"Mr. Gu, I'm sorry to tell you this, but my company... We've already signed a contract with the KING
Group. We were struggling for so long just to stay afloat. Unfortunately, we're a hair away from
bankruptcy. I had no other choice but to cooperate with them. I'm sorry, Mr. Gu, I can't," the factory
owner said apologetically.
Jacob focused his gaze on the cup of chrysanthemum tea in front of him. He had an amused
expression on his face and couldn't stop chuckling to himself. A few moments later, he casually stood
up, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured tea for the raw material factory owner. After doing so,
he sat back down and took a sip of his tea. He then raised four fingers and said, "Remember my offer?
What if we multiply it by this much?"
The owner was a little shocked by his sudden proposal. When Jacob's assistant called him, the offer
was only twice the price of Darren's, but now, it was an astounding four times of that! All of a sudden,
the owner couldn't think of a single reason to reject Jacob's offer.
It seemed like fortune favored the bold in business world. The unfortunate circumstance of being so
close to bankruptcy had made the owner of the raw material factory cooperate with the KING Group. If
only he had had the courage to wait for a better offer, he wouldn't be stuck in this predicament.
Although the KING Group had given them a decent deal, they didn't gain anything special from it.
But now, Jacob was offering an insane deal. It was truly enticing. Moreover, everyone in the business
world knew that Jacob and the HT Group treated their partners very well.
Upon noticing that the owner was still hesitating, Jacob put his teacup down and smiled. "I think your
company's current growth is stagnant. The industry you're in is very competitive, and the companies
around you won't hesitate to overproduce goods. I know this must be difficult for you. But I'm sure
you're a person who wants a better future for your business, right?"
The tea tasted bitter, but the fact that he was putting a stop to Darren's momentum made it taste sweet.
Jacob took another sip and said, "The KING Group is in a very good condition right now. It will definitely
try to find a raw material supplier with higher quality goods as time goes on. It's very likely that you will
be replaced any day now. You'd better find a stable tree to lean against. Don't you think so?"
These words were the last nail in the coffin. The owner of the raw material factory couldn't agree more.
As he sat opposite Jacob, his facade of a shrewd businessman was completely gone.
The cup of tea that Jacob poured for him was already cold, but he drank it up in one gulp. "Mr. Gu, this
tea is wonderful and so are the mutual benefits if we choose to work with you. I hope to have a
pleasant partnership with you." The owner of the raw material factory reached out to shake Jacob's
hand.
Jacob complied and blissfully replied, "I'm sure we will."
The owner excitedly signed the contract. After that, Jacob walked the owner and his assistant out.
Upon realizing that Jacob was sure to be on top, the owner could not help but praise him. Before
stepping out the door, he uttered, "You have lived up to your reputation, Mr. Gu. You're indeed a rare
talent."
But Jacob didn't feel any happiness from hearing that, so he simply responded with, "That's kind of you
to say that. But I think you're giving me way more credit than I deserve. I'm just doing what a
businessman would do. Anyway, I think that you're quite a rare talent as well. See you later." A few
hours later, the news abruptly reached Darren's ears.
It wasn't easy for him to find out that he had just lost his business partner. And to make it worse, it was
possible that he had lost his partner to his rival. Now, the KING Group didn't have any other choice but
to accept the facts and to terminate the contract with their current raw material factory.
The news spread like wildfire all over the company. The employees who had been in a good mood after
the recent success of the company suddenly felt that they had fallen to the bottom of a valley.
It was hard to find a reason why the owner of the raw material factory would just walk away from their
partnership all of a sudden, especially since the company had just made some astounding
achievements in the food industry.
None of the employees knew what had happened, but they found it reasonable to conclude that
Jacob's HT Group might have something to do with it. And the fact that the HT Group was going to
enter the food industry as well was like adding insult to injury.
It was clear to everyone that the reason why the company had been transformed into a food production
company was to avoid the suppressive grasp of the HT Group. It had not been easy to choose an
industry that the HT Group had not already ventured into. And now, the HT Group was going to hinder
their progress once again.
Jacob's apparent obsession to debilitate the KING Group was terrifying.
The employees of the KING Group couldn't sit still and even the young talented employees who had
participated in the design of the successful snacks were a little flustered. The renowned HT Group was
one of the most influential companies of all time. Understandably, the employees of the KING Group
were not sure if they could defeat this gigantic opponent.
"Damn it!" Darren picked up the folder in front of him and threw it against the wall.
"Jacob is still trying to mess with us!" he exclaimed, overwhelmed by rage.
Harlan was frightened by Darren's outrage. He carefully picked up the documents on the ground and
tried to think of something to say in a rush. He was completely dumbfounded so he simply asked, "Mr.
Xu, what should we do now? We're just starting with our food industry business, and we haven't even
set up our own raw material factory yet..."
Suddenly, Darren seemed to have gotten an idea from Harlan's words. 'Yes, our own raw material
factory!' he thought.
The KING Group's confidence was at an all-time high with their current success. Darren believed that
the most important thing was to keep the morale of their employees high.
"No, we have our own raw material factory!" Darren exclaimed out of the blue.
Upon hearing this, Harlan was left confused. Up until that point, he knew of every decision Darren had
made. The news of having their own factory was completely unknown to Harlan. Darren had just said
that they had their own raw material factory, but he had no clue when they had gotten one or where it
could possibly be.
"What... What are you talking about?" Harlan asked, thinking that he had simply misheard Darren.
Then Darren tried to carefully explain his plan. "Tell everyone that we have our own raw material
factory."
"But... But we don't!" Harlan anxiously responded. He couldn't agree with making false claims. Then he
added, "If we were to lie and the media finds out about it, we might find ourselves in a deeper hole than
the one we're in now."
But Darren didn't take his worries seriously and insisted on his command. "I know what I'm doing. Just
do it!"
Upon seeing that Darren had completely made up his mind, Harlan didn't dare to disobey him. He
politely said goodbye and left the office to do as he was told.
As soon as the news came out, everyone in the company was pleasantly surprised. It was a piece of
information that set everyone's minds at ease.
All the employees praised Darren. They thought that although the KING Group had been attacked by
the HT Group, they didn't have to panic. Instead, the company was prepared for this crisis.
The news naturally made its way to Jacob's ears.
Jacob wasn't upset about the news. Instead, he praised Darren in front of Sam. "Wow, Darren seems
to be getting better at this," he said.
Sam couldn't think of a single word to respond to him.
He had never liked Darren in the first place. It was also surprising to Sam because he knew that Jacob
would not spare any kind of praise to Darren. He was more likely to mock him, if anything. But Darren's
actions had made Jacob admit that he had done a good job this time.
Jacob fell silent, seeming like he was absorbed in his own thoughts. A few moments later, he gave an
order to Sam. "Go and check the raw material factory that Darren's so proud of. Don't leave any rock
unturned. I want every single detail."
He couldn't believe that Darren could really be this prepared. Even if it was true, they didn't have any
information about it.
Sam nodded his head and turned around to leave.
Half an hour later, he appeared in front of Jacob's desk again. "Boss, Darren doesn't have any raw
material factory. He's lying. But as of today, he's already taking steps about it. It seems like he's doing
his best to find a raw material factory to purchase."
Upon hearing this, Jacob smiled and replied, "It seems that it's time for us to step in."
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