Chapter 60: Coming to Seek Me Out

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“I invited all three parties here today to demonstrate my sincerity,” Yang Tang continued, picking up the thread of conversation. “Once I sell the Power Saver software, I won’t stay in this industry any longer, so I have no fear of being honest and forthright!”

Upon hearing this, He Ming and Zhang Ying exchanged looks of disdain; such clichés from the world of business—only fools would believe them.

As for the two foreign men, the one with the aquiline nose could understand some Chinese, but only enough for daily conversation; the deeper meaning behind Yang Tang’s words was lost on him. The other, who didn’t understand Chinese at all, grew impatient and whispered in English to Fang Yuhua, “Can we begin?”

“Of course,” Fang Yuhua replied, casting a subtle nod toward Yang Tang.

Yang Tang glanced at his watch and said, “It’s seven minutes past three. Since Mr. He, Ms. Zhang, and our two foreign friends are all still seated, I assume you’re willing to hear my sales plan for Power Saver.”

He paused; the room was silent.

Yang Tang continued, “My reserve price is one million yuan. The three parties may bid against each other, with each raise not less than one hundred thousand. Highest bidder wins!”

He Ming and Zhang Ying’s expressions changed slightly, but they weren’t surprised by Yang Tang’s move. After all, no one wanted to sell their goods for less than their worth.

What caught them off guard, however, was that the rumor swirling through the industry in recent days was not unfounded—Blue Stone Group had indeed appeared out of nowhere to compete for Power Saver.

Now, the question was: What was Blue Stone Group’s bottom-line valuation for this software? Or was there no reserve price at all, and Blue Stone was just a decoy Yang Tang had invited?

“Have you all given it some thought? If so, please make your bids,” Yang Tang urged.

Zhang Ying was not the kind of woman easily led by a negotiating opponent. She curled her lips in a slight smile. “Mr. Yang, it’s not unreasonable for you to want us to bid, but throughout this process we’ve only seen an installation package with five layers of encryption, not the software’s source code. Isn’t that inappropriate?”

Yang Tang, seemingly prepared for such a question, smiled calmly and tapped his temple with a finger. “Rest assured, all the code is here. I can recite it for you on any computer you provide. There’s no need to worry about leaks or anything else.”

Everyone present—except for the foreigner who didn’t understand Chinese—was taken aback.

Judging by the size of the installation package, there were at least one hundred thousand lines of code, all memorized by Yang Tang. It was astonishing.

“Perhaps you don’t believe me? Once you’ve bought Power Saver, you can have me recite the code, encrypt it, make an installation package, and run the ultimate test. Wouldn’t everything be clear then?”

The group was left speechless.

“Well then, if there are no further questions, let’s begin the bidding!”

At Yang Tang’s urging, He Ming hesitated, remembered his upper limit, and decided to test the waters with an initial bid of one million. But before he could open his mouth, the aquiline-nosed foreigner broke the silence first: “One million one hundred thousand!”

The conference room fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

About ten seconds later, Yang Tang, hearing only the sound of breathing, slapped the table. “One million one hundred thousand, first call!”

No one responded.

“One million one hundred thousand, second call!”

Still no response.

A hint of resignation flashed in Yang Tang’s eyes. “One million one hundred thousand…”

“One million two hundred thousand!” Zhang Ying raised her hand at the critical moment.

“One million three hundred thousand,” He Ming followed closely.

But before he could relish his bid, the aquiline nose raised his hand again, “One million five hundred thousand!”

He Ming shot him a glance and immediately countered, “One million six hundred thousand.”

“One million seven!” Zhang Ying didn’t give He Ming another chance to be smug.

“Two million,” the aquiline nose threw out a high bid, as if money meant nothing.

This price startled both Zhang Ying and He Ming. Chenxun’s upper limit was three million, while Qiandu’s valuation was two point eight million—there wasn’t much difference, but with bids escalating at this rate, even four million might not suffice.

Both He Ming and Zhang Ying were seasoned professionals; a single question flashed through their minds—was two million from the foreigner a trap, or was he genuinely willing to pay that much? If the former, they’d need to be cautious not to fall in; if the latter, they’d have to adjust their bidding strategy.

But how?

Zhang Ying and He Ming exchanged glances, silently reaching a tacit understanding.

With this alliance, He Ming no longer hesitated. “Three million!”

The moment the price was called, the aquiline-nosed man, who had previously been as steady as a mountain, finally showed a hint of anger. In heavily accented Chinese, he pronounced each word deliberately: “Four million!”

Zhang Ying, reading something in his expression, immediately followed, “Four million three hundred thousand!”

Upon hearing this, the aquiline nose stood up in indignation, his companion quickly trailing after him as they left the conference room.

Zhang Ying breathed a subtle sigh of relief at their departure. He Ming hesitated, but did not break the tacit agreement.

Yang Tang said, “Since no one is bidding any further, the final transaction price is four million three hundred thousand.”

“Mr. Yang, you really know how to do business!” Zhang Ying commented, half mocking, half admiring.

“Not as well as Qiandu. You tried to buy my software for just a few dozen thousand at first!”

Zhang Ying smiled awkwardly and said nothing more, but called her lawyer from the lounge. Yang Tang and He Ming did the same, summoning their respective attorneys. The three parties began drafting the contract together.

While the lawyers were working, He Ming remarked, “Mr. Yang, you’re truly accomplished. Seeing both my and Ms. Zhang’s lawyers appear together didn’t faze you in the least!”

Yang Tang replied with a smile, “Why should I be surprised? Deputy Section Chief He, your signing authority is three million—I've already looked into it. I assume Ms. Zhang’s is about the same. One of you bids three million, the other dares to go slightly over four; obviously you’ve reached some sort of understanding.”

Zhang Ying smiled, neither confirming nor denying. “I didn’t expect you to have such a clear grasp of the situation. In that case, those two foreigners just now probably weren’t representatives of Blue Stone, were they?”

Yang Tang remained impassive. “Ms. Zhang, the contract isn’t signed yet. You still have time to change your mind.”

“I’m just curious.”

“Is that so? Once the contract is signed, I’ll be sure to give you the answer.”

Three experienced lawyers quickly drafted the contract, specifying the duration, payment method, taxes, penalties for breach, and so forth. Chenxun and Qiandu would each pay half the amount to Yang Tang.

Once the signatures and seals were in place, Zhang Ying asked again, “Mr. Yang, those two foreigners—were they really from Blue Stone?”

Yang Tang nodded, “They truly were. Once Power Saver’s name spreads, you two can contact them; I’m sure they’ll be interested in overseas distribution rights.”

Downstairs, the three parties went their separate ways.

After seeing off Lawyer Mao, who had been responsible for drafting the contract, Fang Yuhua—who had remained mostly silent—finally leapt up with excitement. “Wonderful, Tang Tang! Everything went smoothly, just as you expected!”

Yang Tang was in high spirits too, and couldn’t help teasing her, “What about those two foreign heartthrobs? Did you chase them off?”

“Not at all! They said they wanted a drink, so I let them go.” With that, Fang Yuhua boldly linked her arm through Yang Tang’s. “What do you say—shall we have a few drinks ourselves?”

Yang Tang was unaccustomed to Fang Yuhua’s affectionate manner and was about to pull his hand back when suddenly a man appeared beside him—a thick-browed, broad-faced fellow—who grabbed Yang Tang’s other arm and said in a deep voice, “Yang Tang, from Fog City, visiting Shenhai recently. Am I right?”

His arm was twisted awkwardly; Yang Tang was uncomfortable, about to wrench himself free, when a cold, hard object pressed against his waist.

A gun, most likely!

Realizing this, Yang Tang dared not move further. He twisted his head to look at the man. “Who are you?”

At that moment, Fang Yuhua reacted as well. She quickly let go of Yang Tang’s arm and snapped at the man, “What’s your problem? Looking for trouble? Let go of my friend!” Her shouting brought Xiaogang and Xiaowu from across the street, who, together with two other men in black suits, began to converge.

Meanwhile, a man and a woman approached from the roadside flowerbed. The man was plain-looking and wore a jacket, while the woman was broad-shouldered and muscular; if not for her hourglass figure and round face, it would be hard to tell she was female.

The round-faced woman flashed her badge at Fang Yuhua. “Miss, we’re from the Shenhai Criminal Investigation Bureau. We have a few questions for your friend.”

But Fang Yuhua wasn’t intimidated by her tough demeanor. She glared and retorted, “So what if you’re from the Criminal Investigation Bureau? Let go of my friend or I’ll report you for disturbing the peace!”

Hearing this, the jacketed man exchanged a glance with the broad-faced man. “Why bother arguing with this kind of woman? Take them back first and talk later.”

Yang Tang frowned. “Why are you taking me back?”

“I said, we have a few questions for you.” The muscular woman repeated herself.

Fang Yuhua was not about to back down. “Just because you say so? You want to take someone without cause? Where’s your summons?”

The jacketed man sneered, “Miss, your friend really is a suspect. We need his cooperation for our investigation.”

“What do you mean, cooperation?” Seeing that they hadn’t produced a summons, Fang Yuhua was reassured and pressed her advantage. “If he doesn’t cooperate, are you going to detain him without a warrant?”

“Hey, miss, don’t throw around accusations like that!” the jacketed man replied with a rogue’s smirk.

Unfortunately for him, Xiaogang and the others had already closed in. Not knowing the identities of the three, they moved to protect Yang Tang, each grabbing the holsters of the trio.

Summons, detention warrants, arrest warrants—all have different legal effects. Please refer to online sources for details.

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