Chapter 41: Refusing the Acquisition
After the representatives from the Estée Lauder Group’s Huaxia branch exchanged introductions, Michael finally stated his purpose: he wanted to meet the boss to discuss the possibility of an acquisition.
As soon as Liu Shichang heard they were from Estée Lauder, he understood their intentions. Last time, a few people had come with the same purpose, but he had turned them down. He hadn't expected that now, the group would send over a global vice president. Imperialists never give up their ambitions, it seemed.
Liu Shichang politely expressed his refusal. But Michael was unmoved, insisting on meeting the boss. Liu Shichang tried several times to dissuade him, but seeing that he couldn’t change their minds, he had no choice but to call Lu Yu right in front of them.
Once the call connected, Liu Shichang said, “Hello, President Lu.”
Lu Yu’s voice was slightly muffled; he was reading at the library, now stepping into the hallway to take the call. “What is it, Old Liu?”
Liu Shichang glanced at the foreigners and others across from him. “Here’s the situation, President Lu. The Estée Lauder Group that came last time to discuss an acquisition—they’ve sent people again. This time, it’s a global vice president from their headquarters, and he’s in the company right now.”
Lu Yu was a bit puzzled. “Acquisition? Old Liu, are you getting forgetful? Didn’t I say last time, don’t come to me about any acquisition offers—the company is never going to be sold.”
“I’ve already told them that, and not just once,” Liu Shichang replied. “But they insist on seeing the boss. You’d better come over yourself—I really can’t handle it.”
Lu Yu glanced at the time. “Alright, I’ll be there in about forty minutes. Tell them to wait.”
After hanging up, Liu Shichang relayed to Michael, “The boss is on his way—it’ll take about forty minutes. Please wait a little.”
The interpreter translated this for Michael, who nodded in agreement and sat quietly, sipping water. Liu Shichang excused himself, saying he had other matters to attend to, and left the meeting room for his own office.
...
About forty minutes later, Lu Yu arrived at the company by subway. The receptionist stood up to greet him, calling out, “President Lu.” Lu Yu nodded in acknowledgment and headed straight to Liu Shichang’s office.
After knocking on the door, Liu Shichang saw Lu Yu arrive and accompanied him to the meeting room. There, Liu Shichang introduced Michael and the head of the Huaxia branch, then introduced Lu Yu to them. After a round of handshakes, everyone took their seats.
Once seated, Lu Yu leaned back in his chair, adopting the posture of a major player, and gazed at those across from him before beginning, “I believe Mr. Liu has made things quite clear to you. At present, I have no intention of selling the company.”
After listening to the translation, Michael studied the young man before him, sensing instinctively that he was not someone easily persuaded. “The purpose of running a company is to make money. In fact, everything in this world has its price. In my view, the only reason you’re not selling is because the price isn’t high enough yet.”
Lu Yu chuckled at Michael’s words, finding them logical and somewhat amusing. “Then I’d like to hear your offer. How much are you prepared to pay for my company?”
Michael met Lu Yu’s gaze, and Lu Yu calmly returned it. After a moment’s consideration, Michael stated, “Twelve billion dollars.”
The figure took Lu Yu by surprise. Based on the current market share and production capacity of Fenbai Dahei, even using the high price-to-earnings ratios typical for internet companies, this was by no means a low offer. Internet companies, after all, were usually valued quite high.
...
Truth be told, it was an extremely generous offer—high enough to stir a faint temptation in Lu Yu’s heart. But only faintly.
Leaning back in his chair, Lu Yu assumed a tactical posture. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest as he considered Michael for a while before replying, “I must admit, Mr. Michael, your offer is tempting. Our company isn’t worth that much yet.”
Michael nodded. “Your company may not be worth that now, but as time goes on, given the quality of your products, the value will surely far exceed this amount. We have immense faith in your company’s prospects, but achieving that value requires time and meticulous effort. Time and effort themselves are significant costs—and those are what you currently lack.”
“With your current capacity, you are limited to just a small segment of the Huaxia market and haven’t been able to expand overseas. So why not sell to us? We can take charge of promoting your products to benefit more consumers. Let more people abroad experience the excellence of your two products. You would save yourself a great deal of time and gain enough money—why not? I can’t think of a reason to refuse.”
...
Lu Yu listened with a smile, applauding lightly. “Michael, you’re quite the persuasive talker. Honestly, I almost let you convince me. But whether or not consumers overseas enjoy the benefits—what’s that got to do with me?”
“Take just the Huaxia market: we have 1.4 billion people, half of whom are women. Let’s assume only one seventh use our products. If each person uses five pieces a month, that’s five hundred million pieces per month. About fifty million boxes a month, six hundred million boxes a year. By rough calculation, that’s nearly ten billion dollars annually. Such a huge market is enough to keep me well-fed for a long time.”
“As for benefiting Western consumers, I’m sorry—I can barely take care of customers here, let alone abroad.”
Lu Yu paused, meeting Michael’s gaze before delivering the final word: “So, I’m sorry, Michael. While your offer is tempting, I regret to say I will not sell the company.”
Michael looked at the resolute Lu Yu, helpless and inwardly cursing this stubborn yellow-skinned man. Why was he so obstinate? And why did this company have no board of directors, just a private owner whose word was law? Young people were always the most stubborn and unwilling to take advice—a real liability. Besides, this was the ancient East, where many underhanded tricks simply couldn’t be used.
After further negotiations proved fruitless, Michael finally had no choice but to leave Nebula Corporation with his colleagues, wondering how he would explain himself to the board.
...
Lu Yu sat in the meeting room, tapping his fingers absentmindedly on the table, lost in thought. It hadn’t been long since his company attracted the attention of these international giants, which left him feeling somewhat helpless. With their attention, the company would inevitably have to join the fray of intense competition ahead of schedule. The company had been established only recently, and the team had only just finished settling in. He wondered if they could withstand the coming pressure.
He had only wanted to quietly develop and grow, but now his capabilities made that impossible. It was already hard enough to climb the technology ladder; now he had to add such a challenging environment for survival. What a blue fate for a man! But at least not a green one.
...
Preparing to face these giants, Lu Yu called Deng Qiang. After explaining the situation, he solemnly instructed him that from today forward, they would be competing with these industry titans, and Deng Qiang needed to prepare accordingly. Not only must the company continue to enforce strict quality controls, but even more stringent testing protocols should be implemented to ensure flawless quality. Security measures must also be strengthened to prevent leaks.
Although Lu Yu was confident that no one could steal the formula—since he alone knew it, not even Deng Qiang—he knew that the production process was fixed. Should anyone investigate and stumble upon the secret by accident, what then?
Caution is the parent of safety, as the ancients said. So, it was best to be careful in all things. Whether useful or not, more preparation and vigilance could never hurt.
...
Deng Qiang readily agreed and said he would immediately convene the management team for a meeting, ensuring that every employee was notified and that institutional controls—especially regarding quality—would be strengthened. Every product leaving the factory would undergo multiple inspections, just in case.
Lu Yu nodded in satisfaction and hung up the phone. He walked to the window of the meeting room and gazed out at the high-rises and the street below. The cars looked like matchboxes; the pedestrians like ants. For a moment, his mind drifted far away.
Recalling the course of development of another civilization, Lu Yu looked up at the blue sky, filled with emotion. Only when confined to a single planet do people waste their energy on endless struggles and intrigue. Once humanity has the ability to venture into space, leave the solar system, leave the galaxy, and enter the wider universe, perhaps then their attention and energy will shift, and conflict will diminish.
But how far off was that day? When would it arrive?
...
After spending some time at the company and listening to Liu Shichang’s report on recent developments, Lu Yu finally left. Thanks to his recent reading and study, he had already identified methods and approaches for enhancing physical fitness and was ready to verify them. As for extending lifespan, he had only caught a faint glimmer of hope and things were still unclear.
A few days earlier, he had sent a list to Deng Qiang to procure the necessary equipment and materials. Now, Lu Yu returned to the modest laboratory he had set up in the suburbs. This time, he was preparing to create a physical enhancement serum—a task much harder than synthesizing the two new substances he had created before.
He put his phone on silent and mentally reviewed several possible approaches before starting to add ingredients to the apparatus. As everyone knows, working with pharmaceuticals is far more complex than with other products. It’s not just the regulatory procedures; even the preclinical tests and trials are enough to make anyone’s scalp tingle.
Luckily, Lu Yu didn’t plan to market this product in bulk—he only wanted to validate his ideas, to see whether he was on the right track. As for the drug he was preparing, he would at most conduct animal testing; he had no reckless thoughts of human trials. He didn’t even have the conditions for clinical research.
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One of the approaches Lu Yu chose was to greatly enhance cellular activity with drugs, thereby boosting organ function. But since every organ has different functions, and the makeup of their cells varies, it was never going to be a simple, one-off task. Often, improving the function of one organ would damage another, which was unacceptable.
Finding a balance in every aspect was far from simple—it was not something that could be accomplished just by talking.
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