254: Chapter 254 The Uninvited Guest

"What's wrong? Is this business deal not big enough? Didn't it improve your appetite a little?"

Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't respond to her words, instead smiling and pointing to the delicacies on the plate.

A feeling of warmth welled up in Xing Huiqiong's heart, and under Zhao Xiaoshuai's gaze, she didn't stop until she had finished the entire plate of meat.

"I haven't eaten this much in a long time. Are you satisfied now?"

For the first time, Xing Huiqiong revealed a somewhat girlish expression; in the past, she had always maintained the dignity of the Hengtian President, which, to be honest, was quite exhausting.

Seeing that the "business appetite stimulant" was working well, Zhao Xiaoshuai continued to up the ante.

"I also want to buy a larger house, preferably over a thousand square meters. However, I've searched through all the major properties in Chuncheng and haven't found any. If you have any suitable listings, why not introduce them to me?"

This was help tailored specifically for her.

Although Chuncheng is considered a provincial capital, its economy doesn't rank very high, and there aren't many major local tycoons.

The only properties that could meet Zhao Xiaoshuai's requirements were old mansions owned by established, powerful families. However, while their houses were large, they were somewhat outdated and not very popular with young people, and furthermore, they wouldn't sell them.

The only one with the possibility of being sold in the near future was the main residence of the Xing Family.

Of course, this refers to the property title area; in terms of usable area, plus the garden, the Xing Family's main residence is over 3,000 square meters.

"I actually do have a suitable one—my own home. A lot of money was spent on the original renovation, and I believe it will certainly satisfy you. However, it's for sale at 80 million; can you accept that?"

When selling such luxury mansions in a hurry, losing tens of millions is common. Many houses can't even recoup the renovation costs, so just getting back the value of the house itself is considered decent.

That was why Xing Huiqiong felt a little less confident when quoting the price.

It wasn't that she didn't want to lower the price for Zhao Xiaoshuai, who was willing to help, but that her father wouldn't allow it, having specifically emphasized it at a family meeting a few days ago.

"We would rather not sell than lose the last bit of the Xing Family's face!"

Compared to her father's stubbornness, she and her younger brother had basically sold everything they could, but it was still a drop in the bucket.

"That would be perfect, though the price will need to be adjusted."

"What do you mean?"

Xing Huiqiong had already decided that as long as it wasn't too low a price, she would definitely go back and try her best to persuade her father.

"Counting the 6 villas we just discussed, I'll buy them all from you for a total of 200 million."

"Did you calculate that correctly?"

Xing Huiqiong had already prepared herself to have the price pushed down. After all, it was already a huge favor that the other party was willing to help, and in the current climate, it was almost impossible for such luxury mansions to sell for their original cost.

She hadn't expected that not only would he not haggle, but he would actually round it up and add nearly 20 million to the amount!

Although 200 million in cash wouldn't save Hengtian, it would allow the Xing Family to have more options.

"Of course I calculated correctly. The fact that you were willing to come out and have this meal with me at such a critical time far exceeds that value."

Zhao Xiaoshuai adding those 20 million certainly had an element of trying to woo her, but part of the reason was also to increase the base for cash back; this time, he decided to use a Gold Card.

The warmth in Xing Huiqiong's heart grew stronger and stronger.

Regarding Zhao Xiaoshuai, although she felt quite a bit of affection for him, it was far from reaching the level of love, and Xing Huiqiong knew this better than anyone.

She had noticed all of Zhao Xiaoshuai's various overt and subtle hints, but precisely because she had this bit of affection for him, she didn't want to exploit his feelings.

But with the life and death of her family on one side and her own self-esteem on the other, she struggled internally for a long time before finally making a difficult decision.

She had worked hard for so many years and had originally thought she was successful enough to have escaped the fate of a marriage of convenience and could pursue the things she wanted.

But in the end, for the sake of the family, she still had to set aside her worthless pride.

However, if it were him, she could accept it.

But just as she was about to offer everything she had in exchange for Zhao Xiaoshuai's full assistance, the door to their private room was suddenly pushed open.

She frowned and looked over.

The dishes had all been served, and before they pressed the call button, no service staff should have come in.

And indeed, the person who entered was not a service staff member.

"The two of you, sorry to disturb you."

"Huo Shaoqi? What are you doing here? Also, has no one ever taught you what manners are?"

Recently, the Huo Family had also begun to bare their fangs.

It turned out that they had long received wind of the news that Hengtian was about to collapse, and all the capital injection negotiations recently were just an act.

What was laughable was that she, the ostensible President of Hengtian, had only just learned a few days ago that the family's capital chain had broken and that there was a massive shortfall.

The Huo Family had a huge appetite; they kept dragging Hengtian along, cutting off all of Hengtian's paths for aid, and finally offered a price of 3 billion to acquire all of Hengtian's high-quality assets.

One must know that Hengtian's current market value is still over 10 billion!

Although, according to the valuations of major real estate companies after they collapse, they generally shrink by more than 80%, so it seemed they were offering a decent price.

However, they only agreed to buy the high-quality assets, while excluding the debts; and once those debts were paid off, there would be almost no money left.

In this way, most of the many ongoing construction projects would become unfinished eyesores, and the Hengtian brand would be completely finished.

Although this result would allow the Xing Family to withdraw as gracefully as possible, the fact that the family's achievements of so many years would be destroyed in an instant was something no one in the Xing Family was willing to accept.

"I don't recall inviting you. If you don't state your purpose within one minute, I will throw you out."

Although Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't know this person's purpose, seeing the look of disgust on Xing Huiqiong's face, he naturally knew what to do.

Huo Shaoqi stepped back unnaturally, only regaining some confidence when he saw the bodyguards following him.

"Zhao Xiaoshuai, from Chuncheng, born in Year XX, graduated from elementary school in Year XX... resigned on February 1st of this year, and has not been employed since... assets under your name..."

After rattling off a whole bunch of things, Huo Shaoqi finally revealed a smile, "I didn't have much time, so this is all I managed to investigate. How about that?"

Having exposed the other party's public background and assets completely, Huo Shaoqi expected to see an expression of anger or unease on the other party's face, but he only saw a face with a faint sneer.

"And then?"

Huo Shaoqi frowned, "Not long ago, you were just an ordinary, low-level employee, and your ancestors for three generations had no background."

"Although I don't know where you got some money, and it seems like you've struck it rich overnight, water without a source is like a castle in the air."

Huo Shaoqi turned to Xing Huiqiong on the side:

"Huiqiong, his background has been revealed to you. There have been no wealthy people with the surname Zhao who passed away recently in the country. Although I don't know where he got the money or how much he got, he is not your lifeline."

"Only I, only our Huo Family can be!"

"The Xing Family is already finished, but as long as you marry me and help me pick the Xing Family clean, you will still be the Hengtian President you once were!"