Money scattered all over Li Feng as he knelt down to collect it, while Zhang Xue looked at him with cold eyes and a disdainful snort, walking seductively to the Mercedes parked in front of the gate. As she sat in the car, Zhang Xue watched Li Feng squatting down to pick up the money with extreme contempt.
You can't make bricks without straw.
"Li Feng?"
As Li Feng bent over to collect the money, he heard someone calling his name; looking up, he saw a pair of stiletto heels and legs in black stockings, and upon raising his head further, an extremely attractive woman with a mature allure.
"I am Wei Lan."
Wei Lan had just witnessed the scene unfold from close by. Li Feng grunted, "please lift your foot, you're stepping on the money."
Wei Lan uttered an "ah," looked down at her foot, stepped back, and watched Li Feng pick up the money.
Li Feng secured the money in his pocket and then looked directly at Wei Lan, "Can you fully represent the Wei Family in making decisions?"
Wei Lan felt uncomfortable under Li Feng's scrutinizing gaze, the disdain in his words unsettling her.
"In terms of acquiring Qingcheng's stocks, my grandfather has given me full authority," Wei Lan said with a cold smirk, "but what about you? Do you have the capability to buy all the shares I own?"
Li Feng gave a slight smile.
"As long as money can solve the problem, it is not a problem."
Wei Lan scoffed, observing his bravado. Just a moment ago, he was the one squatting to pick up money, and now he was pretending again—as if he were a plastic bag.
"Really?"
"No matter what the stock price of Qingcheng is, I will buy it for double." Li Feng replied indifferently, glancing at Wei Lan's mocking expression.
Wei Lan's face grew even more scornful as he spoke. This man, where did he pop up from? Just spouting 'double' as if he were buying cabbage.
"Double, you say it so lightly. Do you know today's stock price of Qingcheng? Do you know how many shares I hold?"
"There are twelve shareholders in Qingcheng Group who hold more than 1% of the shares. The Wei Family is the second-largest shareholder, holding 17% of Qingcheng, with a total equity of 120 million shares. Based on today's stock price, that is worth 7.89 billion."
"I'll round it up for you, 16 billion. Here is the share transfer agreement; sign it, and it takes effect immediately."
Wei Lan blinked her eyelashes, this was the first time she had seen anyone negotiate like this — not only did he not bargain, but he even added two to three hundred million just to round up the numbers, recalling him just picking two to three thousand yuan off the ground.
"Ha, are you joking?"
When did multi-billion dollar transactions get settled in just a few words? Was he not taking it too lightly, no need for lawyers, no need for a dozen rounds of negotiation, sparring over three to five months?
Li Feng looked at Wei Lan.
"I never joke about money. The contract is in your hands, you sign whenever you feel like, I only follow today's stock price, and if Qingcheng's price drops to cabbage price tomorrow, don't cry."
"Miss Wei, that's all there is to say, please send my regards to your grandfather."
Li Feng abruptly turned and left without a pause. Wei Lan watched his back and scoffed twice, me cry?
Grandfather, from where did you get to know such a questionable character, not a reliable word from his mouth. All that bragging. And to think Grandfather wanted me to dress up nicely, obviously planning to introduce me to him.
With his self-important attitude, he's hardly a matching candidate.
As she was pondering this, Wei Lan's phone rang.
"Hello."
"Miss Wei, there's a problem. The supplier said they can't provide the raw materials we need."
Wei Lan's expression turned serious, she cast Li Feng out of her mind and turned to enter the building, "What exactly happened? Didn't you send someone to negotiate?"
The crisis at Qingcheng came like a tsunami, without any warning.
In just a few days, Qingcheng fell from its peak directly into the abyss, a drop as steep as a cliff that was terrifying.
Suppliers cut off shipments, customers breached contracts, and banks called in debts. Qingcheng Fashion, which had been operating very stably, found itself in the eye of the storm. In the stock market, Qingcheng's stock price had hit the lower limit several days in a row, evaporating seventy to eighty percent of its market value in just one week.
"Grandpa."
As the storm raged at Qingcheng, Wei Lan, being the vice president, was naturally extremely busy. Receiving a call from her grandfather, she barely mustered her energy.
"Have you signed the stock transfer agreement I asked you to sign?"
"Transfer agreement?"
Wei Lan did not recover her wits in time.
"You haven't signed?"
Upon hearing the emotionless inquiry over the phone, she remembered the boastful man she had met outside the Qingcheng building a few days earlier.
"Grandpa, I thought that man was unreliable, so I didn't take it to heart. He…!"
Wei Lan wanted to explain, but didn't know where to start, hearing only her silent grandfather on the phone: "Grandpa."
"I gave you only one chance."
Hearing the dial tone from the phone hanging up, Wei Lan panicked. The Wei Family was a major family, and it was only because of her grandfather's favor that she had the opportunity to serve as vice president at Qingcheng. She knew how rare this opportunity was; many younger members of her family didn't even have a chance.
Wei Lan thought back to the man's words that day, terrified. Could it be that he had anticipated Qingcheng's drastic fall in stock value, or worse, was he orchestrating it all? She gasped.
"Wei Lan."
Zhang Xue pushed open the door of Wei Lan's office and walked in.
"President."
Wei Lan looked up at Zhang Xue, who glanced at the papers scattered all over the floor: "Wei Lan, I know you're under a lot of pressure. You need to communicate more with the clients, I have a feeling this isn't as simple as it appears."
Wei Lan stopped what she was doing and looked up at Zhang Xue.
"President, the man we met a few days ago in front of the Qingcheng building, do you know him?"
Zhang Xue frowned.
"A few days ago?"
"The man who lost a wad of cash, you know him, don't you?"
Zhang Xue stared at Wei Lan. Li Feng was the last person she wanted to talk about: "Wei Lan, what are you thinking about gossip at a time like this? Yes, I know him. He's a nobody, let's talk business."
Wei Lan took a deep breath.
"President, I think he might be manipulating Qingcheng's situation today."
"That's not possible."
Zhang Xue shook her head decisively, and Wei Lan looked at her: "President, how can you be so sure it's not him?"
Zhang Xue's face showed a trace of disdain.
"Because he's my ex-husband, he was a stay-at-home dad while we were married, always bargaining at the vegetable market. What else does he know? And, he has always been financially dependent on me; his pockets are cleaner than a dog's tongue."
Hearing this, Wei Lan's face took on a strange expression. According to Zhang Xue, the man was indeed a loser, but when they had met, he had produced an incredibly unbelievable transfer agreement at a doubled premium.
"Alright, let's not talk about him anymore, Wei Lan, you follow up with the clients, and I'll talk to the upstream suppliers. We need to find out who is behind this, or Qingcheng is really finished."
Zhang Xue left Wei Lan's office in a rush, thinking about whether to call Qi Shaobin. He had already called her.
"Shaobin, I was just about to call you. Can you wire back that money from Qingcheng's deal?"
Qi Shaobin's voice was a bit hoarse.
"Zhang Xue, let's meet, I have something to tell you."