Taking advantage of the beauty being poor, fooling her into being my girlfriend

“Long time no see, President Ma seems a bit haggard, huh?”

Jack Ma gave a bitter smile and said frankly, “It’s all because of Mr. Jiang’s ‘Blueprint’. It has made me lose sleep and skip meals lately.”

Jiang Xu chuckled and said, “Don’t flatter me too much. How could I possibly have that ability?”

The two exchanged pleasantries at the entrance of the clubhouse before heading inside.

Once they had entered the prepared private room.

At their level, matters of business were certainly not discussed right at the outset.

Instead, they began with various indulgences in food and drink, letting the girls dance and perform their talents.

It was only after a full set of procedures had taken place, leaving them well-fed and relaxed, that they began to discuss serious matters.

“Mr. Jiang, what ratio do you have in mind for the equity swap?”

“President Ma’s 0.6% share of Ali 77 in exchange for 3% of ‘Blueprint’.”

Even though it was only 0.6%, at the peak market value of Ali 77 from my past life, that would still be around thirty-six billion.

Jiang Xu did not plan to hold onto it for the long term.

He simply wanted to sell these shares when Ali 77 reached its peak market value, earning a short-term profit.

After all, he knew that once Ali 77 hit its peak, it would start a decline that would last for several years.

Upon hearing these numbers, Jack Ma immediately disagreed, “No, that’s too low. The highest limit I can accept is 0.5% of my shares for 20% of ‘Blueprint’.”

Jiang Xu sipped his tea and said with a smile, “President Ma, you must be joking, that won’t work.”

The two negotiated for over half an hour, but neither was willing to budge.

Jiang Xu couldn’t possibly give Jack Ma more than 5% of ‘Blueprint’ shares.

Although ‘Blueprint’ was unlikely to reach the same market value as Ali 77 in the future.

If it developed normally, it still had a very good chance of reaching a market value in the trillions.

Giving away too many shares would be a losing deal.

“It seems we’re not getting anywhere today,” Jack Ma sighed, then with a smile suggested, “How about we go play some golf instead?”

People at this tier weren’t likely to hold a grudge or exchange harsh words just because business negotiations hadn’t gone well.

“I think we can come to an agreement,” Jiang Xu poured him another cup of tea and continued,

“President Ma, you should know that I obtained long-term usage rights to several key traffic locations on WeChat at a very low price, right?

In other words, ‘Blueprint’, backed by WeChat, doesn’t lack traffic.

Moreover, with Daily Headlines and the extensive entertainment platforms under my control, as well as numerous celebrities,

each is a super huge pool of traffic.

Imagine, I mean just imagine, if I develop the e-commerce sector with all my might.

And if I follow the model of TaoBao, and additionally acquire several courier companies…

Do you think, President Ma, that ‘Blueprint’, with so many advantages, could become the leader in the e-commerce sector?”

President Ma’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

What Jiang Xu was talking about was exactly what he had worried about before.

And now, laid out in front of him, it made him feel a strong sense of crisis.

With Jiang Xu’s talent and strength, if he really went all out in developing e-commerce, it could indeed have a massive impact on TaoBao.

Jack Ma’s eyes flickered with changing thoughts.

Finally, he made a decision, “Here’s what we’ll do, I will exchange 0.48% of my Ali 77 shares for 4% of ‘Blueprint’.

But I have an extra requirement, which is to stipulate in the contract that you will never follow TaoBao’s model.

And that you will never invest in any ventures that resemble TaoBao’s model.”

Jiang Xu thought to himself that the first request was acceptable, but the second one was definitely not.

He knew that in a few years, selling cheap goods would drag down the whole group, and then you’d start pushing out many of the small-volume sellers.

At this time, an opportunity arose.

And years later, its market value even surpassed that of Alipay Group.

Of course, Jiang Xu was determined to take a bite of that big fat piece.

However, Jiang Xu readily agreed on the surface.

Even if he couldn’t invest, could An Nuonuo not invest?

Even if An Nuonuo couldn’t, his parents could, right?

In any case, there were plenty of ways to work around it.

Seeing Jiang Xu agree, Jack Ma also showed a smile.

Even though, in his view, he was making a big loss with this share exchange.

But looking at the bigger picture, using a bit of shares to eliminate a super powerful rival and also obtaining part of their shares was, in fact, a very cost-effective deal.

Subsequently, both parties called their company’s lawyers and financial staff.

They drafted the contract and it was signed on the spot.

By the time Jiang Xu got home, it was almost one in the morning.

An Nuonuo hadn’t gone to sleep yet; she was watching TV in the living room.

Upon seeing Jiang Xu return, she immediately got up to fetch his slippers and helped him take off his coat, hanging it on the wall.

Arm in arm with him, “Brother Xu, are you tired, are you hungry? Shall I go make you a midnight snack?”

“Not hungry.” Jiang Xu patted her head, “What are you watching that’s kept you up so late?”

“Watching ‘Handsome Boys’ Contest’, it’s quite interesting.”

“Really?” Jiang Xu pretended to be annoyed, “Are those young guys handsome?”

“Are you jealous?” The girl’s smile twinkled, “You’re so cute, Brother Xu.”

Jiang Xu curled his lip, “I’m not jealous. I wouldn’t do something so childish.”

Although Jiang Xu said he wasn’t jealous, An Nuonuo could tell that he was indeed overflowing with jealousy.

The girl buried her head in the man’s chest, whispering softly, “Then I won’t watch anymore; Brother Xu is my one and only.”

Jiang Xu felt quite pleased.

Still, he said, “No, you watch it, I’m not that petty.”

An Nuonuo: “So I can watch?”

Jiang Xu: “You! Just watch!”

“Pfft!”

An Nuonuo couldn’t hold back her laughter, “Brother Xu, you’re soft everywhere except for your mouth.”

Jiang Xu ‘fumed’, “Alright, you dare to mock me, no sleep for you tonight.”

Sensing trouble, An Nuonuo quickly ran back to her room.

Jiang Xu gave chase, with a villainous laugh, “Hehehe, little girl, you can’t escape the palm of my hand!”

Soon, muffled sounds vaguely emanated from the bedroom…

Time flows just like water, always slipping by unnoticed.

The Handsome Boys’ Contest was being held in full swing.

And the enthusiasm for it was even higher than it was for the ‘School Beauty’.

As for why… those who know, know.

The competition has now reached the semi-finals.

And many promising talents had emerged.

Those suited to be singers, others suited to be actors, and some just perfect to be idols (pretty faces).

Jiang Xu didn’t wait for these popular contestants to enter the grand finals; he had already dispatched Avi to take action early.