shares he would be willing to sell.

Song Qiming didn’t provide a specific number and asked, “What about other conditions? What does it mean to be the Chief Engineer?”

Based on Shao Guangjie’s previous thoughts, he didn’t even want Song Qiming to come to Yong Xing.

But S-power couldn’t do without Song Qiming, so Shao Guangjie had to compromise, and the position of Chief Engineer was the highest position he could accept. Anything higher, he couldn’t agree to.

“We would like to hire you as the Chief Engineer of the S-power division. You can name your annual salary,” Shao Guangjie said, “In addition, we will also grant you an additional 1% stock option in the Yong Xing Group, and the exercise period will be determined by you.”

It was a very tempting offer, and according to Lin Yushu’s previous anticipation, this acquisition proposal had some potential.

However, judging from Song Qiming’s reaction so far, he might not be interested in these additional perks.

After all the calculations, Lin Yushu once again misjudged Song Qiming’s response. Song Qiming tilted his chin slightly and asked the lawyer beside him, “Stock option?”

The lawyer pushed his glasses and whispered, “It means equity, how much ownership you can have in the company.”

The conference room was very quiet. Even though the lawyer was mindful of his volume, Lin Yushu, sitting across from him, could still hear his response.

Lin Yushu’s heart sank, and he instinctively glanced at Shao Guangjie, finding that he had no reaction whatsoever.

Looking at the other colleagues, they were all the same, maintaining a calm appearance. Some were flipping through documents, and some were twirling pens. They must have been murmuring in their minds as well.

Stock options were definitely not the same as equity. They were used to incentivize employees. As a professional lawyer, it was impossible for him not to know that.

The only reason the lawyer on the other side would explain it that way was that he was prompted by Shao Guangjie.

If Song Qiming truly believed that he could get 1% of the group’s equity, equivalent to $700 million worth of stocks, then why would they be hesitating here?

Song Qiming couldn’t be that foolish, right?

Lin Yushu thought he had grasped the direction of the negotiation, but he didn’t expect Shao Guangjie to still be playing tricks behind his back.

It was inappropriate to step forward now and remind Song Qiming. Judging by the reactions of Shao Hedong and Shao Hexu, they were clearly aware that the other lawyer was on their side.

What should they do?

Just as Lin Yushu was nervously tensing his back, Song Qiming on the opposite side suddenly stood up and said, “This acquisition proposal deviates significantly from my expectations. I need to reconsider.”

After speaking, he nodded slightly towards the elder on the other side and left the meeting room without looking back.

The first negotiation didn’t reach a resolution, which was quite normal.

Lin Yushu let out a sigh of relief for the time being. But then he heard Shao Guangjie say to his father, “Did he figure something out?”

Shao Hedong replied, “His Chinese has never been good since he was young. Do you expect him to understand those concepts? He’s probably just unsatisfied with the acquisition price.”

Indeed, the Shao family was setting a trap for Song Qiming, taking advantage of his unfamiliarity with Chinese to deliberately confuse him with the concepts.

But on second thought, wasn’t Song Qiming’s Chinese not good?

Lin Yushu had never paid attention to this point.

Based on their recent interactions, Song Qiming seemed to be very proficient in mocking others.

No, now wasn’t the time to think about this.

Lin Yushu needed to quickly decide whether to find an opportunity to remind Song Qiming that there might be something wrong with his lawyer.

________________________________________________

Lin Yushu’s current favorite activity in his bedroom – counting money.

As for the future…

 

<Previous.........................Next>