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Chapter 38: Negotiation? No, the Butcher’s Knife! (Part 2)
You’re trying to ruin me!
Seeing the approving looks from the other directors in the conference room, the middle-aged woman's chest began to heave violently; her tightly clenched hands were as cold as those of a corpse, as if all the blood in her body had rushed backward to her head.
Shutting down Char Waterworks Company outright might indeed avoid most of the compensation payments—a solution that seemed beneficial for all the directors—except, of course, for her Char Department Store. After all, this waterworks company bore the "Char" name!
If she agreed to their proposal and allowed Char Waterworks Company to collapse, the brunt of public anger would fall squarely on her family’s shoulders. The consequences were all too clear.
While enraged citizens couldn’t storm the Department of Public Works or boycott the three old noble families, they could certainly boycott her businesses. They could attack the Char Department Store buildings scattered throughout the capital!
Her department store currently dominated over seventy percent of the market in the capital, but once word of this spread, those stores would be deserted, subjected to endless harassment, theft, and vandalism.
"You... you can't do this!!!"
Breathing heavily, the elegantly dressed woman slammed her fists on the table, glaring at the other directors with their cold, almost mocking expressions.
"Don’t forget—we’re the largest investors here! And remember the agreement you all signed? Our Char Department Store has veto power! If I don’t agree, none of your proposals will pass!"
"If that is your answer, then I’m afraid I must express my regret," said the middle-aged man from the Lionheart family, shaking his head after glancing at the hysterical woman. He leaned back into the sofa, fingers interlaced, his tone calm and measured.
"Since you insist on offering an unreasonable compensation plan and refuse to reach a consensus with us on operational principles, our Lion family will withdraw."
He paused, looking at her bloodshot eyes before continuing, "According to the original contract, we’ll need to hold a vote now. If it passes, we’ll take this year’s dividends. But given your current state…" He shook his head again. "Never mind. There’s no point wasting more time. We, the Lion family, relinquish this year’s dividends. Best of luck to those who remain."
"You… you’re being unreasonable!"
Furious that someone had just walked away from the table, the woman snapped, "This year’s dividends won’t even cover half the compensation! And besides, the water supply issue was entirely under your control! How dare you walk away now that something’s gone wrong?"
"Cough, cough… Mrs. Char, that’s not quite accurate," interjected the elderly man with the rose emblem embroidered on his chest, clearing his throat deliberately.
"Your veto power may determine whether a proposal passes, but surely it doesn’t give you the authority to dictate who stays or leaves? Besides, I’m sorry to say, I cannot accept your proposal either. Our Marseille family will also withdraw. Wishing you success in your endeavors."
"Our York family withdraws as well."
"You… you…"
Seeing the three old noble families collectively abandon ship—clearly having coordinated beforehand—the desperate middle-aged woman instinctively turned her gaze toward the remaining two parties.
"Sorry, but this incident was a natural disaster, unrelated to the Department of Public Works," said the official from the River Management Bureau, shaking his head sympathetically at the frantic woman.
"While our dam did collapse, the direct cause of this accident was the Waterworks Company’s failure to follow proper procedures. The Department of Public Works will not allocate funds for compensation."
"The Ministry of Agriculture feels the same way," added the official from the Water Resources Bureau. "We don’t oversee water supply operations, so even if I applied for funding, it wouldn’t be approved. All we can do is report this year’s losses from the Waterworks Company and forfeit our dividends. Beyond that, I’m afraid there’s nothing more we can do."
"..."
So… in the end, everything falls back on me!!!
"You can’t leave!" Watching the others rise to depart, the middle-aged woman clenched her teeth in anguish, stamping her foot hard.
"If you walk away now, it’s not just the water supply business you’re abandoning—you’re giving up everything else too! Not only will there be no future dividends, but you won’t see a single coin of the initial factory investment either!"
"We’ve made our decision to withdraw, and we’re prepared for the consequences," replied the golden-haired middle-aged man, raising an eyebrow impassively.
"Mrs. Char, it seems you’ve forgotten that most of these Waterworks Company contracts were brought in by our families. Under the current commercial rules, without customers buying your ‘products,’ even the most robust production capabilities are meaningless. Once we exit Char Waterworks Company, we can easily establish a new company with identical operations—or wait for Char Waterworks Company to collapse and acquire its remains for less than a tenth of the original price."
"Oh, and one more thing." The golden-haired man’s lips curled slightly upward, the first flicker of emotion crossing his otherwise expressionless face as he gazed at the pale, trembling Mrs. Char.
"Besides the Waterworks Company, our three families are also quite interested in the department store business. When our new department store opens, you and Mr. Char are welcome to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony."
"...You… you planned this from the start?!" Staring at the smug smile on the golden-haired man’s face, the woman’s mind raced with realization. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
No wonder… no wonder such an accident occurred! This whole situation was orchestrated against her family from the beginning!
The funds tied up in establishing the Waterworks Company had already strained her family’s finances. Now, with the company facing catastrophic losses just before breaking even, the combination of massive compensation payouts and irreparable reputational damage would drive her department store to ruin, forcing them to surrender their dominant market share.
And these three days of negotiations—far from being about hammering out a compensation plan—were designed to delay her response while the scandal slowly spread and fermented.
Even allowing protesters near the Waterworks Company, then letting security rough them up without fully dispersing them, was calculated to escalate the situation quickly!
No… wait… it’s worse than that!
Looking at the directors who had once shown her deference but now sneered openly, the middle-aged woman felt the world spin beneath her feet. She staggered, nearly collapsing.
They never needed her family’s involvement to set up the Waterworks Company in the first place. Bringing Char Department Store into the project—and slapping the "Char" name on it—was unnecessary unless their goal was to hand her family a poisoned chalice.
It was all a setup from the start! From the moment they lured her family into investing and naming the Waterworks Company, their target had always been her department store—to swallow it whole!
How… how could I have been so blind?! So stupid?!
"Mom? Mom!" Seeing her mother’s deteriorating state, the worried young girl with the round face rushed forward to steady her. When she noticed her mother’s eyes rolling back and her mouth muttering incoherently, unable to form a single clear word, the girl’s expression shifted to panic, her voice cracking with tears.
"Someone! Help! Someone, please!"
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