Was Xia Xiaolan not interested?

No, no, no – when Xia Xiaolan wasn’t interested in something, she would immediately walk away.

Du Zhaohui knew this well from experience, as Xia Xiaolan often walked away from him. Now she only spoke to him because of the 10 million Hong Kong dollars at stake.

These two people dressed like beggars probably couldn’t even produce 1,000 dollars, let alone 10 million. But Xia Xiaolan had been talking to them for so long and even bought them coffee. Based on Du Zhaohui’s experience, this “electronic dictionary” they mentioned might be worth 10 million!

What kind of luck did Xia Xiaolan have? Money just falling from the sky while she sat at home?

Xu Jing and Ma Hai were both anxious, yet Xia Xiaolan showed an extremely hesitant expression, accepting Xu Jing’s materials seemingly just to save face:

“Alright, I’ll look through these carefully and then give you both an answer, okay?”

Xu Jing looked disappointed.

Others had said they would review the materials before, but nothing ever came of it. Among the international students, no one wanted to invest in them. There was one potential investor before who gave them money, but after two months without results, changed their story to say it was just a loan.

Ma Hai wouldn’t accept that, but Xu Jing wasn’t good at arguing with people, so he simply tore up the agreement and wrote a new IOU.

He thought Xia Xiaolan was just making excuses too, feeling deeply disappointed. Ma Hai grew even more anxious:

“We only need 20,000 dollars, no, even 15,000 dollars would work. We can give you 40% of the shares…”

Could 20,000 dollars be enough to develop an English-Chinese electronic dictionary?

Xia Xiaolan was very doubtful.

These two had ideas but were completely disconnected from reality – one too impetuous, one too soft. They couldn’t even calculate costs properly, no wonder they were struggling so badly.

These were all common tactics. Who would hand over money after just one meeting? Did they think investors were angels? No one would call Xia Xiaolan generous – they would only think she was easy to deceive. She didn’t earn money easily, so taking money from her was even harder. Xia Xiaolan genuinely wanted to review the materials and also wanted to put some pressure on Xu Jing and Ma Hai. First tight, then loose – only then could she truly “win over” these two…

But seeing Xu Jing and Ma Hai’s anxiety, Xia Xiaolan suppressed her tiny bit of sympathy and stuck to her previous statement:

“I need time to consider. Please give me some time, senior classmates. You can return to New York, or stay at a local hotel for a few days. Don’t worry about the expenses – you’re guests from afar, I won’t let you bear unnecessary costs.”

Even if the deal didn’t work out, maintaining goodwill was important. Xia Xiaolan meant that investment was one thing, but she could at least offer them hotel accommodation for two days.

The hotels in Ithaca weren’t up to Du Zhaohui’s standards, but they would be a major expense for Xu Jing and Ma Hai.

Xu Jing and Ma Hai knew there would be no result today, but Xia Xiaolan asking them to stay in Ithaca meant there was still hope, right?

After a brief discussion, they both decided not to return to New York yet.

“We don’t need a hotel, we can stay with fellow countrymen.”

They hadn’t secured any investment yet, so they felt uncomfortable spending Xia Xiaolan’s money and worried it would leave a bad impression. When international students said “fellow countrymen,” they didn’t mean people from the same province or city – anyone from China was considered a fellow countryman! Xu Jing and Ma Hai had asked around before coming to Ithaca and knew there were compatriots here.

With stomachs full of coffee, they left with worried expressions.

Xia Xiaolan tapped the table.

Du Zhaohui leaned forward to look at the materials Xu Jing had provided.

“Oh? Young Master Du is interested? Though you probably can’t spare the effort for this project – you’d be better off focusing on building that electronic components market…”

She had given Du Zhaohui two paths to choose from. Since he hadn’t chosen manufacturing and the land was already approved, it was impossible to change course now, even though the electronic dictionary market was huge.

Even Xia Xiaolan had no intention of long-term development – she had already decided to focus on real estate as her main business.

Short-term investment was fine though – invest some money in Xu Jing and Ma Hai, then sell the shares for profit.

Du Zhaohui glanced at it for a moment but retreated when he saw all the technical terms giving him a headache:

“Not interested. But I know you must have your eye on this thing. Xia Xiaolan, you’re alone overseas – people know you have money. If they scam you and run, there’s nothing you can do about it-“

Du Zhaohui wanted to say she needed to make these two beggars completely submissive before investing – make them both grateful and fearful. This was called using both carrot and stick – it’s how he handled his subordinates.

When Xia Xiaolan heard he wasn’t interested, she closed the materials:

“So now you understand why I drive a Ford? Du Zhaohui, when are you going back? Are you abandoning your business in Pengcheng?”

Du Zhaohui replied glumly: “I booked a flight for tomorrow.”

Xia Xiaolan paid the coffee bill:

“Then you should head to New York today. This coffee is my treat – have a safe journey. I need to go review these materials.”

What?

She wasn’t even treating him to dinner?

He hadn’t even finished his coffee, but Du Zhaohui found himself caught between maintaining his young master’s dignity and practical benefits. After struggling for a few seconds, he picked up the cup and gulped down the coffee Xia Xiaolan had bought.

Xia Xiaolan seemed genuinely interested in the “electronic dictionary,” but he didn’t understand it at all and couldn’t offer any opinions. Saying too much would only expose his ignorance – didn’t he care about his face?

“Hey, hey, hey, you still haven’t said if you’ll help with the design.”

Du Zhaohui remembered this matter before leaving.

“I called Teacher Mao. If you trust my professor, he and his team can do it for you – they won’t be any worse than Hong Kong firms. Of course, if you’re fixated on world-class architectural firms, just pretend I didn’t say anything. For the specific design, I’ll contribute to the functional zone planning – that’s what I should help with, no extra charge!”

The functional zone planning needed to be reflected in the design, as it related to the future operations and profitability of Du Zhaohui’s electronic components market. Naturally, this couldn’t be neglected – Xia Xiaolan had to manage it!

Something was better than nothing.

These past two days, Du Zhaohui had seen how busy Xia Xiaolan was at Cornell University, so he didn’t make any more unreasonable demands.

“So I’ll be going then?”

“Alright, goodbye!”

While he was still lingering by the car door, Xia Xiaolan had already gotten into her car.

Du Zhaohui couldn’t help but punch the car door.

Leave a dent with one punch? How could such a scene possibly happen – this weakling would only hurt his hand.

“Ah Hua, do you know what an electronic dictionary is?”

Ah Hua stared blankly, “Young Master, what kind of cushion to eat?”

Damn, this was impossible to discuss – even more uncultured than himself!

Du Zhaohui couldn’t help but say earnestly: “Ah Hua, study more when you have time. You don’t know how terrible it is to be uneducated nowadays – you can’t even find a wife!”

Ah Hua nodded vigorously: “Thank you for your concern, Young Master, but I already have a wife back home.”

“…Get lost!”

Didn’t he understand the rules of being someone’s subordinate? Was having a wife something to brag about? He should fire this troublemaker too – keeping him around meant paying his salary while only getting angry in return. Everyone used to be so tactful before, but now they’d all changed!