184: Chapter 184 Taking Control

After Chen Ji took his seat, he scrutinized the overly young man before him, his heart full of probing thoughts and doubt.

He truly found it hard to imagine that such a sophisticated capital scheme—involving over a hundred million yuan and such clear divisions of rights and responsibilities—had come from someone so young.

Shen Xi stood quietly by Jiang Chen's side, ready to record notes and present documents at any moment.

Lu Manqi also remained quiet, attending the meeting in a low-profile manner. She strictly observed professional etiquette, waiting for the subsequent coordination of funds without interrupting or disrupting the pace of the negotiation.

However, her gaze constantly and quietly lingered on Jiang Chen, silently admiring his calm, composed manner as he took control of the entire situation.

To her, this was both work and a silent, secret form of companionship.

After a brief silence, Chen Ji spoke first, with the characteristic straightforwardness of an intellectual and an innate defensiveness.

“Mr. Jiang, I have mostly digested the cooperation plan that Manager Shen relayed yesterday. I won't beat around the bush and will state my bottom line directly: Xingtu is currently at a dead end, and I am grateful that someone is willing to take over and inject capital.”

“But the one thing I will not back down on is R&D autonomy and laboratory leadership. Capital can hold a controlling interest and handle operations, but it cannot interfere with the research direction. My team's eight years of hard work must never become a mere tool for capital to pursue profit.”

Jiang Chen's expression remained calm, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. His tone was steady and unhurried, his deep voice carrying weight with every word: “Professor Chen can rest easy. From the very beginning, our side has drawn the boundaries of rights and responsibilities very clearly, and we will never cross them.”

He spoke slowly, once again reiterating the three unshakable core promises.

“First, the total transaction of 108 million yuan will be paid in full—68 million for the patent acquisition and 40 million for the capital increase. The full amount will be credited on the day of the equity and patent delivery.”

“The company's existing 28.4 million yuan in debt will be fully covered and cleared by us. With zero off-balance sheet liabilities and zero involvement in external guarantees, we will help you shed all your shackles of debt at once.”

“Second, after the full acquisition of the patents, Xingtu New Materials will be granted a permanent, royalty-free, and exclusive license to use them, with no limits on technical iterations, pilot-scale production, or global market expansion.”

“The operations management team we dispatch will only be responsible for five major sectors: financial compliance, administrative coordination, supply chain management, market business, and legal risk control.”

“Research direction, experimental arrangements, technical routes, and laboratory personnel appointments will all be left entirely to the decision-making of you and your core team. Management stays with management, R&D stays with R&D; they will be clearly demarcated, and neither will overstep.”

“Third, immediately upon completion of the delivery, an additional 50 million yuan in special funds for mass production will be provided. These funds will be used exclusively for production line expansion, raw material stockpiling, and the qualification certification and expansion of top-tier customers.”

Lu Manqi listened quietly from the side, her heart stirred.

Investing over a hundred million in cash just like that, covering all debts, and putting in another 50 million for mass production expansion—this was already a staggering move.

But what shocked her even more was that while he held absolute controlling interest, he was willing to restrain the capital's desire to interfere, fully respecting the scientific research team and choosing to empower them with resources rather than constrain them with control.

Such vision, perspective, breadth of mind, and courage would likely be hard to find in a second person across the entire Jiangcheng business and capital circles.

Every step she took to actively approach and deliberately create intersections with such an exceptionally outstanding man felt so worthwhile.

Chen Ji's brow remained slightly furrowed, and he was still struggling internally.

He took the opportunity to start a tug-of-war: “The conditions Mr. Jiang has given are indeed generous enough. It's just that after a full acquisition, the right to speak for the enterprise will be entirely in your hands. No matter how good the verbal promises are today, if the capital changes its mind in the future and secretly sidelines the R&D team, neither I nor the entire research team will have the power to resist.”

He paused and tentatively proposed a compromise: “How about a different model: we cede a portion of the equity, and Chenxing Capital acts as a strategic investor, while our founding team retains controlling interest and operational leadership. Do you think that’s feasible?”

This was the greatest concession he could make and his final attempt at negotiation, wanting to do his utmost to keep the final bit of control for his team.

Jiang Chen shook his head gently upon hearing this. His tone remained calm and gentle, yet it carried an indisputable certainty, leaving no room for compromise or retreat: “Professor Chen, that plan won't work.”

His gaze was as deep as an abyss, striking directly at the heart of reality as he dismantled the pros and cons layer by layer: “Right now, Xingtu's capital chain is completely broken. You are entangled in lawsuits, banks are withdrawing loans, and your core team is on the verge of collapse. The situation is critical.”

“Scattered strategic investments cannot fill the debt hole or save this dead end. Only with a full controlling interest does it make logical sense for our side to fully guarantee all debts, bear all operational risks, and unreservedly invest hundred-million-level funding and full industry chain resources.”

“If I don't have 100% control, the subsequent mass production expansion, global supply chain integration, and the entire three-year path to an IPO will lack a foundational support. To be more realistic—aside from me, no capital or industry giant will give you a promise of ‘completely non-interference in R&D.’”

“Once you fall into the hands of an industry giant, your core patents will be immediately shelved, your R&D route will be forcibly altered, and your team will be split up and poached. The hard carbon anode technology you've painstakingly researched for eight years will only be completely buried in the industry's power games.”

He paused slightly, his voice not loud, but every word hit like a hammer: “What I am giving you is not a binding contract to take advantage of your crisis, but your only way out of a desperate situation. More than that, it is the only chance for your technology to truly achieve mass production and reach the global stage.”

These words hit the nail on the head, stripping away all illusions and bluntly pointing out the cruel reality.

Chen Ji's expression gradually became solemn, and his fingertips unconsciously tightened.

He knew in his heart that every sentence Jiang Chen said was the truth and that he had no capital left to bargain with.

He just couldn't help but feel reluctant to hand over all the equity and his life's work like this.

After a long silence, he suppressed his internal struggle and put forward his final bottom-line requirement.

“I can accept full controlling interest, but the terms must be locked in black and white in the formal contract: there must never be interference in R&D decisions, no groundless replacement of core technical personnel in the laboratory, and the royalty-free patent licensing clause must remain in effect permanently. If our R&D autonomy is ever infringed upon, we have the right to terminate all cooperation.”

“Deal.”

Jiang Chen agreed without hesitation, appearing perfectly composed.

“All the bottom-line terms you care about will be written into the equity transfer agreement and the permanent patent licensing agreement. They will be reviewed item by item by legal counsel and will be fully legally binding. Our side will never play word games or go back on our word later.”

As his voice fell, Shen Xi stepped forward at the right moment and handed a stack of neatly bound documents to Chen Ji.

The equity transfer draft, the gratuitous exclusive patent licensing agreement, the debt repayment guarantee agreement, the letter of intent for additional mass production investment, and the equity incentive framework for the core team were all well-organized and complete.

Chen Ji leaned over and flipped through the pages one by one, reading and verifying each clause carefully.

He was surprised to find that every single thing Jiang Chen had promised verbally had been fully incorporated into the legal documents—no ambiguous wording, no hidden traps.

The boundaries of rights and responsibilities, R&D autonomy, funding amounts, investment plans, the path to listing, and team security were all listed one by one, clear and without error.

The last trace of concern in his heart vanished completely.

He looked up at Jiang Chen, who was still sitting calmly and nonchalantly.

Since the negotiation began, the other party had been patient, never deliberately trying to persuade or pressure him, yet he had handled the situation, people's hearts, the pros and cons, and the bottom lines flawlessly.

With such a confident posture, it was as if he had long been certain that Chen Ji would eventually nod in agreement.

Chen Ji let out a long sigh, the struggle in his eyes slowly fading, replaced by relief and genuine recognition.

“Mr. Jiang, I am impressed. Your vision, sincerity, and way of doing things are far beyond those of capital that only knows how to harvest and arbitrage. We will sign and cooperate according to all the terms you've set.”

A very faint smile flickered in Jiang Chen's eyes, calm and unruffled, as if everything was exactly as he had expected.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

Subsequently, Shen Xi and Lu Manqi accompanied the legal teams from both sides to the scene.

Lu Manqi quickly composed herself, switching back to the professional state of a private banking executive.

She clearly organized the large-scale fund transfer process, special account supervision rules, and transaction flow details. She was rigorous and meticulous, ensuring that the transfer of hundreds of millions was compliant, secure, and foolproof.

However, in the gaps between her work, her gaze would always unconsciously drift toward Jiang Chen, and the admiration in her heart grew even deeper.

Chen Ji confirmed all the contract terms one by one, raised no further objections, signed his name, and pressed his thumbprint.

The moment his pen touched the paper, all core patents and the complete enterprise equity of Xingtu New Materials officially came under the banner of Chenxing Capital.

The 108 million yuan in transaction funds was about to be transferred as agreed, the 28.4 million yuan in debt was immediately covered and cleared, the 50 million yuan special fund for mass production was ready at any time, and the team equity incentives, top-tier customer connections, and capitalization and listing plans were all launched simultaneously.

Standing to the side, Lu Manqi watched the entire negotiation, signing, and finalization of the funding plan, and she could not calm the shock in her heart.