Xu Ke was slightly surprised by the scene that greeted him upon arriving at Yihe Pharmaceuticals.
In front of the main entrance stood two rows of hostesses. They were dressed in professional skirts, showcasing long legs and slim waists, and were all roughly 170cm tall. Each wore a pleasant smile, their faces made up and coated in a thick foundation that glowed white even from a distance. Even those who weren't exceptionally beautiful looked quite stunning mixed in with the crowd, thanks to their impressive figures.
It was a dazzling sight to behold.
Many office workers from the surrounding buildings who were out slacking off found their eyes drawn to the spectacle.
But to Xu Ke, the welcoming party wasn't important. What mattered were the two faces standing before the hostesses, their expressions a complete reversal from a short time ago.
"Welcome, Mister Xu!" Zhou Qingyong said, all smiles. His wrinkled face showed no hint of dissatisfaction or pettiness, only a friendliness so cordial it seemed fake.
"Welcome, Mister Xu!" Zhou Fan and his public relations department echoed in unison.
Full of warmth!
Xu Ke was amused. "So much fanfare, huh?"
He instantly figured it all out. This father and son have seen the error of their ways and laid down their weapons. Alright then! I can't humiliate them this time!
"What fanfare?" Zhou Qingyong said with a smile. "Yihe Pharmaceuticals is blessed by your good fortune, Mister Xu. We've grown substantially recently, and our ability to attract talent has skyrocketed. Everyone wants to see for themselves what an exceptional man you are. They all came here on their own; I didn't organize this."
Zhou Qingyong must have mentally prepared for this, Xu Ke thought. He's adopted such a humble posture, yet he maintains a completely straight face.
As far as bootlicking goes, since no serious money has changed hands yet, Zhou Qingyong is second only to Huang Zhendong and Qin Feng in my book.
"Alright, let's go inside and talk," Xu Ke said with a smile, stepping forward. "I'm mainly here to check on the situation, so there's no need for such extravagance. After all, Yihe Pharmaceuticals is your company."
He spoke politely, but he took the lead as he walked, acting as if he owned the place and paying Zhou Qingyong no mind.
Watching Xu Ke's arrogant demeanor, Zhou Fan suppressed his rage again and again. When he could bear it no longer, he simply clenched his jaw and forced himself to endure.
"Let's go. He's just here to put us in our place. We just have to take it," Zhou Qingyong said coldly under his breath.
"Yes!" Zhou Fan responded, his voice tight with suppressed anger.
γInside the officeγ
Once he was sure they were alone, Xu Ke broached the subject with a smile. "President Zhou, why did you have so many medicinal herbs sent to me?"
"I want to hear the truth."
But how could Zhou Qingyong dare to tell the truth? That would just give Xu Ke leverage against him. He hesitated. "That... it wasn't a gift. You purchased them fair and square."
Xu Ke's expression turned cold. "This is the last time I'm coming to Yihe Pharmaceuticals. I hope we can be frank with each other."
He had no intention of investing any more effort into Yihe Pharmaceuticals. At the same time, he couldn't solve the problem by simply butchering Zhou Hongsheng's son. The reason remained the same: he owed a debt for a life saved. Therefore, he had to ensure Yihe Pharmaceuticals wouldn't cause any more trouble. His best-case scenario was for Zhou Qingyong to work for him obediently, selling medicine and earning him some money.
Hearing this, Zhou Qingyong could only take a deep breath and lay all his cards on the table.
After listening, Xu Ke nodded. "Not bad. Pretty much what I'd guessed. It's just that the people you hired were a bit stupid. Next time you want to try something like this, don't use people from the Tianmen Clubhouse. Got it?"
"What?"
At these words, the expressions of both Zhou Qingyong and his son changed drastically. They obviously understood now. Xu Ke had known all along that they were trying to frame him.
"Alright, let's talk about how you plan to apologize," Xu Ke said coolly, his posture condescending. "I'm giving you a chance to earn my forgiveness."
Even though Zhou Qingyong had mentally prepared himself, his self-respect was on the verge of shattering as he faced Xu Ke's scornful expression. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Mister Xu, you must be aware that Yihe Pharmaceuticals rush-released a new batch of pills in the last two days, correct?"
"Oh?" Xu Ke raised an eyebrow.
"It's called the Xiongfeng Pill, and it's especially effective for revitalizing a man's vigor..." Zhou Qingyong opened a PowerPoint presentation to show Xu Ke the data.
When Xu Ke saw the bar graph for sales data and the performance comparison charts with similar drugs, he spoke up. "Okay, I see. What's next?"
"This is the Zhou family's most treasured recipe. It originally had nothing to do with you, Mister Xu. But, to show our remorse, we have decided to give you all of our personal profits from the Xiongfeng Pill. That's after accounting for the profits promised to shareholders and an additional five percent," Zhou Qingyong said with a straight face, though in reality, his heart ached so much he could barely breathe.
But upon hearing this, Xu Ke just laughed.
This would mean that Xu Ke's share of the profits would be over eighty percent. Essentially, all the profits would go to Xu Ke and Zhou Qingzhi.
However, Xu Ke said coolly, "You can keep five percent of the profits for yourselves, but I also want another twenty percent of the company's shares. I want absolute controlling interest."
"What?" Zhou Qingyong's face turned ashen.
How many shares did he and his son even have combined? A demand like this was equivalent to severing their very lifeline. What good was five percent of the profits compared to twenty percent of the shares?
"No? Then perhaps I should leave?" Xu Ke said with a chuckle.
"You, you... Mister Xu, isn't this going too far?" Zhou Qingyong's body began to tremble.
"When you conspired with the Ye Family to have me killed, did you ever stop to think if *that* was going too far?" Xu Ke said flatly.
"I... I didn't conspire to kill you."
The moment the words left his mouth, Zhou Qingyong's face turned ghastly, whiter than a three-day-old corpse.
"You know what you did. There's no need for me to spell it out, understand?" Seeing Zhou Qingyong still trying to argue, Xu Ke said impatiently, "If you continue to haggle with me, I seem to recall you have two villas over in Qinghai Bay."
The Ye, Huang, and Qin families couldn't have known about the auction and hired people to intercept me in advance unless someone leaked it. It had to have been Zhou Qingyong, who had seen the auction invitation. I can't believe it would have been anyone else.
At this, Zhou Qingyong completely lost the courage to play any more games with Xu Ke. He lowered his head obediently. "Yes..."
The remaining paperwork could be handled later.
By the time Xu Ke left Yihe Pharmaceuticals, Zhou Qingyong's face was still deathly pale; he hadn't recovered from the shock.
Painful! Far too painful! Those two blows from Xu Ke hurt more than being cuckolded.
"Dad, are we really going to do everything he says?" Zhou Fan's face was ashen.
"What else can we do?" Zhou Qingyong clenched his teeth. "We have to endure it. Later, I'll speak with your grandfather and have him pull the Xiongfeng Pill formula. Then we'll secretly establish a new company. Yihe Pharmaceuticals will go right back to its former, lukewarm state."
Xu Ke didn't come earlier, and he didn't come later. He showed up precisely at this moment, which clearly means he saw a profitable opportunity with the launch of the Xiongfeng Pill. In that case, I'll just have to pull the rug out from under him! Let him cry all he wants with his useless shares!
"Great idea!" Zhou Fan's eyes lit up.
But just then, a voice suddenly rang out from behind them. "Hmm, not bad. That's a good idea."
As the words fell, Zhou Qingyong and his son were horrified to discover that Xu Ke, who they thought had already left, was now standing right behind them.
"You, you, you... didn't you leave?" Zhou Fan stammered, terrified.
Xu Ke smiled. "I had to stick around to hear what else you had to say, didn't I?"
"Mister... Mister Xu..." Zhou Qingyong was truly terrified now. He struggled to find some conciliatory words but didn't know where to begin.
But what drove him to true despair were Xu Ke's next words.
"No need to say anything else. Your idea wasn't bad."
"It's just a pity that the formula for the Xiongfeng Pill is mine. So, the two of you can forget about it."
At this statement, all color drained from Zhou Qingyong's face. "Really?"
"Of course it's true," Xu Ke said, patting Zhou Qingyong's shoulder. He then warned with a smile, "From now on, just obediently sell the medicine for me. If I find out you're trying to pull any sneaky tricks..."
His voice dropped. "I will take your life."
"Understand?"
After hearing these chilling words and feeling the pressure of the True Qi emanating from Xu Ke, the father and son's bodies went completely limp.
"Understood! We understand!"
