About an hour later.
Liu Yutong and Qiu Ciyun walked one after the other, returning to the conference room at Huahong's headquarters.
The Vice President of Huahong and several senior executives immediately stopped their idle chat with Pony Ma, all eyes turning toward the two of them.
"Dr. Qiu, President Liu, how did the talk go?" the VP of Huahong asked impatiently.
The other executives also looked on eagerly; at this moment, Qiu Ciyun was their lifesaver, and they prayed nothing would go wrong.
Looking at the eager eyes of the Huahong crowd, Qiu Ciyun pushed up his glasses and announced his decision.
"President Zhang, President Li, Engineer Wang, since everyone is here, there is something I need to clarify with you all."
The VP of Huahong felt a surge of joy, thinking Qiu Ciyun was about to officially announce he was joining them and would put in a good word for Huahong to help secure the investment. He was just about to rally everyone for a warm round of applause.
But halfway through his motion, Qiu Ciyun's next words struck like a bolt from the blue, completely dumbfounding him.
"After careful consideration and a comprehensive evaluation of various factors, I have decided not to join Huahong EC. I apologize for keeping you all waiting, and I am grateful for Huahong's sincere invitations over this period."
"..."
The conference room instantly fell into a dead silence.
The VP of Huahong stood with his mouth agape, his arm frozen in mid-air, ready for a handshake. He looked as if he hadn't heard Qiu Ciyun clearly, or perhaps couldn't believe what he had just heard.
Beside him, a technical director dropped the document concerning the technical difficulties of the 12-inch wafer line, which hit the floor with a smack.
What was going on?
Wasn't it already agreed that Dr. Qiu would join Huahong and lead them in solving their current production line issues?
Why the sudden change of heart?
After a brief silence, the VP of Huahong couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Qiu, what did you just say? You're not joining? Was our hospitality lacking in some way? Or are you dissatisfied with the compensation? All of this is negotiable!"
He simply could not accept this sudden, devastating news!
Just an hour ago, Qiu Ciyun was still earnestly conducting research and discussing technical issues with them. How could he suddenly change his mind after a brief private chat with this President Liu?
Could it be that President Liu had said something?
At this thought, he shot a fierce glare at Liu Yutong, his eyes filled with suspicion, questioning, and even a hint of imperceptible anger.
Yet Liu Yutong wore a smile on her face, standing quietly a half-step behind Qiu Ciyun, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
Pony Ma also walked over to Liu Yutong and asked in a low voice, "President Liu, what's the situation? Don't tell me you poached him right out from under them?"
He knew Liu Yutong was working on a microchip project; after all, he and several other internet moguls had thrown in some money as a friendly gesture, even if it wasn't much.
But knowing she was working on this project, it was easy to guess that Dr. Qiu had likely been intercepted by her mid-way.
He had chatted with the Huahong executives earlier and generally understood that this Dr. Qiu was indeed a rare technical leader, a titan in the industry.
Poaching such a key figure right inside another company's headquarters was, truthfully, a bit underhanded.
Liu Yutong whispered back, "If President Ma knows, why ask? How about it, want to add some investment? Others might not, but I think you should. At the very least, I'll consider not suing you for copying my Weibo Farm."
Pony Ma: "..."
Was this a threat? Was this a threat?
Did she not know the illustrious reputation of their Goose Corporation's legal department? Was the Nanshan Pizza Hut moniker just for show?
If Liu Yutong knew what he was thinking, she would probably retort: My Tianyi Law Firm isn't just for show either, and it's far more ruthless than yours.
While the two were whispering, Qiu Ciyun shook his head and explained the reason for his choice.
"This has nothing to do with compensation. President Zhang, Huahong is a company with history and accumulation, and everyone here works very hard. However, I personally believe that given Huahong's current situation and future development path, my absence won't have any impact. Furthermore, this conflicts somewhat with my own technical ideals and plans for my next career stage.
I want to go to a brand new platform to build and realize some of my ideas with my own hands. Thank you once again for your profound kindness, and I sincerely hope Huahong finds a more suitable candidate in the future."
His words were very clear, leaving no room for negotiation.
The VP of Huahong's face turned somewhat ugly, and a sudden sense of frustration surged within him, feeling as though he had suffered a double loss.
How long had it been?
The prospective CEO they had worked so hard to invite had just flown the coop.
He looked at Liu Yutong again. If she hadn't been a woman, he probably would have started cursing her out right then and there.
Wait, so you went through all the trouble of coming for an inspection just to mess with us?
It's one thing not to invest, but to come and poach someone right in front of so many executives? Where were her manners?
Liu Yutong simply stated her stance frankly: "President Zhang, I am very sorry. After our conversation with Dr. Qiu just now and an urgent internal evaluation by our team, we believe that the risks of making a large-scale strategic investment in Huahong at this stage deviate somewhat from our investment strategy. Therefore, I'm afraid we will need to temporarily shelve our investment intentions. Thank you for your company's warm reception and detailed explanations."
The investment was completely dead!
A double blow!
The VP of Huahong felt his vision go dark. His hand trembled as he pointed at Liu Yutong: "You... you... you are too much..."
Before he could finish his sentence.
Liu Yutong suddenly changed her tune: "Our Wanlong Capital will not be investing, but President Ma and I can personally invest two hundred million first."
Pony Ma: "???"
When did I ever agree to invest in Huahong?
Stop making decisions for other people!
What he didn't know was that Liu Yutong was actually handing him free money. Although Huahong was currently in difficulty, it would absolutely not collapse. With state-level support and backing, once they weathered this storm, their value would rebound in the coming years, and reaching a market capitalization of over a hundred billion should not be an issue.
Of course, that was pretty much the limit for this company, still a far cry from those microchip giants that started in the trillions.
In short, investing in this company definitely wouldn't result in a loss; rather, it would be highly profitable.
Most importantly, she considered this money as mental compensation for poaching their talent.
Naturally, investing two hundred million just to poach one person seemed a bit of a waste; she was also eyeing those engineers greedily.
Hearing the latter half of her sentence, the VP of Huahong's pointing index finger instantly turned into a thumbs-up as he burst into laughter: "Good! Great eye! President Liu really has a great eye! I knew President Liu was no ordinary person. A personal investment shows that you highly favor us!"
"We must thank President Liu for your trust!"
Two hundred million was not a small amount; at the very least, it could alleviate their current pressure.
Pony Ma: What about me? What about me? Why isn't anyone thanking me?
Liu Yutong smiled and said, "You are too polite, Mr. Zhang. The one hundred million will be transferred to your account within three days. I will have my assistant, Su Mansu, coordinate the specific details with your company. I hope these funds will help Huahong develop better and move toward going public together."
Huahong's Vice President replied, "Definitely, definitely. Thank you for your investment, President Liu."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Liu Yutong took her leave along with Pony Ma and his entourage.
Qiu Ciyun did not leave with them. As an advisor to Huahong, he still had matters to discuss with the people there.
When Pony Ma and Liu Yutong got into the car, he could not help but say, "President Liu, giving a slap and then offering a piece of candy, all while making them praise how sweet the candy is—your tactics are truly brilliant."
Liu Yutong turned her head to look at him. "Mr. Ma, doing business is all about making money through harmony. If you poach someone's foundation, you have to patch the hole you left behind. Otherwise, how can you survive in this industry? Besides, Huahong's core is still intact. Exchanging one hundred million for some shares and a favor is not a bad deal."
Pony Ma nodded thoughtfully, his gaze toward Liu Yutong deepening.
This woman had a sharp eye and was ruthless, yet she acted with a perfect sense of proportion. She was truly destined for greatness.
But as he thought about it, something felt wrong.
Wait? What one hundred million? If you put up one hundred million, does that not mean I have to put up one hundred million too?
That is going too far!
However, when he thought about how their QQ Farm over at Big Goose was almost ready to launch, he swallowed the words that had reached the tip of his tongue.
He would just consider it paying some copyright fees. Otherwise, if he got sued by this woman again, the losses would far outweigh the gains.
Most importantly, he felt that with a boss like her, Longxin truly had a promising future.
