Chapter 478: Don’t Talk to Me About Money

“Chairman Xu, we will take our leave now.”

Chen Kaihe and Zhang Zhongliang exchanged a glance and then looked at Xu Shaochen as they spoke.

Although they had to give away some goods for free, it was still better than Liu Xiong’s fate. At least they were still alive.

Besides, they had money. They could afford to take a loss on this deal; it wasn’t a big problem.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. I haven’t finished speaking yet.”

Xu Shaochen looked at the two of them as he spoke.

Their faces immediately changed, and a bad premonition arose in their hearts. Xu Shaochen’s appetite might not be satisfied with just this.

And indeed, Xu Shaochen didn’t disappoint them.

“Both your companies are solely owned enterprises, right? How about letting me join in to help share the burden?”

Xu Shaochen smiled warmly, his tone soft, as if he was merely making a suggestion.

The two men sucked in a cold breath. They never expected Xu Shaochen to ask for shares in their factories.

“What I can’t tolerate the most is being deceived. Yet, you and Liu Xiong treated me like a fool. Whatever his fate should have been, yours should be the same.”

“But I have one strong point—that is, I’m very good to my own people. Don’t you want to become my own people?”

As Xu Shaochen finished speaking, he clapped his hands.

Immediately, Long Yi and others outside the office rushed in, surrounding Zhang Zhongliang and Chen Kaihe, glaring at them as if they were ready to tear them apart at any moment.

The two men’s throats surged with emotion. At this point, did they have any other choice?

“Chairman Xu, how many shares do you want, and what price are you willing to pay?”

Chen Kaihe asked tentatively as he looked at Xu Shaochen.

Selling the shares was fine; after all, Xu Shaochen would be the only shareholder. He would just take his dividends, and the management of the factory would still be under their control.

Hearing this, Xu Shaochen shook his head, somewhat distractedly, and replied: “Don’t talk to me about money. We’re on the same side; talking about money hurts feelings.”

Chen Kaihe’s face changed dramatically, unable to suppress his anger anymore: “Chairman Xu, aren’t you going too far? Where in the world is there such a good deal?”

He now understood that Xu Shaochen never intended to give them any money but wanted the shares for free.

“Going too far?” Xu Shaochen broke into laughter and shook his head, speaking to himself, “Liu Xiong was thrown into a mixer by his own men and turned into pulp. Compared to that, do you still think my conditions are unreasonable?”

“Chairman Xu, you’re pushing things too far!”

Chen Kaihe clenched his fists tightly. He absolutely couldn’t accept something like giving away shares for free.

“So, what do you plan to do? What can you do?”

Xu Shaochen asked seriously.

“I…”

Chen Kaihe was at a loss for words because, at this moment, there truly wasn’t anything he could do. Even his life was in Xu Shaochen’s hands.

After a long time, he took a deep breath and looked at Xu Shaochen: “Chairman Xu, even if I agree, this matter still needs to be discussed in detail. I need to go back and draft the contract.”

“Snap!”

Just as he finished speaking, two contracts flew in front of him.

“No need for that. I’ve already prepared them for you. Just go ahead and sign.”

Xu Shaochen walked up to the two men and put a pen in each of their hands.

Both Chen Kaihe and Zhang Zhongliang’s hands were trembling as they held the pens. Their emotions were a mix of anger, fear, and helplessness.

They picked up the contracts and briefly skimmed through them.

Both factories were the same, voluntarily transferring ten percent of their shares to Xu Shaochen.

This number was like a chunk of flesh cut out of their bodies. From now on, every year, they would have to give ten percent of their income to Xu Shaochen.

This wasn’t a small amount of money. Xu Shaochen was essentially carving pieces of profit from them bit by bit, like cutting flesh with a dull knife.

“My patience is wearing thin. Sign.”

Xu Shaochen’s face darkened slightly, his voice cold.

In the end, it was Zhang Zhongliang who first trembled as he signed his name on the contract, followed by Chen Kaihe.

After signing, the two men felt as if all the energy had been drained from their bodies.

Before this, who would have thought that for the sake of a little bit of greed, they would end up paying such a heavy price?

“Gentlemen, a pleasure doing business with you.”

Xu Shaochen put away the contracts and smiled slightly.

“Chairman Xu, can we leave now?”

Zhang Zhongliang and Chen Kaihe now just wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible. They couldn’t predict what Xu Shaochen might do next.

“Please, at your convenience.”

Xu Shaochen made a dismissive gesture.

The two men let out a sigh of relief, then turned and hurried out of the office. Their steps quickened as they went, finally breaking into a jog, as if a beast was chasing them.

“Ah, I should have known better than to listen to your nonsense. Not only did we make no profit, but we also lost a piece of flesh.”

In the elevator, Zhang Zhongliang sighed as he looked at Chen Kaihe with resentment.

“Enough, it’s useless to talk about this now. We should think about what to do next.”

Chen Kaihe said coldly. He looked down on Zhang Zhongliang’s timid personality.

If it weren’t for inheriting his father’s factory, he would probably have lived his life as an ordinary worker.

“What can we do? What options do we have? The only thing left to do is let him carve us up.”

Zhang Zhongliang showed a self-deprecating smile. They were now like lambs to the slaughter, living at Xu Shaochen’s mercy, dependent on when he would decide to strike.

Chen Kaihe snorted coldly at his words: “Then you just let him carve you up. I don’t plan to sit here and wait to die. If things go on like this for a few more years, will the factory belong to Xu or to Chen?”

“What are you planning now, Old Chen? We’ve signed the contract. Don’t do anything rash. At least we’ve managed to keep our lives for now.”

Hearing this, Zhang Zhongliang’s face changed. He feared that Chen Kaihe might do something reckless and drag him down as well.

“We signed the contract under duress. We can rescind it based on our will,” Chen Kaihe said calmly, then added, “We’ll cancel the contract and go abroad to hide for a while. I don’t believe his reach extends overseas.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhongliang felt tempted again, although he asked nervously, “But is it really possible?”

“How will you know if you don’t try? I’ve already made up my mind. We’ll go abroad, then I’ll get someone to turn this into a case and file a report in Jingcheng. Liu Xiong really did die, after all. Even if we can’t take him down, we can at least make his life difficult for a while.”

A trace of hatred flashed in Chen Kaihe’s eyes as he gritted his teeth and spoke.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhongliang, who had been feeling tempted, instantly fell silent. He realized Chen Kaihe had been blinded by hatred and had gone mad.

If it was just about canceling the contract and fleeing, that was one thing, but he also wanted to take a shot at Xu Shaochen. Zhang Zhongliang immediately decided he wanted no part in this.