Shao Hu walked out of the private room where Chu Lingtian was located and quietly ordered the two young women dressed as maids standing at the door, "Keep a close eye on him. Don't let him wander out."
"Yes."
The two young women nodded simultaneously and responded in hushed tones.
When Shao Hu reached the main entrance of the manor, she saw two other young women welcoming Liu Bingxue inside.
"Manager Liu, welcome."
Shao Hu walked up to Liu Bingxue with a smile, extending her right hand.
Liu Bingxue smiled and extended her right hand in return, replying, "Manager Shao, hello."
"Shall we go to a private room? We can talk while we eat, what do you say?" Shao Hu said with a smile.
"Okay." Liu Bingxue nodded.
Shao Hu then led Liu Bingxue into another private room, about ten meters away from Chu Lingtian's room.
The private room where Liu Bingxue was located was simpler in its furnishings, with only a table and chairs made of nanmu wood, and no sofa large enough for two people to sleep on.
After Shao Hu and Liu Bingxue were seated, the waiters continuously brought dishes and wine to the table.
"Manager Liu, this bottle of red wine was specially flown in from France. You must try it," Shao Hu said, picking up the decanter and pouring half a glass of red wine into Liu Bingxue's glass with a smile.
Liu Bingxue did not refuse. The reason she had agreed to the meeting tonight was because she genuinely wanted to discuss cooperation matters with Shao Hu. Shao Hu's company, Mei Die, controlled most of the import and export of traditional Chinese medicinal materials in Dazhang City. Liu Bingxue's company had recently developed a full-body skincare lubricant, many of whose ingredients were traditional Chinese medicinal herbs that required raw materials. Therefore, if she could secure the support of Shao Hu's company and cooperate, the production of the lubricant would proceed more smoothly.
However, Liu Bingxue was unaware that Shao Hu was exploiting this mindset of hers, confident that Liu Bingxue would attend the banquet tonight, and thus intending to eliminate both her and Chu Lingtian in one fell swoop.
"This wine is indeed excellent. Thank you for your hospitality, Manager Shao. I assume you invited me here tonight not just to taste this bottle of red wine, right?" Liu Bingxue said, holding her wine glass, taking a sip, and then placing it on the table.
Shao Hu smiled and praised, "Manager Liu, you are truly forthright. Alright then, I'll be direct. I want the formula for the new full-body skincare lubricant your Bao Xue company has developed. If you give me the formula, we'll split the profits from the produced products fifty-fifty."
"Manager Shao, I didn't expect that after so long, you still want to monopolize our company's lubricant formula," Liu Bingxue replied with a frown, her expression somewhat displeased.
In fact, about a year ago, Shao Hu had incidentally learned that Liu Bingxue's company was developing a new full-body skincare lubricant. She had a premonition that this would be a wildly popular product nationwide, and thus had tried every means to obtain the secret formula. Her previous two attempts to kidnap Liu Bingxue were also to obtain the formula, but she hadn't expected Chu Lingtian to foil them both.
"Manager Liu, you're mistaken. It's not monopolization, but cooperation, a win-win. My company controls the import and export of most of the raw materials for traditional Chinese herbs in the entire Dazhang City. If I decide not to supply even a single herb to your company, I believe you won't be able to produce the lubricant," Shao Hu said, her words laced with a veiled threat.
Liu Bingxue smiled and said, "Manager Shao, if you truly wish for win-win cooperation, then it's very simple. As long as your company supplies us with traditional Chinese medicinal raw materials on time and in sufficient quantities, and I pay for them, that will suffice."
"Manager Liu, this new lubricant product your company has newly developed is bound to take the market by storm. With such immense profits, you only want to give me the basic cost of purchasing the raw materials. Do you think this is acceptable? Does it satisfy my appetite?" Shao Hu sneered.
"Manager Shao, aren't you being too unreasonable? The formula for the lubricant is unique to our company. Why should I share it with you? Is there any logic in this world that supports such a demand?" Liu Bingxue questioned Shao Hu.
"Manager Liu, have you considered this? If our company doesn't supply the traditional Chinese medicinal raw materials for your company to produce the lubricant, your company won't even be able to produce the product. How can we talk about profits then?" Shao Hu retorted.
Faced with Shao Hu's sophistry and coercion, Liu Bingxue could no longer tolerate it. She had thought that Shao Hu had invited her tonight to discuss the supply of traditional Chinese medicinal raw materials. She had already prepared to offer ten percent more than the market price for the raw materials, which she felt would be more than fair to Shao Hu. To her surprise, Shao Hu was being so unreasonable and trying to forcibly seize what she wanted.
Liu Bingxue stood up from her chair and looked at Shao Hu, saying, "Manager Shao, we can purchase the traditional Chinese medicinal raw materials for our lubricant production from your company. I can also offer ten percent above the market price. However, if you insist on being unreasonable and coercive like this, then I will have no choice but to procure the raw materials from other regions and completely sever all cooperation with your company."
Seeing Liu Bingxue's firm attitude, showing no sign of backing down, Shao Hu's eyes turned cold, and killing intent flared. She was ready to implement her plan.
"Manager Liu, we are both in business. There's friendship even when business deals don't work out. Everything can be discussed. How about this, please wait for me for a moment. I'll step outside to make a phone call and discuss the matter you just mentioned about adding ten percent on top of the market price for raw materials with our other major shareholders, how about that?" Shao Hu asked Liu Bingxue with a smile.
Liu Bingxue thought for a moment and nodded, "Manager Shao, then I will await your good news."
"Then please continue to enjoy your red wine. I'll be right back." Shao Hu said, then got up and walked out of the private room.
Liu Bingxue didn't think much of it. As long as there was a sliver of opportunity for cooperation, she didn't want to completely fall out with Shao Hu. The main reason was that Shao Hu's company controlled the import and export of most of the traditional Chinese medicinal raw materials in Dazhang City. Cooperating with them, even if it meant paying ten percent above market price, could save on labor and transportation costs.
After walking out of the private room where Liu Bingxue was, Shao Hu's expression instantly turned grim, her eyes filled with murderous intent. Before this, Shao Hu had thought that if Liu Bingxue agreed to her unreasonable demands, she would let Liu Bingxue and Chu Lingtian go. But now, since Liu Bingxue was showing such a determined stance of defiance, she couldn't be blamed. Shao Hu walked step by step towards Chu Lingtian's private room. She was preparing to officially implement her plan: first, she would pull down her underwear and seduce Chu Lingtian by exposing herself, then while Chu Lingtian was caught off guard, she would clamp him to death with her legs. Afterward, she would show Liu Bingxue Chu Lingtian's corpse, making Liu Bingxue realize that her protector was gone. If she still dared to disobey, there would only be a dead end for her!