Chapter 128 - 91: Negotiations Begin
Gu Ming instantly understood Guo Qizhi’s meaning. His eyes lit up. "You’re thinking... of sending Chen Lin?"
"Exactly!" Guo Qizhi smiled and nodded, adding half-jokingly, "This spot was originally meant for you."
Hearing this, Gu Ming didn’t show the slightest hint of any negative emotion.
He had that kind of pure personality; he never hesitated to show his admiration and support for truly talented people.
"Excellent!" He even clapped his hands in excitement. "Director Guo, this arrangement is absolutely brilliant! Compared to a student-level competition like the American Competition, a top-tier academic conference like this is the perfect place for Chen Lin to showcase his talent!"
"That’s what I was thinking too." Guo Qizhi nodded in satisfaction and then stood up. "Come on, Gu. Let’s go find Principal Chang right now and run this by him. Then, you can find a time for me to meet this student, Chen Lin. I need to talk to him myself."
"Okay!"
Gu Ming nodded immediately, without the slightest hesitation.
...
...
「August 13th, 9:00 AM.」
Chen Lin stood shoulder to shoulder with Huang Yiyi, who had just rushed back to Jinmen the previous afternoon, travel-worn, at the impressive main gate of Yannan University.
Before long, a black Audi A8L pulled to a smooth stop in front of them.
The car door opened, and a tall middle-aged man with an extraordinary presence stepped out. He had a beaming smile on his face—it was none other than Peng Yifeng.
"President Chen! Assistant Huang! Haha, I didn’t keep you waiting long, did I?" President Peng’s hearty laughter arrived before he did.
The previous afternoon, as soon as Huang Yiyi returned to Jinmen, she had messaged Chen Lin.
Chen Lin immediately followed their original plan and added Principal Chang Kai and President Peng to a three-person WeChat group. He was preparing to arrange an online meeting to begin preliminary discussions about the investment in "Yanhai Technology Consulting Co., Ltd." by the university and President Peng.
To his surprise, President Peng’s level of commitment to the matter far exceeded his imagination.
The group had just been created when President Peng posted directly in it, saying that online meetings were too inefficient. He said he could fly to Jinmen the next morning so they could talk in person. That way, any issues could be decided on the spot, which would be much more convenient.
Before Chen Lin could even figure out how to reply, Principal Chang Kai had already sent a string of "welcome" stickers. He expressed that he absolutely had to play the part of a good host and personally show President Peng around Jinmen after the talks to try some local delicacies.
President Peng sent a fist-and-palm-salute emoji in the group: [Principal Chang, you’re too kind! But I’m planning to make this a quick trip. If we can wrap things up today, I won’t stay the night in Jinmen. I have a pile of things waiting for me back at the company.]
Seeing the two big shots settle the next day’s itinerary in just a few messages, Chen Lin finally caught on and quickly typed in the group.
Chen Lin: [Welcome, President Peng! I’ll wait for you at the main gate tomorrow morning, then.]
After sending the message, he thoughtfully shared a precise location pin for the Yannan University main gate in the group.
And that led to the present scene.
President Peng had only brought one person with him this time.
He was a young man who looked to be under thirty, tall and slim, wearing glasses and a well-tailored business casual outfit.
Although he had a polite smile on his face, the sharpness and confidence in his eyes were just like Peng Yifeng’s. A single glance told you he was an elite who had been navigating the business world for a long time.
"Come, let me introduce you," President Peng said, enthusiastically patting the young man’s shoulder. "This is Zhong Min, an investment manager from our Tiansheng Investment. From now on, he’ll be the main person following up on the specific investment details for the Yanhai Company. You’ll be dealing with each other a lot in the future."
"A pleasure to meet you, President Chen." Zhong Min extended his hand proactively. His gaze from behind his glasses held a hint of appraisal, but his tone was very polite.
Chen Lin gave his hand a light shake and didn’t say much, merely nodding. He then turned to the side and led the two of them toward the conference room.
It was the same familiar conference room.
When Chen Lin led Peng Yifeng and Zhong Min through the door, Principal Chang Kai was already waiting there, beaming.
And this time, the lineup in the conference room was much larger than before.
Besides He Qun from the entrepreneurship base, several other middle-aged men with scholarly airs sat beside Principal Chang. Behind each of them stood one or two graduate assistants to take notes.
Chen Lin was secretly amazed. ’Whoa, from the looks of this formation, Principal Chang has brought over the entire faculty from the school’s legal aid center.’
’He’s really maxed out the level of importance on this.’
Huang Yiyi slipped into her role very quickly. The moment she sat down, she was already in work mode.
She placed her laptop next to Chen Lin and powered it on, her movements smooth and fluid. First, she opened a blank Word document to prepare the meeting minutes. Then, she opened several folders filled with legal documents related to corporate law and investment agreements, ready for quick reference.
After doing all this, she turned her head and whispered to Chen Lin in a voice only he could hear, "President Chen, you don’t need to say much during the meeting. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly. Or, if there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, you don’t have to speak up yourself. Just tell me, and I’ll say it."
Hearing this, Chen Lin felt a sense of reassurance wash over him.
He nodded at Huang Yiyi with great satisfaction.
After some simple pleasantries, Principal Chang Kai was the first to speak. He began by extending a warm welcome to President Peng on behalf of Yannan University, then got straight to the point, suggesting they begin the negotiations immediately.
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly shifted from cordial to serious.
On President Peng’s side, Zhong Min took the lead in speaking. For the university’s side, He Qun and a professor from the legal aid center took charge.
The negotiations officially began.
The first item on the agenda was the valuation of "Yanhai Technology Consulting Co., Ltd."—a shell company that had just been established and possessed nothing more than a business license.
Zhong Min cleared his throat and was the first to present Tiansheng Investment’s proposal.
"Principal Chang, President Chen," he began, pushing up his glasses, his tone calm and professional. "After an internal evaluation, we at Tiansheng Investment believe that while Yanhai Technology has immense potential, it is, after all, a startup. Its core technology has not yet been productized, and its market prospects have a degree of uncertainty. Therefore, we are willing to offer a pre-money valuation of 10 million."
Ten million!
The moment that number was spoken, Chen Lin’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.
He instinctively glanced at Huang Yiyi and saw that she still wore her professional smile.
The university’s side, however, clearly thought differently.
After listening, He Qun immediately smiled and shook his head. The professor from the legal aid center beside him was even more direct in his rebuttal.
"Manager Zhong, we find this valuation to be a bit on the low side." The professor’s tone was gentle, but his stance was firm. "We can’t just look at the company’s current state. We must also consider its core asset—the value of the student, Chen Lin, himself. Academician Liang Tianshi’s public praise for him, as well as his exceptional mathematical abilities, are clear for all to see. After careful consideration, our university believes that a pre-money valuation of 20 million for Yanhai Technology is a more reasonable figure."