“I just caught wind that Bai Group’s real estate industry is causing trouble for Mr. Xu.” Zong Jinghao deliberately told only half the story, letting him figure out the rest on his own.
Li Qirui straightened with a serious expression on his face. “You mean-”
Knock, knock.
Zong Jinghao’s secretary knocked on the door just then, to which he blandly said, “Come in.”
His secretary came in with two cups of coffee, placing each one in front of Zong Jinghao and Li Qirui, respectively. Then, she retreated and closed the door behind her.
Li Qirui chuckled and said. “Interesting.”
He took a sip of his coffee and pondered. “If Mr. Xu is ruthless enough in his efforts, that cripple will definitely find himself in a sorry plight. With me attacking him from the other side, he’ll definitely suffer a great loss.”
Zong Jinghao picked up his cup without lifting his gaze eyes nor saying a word, allowing him to make his own speculations.
Li Qirui took a huge sip of his coffee and excitedly said, “If my brother-in-law, the president of HSBC, starts a price war with him…”
Firstly, he was loaded.
If he could successfully push Bai Group out of the market, he would then occupy two-thirds of the domestic market.
Originally, he and Bai Group both occupied half of the market, while the other half was by sole proprietors from small companies, all of which he did not pay much attention to.
Suddenly, Li Qirui slammed his hand on the desk. “It’s settled then.”
He was no fool. He had carefully considered the pros and cons of doing this, and he came to the conclusion that flushing out Bai Group would only bring him benefits.
Besides, his brother-in-law had also repeatedly told him to do whatever Zong Jinghao asked for.
Many did not know, but as Tang Che’s brother-in-law, he knew just how much power Zong Jinghao held in his hands.
To outsiders, Tang Che was a joint investor in Superior Investment Bank, but in reality, it was only in name. In fact, Tang Che did not invest a single penny. It was not that he refused to invest, but Zong Jinghao did not allow him to.
The two of them had a good relationship. And when Zong Jinghao took over Wanyue, Tang Che never once caused him trouble.
Tang Che was a smart person. He knew what Zong Jinghao was capable of. Hence, when Zong Jinghao said that it would not be a joint-stock company, he knew that it was because Zong Jinghao did not want others to have a say in it.
Thus, he did not ask for any shares. As the head of HSBC, he had connections, so he proposed to say that it was a joint venture to fend off anyone who might have hidden agendas. Zong Jinghao agreed because firstly, it was good to have some business dealings with Tang Che, and secondly, it would save him a lot of time and trouble as no one would dare to mess with him.
Zong Jinghao had made his decision after weighing the pros and cons.
Thereafter, Superior Investment Bank was established. As Tang Che and Zong Jinghao had planned, everyone thought that they were joint investors. No one knew that it was in fact only Zong Jinghao with full power over it.
That was because Zong Jinghao had been keeping a low profile.
Even so, he did not mistreat Tang Che. He ensured that Tang Che would get dividends every year.
Without doing anything, money would come flowing into his account. Thus, he had no complaints about that.
In the past few years, Superior Investment Bank had matured exponentially. Wanyue Group had an internal elite pitching team that expertly maneuvered the company according to the economic trend. Wanyue branched into many countries, investing with the lowest capital at different windows of opportunity, and maximizing the profits.
He had built an economic network.
However, no one knew much about it, only that he was investing locally.
Li Qirui leaned on the table and looked at Zong Jinghao with a grin. “Do you think I can-”
Before he could finish speaking, Zong Jinghao raised his eyes and gave him a look.
Cough.
“Uhm, it’s nothing. Well then, I’ll take my leave first. Don’t forget about that meal you promised me.” Li Qirui almost had a slip of the tongue, but he recalled what Tang Che had told him and shoved the words back down his throat in the nick of time.
Tang Che had said to him, “A favor for a favor. If you help him, needless to say, he will forever remember it. If you shamelessly ask for something in return, you’ll only be dooming yourself. Perhaps he’ll give you some money, but it would be just to get rid of you. On the contrary, if you’re patient, he’ll automatically call you up whenever there’s a business opportunity. As time goes by, a bond will be established. Friendship would be next. Once friends, it would be much easier to discuss a collaboration, don’t you agree, Rui?”
At that time, he had looked at Li Qirui with an earnest expression. “What’s the use in asking for a small favor? Do you think Zong Jinghao is lacking in money? He literally runs a bank, so think big and think smart!”
Li Qirui was still too inexperienced and could not hold his ground in the face of temptation.
When Zong Jinghao offered to make up for the price difference, he was intentionally tempting him. Zong Jinghao knew how crafty Tang Che was better than anyone.
The moment Li Qirui came in and said what he said, Zong Jinghao could immediately discern their true intentions – they wanted long-term benefits.
He put down his coffee and called for Guan Jing to ask if Mr. Wang was here already.
“He’s been waiting for a long time.” He had been waiting outside since Li Qirui arrived.
“Bring him in,” he ordered while massaging his forehead.
Guan Jing went to do as he was told. Mr. Wang was a middle-aged man with a medium build and common-looking features. He was holding a blue folder and seemed to be rather tense. He placed the folder on the desk and announced, “Mr. Zong, this is our company’s information. I used to be a door factory manager and started my own company later on. I have many ideas-”
Zong Jinghao raised his hand, signaling for him to stop. He did not want to listen to his entrepreneurial history, nor was he interested in listening to his plans. The reason he was selected was that he could be easily controlled due to his lack of a strong background.
He did not have the luxury to waste time on Bai Yinning, and his top priority was finding out who else was targeting Lin Xinyan.
With that, he evaluated the person before him. He always liked using simple but effective ways to deal with matters.
Mr. Wang had hoped that he would invest in him. However…
“I don’t think stealing employees is very appropriate…”
“Then tell me, how much do I need to invest? How long would it take for you to find a developer, one that can develop a better and more advanced anti-theft locking mechanism and environmentally friendly materials? Without these, how are you going to compete with others in the industry? Please enlighten me.”
Mr. Wang was at a loss for words. This was indeed a serious problem.
“But isn’t stealing talents from other companies a little unfair?”
“The business world is like a battlefield, and the winner takes it all. Decide for yourself.” He lifted his hand and glanced at his watch. “You have two minutes.”
Mr. Wang had initially only wanted to find an investor so that he could start his own business. Now, it seemed that without a background, it would be difficult for him to do so.
Despite his reluctance, he still agreed to it.
Then Zong Jinghao got to his feet. “You handle your side of things. I’ll get my assistant to draw up a contract. You’ll still be the boss. I’ll only be a shareholder.”
Deep down, Mr. Wang knew that he would only be the boss in writing. In the end, he would probably be working for Zong Jinghao.
After that, Zong Jinghao stepped out of his office and called for Guan Jing, who was on the phone. After briefly informing the other person on the line, he ended the call and walked towards his boss.
“Mr. Zong.”
“Draw up a contract and tell him to go to the finance department to get his investment. If Mr. Xu calls you, don’t meet up with him yet. Call me if there’s anything.” With that, he strode towards the elevators.
Guan Jing understood the reason behind that order.
Zong Jinghao ordered him not to meet up with Mr. Xu yet because he wanted the latter to fulfill his end of the bargain before proceeding to the next step.
When Zong Jinghao got off the elevator and was walking towards his car…
