Chapter 157 - Rights and a Wish
Old Xiong gulped a mouthful of water. He tried to process what his granddaughter said. He wanted to ask again if he heard her right. But that would make him look like a fool and would lessen his integrity as a respectable old man.
So he shut up first up and tried to rethink again.
'My granddaughter wants to cut off the company's rights to ArtWorld.'
A project that they would throw away after this month.
'And my granddaughter wants to take this useless project under her wing.'
His granddaughter wants all the rights of the project and owns it.
'Lastly, my granddaughter wants to BUILD IT.'
This was the hardest part to process and to believe.
Old Xiong put down the empty glass and calmly looked at Xiong Zhi like he was not shaken at all.
"Do you know what you are saying?"
'Do you know what it means to build it? Do you have ways to build it? Unless you can take away that land from Lu then you can make ArtWorld a reality.' That's what he truly wants to say but kept it to himself.
Old Xiong wants to know what his granddaughter was thinking.
"I mean what I said, grandfather." Xiong Zhi calmly answered.
Old Xiong stared at Xiong Zhi. Observing her to know if she was playing around and just wanted to waste money.
ArtWorld was doomed to fail the moment the land was owned by someone else. The timing wasn't right for ArtWorld. They could not contain the news to leak out that there's no land for ArtWorld. Finding a land appropriate for ArtWorld and cultivating it would take a year or two. The materials, the manpower, and the investors that were prepared for ArtWorld could not wait that much time. Time was money.
If the Xiong empire's people knew that the land was unavailable for ArtWorld earlier, they should have prepared and would have not a loss so much. They could still postpone it for two years.
However, since the timing wasn't right, ArtWorld would have to disappear and the Xiong Empire have to take a loss. The reason why Old Xiong assigned a task of convincing the investors to stay for a month was to control the loss and to prepare themselves to clean up after it. At least they could still save a billion worth of money.
ArtWorld was such a big project that even Old Xiong felt bitter for the loss from it.
It's good that they could still save that one month of loss.
But now, his granddaughter wanted this a pain in a pocket to be transferred to her?
Old Xiong doesn't know what to feel.
"I understand that ArtWorld becomes a headache to Xiong Empire recently. How about this, I will buy the materials that you already purchased for the ArtWorld. At least, this will minimize the Empire's loss."
Xiong Zhi said.
Old Xiong's face was blank.
His granddaughter was being generous. She was taking away the empire 's headache and also wanted to provide them some money for their loss.
But still, it was not a good choice as a businessman.
"Zhi'er." Old Xiong's voice was stern.
"Yes, grandfather?"
"You want to be responsible for the ArtWorld, is that it?"
"Yes, grandfather. As I said, if you cut off the empire's rights from the ArtWorld and transferred it to me, then I will take care of the rest. I will buy all the things the empire purchased recently for the ArtWorld. And since it was money that supposed to go to waste, I need it to be fair without any interest. To be precise, you need to give me a discount since I'm going to buy your trash- I mean the materials."
Old Xiong could not give notice to Xiong Zhi slip-ups. Since his mind was really into figuring out how Xiong Zhi could pull it off.
Old Xiong looked at Xiong Zhi's sharp eyes. It was sharper and bolder than before. It was only a month since he last saw her, but his granddaughter changed so much.
"Fine. I'll let Zhou Min give you the rights tomorrow. You discuss it to him." Old Xiong finally stopped thinking about it. Since his granddaughter was going to buy the materials that were left, the empire could at least minimize their loss. Even there was a present discount it would be a win-win situation for the empire. At least, he would not waste that lot of money.
However, Old Xiong doesn't know that the moment he said that, Xiong Zhi pick up a glass and drink to hide her smile.
She managed to buy the materials for ArtWorld for cheap. Of course, she had to bargain with them until they give off at least a 30% discount. When could she buy things that cheap? All the preparations of the Xiong empire for ArtWorld would be given to her for cheap. That's truly wonderful.
Her work and the team for ArtWorld would decrease because of this.
But then she remembered that one investor that she had to pay back twice the amount they would invest once hat investors pulled out after a month.
Xiong Zhi's smiled turned bitter because of that.
"Yes, grandfather. I'll prepare the doc.u.ments and discuss them with Butler Zhou Min."
"Hmm. But Zhier, if you lose money, the empire would not cover it for you. You have to touch your parent's share. You know what that means right?"
Xiong Zhi's share that she would receive once she turned twenty-one. It was her parent's share.
In the past, this share was transferred to the Xiong De, his devious third uncle.
Xiong Zhi doesn't really care about her shares in the Xiong Empire. She did not touch it in her past life.
Even in this life, she doesn't want to touch it as well. She wanted to create her own shares with her own hands. If worst comes to worst, then she would use her share as the final choice.
Even she doesn't have any interest to use this share she would not just stand without doing anything like before and wait it to be taken it away from her.
"I understand grandfather. Just wait for the news for ArtWorld. The next time you heard about, it will be standing." Xiong Zhi said confidently.
Now that she got the rights, she would not hold back to support ArtWorld. She wanted to see with her own eyes the ArtWorld that did not exist in the past.
Old Xiong stands up. No matter what the result in ArtWorld, it would not affect the empire. It would bring benefits instead. Old Xiong came with this conclusion.
"As long as you understand."
Xiong Zhi stands up too to support her grandfather.
When she was near to him she saw his white hair up close. The thing that kept her mind full in the whole day popped out again.
Then she came to a thought.
'Since grandfather is in the same generation with Master Lu, then..he might know something about that woman.'
Xiong Zhi opened her mouth.
"Grandfather, have you seen Master Lu's wife before?"
Old Xiong abruptly stopped moving. Then like nothing happened he continued walking. Xiong Zhi stopped supporting him and walk behind him.
"Of course. It is the Lu after all. When there is a Lu, there's a Xiong." Old Xiong said with his usual tone.
"Did you talk to her before?" Xiong Zhi continued to ask.
Old Xiong was stunned by Xiong Zhi's curiosity. He then turned to her.
"Did that bastard Lu said something to you?"
'Bastard.' Xiong Zhi flinched at that word. He and her grandfather were both respectable and legendary head of the wealthiest family. But both of them called each other 'bastard'.
"No. I just saw Master Lu's wife's painting. I was mesmerized by her beauty."
Old Xiong turned away from Xiong Zhi and started to walk.
"...I was mesmerized by her beauty too. " Old Xiong mumbled in a whisper.
"But that's all that the woman has. Her unique bloodline and that beauty were the things that she only has. " Old Xiong said with a loud voice.
There was a bitter taste in his mouth. He remembered a scene decades ago...
**
He had met her first when he was a teenager. At that time, his father brought him to the West. It was to train him how the mind of the foreign businessmen works. Since he was the oldest and shows a lot of talent at an early age, he was most likely the one to inherit the Xiong Empire.
It was suffocating for a child like him. But he had to do it if he wants to continue standing above all people.
He matured early like every other young master.
He took a break and went to the balcony of the villa they currently reside in.
It was a good scene from up there. He could watch the sunset from this place.
However, a figure runs to the place he was looking at. That person was wearing a hat. Her long silver hair glittered in the sunset.
Her summer dress fluttered against the ocean wind.
The teenager did not mind it. Since that person most likely was passing by and would go. However, that figure was going back and forth. He still did not mind it. The person was not really disturbing the beautiful scene of sunset.
But that person shouted,
"Agghhhh!!"
"Ohh!!!"
"Waghhh!!!" The person kept shouting like crazy.
Then that person shouted in another language that he could not understand.
However, because of the noise, the teenager lost interest in watching the sunset and closed the door in the balcony.
'So annoying.'
But then, two days later, that teenager run to that person again.
He was walking on the beach to personally witness the sunset and watch it in full in case another crazy person showed up and blocked his view.
However, he did not expect that he would run to that person.
The girl with silver hair noticed his gaze and turned to him.
It was the first time that the teenager saw a silver-blue ocean eyes. Her skin was flawless white. She looked like a fairy that came out of the fantasy world.
"Fairy?" The teenager suddenly blurted out.
The girl with a silver hair was stunned for a moment then laughed.
"Yes. I'm a fairy. I carry a wish and I can grant it." The girl smiled beautifully. She spoke in English, so he could understand her words.
After that first encounter, the rest of the teenager's week on that Island was spent talking to this woman. However, at the end of his vacation, he did not managed to get any personal information about her.
The next time they meet was eight years later in an event.
Old Xiong stopped thinking of those memories that he considered bitter. Those were useless and could only bring harm to his health.
"Stopped being curious about the older generation. That person is dead. Just focus on your company."
Old Xiong then went up upstairs.
He was craving for some wine.
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