104: Chapter 104 Zhao Lintai's Plan - Acquiring Hongtai Construction

At this moment, inside that white Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Zhao Lintai was driving leisurely by himself; the mysterious man who had arrived on the same flight was not with him.

Outside the window, the scenery of the Magic City slowly unfolded like a scroll. Inside the car, Zhao Lintai's eyes revealed a hint of depth and calculation, as if everything was within his grasp.

The Mercedes G-Class had just passed a traffic light when Zhao Lintai's phone rang. The caller ID on the screen jumped with the name "Lawyer Wang Ming."

An imperceptible smile curled at the corner of Zhao Lintai's mouth—an anticipation for the good show about to unfold. He then answered the call.

Immediately after, Lawyer Wang Ming's voice came through, carrying a hint of excitement: "Boss, I've arrived downstairs at the Hongtai Construction Company building."

"Good, I've also just arrived in the Magic City. Go up first and talk to Wang Hongtai." Zhao Lintai said indifferently.

"Alright, Boss. However, if Wang Hongtai doesn't agree to our proposal, how do you want me to respond?" Wang Ming asked cautiously.

"Heh," Zhao Lintai chuckled softly before continuing, "That's only natural; Wang Hongtai certainly won't agree. A man like him will never compromise until the very last moment. This is all within expectations. Go ahead with confidence; your task is just to scout the terrain and make him understand what kind of predicament he'll face once he's unable to go public!"

"Understood, Boss. I'm heading up now," Wang Ming replied, secretly pondering how to handle this preliminary negotiation.

"Mm, go on then," Zhao Lintai responded briefly and then hung up. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself, "Wang Hongtai, I hope you know what's good for you."

At that moment, downstairs at Hongtai Construction, Lawyer Wang Ming looked up at the company sign. A sinister smile played on his lips as he tightened his grip on the black briefcase in his hand and walked quickly into the building.

At the reception desk in the first-floor lobby of Hongtai Construction, two beautiful receptionists in uniforms immediately stood up respectfully when they saw Wang Ming walk in wearing a sharp suit. One of them smiled and asked politely, "Hello, sir. How may I help you?"

"Hello," Wang Ming responded gentlemanly. He then took out a business card from his pocket, handed it to the receptionist with both hands, and continued, "My name is Wang Ming, and I am the representative lawyer for Lintai Investment. I have some matters to discuss with your Chairman, Mr. Wang Hongtai. Could you please be so kind as to announce me?"

"Lawyer Wang, do you have a prior appointment?" the receptionist asked with a smile after taking the business card and examining it carefully.

"No," Wang Ming shook his head with a smile, looking at the receptionist with an air of sincerity.

"Uh... then I'm very sorry, Lawyer Wang. It's like this: our Chairman has been quite busy lately. If you don't have an appointment, I'm afraid..."

Before she could finish, Wang Ming interrupted her with a smile, his eyes revealing an undisguised confidence. "It doesn't matter. Just make the call for me. Tell your Chairman that the representative lawyer from Lintai Investment is here to see him, and he will naturally see me."

The receptionist frowned with some hesitation, but seeing Wang Ming's supreme confidence, she picked up the internal phone and dialed the number for the Chairman's secretary—Secretary Wu.

The call was quickly connected, and Secretary Wu's voice came from the other end. It was low and carried a hint of impatience: "Speak!"

Even though it was only one word, the receptionist could feel his foul mood from his tone.

She hurriedly replied, "Hello, Secretary Wu. There is a Lawyer Wang Ming at the front desk who wants to see the Chairman. He says he is the representative lawyer for Lintai Investment."

She hurriedly repeated, "Hello, Secretary Wu. There is a Lawyer Wang Ming at the front desk who wants to see the Chairman. He says he is the representative lawyer for Lintai Investment."

"Wang Ming? A lawyer?" Secretary Wu frowned and pondered for a moment, feeling as though he had never heard the name before. He then asked, "Does he have an appointment?"

"No. However, he said that as long as you tell the Chairman he's from Lintai Investment, the Chairman will naturally see him," the receptionist answered somewhat nervously.

"I see. Have him wait for a moment then. I'll go report to the Chairman." After saying this, Secretary Wu hung up, stood up, and knocked on the door of Chairman Wang Hongtai's office.

"Come in!" Wang Hongtai's voice came from inside the office, carrying a hint of authority.

Secretary Wu pushed the door open and walked in. At this time, Wang Hongtai was sitting behind his desk, frowning as he flipped through documents, marking them from time to time.

He looked up at the person entering. Seeing it was Secretary Wu, he lowered his head again and asked, "Ah, Secretary Wu. Is something the matter?"

"Chairman, the front desk just called. They said a lawyer named Wang Ming wants to see you," Secretary Wu replied respectfully.

"Who? Wang Ming? And a lawyer?" Wang Hongtai looked up, frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't know him. Did he say what it's about?"

"Not exactly. However, he said he is the representative lawyer for Lintai Investment..." Secretary Wu said with some hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Wang Hongtai's expression froze, and the pen in his hand suddenly dropped onto the documents.

Following that, Wang Hongtai took a deep breath and then let out a long exhale, seemingly trying to calm his emotions.

A moment later, he finally continued, "Sigh, what's meant to come will eventually come. Secretary Wu, go and bring him in."

Secretary Wu noticed the Chairman's unusual behavior. Although he was puzzled, he didn't ask further. He gave a nod of assent and left the office, secretly wondering what the purpose of this suddenly appearing Lawyer Wang Ming could be.

Meanwhile, in the first-floor reception area, Wang Ming sat leisurely on the sofa with his legs crossed, his eyes occasionally scanning the decor of Hongtai Construction.

Suddenly, he noticed that the position of a camera in the corner seemed to have changed. Its red light was blinking, and the lens was aimed right at where he was sitting.

A smile tugged at the corner of Wang Ming's mouth. He picked up the disposable cup on the table and raised it toward the camera, as if greeting the person behind it.

In the office, Wang Hongtai watched Wang Ming's actions on the computer screen, his brow furrowing even tighter. He thought to himself, "What kind of trick is this Zhao Lintai playing?"

Soon, Secretary Wu stepped out of the elevator. After inquiring at the front desk, the receptionist led him to Wang Ming.

"Secretary Wu, this is Lawyer Wang Ming," the receptionist introduced politely, while also gesturing toward Secretary Wu. "Lawyer Wang, this is the secretary to our Chairman of Hongtai Construction, Secretary Wu."

Wang Ming stood up with a smile, shook hands with Secretary Wu, and exchanged polite pleasantries: "Hello, Secretary Wu."

"Hello, Lawyer Wang. Please follow me; our Chairman is expecting you," Secretary Wu responded with a smile.

"Alright, sorry to trouble you, Secretary Wu," Wang Ming said, tossing the disposable cup into the trash can before following behind Secretary Wu.

The two left the reception area and entered the elevator through the security gate.

Inside the elevator, there were only Wang Ming and Secretary Wu. The atmosphere was silent for a moment, so Wang Ming asked with a smile, "Secretary Wu, Chairman Wang Hongtai has been quite busy lately, hasn't he?"

Secretary Wu gave a faint smile and responded, "Yes, but not just lately; our Chairman is always very busy."

"Haha, indeed. Chairman Wang is famously dedicated. I heard that Hongtai Construction is about to go public?" Wang Ming continued to probe.

"Yes, the IPO application has already been submitted. We expect results very soon," Secretary Wu's words revealed a hint of anticipation.

"Is that so? Then Secretary Wu, as Chairman Wang's right-hand man, you must hold a lot of internal shares, right? Once the IPO is successful, won't you achieve financial freedom in a heartbeat?" Wang Ming teased.

"Lawyer Wang must be joking. I'm just a minor employee; I'm hardly a 'right-hand man'," Secretary Wu responded modestly.

As they spoke, the elevator doors opened. He held the door with his hand and said politely, "After you, Lawyer Wang."

Wang Ming stepped out of the elevator, looked around first, and then sighed softly, "I really didn't expect Hongtai Construction to be so grand."

Secretary Wu said nothing, only giving a faint smile as he continued to lead Wang Ming forward: "Lawyer Wang, this way please."

The two walked a bit further and reached the door of the Chairman's office. Secretary Wu raised his hand and knocked gently. Wang Hongtai's voice came from within: "Come in!"

Then, Secretary Wu pushed open the office door and stepped aside to make way for Wang Ming: "Lawyer Wang, please."

Wang Ming nodded slightly and stepped into the office.

Wang Hongtai was still at his desk reviewing documents. He looked up at Wang Ming but didn't stand up, saying with a fake smile, "Lawyer Wang, is it? Please, have a seat. I have a few more documents here; I'll be finished shortly." Then, without waiting for Wang Ming's response, he looked at Secretary Wu and instructed, "Secretary Wu, go pour a cup of tea for Lawyer Wang."

Having said that, Wang Hongtai stopped looking at Wang Ming and returned to looking at the documents with 'full concentration'.

Seeing this, Wang Ming smiled knowingly, thinking to himself: As expected, the boss was right. This Wang Hongtai is trying to intimidate me right from the start...

Secretary Wu went to the tea bar to prepare the tea. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him and the atmosphere was becoming awkward, Wang Ming gave a light cough and looked at Secretary Wu. Finding a topic for himself, he smiled and said, "Secretary Wu, don't go to all that trouble. I'm not much of a tea drinker. Is there any bottled mineral water? If not, just a cup of plain water will do."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Wu glanced toward Wang Hongtai. Seeing that Chairman Wang Hongtai showed no reaction, he could only respond with a smile, "Alright, just a moment."

With that, Secretary Wu withdrew again.

Now, only Wang Hongtai and Wang Ming were left in the office. Wang Hongtai glanced at Wang Ming and said coolly, "Haha, is Lawyer Wang looking down on my tea?"

"Haha, Chairman Wang is joking. I just don't really like drinking tea. As a lawyer, tea affects my sleep; I hope Chairman Wang can understand," Wang Ming explained.

Wang Hongtai nodded, not pressing further on Wang Ming's excuse. The atmosphere in the office fell silent once more as Wang Hongtai continued scribbling on the documents. It wasn't until Secretary Wu returned with two bottles of Evian mineral water that he slowly stood up from behind his desk.

"Thank you, sorry to trouble you, Secretary Wu." Wang Ming took the mineral water and thanked him. He then looked at the packaging and smiled at Wang Hongtai, offering a subtle compliment: "Our Hongtai Construction really is powerful; even the drinking water is imported from Country F."

"Haha, Lawyer Wang flatters me. We only bring it out to entertain distinguished guests like Lawyer Wang; we don't usually drink it ourselves," Wang Hongtai said with a chuckle.

"Chairman Wang is too kind; I wouldn't dare call myself a distinguished guest." As Wang Ming spoke, he twisted open the cap, took two sips, and then set it aside.

"Lawyer Wang, I, Wang Hongtai, don't like beating around the bush. Let's get straight to the point. I wonder, what brings Lawyer Wang here today?" Wang Hongtai leaned against the back of the sofa, crossed his legs, and asked while scrutinizing Wang Ming.

Wang Ming glanced at Secretary Wu and then at Wang Hongtai. Wang Hongtai understood and immediately waved a hand at Secretary Wu, who then withdrew from the office.

"Lawyer Wang, you can speak now, can't you?"

"Chairman Wang is a direct man, so I'll be blunt as well." As Wang Ming spoke, he pulled a document from his briefcase and handed it to Wang Hongtai. "I'm sure Chairman Wang has heard of Lintai Investment, so I won't repeat myself. I'm here today on behalf of the owner of Lintai Investment, Mr. Zhao Lintai, to discuss with Chairman Wang the acquisition of Hongtai Construction. This is the letter of intent for the acquisition."