95: Kill Line

After Li Xiuwu went upstairs, he was invited to the conference room. Not long after he sat down, the delegation of city leaders arrived.

Qiu Wanjun immediately introduced both sides: "This is the city leader, Secretary Zhang, and several leaders from the Bureau of Commerce."

"And this is our boss, Li Xiuwu."

"Hello, leaders. Sorry to trouble you with the trip," Li Xiuwu said, standing up to shake hands with the leaders.

Secretary Zhang looked at Li Xiuwu with surprise, finding him too young.

He reacted quickly, his voice steady and authoritative: "Heroes truly emerge from the youth. But why do you look a bit familiar to me?"

"You might have seen me in the gossip papers, leader," Li Xiuwu said with a smile.

At this moment, someone who appeared to be a secretary stepped forward and whispered a reminder in Secretary Zhang's ear.

"Oh, it's you, the top scholar with a perfect score. You truly are a heroic youth." Secretary Zhang realized, holding onto Li Xiuwu's hand without letting go. They sat together and chatted casually, like neighbors talking over tea.

Ten minutes later, the representatives from Motorola entered the conference room.

Foxis naturally knew Secretary Zhang; they had likely dined together before. What surprised him was Li Xiuwu.

Qiu Wanjun made the introductions again.

After the introductions, Li Xiuwu sized up Foxis. The file said he was 42 years old and belonged to the industrial faction of the Motorola founding family, but currently, the non-family faction held the upper hand.

There was no right or wrong in factional struggles; both sides involved simply had to do their utmost to purge all forces of the other.

Neither side had any intention of making friends; they went straight to discussing the deal.

"This is the contract. Please take a look, everyone." Foxis waved his hand. A pessimistic air hung over him, and he didn't want to talk much. His secretary took out the contract and placed it on the table.

Li Xiuwu read it first. Relying on his powerful memory and comprehension, he quickly grasped the contract; there were no issues.

He handed the contract to the lawyer. Everyone remained silent, drinking tea while waiting for the lawyer to review it line by line.

After about twenty minutes, the lawyer nodded.

At this moment, Li Xiuwu spoke up: "I would like to add a clause. When we invite the maintenance engineers, they should temporarily join our company. In addition to the normal contract expenses, we will pay them a separate salary."

Hearing this, Foxis paused, then wore a mocking expression.

Did he think this would make the engineers hand over their technology? He was truly too young.

But Foxis was in no mood for this; since it didn't affect the contract, he didn't care.

"You can add it." Lin Qian took the contract, added the clause, and went to the copier in the corner to quickly print it out.

He handed it to the other side for review. The opposing lawyer came over, checked it, and seeing only that one clause, they reprinted the contract in triplicate.

All three parties signed. Qiu Wanjun took his people to take over the factory, and Lin Qian prepared to transfer the funds.

"Mr. Foxis, could we talk in private?" Li Xiuwu asked in fluent English.

Foxis frowned. He was in a terrible mood and just wanted to finish the fund transfer and leave this heartbreaking place.

"Mr. Foxis, the transfer will take time. Let's talk about your predicament; perhaps there's a chance to solve it," Li Xiuwu continued.

"Fine. Come to my office—or rather, I suppose it's your office now." He stood up and walked out.

"Secretary Zhang, I'll be leaving for a moment," Li Xiuwu said to the leaders.

Arriving at Foxis's office, he had already tidied up a bit; his personal belongings were packed into a box.

Foxis sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette.

"You are very young and bold. If you want to talk about the Lithography Machine, I can't help you."

Li Xiuwu didn't mind Foxis's attitude. He walked straight behind the desk and sat down in the chair.

His action made Foxis's pupils constrict. A sense of anger at having his territory invaded welled up in his heart.

However, he suppressed his anger and smoked gloomily. The factory was being sold, and he, the general manager, didn't even know where he was going.

"I heard that you, Mr. Foxis, are caught up in a divorce lawsuit?" Li Xiuwu said, stabbing straight at Foxis's sore spot.

"Mr. Foxis, when you return to Motorola, which department will you be working in?" Li Xiuwu continued.

"I saw some news that I'd like to share with you, Mr. Foxis."

Li Xiuwu didn't wait for an answer and continued on his own: "In 2001, the Motorola South Korea factory was the first to be sold. The factory manager, Hoover Ente, was laid off and divorced in the same year. After the property division, the house went to his ex-wife. According to the law, he has to pay her monthly alimony. I wonder if he's doing well now?"

Foxis's face twitched. Three years had passed; Hoover was probably dead in some corner somewhere.

"Last year, the Singapore factory was sold. The factory manager, Brian, was laid off. His wife loved him very much and didn't divorce him, but because they didn't pay the villa's ocean-view fee in time, they were fined. Because they couldn't afford the fine, the house was auctioned off. I wonder if Mr. Brian is doing well."

"Also last year, a technical director at Microsoft was suddenly fired. Because he didn't pay the rain fee in time, he was fined, and his house was auctioned off."

"At Purnard Pharmaceuticals, a regional manager was fired. Because he wasn't home for Christmas and didn't decorate his house for the holiday, he was fined and forcibly evicted from his home."

"Living in a trailer park, the couple was deemed unable to provide a safe environment for children, and their eight-year-old daughter was forcibly taken away. When he finally found her, his 11-year-old daughter had already been married off to her foster father, and being a minor, she had no right to divorce."

"Stop!" Mentioning his daughter made Foxis think of his own. He roared. Just as he roared, the door was suddenly kicked open, and Pan Lei rushed in.

Pan Lei's nervous gaze swept the room. He saw Li Xiuwu sitting behind the desk with a relaxed expression, while Foxis on the sofa was panting heavily.

Li Xiuwu waved at Pan Lei. Pan Lei nodded, took the glass ashtray from the coffee table, closed the door, and stood outside.

"Mr. Foxis, the above are all extreme cases. I believe God will not let such disasters befall you," Li Xiuwu said with a smile.

His words sounded sarcastic. Foxis gritted his teeth, unable to speak.

"Mr. Foxis, assets belong to the company, but money belongs to yourself. I need the Lithography Machine, and you need money."

At this moment, Li Xiuwu stated his intentions very bluntly.

"You wouldn't be harming the company's interests; you'd just be using the company's channels to purchase a piece of equipment, just like buying a piece of clothing."

"If you have money, a substantial income, perhaps your daughter could stay by your side, instead of potentially having a stepfather of unknown origin."

Foxis breathed heavily. He didn't care about the divorce; they rarely saw each other, so what was there to talk about regarding marital affection? But his daughter—his lovely daughter.

What he feared now was that if he lost his job and couldn't find another one in time, his daughter might be awarded to his wife.

He was 42. He no longer believed he was a golden child of destiny; he no longer held illusions about the world.

After a long while, he finally controlled his breathing.

"In my position, I don't have the authority to purchase a Lithography Machine," he said, stating the reason he had refused Qiu Wanjun.

Just when Li Xiuwu was disappointed, he suddenly raised his head and stared fixedly at Li Xiuwu: "I don't want money."

"Regardless of whether it succeeds or fails, I want to continue as the general manager of this factory."

Li Xiuwu looked at him, seeing the unwillingness in his pupils.

"I want to hear, what are the odds?" Li Xiuwu didn't agree immediately.

He wanted to hear if Foxis actually had a chance to purchase the equipment.

"There is an internal struggle at Motorola. The company has decided to go asset-light, and many high-level executives are being purged. My superior, Old York, won't last much longer either. Once all the semiconductor factories are sold, even if he isn't fired, he will be marginalized," Foxis explained part of the internal situation at Motorola.

"Although Old York no longer has the authority to manage heavy assets, he is still the nominal Minister of Semiconductor Industry. He has the right to sign purchase contracts and issue orders in the name of the Japan factory."

"As long as we don't use the company's money, given the current chaotic situation in the company, no one will bother a soon-to-be-fired old Minister of Industry."

Foxis said with a cold sneer on his lips.

"And the ship transporting the Lithography Machine will pass through the South China Sea."