Chapter Eighty-Three: Who Was Crueler?

The next day, when the market opened again, the frenzy resumed at once, just as it had in the days before. Wille and his people began their relentless buying from the very start. But today, Xiao Tianci’s side was suddenly quiet.

The silence left Wille somewhat puzzled. By all rights, the session had only just reached its midpoint, and there was no way Xiao Tianci’s funds could already be in trouble.

Still, he did not hesitate. To truly seize Mewa was, one might say, the ambition of his entire life. This time he had the help of many parties, especially through maneuvering on the government side. Banks among the top ten in the country and top twenty in the world were giving him their full support, and others had also entered the field. He now had ample capital to confront Xiao Tianci. He had long made up his mind: once the struggle reached a certain stage, he would first approach the Zhou family.

If he could win the Zhou family over, then there would be no problem at all. He was not worried that Zhou Renjie would refuse, because by then the situation would already be set. Hmph. With the government behind him in his own country, a smart man ought to know what to do.

“Chairman, something’s wrong. Someone is dumping shares.”

Hearing the obvious panic in his subordinate’s voice, Wille barked, “Stay calm. Why do you people always jump at shadows? I’ve told you so many times that to accomplish great things, you need composure. What’s there to be shocked about if they’re selling? We’ve driven the price up to this point; it was bound to happen sooner or later. Buy more than they sell, no matter the cost, and that will be enough.”

Being so furious he could spit blood was no small matter. He was already badly weakened, and with so much recent bad luck piling on top of it, Wille’s face had long since turned ashen. Yet at this moment, seated there before the news, the data, the reports, and the intelligence, his expression was far brighter than before. When good fortune comes, one’s spirits rise.

Now that he had confidence and saw hope ahead, Wille once again displayed the bearing of one who stood above ordinary men, the air of a true commander.

Apart from his holdings in Mewa, Wille also controlled many other businesses. Over the years, he had secretly nurtured a group of people precisely for use in seizing Mewa. Those people were now working for him with remarkable efficiency.

Though he had just reprimanded his men, he still carefully called up the current figures. One glance left him stunned. How could an endless torrent of sell orders suddenly pour in like this?

“Boss, we’ve dumped ours already, but the other side still hasn’t reacted.”

Lin Jian, the chief steward, looked at his employer, not understanding why the boss had suddenly ordered them to start unloading. In terms of capital, they were not lacking compared to the other side. But from the current situation, after analyzing it with the boss, the conclusion had been that at most one side might move slightly faster than the other; it should not amount to much more than that.

Yet Xiao’s family had held such a large share to begin with. At this rate, there was no way they could have any chance unless they had already made arrangements with the other shareholders, winning over those notable holders of Mewa stock to support them.

Xiao Tianci nodded and continued staring at the screen. He wanted to see how Wille would take the blow. After all, he had made no attempt to hide what he was doing; he was hurling shares out openly.

Wille immediately sent people to investigate. To his surprise, the dumped shares truly did come from Xiao Tianci. Wille stared at the screen and muttered to himself, “What is he doing? Selling like this... could he have some special trick?”

“Chairman, what should we do now? They’re lowering the price.”

Wille kept his eyes fixed on the screen. It was provocation, pure provocation. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Seeing that he had not immediately rushed in to scoop up the shares, Xiao Tianci had actually lowered the price. This was humiliation. This was a challenge.

Though he was still staring at the screen, Wille could already feel and see Xiao Tianci’s arrogant, unbridled expression, just like that day.

But he could not understand why Xiao Tianci would act this way. They had been fighting for so long; there was no reason for him to simply give up like this.

Hmph. Trying to play games with me? Wille suddenly realized that he need not concern himself with that. His goal was Mewa, and since the other side dared to sell, he would dare to buy.

“Buy.”

“Tsk, not bad, not bad. You still have some guts after all. So you’ve started buying? Fine. From the current price, keep hammering it down in stepped increments for me. Let me see how much he can swallow. Let’s see when he’ll choke on it.”

After giving the order, Chief Steward Lin Jian poured a glass of water and handed it over. “Boss, the reason Wille dares to oppose you so brazenly is not only because he has plotted for a long time and has support behind him. I think he must also have some tacit understanding with several of the larger shareholders.”

Lin Jian was worried that the boss might not notice, so he offered the reminder cautiously.

Xiao Tianci took a sip of water and set it down, looking at him. “You don’t understand why I’m doing this, do you?”

Lin Jian nodded. “Yes. Although the shares in Wille’s hands are not yet enough to threaten the Xiao family, and he’s not likely to catch up with us, if the balance keeps shifting, his share will rise very quickly. Excluding Wille, the other major shareholders, including the Zhou family, together account for about twelve point three seven percent. There may be others holding shares secretly, but that is not very clear. In that case, if he wins their support, he can officially announce a takeover of Mewa. At the same time, he could enter the board of directors, and then...”

He glanced at Xiao Tianci and did not finish. In his mind, it would be exactly as the boss had once said: they would simply tell you to step aside and cool your heels.

Xiao Tianci stood and walked to the window, looking outside. It was already quite quiet out there. Aside from the occasional armed patrol, not even a car could be seen. The surrounding area had been sealed off and turned into a restricted zone.

“Do you remember what I promised Nier?”

Of course Lin Jian remembered; he had been there at the time. “Boss, you promised Madam that you would prove to her that you could give up wealth.”

Xiao Tianci turned back with a smile. “Heh... exactly. Don’t you think this is a fine opportunity? People keep talking about inalienable property and all that nonsense. If it gets swallowed up by someone else now, it has nothing to do with me.”

As he spoke, Xiao Tianci swung his arms a few times and practiced the simple offensive and defensive techniques taught by Fang Meng. There were no elaborate movements; offense and defense together amounted to only three moves, all of them the most basic. According to Fang Meng, apart from differences in strength and speed, if one could train these simple techniques into instinctive action, that would be enough. The body would no longer need to think; instinct would react faster than thought.

Just like those scouts in the special forces: even after demobilization, if nothing much was happening, it was best not to sneak up behind them and pat them on the shoulder, or approach them quietly from behind, because their first response would be to attack, and only afterward would they consider why.

Chief Steward Lin Jian was genuinely sweating now. All along, when it came to the relationship between the boss and Madam, he had never found it appropriate to speak, much less interfere. But regarding this talk of not wanting the property, he had never taken it seriously. Especially now, when the boss had come here and stirred everything into a blaze, in just a few moves he had actually forced Wille into action ahead of schedule.

Moreover, he knew most of what had been discussed later between Tian Ni and Xiao Tianci over the phone.

Although Tian Ni had not said it outright, judging from the way the two of them had developed, and from Tian Ni’s attitude, the matter of the old conflict should already be largely resolved. Xiao Tianci’s tone might sound like a joke, but the shares really were being thrown onto the market. That part could not be faked.

Only now, looking at his boss, did Chief Steward Lin Jian feel as though he might not truly understand him. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Boss, Mewa was the lifelong labor of the old master. Such a joke should not be made.”

Although he had only practiced a few moves, he was already drenched in sweat. Xiao Tianci stopped, took the towel Lin Jian handed him, and wiped his face. Smiling, he said, “Heh... for you to say that is not easy. I thought you were only capable of those few stock phrases. Since you’ve opened your mouth, then say everything you want to say.”

“I will carry out whatever decision the boss makes without question. It’s just that Mewa means far more than money; it has a very important significance. So I hope the boss will think twice before deciding anything.”

At first Xiao Tianci had wanted to tease the chief steward a bit, because he was always so cool and composed. But seeing the expression on his face when he spoke of his father and Mewa, he lost the mood.

At that moment, Xiao Tianci suddenly understood why the chief steward could act as half the master of the Xiao household. All along, he had harbored some caution toward Lin Jian. Yet for so long, whether in daily life or in other matters, Lin Jian had been like an arm inseparable from the body—faithfully carrying out every order and attending to every aspect of his life.

Especially for someone like him, a successor who had been thrust into the role halfway, knowing nothing at all, taking over Mewa and finding the guardian Kong Gang to protect him. Xiao Tianci had pondered all this for a long while.

“Sit down and talk,” Xiao Tianci said, pointing to the seat beside him. Since Lin Jian had come to stay by his side, as long as Xiao Tianci was around, Lin Jian had never once sat down.

Xiao Tianci knew what he wanted to say, because he had already heard those words many times. So he continued, “If you want to know why, then sit down and listen. There are no outsiders here today. Let’s have a proper talk.”

Lin Jian hesitated for a moment, and in the end sat down. Xiao Tianci patted his shoulder with a smile. “See? Isn’t this much more comfortable? Honestly, when there’s no one around, you can relax a little.”

Seeing that Lin Jian did not answer, only looking at him, Xiao Tianci nodded in admiration. “All right, you win. Heh... I really do admire you. You’ve got too much character. Fine, then I’ll tell you how I’m thinking about this.

“Mewa, by now, is really nothing more than a huge target. There are all sorts of problems inside it. Do you remember I once asked you about how those developed countries suppressed Mewa back then? With all your understanding of the Xiao family, and even what you knew from your father, you still didn’t know exactly what happened during that period. Don’t you find that strange?”

Lin Jian said, “Back then, it seemed my father was injured and recovering at home. After he healed, the matter dragged on for several years before finally settling down. At the time, the old master seemed to have reached some sort of agreement with those countries.”

Xiao Tianci snorted coldly. “Hmph. I’ve actually guessed part of it already. Although Mewa sells high-tech products to third-world countries, the most cutting-edge things are still in the hands of those developed countries. And think about it: why would Mewa, the world’s number one company among the global top five hundred, have its main production bases and even its research centers or headquarters in those developed countries?

“Given what Mewa does, if it built production bases in third-world countries, it would enjoy better development both in terms of cost and in terms of policy advantages. That is the simplest logic. All the other companies are desperately relocating to cut costs, yet Mewa is the opposite. That’s one reason.

“Also, while it’s true that a real investor may not need to manage a company personally and can simply control things at the macro level, the current state of Mewa is far too unusual. I think that was also part of the agreement back then. In truth, the whole thing is terribly muddled now. I can see pieces of it, but I can’t find the thread.”

The chief steward agreed. “I’ve thought about these things too, though not in depth. At the time, I assumed the old master used this as the price for the agreement that allowed Mewa to sell products to third-world countries at a technology level above theirs. After all, as a corporation, one cannot truly go to war with an entire nation, especially when it wasn’t just one.”

Hearing this, Xiao Tianci’s face filled with the excitement of challenge. “Is that so? Not necessarily. This age is different from the past. In the old days, no matter how rich you were, if the emperor gave an order, everything could be confiscated in an instant. In this era, there are far more things we can do. In fact, after coming to Mewa, I’ve felt that Mewa is no longer the Mewa it once was. The reason I dealt with Wille so ruthlessly and turned on him at once is because I know that no matter what, we will never truly be able to control Mewa.”

Chief Steward Lin’s expression darkened somewhat. The old master and his own father had spent most of their lives on Mewa, and now... Still, he could understand what Xiao Tianci meant. If a boss ignored his company for ten or twenty years, anything could happen.

Xiao Tianci gently patted his shoulder in consolation. “Relax. What is yours will always be yours. What is not yours cannot be forced into your hands. That will never work. So when I came, I began playing rough—kicking Wille out and then releasing the matter of the shield I saw in my father’s computer. As expected, that made everyone start moving.”

Chief Steward Lin’s voice trembled slightly. “Boss, you mean to... give up...”

Xiao Tianci nodded with absolute certainty. “Yes. I’m going to give up Mewa. Xiao Tianci has had nothing since childhood, and I worked my way up to a net worth in the tens of millions. Now I’ve inherited assets so vast they’re beyond counting. But no matter the time—whether I was running a small business, working for someone else, or now at the helm of the world’s strongest company—I can do one thing: when it’s time to let go, I never hesitate.”