Chapter 12 My needs are very high.
Jiang Qingying invited Lu Jinyuan to dinner at a clubhouse under the Jiang Group, and brought the two folders with her.
The so-called business plan, and that contract.
Lu Jinyuan arrived twenty minutes earlier than agreed. When Jiang Qingying walked into the private room, he had already been sitting inside for quite a while.
Lu Jinyuan looked up at the person walking towards him, "Do two people need such a big private room for a meal?"
Jiang Qingying looked around and realized that it was indeed a bit large, almost the size of a suite, with the round table in the middle separating the two people sitting opposite each other by five or six meters.
"Let's be more formal," Jiang Qingying said, feigning seriousness.
Lu Jinyuan smiled and said, "I thought it was just a regular meal."
"It's time to eat." Jiang Qingying gave Zhou Yu a wink, and soon the waiter started serving the dishes. "Try it, our specialty."
Lu Jinyuan noticed the distinctive words in her words, raised an eyebrow, and curled his slender fingers slightly to hold the chopsticks, his movements of picking up food were light and graceful, and his actions of tasting the food were even more captivating.
"Aren't you afraid I'll poison you?" Jiang Qingying asked.
Lu Jinyuan paused in his chewing, then said helplessly, "Fine, let's go. It's too late anyway."
Jiang Qingying pursed her lips, placed one of the folders she had brought on the glass disc, and gently applied pressure with her fingers. The disc slowly rotated clockwise, and a few seconds later, the item was successfully delivered to the other party.
Lu Jinyuan picked up the file rack, glanced at it, and quickly looked up at Jiang Qingying, his tone slightly sarcastic: "President Jiang is ruthless enough."
Jiang Qingying didn't take it seriously, picked up her chopsticks, and ate a bite of her favorite dish.
The document contained the contract that Lu Jinyuan had given her before, but she suddenly changed her mind before coming and manually altered the share data with a pen, leaving the signature area blank.
Lu Jinyuan sighed and rubbed his tired brow with his fingertips. "If I set it this high, I won't make any money."
Jiang Qingying scoffed lightly, "The word 'understanding' doesn't exist in my world." She pointed to the dishes on the table, "They're neither edible nor anything more valuable than money."
“But you have to have a conscience when doing business,” Lu Jinyuan calmly retorted, not angry, but with a helpless and indulgent tone.
Jiang Qingying's mind was completely focused on money. Hearing his words was like hearing a very funny joke. "President Lu, you're talking to me about conscience when doing business?"
Lu Jinyuan was speechless for a moment. Indeed, everyone was a businessman who only cared about money and not people. After thinking for a while, he imitated her way of speaking, "Indeed, you can make money if you have a conscience, and you can make even more money if you don't."
Jiang Qingying strongly agreed, saying that the young man was teachable.
Lu Jinyuan sighed and shook his head, "I'll have someone draft a new contract later."
Jiang Qingying nodded. One matter was settled, but there was another.
"I've made annotations on your proposal."
Lu Jinyuan stared at the object thrown at him and fell silent. He really did handle everything strictly by the book.
He opened it, and the other party thoughtfully suggested, "Go directly to the last page."
—I have high demands and I like male model physiques, so please make sure to improve your physical fitness and strengthen your body management.
Lu Jinyuan's expression was blank, and it was hard to imagine what she was feeling when she wrote that annotation. On the surface, it was a constructive suggestion from the client, but in reality, every word was full of provocation.
"President Jiang is overthinking it," he said.
Jiang Qingying shrugged and said nonchalantly, "That would be best." Looking at him, she thought for a moment and then asked, "What are your requirements? How can I cooperate with you afterwards?"
Lu Jinyuan put down his chopsticks, clasped his hands together and placed them lightly on his lap. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes filled with coldness. "My goal is to remove Lu Yunsong from power. Once I get rid of him, everything will be much easier. He has 15 percent of the shares in Lu's Group given to him by his father, while I currently only have 40 percent. To gain the most say in Lu's Group, I need to have more than 50 percent."
Jiang Qingying made a pause gesture. "Is Grandpa Lu still wary of you?"
As far as she knew, to become the head of the Lu family, one needed to own at least 60% of the shares. Lu Jinyuan only owned 40%, which meant that Lu Qi still held at least 20%. The rest were held by a large number of small shareholders who stood on the sides of Lu Jinyuan and Lu Yunsong respectively.
"The old man is a deep thinker, with many suspicions and concerns," Lu Jinyuan explained helplessly.
Jiang Qingying: "So what do you plan to do? Will Lu Yunsong willingly give you the shares?"
Lu Jinyuan handed a document to Jiang Qingying and said, "You should have investigated this beforehand. The Lu Group's main businesses are commercial real estate and internet technology. Commercial real estate accounts for the majority, while the management of the internet technology part is mainly in the hands of Lu Yunsong's faction."
Jiang Qingying flipped through the documents quickly, her brows furrowing more and more as she read.
Lu's Group's network technology business encompasses internet, online lending, big data, and artificial intelligence, primarily operated through subsidiaries—more than one, in fact—with multiple layers of interconnected subsidiaries. Ultimately, only a small amount of capital and controlling stake are needed to control the entire technology sector. Lu Yunsong, the manager, attempts to overthrow Lu Jinyuan in this manner, like trying to pry open a massive rock with a toothpick—his ambition is considerable.
Most importantly, the domestic real estate industry is currently sluggish, and many companies are struggling to survive. While leading companies like Lu's are less affected, transformation or diversification is inevitable. Therefore, for Lu's, if commercial real estate is the lifeblood, then technology is the heart; both are equally important.
Lu Yunsong is capable, but his business strategy is too conservative. This is a painful weakness for the technology industry, which needs innovative thinking and cutting-edge knowledge the most. Therefore, Lu's Group has always been lukewarm in this regard. If someone helps him, it is only a matter of time before Lu Yunsong's influence expands.
This is a ticking time bomb.
This plan couldn't be completed in a short time; it probably started when Lu Yunsong's father was in the group, and on the surface, it all seemed to be beneficial to the group's development. Neither Lu Qicheng nor Lu Jinyuan could completely veto it at the board meeting.
That means that even though Lu Jinyuan's own shares and those of his subordinates already exceeded 50%, and he actually enjoyed the highest decision-making power in the entire Lu Group, he still wanted to eliminate Lu Yunsong, who only had 15% of the shares.
Jiang Qingying stared at the densely packed structure until her eyes blurred. She rubbed her temples wearily and asked weakly, "And then?"
“I will buy his shares in my personal capacity.” Lu Jinyuan paused for a moment, then continued, “I own a technology company that I own entirely. Buying his shares shouldn’t be a problem at the moment.”
They couldn't rely on Lu Qicheng, nor could they do so. They were family, and they couldn't go too far with their own people, at least not on the surface.
Jiang Qingying was puzzled. She didn't know when he had acquired a company, and there was no news about it from the outside world.
Lu Jinyuan also saw it and, unusually, showed his patience: "It was founded a few years ago abroad with a friend. On the surface, my friend is in charge, but in reality, I am the one in control behind the scenes."
"Grandpa Lu allowed it?" Jiang Qingying felt like she had asked a pointless question as soon as she asked it. Lu Qicheng had sent her abroad, and naturally, everything she did was done under his watchful eye.
Lu Jinyuan didn't speak, but Jiang Qingying just stared at him intently, as if she was thinking about something. After a long while, she guessed and asked, "So, in short, you want to fight your own people and then spend your own money to buy shares in your own company?"
Lu Yunsong's plan was meticulous and detailed, but it had a fatal weakness: with such a complex structure, if any link went wrong, it would lose control, especially under Lu Jinyuan's surveillance. Doing something would be as easy as turning one's hand.
Lu Jinyuan's smile was meaningful, neither right nor wrong.
"Then you will..." Jiang Qingying suddenly had a thought she shouldn't have, after all, the bigger the Lu family is, the greater the temptation of profit.
She didn't explain it completely, but Lu Jinyuan could tell what she was thinking. His thin lips curved slightly, with a faint smile. "I have learned the principle of repaying kindness."
He lost both his parents at a young age, and Lu Qicheng raised him single-handedly, teaching him principles and providing for his life. Even if the other party had ulterior motives, these things are indelible, and he has always been treated as his own son.
Jiang Qingying apologized.
After this awkward conversation, a brief silence fell.
......
Jiang Qingying suddenly laughed. Lu Jinyuan asked her what she was laughing at. She suppressed her laughter and teased, "My dad said before that the Lu family is a murky place and told me not to get involved. Now I just think it's boring. They've already laid their intentions on the table, yet they still want to consider so-called family ties. Going through all this trouble is a waste of energy."
The Lu family, a century-old wealthy family, carries the most traditional values at its core. Even if they all know they don't like each other and know each other's ambitions, the blood relationship is there. The second family rule is that they must not harm their siblings and must not unite with outsiders against their own family members, all for the sake of so-called superficial family harmony.
Lu Jinyuan also wanted to cut the Gordian knot quickly, but he was still constrained by Lu Qicheng. Everything he had was given to him and nurtured by Lu Qicheng.
In business terms, he could even be considered a pawn in Lu Qicheng's hands.
A chess piece whose very essence is unruly and rebellious; this chess piece is more ruthless than the player and will kill with cold-blooded cruelty on the battlefield.
“Actually…” After Jiang Qinying understood everything, her expression gradually became solemn. Her dark, obsidian-like eyes stared at the man opposite her from afar. After a long pause, she said, “Actually, you can do all this without a marriage alliance.”
She believed in Lu Jinyuan's abilities, and she also believed in Lu Qicheng. Although he was somewhat wary of Lu Jinyuan, he would eventually give him the power and shares he was entitled to.
Even though he talked so much today, it was all about what he was going to do, while she seemed to have nothing to do.
Lu Jinyuan remained silent for a moment. He didn't understand why Jiang Qingying was dwelling on this issue again.
Even the strongest person is still human, and there are times when they can't understand something and get stuck on a rut.
“What I value is always long-term benefits.” Lu Jinyuan gazed at her, his cold voice unexpectedly tinged with tenderness, “and to prevent problems before they arise. The Jiang family can be my source of confidence in power struggles, and the Lu family will be your source of confidence as well.”
Jiang Qingying chuckled, probably laughing at her own affected manner. She tossed the documents aside, picked up her chopsticks again, and started eating, jokingly saying, "You've shown me all your cards today. Aren't you afraid I'll turn the tables on you?"
"I believe that President Jiang is just heartless, not despicable and shameless."
Lu Jinyuan spoke these words slowly and deliberately, leaving Jiang Qingying speechless. His voice drifted over from across the table, and her hand trembled as she picked up the food with her chopsticks. The chicken wing she was holding at the end of her chopsticks fell onto the table with a start.
Jiang Qingying looked at the only chicken wing, felt a pang of heartache for half a second, then looked up at him and chuckled twice.
Extremely perfunctory.
Lu Jinyuan added, "The title of 'Mistress of the Lu Family' is quite prestigious."
Jiang Qingying: "The mistress of the Lu family? Do you want to use me to ward off evil spirits and demons in your household?"
"You could say that, but if you're scared, hide behind me, and I'll protect you."
"......"
Jiang Qingying rolled her eyes at him. Who did he think he was?
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