Gu Shiqian was still hesitant.
Just then, her phone suddenly began to ring.
As Gu Shiqian took out her phone and saw the caller ID, her scalp tingled instantly.
It was her grandfather, Gu Zhengxin, calling!
"Ring-a-ding-ding! Ring-a-ding-ding!"
The phone continued to ring, sounding like the death knell of King Yan, yet Gu Shiqian didn't dare to answer it.
She knew there must be various issues in the company that had reached her grandfather, and he was calling to seek an explanation!
Xu Xiaojiao watched Gu Shiqian's demeanour, glanced at the lit name on the screen, sneered to herself, and said, "Answer the phone, I'll go outside and wait for General Gu's response."
After saying that, she didn't dilly-dally and walked straight out of the office to the reception room, giving Gu Shiqian the chance to negotiate at her leisure.
Once Xu Xiaojiao left, Gu Shiqian steeled herself and answered the phone.
"Hello, why did it take so long to answer? And, what's with all the problems at the company? If you can't handle it, come home right away; I'll have someone else take over!"
As soon as the call connected, an angry roar came from Gu Zhengxin through the receiver.
Gu Shiqian quickly explained, "I'm sorry, Grandfather, just now Shiqian was receiving a partner at the company and couldn't answer your call right away, I'm really sorry..."
Hearing Gu Shiqian's apology, the anger in Gu Zhengxin's voice subsided somewhat, but he was still very annoyed and queried, "What about the partnership with Trotsky? I thought partnering with him would offer Face of Jade Company a huge future, which is why I didn't hesitate to fall out with that ingrate. Now, the moment we get our hands on the company, they withdraw from the partnership. What's the use of acquiring the company at such a great cost if it leads to nothing?"
Gu Shiqian's hesitant eyes immediately turned to determination, and she quickly said, "Grandfather, it's okay, if Trotsky won't cooperate, then he won't cooperate. I've already found a better partner!"
As she spoke, she hurriedly explained to Gu Zhengxin the reasons behind Gu Xiyan's shift to focusing on fashion and how Xu Xiaojiao, after being ousted from their company, came with the precious secret formula data seeking partnership.
"Is that so?" Gu Zhengxin asked, somewhat incredulous.
Yet Gu Shiqian could still detect a hint of excitement in his tone.
Suddenly, Gu Shiqian felt a weight lift from her chest and quickly said, "Yes, that's right, I'm already negotiating the terms of the partnership—whether to buy her secret formula data outright or to take an equity stake. Maybe you should come and talk to her, Grandfather?"
"There's no need," said Gu Zhengxin. "Since I've handed the company over to you, you should negotiate. The company doesn't have much funds now, right? If she plans to sell the secret formula data for money, as long as she doesn't ask for an exorbitant price, go ahead and negotiate..."
After giving Gu Shiqian a few instructions, Gu Zhengxin hung up the phone.
Pocketing her phone, Gu Shiqian finally felt the great stone that had been pressing on her heart had fallen, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterward, she went to the reception room to find Xu Xiaojiao, who was sitting leisurely waiting for her arrival.
"President Xu, I kept you waiting," Gu Shiqian said with a smile to Xu Xiaojiao.
"It's fine, have you made up your mind, General Gu?" Xu Xiaojiao said, with her legs crossed.
Gu Shiqian said, "I've considered it, but President Xu, how do you want to cooperate? Are you going to sell the secret formula to me directly, or are you going to use the information to take a stake in the company with technology?"
Xu Xiaojiao obviously had considered it too and said directly, "I'll sell the information directly. After all, given my sensitive identity, I can't take a stake in the company."
"Fine," Gu Shiqian said. "Then, President Xu, how much do you want to sell it for?"
"Fifty million!" Xu Xiaojiao didn't even think before blurting out the amount.
"Fifty million?!" Gu Shiqian, upon hearing this, was also shocked.
"What? Too expensive for you?" Xu Xiaojiao, hearing this, gave Gu Shiqian a sidelong glance and said leisurely, "I'm not trying to extort you. When I bought this beauty secret formula from someone else, I spent more than twenty million. Plus, I invested a lot of money into research and development until this information ended up in my hands. So, fifty million is not only fair, but it's actually quite a bargain."
After speaking, Xu Xiaojiao saw that Gu Shiqian was still hesitant and added, "I don't want my months of hard work to end up benefiting someone else like a wedding dress made for another, plus your company was originally a mortal enemy of my company. That's why I thought of selling it to you—to let you rise from the ashes like a phoenix, so they would feel like they'd eaten shit. Otherwise, if I go to cooperate with someone else, without a billion, I wouldn't even give them the time of day!"
After listening to Xu Xiaojiao, Gu Shiqian was moved and then said, "I'm going to make a phone call."
"Okay," Xu Xiaojiao nodded.
Gu Shiqian then quickly went out and called Gu Zhengxin.
After all, Face of Jade Group didn't have much in the way of liquid funds right now. If she wanted to buy this beauty secret formula information, she would have to ask her grandfather for money.
Soon after making the call, Gu Shiqian came back into the reception room.
"How did it go?" Xu Xiaojiao looked up at her, her expression calm, neither rushing nor dragging her feet.
Gu Shiqian hesitated, "Fifty million might be workable, but I need to know if your information is genuine or fake first, and whether its effects are real and not exaggerated!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaojiao took out an unlabeled makeup box from her bag and said, "Don't worry, since I've come, of course, I came prepared. This is a qualified beauty makeup product that I brought from my previous provider. You can try it out for yourself."
Gu Shiqian, of course, did not dare to test it on herself. Hearing this, she called her secretary in to try it.
The secretary came in, took the makeup product, and applied it to her face. Soon after the medicinal paste was evenly spread on and absorbed by her skin, the secretary's skin visibly improved at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming moisturized, shiny, and elastic.
Gu Shiqian, suspecting it was only good for concealment and whitening, had her secretary wash her face and then remove the makeup with cleansing water.
After all that, the secretary's skin still did not revert to its original dry state, leaving Gu Shiqian shocked.
Wow, it's really that amazing.
Seeing Gu Shiqian's expression of interest, Xu Xiaojiao struck while the iron was hot and said, "General Gu, what do you think? I didn't lie to you, did I? The secret formula information I have is definitely worth the money."
"And..." Xu Xiaojiao hesitated for a moment, then added, "You should be aware, my surname is Xu, and I am from the Xu Family of River City. There's absolutely no need for me to cheat you out of this small amount of money. I'm selling you this information purely to vent my anger."
Upon hearing this, Gu Shiqian stated a concern that both she and her grandfather cared about deeply, "If I buy your information, outmaneuver Jinyu Company, and screw them over, wouldn't the Xu Family... come after us for a reckoning?"
Xu Xiaojiao smiled faintly and shook her head, "Don't worry. My resignation was just a result of being schemed against; it doesn't really involve the Xu Family's internal affairs. You also know Jinyu Company is now just a small company, which was meant for me to play around with. The Xu Family has bigger fish to fry, so why would they bother with you over such a trifle?"
Hearing this, Gu Shiqian relaxed, flashed a relieved smile, and extended her hand, "Then let's have a pleasant cooperation!"