Chapter 259 - 167: Getting Something for Nothing

Chapter 259: Chapter 167: Getting Something for Nothing

Inside the conference room, everyone began trying to persuade Li Tianqi. Some even suggested hiring a professional manager to run the company.

Li Tianqi silently watched them—these old partners who had once fought alongside him.

TAP TAP TAP!

He tapped the table a few times, and the conference room fell silent.

"I’ve already made my decision on this matter. If you’re unwilling to split up the business, then I will withdraw from the Li Group. From now on, the Li Group will be yours to run."

Hearing Li Tianqi say this, everyone knew there was no room for negotiation. They understood his personality well; his word was law.

They all looked at each other, but no one was the first to speak.

Li Tianqi had been in charge of the Li Group for so many years. Now that he had suddenly announced he was splitting up the assets, everyone began to ponder just how they would be divided.

Each person had their own agenda, mulling over the group’s subsidiary industries—which ones were prime assets that could make money, and which had more potential.

The conference room door was pushed open, and a burly man walked in.

With a wave from Li Tianqi, the burly man placed a document in front of each shareholder before taking his place behind Li Tianqi.

"This is a list of the assets I intend to take. Look it over and tell me if you have any objections."

After saying this, Li Tianqi closed his eyes to rest.

Ten minutes later, Li Tianqi slowly opened his eyes and looked at everyone present.

He saw a very satisfying look in their eyes. Just as he’d expected, they were all shocked after reading the document.

Li Tianqi was only taking this small amount of assets.

This was completely unexpected.

"Any objections?"

Li Tianqi asked softly.

"Big Brother, isn’t this too...?"

"Are there any objections!"

Li Tianqi cut off the man in his fifties or sixties next to him, his voice deepening as he asked again.

He then swept his gaze over each of them.

"No objections."

"No objections."

...

Seeing that no one had any objections, Li Tianqi gave a look to the burly man behind him.

The burly man immediately left the room and returned a moment later with three people.

The person in the lead was a woman, one whom Gao Yuan also knew: Ling Yue.

Ling Yue was as sharp and capable as ever. She nodded at Li Tianqi, then had the people behind her distribute documents to the shareholders.

She had been hired by Li Tianqi mainly to handle the transfer of these assets.

The reason Li Tianqi didn’t use the company’s legal team was twofold: on one hand, Ling Yue’s law firm was more specialized in this area, and on the other, he didn’t want news of this getting out too quickly.

"My brothers, please sign."

They looked over the agreement and signed their names.

From their expressions, Li Tianqi could see their reluctance to let him go, but as for what they were truly thinking, that was anyone’s guess.

A short while later, Ling Yue finished organizing the documents and left.

Li Tianqi stood up and looked at everyone present, especially at a few of the older men among them.

He said nothing more and left the conference room directly.

That afternoon, Li Tianqi boarded a flight from Hang City to Australia.

「At the same time.」

In a private room overlooking the lake at West Lake Restaurant.

Gao Yuan leaned back comfortably in his chair, swirling a coffee spoon in his hand as he looked at Li Lin, who was sitting across from him.

Li Lin, unlike Gao Yuan, had a glass of brandy in front of him and was puffing on a cigar, exhaling clouds of smoke.

The expression on his face, however, was quite cheerful.

The reason for his happiness was, of course, that Li Tianqi had left for Australia, which meant the mess that was the Li Group had finally been cast aside.

Although the losses were considerable, it was a blessing in disguise!

Besides, wasn’t the man sitting before him the Li Family’s very own lucky star?

"President Li, you keep smiling. Is there something on my face, or do you have some good news to share?"

Gao Yuan noticed that Li Lin, sitting across from him, had been in a good mood the whole time—one might even say he was a bit smug. With his imported liquor and cigar, his posture didn’t look like someone asking for a partnership, but more like someone showing off.

"Xiaoyuan."

Li Lin had just started to speak when he saw Gao Yuan frown, and he knew the form of address was too familiar and had displeased him.

"Don’t be upset. I’m 39 this year. Considering your relationship with Xiaoqing, it’s not out of line for me to call you Xiaoyuan, is it?"

Gao Yuan looked at Li Lin without a word. By that logic, Li Lin’s use of the name wasn’t wrong, but he still felt uncomfortable.

He had always considered the Li Family his hypothetical enemy; he never expected that when the two of them finally sat down together, it would be in a scene like this.

Seeing Gao Yuan remain silent, Li Lin continued, "There is indeed some good news. We’re practically family, so there’s no harm in me telling you."

"The old man has gone to Australia to recuperate. From now on, the Li Group has nothing to do with the Li Family."

To be honest, this news, which was clearly a good thing for Li Lin, greatly surprised Gao Yuan.

Li Mengqing’s father had gone abroad. Whether it was really to recuperate, nobody knew. But the fact that the Li Group would no longer have any connection to the Li Family was truly shocking.

"Surprising?"

Li Lin looked at Gao Yuan with a smile.

"The Li Family’s rise to power wasn’t exactly honorable. I won’t go into the details with you, but in short, it’s a mutual understanding that we’re abandoning the family business and the old man won’t be returning to the country."

Gao Yuan understood.

In Gao Yuan’s eyes, this was a rather good outcome.

"Congratulations!"

Gao Yuan took a sip of his coffee, then picked a cigar from the box Li Lin had placed on the table, skillfully lit it, and took a puff.

His practiced movements, including the look on his face as he smoked the cigar, left Li Lin stunned.