"Our nationwide offline counters have consistently received the highest foot traffic in the industry. Why would we spend money on endorsements? It's not like we're throwing money away," the Director of Planning said with a cold smile.
Ji Corporation's central shopping malls were spread across the country. Their property scale was the largest globally.
Wherever they were built, they had already become local landmarks.
Such large commercial complexes, integrating dining, shopping, and entertainment, could easily drive new projects.
"You're such a stubborn old man, acting like an eighty-year-old when you're so young. Nowadays, the benefits brought by traffic stars are immense. If we're going to do this key project, we do it the best!" the Operations Manager retorted, unwilling to back down.
At the large Nordic negotiation table, two men sat facing each other, neither willing to concede.
The atmosphere was tense.
The others remained silent.
Ji Zhixiu sat at the head of the table with regal bearing, his black suit buttons meticulously fastened.
He slightly raised his gaze, his sharp and indifferent eyes sweeping over their heads one by one.
Then, he tapped twice on the black tabletop with his fingers.
Everyone looked.
The Director of Planning felt a jolt and lowered his head, saying, "Apologies, President Ji."
The Operations Manager stood up, gritting his teeth, "President Ji, I still stand by my idea."
Seeing his persistence, the Director of Planning also grew annoyed, "Fine, let's see what President Ji has to say!"
Facing dozens of gazes, the man finally spoke, his voice devoid of warmth, "We'll proceed as Manager Fan suggests."
Manager Fan, the Operations Manager, breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. "Thank you, President Ji."
Ji Zhixiu's gaze fell on the Director of Planning. "Do you have any objections?"
Although it was a question, it carried an unyielding force that swept over them.
The Director of Planning shook his head repeatedly. "Of course, I trust President Ji. If President Ji says so, it must be better than what I had in mind."
Ji Zhixiu nodded, retracting his gaze with satisfaction. "Then let's discuss your requirements for the spokesperson."
"First, she must be beautiful, and female, that's a given. Preferably with her own fan base."
"A clean personal life, no scandals."
"Under thirty years old, looking for some popular young actresses."
"Liang Qiao has a good fan base and several representative works."
"No, no, everyone knows about her issue with Luo Fei, and they've fallen out now."
"Then using her is perfect. Her popularity can bring us some buzz."
Manager Fan's brow furrowed as he saw the other party arguing with him again. "I don't agree with Liang Qiao. Her resources have visibly declined recently. She would lower our standards. This perfume is positioned as high-end."
"Then who do you suggest?"
"How about Zhao Xinxin? She's a little princess from a wealthy family, with her own buzz and popularity."
"She's too sweet, might lack impact," the Director of Planning refused.
"Actors are malleable."
"No, no, I don't agree."
They began to discuss heatedly, and finally, all eyes turned to Ji Zhixiu.
Manager Fan summarized, "President Ji, we've shortlisted three candidates: Zhao Xinxin, who is quite sensitive to fashion; Hua Nai, a recently popular traffic actor; and finally, a male star, Jing Zhou, with a good image and temperament. Which do you think is more suitable?"
The man tilted his head, his sharp jaw slightly raised, and said in a low voice, "None of them are satisfactory."
Manager Fan's brow furrowed even tighter. "If these don't meet President Ji's requirements, then we can consider international stars."
The Director of Planning pondered, "Does the President already have someone in mind?"
Ji Zhixiu slightly raised his eyelids, and under their expectant gazes, his thin lips uttered two words, "Jiang Mian."
Everyone had their own thoughts, but they nodded in unison.
"Since the President has made a decision, I'll contact the other party immediately to extend the work invitation."
"I'll finalize the proposal contract and send it to the President for review as soon as possible."
"I'll contact President Cheng's side."
The meeting concluded.
Back in the office, Fan Cheng poured Ji Zhixiu a cup of tea and brought it over.
Ji Zhixiu looked up and saw the smile on his face, raising an eyebrow. "What are you smiling about?"
"I'm smiling because the President already had the Young Madam in mind, but he waited for them to argue endlessly before revealing it."
Ji Zhixiu's voice was calm and light, "One must give them a chance to participate."
Fan Cheng's smile faded. "By the way, President, President Cheng wants to meet you. I've arranged it for 7:30 PM."
Ji Zhixiu grunted and glanced at the mountain of documents on the desk.
"Ask Alice to bring me the contracts I've arranged. I'll take them tonight."
...
Biyun Private Room.
Cheng Siyuan and his assistant had been waiting for a long time. The assistant grumbled, "President Cheng, President Ji really puts on airs."
Cheng Siyuan calmly poured a cup of tea. "Don't say too much later. You wouldn't understand."
This man was clearly making him wait deliberately, but it didn't matter, he wasn't in a hurry.
He glanced at the time. "Let them serve the cold dishes first."
"Okay."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened.
Ji Zhixiu, in a black suit and overcoat, exuded nobility and distinction. His physique was robust, and his eyes held a distant, aloof coldness.
As he entered, the air in the private room seemed to thin considerably.
Ji Zhixiu swept a glance over the two men, nodded slightly, and said politely yet distantly, "Thank you for waiting, President Cheng."
Cheng Siyuan stood up and said with a cheerful smile, "No trouble, no trouble. As long as President Ji is here, please sit. I'll have them serve the dishes right away."
Ji Zhixiu sat down with Fan Cheng nearby and said nothing, appearing even more relaxed and at ease than Cheng Siyuan.
Only President Cheng remained jovial.
"President Ji, Biyun has recently introduced new dishes. You must try them later."
The man spoke sparingly, "Good."
The dishes were soon served, and Ji Zhixiu truly savored them, not mentioning anything else.
"The dried bamboo shoots are good. President Cheng, you should try them too," Ji Zhixiu said with a slight smile, not rushing.
President Cheng was anxious, and couldn't taste anything.
Seizing an opportunity, he said, "They are indeed excellent. Coincidentally, I also want to finalize the contract matters with President Ji."
"Please, President Cheng, feel free to speak."
"I believe President Ji is very satisfied with our product. To be frank, for the limited fragrance series, I used an ancient family recipe and modified it. It took several failures to achieve this result."
The man didn't respond, put down his chopsticks, and slowly wiped his mouth.
Cheng Siyuan continued, "I'm very relieved to hand this over to President Ji."
Ji Zhixiu smiled, but his eyes held no warmth. "Indeed."
After glancing at him, Cheng Siyuan gritted his teeth. "So, I'm asking for an additional ten percent profit, President Ji. That's not too much, is it?"
"You...!" Fan Cheng's face contorted with anger.
He never expected this old fox to go back on his word!
They had previously agreed on a ten percent profit share, and now he wanted to retract it.
Ji Zhixiu's expression remained unchanged, showing no surprise. He chuckled softly. "What do you take me for, President Cheng?"
"I can guarantee that the profits I bring to President Ji will be immense. I believe President Ji is aware of this." Now that the words were out, there was no room for retreat.
Cheng Siyuan raised his chin, triumph in his eyes. "President Ji, I think you should be aware of this."
A clear hint of mockery flickered in Ji Zhixiu's brows. He stated a fact. "I didn't expect President Cheng to do business this way. It's surprising that there's no sincerity at all."
"Integrity? What integrity? I'm merely stating my reasonable request." He refused to admit it to death.
After all, no one else was present when he said it, so what could they do if he denied it?
He had only said that to get Ji Corporation's attention at the time.
Ji Zhixiu was neither rushed nor impatient. He looked at Fan Cheng, who had calmed his anger, and said faintly, "Bring out the contract."
Fan Cheng took out the contract from his bag and placed it on the table. Cheng Siyuan picked it up with suspicion. Was he really going to be so accommodating?
This was unlikely.
As he scanned the large, bold characters of "Acquisition Proposal" on the document, his brow instantly furrowed.
After reading it line by line, Cheng Siyuan threw the contract down.
He slammed his hand heavily on the table, causing the bowls and plates to clatter, demonstrating the immense force.
He roared in fury, "President Ji has truly grand ambitions!"
He only wanted to cooperate with this man for mutual benefit, but he never expected this man to be so arrogant as to have even prepared a plan for acquiring Cheng Corporation!
Truly despicable!
Ji Zhixiu showed no surprise at his reaction.
He even smiled, in a good mood. "President Cheng, why get so angry? Instead of spending so much effort plotting for Cheng Corporation, why not hand it over to Ji Corporation once and for all?"
"You wish!" he spat out the words through gritted teeth.
Cheng Corporation was the culmination of his life's work. He would never hand it over to anyone else!
Ji Zhixiu shifted his posture leisurely, his eyes cold but his expression full of confidence.
Fan Cheng said, "If I recall correctly, President Cheng is currently fifty million in debt. You don't have many options, or rather, you've run out of paths."
Cheng Siyuan was shocked and enraged. "You investigated me?!"
Fan Cheng smiled. "How can this be called an investigation? It's merely understanding a business partner."
He continued, "I advise President Cheng not to refuse too quickly. You lost your son in middle age and are already struggling to manage the company alone. Handing it over to Ji Corporation will make things much easier for you. At the same time, it will allow this product to go further. Isn't that your wish?"
He understood the logic, but he simply couldn't accept it.
He, Cheng Siyuan, had lived for over a decade longer than Ji Zhixiu, yet he couldn't match his schemes.
He suspected that from the very beginning, Ji Zhixiu had been aiming for this.
Ji Zhixiu said nonchalantly, "President Cheng can decide after reading the proposal."
He had been too angry and hadn't finished reading it.
Cheng Siyuan picked up the proposal again, his pupils constricting sharply. "I'm still the acting president?"
"Of course. No one knows this product better than you. Your position will not change."
Cheng Siyuan hesitated. "And my team won't change either?"
"No one will change. The only thing you need to adapt to is that from now on, the final say will be mine. This product series does not belong to your Cheng Corporation; it belongs to our Ji Corporation," Ji Zhixiu said with a touch of arrogance.
Cheng Siyuan: "Do I have any other options?"
If the deal were terminated, he couldn't find a better partner than Ji Zhixiu.
Now that the news was out, backing out of the cooperation would only make others laugh at him.
But how could he accept this?
"President Cheng, don't feel unwilling. You can look at the acquisition funds. They are enough to repay your debts and live comfortably for the rest of your life."
Ji Zhixiu saw through his thoughts with ease, tilted his chin, and pointed at the acquisition proposal, signaling him to take a closer look.
From a long-term development perspective, he would make a profit without losing.
However, Cheng Siyuan wasn't losing out significantly either. Cooperation was a win-win situation.
From the beginning, acquiring this fragrance series was his ultimate goal.
Cheng Siyuan exhaled heavily and extended his hand. "Bring me a pen."
...
Leaving Biyun, Fan Cheng couldn't help but say, "President, your plan is truly brilliant."
The man's lips curled, his eyes cold. "Cheng Siyuan, he's quite good at putting on an act."
He spoke more nicely than he acted. Ji Zhixiu would never easily trust him.
Only by being in charge himself would he have sufficient authority.
Was a mere distribution right enough?
He wanted both the product and the profit.
At this moment, Fan Cheng finally understood the meaning behind the President wanting the Young Madam to be the spokesperson.
The weight of "Ji Corporation Exclusive" versus "Cheng Corporation Exclusive" was vastly different.
By securing this endorsement, with the promotional resources provided by Ji Corporation, the Young Madam's influence in the industry would undoubtedly reach new heights.
Fan Cheng mused, could this be considered using company funds to dote on his wife?