After Awakening, She Tore Apart Her Enemies and Joined the Army on an Island - Chapter 24

De Jacques and his two companions huddled together to discuss.

Then, he lifted his chin and said to Su Meng, “We accept a 30% share of domestic marketing profits. However, a technology entry fee of $450,000 must be included in the equipment pricing, and the buyback ratio should not be less than 50% of the annual production. Otherwise, no deal.”

He remained as stubborn, greedy, shameless, and arrogant as ever.

Su Meng relayed the message swiftly and flatly, even mimicking his tone.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Chief Jiang let out a scornful laugh, leaned forward, placed his clasped hands on the table, and lifted his eyelids to glance at the smug De Jacques and his companions. “Bullshit!”

Instantly, the smiles on De Jacques and his companions’ faces froze.

After a moment of stunned silence, anger flooded their expressions.

Especially De Jacques, who slammed the table in fury. “Do you even want to cooperate? A bunch of rednecks, daydreaming…”

Su Meng recalled Chief Jiang’s hope that the negotiation would conclude smoothly today.

She also wanted to finish early so she could go to Guangzhou to retrieve the supplies Shen Wuyang had sent out.

Summoning her courage, Su Meng slammed the table and stood up, cutting De Jacques off before he could finish. “Mr. De Jacques, you are being extremely rude. Since you called us ‘rednecks,’ I have no choice but to return the favor and call you ‘white trash.’ I may be just an ordinary citizen, but I know better than to act like a shrew in such an important setting. It seems you lack the sincerity of Demon Company.”

She deliberately emphasized “Demon Company” and said it in a foreign language.

De Jacques and his companions’ pupils contracted sharply. They stared at Su Meng for a long moment, then huddled together in confusion, whispering among themselves.

The reason was simple: Demon Company was their number one competitor.

The two companies were practically at each other’s throats in Europe.

De Jacques had led his team to the Chinese market ahead of Demon Company precisely to shake off their annoying rivals and secretly claim a share of China’s lucrative market.

He never expected to hear Demon Company’s name mentioned here.

But with decades of experience in the business world, he wasn’t about to lose his composure over a single remark.

They needed to verify the information and consult with their parent company about the next steps.

Chief Jiang naturally agreed to their request for a break.

Wang Hui and the others, puzzled by the sudden change in the previously arrogant De Jacques and his team, all turned to look at Su Meng.

After explaining the history between De Jacques’s company and Demon Company, Su Meng said solemnly, “I saw one of Demon Company’s representatives, Mr. Rima, from a distance yesterday. Rest assured, leaders, I once worked part-time at Demon Company, so I’m certain I didn’t mistake him. Since the two companies are competitors, I think we can use that to our advantage.”

All is fair in war and business, there’s no violation of commercial ethics in such tactics.

Chief Jiang calmly ordered, “Go check it out.”

Five minutes later, the guard returned, leaned in, and whispered something into Chief Jiang’s ear.

Chief Jiang’s tightly clenched hands on the table relaxed naturally, and his eyes sparkled like stars.

He looked at Su Meng with appreciation, his expression growing even warmer.

“It’s confirmed. Mr. Rima, the representative of Demon Company, is indeed in Shanghai and has expressed through the embassy his desire to negotiate with us. Comrade Su, you are quick-witted, bold, intelligent, and sharp. You’ve done very well!”

Su Meng smiled modestly. “Thank you for the praise, Chief. I was just doing my duty.”

Wang Hui gave Su Meng a thumbs-up. “You’ve torn open a favorable gap for our negotiations! Chief, I think we can smoothly wrap things up today. Xiao Su, just wait for the chief’s reward!”

Chief Jiang smiled and pointed at Wang Hui a few times before turning to the city leaders. “Comrades like Su Meng, who are clever and capable, must be vigorously cultivated and not allowed to suffer any grievances.”

The city leaders echoed in agreement, looking at Su Meng with admiration.

The head of the municipal office stepped forward under everyone’s gaze. “The Su family are red capitalists and should not have been included in the campaign to cut off capitalist tails. This might have been a mistake by someone. We’ll have it rechecked later.”

Hearing these words firsthand, Su Meng felt even more excited than when she stood on the graduation stage receiving her university diploma. She no longer had to live in constant fear that the campaign committee might arbitrarily send her away for re-education or to the countryside. Nor did she have to worry about those people harassing her grandmother or confiscating her grandfather’s estate.

She stood up, tears welling in her eyes, and bowed three times at a perfect 90-degree angle. “Thank you, Chief! Thank you, leaders! I will certainly live up to your high expectations and contribute my utmost to the nation’s development.”

After expressing her gratitude, it was time to resume the meeting. Now that a competitor had emerged on the other side, the advantage had shifted to their side.

Su Meng conveyed the proposal discussed by Chief Jiang and Wang Hui. “Our demand is a maximum technology access fee of $250,000, payable over five years, and a buy-back ratio of 38%. If you agree, we can sign the contract immediately.”

Upon hearing Su Meng’s translation, De Jacques turned red with anger. “You… Our minimum bottom line is a technology access fee of $280,000 and a buy-back ratio of 45%. Otherwise, we’ll take our cooperation elsewhere.”

He resorted to threats as well. He thought that even Demon Company would likely set a similar baseline. Besides, Shanghai, eager to restore its former prosperity and move toward international modernization, would surely be reluctant to abandon the cooperation or let other provinces surpass it in global integration.

They crossed their arms and leaned back comfortably in their chairs, exuding an air of confidence.

With the approval of Chief Jiang and Wang Hui, Su Meng calmly relayed, “I’m sorry! We insist on our original terms. As for your suggestion to negotiate elsewhere, I’m afraid not, Mr. De Jacques.”

Su Meng pointed at Chief Jiang at the head of the table and said with a smile, “This is our military region’s highest-ranking officer. As long as he gives the word, you’ll get the same terms no matter where you go. Moreover, he can decide whether your investment in China proceeds smoothly.”

She intentionally altered Wang Hui’s description of “the highest-ranking officer of the Shanghai Military Region” to “our military region’s highest-ranking officer,” leading De Jacques and his team to understand that Chief Jiang was the highest military authority in China.

Their faces instantly changed, their confidence visibly deflating. Panic set in! Fear took hold!

De Jacques quickly composed himself and gave Chief Jiang an ingratiating smile. “Please give me two minutes.”

Then, the three of them huddled together and whispered for a while.

De Jacques stood up and respectfully extended his hand to Chief Jiang. “Pleasure doing business!”

Chief Jiang raised an eyebrow, straightened his back, and shook his hand. “Pleasure doing business!”

Wang Hui secretly gave Su Meng a thumbs-up. “Little girl, your language skills are impressive!”

Only then did Su Meng realize she was drenched in sweat and patted her chest in belated fear.

Nie Rongchang glanced at her sideways and led her out of the conference room, teasing, “What, are you scared now? You didn’t seem the least bit flustered when you were quick-witted and sharp-tongued earlier. Well done! It went much more smoothly than we expected. Thank you!”

Su Meng smiled and shook her head. “I didn’t do much, it was all thanks to the leaders’ guidance. And I have to thank Brother Nie for his help. Thank you!”

She knew full well that the opportunity to stand out in front of the leaders was entirely Nie Rongchang’s doing. Otherwise, in a city as vast as Shanghai, there was no way an unknown young woman like her would have been given a place at such a high-level business negotiation table.

And all her efforts were aimed at achieving a peaceful life. With the leaders’ endorsement, she believed certain individuals from the “Cutting Committee” would no longer keep an eye on her. She would have ample space and time to search for her father and younger brother.

Nie Rongchang chuckled softly. “Truly worthy of being a member of the Su family! From now on, live in peace and don’t worry about those people from the Cutting Committee.”