"Uncle Zhou, considering your past service for the company, don't say I'm bullying you. Although I'm taking away ten percent of your shares, I'll still give you thirty percent of the annual profits. What do you think?" Shu Ya asked.
Xu Donghe was momentarily stunned, then his aged eyes slightly narrowed. This girl had the makings of a great general.
To strike a person and then offer them a date, this was the most common tactic in "The Art of Sovereignty." However, Shu Ya managed to employ it so ingeniously that Xu Donghe couldn't help but marvel.
If Shu Ya had solely punished without rewarding, Zhou Zixiong might have been forced to agree, but once the opportunity arose, he could possibly bite back at Shu Ya.
But with both reward and punishment, Shu Ya completely bought Zhou Zixiong over. If he thought about making any small moves in the future, he would have some reservations.
Zhou Zixiong bitterly smiled, indeed feeling immensely guilty. He hadn't expected that after putting Shu Ya in such an awkward position, she would bear no grudges.
"Do as you please, just don't regret it later," Hao Jian sighed heavily, apparently too lazy to point out Shu Ya's faults.
Seeing Hao Jian finally relent, Zhou Zixiong also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Since it's settled, everyone should get back to work," Shu Ya commanded the crowd.
The shareholders who had originally wanted to get close to Xu Donghe, hearing Shu Ya speak, could only reluctantly leave.
In the President's office, Shu Ya personally poured a cup of tea for Xu Donghe and said with a smile:
"Elder Xu, I really owe this one to your financial support."
"I was merely fulfilling someone's request," Xu Donghe smiled and took a sip of his tea.
"Tell me the truth, are you and Hao Jian actually grandfather and grandson, or perhaps even great-grandfather and great-grandson?"
Shu Ya curiously asked, unable to think of any other reason why Xu Donghe would help Hao Jian.
"Grandfather? Hahahaha."
Xu Donghe burst out laughing, spitting out the tea in his mouth.
"How could I possibly have such a grandson? If I had a grandson like that, I probably wouldn't have lived till now. He and I are merely ordinary friends."
Shu Ya found it hard to accept this idea, wondering how someone of Xu Donghe's status could possibly be friends with someone like Hao Jian.
The two were utterly mismatched in terms of status and social standing, weren't they?
Xu Donghe chuckled, "Although I am older, I am indeed his friend. After all, age, nationality, social standing, and status do not define friendship, right?"
Shu Ya didn't respond, just stared at him.
Xu Donghe finally gave in: "Alright, I admit it's because he once saved my life that I agreed to become his friend."
Shu Ya then smiled: "Then tell me, how did he save your life?"
After today's events, Shu Ya suddenly became very curious about Hao Jian.
"It's better if he tells you himself. I'm afraid if I misspeak, he'll deal with me," Xu Donghe said with a wry smile.
"Deal with you? That can't be. How could he possibly bully an elderly person?" Shu Ya was skeptical.
"Why not? He even threatened me before, said he'd strip me naked, tie me up in a stable, and feed me **** to the war horses for them to get 'intimately acquainted' with me," Xu Donghe said, visibly shuddering at the memory.
"But that was just a threat, right?"
Shu Ya said, unable to understand. It was just a threat, why take it so seriously?
"Yeah, I had the same thoughts back then," Xu Donghe sighed deeply, his face betraying the ravages of time, looking like he couldn't bear to look back on the past.
"You're not going to tell me he actually did it, are you?" Shu Ya asked, gaping in shock.
Xu Donghe nodded shamefully, overwhelmed with misery.
"..." Shu Ya looked at Xu Donghe with a strange expression, thinking, so, this old man had done that with a warhorse?
Could his body even handle that?
"What are you guys talking about?"
Just then, Hao Jian, who had finished dealing with some issues, walked in from outside.
Upon seeing Hao Jian, Shu Ya immediately frowned and angrily said, "Hao Jian, did you used to tie Elder Xu up in the stable and let a warhorse do that to him?"
Hao Jian paused for a moment, then yelled at Xu Donghe: "You told her about that too?"
"I've waited a long time for this day!" Xu Donghe shouted discontentedly,
"You said no one could handle you, but today I finally found someone! I want Shu Ya to avenge me and clear my name from those years!"
"Shit, how many years ago was that, and you still remember? How could you be so narrow-minded?"
Hao Jian said exasperatedly, thinking how petty this old man could be.
Hearing this, Xu Donghe was steaming with anger and said with immense grievance:
"Try being naked and tied up in a stable, blowing in the cold wind, facing a group of animals straining their ****, and see if you could forget it?"
This memory was indeed unforgettable; even now, Xu Donghe would occasionally dream of a group of warhorses bullying him.
Hearing this, Shu Ya's pretty face turned fierce, and she immediately chose to stand by Xu Donghe, rebuking:
"Tell me! Did you really do it?"
"It's all because that old man wouldn't listen," Hao Jian retorted with a shrug.
Back then, he had been entrusted to rescue Xu Donghe's kidnapped granddaughter, but when he got there, Xu Donghe insisted on going along, no matter how hard Hao Jian tried to persuade him otherwise. Out of frustration, Hao Jian ended up doing it.
"I did do it, but I let him go right after the first horse got to him. Just from this, you can see I'm a kind person, don't you agree?"
Hao Jian blinked his innocent eyes; actually, it was mainly because Xu Donghe's screams were so pitiful that Hao Jian feared he might actually get killed, which would mean no commission for him.
"How could you do that? Elder Xu is so old, and you still bullied him ? Are you even human?"
Shu Ya was furious, unable to fathom how someone could behave in such a way—it was utterly, utterly, barbaric!
Shu Ya momentarily couldn't even find the words to describe Hao Jian's behavior.
"You're not human!" Xu Donghe immediately echoed, also glaring at Hao Jian.
"Alright, alright, I'm not human then. Actually, it was mainly because I was too young back then, you know? It's inevitable to make some mistakes when you're young and impulsive," Hao Jian scratched his head, somewhat apologetically.
Hearing this, Xu Donghe's expression relaxed a bit!
After all, so much time had passed, and Hao Jian had successfully saved both his granddaughter and his own life. Compared to this favor, that incident really was nothing.
"If it were now, I definitely wouldn't do that. At most, I would just break your legs, I absolutely wouldn't humiliate you like that," Hao Jian suddenly added.
"Damn, thought this bastard had become kind, but he's got even more vicious!" Xu Donghe's face turned dark.