Chapter 127: Antitrust Law

Take, for example, the two companies he created: Xiao Family One and Xiao Family Two. He still clearly remembered the boss waxing eloquent to him back then about the issue of monopolies.

Truth be told, what was said at the time did make a certain kind of sense, much like someone saying, "Damn it, I absolutely hate people who swear; people who swear have no..." That was the impression Xiao Tianci gave Xu Guowei at the time. It was like a smoker lecturing on the necessity of quitting while lighting up, or someone pocketing bribes while preaching the importance of integrity, or a man riding a prostitute while shouting for women's rights.

If one were to say that controlling two companies under the guise of competition while secretly collaborating to make money was the goal, such cases were easy to find and quite common. Initially, when Xu Guowei heard his boss was starting two companies simultaneously, he thought that was the intention. He never expected him to actually name them Xiao Family One and Xiao Family Two.

But when the boss gives an order, what can you do? Xu Guowei couldn't wrap his head around it, but he still had to gloomily carry it out, comforting himself that he was a normal person, and there was nothing wrong with not understanding the thoughts of a madman.

Xiao Tianci looked up at Xu Guowei and asked, "Tell me, if we were to proceed with the acquisition now, how long would it take to finalize?"

Xu Guowei looked troubled. "Boss, this kind of antitrust investigation and evidence gathering takes a lot of time. Even at the fastest, it would take half a year. If we pull some strings, maybe we could do it in two to three months. As for the slow route, it could drag on indefinitely."

Xiao Tianci knew this. Such lawsuits were endless affairs. If any other company heard that Xu Guowei could finish in three months, they would be overjoyed. But for Xiao Tianci, three months was simply too long.

"Can we use other means to get them to drop the investigation?"

Xu Guowei shook his head. "The investigation has already started, and they are well aware that this is a project being run by the Xiao family. During our talks with them, there hasn't been the slightest sign of them backing down. We’ve dealt with these people for years and know many of them, but this time they have clearly brought in people we aren't familiar with, including officials from some EU countries and the US government. It's quite difficult to handle."

*Oh. US government involvement? So this definitely has something to do with my side of things. Leges has made his move. Right, he's forcing me to act. If you don't act, how am I supposed to find an opening?*

Just then, he heard shouting from outside. The soundproofing in this place was decent, but he could still faintly hear it; the person outside must have been quite loud. Xu Guowei was puzzled, but the noise quickly vanished. Xiao Tianci knew it must have been Tang Bing, but with King Kong outside, he wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.

*Clap.* Xiao Tianci tossed the document onto the desk. "The goal of antitrust laws is 'perfect competition.' In economics, 'perfect competition' has a series of harsh prerequisites, including undifferentiated products, prices unaffected by output, and zero cost for firms to enter or exit the industry. These are all impractical assumptions, meant only to draw a horizontal supply curve for the sake of aesthetics. One must understand it in reverse: since these conditions are never met in the real world, 'perfect competition' cannot exist. In the real economy, the vast majority are monopolies of varying degrees, some of which are harmful, while others are healthy."

"In all the countries of the world, no government has banned anyone from developing an operating system; in fact, they often encourage it themselves. Yet, after clamoring for so many years, most users have ultimately chosen Microsoft. Therefore, it is a healthy monopoly. Consumers benefit, and the losers are the competitors who were eliminated. If you use antitrust laws to target a monopoly like Microsoft, the eliminated competitors will cheer, but the consumers will suffer."

Xiao Tianci continued, "Monopolies born from competition are beneficial. What is harmful? Monopolies created by the government are harmful. If an industry doesn't allow competition, *that* is a monopoly. Damn this bullshit antitrust law. The problem here isn't even that. But why is the EU stepping in? Do they want to play, too?"

Xu Guowei stood there, stunned, because he didn't really understand what his boss was saying, especially the last few sentences.

In truth, antitrust laws have changed a lot. Everyone understands that "antitrust laws were originally meant to deal with monopolists' high-price, low-quality behavior, but the reality is the exact opposite. Consumers are enjoying lower prices and higher quality than ever before." It isn't the consumers who report monopolies, but competing firms seeking administrative help from the government. Xu Guowei knew this all too well. Although he sometimes felt these laws were pointless, he still had to navigate them.

Looking at the boss, it seemed he had no intention of giving up. It appeared the other side was intentionally targeting the Xiao family; otherwise, this acquisition wouldn't even count as a monopoly. He was confident in fighting the lawsuit, but the fact that such cases could be dragged on indefinitely was the biggest problem.

Xiao Tianci muttered to himself for a moment before looking up at Xu Guowei. "Alright, go back and continue your work. The original plan for the acquisition remains unchanged; I will find a way to handle the rest."

Hearing his boss say this, Xu Guowei nodded in agreement. As a lawyer, he understood the true reality of this world all too well. Just as Xiao Tianci said regarding that bullshit antitrust law, if the higher-ups give their consent, they will always find a perfect excuse for you.

But could the boss really pull it off? Xu Guowei was deeply worried and skeptical. If the old master had wanted to do this, he would have surely planned everything out before taking action; he certainly wouldn't have let this kind of problem arise.

After Xu Guowei left, Xiao Tianci calculated to himself. The timing should be about right now. With the plant being built domestically under Old Zhao’s supervision, and with the full assistance of the country's departments, they could definitely start construction in a month and a half. A month later, the first batch of products would be ready. They would still need some time for training and familiarization.

If that was the case, the aircraft carrier fleet wasn't urgent, but the acquisition of Xiao Family One and Two had to be completed quickly. Integrating the companies wouldn't be easy; it would take a massive amount of time—at least a month and a half, and that was assuming he sent in all the people the Xiao family had been secretly cultivating.

When Xiao Tianci was with the Xiao family, he learned about their situation. A disaster had not only wiped out the members of the Xiao family but also all their experts. However, the Xiao family had always been cultivating a group of management talents within several companies they controlled in secret.

They were involved in many fields, and their numbers were quite large. Even without Meihua, the Xiao family had other enterprises where they could train and display their talents. These people had been cultivated in batches from a young age; they were numerous and loyal. Their training process was, in essence, a process of helping the Xiao family make money.

When Xiao Tianci first discovered this, his first thought was that his father must have intended to use them to retake control of Meihua. So, when Meihua was reclaimed, if he hadn't intentionally sabotaged it, he could have easily replaced the personnel and regained control.

Now, he could only take the high-level route. Leges couldn't avoid getting involved. Dealing with Leges was easy enough, but the EU was troublesome. Although the EU wasn't exactly an enemy of the US, they weren't friends either. Their purpose in forming the EU was to become strong enough to confront the US. They were the tricky ones; there was no need to talk to them right now.

However, giving them some benefits shouldn't be a problem. This high-level route didn't need him to travel it personally; the effect would be even better. He could handle Leges himself, and he could even arrange a talk about the aircraft carrier fleet.

When Xu Guowei went out, the Chief Steward and King Kong came in. Xiao Tianci had the plan ready in his mind. "Connect me to Leges."

Chief Steward Lin Jian dialed and handed the phone to Xiao Tianci. Xiao Tianci said, "How is Tang Bing?"

As it turned out, Xiao Tianci had specifically left the Chief Steward and King Kong outside to deal with the pursuing Tang Bing. If he had only left the Chief Steward, the kid might have charged in—he couldn't exactly have the Chief Steward pull out a gun. Leaving King Kong there suppressed him, kept him quiet, and allowed the Chief Steward to persuade him.

The Chief Steward nodded. "Don't worry, Boss. He has accepted it. Well, to be precise, he's actually quite happy."

The call had gone through, so the Chief Steward didn't say anything else. Xiao Tianci spoke with a very annoyed tone, starting off with: "Mr. President, you're not being very fair!"

Leges, likely accustomed to this tone from Xiao Tianci, said calmly, "Mr. Xiao, what do you mean by that? I'm afraid I don't quite understand."

Xiao Tianci said, "There's a saying in business: even if the deal fails, the friendship remains. I’m discussing this with you in good faith—there are hundreds of countries in the world, why didn't I talk to anyone else? And now, just because the deal didn't go through, you're finding ways to make things difficult for me."

Leges understood that Xiao Tianci was talking about the acquisition. He had indeed looked into it, but it wasn't a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for Xiao Tianci. Because the antitrust investigation had started, and when it was reported to him that it involved the Xiao family—and he saw the names of the two companies, Xiao Family One and Xiao Family Two—Leges didn't know what kind of expression to have. *Xiao Tianci... perhaps a mental hospital would be more suitable for him,* he thought.

Of course, he hadn't given any special orders; he had just told them to follow standard procedure.

"Mr. Xiao, if you're talking about the antitrust investigation into your company, I think there might be a misunderstanding. I only just learned about it myself. But for the sake of fairness, I haven't interfered; everything is following standard procedure."

Xiao Tianci maintained the same attitude with Leges. "Don't give me that bullshit antitrust law. Do you think I'm too ignorant to understand? I know exactly what's going on—you're just looking for a way to pick a fight with me. Monopoly, monopoly... monopolies are created by the government itself. Without the government, there would be no such thing as a 'monopoly.' Let me tell you, what we’re doing is legitimate business."

Leges had been busy dealing with matters, but now he had to stop. His special assistant couldn't understand why the President would tolerate this from Xiao Tianci. Even though the Xiao family was special, Leges was the President of the United States, the leader of the world's most powerful nation. It was simply incomprehensible. He had suggested to Leges many times to take a harder stance, but Leges seemed to have his reasons for swallowing this insult.

He even suspected that Leges must have some private dealings with the Xiao family. *Hmph, it must be that—he who takes bribes is soft-handed, and he who eats their food is soft-mouthed.* If that weren't the case, why would he put up with this? But he hadn't considered that while Leges could be bribed or threatened, why were other world powers and factions also so well-behaved?

Standing to the side, he could hear Xiao Tianci swearing on the phone. The volume was so loud that Leges had to hold the phone away from his ear.

Xiao Tianci said, "Just tell me, what exactly do you plan to do?"

Leges remained very calm. "Mr. Xiao, I think you really have a misunderstanding. Everything regarding this matter will follow normal procedures. If there is anything truly unfair, you can tell me directly..."

Xiao Tianci suddenly laughed. "Ha... ha... ha... Alright, alright, Mr. President, let's stop wasting time. We both know exactly what this world is like—justice only exists when it's needed. How about this: I suggest that in a week, you, me, and Ivanov have a talk. I can tell you that this negotiation will definitely succeed, and all three sides will accept it. Of course, I'm busy with this acquisition right now; as you know, if the acquisition doesn't go smoothly, how can I be in the mood to discuss these things? Even though this acquisition is just me playing around, it would be embarrassing if it failed. Anyway, wait for good news."

*Click.* The phone hung up. Leges slowly put the phone away. If he wanted to make a breakthrough with Xiao Tianci, this deal was a catalyst, a bridge, and these things were worth fighting for. Whether it was the protective shield or this, since he dared to say it would succeed...

Seeing Leges' expression, the assistant sighed to himself. It was truly a disgrace to the United States for a President to be pressured by a thug. If it were me...

After hanging up on Leges, Xiao Tianci felt relieved and made another call. Every time he spoke to Leges, Xiao Tianci's mood would improve. He hoped this situation would continue for a while longer; that would be even more satisfying.

"Old Zhao, it's me..."