Jiang Mengxin’s brows furrowed instantly, and she said nervously, "A weasel wishing the rooster a happy new year, with no good intentions."
Xiao Zhan nodded, "I had the same thought! What kind of person is Murong Ba, we know him inside and out. Could he have such good intentions to invite the Ten Great Talents? If my guess is correct, he must want to buy them over with a higher price! We absolutely cannot let our people go. I'll go refuse his invitation right now."
"Wait!" Lu Ming called out to Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan asked, "What is it? Does Brother Lu have any other instructions?"
Lu Ming said, "I think we shouldn't refuse."
"Ah?"
Xiao Zhan and Jiang Mengxin were both stunned. Not refuse?
Jiang Mengxin said, "Lu Ming, clarify what you mean. Why shouldn't we refuse? It's obvious Murong Ba has malicious intentions. We can't let the Ten Great Talents get into trouble."
Lu Ming explained, "If we refuse this time, Murong Ba will definitely find other ways to contact the Ten Great Talents. If he can't succeed once, he'll try again, and again. As the saying goes, you can guard against a thief, but not against someone who is always on your mind. Rather than being constantly bothered, it's better to let the Ten Great Talents meet him once, reject him on the spot, and make him give up completely!"
This…
It actually made sense.
Jiang Mengxin thought it over carefully and said, "What you're saying is quite right. However, there's one thing: to prevent Murong Ba from becoming enraged and resorting to murder if he fails to bribe them, we must send people to protect the Ten Great Talents!"
This was indeed necessary.
Xiao Zhan nodded, "Alright, I'll arrange for the best bodyguards to strictly protect the Ten Great Talents!"
With that, Xiao Zhan immediately went to handle it.
...
Night, nine o'clock.
A five-star hotel, VIP private room.
An entire table full of dishes, fully laden. Murong Ba played host, inviting the Ten Great Talents to a banquet.
He poured the wine.
Murong Ba raised his wine glass, smiled, and said, "Distinguished gentlemen, it is my honor to meet all of you today. I will first toast you all."
Saying that, he drank it down directly.
However, the awkwardness was that the Ten Great Talents paid him no mind at all.
Not a single one of them returned his toast!
When had Murong Ba ever been so disdained? He felt a bit of a loss of face, and his expression turned unsightly.
He put down his wine glass and was about to exchange pleasantries when Yang Rongguang impatiently said, "Murong Ba, you don't need to beat around the bush with us. Just say what you have to say."
Scholars, their tempers are always so fiery.
Murong Ba chuckled awkwardly twice and said, "Alright, since Old Master Yang wants me to speak directly, then I will."
He snapped his fingers.
His strategist Qiu Zhen immediately brought over a contract and placed it on the table.
Murong Ba tapped lightly on the contract with his finger and said, "To be frank, I, Murong Ba, value and cherish talent. After meeting all of you, I was utterly delighted! I won't waste words. I've invited you all here today hoping you will abandon the darkness and embrace the light, leave Kai Xuan Jewelry, and sign a new employment agreement with me, Murong Ba!"
Hmm?
The Ten Great Talents exchanged glances.
Such blatant poaching?
Murong Ba continued, "Please rest assured, all your breach of contract fees will be borne by me, Murong Ba, alone! Additionally, I have prepared a new contract for all of you. The salary alone is three times that of Kai Xuan Jewelry! At the same time, I have also provided you all with the best accommodation, nannies, and car services. If you have any other needs, just state them, and I will definitely satisfy them!"
This was truly not something ordinary people could do.
One had to know that the annual salary offered by Kai Xuan Jewelry to these ten people was already 1.8 million each, after tax!
The total annual salary for the ten of them was 18 million.
If Murong Ba offered three times the salary, then just the annual salary alone would amount to 54 million!
For ten people, not to mention anything else, the wages alone reached 54 million. If all of Murong Ba's other generous benefits were included, the annual expenditure on these ten people would be close to 80 million!
Good heavens, this was not something any ordinary company could do!
No matter from which angle one looked at it, the benefits and treatment offered by Murong Ba were exceptionally generous, and among the best in Shanghai.
He believed that any normal person would be willing to accept such a contract.
Murong Ba pushed the contract forward and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, if you are willing to join Dynasty Jewelry and cooperate with me, please drink this cup of wine and come sign your names! Leave the rest to me."
Full of sincerity!!!
The Ten Great Talents looked at each other and simultaneously revealed knowing smiles.
Yang Rongguang raised his wine glass and said, "Murong Ba, you have great spirit and cunning means. But I have a word for you. There is an ancient saying in China: 'The poor cannot be moved, the mighty cannot be coerced, and the rich cannot be indulged!' We ten are not greedy, opportunistic villains in your eyes! We have our own beliefs and our moral standards! Putting aside everything else, just one point alone ensures we will not cooperate with you."
Yang Rongguang glared with his eyes and loudly declared, "That is... our paths are different, and we cannot conspire together! We ten will never associate with a despicable scoundrel like you!"
With that, the old gentleman slammed his wine glass violently onto the floor.
The wine splashed everywhere.
Then, the other nine people raised their wine glasses and smashed them onto the floor.
Not a single one was willing to drink Murong Ba's wine!
No matter how much money Murong Ba offered, it could not shake the resolve of these ten individuals!
"Farewell!"
Yang Rongguang stood up and left. The other nine followed behind him. The group successively left the VIP private room, giving Murong Ba no face at all!
Ruthless, decisive.
Looking at Murong Ba again, his face was ashen, and he trembled with rage.
He clenched the contract in his hand, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it forcefully onto the floor.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
"Kill all these arrogant bastards!"
His words startled Qiu Zhen, who quickly ran to close the door and then scurried over to Murong Ba, saying softly, "Master Ba, be careful of eavesdroppers. These ten individuals are arrogant and extremely presumptuous. Killing them is certainly necessary. However, they are currently accompanied by bodyguards, and there are many people around, making it inconvenient to act. My suggestion is, we can wait until they return home and are sleeping soundly, then make our move."
"Mm." Murong Ba suppressed his anger and said in a low voice, "Notify our subordinates to track them home. We will act uniformly at three in the morning. Ten people, leave no one alive! Be ruthless, be brutal!"
Qiu Zhen nodded, "Alright, I'll arrange for someone to do it."
Immediately, Qiu Zhen left the private room and, as Murong Ba had instructed, went to arrange the assassination of the Ten Great Talents.
Inside the private room.
Murong Ba poured himself a drink and drank it alone, drowning his sorrows.
As he drank, he muttered, "A bunch of arrogant snobs, refusing to cooperate with me, huh? Fine, then you will all die tonight! Tomorrow morning, I want all of you on the front page!"