Three months?

Yang Zhiping was in such a hurry because he was afraid that if things dragged on for too long, something else might happen.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, the father and son naturally hoped for a swift resolution.

Ji Xingguo then pretended to ponder and said, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be decided by me alone. I also need to go back and have a few meetings with the leadership team of our factory to discuss it and come up with a direction."

Yang Changhua quickly chimed in, saying, "The factory director is right; we should be more cautious. How about this: when we get back, I'll convene a meeting of all the department heads and above tomorrow. What do you think?"

Ji Xingguo gave a nonchalant "hmm" and said, "That works. But..."

"But what?"

Ji Xingguo glanced at the group, took a bite of peanuts, and said, "Even if our factory is converted from a state-owned factory to a foreign-invested factory, it's impossible for us to give up more than half of our shares. That's impossible. Even if such a plan were submitted to higher authorities, it wouldn't be approved. Dongfang Factory is a local enterprise in Pingquan County. Even if we introduce foreign investment, we must retain our own sovereignty. I think we should give up at most 30%."

He began negotiating with an air of seriousness, making this dinner meeting, in which both sides harbored their own agendas, seem more authentic.

Yang Changhua had naturally anticipated that Ji Xingguo would never agree to give up half of the shares.

The Dongfang Factory was the culmination of Ji Xingguo's hard work, and he certainly wouldn't agree to let it become American or Japanese when he had only a few years left before retirement.

This is probably more painful than killing him.

But a hidden chill flashed through Yang Changhua's mind: I won't let your factory become American's, nor will I let it become Japanese's; I want it to become mine, Yang Changhua's!

On the surface, Yang Changhua appeared honest and simple, looking very troubled. He hesitated and said, "But factory director, if we don't contribute more shares, the American foreign businessmen probably won't agree to provide us with advanced technology and equipment free of charge, let alone send experts to our factory as technical consultants."

Yang Zhiping chimed in at the opportune moment, saying, "Director Ji, you've fallen into a misconception."

Ji Xingguo glanced at Yang Zhiping: "Oh, what do you mean?"

Yang Zhiping glanced at Rekrugs, pulled his chair closer to Ji Xingguo, and then lowered his voice to say:

"Director Ji, you may not know this, but after the government restructures state-owned enterprises, it will be actively attracting foreign investment. If our Dongfang Factory is majority-owned by foreign capital, we will have many advantages in terms of policy. We will be able to take advantage of many preferential policies that are only open to foreign investment, as well as tax exemption clauses. Not only will we have a smooth path ahead, but as a foreign-invested, export-oriented daily chemical manufacturer, we can enjoy the low cost of raw materials in China, earn double the foreign exchange through exports, and also legally avoid some taxes. This is a great thing!"

"Besides, aren't you just worried that more than half of the shares will be held by foreign companies, and we'll suffer in terms of voice and decision-making power?"

“I have a great idea,” Yang Zhiping said mysteriously. “Didn’t you see that I met with representatives from two foreign companies today? We’ll give one company 31% and the other 20%. We’ll keep 49% for ourselves. That way, we’ll still have the main say and decision-making power. But the foreign investment will definitely account for more than half of it, and we’ll be perfectly positioned in terms of exports and policies from higher levels. We can advance or retreat as needed.”

Yang Zhiping continued to persuade him: "Besides, let these two foreign companies, the United States and Japan, fight like dogs, hindering and competing with each other, while we reap the benefits. Isn't that a good thing?"

After listening to this, Ji Xingguo gave Yang Zhiping a deep look.

If Ji Xingguo hadn't already learned about Yang Zhiping and his father's plans from his daughter Ji Wanmei before coming here today, he wouldn't have been able to find out.

It was discovered that these two so-called foreign business representatives were actually just people Yang Zhiping had brought in; they had already colluded.

If Ji Xingguo hadn't known all this beforehand, after listening to Yang Zhiping's flowery rhetoric, his eloquent and persuasive blueprints, he might have actually been swayed by him.

A chill ran through Ji Xingguo's heart, and his gaze grew even more profound, as if he were seriously considering Yang Zhiping's proposal.

However, what he was thinking about was something else entirely.

No wonder Ji Xingguo was deceived by Yang Zhiping's appearance before. He really has a silver tongue, able to turn black into white and the dead into the living. Ironically, it can be considered a talent.

However, he misused this talent and went down a wrong path.

Ji Xingguo looked up and saw the Japanese business representative, who had been eating rather quietly and politely, occasionally uttering a few words in Japanese, which Yang Zhiping translated for him.

Only then did Ji Xingguo take a closer look and discover that the Japanese business representative was actually quite young, looking to be only around thirty years old, or perhaps even younger, because he had deliberately grown a tuft of beard to make himself look more Japanese.

This person also wore glasses, similar to the glasses Yang Zhiping wore.

Ji Xingguo even suddenly had the absurd thought that this so-called representative of the Japanese company might just be a classmate or friend that Yang Zhiping randomly found to impersonate someone.

She then suggested to Ji Wanmei that she would find a foreign friend she knew in East China to help her pretend to be a foreign investment client.

But Ji Xingguo didn't let himself reveal too much of his inner emotions. He had a deep expression on his face and pondered for a long time before saying, "I will consider it."

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhiping felt that there was hope.

His eyes gleamed with barely suppressed excitement.

He seemed to believe that victory was just around the corner for his scheme.

With minimal effort, they could use foreign investors to exploit the gray areas of policy reform, collude with outsiders to siphon off the factory's assets, and then, with a single turn of events, transfer the Oriental Daily Chemical Factory, which supported the economic lifeline of the entire Pingquan County, into the hands of the Yang family.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhiping's gaze towards Ji Xingguo couldn't help but carry a hint of deep meaning and contempt.

He respectfully raised his wine glass and handed a cup of tea to Ji Xingguo: "Director Ji, the fate of our factory's thousands of workers rests in your hands. You must seize this opportunity and be decisive! Otherwise, if we miss this chance, we'll never have another one."

Ji Xingguo looked at the cup of tea, took it, drank it all in one gulp, and replied meaningfully, "Okay, I understand. I will make a decision immediately."