Chapter 27: The Mysterious Buyer
After Fan Hong left, Gu Heng and the others sat down again.
"Mr. Gu, I honestly had no idea you and Manager Fan were acquainted like that."
Xia Zhenzhong said again as he sat down, his expression slightly apologetic.
"It’s fine."
Gu Heng gave a slight shake of his head, then suddenly asked, "I hear that Jun Cheng Law Firm often chooses to host its business banquets here. Is that right?"
"That’s right."
Xia Zhenzhong wasn’t sure why Gu Heng had suddenly brought this up, but he nodded in confirmation.
"In that case, are you familiar with Banquet Fusion’s parent company, the Zhen Cui Group?"
Gu Heng glanced at the wine glass Li Wen had brought him. He gave a casual wave of his hand, and she, understanding immediately, turned and returned with a cup of freshly brewed Longjing green tea.
"Mr. Gu, we do business with the Zhen Cui Group."
Xia Zhenzhong answered honestly, "For our firm’s many business banquets each year, we almost always use either Banquet Fusion or Zhenhai, both of which are under the Zhen Cui Group."
"We usually run a tab and settle the bill quarterly, so I’d say we’re quite familiar with the Zhen Cui Group."
Hearing this, Gu Heng nodded slightly. "Since you’re familiar with the Zhen Cui Group, that makes things much easier."
"Mr. Gu, I’m not sure I follow."
Xia Zhenzhong paused, taken aback. He was genuinely confused as to how the conversation had suddenly veered toward the Zhen Cui Group.
"Have you heard that the Zhen Cui Group is being acquired?"
Gu Heng didn’t answer Xia Zhenzhong’s question, instead posing one of his own.
"I have."
Xia Zhenzhong nodded.
"I bought it."
Gu Heng said softly, then slowly lifted the teacup and took a small sip.
At the same time, the entire private room fell silent once again.
The three words Gu Heng had just spoken echoed endlessly in everyone’s mind, as if on a loop.
Gu Heng took a couple of unhurried sips of tea before setting the cup down gently. "I expect to complete my acquisition of the Zhen Cui Group in the next four or five days."
"After we sign our contract, my first retainer for Jun Cheng will be to assist me with the takeover of the entire Zhen Cui Group, including drafting the share transfer and non-disclosure agreements."
At this, Gu Heng turned to Xia Zhenzhong. "Director Xia, that shouldn’t be too difficult for you, I imagine?"
"No, no, not at all..."
Xia Zhenzhong finally snapped out of his daze. When he looked at Gu Heng again, there was a subtle but distinct shift in his eyes.
The acquisition of the Zhen Cui Group had been causing a massive stir in Beichun’s elite business circles for the past few days. Rumor had it that a mysterious buyer made the head of the Zhen Cui Group an offer he simply couldn’t refuse.
Opinions were all over the place regarding the identity of this mysterious buyer. All sorts of guesses and theories were flying around, each more outlandish than the last.
And now...
Gu Heng was telling him that he was the mysterious buyer from the rumors.
The level of shock was tantamount to a eunuch suddenly fathering a child.
Acquiring the Zhen Cui Group would cost at least a hundred million yuan to even start.
A hundred million for the Zhen Cui Group, and fifty million for this deal here.
In less than a week, Gu Heng had thrown down one hundred and fifty million yuan.
To Xia Zhenzhong, this was an almost obscene display of wealth.
After all, while Xia Zhenzhong himself was a tycoon with assets exceeding a hundred million, having a net worth over a hundred million and having access to a hundred million in cash were two entirely different things.
Unless he liquidated his equity in the Jun Cheng Law Firm, he’d have a hard time coming up with even thirty million in cash, let alone a hundred million.
Xia Zhenzhong didn’t doubt the truth of the matter for a second.
The truth would come to light soon enough, and besides, there was no reason for Gu Heng to lie about it. What could he possibly gain?
"Then let’s proceed with the signing."
Gu Heng nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the contract he’d tossed onto the round table earlier.
Yang Wenjie, noticing Gu Heng’s glance, quickly stood up, retrieved the contract, and presented it to Gu Heng with both hands.
Without even realizing it, Yang Wenjie’s demeanor toward Gu Heng had become significantly more reverent.
Gu Heng took the contract from Yang Wenjie, opened it, and once again picked up the fountain pen, beginning to sign his name on all the required lines.
The contract had already been stamped with the official seal of the Jun Cheng Law Firm—Party B—and signed by its legal representative, Xia Zhenzhong.
In other words, as soon as Gu Heng finished signing, the contract would come into immediate effect.
The private room was utterly silent, the only sound being the SWISH, SWISH of Gu Heng’s pen as he signed his name.
After signing both copies of the contract, Gu Heng passed the Jun Cheng Law Firm’s copy to Xia Zhenzhong.
"Director Xia, here’s to a pleasant two years of cooperation!"
Gu Heng said with a smile, extending his right hand to Xia Zhenzhong.
"Mr. Gu, we at Jun Cheng will be sure to live up to your expectations!"
Xia Zhenzhong grasped Gu Heng’s right hand firmly with both of his own.
He looked slightly emotional. Before coming to the banquet tonight, he never would have dreamed that things would proceed this smoothly.
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP...
Seeing this, everyone at the round table rose from their chairs and applauded, congratulating the two parties on formalizing their partnership.
"I’ll have someone wire the 30% down payment to your firm’s account tomorrow."
"There’s no rush, there’s no rush. Whenever it’s convenient for you."
"Business is business. Things should be done by the book."
As was standard industry practice, Gu Heng would make payments to the Jun Cheng Law Firm in three installments—30%, 30%, and 40%—over the course of one year.
During this period, if the Jun Cheng Law Firm failed to provide the services stipulated in the contract, or if their service was found to be perfunctory or negligent, Gu Heng had the right to terminate the contract at any time and seek reimbursement for any payments already made.
The successful signing was the perfect catalyst for the many legal elites from the Jun Cheng Law Firm. The celebratory atmosphere in the private room instantly reached its zenith.
Once Gu Heng and Xia Zhenzhong were seated again, the legal eagles began a new round of toasts.
This time, Gu Heng truly did substitute tea for alcohol.
Not a single one of the legal eagles found this inappropriate in the slightest—a perfect demonstration of workplace realities.
Bottle after bottle of red wine, each worth over ten thousand yuan, was opened. Xia Zhenzhong was in exceptionally high spirits, remaining by Gu Heng’s side all evening, and their rapport gradually warmed.
The banquet continued for a full three hours before finally drawing to a close...