Chapter 56: Liu Qi's Conditions
As for Chen Dong, he waited for nearly half an hour before Li Huiran finally composed herself and strode out of the private room, her steps filled with purpose.
Seeing that Chen Dong was still there, Li Huiran lifted her chin and said haughtily, "What are you looking at! I've already thought it through. Worst case, the Li Clan will just switch industries. We don't have to be stuck in construction, especially when the market is so bad right now."
Chen Dong rubbed his nose and said, "Actually, I have a way to make Liu Qi change his mind."
Li Huiran shot Chen Dong a disdainful look. "You're full of it!"
"You don't have to lie just to comfort me. The Li Clan could actually get into the food business. Make good food."
As she spoke, her stomach let out a loud rumble.
She was genuinely starving. She had only eaten a little something in the morning and had been so busy preparing for the meeting that she hadn't even had a proper meal.
Chen Dong watched her with a mischievous grin, which made her blush. She said proudly, "Let's go. I'm taking you out for something good to eat today. Who cares about all that other stuff!"
Strutting ahead in her high heels with a chic flair, Chen Dong nodded and followed.
Li Huiran drove Chen Dong in her Ferrari, expertly navigating to a two-story restaurant she knew well.
The antique-style, red-lacquered entrance was decorated with a few bright red chili peppers and a conspicuous large pot. The sign read 'Huiran Hot Pot'.
Li Huiran, feeling a wave of social awkwardness, covered her forehead and quickly walked through the entrance.
Just inside, two rows of beautiful hostesses shouted in unison, "Welcome, Big Boss!"
Perhaps hearing the hostesses' greeting, a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure descended the wooden staircase.
When the woman saw Li Huiran, she walked over quickly and said accusingly, "You finally decided to show up, you little brat!"
Li Huiran laughed and hugged her. "I've been busy!"
The woman snorted, only then noticing Chen Dong. Her eyes went wide, and she asked with a hint of alarm, "Who... who is this?"
Li Huiran smiled. "An employee from my company, Chen Dong." Then she introduced her to Chen Dong, "This is my best friend, Wang Mengyu."
Wang Mengyu looked skeptical, but she couldn't win against Li Huiran's insistence.
Soon, Li Huiran had dragged Wang Mengyu off to arrange a private room and ordered a table full of food—sliced beef, sliced lamb, tripe...
After the three of them were seated, Wang Mengyu, who had been eyeing Chen Dong strangely from the start, quietly asked, "He's not your boyfriend, is he? I've never seen you bring a guy here in all these years."
Looking disheartened, Li Huiran shook her head and hurriedly started cooking the food in the hot pot.
Wang Mengyu noticed Li Huiran's weariness and said with a pang of sympathy, "You're just too stubborn for your own good. It's about time you found a man."
Li Huiran, who was in the middle of eating a piece of meat, bulged her eyes and glared at Wang Mengyu.
Wang Mengyu said scornfully, "What are you glaring at? Am I wrong? If you just learned my 'Eight Ultimate Arts of Seduction,' you could make any man bow down before you."
Li Huiran asked curiously, "The 'Eight Ultimate Arts of Seduction' again?"
Wang Mengyu narrowed her eyes and began to perform, complete with dramatic flair.
"Pretty please? You're the best! Can we? I'm begging you! Please, please! Love you! I don't care! I want it!"
The performance made Chen Dong break into a coughing fit and sent shivers down his spine.
Li Huiran, watching this, also shook her head repeatedly.
Wang Mengyu said, frustrated by her friend's lack of effort, "And to think you're wasting such great assets!"
Li Huiran stared at Wang Mengyu's impressive peaks and said, "You're not so bad yourself!"
The two women quickly fell into a back-and-forth conversation, leaving Chen Dong to eat quietly by himself.
From their conversation, he also learned that the two of them had invested in this hot pot restaurant out of boredom back in high school, many years ago. Since Li Huiran was the majority shareholder and hadn't thought much of it at the time, the restaurant had been named 'Huiran Hot Pot' for several years, and the name just stuck.
Li Huiran had tried to change the name many times, but Wang Mengyu never allowed it.
After the meal, the two said goodbye to Wang Mengyu and returned to the company.
As soon as they got back to the office, they saw that no one was working. Instead, everyone was gathered in a crowd outside the reception room.
Li Huiran grabbed a random employee and asked what was going on.
She learned that the materials king, Liu Qi, had come in person and was currently inside negotiating with Chairman Li Jianwen.
Hearing this news, Li Huiran furrowed her brow, knocked, and entered, finding a place to sit.
Chen Dong followed her in and sat down next to Li Huiran. He finally saw the famous materials king of Xiangjiang Province. Aside from his bronze-colored skin, there was nothing remarkable about him; he looked just like an ordinary middle-aged man.
Liu Qi paid the two of them no mind as they entered and continued speaking, "If your Li Group wants to buy my materials, you'll have to agree to my demands."
"First, I'll use five billion worth of materials as my investment to take a forty percent stake in your Li Clan."
"Second, your Li Clan will no longer bid on the Qingtian International project."
"As long as you meet these two conditions, I'll continue to sell you my materials."
Hearing these two conditions, Li Jianwen's expression turned grim, and Li Huiran's face was cold as ice.
Back then, the Wu Family had invested five billion for only a seven percent stake. And that was before Yang Anyi's financing round. Now, Liu Qi was making an outrageous demand, wanting to trade five billion—in materials, no less—for a forty percent stake in the Li Family.
The second condition was even more impossible. The Li Family had already secured the inside track for the Qingtian International project; there was no way they would give it up.
Therefore, Liu Qi's conditions were just empty talk. It was as good as saying nothing at all.
Li Jianwen said in a low voice, "Mr. Liu, can we be realistic? The Li Family cannot possibly agree to these terms."
Liu Qi stood up and sneered, "You can't agree? If you can't agree, then why did you invite me here? For a sightseeing tour?"
"The construction materials business is tough this year. I raise my prices a little, and your Li Family isn't happy. I state my demands, and your Li Family isn't willing. What is it that you want? If you're not happy with anything, then don't buy!" Liu Qi's expression was arrogant and overbearing.
"Mr. Liu, let's discuss this further. The price you're quoting is ten times the original. That's completely unreasonable. As far as I know, you're still selling to the Huang Family at the original price."
Liu Qi said bluntly, "So what if I just don't want to sell to you? Either you agree to my terms, or you can stop buying materials altogether! I don't have time to negotiate with you!" With that, he turned to leave.
Seeing Liu Qi's resolute attitude, Li Jianwen looked dejected, his face pale. He had known Liu Qi wouldn't sell materials to the Li Clan, but he couldn't accept it and had invited him over to negotiate anyway. It was clear now that it had been useless.
Just as Liu Qi was about to walk out the door, Chen Dong said lightly, "I know where your son is!"