Chapter 76: Cooperation with the Nation

Lin Feng had not yet come to a conclusion when the Prime Minister’s words left him utterly speechless. “Prime Minister, I give up! Both of you are of the same age as my grandfather, both holding such high positions, and yet you’re joining hands to bully a kid in his twenties like me—is that really appropriate?” Lin Feng looked helplessly at the Prime Minister, who was shamelessly playing hardball.

But the Prime Minister, a seasoned old fox, was unfazed by Lin Feng’s complaints. Seizing the opportunity, he pressed on, “You don’t want to be pestered anymore, do you? Then just agree to our terms. Promise us a price like this, and I guarantee I’ll leave you in peace and let you go home immediately.”

Lin Feng glanced at the Prime Minister, who was relentless in his bargaining, then at Minister Xie, who sat quietly to the side but never took his eyes off him. His head began to throb—had he known the meeting would turn out like this, he would never have come today.

After much hemming and hawing in the conference room, Lin Feng finally said to the Prime Minister, “All right, Grandpa Zhu, I admit defeat. Let’s settle it: I’ll give the state this order at a 35% discount. But listen carefully—this discount applies only to your purchase of FutureTech’s second-generation computers. If we develop other products in the future, or if the state wishes to make other purchases from us, we’ll discuss the discount then. Is that acceptable?”

The Prime Minister was delighted to finally hear Lin Feng agree to a 35% discount, but his face darkened when Lin Feng included an extra condition. “You miserly little thing! Why not just seal the deal once and for all, give us a lifelong discount? There’s no need to negotiate every single order—such a hassle!”

“Prime Minister, that’s not how business is done! Profits depend on changing costs—if raw materials, processing, or labor go up, but my prices stay the same, I’ll lose big! Price inflation is common enough in our country. I think it’s best for both sides if we renegotiate and sign a new contract for each order, don’t you agree?”

Lin Feng’s intention was simply to get through this round; for future business, he’d never come to negotiate with them again—he’d send Xia Ruoxi in his place. But the Prime Minister took it differently: since the first deal secured a 35% discount, future collaborations would have this as a reference point, so there was no fear Lin Feng would refuse. Though their thoughts differed, the outcome was the same—and so, a hilarious misunderstanding was born, one that would provide no small amount of amusement in future dealings between the Prime Minister and Lin Feng. But that is a story for another time.

“All right, you’re not exactly the straightforward type, are you? This time, I’ll let you have your way—we’ll handle this discount as you said. Minister Xie and I are witnesses, your second uncle and the young lady are here too. I won’t make you sign a contract now, but when the transaction happens, don’t you dare try to back out!”

That last remark nearly gave Lin Feng internal injuries, but at least the matter of the computer procurement was resolved—he wouldn’t have to keep sparring with these two elderly titans.

“Grandpa Zhu, I’m not that untrustworthy!” Lin Feng said, exasperated.

“Heh, hard to say. Your reputation in Zhanhai before you started your business wasn’t exactly stellar anyway.” With the conversation winding down, the Prime Minister, in rare good spirits, teased Lin Feng.

“Fine, you really don’t know how to make conversation!” Lin Feng retorted, at a loss for words.

The whole conference room burst into laughter at Lin Feng’s response, especially at his helpless expression.

Once the laughter died down, the Prime Minister, seeing that business was concluded and Lin Feng was growing impatient, waved him off. “Hmph, you look downright uncomfortable—is chatting with us old fogies that unbearable? Anyway, we’re done here. You may go!”

The Prime Minister’s words were music to Lin Feng’s ears. He leapt to his feet, grabbed Xia Ruoxi, bade farewell to the Prime Minister and Minister Xie, and hurried out. By the time Lin Chuanyan realized what was happening, Lin Feng and Xia Ruoxi had already disappeared. He quickly apologized to the two elders and rushed after them.

One could hardly blame Lin Feng—just one visit to the Prime Minister’s office had cost him billions, money that felt like it had been sliced straight from his own flesh. In Lin Feng’s mind, the Prime Minister’s office was now a veritable dragon’s den, or perhaps a slaughterhouse.

Seeing Lin Feng dash away at lightning speed after barely a word of farewell, the Prime Minister was left with dark lines on his face, muttering to himself, “Why is that rascal running so fast? This isn’t a dragon’s lair—I’m not going to eat him.”

Minister Xie, amused by the Prime Minister’s expression, waited until he finished laughing before teasing, “It may not be a dragon’s lair, but to him, it’s a place where fortunes are lost—tens or hundreds of billions at a time. Who wouldn’t run?”

The Prime Minister could only smile wryly at that. When the two elders had chatted enough, the Prime Minister finally grew serious. “What do you think about all this?”

“That kid is an enigma. Of all the third-generation children in Beijing, there are few I can’t read, but Lin Feng is the most mysterious. Just now he mentioned the second-generation computers—though I haven’t seen the actual product, the fact that he could introduce a new operating system and produce the popular first-generation computers is proof enough for me.”

The Prime Minister pondered Minister Xie’s assessment, then replied, “Frankly, I believe him too. He’s a prodigy. I’ve had people investigating for ages but couldn’t find the mysterious developer behind the new operating system. Could it be Lin Feng? But according to his records, he’s never studied computer programming.”

“You investigated him too? Looks like I wasn’t the only one. That’s exactly what makes him so mysterious—these things seemed to appear out of thin air. If he weren’t Old Master Lin’s grandson, and if Old Master Lin himself hadn’t vouched for him, I’d have had him brought in for questioning long ago, just to make sure he wasn’t an impostor.” Minister Xie laid his own thoughts bare.

“So you thought so too!” the Prime Minister said, chuckling.

“Yes, ever since the media reported a domestic company developing a new operating system, I’ve kept an eye on him. After all, our military has always used American software, and we can never be certain they haven’t tampered with it—given how much secret information is at stake. When I heard a domestic company had done it themselves, I was both excited and proud.”

Hearing Minister Xie’s praise, the Prime Minister smiled and said, “That boy is a rare talent. Luckily, he was born in our country and into a family within the system. We don’t need to worry about his loyalty or background. What worries me is his greed for money—he’s as crafty as a fox and won’t suffer a single loss.”

The two old men laughed again at the thought of Lin Feng’s miserly ways.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng, Xia Ruoxi, and Lin Chuanyan got into the Prime Minister’s secretary’s car, preparing to return to the Lin family estate. Lin Chuanyan was silent the whole way, still processing the negotiations in the meeting room, especially Lin Feng’s revelation of his company’s next research plans, which had left him deeply shocked.

Lin Feng, however, began complaining to Xia Ruoxi as soon as he got in the car, not caring that the Prime Minister’s secretary was riding shotgun. “Ruoxi, we lost big today! If I’d known it would turn out like this, we wouldn’t have come. Just think how much money we missed out on!”

Xia Ruoxi looked at him speechlessly, unable to tell if he was pretending or genuinely felt shortchanged. Although the deal seemed less profitable, being able to build connections with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense meant that FutureTech would be shielded by the highest powers in the land—no family would dare covet the company again. Besides, with the Prime Minister’s secretary present, this wasn’t the time for such talk. So she simply nudged Lin Feng and gave him a look, signaling that the secretary was right there.

Lin Feng clearly saw her signal, but pretended not to. Instead, he sold her out, saying, “Why are you nudging me, Ruoxi? Don’t give me that look—I know the secretary’s here, but I’m going to say it anyway. Next time there’s a meeting with these high-level leaders, don’t let me come! If I forget, remind me—this is a bloody lesson, and next time, wild horses couldn’t drag me back!”

The secretary was stunned—where had they found someone like this? Others left the Prime Minister’s office walking on eggshells, but this guy had bolted the moment he was dismissed, and now he was openly complaining in the car.

But it wasn’t the secretary’s fault—he hadn’t seen Lin Feng’s easy banter with the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense in the meeting room. Had he witnessed it, he wouldn’t have found Lin Feng’s behavior so outlandish. Lin Feng was simply the type who was at ease everywhere, afraid of nothing and no one.

Lin Feng could get away with it, but Xia Ruoxi couldn’t let him go on any longer. She quickly covered his mouth with her delicate hand, leaned in, and whispered in his ear, “Enough, I get it. Stop pretending! I know exactly what you’re really thinking—don’t get too full of yourself.”