Chapter 64: The Huang-Style Reversal

[PS: Regarding the issue with 00 and OO, I've looked into it. The reason for this display problem is that my current writing software shows 00 and OO almost identically, and the keys 0 and O are positioned closely on the keyboard, making it easy to hit the wrong one. That's how this situation came about. I promise I'll be more careful in proofreading and will resolve this issue in the future.]

The room was silent for quite some time. Lin Haiquan felt rather pleased with himself, convinced that his display of magnanimity had stunned the other party. After all, a high school girl likely hadn’t ever seen two million in her life—it was only natural for her to be astonished.

"Is that all?" After about a minute, Leng Zhimeng furrowed her brows slightly, as if she couldn’t quite believe it.

"What else do you expect?" Lin Haiquan retorted.

"Heh, I thought Mr. Lin would add with grand flourish, 'I meant US dollars!'" Leng Zhimeng replied with a smile, deliberately drawing out the final word, making Lin Haiquan’s face flush red.

"Miss Leng, if you think the price is too low, we can keep negotiating. There's no need to mock me like this," Lin Haiquan said, clearly disgruntled.

"I'm not mocking you. It just reminded me of a joke my brother-in-law once told me," Leng Zhimeng laughed. "He said that when Richard Li and HIM approached Pony Ma to invest in QQ, they offered 1.2 million. Pony Ma thought the price was fair and was about to agree, but Richard Li quickly added, 'I mean US dollars,' and sealed the deal right then and there."

"I thought Mr. Lin might follow Mr. Li's example and try that move on us," she continued.

"Miss Leng, are you suggesting I should convert the two million to US dollars before we can proceed? Is that your offer?" Lin Haiquan’s smile faded, his tone turning irritable.

"That's not what I mean. We don’t want that price either," Leng Zhimeng shook her head. Lin Haiquan breathed a sigh of relief and began to smile again, only to hear her continue, "Two million US dollars is still far below OO's value. The offer is too low; we won't make a deal."

"You think two million US dollars isn’t enough?" Lin Haiquan’s expression soured instantly. "Miss Leng, asking for the moon is not a good tactic. We might not play along just to placate you."

"Just a few months ago, a 20% stake in QQ sold for 12.6 million US dollars, placing QQ’s total valuation at 50 million. Compared to that, am I really asking too much?" Leng Zhimeng said calmly.

"But you're not QQ," Lin Haiquan countered.

"But you no longer have the right to invest in QQ," Leng Zhimeng replied coolly.

"QQ will live on, but who knows if you’re just a flash in the pan?" Lin Haiquan’s voice grew shrill.

"Are kings and nobles born to their station? What if QQ is the one that fades?" a vibrant voice rang out from the doorway. The crowd jumped, turning in unison to see a young man enter with a smile.

"Brother-in-law, you're finally back. Negotiating with them has worn me out!" Leng Zhimeng pouted.

"And here I am, rushing back," Huang He took a seat beside her. Leng Zhimeng obediently yielded the central spot to him. Only then did everyone realize that the high school girl wasn’t the real boss—the true owner was her brother-in-law, the man before them named Huang He.

"Huang He—that name sounds familiar," Chen Sheng, the legal director standing behind Lin Haiquan, frowned slightly. He felt he had heard the name somewhere, but couldn’t recall where.

"Mr. Huang, if I’m not mistaken, you’re the chairman of Jiangnan Group, aren’t you?" Lin Haiquan broke into a hearty smile. "You’ve finally shown yourself—I thought you might not want to meet us."

As a representative of a major investment group, Lin Haiquan would never arrive without thoroughly investigating the other party’s background. However, there was scant information on Jiangnan Computer. They’d only discovered through the business registry that the company belonged to Jiangnan Group, with Huang He as chairman.

Lin Haiquan figured Huang He had sent Leng Zhimeng, a high school girl, as bait to draw them out, hoping to gauge their cards. If Huang He negotiated directly, there would be no room for maneuver.

This is a common tactic in business negotiations. In fact, Lin Haiquan himself wasn’t the final decision-maker—the real boss was the investor behind him, Zhu Yue. If Lin Haiquan’s talks collapsed, Zhu Yue could step in for a fresh round. That’s the most crucial negotiation trick, and why the boss rarely appears directly—it’s not about putting on airs, but about never acting rashly. Once they commit, there’s no turning back.

Now that Huang He had appeared, it meant Jiangnan Computer was likely going to present a new price.

Sure enough, once he entered, Huang He spoke directly, "Gentlemen, thank you for coming. Jiangnan Group has no interest in selling Jiangnan Computer Services, nor in selling OO’s shares. Please see yourselves out."

"What!" Lin Haiquan was startled, staring at Huang He in disbelief. So blunt a refusal—this couldn’t be mere negotiation tactics.

"Of course, if you’re willing to offer one hundred million US dollars, I might consider letting go of twenty percent of OO’s shares," Huang He said with a smile.

"Mr. Huang, with that attitude, I fear negotiations are impossible," Lin Haiquan stood up in anger. This wasn’t just asking for the moon—it was a dragon spitting water.

"Then let me see you out," Huang He said cheerfully, opening the office door. This time, even if Lin Haiquan and his group didn’t want to leave, they had no choice but to stride out.

"This man is simply insane!" Lin Haiquan and his companions grumbled inwardly. Then something even more outrageous happened: after they left the office, Huang He walked right alongside Zhang Xiaolong, speaking as he went, "Mr. Zhang Xiaolong, would you be interested in joining Jiangnan Computer? I could set up a project group just for you, let you pick your own team, and together we could create a project that will reshape the Chinese internet. What do you say?"

He was openly poaching talent right in front of them!

And he even knew Zhang Xiaolong’s true identity. Zhang Xiaolong wasn’t exactly famous—how did this provincial boss know about him?

"I have deep affection for Boda and Foxmail. I won’t leave them," Zhang Xiaolong shook his head resolutely.

"That’s no problem," Huang He smiled, turning to Lin Haiquan. "Mr. Lin, perhaps we could return to the office and continue talks—not about your acquisition of OO, but about our acquisition of Foxmail. If I remember correctly, Boda paid twelve million for Foxmail. We’re willing to offer twenty million, but the condition is that Mr. Zhang Xiaolong comes to Jiangnan in the package. What do you think?"

Lin Haiquan stared in speechless astonishment. Who was acquiring whom, exactly?

And, even more absurd—

Alarmingly, he found himself tempted.