A lion is a lion after all, and it is courageous. Although Rilke felt his situation was very sad, he still sincerely admired these two Chinese brothers. After being silent for such a long time, the first thing they did when they woke up was to kill the "polar bear" and him, the "raccoon cat" at the same time.
The small private room was not very spacious and was somewhat noisy. Li Qiang's words undoubtedly dropped a bomb in this small space. Apart from Li Qiang, the perpetrator, Rilke seemed to be the only one who could remain calm at the scene.
Watching from the sidelines, Rilke took in every expression, word, and action. It was clear that despite the Zhao Trading Company's strength, these Russians didn't seem to take Li Qiang, a foreigner who couldn't even speak Russian well, seriously. Some were shouting, some were cursing, some were laughing uncontrollably, and some were bargaining, but not one of them was willing to sign the contract.
Although he himself was a pitiful creature about to be devoured, Rilke still found these tall, burly, and self-righteous fellows laughable. A businessman who couldn't even judge the situation was a miracle. The situation couldn't be clearer. The Zhao brothers had dared to produce this "eat the man and leave some bones" contract, which showed they were fully prepared. They were determined to eat this man. If everyone signed the contract honestly, they would still have some bones left. If they didn't, a storm was bound to ensue. After the storm, I'm afraid there would be nothing left for those present, not even a slag.
Rilke remained silent throughout the conversation, his gaze fixed on Li Qiang. He felt that the young Chinese man was still somewhat immature, and his expression was too rigid. While it looked cold, it wasn't the most effective expression in business. He should have smiled, the more harmless and natural the better. In a business negotiation where the big eat the small, a smile from the strong can put greater pressure on the weak, because it creates the illusion that they are not being taken seriously and that their resistance is ridiculous.
Li Qiang's immaturity gave Rilke a lot of thought. He wondered what kind of person the true head of the Zhao Trading Company was. It was clear that in this scheme of the big fish eating the small fish, Li Qiang was by no means the mastermind, but merely a loyal executor. Thinking deeper, Rilke even felt that Li Qiang was simply out for experience, and that the mastermind behind him was using this negotiation as a chance for Li Qiang to hone his skills. In other words, the mastermind of this plan didn't care whether this negotiation would succeed or not. He simply wanted to show everyone: "Hey, I'm going to eat you. If you don't resist, I'll leave you a bone, and if you resist, I'll eat your bone too." This is the logic of a lion—those who obey me die, and those who disobey me die miserably.
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