Father Xia had originally thought his old friend had come over for drinks and a chat.
Who would have thought that the other party would actually present a notarized proof of equity transfer.
"Old Lian, what is the meaning of this?" Father Xia looked at Director Lian in disbelief.
"This is what it means," Director Lian said, placing the proof of equity transfer on the edge of the table. "I've always wanted to travel the world, and I've been planning it for a long time. My health has been deteriorating these past few years, and my wife's health isn't what it used to be. If I don't seize the opportunity now, I fear there won't be another chance."
No matter how much Father Xia tried to persuade him, Director Lian's attitude was firm.
"Then, is this portion of your equity transfer at market price or..." Father Xia looked at Director Lian. If it was at market price, he wouldn't have that much cash on hand temporarily, but he could gather it with some time.
"This..." Director Lian felt a pang in his heart when this was mentioned, yet he still forced a stiff smile. "I really have to praise that child, Qingtian."
"She came yesterday and gave me the money. Today, I'm just here to complete the final transfer contract procedures." Director Lian looked at Father Xia with a subtle tone, "Your daughter, hehe."
"Ah?" Father Xia felt something was amiss for a moment.
But at this moment, Xia Qingtian had already come downstairs. After a brief greeting, she sat on the sofa and, under Father Xia's witness, proceeded with the contract with Director Lian.
Signing, fingerprinting, all in one go.
Director Lian clenched his fist by his side, knowing there was no turning back this time.
Xia Qingtian also smiled and shook hands with Director Lian, saying, "Uncle Lian, thank you for your contributions to Xia Shi over the years, and thank you for being friends with my father for so many years. I wish you a smooth journey and a pleasant trip."
Director Lian looked at Xia Qingtian's face, his eyes almost spitting sparks, but he could only force a dry laugh, found an excuse, and left the Xia residence.
Seeing Director Lian leave just like that, Father Xia scratched the back of his head and looked at Xia Qingtian, asking, "Qingtian, how much did you pay for the equity? This is fifteen percent of the equity, where did you get so much money?"
"Borrowed," Xia Qingtian didn't want Father Xia to know too much, so she said casually, "I borrowed some startup capital from Mr. Gu."
"Why are you borrowing money from Mr. Gu? This is ridiculous!" Father Xia's head started to ache. "Startup capital? What business are you starting?"
Xia Qingtian swayed the equity transfer contract in her hand.
"You! Your startup is acquiring your own company's equity? Is this how you start a business!" Father Xia was so angry he wanted to hit Xia Qingtian on the head.
"Dad! You! Be polite to your own shareholder! I'm the second largest shareholder of Xia Shi now! You can't hit my head!" Xia Qingtian immediately propped the contract on her head to protect herself and protested.
"You!" Father Xia choked, feeling even more that Xia Qingtian was being reckless. "How much money did you borrow from Mr. Gu?"
"That's startup capital," Xia Qingtian corrected Father Xia's words, then silently held up a hand to indicate "five."
"Five hundred million?" Father Xia asked with a frown.
"Fifty million," Xia Qingtian said softly.
"Fifty million and you could buy fifteen percent of Xia Shi's equity? Who are you kidding!" Father Xia raised his hand to hit Xia Qingtian. Seeing Xia Qingtian flinch, looking scared, the slap didn't land, and he just slammed the table.
Xia Qingtian actually wanted to say that she only spent ten million.
But ten million sounded even more bizarre, so she chuckled and said, "Actually, Uncle Lian has a secret he doesn't want you to know."
"What secret?" Father Xia said.
"Uncle Lian, he's actually... terminally ill and doesn't have long to live. This world tour, while sounding nice, is actually his way of ending his remaining days." Xia Qingtian began to spout nonsense with a serious expression.
"What!" Father Xia's expression changed, and he stood up abruptly, reaching for his phone to contact Director Lian. Xia Qingtian quickly stopped him. "Dad! Don't you know Uncle Lian? If he had even the slightest bit of other options, he wouldn't be so calm about facing death!"
"The way he arranged this is so that you can rest assured, so that he can leave with dignity. Why do you insist on making Uncle Lian die with unease!" Xia Qingtian spoke righteously and with genuine emotion, so much so that she even convinced herself.
As expected, Father Xia also seemed to lose all strength, slumping back onto the sofa, lowering his head, and sighing heavily.
Seeing that Father Xia had also bought her excuse, Xia Qingtian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and sat down next to Father Xia, saying softly, "Dad, what we should do now is run Xia Shi better. That would truly honor Uncle Lian's good intentions."
"I know, I know," Father Xia didn't understand anything else, but learning that his old friend of so many years was about to pass away...
He felt heartbroken!
Claiming he needed to be alone for a bit, Father Xia got up and walked towards the study upstairs.
Watching Father Xia's dejected back, Xia Qingtian felt a pang of guilt.
She didn't want to lie to Father Xia, but when the truth was more cruel than the lie, Xia Qingtian decided to let Father Xia live in that beautiful lie.
She would solve the crisis at Xia Shi, and she would remove the tumors around Father Xia one by one.
In her past life, she had failed to fulfill her filial duties, had not done what a daughter of the Xia family should do.
In this life, she would accomplish them one by one, and she would absolutely not let Xia Shi go down the old path, nor would she let Father Xia and Aunt Liu head towards their doom again.
That evening after dinner, Father Xia had recovered. He called Xia Qingtian to the study and said, "I'll have someone transfer fifty million to you tomorrow. You can repay the money you borrowed from Mr. Gu."
"That's my startup capital..." Xia Qingtian muttered.
Father Xia glared at her upon hearing this, then said with a look of helplessness, "Even if it's your startup capital, you should have asked me for your first installment of startup capital! Instead of reaching out to outsiders, especially when that person is a partner of Xia Shi!"
"Oh..." Xia Qingtian then stuck out her tongue and said, "Alright then, I'll sell you some of my current equity at market price... I'll... I'll transfer fifty million worth of equity to you, and we'll finalize the contract as soon as I receive the money tomorrow!"
"You bought fifteen percent equity from Old Lian for fifty million, and then you're selling it to me at market price?" Father Xia looked at Xia Qingtian in surprise.
"It's for starting a business..." Xia Qingtian said, putting her hands behind her back and fidgeting.
Father Xia helplessly patted his forehead.
Good heavens, his daughter was "fleecing" sheep for her startup, but was she fleecing her own father?
The next day, Father Xia still transferred fifty million to Xia Qingtian. Xia Qingtian transferred part of her equity to Father Xia at market price and walked out of Xia Shi's main entrance with a smile.
As soon as she left Xia Shi, the smile on Xia Qingtian's face instantly vanished.
Next, she had to deal with the breach of contract issue for that project.