novelraw Chapter 566 - 565: Taking Advantage of You (Second Update)
Chapter 566 - 565: Taking Advantage of You (Second Update)
"Grandpa, I’ve married Ji Rui. Here, this is the bride price from Ji Rui for you. You can deal with it however you like!"The old master was rattled by her calling him "Grandpa," his mind spinning for a few seconds before he reacted, staring blankly at her for at least half a minute before finally asking, "You’ve married Ji Rui?"
Le Tong deliberately ignored the sharp gaze suddenly shot at her from the sofa by Ji Rui, nodded to the old master, "Yes, we got the certificate this morning."
"Yay, mommy, you finally agreed to marry daddy, that dummy?!" Baobao, who was lying on the floor, leaped up suddenly, clinging to Le Tong’s back and shaking her neck vigorously.
Le Tong glanced at Ji Rui, who was deeply struck by his son’s words, bit her lip to suppress a laugh, and patted Baobao’s head with her hand in reverse.
"Yes, mommy finally married your silly daddy. Baobao and your sister go play in the room for a while, okay? Mommy has something to talk about with great-grandpa."
"Okay!" Baobao readily responded with a grin, gave Le Tong a big kiss on the face, ignored the chess game, and smugly winked at Ji Rui before obediently following Aunt Wang, who held Nuonuo, into the nursery.
The old master finally roused from the joy of his precious granddaughter acknowledging him and having already married Ji Rui, wanting to ask something more, but her mention of the bride price came back to mind. He then looked down at the thick stack of documents in his hand and couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw clearly.
"Girl, this is just a draft of a cooperation plan. What’s it got to do with a bride price?"
The one sitting on the sofa, whether pretending to be calm or really unfazed, Ji Rui, upon hearing the old master’s words, suddenly lifted his head, frowning at Le Tong.
Le Tong continued to ignore him, moved her seat a bit, sat opposite the old master, and smilingly explained to the bewildered elderly man.
"Grandpa, don’t think I don’t know, my brother told me. Cooperating with the Ji Family, our Yang Family can earn at least tens of billions in profit each year, and this estimate is conservative. This number might double or even more in the future, who knows? Of course, you might say the Yang Family has to invest a substantial sum initially to help the Ji Family through tough times, but such an investment can pay off within a year. Just think, where else can you find such an easy business to recoup your capital? Comparatively, the Ji Family’s years of prior investment make the Yang Family’s investment seem like peanuts compared to watermelons. I genuinely can’t understand why you rejected this cooperation proposal initially. Seriously, are you getting a bit old and useless?"
Le Tong’s face and eyes were full of smiles, seemingly conversing kindly and casually as if chatting with family, yet her words were sharp and factual.
The old master was still immersed in the joy of Le Tong acknowledging him, only for her to mock his age and capability in the end?
The old master’s mouth twitched, thinking indeed, she’s as troublesome as Sheng!
While the old master was pondering, Ji Rui, sitting on the side, finally couldn’t hold back and leaned forward a bit, "Le Tong..."
Le Tong glanced at him, "Ji Rui, don’t back out. If you decide not to proceed with this business now, I can’t guarantee my grandpa won’t insist on divorce, and I wouldn’t be able to say no since I have to obey grandpa’s orders!"
Le Tong’s face was full of smiles, yet her words carried a blatant threat, causing Ji Rui, whose marriage certificate still felt cold, to refrain from rash actions, leaving him with no choice but to keep silent and let her continue negotiating with the old master.
At this moment, he vaguely understood why she suddenly proposed to him last night.
Observing the interaction between his granddaughter and Ji Rui, the old master internally remarked: Alright, this girl hasn’t officially taken the Ji name yet, but her heart is already deeply entrenched in the Ji family, seemingly unreturnable.
However, the girl wasn’t wrong in saying the Yang Family does take advantage of the Ji Family in this cooperation. Back then, the old master was reluctant due to past grievances with Mr. Ji and because Ji Rui had taken away his most capable grandson for so many years. His resentment towards Ji Rui was palpable, hardly considering lending support. Though supporting them meant securing substantial benefits for himself, he outright rejected Yang Sheng’s proposal at that time.
But things change over time.
The old master’s past decision doesn’t reflect his present sentiments.
"Girl, your grandpa doesn’t exactly need the money; why not accept a slightly lighter bride price?"
Now, the old master merely wishes for his granddaughter to live well, knowing that aiding the Ji family means helping his treasured granddaughter. Since it’s family, he thought about moderating some of the profit-sharing arrangement, being slightly lenient since she’s his treasured granddaughter; ruthlessly hard wouldn’t be appropriate.
Le Tong had meticulously reviewed the contract’s profit-sharing portions prior, yet showed no sign of wavering upon hearing the old master’s suggestion.
"No, let’s stick with the original fifty-fifty split! Grandpa, are you looking down on your granddaughter or your grandson-in-law? Worried he can’t afford such a costly bride price? As the old Yang family stands on high pedestals, those without the competence shouldn’t recklessly attempt to climb, lest they face bruised noses and broken limbs from falling!"
In Le Tong’s view, the cooperation proposal, if divided fifty-fifty, was a normal business partnership. If the benefit distribution favored the Ji Family more, it would feel more like owing favors, which would hurt her and Ji Rui’s self-respect.
Previously holding different views on the cooperation proposal, both the old master and Ji Rui found themselves with nothing to say after hearing Le Tong’s assertion.
As Le Tong’s words effectively silenced them both, it also paved the way for them to gracefully accept the situation.
From Ji Rui’s standpoint, the Yang family saves Ji Family, but in return, the Ji Family shares the future profit equally with the Yang Family, so strictly speaking, they weren’t leveraging Le Tong’s identity as a granddaughter of the Yang family; his dignity wasn’t compromised at all.
From the old master’s perspective, presenting this cooperation proposal at the board meeting wouldn’t allow anyone to attack the fact that Ji Rui is his granddaughter’s husband since the terms are transparently outlined, forming an equitable mutually beneficial cooperation scheme without favoritism due to Ji Rui being the old master’s grandson-in-law. The prospective yields for the Yang Family are unambiguously evident, even if voted upon, such cooperation would have no obstacles to its approval.
In the end, everything changes in this world except economic benefits which remain constantly valuable; nobody is senseless to deny money, right?
Unknowingly convinced by Le Tong, the old master lifted his gaze toward Ji Rui with a smile, "My precious granddaughter has been wed to you, aren’t you lucky!"