Chapter 1214 The Art of Negotiation

Soldiers face soldiers, generals face generals.

In any business negotiation, the boss rarely speaks first. So neither Zhao Fusheng nor Li Ruhai was in a hurry to voice their opinions; instead, they were happy to watch their trusted subordinates Dong Chenxi and Sun Qian charge forward, exchanging sharp words.

“We trust the strength of Future Investment Fund, but for such a large investment, our side believes oversight is necessary.”

Sun Qian looked at Dong Chenxi and slowly stated her demand.

“This doesn’t conform to our previous agreement.” Dong Chenxi smiled faintly and rebutted without any sign of concession.

Although in fact she knew well that once the money arrived, Sun Qian and the others would be arrested by the police, making oversight meaningless, at this moment she had to appear tough.

“The agreement was before; what we’re discussing now is the upcoming cooperation.” Sun Qian leaned back in her chair and said.

Zhao Fusheng hadn’t read many books in his previous life, but in this life, thanks to his rebirth, his memory was excellent. So he devoured books voraciously, covering all fields, even obscure ones like psychology.

And now, Zhao Fusheng couldn’t help recalling some nearly forgotten content from the books he had read.

If a person crosses their arms when answering questions, it’s highly likely they are lying. The reason is simple: crossing arms indicates a defensive and rejecting posture, revealing psychological factors such as contradiction, multiple influences, or tension.

When people lie and fear being exposed, they unconsciously show nervousness and anxiety. In such cases, they may put their hands behind their backs to hide their unease, clasp them together, or grip the wrist or higher part of the other arm. The higher the grip, the greater the tension. Generally, the closer the grip is to the elbow, the higher the level of tension.

Clearly, Sun Qian was very nervous.

Gently tapping the table to stop Dong Chenxi from speaking, Zhao Fusheng fixed his gaze on Sun Qian’s eyes and said word by word, “Miss Sun, I hope you understand that I’m not begging you now. I’m telling you that if your company wants to cooperate with me, you must show sincerity.”

As he spoke, though he looked at Sun Qian, his peripheral vision was always on Li Ruhai, who had remained silent.

Because Zhao Fusheng knew well that the real decision-maker was this seemingly gentle old man.

Once he spoke, Dong Chenxi naturally chose to stay silent, and Sun Qian wisely stopped talking, deferring to Li Ruhai.

Li Ruhai, with his white hair, wore a gentle smile and looked at Zhao Fusheng: “Chairman Zhao, your words are quite sharp.”

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: “Mr. Li, I’m a businessman. A businessman only cares about pros and cons. To be honest, aside from obtaining an investment, I see no benefit in cooperating with you. If not for the harsh conditions Mr. Tong Zhenbang agreed to earlier, I wouldn’t even accept the previous investment.”

With a few words, Zhao Fusheng made Li Ruhai’s smile fade, and his expression turned serious.

Clearly, the name Tong Zhenbang stung Li Ruhai.

“Chairman Zhao, I’ve always enjoyed making friends,” Li Ruhai said slowly after a moment of silence. “But I feel you don’t seem keen on being friends with me.”

“Haha.” Zhao Fusheng laughed. “Mr. Li, you’re joking. How can friends do business together?”

Li Ruhai was taken aback, then also broke into a smile.

Both were smart; he now understood Zhao Fusheng’s meaning.

Since friends can’t do business, Zhao Fusheng and Tong Zhenbang were not friends either, just partners. And as partners, as long as there was enough profit, switching to another partner was also possible.

“May I have a private word with Chairman Zhao?” Li Ruhai said after a moment of silence.

Dong Chenxi and the others were startled and instinctively wanted to stop him. Zhang Qian frowned slightly and signaled to the men behind him.

Those who came with him today were members of the soon-to-be-established security company, his comrades-in-arms. In his words, this was the first battle to showcase the security company’s strength.

These retired special forces soldiers had previously lived difficult lives. This time, having received settling-in allowances and promises from the company to solve housing and family issues, they were deeply grateful to Zhao Fusheng. With Zhang Qian’s assurance that Zhao Fusheng was in legitimate business, they were willing to work for him.

Though they didn’t understand the situation, they could sense that the men around Li Ruhai were no pushovers. Following Zhang Qian’s lead, several teammates became alert.

Somehow, with Li Ruhai’s proposal, the meeting room atmosphere grew tense.

“Zhang Qian!”

At that moment, Zhao Fusheng suddenly called out in a low voice.

“Boss.” Zhang Qian quickly approached. Outside, he always addressed Zhao Fusheng this way, despite Zhao Fusheng telling him not to many times.

“Have your men withdraw,” Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and instructed Zhang Qian.

Zhang Qian hesitated, then took a deep look at Chen Shijie and the group behind Li Ruhai, nodded calmly, and said, “Rest assured, without your word, no one will leave.”

Dong Chenxi’s side was fine, but the group around Li Ruhai gasped. Li Ruhai, in particular, looked at Zhang Qian with surprise as he turned to leave, his brow deeply furrowed.

Zhao Fusheng smiled wryly: “Sorry, Mr. Li. Zhang Qian is from my hometown. I’m planning to set up a security company to provide bodyguards for celebrities, so he brought his comrades over. Sorry, sorry, a bit too tense.”

Hearing this, Li Ruhai was first stunned, then gave a wry smile.

He knew about Zhao Fusheng’s bodyguard. Tong Zhenbang had reported that Chen Shijie and Xiao Bao, working together, were beaten into the hospital by Zhao Fusheng’s bodyguard, and that the bodyguard had held back. In a life-or-death fight, both would have died.

At the time, Li Ruhai thought it was exaggerated, but now it seemed true.

At least, in Li Ruhai’s judgment, the young man who had just walked in was a ruthless man who had seen blood. If he tried any tricks, he might really not leave as said.

“I just want a few words alone with Chairman Zhao,” Li Ruhai said slowly, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment, then nodded: “Alright, let’s go to the office.”

Li Ruhai agreed. Zhao Fusheng instructed Dong Chenxi to vacate her office, and the two walked into the general manager’s office.

Standing at the door were Zhang Qian and two of his comrades, along with three burly men brought by Li Ruhai.

Entering the office, Zhao Fusheng and Li Ruhai sat on opposite sides of the sofa. Zhao Fusheng poured a glass of water for Li Ruhai and then looked at him: “Mr. Li, what do you want to say to me?”

Li Ruhai smiled slightly, looking at Zhao Fusheng: “Chairman Zhao, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Clearly, the old man had an ulterior motive.

Zhao Fusheng sneered inwardly but remained calm, raising an eyebrow: “Is that so? Mr. Li flatters me. I’m just a small-time businessman, nothing impressive.”

He had already decided that no matter how Li Ruhai tried to coax him, his goal was to make Li Ruhai willingly hand over the money for investment and then obediently go to prison.

As for other matters, they were not within Zhao Fusheng’s consideration.

No matter how many nice words Li Ruhai said or what promises he made, they were useless to Zhao Fusheng. The reason was simple: who would believe a soon-to-be-dead loser?

Zhao Fusheng wasn’t crazy. If nothing unexpected happened, the entire area around the Future Building office tower was probably under tight police surveillance. Agreeing to cooperate with Li Ruhai would be madness.

“Chairman Zhao is too modest. If you’re a small-time businessman, then I’m truly ashamed,” Li Ruhai said with a light laugh.

He certainly didn’t take Zhao Fusheng’s self-deprecation seriously. It was just a casual remark. If he actually thought the young man in front of him was a pushover, he would be a fool.

A young billionaire who built nearly a billion yuan in assets from scratch couldn’t be a small-time businessman.

“Mr. Li is too kind.” Zhao Fusheng smiled, took a sip of water, and looked at Li Ruhai: “What do you want to say to me?”

Li Ruhai chuckled: “Actually, nothing much. I just want to discuss a deal with Chairman Zhao—a big deal!”

“Oh?” Zhao Fusheng was startled, then laughed: “Mr. Li, I don’t understand. Weren’t we just discussing business in the meeting room?”

At this moment, he had to play dumb. Even though he knew what Li Ruhai meant, Zhao Fusheng knew he had to stay calm, because the crucial moment was finally about to arrive.