Instantly, the smile vanished from Wu Hao’s face.
Things had been busy the past two days. After the representative from Douyin Group arrived, they were arranged to stay at a hotel.
They hadn't officially met yet.
He had been full of hope and confidence, but now, upon their arrival, they were already acting this way?
For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
"It's just cooperation, there's no need for such humiliation, is there?" Li Zhonglou's face darkened as he said indifferently.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man glanced at him and scoffed, "And who are you?"
"Director Chen, this is our company's major shareholder, Li Zhonglou," Wu Hao quickly introduced. "Zhonglou, this is Director Chen Yulin from Douyin Group."
Hearing that Li Zhonglou was the major shareholder, Chen Yulin’s contempt only grew.
He sneered, "Who said I was here to cooperate with you? Cooperate? You don't qualify!"
"I represent Douyin Group in acquiring your company. I thought it was some emerging internet enterprise, but it turns out to be a family workshop."
"One million!"
These words stunned Wu Hao speechless. "What one million..."
"Director Chen, we didn't discuss it like this before. We were talking about collaboration and support."
"How did it turn into an acquisition with you?"
Chen Yulin rolled his eyes. "Are you that naive? We are Douyin, an international company. What are you? Do you think you're worthy of cooperating with us?"
"Support is just a formality in writing. If your app didn't have some value, do you think I'd even glance at you?"
"This is ridiculous. If there's nothing else, quickly sign the contract."
"I'm very busy. I need to rush back after this is done."
The company's initial task was to assess Wu Hao and his team's company project and discuss cooperation intentions.
However, after arriving in Qinzhou yesterday, he had learned about the company's background through various channels. It had only been half a month since its registration.
And the project leader, Wu Hao, was previously a programmer at an unknown small company.
He had neither a high academic degree nor experience in operating internet projects.
He was purely a novice.
Upon arriving at the company, he confirmed his suspicions. They were even renting a villa as their office. Such a thing could only be done by a superficial shell company.
In that case, what was the point of cooperation?
It was better to acquire this workshop on behalf of the company, buy out the app's copyright, and then have people at headquarters clone it.
It would save time and effort, and the company would definitely not treat him unfairly.
He was skilled at negotiation, and suppressing opponents with a superior attitude right from the start was commonplace for him.
As expected, this Wu Hao was already flustered.
As for this so-called major shareholder, Li Zhonglou, he was even less worth mentioning. He seemed to not even understand programming.
He heard he was also a live-in son-in-law from a third-rate family.
Eighty percent of his investment money was likely from his wife. What value could such a person have?
"Director Chen, what do you mean? This is..." Wu Hao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
He had initially wanted to take advantage of Li Zhonglou's return to negotiate cooperation, but unexpectedly, the other party looked down on them from the moment they arrived.
And they even threatened to acquire the project for one million.
It left him completely at a loss.
Before he could finish speaking, Li Zhonglou placed a hand on his shoulder and said calmly to Chen Yulin, "Since you're so busy, please leave. I won't see you out."
What a joke!
He hated these pretentious, hypocritical businessmen the most in his life.
This was also why he hadn't paid attention to Lü Chenggong before.
Douyin Group had been on the rise in recent years, but that didn't mean they could do whatever they wanted.
Acquiring the company for one million? Why didn't he go eat dirt!
Li Zhonglou could see through Chen Yulin's intentions but had no mood or time to deal with such a person.
He had ruined the company's good mood.
Chen Yulin didn't expect Li Zhonglou to dismiss him in just three sentences.
His expression changed drastically, his face falling. "What are you pretending for? There are countless companies lining up to be acquired by Douyin now."
"There are many people like you, who claim to have dreams, but in the end, it's all for money."
"You think one million is too little? That's easy. The funds I can mobilize within my authority are far more than that."
"It's not impossible to raise the price, but my condition is to buy out your company outright. All of you will sign a non-compete agreement and withdraw from the project."
"Let Douyin Group's professional team take charge of the project."
"Three million, how about that?"
"It's not that I look down on you, but with a makeshift team like yours, you might not earn this much in a lifetime, and you might even end up with debt!"
His words carried the superiority of someone from a big city.
His condescending attitude was completely undisguised.
It was naked disdain.
As he said this, he deliberately raised his voice, causing all the staff in the hall to stand up and look.
Everyone had unpleasant expressions and fire in their eyes.
Negotiating cooperation was one thing, but resorting to personal attacks had crossed the line of tolerance.
Wu Hao's face turned ashen, filled with suppressed anger.
He felt both guilty and furious.
Guilty because he hadn't even figured things out and had eagerly asked Li Zhonglou to meet with this scumbag to negotiate.
Furious because the other party didn't even treat them as human beings.
The so-called buyout was essentially treating their hard work as a commodity, and they also wanted to replace all the personnel.
If you can tolerate it, you can't tolerate it anymore.
"Get out before I lose my temper." Even Li Zhonglou felt a spark of anger ignite within him, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.
"You're ungrateful! Let me tell you, I'm not here to ask for your permission. If you piss me off, believe it or not, I'll get you banned from the entire internet!" Chen Yulin's pupils contracted, his words already carrying a threat.
Douyin had expanded too quickly in recent years, venturing into many fields.
The antique circle, which had always been a treasure trove of celebrities and nobles, naturally couldn't be missed.
As long as they acquired a finished project and hired a few masters at a high price, with Douyin's resources, they would quickly become the industry leader.
He hadn't expected these villagers to be so uncooperative.
They didn't even understand negotiation and wanted to kick him out.
How could that be possible!
If the project wasn't secured, he wouldn't get off scot-free when he returned.
"Zhonglou, calm down," Wu Hao said in a low voice, his face a mixture of green and white.
Douyin was powerful, one of the three giants of the internet.
It was too easy for them to ban emerging internet companies like theirs.
Even if cooperation failed, they shouldn't offend the person, otherwise, the consequences would be unpredictable.
"I am very calm," Li Zhonglou stated, staring intently at Chen Yulin, enunciating each word.
He wasn't an impulsive person. The antique business valued rationality, otherwise, he would have been cheated to death long ago.
But he was human.
No matter how rational or ruthless a person was, they would inevitably have people and things they cared about.
The appraisal platform was one of them; it was his child!
It even concerned the fate of his master and senior sister.
Chen Yulin's intentions were clear enough: using a mere three million to directly buy his child.
It was utterly absurd.
"It's good that you're calm. If you're sensible, quickly sign the contract and don't delay my schedule." Chen Yulin had a look of absolute confidence. He had already used both the stick and the carrot.
He didn't believe these people wouldn't know what's good for them.
"I'll sign your mother's..." As soon as the words fell, a classic Chinese curse erupted from Li Zhonglou's mouth.
*Slap!*
Immediately after, with a backhand, he slapped Chen Yulin, sending him flying out of the room and tumbling down the steps.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, everyone was stunned.