Chapter 125: First Contact

At the 28th floor of Zhonghe Building, the first thing that catches the eye as you exit the elevator are the large characters spelling out "Yongjin Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd."

As Li Dong and his group arrive, the receptionist stands up with a smile and asks, "Hello, whom are you here to see?"

"Is President Xu available?" Li Dong inquires.

"Do you have an appointment?"

Li Dong replies, "No, but I have some business to discuss with him."

The receptionist, still smiling, asks, "May I have your name, sir?"

"My last name is Li."

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Li. I'll call to check for you."

...

After about one or two minutes, the receptionist looks up again with a smile and says, "Mr. Li, please take a seat in the conference room for a while. President Xu is currently in a meeting and should be available shortly."

Li Dong breathes a small sigh of relief. At least he was able to get an audience; it would have been awkward if he couldn't even manage that.

As they are led to the conference room, Li Dong takes the opportunity to glance through the glass doors, observing Xu Yong's company. The office seems to have few employees, and it is very quiet, with almost no one moving about.

After waiting in the conference room for about four or five minutes, Li Dong finally meets Xu Yong.

Xu Yong, just over forty years old, is dressed in a black suit and has a gentle smile on his face, exuding an air of scholarly elegance.

After quickly observing Li Dong and his companions, Xu Yong extends his hand with a smile and says, "Hello, I'm Xu Yong."

"Hello, President Xu. I'm Li Dong from Yuanfang Company," Li Dong replies, shaking his hand.

Li Dong doesn't introduce Zhou Haidong and the others, and Xu Yong likewise doesn't introduce the professionally dressed woman accompanying him.

After the introductions, Xu Yong invites Li Dong and his companions to sit down.

Though Xu Yong doesn't know Li Dong or what Yuanfang Company does, he remains warmly welcoming, saying, "Mr. Li, I apologize for the delay; I was in a meeting."

Li Dong quickly exchanges a few pleasantries.

After some small talk, Xu Yong gets straight to the point: "So, what brings you here, Mr. Li?"

Li Dong hesitates for a moment, feeling there's no need to beat around the bush, and directly says, "I'm here to acquire the Baidu shares you hold, President Xu."

Xu Yong's expression changes slightly before he smiles and says, "Mr. Li, you must be joking. If you've come to find me, then you should already know my general situation. To be honest, I'm not in need of money and have no intention of selling my shares."

Li Dong had anticipated that acquiring the shares would be difficult, but he didn't expect Xu Yong to refuse so bluntly.

Seeing the smile fade slightly from Xu Yong's face, Li Dong hurriedly says, "President Xu, please don't reject the idea so quickly. I've traveled all the way from Pingchuan to Beijing, fully sincere in my offer. We can certainly discuss the price further."

However, Xu Yong shakes his head, "Mr. Li, it's not about the money. I'm simply not going to sell my Baidu shares."

Seeing how firm Xu Yong's stance is, Li Dong frowns.

It's not because of Xu Yong but because he realizes he's been too impulsive.

He had rushed here without enough preparation or understanding of the situation.

More importantly, Li Dong hadn't recognized his own shortcomings. He's not well-suited for business negotiations.

In his previous life, Li Dong was just a sales representative and had never experienced any major situations. The gap between him and someone like Xu Yong, who secured millions of dollars in investment during the 1990s, is enormous.

Moreover, Xu Yong knows nothing about Li Dong and Yuanfang Company. Talking about money right off the bat has likely made him lose respect in Xu Yong's eyes.

Now, Li Dong regrets not bringing a negotiation expert with him, or perhaps having someone like Gu Honglou, a middleman, accompany him would have been better.

But it's too late for regrets now.

Seeing that Xu Yong seems uninterested in continuing the conversation, Li Dong fears that pressing the issue might make future interactions more difficult. So, after a few more minutes of small talk, he takes his leave.

...

After leaving Zhonghe Building, Li Dong breathes a long sigh.

Impulsiveness is a demon; he's still too inexperienced, rushing in without thinking.

Fortunately, this was only the first contact, and there will be more opportunities.

Sitting in the car, smoking a cigarette, Li Dong thinks for a while before telling Zhou Haidong, "Let's go to Honglou Brokerage."

Now he has to ask Gu Honglou if there's any way to move forward. After all, Li Dong doesn't know many people in Beijing, and it's not easy to find the right person for this.

...

At Honglou Brokerage.

When Gu Honglou hears that Li Dong has already met with Xu Yong but failed to achieve his goal, he immediately understands why Li Dong has come.

But to be honest, he still doesn't think highly of Li Dong's acquisition attempt; otherwise, he wouldn't have refused to help before.

Now that Li Dong wants him to take over, Gu Honglou feels conflicted.

On one hand, he doesn't want to miss out on Li Dong's commission. On the other hand, because he doubts the likelihood of success, he fears wasting a lot of his time.

Xu Yong may seem friendly, but he's actually very difficult to deal with, and the chances of success are slim.

Moreover, Xu Yong isn't short on money, so using money to persuade him is also unlikely to work.

Sensing his hesitation, Li Dong smiles and says, "Mr. Gu, I actually believe there's still a lot of hope."

"How so?" Gu Honglou asks, a bit intrigued.

"Mr. Gu, you've never thought this deal would work out, have you?" Li Dong doesn't answer directly but asks a question in return.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Gu Honglou coughs lightly, "Mr. Li…"

Li Dong waves his hand to stop him from continuing and explains, "The main reason you don't think this will work is that you believe Xu Yong doesn't need the money, and therefore has no reason to sell his shares, right?"

Unable to deny this, Gu Honglou nods.

But Li Dong shakes his head, "I don't see it that way. The reason everyone thinks he doesn't need the money is because they assume he was paid a large sum when he left his previous job, right?"

Again, Gu Honglou nods, as this is common knowledge.

"But that's where you're wrong. I've heard that when Robin Li repurchased Xu Yong's shares, he didn't pay much in cash but used other means to buy them back."

"Moreover, the biopharmaceutical company Xu Yong has started is a money pit. Both product research and development and bringing a product to market require significant investment, and the cycle is long. It could take three to five years before the funds start to flow back."

"Of course, this is just my analysis, but I'm confident. After all, Xu Yong has sold a small amount of his shares after leaving. If he truly didn't need money, why would he sell?"

Li Dong's reasoning is sound, and even Gu Honglou starts to believe he might be right.

Given this, if Li Dong has discovered Xu Yong's financial struggles, why doesn't he handle the negotiations himself? If Xu Yong truly needs money, even slow negotiation tactics might work, so why involve him, Gu Honglou?

Seeing the doubt on his face, Li Dong smiles and says, "Mr. Gu, are you wondering why I'm still asking for your help?"

Gu Honglou nods.

"First, I'm a stranger to Xu Yong, so he doesn't trust me."

"Second, you're a professional in this field, while I'm an outsider when it comes to negotiations. I'm worried that I might mess things up."

"Third, and most importantly, I want a quick and decisive deal. I don't want this to drag on."

After explaining, Li Dong adds, "I don't mind spending more money. What I want is speed and reliability—the quicker, the better. If you can deliver on these two points, the reward I promised earlier still stands."

A flicker of interest appears in Gu Honglou's eyes. After thinking it over, he says, "Alright, but first I need to dig around to see if Xu Yong really is in need of money. If he is, there will be signs."

"Don't let it drag on too long."

"Don't worry, it won't take long. If things go smoothly, we can go see Xu Yong tomorrow."

Li Dong relaxes, knowing that it's now up to Gu Honglou.