“That’s right. During these days of business negotiations, Haoyu Group has been continuously making concessions…the terms are extremely favorable, so favorable that we have no grounds to object. Everyone thinks this acquisition is a massive win.” Liu Guan said. “Moreover, Mingxia Group is also trying to obstruct this acquisition, offering Haoyu a better price than ours. So from a business perspective, acquiring Haoyu Film and Television is hugely beneficial to us…there’s no reason it shouldn’t succeed.”
“If Wen Ting weren’t in the picture, this would certainly be a great thing. But after the acquisition, Wen Ting will surely be the one managing it, won’t he?” Su Jie said.
“Exactly. He’s most familiar with the Feng family. Only he can manage it. If someone else took over, there would be a series of problems…even if forced, they’d likely be squeezed out,” Liu Guan nodded.
Su Jie also knew these were basic business operations. Haoyu Film and Television certainly had countless Feng family members who couldn’t be removed. Even after buying it, they’d still need these people to work…otherwise they’d be buying an empty shell. So for now, these people could only be appeased. And they would only submit to Wen Ting.
This way, Wen Ting would have a large group of people within Haoyu Group.
Hedao Group’s acquisition seemed to strengthen its cultural entertainment sector, but in reality, it was building a power base for Wen Ting.
Unless Hedao Group replaced everyone after the acquisition.
That wasn’t realistic either.
In an instant, Su Jie had seen through Wen Ting’s intentions.
Liu Guan and Liu Shi could see it too, but they couldn’t give up the fat meat in their mouths now.
In truth, Liu Shi’s thinking and perspective were completely different from Su Jie’s…their positions were far apart.
Liu Shi was more concerned with competing against Xia Shang, maintaining the group’s industry position, and expanding the company’s scale. His interests lay there…not in fighting the Feng family to the death like Su Jie.
Their demands were different.
Liu Shi even thought Su Jie’s views were somewhat narrow.
But that didn’t stop him from using Su Jie to strengthen his own rule.
Su Jie was also using Liu Shi to deal with Haoyu Group.
“The acquisition will succeed in about three days and be publicly announced,” Liu Guan said. “It’s a done deal…it cannot be changed.”
“What’s your follow-up plan? Do you have a specific strategy?” Su Jie asked. “If I’m not mistaken, first Wen Ting manages Haoyu Film and Television to stabilize the situation and keep the business growing. Then you gradually send your own people in to take over everything. Once fully in control, Wen Ting can leave…and you can even fire all the old Haoyu employees, completely swapping out the staff. But that would take two or three years. You know, Haoyu Film and Television has a lot of talent…people who can really get things done. If you fire them and replace them with your group’s people who don’t understand the business or creativity, it’ll be lifeless. Then you’ve bought it for nothing. Hedao Group was never good at film and entertainment…if you were, you’d have done it yourself instead of acquiring Haoyu.”
“Exactly. Right now, almost all the creative teams in the film industry are at Haoyu Film and Television. If your group wants to do business, you basically can’t fire these people…you have to keep them well-fed,” Lin Tang nodded.
He had already spoken with Liu Guan.
Liu Guan had initially thought Lin Tang was just a college student with nothing impressive…meeting him was just a favor to Su Jie. But after a detailed conversation, he found Lin Tang was truly talented, especially in finance, with profound insight.
Even more impressive, Lin Tang wasn’t just talk…he had practical experience.
Lin Tang traded futures, stocks, and various financial bonds. Starting in middle school with thirty thousand yuan of pocket money, he had now made over thirty million, with wealth growing substantially every year.
One could say Lin Tang was a minor stock god.
Especially when Liu Guan asked about Hedao Group’s stock future…Lin Tang gave a detailed analysis covering fundamentals, technicals, the international environment, Hedao Group’s management, corporate culture, and industry trends.
Some things Liu Guan had never even considered.
He never expected a student to have such a detailed analysis of Hedao Group. Any securities analyst would pale before Lin Tang.
Now Liu Guan didn’t underestimate Lin Tang at all…he wanted to make him a “strategist.”
Liu Long had already benefited greatly from Lin Tang, treating him as his financial manager.
“Two or three years is still short for a major group’s layout. My father calculated it…it’s worth it,” Liu Guan said.
“Two or three years is plenty of time for Wen Ting’s plans. Never mind three years…even one year from now, his power will be incomparable to what it is now. He’ll have an indestructible power base within the group,” Su Jie said. “Surely you can calculate that.”
“What’s the best approach now?” Liu Guan asked.
“The best approach is to cut through the knot with a sharp knife,” Su Jie said. “First, immediately halt the acquisition of Haoyu Film and Television. Second, investigate all the suspicious aspects of Wen Ting’s handling of this acquisition…you’ll definitely find illegal actions. Third, purge Wen Ting’s loyal subordinates. Completely eliminate his influence.”
Listening to Su Jie, Liu Guan shook his head repeatedly. “None of your three suggestions can be done. If we did, my father would be Zhao Gou, I’d be Qin Hui, and Wen Ting would be Yue Fei.”
“Thinking about it, that’s true.” Su Jie laughed at the analogy. “To outsiders, that’s how it would look. But if you want to avoid major trouble later, you have to act now. Though I think comparing Wen Ting to Lord Yue is disrespectful to Lord Yue. I think Wen Ting is Wang Mang. Before he usurped the throne, everyone saw him as a sage…his every move a perfect moral model. If Wang Mang had died before usurping, no one would have known he was a great villain.”
“That’s a fitting analogy,” Liu Guan said. “Put that way, Wen Ting really is hard to deal with. What infuriates me now is my sister.”
“I’ll try to persuade her, but don’t get your hopes up,” Su Jie said.
They discussed for a long time. Su Jie offered several suggestions, but Liu Guan found them all unworkable. Su Jie had to let it go.
Large groups had their difficulties…it was hard to make the painful choice of cutting off an arm.
It all depended on how Wen Ting would gradually seize power.
“Regarding our earlier plan…Wen Ting will certainly try to assassinate me. I’ve been carefully guarding against it, but they haven’t made any moves. It’s hard to draw the snake out,” Liu Guan said.
“It’ll be soon. They haven’t acted these days for several reasons: to make us lower our guard, to stabilize the acquisition of Haoyu Film and Television, and to win over your sister…preferably get her pregnant. Once all that is done, they’ll move against you,” Su Jie said clearly.
“D@mn it!” Liu Guan slammed the table. “How can my sister be so foolish?”
“She’s not foolish,” Su Jie shook his head. “Someone like Wen Ting…very few people can see through him. Even your father hasn’t fully seen through him, has he? If he had, he’d know Wen Ting is a venomous dragon and absolutely cannot be used. Anyway, let’s stop here for today. Liu Guan, if you want to survive in the future, you still need to train hard. If you can reach the Living Dead realm, you’ll at least be able to escape. Your survival ability will increase tenfold. From now on, train with me.”
“That’s the only way.” Liu Guan nodded. “Whatever you need for training, I’ll provide it fully.”
“I’ll list everything. I want to build a laboratory in China, modeled on Larry’s lab. I need robotic arms for minimally invasive surgery and a full set of medical equipment.” Su Jie said. “That way, I can engage in various bold, intense physical activities without worrying about damage.”
“I’ll arrange it.” Liu Guan knew this would be extremely expensive, but he agreed.
As long as he could reach the Living Dead realm, he would pay any price.
Next, Su Jie taught Liu Guan, Liu Long, and Kang Gu the “Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Section Orthodox Method” for two hours. Lin Tang listened too, but couldn’t understand it at all.
After teaching, Su Jie continued practicing his flying needle hidden weapons, deepening his finger-snap needle technique.
This was his true killing technique…far more powerful than fists or kicks. A snap of the fingers could kill.
“Your hidden weapon is quite unique.” Liu Guan, practicing, watched Su Jie’s technique with curiosity. He suggested: “How about the three of us attack you together and see how you subdue us?”
Kang Gu, Liu Guan, and Liu Long…all top masters, strong fighters. Though Liu Guan hadn’t competed, he’d undergone special forces training; his strength was certainly no less than Liu Long’s. Kang Gu was a genius.
Though none had reached the Living Dead realm, if the three joined forces against Su Jie, two fists couldn’t fight six hands…they might have a chance.
“Fine. I want to try too.”
Su Jie nodded.
The three immediately surrounded Su Jie in a circle, forming an equilateral triangle.
The atmosphere grew tense.
“Go!” Liu Guan shouted.
The three attacked simultaneously.
Snap!
In that instant, Su Jie snapped his fingers. His hand moved magically…no one could tell if he even had a weapon. His movements were ten times faster than any magician or card cheat.
All three felt a chill in their knees.
Their legs lost strength, went numb, and they collapsed.
A needle was embedded in a vital acupoint of each person’s knee.