Rejecting the Acquisition, Reclaiming the Shares

Wei Kang added Dr. Jian on WeChat and agreed to stay in touch.

At the same time, he asked Dr. Jian to help set up a Patient Support Group and add patients who had responded enthusiastically and urgently needed treatment, so they could be notified to join the drug trial once the Phase III Clinical Trial began.

As for the request to be hospitalized, he flatly refused. What a joke. His company was about to go bankrupt, and he was supposed to check himself into a hospital? Was he trying to speed up the bankruptcy?

He then left the hospital and returned to the company.

The New Anti-Cancer Drug had proven more effective than he expected. If everything went smoothly, his life would be safe for the time being, and the company's future would be bright as well.

But before taking the next step, there were still some things he had to do.

Some hidden dangers within the company needed to be eliminated. Previously, because he was still unfamiliar with the business and personnel, he had delayed dealing with them.

Now that the company was about to get on the right track, moving almost as fast as a high-speed rail train, cutting out a few festering sores and tumors so it could travel light had become an urgent priority.

"Looking at it this way, the company's bankruptcy crisis came at exactly the right time. It's practically heaven helping me."

He pondered for a long while, his thoughts racing, and several ideas quickly surfaced.

Wei Kang quietly returned to the company, shut his office door, and turned on his computer to prepare some documents when he suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps in the hallway.

Then several familiar voices came from Sun Chengren's office next door. They belonged to the company's three minor shareholders. There was a trace of delight in their voices as they shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Old Sun, I heard New Beauty wants to acquire the company?"

"Is that true? How much are they offering?"

"Old Sun, quit playing deaf. I know people at New Beauty. They already told me about it."

"Just give me the real number. Let me calculate how much the few of us will get if the company is sold."

"Exactly. You own some shares too, Old Sun. Wouldn't selling them make you a fortune as well?"

"Right. With your capabilities, Old Sun, couldn't you easily become the boss of some pharmaceutical factory elsewhere?"

Old Sun's voice drifted over faintly. He seemed to be explaining the acquisition proposal.

A wave of startled cries immediately erupted.

"General Manager Wu is being awfully generous. He's actually offering that much? That doesn't sound like his style."

"Shh. I heard New Beauty has recently been hit with some negative news. Maybe they want to acquire another pharmaceutical company to divert attention, expand their business, and boost their stock price. But don't take my word for it. I only heard it from someone else, so I can't guarantee it's true."

"Either way, it's good news. We can finally get away from this dump of a factory. I've wanted to withdraw my shares for ages, but this lousy factory has nothing and keeps losing money. It was impossible to sell."

"Listen to you, Old Liu. You certainly didn't hold back when the company was doing well and paying dividends. Hahaha."

"That was before. Old Wei was still around then. Sigh, but this kid from the Wei family only knows how to squander money. He wants to develop some new drug. Look at it—has anything come of it at all?"

"Exactly. Why not just make and sell generic drugs? Why insist on research and development? Is that something just anyone can pull off? We're not some cash-rich listed corporation like New Beauty. This is far too unreliable."

"Damn it, that brat only knows how to burn money. He won't listen when people tell him otherwise. Doesn't he know whether he's cut out for it? Let me tell you, ever since he was little, I never thought he looked like someone who could get things done..."

A surge of anger shot up in Wei Kang's chest. He rose to his feet, quietly opened his office door, and listened through the crack.

Old Sun's office was across the hallway from his, and its door seemed to be open, making the voices much clearer.

Old Sun was speaking softly, seemingly trying to soothe the minor shareholders.

Wei Kang was instantly furious. These three minor shareholders—Old Liu, Old Wang, and Old Chen—had joined when the company was just getting started. They had not invested much, and over the years their dividends had already earned them several times their original investment. Yet they constantly came around to meddle in the company's operations, always trying to arrange for some relative or crony to come in and collect a paycheck for doing nothing.

His parents had been kindhearted and, for the sake of their long friendship, rarely refused them. But he had no intention of indulging these people. He had long wanted to deal with them, yet they had actually come right to his doorstep to badmouth him behind his back.

"Heh heh, you want to withdraw your shares? Fine. I'll grant your wish."

With a cold laugh, he pushed open the door and headed for Old Sun's office.

Before entering, however, he casually mussed up his hair, suppressed the anger in his heart, and forced a worried expression onto his face.

Sun Chengren was already having a headache dealing with the three men in front of him when he suddenly saw Wei Kang stumble in, looking listless and exhausted, as though he had not slept all night. He hurriedly stood up and asked with concern, "President Wei, you don't look well. Have you not been getting much rest lately?"

Wei Kang slowly shook his head and sighed. "Uncle Sun, I came to tell you something. I assume you've all heard that New Beauty wants to acquire the company."

He glanced at the three middle-aged and elderly men lounging carelessly on the sofa, then continued, "I thought about this all night and finally figured it out. I can tell you my decision now."

Seeing the bloodshot eyes and faint ruthlessness in Wei Kang's gaze, Old Sun immediately sensed trouble. He quickly tried to persuade him, "President Wei, there's no rush. Think it over carefully. This is a major matter. You must make the decision that benefits both yourself and the company the most."

Wei Kang waved a hand to cut him off. "You know General Manager Wu well. Tell him that I refuse New Beauty's acquisition!"

"What?!" Before Old Sun could speak, a short, fat, round middle-aged man sprang up from the sofa. "Wei Kang, do you know what you're saying?"

The other two also jumped up, chiming in over each other.

"Exactly. Have you lost your mind? Do you even understand the company's situation right now?"

"Old Sun, explain the company's current situation to him. Let him see how serious it is."

"Don't you know the company is about to go bankrupt?"

"Have you even looked at the acquisition proposal? Do you know how many hundreds of millions General Manager Wu is offering?"

"We object! You can't refuse this acquisition proposal. Old Sun, go negotiate with General Manager Wu immediately!"

"Right, we own shares too. We agree to the acquisition. The sooner, the better!"

Wei Kang looked expressionlessly at the men hopping around in front of him and asked, "Do you get to make decisions for this company?"

The three men flew into a rage out of embarrassment. "Why can't we? We're shareholders too."

"Oh?" Wei Kang asked coldly. "How much of the company do you own? How come I didn't know you were major shareholders?"

The three immediately fell silent, deflating like punctured balloons.

Each of them held only a single-digit percentage of shares. Combined, they had just over twenty percent. After deducting the shares held by the other management staff, Wei Kang alone owned seventy percent. He was unquestionably the major shareholder and held the power of life and death over the company.

But the three had always acted as a bloc, while the Wei family had always been mild-tempered and unwilling to argue with them over every little thing. That had given them the illusion that they had a say in running the company.

The three hung their heads dejectedly, but before long, they began making a scene. "I don't care. We have a stake in this company too. You can't ignore the interests of minor shareholders and drag us down with you."

The short, fat, round Old Liu looked at Sun Chengren. "Old Sun, say something. You're on our side, aren't you?"

At that moment, Old Sun stared at his nose and focused on his heart, saying nothing at all, like a deaf-mute.

Old Liu immediately grew anxious. "Damn it, you little brat! I'm done playing with you people. I want to withdraw my shares. Give us our money back."

The other two promptly echoed him.

Wei Kang was so angry that he laughed. "You all have people in the finance department. Don't you know there isn't a single cent left in the company's accounts? You're asking me for money—who am I supposed to ask?"

As he spoke, he spread his hands, looking like a shameless rogue who had no money to give but one life to take.

At that moment, Old Sun suddenly regained both his hearing and speaking ability. He casually interjected, "Ah, young people have hot tempers. Are you old men going senile too..."

Wei Kang suddenly shot him a meaningful look.

Old Sun paused slightly, coughed twice, and continued, "In my opinion, this acquisition isn't reliable either. Xinkang's General Manager Wu is as shrewd as a ghost. It's not like you don't know that. This is only the initial offer. Once their accountants come to inventory all the factory's assets, they'll definitely slash the price hard. Forget about getting that amount. And I can guarantee that there won't be much cash involved."

"If President Wei makes up his mind and drags things out by refusing to agree, this deal will eventually fall through. Then, once word gets out about the company's chaotic management and shareholders fighting among themselves, every potential buyer will be scared away. Don't you think so?

Seeing the three men gradually calm down and reluctantly sit back on the sofa, he continued persuading them, "Everyone should take a step back, and the sea will be wide and the sky vast. There's always room for negotiation. President Wei, what do you say?"

Wei Kang's tone softened as well. "Actually, you're all my elders. I don't want to make things too ugly. To be honest, President Liu is right. I shouldn't drag you down."

"How about this? If you want to withdraw your shares, no problem. I have a proposal. See if it works for you."

With a troubled expression, he said, "You all know my family's situation. All the money has gone into the laboratory. I don't have any savings now. I only have an apartment my parents bought for me in the suburbs of Sea City back then. How about I use that to settle with you?"

Old Liu shot up into the air. "That's only worth a few million! It isn't even in the city center! We invested twenty million in this company back then. You think you can fob us off like that? No way!"

Wei Kang gave a heh heh laugh, found a chair, sat down, crossed one leg over the other, and said casually, "That's the situation. You can decide what to do. I'm just waiting for bankruptcy anyway." He looked completely unfazed, like a dead pig that feared no boiling water.

"You!" Old Liu pointed at Wei Kang, his chest heaving violently, too furious to speak.

Old Sun hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Oh, Old Liu, don't you have Coronary Heart Disease? Why are you getting this angry again? Old Chen, check his pockets for some Quick-Acting Heart-Saving Pills. Fish one out and stuff it in his mouth. I told you to eat less rich food and lose some weight, but you never listen. Sigh..."

Old Chen was a white-haired man in his sixties. Hearing this, he tremblingly reached out to search Old Liu's body.

Old Liu was beside himself with anger. He slapped his hand away, covered his face, and sat down without speaking for a long while.

Old Sun kept nagging at the side. "When Old Director Wei was around, how generous were the dividends? Over the past decade or so, the money you invested back then has long since paid itself back, and you made quite a bit more too, right? At your age, why can't you let it go? Investments come with profits and losses. Besides, you haven't even lost anything. Actually, I'm the worst off. Old Wei entrusted Xiao Kang to me back then, and I promised him that even if the company went bankrupt, I couldn't withdraw my shares."

Those words seemed to move Old Liu. He sighed, opened his eyes, and gritted his teeth. "Wei, you win. Fine. Give us the apartment, and we'll withdraw our shares."

Wei Kang nodded with a serious expression. "Fine. We'll settle this today. Don't worry. After all these years, we're practically family. I, Wei, would never cheat my own family."

"Uncle Sun, help me draft a share transfer agreement. I'll go to my office and get the property deed."