Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 66 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure (ko-fi)
Chapter 66.2 Who made him this angry?
Mr. Grand from TOBR was invited out by Shi Nanxing within a few days. Once again, Lin Jingzhe met with him in person.
Shi Nanxing was acting as the middleman and mediator. Before Mr. Grand arrived at the scene, he took out the letter of intent signed by April Wind Square to TOBR with a sincere expression, "The current situation in our country is really unfavorable; many of us have fallen behind. We really have to reevaluate our positions and where we stand. Right now, shopping malls do not have the upper hand, but TOBR. There are so many shopping malls under construction in Yan City, a good amount of them are being built in the north of the city alone! Moreover, Qi Qing told me that the investment promotion management of April Wind Square had held many meetings. They have their eyes set on TOBR, so don’t take this matter lightly.”
"Those f*ckers." Lin Jingzhe's expression became grave, and after a while, he was grateful, "Mr. Shi, thank you for telling me this."
Shi Nanxing sighed, "I was the one who got you to reconcile with Qi Qing before, but now that something like this happened… I’m truly embarrassed."
Lin Jingzhe hurriedly comforted him, "How could you know what Qiqing Real Estate has planned? It’s not your fault."
Shi Nanxing remained looking guilty. After a short pause, he asked, "However, this dinner meeting is rather important, Mr. Lin, are you sure you need to inform Mr. Xiao about this? I heard that the shopping mall on 2nd Middle Road is a joint venture between you two."
Lin Jingzhe waved his hand, "The construction of the building is under the responsibility of Flux Realty. All matters done after the completion, such as the investment operation, will all be managed by us. Why does he need to be here?"
Shi Nanxing continued to probe, "The concession on the investment promotion dividend involves the interests of all parties. Mr. Xiao is such an authoritarian person who likes to monopolize every decision. Will he really be ok with you doing this?"
Lin Jingzhe just sneered, but did not answer.
During their meal, with Shi Nanxing as the mediator, Mr. Grand’s originally arrogant attitude eased up. He was rather straightforward and said that of all the shopping malls in Yan City, no matter scale or location, their mixed-use building was the favorite of the TOBR’s market research department. The contract between them and April Wind Square has not yet been signed. As long as Lin Jingzhe could make some concessions on the investment promotion dividend, they could change the contracting party.
Although Mr. Grand mentioned it as ‘some concessions’, many subsequent causes were comparable with the terms of the April Wind Square. All of these ‘concessions’ were completely unreasonable. Lin Jingzhe was furious and his face displayed his emotions throughout the whole meal. He even got up and left the table several times, but Shi Nanxing chased after him every time, persuading him to go back to the private room.
Shi Nanxing was obviously on his side, and often spoke up for him, refuting Ge Lang's ideas as unrealistic.
In the end, after an exhausting back and forth, they retreated from their respective standards and gave in to each other's acceptable proposals.
Shi Nanxing tried to liven up the atmosphere like a good senior, but Lin Jingzhe didn't drink a drop of wine. After they settled the negotiation, he immediately got up to leave, not wanting to stay any longer.
"Mr. Lin, wait." Grand exchanged looks with Shi Nanxing, then stood up and stopped him, "Since everything has been negotiated, why don't we sign the contract tomorrow?"
Lin Jingzhe frowned. Although he faintly exuded annoyance, he could not help but ask, "Wouldn’t that be too hasty?"
"I'm heading back to the parent company office soon. It’s best we sign the contract as soon as possible because I don't know how long it will take for me to come back." Grand explained.
Lin Jingzhe visibly hesitated. After thinking about it, he refused, "No, I need time to discuss the details with the staff of the Legal Department and the Investment Promotion Department. Let's do it this Friday."
Shi Nanxing frowned slightly in Grand's peripherals, so he hurriedly said, "It's too late, I'm leaving on Wednesday night, it must be before then."
Although Lin Jingzhe's expression was still polite and calm, he was clearly impatient. After standing and complementing for a moment, he negotiated, "Then Wednesday."
Seeing that Grand was unsatisfied with this date, Lin Jingzhe frowned and irritatedly added, "You must give us some time to prepare! After the signing is completed, New Beginnings Real Estate will personally prepare a car and drive you to the airport!"
Grand didn't want to irritate him completely. He hesitated, glanced to the side, and saw Shi Nanxing nodding indiscernibly.
"Okay." He relented.
Lin Jingzhe couldn't wait to leave, leaving behind two people in the private room and a table of food and drinks that were barely touched.
Shi Nanxing's gentle expression quickly subsided after he left. He picked up a cold shrimp with his chopsticks and threw it into his mouth, chewing it with a thoughtful expression.
Grand looked at the manuscript paper full of detailed rules with great joy. He thought back to what had just occurred and laughed. Afterwards, he turned and asked Shi Nanxing, "Did you see that? Mr. Lin's face just now, he was about to explode crazy from anger. "
Shi Nanxing snorted. He recalled that even Lin Jingzhe’s polite smile could not fully conceal his irritation and anger. Although this matter was about done, Shi Nanxing continued to work with caution. After all, in order to win Xiao Chi, he had to pay a full 10% of the shares of April Wind Square. Therefore, to be on the safe side, he wanted Lin Jingzhe and TOBR to sign their contract before he gave the benefits to Xiao Chi.
It’s just that Wednesday was also the same day he agreed to meet Xiao Chi on…
Shi Nanxing felt a little uneasy. Since Lin Jingzhe refused to change his schedule, why not push Xiao Chi's date? However, according to Xiao Chi's stern work attitude, this may not be easy. Hence, Shi Nanxing was determined to make adequate preparations, and prudently told Mr. Grand, "Remember, you must keep in touch with me when you’re at New Beginnings Real Estate on Wednesday. If there is any problem in the signing process, be sure to let me know as soon as possible!"
******
On Wednesday, Grand led his people to the New Beginnings Real Estate. As soon as he entered the door, he felt the solemn atmosphere. Even Mao Dongqing, who was supposed to be on vacation, made a special trip over to attend the signing process.
Grand did not feel any guilt knowing that Mao Dongqing had fallen sick from his ploy. He only glanced at him arrogantly and urged Lin Jingzhe to sign the contract quickly.
Lin Jingzhe delayed the signing all the way till noon. Grand couldn't find any opportunity to finalize their contract, so he quickly called Shi Nanxing when he found time. Shi Nanxing felt suspicious, "Why hadn’t you signed the contract yet?"
Grand was furious and complained. Lin Jingzhe had made a fuss and they spent all morning revising the contract with the legal affairs department. He suddenly wanted to retract some of the clauses written on the contract and asked TOBR to make some concessions.
After listening to his complaints, Shi Nanxing's emerging doubts were soon dispelled. The clauses they originally agreed on were very strict, it would be weirder if Lin Jingzhe was willing to agree to all of them. It's normal for him to want to pull back a little bit right before the signing process, this type of situation made it more credible.
The two parties worked together for a long time, and revised four or five different clauses. It was not until one o'clock in the afternoon that Lin Jingzhe reluctantly said: "Let’s go sign the contract."
The whole process was mentally and physically exhausting, so Grand heaved a sigh of relief and immediately notified Shi Nanxing, "Mr. Shi, we are preparing to enter the signing room."
In order not to make Lin Jingzhe suspicious, they formulated secret codes to relay information to one another. ‘Entering the signing room’ meant that they would not be able to contact each other for at least an hour.
Shi Nanxing hung up the phone and lowered his head to mull over Grand’s report. Xiao Chi, who was sitting opposite him, was also on the phone. He didn’t know who he was talking to, but Xiao Chi’s tone was exceptionally gentle. After hanging up the phone, his demeanor once again resumed its usual cold and seriousness. Xiao Chi stood up from the sofa impatiently, "Uncle Shi, I have already stayed here for a whole afternoon. If you still are undecided on whether to transfer your shares or not, then I will leave first."
Shi Nanxing hastened to hold him back. At the same time, he desperately recalled and really couldn't detect any loopholes in Grand's narration of Lin Jingzhe’s itinerary.
They had already entered the signing room. Moreover, there were no major flaws in the revised contract details that Grand reported to him just now, so there should probably be no problem with Lin Jingzhe’s side. What's more, the shares would be transferred to Xiao Chi sooner or later. Otherwise, how could they be considered riding ‘in the same boat’? So as soon as he came to this conclusion, Shi Nanxing immediately said: "I've thought about it, I've thought about it a long time ago! There's no problem, let's go sign now."
And so, the two picked up their pen and started to sign all the papers.
As for the situation in New Beginnings Real Estate’s signing room, Grand, who entered the room, had a naggy feeling that something was off.
The assistant who went to print the revised contract didn't come back for a long time. Lin Jingzhe sat in the chair opposite the table and drank his tea slowly, keeping his gaze fixed outside of the window.
As the end of the year approached, it started to snow in Yan City. Large flakes of snow fell down outside the clear glass windows, but the building was as warm as spring thanks to technological advances. There was no more raging anger in Lin Jingzhe’s eye, as if whatever that happened before entering the signing room had never happened. His face displayed a comfortable expression, as if he was about to fall asleep in the next second.
Grand waited for half an hour, and the more he waited, the more fidgety he became. He frequently turned his head to look in the direction of the door, but the assistant who said they would come back right away with the contract never showed up.
At the end of his wits, Grand opened his mouth to ask, "Mr. Lin, where's our contract?"
Lin Jingzhe squinted at him lazily, and smiled inexplicably. At this time, the quiet door was finally pushed open, but it was not the face that Grand had been looking forward to. A female secretary came in, she was holding the brick phone that Lin Jingzhe left outside.
The phone was connected to a call. Lin Jingzhe picked up the phone and put it by his ears and asked, "It's done?"
The other end of the phone answered in a muffled voice. Hearing it, Lin Jingzhe narrowed his eyes with a smile and extended an invitation: "Okay. We’re almost done as well, let's have lunch together later."
They continued to make small talk for a while and finally hung up the phone. Lin Jingzhe’s languid posture became more energetic, and he sat up straight in the chair with a cough.
"Mr. Grand." Lin Jingzhe’s next statement soon shocked Grand. "I think our cooperation is still somewhat unsatisfactory, so let's stop here for now."
Grand was stunned for a whole thirty seconds before he realized what had happened. His puzzled expression soon dropped as he stood up abruptly, "Mr. Lin! What is the meaning of this?"
"It means that you can leave." Lin Jingzhe smiled and stretched out his hand towards the door, and made a ‘please’ gesture, "I'm sorry, I originally planned to take you to the airport, but I didn't expect all of our drivers to have already been sent out, so you have to go by yourself."
Grand exclaimed in disbelief, "How could you do this?! You are violating business integrity!"
Lin Jingzhe was relaxed: "Mr. Grand, don't talk nonsense. We haven't signed the contract yet, what integrity is there?"
"But! But I–!" Grand was in a dilemma, he couldn't figure out why the situation had changed so much in just a few hours. "I brought my staff over early in the morning to discuss with you and negotiated everything! How could you..."
"How could I? Plot against you?" Lin Jingzhe replied with a very friendly smile, "I still have to ask you this question on behalf of Director Mao."