Negotiating terms?
A sudden wave of disgust washed over Lin Yao. How could these wealthy families use anything as a condition? If he didn't have Min Hong behind him, would they have simply given up the cauldron lid? After all, the cauldron lid was utterly worthless and meaningless to them.
"I don't have time to come to Suzhou. What conditions does your Gu family have?"
Lin Yao asked very directly: if you're going to talk about terms, just say it over the phone. Don't use any of those nice-natured formalities after meeting in person. Anyway, it's all about exchanging benefits, so it's better to be clear about it.
"this……"
Gu Zhuofei hesitated on the other end of the phone. Being worldly-wise, she could certainly hear the displeasure in Lin Yao's tone, and her worries deepened.
Now, Gu Li no longer cares for her, all because of that big iron disc in the storage room. He won't talk to her unless she lets the little guy take it back to Beijing. This makes Gu Zhuofei very sad. How could her status as her biological mother be worth less than a lump of iron? It's heartbreaking to think about.
Although they didn't know what was so special about the giant iron disc, the Gu family had tried many methods over the decades but had failed to uncover its secrets. They had even tried sending a small piece abroad for research, but to no avail. Therefore, the family had long regarded this unremarkable iron disc as a treasure, even believing that it came from outer space and was as magical as a meteorite.
Although both the shape of the man-made marks and the results of elemental analysis indicate that this iron disc is cast iron containing copper impurities, its hardness and high-temperature resistance are exceptionally high, and it has no other value, it is not something that can be given away casually. Without conditions, it would not be in the style of the ancient business family of this era.
"The Gu family wants the drug distribution rights of Minhong Pharmaceutical, including the 'Anti-toxic Granules' currently on the market and the upcoming '201502 Cold Medicine', as well as other drugs produced in the future."
Gu Zhuofei's voice grew softer and softer. Based on her research on Minhong Pharmaceutical, she knew that such conditions would never be accepted.
Minhong was even prepared to close a large number of hospitals and clinics due to loan issues, and was not willing to fully raise funds and distribute shares. Gu Zhuofei had already come to the conclusion that this was because Minhong Pharmaceutical had a clear purpose and would never allow anyone to interfere with its production and operation. Now, the possibility of the Gu family forcibly interfering was extremely slim.
But she had no other choice. The Gu family was no longer under her management, and idle people had no say. Even her great-uncle, who had always doted on her, had said that she had to exchange this condition for the Gu family's "treasure"—that big iron disc.
"I see." Lin Yao thought to himself, "So that's how it is. If I can't agree to this condition, are there any other alternatives?"
"I'll ask Old Master Gu about this, and I'll give you an answer later." Gu Zhuofei spoke pitifully, but it didn't move Lin Yao's heart.
"No need. Since you've put forward these conditions, I probably won't accept them no matter how you change them. Let's leave it at that and not talk about it anymore. Let Lili and Nannan come back."
Lin Yao's tone was very firm, which shocked Gu Zhuofei on the other end of the phone.
"No!" Gu Zhuofei suddenly shouted, "You can't take Lili away!"
"I can't be bothered with you!" Lin Yao thought to himself. "Everyone in your Gu family is so powerful, and you want to call the shots? There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"I'm hanging up now, see you later." Lin Yao was too lazy to argue with Gu Zhuofei, so he was about to hang up and dial Alina's number when he heard a hurried voice from the other end of the line.
"How about we just get the market agency rights for the three provinces and one municipality in East China?"
Lin Yao stopped the call, thinking to himself that Gu Zhuofei seemed to have made business a natural; even when she wasn't in charge, she still relied on negotiation skills. Clearly, Grandpa Gu had set a bottom line for her, but she didn't mention it at first, only lowering her demands now.
While Lin Yao was stunned, Gu Zhuofei panicked again. The matter of Xiao Guli made her lose her composure. "I only want the agency rights in Jiangsu Province!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yao sighed softly, thinking to himself that life is really tiring for people in this world. They want to fight for everything. Why can't they just live happily? Why make themselves so miserable and calculate everything?
"Yaoyao, have the Yi family in Suzhou keep a close eye on the Gu family's movements. Or have someone bring the cauldron lid back, or we can make a trip there. It's only about an hour's drive. We can go tonight."
Xiao Cao immediately offered her advice, her tone quite cheerful.
"That's what I was thinking too, haha." Lin Yao readily admitted his little secret.
Since the Gu family wants to use the cauldron lid to demand benefits and conditions, let them come up empty-handed. Just take it without asking. Anyway, the cauldron lid didn't originally belong to the Gu family. Keeping it would be a waste and a crime for them.
In fact, Lin Yao had another trick up his sleeve, which was to directly blacklist the Gu family and all related personnel, including employees of Gu family companies. Now, the Gu family would know the price of trying to bargain with him.
It was only because of Xiao Guli's existence that everyone was more or less involved. Lin Yao felt a little embarrassed to use this method, and thought he might as well just steal it, considering it a theft for the benefit of his fellow countrymen.
"This doesn't count as a lack of moral character, does it?"
Lin Yao asked himself a question and suddenly realized that neither theft nor coercion could be associated with good character, which made him feel ashamed. However, he had no choice but to take one of these two methods, since it concerned the safety of millions or even hundreds of millions of his compatriots. Perhaps this was what was meant by being forced into a corner.
"Let me go to hell myself then." Lin Yao encouraged himself and started dialing, telling Alina and Yi An to take the two little ones back to Beijing immediately and not to accept the gifts from the Gu family.
"What's wrong with that? Haven't we done enough bad things? Why are you acting like a monk, all compassionate and playing these fake tricks today?" Lin Yao deliberately filtered out Xiao Cao's mutterings, feeling a bead of sweat on the back of his head.
...
"Alright, Elder, please let them go back."
Lin Yao's inner turmoil had not yet been resolved, and although he used respectful language towards Elder Yi Potian, it did not sound very pleasant to others.
The First Elder, Yi Potian, clearly sensed that Lin Yao's emotions were off, but he didn't dare to ask. He thought to himself that something must have happened recently. He felt that this world was really messed up. People who help others without expecting anything in return are always troubled by all sorts of messy things. It was really hard on Mr. Lin Yao. What's more, he was so young and had to go through such a test. It made people want to curse.
"Sir, should we have them gather together another day and come together again?"
The elder still asked the question that was on his mind in a low voice, because he did not understand the exact meaning of Lin Yao's words "let them go back". Sending them back without even taking a look, was it to wait for the next opportunity to continue, or to give up on equipping this group of Yi family members with "human nuclear power"?
Even if Lin Yao said that these Yi family disciples would not be allowed to possess "human core power", the Grand Elder Yi Potian would not have any objections. At most, he would only feel a little regretful. After all, possessing "human core power" is equivalent to giving these disciples with low cultivation levels a possession talisman. In many cases, it is even equivalent to having several extra lives. The exact number of lives depends on how much "human core power" is given.
The gentleman was displeased, and of course he could vent his anger through this. The Grand Elder had no objections whatsoever; he would simply instruct these people, once it was confirmed, to be mindful of their safety in future actions and not to be too reckless.
"Come again another day? What are they even going to do here?"
Lin Yao put aside his thoughts and looked at Elder Yi Potian with a puzzled expression. "They've already given them nuclear power. Those at the mid-stage Earth level will receive level four and level three nuclear power, those at the early stage will receive level three and level two nuclear power, and those at the Human level will be given level two or a mixture of level two and level three nuclear power, depending on the situation."
Ah~~~
Elder Yi Potian finally couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise. This group of about a hundred Yi family members had been under his nose since they arrived at the "City Forest" villa. Lin Yao had never contacted them from beginning to end. How could he have given them away?
He opened his mouth, but Elder Yi Potian said nothing, giving up his intention to ask further questions. He thought to himself that he should not cause trouble for his master at this time. The epidemic in the country was serious, and equipping people with "human nuclear power" was originally related to the private interests of the Yi family, even though these disciples were engaged in the work of fighting the epidemic.
It wasn't until the Grand Elder took his leave from Lin Yao's room and was preparing to send the Yi family members back to their respective posts that he was jolted back to reality by their excited spirit and jubilant conversation.
It turns out that Lin Yao really has already delivered the "human nuclear force" into the bodies of these more than one hundred Yi family members!
...