Chapter 40: Liu Family
Linhai City Area, main entrance of Jianxin Electronics Company.
Liu Jianhua, over 50 years old, dressed in a formal suit, stood at the door with his tall and burly son Liu Neng, waiting for the arrival of the vice president from Deli Electric Power Headquarters.
Doubts occasionally flickered in Liu Jianhua’s eyes. This Vice President Ye from Deli was no ordinary person; as the vice president of a domestically top-three listed company in the electrical industry, it was usually hard for ordinary people to even meet him.
What puzzled him was that there had been no business dealings between Deli Electric Power and his own Jianxin Electronics, let alone needing such a high-ranking vice president to come in person even if there were dealings.
“Dad, how long do we have to wait? I’m going inside to sit for a bit.”
His younger son Liu Neng spoke impatiently from beside him, his feet moving toward the company hall.
“Get back here and stand properly!”
Hearing this, Liu Neng didn’t dare to retort, grudgingly retracting his steps, though his facial expression clearly showed he wasn’t happy.
“Warning you, the person coming later has an extraordinary status. Put away that spoiled young master attitude of yours. Your brother wouldn’t be as impatient as you.”
Liu Jianhua glared at his son, who was a head taller than him, and seeing the impatience already on his face, he opened his mouth but said no more.
Soon, two luxury sedans drove into the company main entrance one after another. Liu Jianhua hurried forward quickly before the sedans stopped.
He somewhat awkwardly opened the rear door and, seeing Ye Hongzhi sitting inside, immediately said, “Welcome, General Manager Ye, to our humble abode. This small place of mine is truly honored by your presence.”
It wasn’t that he was deliberately fawning; it was just that Deli Electric Power’s entire company had a market value of hundreds of billions, completely incomparable to Jianxin Electronics.
However, Ye Hongzhi was not as unapproachable as he had imagined, but instead showed a very friendly demeanor as he got out of the car, shaking hands with him with both hands.
“General Manager Liu, you’re too polite. I’m here this time for a personal matter needing your help. Please forgive the intrusion. And this is?”
His gaze swept to the tall young man standing sullenly to the side, whose face clearly resembled the photo of Liu Jun’s younger brother in the information, and he smilingly asked.
“Oh, this is my son. Liu Neng, come over and greet him! This is your Uncle Ye.”
Liu Jianhua followed his gaze. Though he was getting on in years, his mind was still very sharp due to years immersed in the business world. Hearing Ye Hongzhi repeatedly emphasize that it was a personal visit, he immediately had Liu Neng greet him to show closeness, trying to build rapport between the two sides.
Although Liu Neng didn’t much like this kind of socializing, he didn’t dare to go against his father’s wishes at this moment, so he stepped forward and, with a somewhat reluctant tone, said, “Hello, Uncle Ye. My name is Liu Neng.”
“Good kid, truly like father, like son.”
“Heh heh, this kid doesn’t deserve such praise from you. Come this way, General Manager Ye.”
With that, Liu Jianhua led him into the company.
Everyone arrived in the reception room, and after another round of pleasantries, Ye Hongzhi finally stated his purpose.
“Brother Liu, to be frank with you. Big brother here came to find you this time still because of your family’s Liu Jun, General Manager Liu.”
Hearing this, a trace of shock appeared on Liu Jianhua’s face. He subconsciously thought that his son had been out too long and must have offended this great figure somewhere.
He immediately said, “General Manager Ye, Liu Jun has never held any position at Jianxin from beginning to end. You don’t need to elevate him like this. That brat has always been wild, lost his mother young, and over these years I’ve been negligent in disciplining him. If he’s offended you anywhere, I apologize to you here. I’m truly sorry.”
Ye Hongzhi didn’t dare act superior and quickly interrupted Liu Jianhua, saying, “Don’t say that. It’s also my fault for not explaining clearly to you beforehand. If I may say, brother, this son of yours is remarkable.”
As he spoke, he casually glanced at Liu Neng, who was already zoning out to the side, and shook his head inwardly.
“From the look of it, you still don’t know, do you? That’s right, there’s indeed no business to cooperate on between General Manager Liu’s Xinghai and Jianxin here.”
These words left Liu Jianhua, who had been shocked, utterly baffled.
Ye Hongzhi didn’t keep him in suspense and directly laid out what Liu Jun was currently doing, while also giving a rough introduction to Xinghai Technology, the company established less than a year ago.
After finishing, Ye Hongzhi also had some sweat beading on his forehead. It had really been many years since he had spoken to someone in such a tone for so long.
Though pretending like this was quite tiring, there was no other way. This was the only path he could think of.
After hearing his words, the expressions on Liu Jianhua’s old face changed several times.
No matter how rich his imagination, he could never have anticipated that his eldest son, whom he considered hot-headed and impulsive, was now the vice president of Xinghai Technology.
Moreover, together with the company’s founder, the two had step by step, in just half a year, developed an enterprise with registered capital of only fifty thousand yuan into a rule-maker in the battery industry.
Even now, the vice president of Deli Electric Power, formerly top three in the industry, didn’t even have the chance to visit.
His gaze involuntarily turned to his younger son Liu Neng standing dazed to the side, and his mind began to grow chaotic.
“Brother Liu? Are you still listening?”
Noticing that Liu Jianhua’s eyes nearby suddenly became vacant, Ye Hongzhi quickly called out softly.
Liu Jianhua came back to his senses, the turbidity in his eyes instantly dissipating, then he lightly patted his forehead and said, “Ah, look at me. Getting old makes me zone out easily. Please continue, General Manager Ye.”
Ye Hongzhi nodded, then sighed and said, “Wasn’t it that the general manager of our company’s Linhai Branch, Ma Gaosheng, offended Xinghai? Now Deli has had Ma Gaosheng arrested through the legal department. I’ve come to Linhai for this matter. I’ll be direct here: if convenient, please give me face, Brother Liu, and help me arrange a meeting with General Manager Liu.”
Pausing, he seemed somewhat hesitant to say, “Big brother here really has no other options. Perhaps it’s because both General Manager Ye and General Manager Liu are still young—young people are hot-blooded, I understand. But it’s making things hard for me; I can’t even get a chance to meet. So here I am asking you, brother.”
So that’s how it was. Having understood the whole story, Liu Jianhua didn’t know what to say for a moment.
He couldn’t help but rub his temples with a somewhat fatigued expression.
Seeing this, Ye Hongzhi quickly said, “Brother, rest assured. I just want to meet General Manager Liu and personally apologize to him and General Manager Ye for Ma Gaosheng’s mistakes. Once it’s done, there will be substantial thanks.”
He no longer cared about being indirect; saying this so bluntly even made his face slightly flush.
One misstep leads to eternal regret.
When Liu Jianhua opposite him heard those last eight words, a glint flashed in his eyes, and he then said very troubledly, “General Manager Ye, you don’t need to do this. It’s really not me pushing off; it’s just something hard to speak of. Previously, Liu Jun left home because of my relationship with him. Now how could I have the face to contact him again?”
‘Old fox,’ Ye Hongzhi cursed inwardly, but showed no sign on his face, quickly saying, “Brother won’t let you do this for nothing. What do you think of that building at our Linhai Branch? If this matter is handled, I have the authority to gift that building to your company.”
Liu Jianhua’s eyes immediately showed disbelief. Hearing this, he even suspected if he had asked for too much.
That was a high-end office building with over twenty floors, located not far from the science and technology park, with land price alone nearly a hundred million.
But Ye Hongzhi didn’t care. If he couldn’t secure Xinghai, Deli’s market share in the battery domain would inevitably be eroded by major enterprises including Xinghai.
He couldn’t bear that loss, after all, Ma Gaosheng was his man.
Besides, it was just one commercial office building; he could account for it as a loss-making collateral to Jianxin Electronics.
As vice president at headquarters and a major shareholder, he had this right.
“Dad, what are you still hesitating for? Worst case, use my wedding as an excuse to call big brother back. I don’t believe he won’t return for that.”
Liu Jianhua looked at his younger son who had come back to his senses beside him, a helpless expression on his face, and no longer dwelled on it.
Now it seemed his choice back then had been wrong.
With Liu Neng’s comprehension, he now had no confidence whether this family business could be preserved in the future.
Turning to Ye Hongzhi, he said, “Since General Manager Ye has put it this way, I’ll give it a try.”
