Chapter 149 If I stay even a second longer, my investment funds will no longer be prepared for Longcui.

The next morning, Ling Yue took Qian Xu and Wei Ming to the location agreed upon with Long Zhuoyan, a villa in the city center.

"Ms. Ling, long time no see." Long Zhuoyan greeted her at the door.

Although she was dressed in the same outfit as before, she radiated an entirely different, sharp aura. She looked more like a businesswoman.

Ling Yue shook her hand. "Ms. Long, you look spirited."

Long Zhuoyan stood still, bowed slightly. Ling Yue quickly helped her up. "Ms. Long, what are you doing?"

"Thank you." Long Zhuoyan looked grateful. "With Yang Huatian arrested and the manpower in Guang Province lax, my brother was able to return to the country smoothly. Thank you for helping us."

Oh, so she's trying to build rapport. But that was a fact. Ling Yue saw no need to be humble, so she accepted it immediately. "It is also true that Yang Huatian was tailing me. I just didn't expect such a coincidence; I helped you unintentionally."

As they spoke, they entered the house and went to the living room. The water in a small stove was boiling, hitting the lid and making a 'pfft-pfft-pfft' sound. Wisps of white smoke drifted, adding a touch of liveliness to the otherwise quiet space.

Long Zhuoyan performed a set of skillful tea-making movements. She placed a cup of white tea, which emitted a rich fragrance and had a clear, pale green liquor, in front of Ling Yue, while gesturing 'please'. "Ms. Ling, try the tea I brewed."

Ling Yue gave her face, picked it up, and took a small sip. "Not bad."

Long Zhuoyan smiled faintly and then got to the point. "I invited Ms. Ling today not only to thank you, but also to discuss something with you."

"Go ahead." Ling Yue put down the teacup.

As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere instantly became serious. "It's like this: I learned that you are very interested in 'Feimi' and once offered a very reasonable acquisition price. For now, we do not intend to sell 'Feimi'. Instead, the group needs a major reshuffle of shareholders. If you can invest capital, we will give you a very optimistic amount of shares."

Long Zhuoyan's words were very direct, without any beating around the bush. Since that was the case, Ling Yue intended to be straightforward too. "I can invest, but I have a few questions."

"Please ask." Long Zhuoyan refilled half of Ling Yue's cup.

Ling Yue nodded slightly in thanks. "Your response plan this time was excellent. I am very curious: why was Lesika willing to cooperate with Company, and why were the jewelers persuaded to cooperate?"

Long Zhuoyan had been prepared for this; if Ling Yue hadn't asked anything, she would have been the one to panic. Since she asked, it at least meant there was a high probability of cooperation.

She explained one by one: "After my brother discovered he had been scammed abroad, he went into hiding, but we actually had a communication bridge in secret. The domestic demand for natural diamonds is high, but most jewelers cooperate with famous foreign mines. Lesika could not compete with the top three leading mine owners in the Maple Leaf Country and had always wanted to expand into the domestic market but didn't know how. My brother met the president of Lesika through a friend and persuaded him to focus on small and medium-sized domestic jewelry enterprises first. He also promised to purchase the surplus diamond stock he held at market price, showing enough sincerity, and finally reached a cooperation."

Long Zhuoyan took a sip of tea to compose herself and continued: "As for me, I took the initiative to show weakness to lower the attention on me and cooperated by coming to Guang Province, but in reality, I had arranged for people in secret. As soon as the news of my brother's success came back, my people immediately contacted the heads of small and medium-sized domestic jewelry enterprises. I knew what they wanted, so I took the initiative to share several jade mines that have exclusive cooperation with Company, solving their supply problem. I pulled them into a long-term cooperative relationship with Lesika and had them buy the surplus diamond stock together with Company, promising to help them sell it all. This move was very risky; if one were not careful, the diamonds would be stuck in our hands, causing a greater economic deficit."

"Up to now, I can only say that we were really lucky. The plan formulated by the PR department solved the problem beyond expectations. Currently, the factory has already begun processing that batch of surplus diamonds. The pre-sale volume is very impressive. If all the surplus stock can be sold, each of the other jewelers can get at least about 20 million. Company is actually not making any money from this sale, but we have truly acquired a new diamond supplier, and incidentally reaped a huge wave of reputation, reversing our corporate image. We are the ones who really made a big profit."

Wei Ming was right. When a group's executives or senior management have the ability and courage, no matter how big the crisis they encounter, they can at least reduce the group's losses, if not pass through it safely.

Ling Yue twisted her hair around her index finger. As of now, she quite appreciated the means and methods the Long family used to solve problems.

"In that case, as long as the funds are in place, Company can return to its normal business model."

Long Zhuoyan nodded. "In terms of current market value, Ms. Ling is purchasing at a low price. Based on market conditions, we have the ability to generate returns for you as soon as possible."

After all, they 'played the victim' and gained unprecedented consumer stickiness.

"Then I will be direct." Ling Yue looked at Long Zhuoyan. "I want to buy the Yang Family's shares."

This was within Long Zhuoyan's expectations. She said, "We will put 25% of the shares on the market for auction. If Ms. Ling wants to buy them, you can completely skip the auction process."

Ling Yue frowned. "Isn't the Yang Family's share 38%? Why only sell 25%?"

This was a rhetorical question. Long Zhuoyan naturally had to answer patiently. "Sorry, Ms. Ling. After experiencing this crisis, Longcui Group has its own considerations. You have also seen the Long family's ability to resolve crises, so we, the Long family, must occupy absolute say and dominance to prevent the Yang Family's situation from happening again."

Once bitten, twice shy, especially for large groups, which need to be extra cautious. Ling Yue knew all this. So her goal today was not just Company.

"Fine, but I have one condition."

"Please speak."

"I want to become the major shareholder of 'Feimi'."

With Long Zhuoyan frowning, Ling Yue continued, "I want to obtain 60% of 'Feimi' shares, and I will invest 5 billion separately for the subsequent development of 'Feimi'. I know that your next focus will definitely be on 'Feimi'. The funds I provide are sufficient for you to implement the plan immediately."

Long Zhuoyan wanted to say something but was interrupted by Ling Yue raising her hand. "Listen to me first. Although I am the major shareholder of 'Feimi', I will only arrange for people to supervise. I will absolutely not interfere in operations as long as there are no major problems, and I will retain the existing team. The subsidiary will remain under the control of the parent group; we are essentially a community of interests. At the same time, I guarantee that after purchasing the shares, I will never sell, gift, or transfer 'Feimi' shares in any form to ensure that 'Feimi' always belongs to Longcui Group. If you are worried about this, you can write it into the signing contract."

"This..." Long Zhuoyan looked troubled.

Ling Yue said coldly, "It doesn't matter if I don't own the majority in the group after investing so much money, but 'Feimi' is a brand I truly like. I hope that on this point, you will give me enough say. I have given enough sincerity and respect, but that does not mean all the benefits should be monopolized by Company."

Long Zhuoyan bit her lip, pondered for a long while, and said, "I understand. I need to discuss this with the shareholders."

Ling Yue nodded. "That is natural. Give me a reply within two days. One more second, and my investment funds will no longer be reserved for Company."

For Longcui Group at this moment, money is king. Anyway, it's not Ling Yue who should be worried.