What dared to be so bold, to prevent Mr. Qianfan from acquiring the Ma family's prime assets?!
Money.
Mr. Kang, Mr. Zhou, Mr. Ji, and Mr. Qian Sisi each presented another black card.
Each black card contained one hundred million yuan.
Watching the black cards, Yao Yao's breathing noticeably quickened.
Her eyes were fixed on them!
She suspected she was dreaming.
If this wasn't a dream, how did Li Qianfan, with just a few words, get these four old fogies to each contribute a hundred million yuan?
"So this is how you make money!"
Suddenly, Yao Yao felt as if she had broken through a vital barrier.
Let alone her.
Even the Empress, who had always maintained a serene and noble smile, silent throughout, felt a fluttering in her chest, like a little deer pounding its hooves.
When the four Mr. Ers presented their first "small token of appreciation," she had been overjoyed.
She had never expected to squeeze them for more.
This also proved that, while the Shen family of Lingnan was one of the top wealthy families, their understanding of money, limited by their region, was far inferior to those in Modu.
Li Qianfan, however, was different.
His father was the lord of Longxu.
Ziqi's mother, Uncle Alexander, all those benevolent uncles, who didn't casually mention hundreds or thousands of billions?
Having been exposed to such an environment, Li Qianfan truly didn't consider a few hundred million to be a big deal!
In today's society, weren't there many girls with a monthly salary of only three thousand yuan who also didn't bat an eye at five hundred thousand?
This was because they frequently browsed videos and discovered that the world was full of wealthy people.
"Heh heh."
Li Qianfan smiled: "Gentlemen, the two hundred million yuan from earlier was your small token of appreciation. This one hundred million is the price you are asking me to give up the easily obtainable twenty-plus billion. The four of you combined only offered four hundred million. Yet you want to profit over twenty billion from me. This calculation, tsk tsk, you're really good at math."
Kang Er and the others' faces immediately turned green.
They had collectively offered 1.2 billion yuan, yet it still hadn't filled Li Qianfan's greedy appetite!
Even the Empress felt that Li Qianfan was being truly excessive.
Yao Yao was even more worried that the four Mr. Ers would stand up, shout "The green mountains remain, the waters flow on," and then pack up and leave with the money.
So, she frantically signaled to Li Qianfan with her eyes, urging him to take the offer and stop while he was ahead!
Li Qianfan, however, ignored Yao Yao's signals.
He didn't even bother to look at the Mr. Ers anymore.
He leaned his head back on the sofa, a cigarette held between his fingers, exhaling smoke, while his left hand idly stroked his leg.
Su Nanyin bit her lip.
If this weren't a private meeting, she would have ordered Yao Yao to fetch a knife!
Kang Er and the others, however, stared intently at Li Qianfan, saying nothing for a long time.
If they didn't speak, Li Qianfan certainly had no reason to engage with them.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward.
Kang Er finally broke the silence: "Mr. Qianfan, aren't you being too greedy?"
"Greedy?"
Li Qianfan sat up straight, his gaze sharp as he looked at Kang Er and the others, tapping the table lightly with his left hand: "Do you truly believe I can't see that among the four hundred million you just offered, there are contributions from the Chen and Yuan families besides your own four? Do you think I can't see that even if I let your six families pool the twenty-plus billion for me, and still allow you to acquire the Ma family's prime assets at full price, you would still readily agree to ensure I don't get involved in Modu?"
Kang Er and the others fell silent.
The Empress and Yao Yao were also stunned.
"I won't make things difficult for your six families," Li Qianfan said coldly. "As long as your six families, in addition to the compensation, pool another 1.6 billion yuan for me, I will promise never to acquire the Ma family's prime assets."
After speaking, Li Qianfan picked up his teacup and said indifferently, "Guanyin, please see our guests out on my behalf."
Su Nanyin immediately responded with a soft "yes," elegantly rising and saying in a gentle and polite voice, "Gentlemen, please."
Kang Er and the others—
Could only say: "Mr. Qianfan, please give us half an hour to make a call and discuss thoroughly with our families."
"My time is precious," Li Qianfan said, completely unyielding. "At most, I can give you five minutes. After five minutes, I will personally call Ma Benyong and clearly state that the Ma family can settle their debt with assets."
Five minutes later—
Kang Er, representing the six coastal families, stated stiffly that they would deliver the remaining 1.2 billion yuan (this four hundred million to be kept as a down payment) to Mr. Qianfan by noon tomorrow at the latest.
However, Li Qianfan had to handwrite a "Memorandum" stating that he would absolutely not purchase the Ma family's assets.
If Li Qianfan did not sign this memorandum, then there would be nothing more to discuss.
The six coastal families would then join forces to deliver a devastating blow to Li Qianfan should he venture into Modu's business world!
Regarding the threat from the six coastal families—
Li Qianfan's expression flickered with changes for a long while before he let out a cold snort: "Yao Yao, prepare paper and pen. Guanyin, I will dictate, and you will write the memorandum contract on my behalf."
He had conceded.
Kang Er and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Yao Yao quickly went to fetch paper and pen.
Guanyin rolled up her sleeves, revealing a section of her fair wrist, and began writing the memorandum according to Li Qianfan's dictation.
Like people, like handwriting.
The more beautiful Su Nanyin was, the more elegant her penmanship.
When they first saw this memorandum, Kang Er and the others felt it was a work of art.
But after Mr. Qianfan waved his brush and wrote his name, and then pressed his fingerprint?
It was like a child's mischief in the snow, a complete desecration of something precious!
Alas.
Li Nanfang's handwriting resembled a dung beetle's crawl, Li Xiao's resembled epileptic walking, and Li Qianfan's handwriting was even more superb, surpassing its predecessors!
This couldn't be blamed on Li Qianfan.
Who was to blame when his calligraphy genes were inherited entirely from his parents?
Even when Yang Xiao, in her efforts to train his handwriting, had ruthlessly broken several rulers, she couldn't get him to write in a more standard manner.
This led to Empress Xiao, whenever she saw Li Qianfan's handwriting, taking it out on Li Wujiang.
Wujiang, feeling immensely wronged.
After all, Li Wujiang's handwriting, especially his calligraphy, was quite beautiful.
Kang Er and the others left with grim expressions.
Li Qianfan repeatedly extended his hospitality, inviting them for lunch, but they ignored him.
"Damn it, just because they gave me money, they can now give me the cold shoulder?"
Li Qianfan personally escorted the Mr. Ers downstairs, and as they reached the hotel lobby entrance, he watched their cars drive out of the parking lot before lowering his head and spitting.
Yao Yao, who had accompanied him down, quickly said, "Qianfan, you can give me the cold shoulder 24 hours a day!"
As long as money was involved, Yao Yao was even willing to endure Li Qianfan's cold shoulder with her own warm face.
Dream on!
"How could I bear to give you the cold shoulder when you are so naive and adorable?"
Li Qianfan pinched Yao Yao's chin and said, "Alright, you take Chu Yingying to Jinling Road and check out our new home. See how many people can live there, and what we might be missing. Whatever we lack, just go and purchase it directly."
Yao Yao had been hoping to wait with Li Qianfan for the Yuan family to bring the 10 billion yuan.
She said, "Why must I be sent for such a small matter?"
Li Qianfan casually replied, "You are the mistress of our household. If you don't go, who will?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Yao's eyes lit up.
She happily called Su Xin, hopped into the car, and they sped off.
Although Yao Yao loved money, no amount of it could replace Li Qianfan's spoken words: "You are the mistress of our household."
"This child, why is she becoming more and more obsessed with money?"
Li Qianfan, feigning confusion, turned and walked into the lobby, heading towards the elevators, but then changed direction towards the reception area.
Gao Lingwang, Wang Zhe, Qin Zhou, and Chen Dong were there, having tea and chatting.
They were responsible for the outer perimeter security in shifts.
In broad daylight, everyone was naturally not as on edge as they would be at night.
"Master, please sit."
Seeing Li Qianfan stand up, Chen Dong quickly stood as well.
Gao Lingwang offered a cigarette, Qin Zhou poured water, and Wang Zhe did nothing but look cool and act tough.
However.
When Li Qianfan smilingly inquired if they were satisfied with the "travel expenses" of one hundred million yuan allocated to them yesterday, Wang Zhe was the first to speak: "Old Li. We've discussed it thoroughly. We cannot accept that money."
Gao Lingwang and the others all nodded vigorously.
The reason was simple: it was too much!
Crucially, they didn't feel they had accomplished anything particularly extraordinary by following Li Qianfan to Modu.
It was nothing more than waking up in the middle of the night to quickly investigate Wei Shifang's background after receiving his call.
"Qianfan," Gao Lingwang said seriously, "although your trip to Modu this time has been very fruitful, this is just the beginning of building our careers, and there will be many more places where money is needed. Not to mention expanding the Guanyin Group of Sijiou and the Qingyun company according to your plan. Even going to Japan, this one hundred million can accomplish many things. Once we expand our operations, will we lack money in the future?"
He wasn't being polite.
The twelve members of Dark Blade's second team, along with Wang Zhe and Chen Dong, a total of fourteen people, genuinely felt they shouldn't accept this travel expense.
One hundred million yuan, divided among fourteen people, meant over seven million per person.
While they knew money was a good thing, they also understood better which money was appropriate to accept and which wasn't.
Li Qianfan was very pleased with their thinking.
He then clarified: "Since this money has been given to you, you should take it. However, you will not share in the various compensation fees that follow. I will give Yao Yao a small portion of my private funds at most, and the rest will be used to expand our business."
Gao Lingwang and the others intended to decline again, but Li Qianfan said, "It's settled."
Seeing Li Qianfan's resolute attitude, Gao Lingwang and the others could not say anything more.
"Are there any of the Ma family's enterprises that we can meddle with?" Li Qianfan changed the subject.
"Yes," Qin Zhou said. "The most famous nightclub in Modu, the Arc de Triomphe, is a Ma family enterprise. Although we haven't found any hidden corruption yet, even with my eyes closed, I can tell from the club's exceptionally booming business that there's something fishy going on."
Following this, the group began to discuss methods for secretly investigating the Arc de Triomphe.
During this time, Gao Lingwang received a call from Tie Yuan.
The Ma family had proactively contacted the six families, offering to sell their prime assets to them.
"Heh heh, the Ma family indeed hasn't given up, continuing to align themselves with the six families." Li Qianfan sneered slightly.
An hour later, Li Qianfan patted Gao Lingwang on the shoulder and strolled into the elevator.
It was already noon; it was estimated that the Yuan family would come in the afternoon to offer their apologies.
Li Qianfan returned to suite 1801.
There was no one in the living room, and the bedroom door was ajar.
He assumed Su Nanyin was in the bedroom.
As he closed the door, he casually said, "Guanyin, let's analyze what the Ma family will do next."
There was no answer.
Li Qianfan walked to the bedroom door and peeked inside.
There was no one in the bedroom or on the balcony.
The bathroom was also empty.
He frowned, took out his phone, and began calling Su Nanyin.
Ring, ring, ring—
But Su Nanyin's phone was on the sofa!
Li Qianfan's heart suddenly sank.