After getting off the plane, Jiang Cheng and Xu Lirong headed straight to the meeting location.
It was already noon, and the scheduled meeting time with the Lin family was at 2:30 in the afternoon. The meeting was set to take place in an office building in the central business district of Wuhan, which belonged to New Century Entertainment.
They took a taxi to the destination, and Jiang Cheng saw the company building from the outside. It looked quite impressive. The office building was located in a prime downtown location, and it was currently highly valuable property. The former owner, who had passed away, had signed a five-year lease agreement when they rented the building, and the rent had been paid in full upfront. There were still over three years left on the lease, so if they bought the company, they could continue to use the office building for another three years. This fact added some points to Jiang Cheng's estimation of the company.
Jiang Cheng and Xu Lirong found a nearby restaurant, filled their stomachs, and then spent nearly an hour going through different scenarios and the most reasonable solutions they could come up with for the upcoming meeting. After confirming their preparations were in order, they entered New Century Entertainment.
Upon informing the receptionist of their purpose, she led them into a meeting room.
Before entering the meeting room, Jiang Cheng briefly scanned the layout of the entire company. It had two floors and occupied over 500 square meters of space. The company wasn't large, with approximately forty to fifty employees, most of whom seemed lethargic and idle at their desks. Understandably, with the impending sale of the company, these employees were uncertain about their future, and their motivation to work was low. Besides, there might not be much work left.
They entered the meeting room, waited for about two minutes, and then a lady entered first.
She appeared to be in her thirties, of average build, exuding a certain mature charm. She wore a formal black suit that highlighted her well-proportioned figure, and her hair was neatly arranged at the back of her head. Accompanied by two male secretaries in black suits, she walked gracefully. However, it was apparent that she carried an air of sadness and weariness, perhaps due to recently losing a loved one.
Approaching them, one of her male secretaries stepped forward and introduced, "This is the current legal representative of New Century Entertainment, Ms. Lin Wanjun. This is Mr. Jiang Cheng, who wishes to purchase New Century Entertainment, and Mr. Xu Lirong, his lawyer."
Jiang Cheng stood up, extended his hand to Ms. Lin Wanjun, and said, "Ms. Lin, nice to meet you."
Lin Wanjun nodded without any expression, didn't shake his hand, and sat down in a chair that her other secretary had pulled out for her. The two male secretaries stood behind her like bodyguards.
With his hand hanging in the air, Jiang Cheng felt a bit awkward but decided not to make a scene. He withdrew his hand and exchanged a glance with Xu Lirong before taking his seat as well.
This woman was not easy to deal with!
After giving Jiang Cheng a brief look, Lin Wanjun suddenly commented, "You're very young." Her voice was cold, and she didn't seem to have a gentle temperament.
Jiang Cheng was taken aback by her sudden remark but remained composed. He replied, "I'm only seventeen years old this year, so I guess I'm considered young."
"I know you. You're the talented writer who used to go by the pen name 'Bright Moon.' You wrote [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] and [Kunlun] right? I heard you even wrote and starred in a TV series recently. Quite talented!" Lin Wanjun continued.
"Just average, not worthy of such praise," Jiang Cheng modestly responded.
"I'm not praising you!" Lin Wanjun suddenly said, her voice even colder.
"Oh," Jiang Cheng faltered. He didn't expect his modesty to be met with such a response.
"That's a fact," Lin Wanjun said in an indisputable tone. "Excessive modesty is hypocrisy. I don't like hypocritical people. So, it's best for you to be honest in front of me."
Jiang Cheng felt a bit frustrated. Since his rebirth, he had never encountered someone who played their cards so differently. But considering she was a woman, it wasn't entirely surprising. As the saying goes, women can't be judged by conventional means.
Taking a deep breath and calming his slightly unsettled emotions, Jiang Cheng was about to speak when Lin Wanjun asked, "How much are you willing to offer to buy New Century Entertainment?"
She was getting straight to the point? Jiang Cheng felt a bit overwhelmed. The initiative had completely shifted to her, and being so passive was not a good sign.
He glanced at Xu Lirong, signaling him to take over. Xu Lirong understood and cleared his throat before saying, "Ms. Lin, based on the information we have, the current market value of this company is approximately 5 million RMB at most, but your initial asking price of 2 million USD is extremely high..."
"I didn't ask you for all that. I know how much this company is worth better than you!" Lin Wanjun rudely interrupted Xu Lirong. "I just want to know how much you can offer. Don't answer with anything else."
Jiang Cheng, feeling a bit irritated, managed to remain composed on the surface and said, "10 million RMB. I can offer up to 10 million RMB. This includes everything in the company, all assets, and all employee contracts."
"10 million RMB?" Lin Wanjun lightly chuckled and shook her head, her tone still cold. "That's far from enough."
Xu Lirong calmly responded, "Compared to your asking price, it's naturally lower, but it's significantly higher than the market value of this company. Ms. Lin, we've come with sincerity, and we hope you'll reconsider. Your initial asking price was indeed unreasonably high. I'm afraid that aside from us, no one would be willing to pay more than 4 million RMB."
"I know," Lin Wanjun said casually. "If it's just these things, it's not even worth 5 million RMB. Your offer of 10 million RMB is already quite high. I see your sincerity, as you said, except for you, other offers haven't exceeded 4 million RMB. However, this company has much more to offer than what you've seen."
"Oh?" Jiang Cheng and Xu Lirong were both surprised. Did this company have other assets?
Lin Wanjun gestured to one of her male secretaries, and he retrieved a document from her bag, handing it to Jiang Cheng and Xu Lirong.
Curious, Jiang Cheng and Xu Lirong took a look at the document. To their surprise, it was all written in English, but fortunately, both of them had a good command of English and could understand it. However, as they read through it, their eyes widened in shock.
You might wonder why.
That's because according to the document, New Century Entertainment had a subsidiary called X-Lin Special Effects Company. What was even more surprising was that this special effects company was located in the United States!