Chapter 1138 — I Stay Behind the Scenes

These are treasures money cannot buy—other clans would give anything for them and still come away empty-handed, yet the Liu family has just come into them all at once! It was more than worth it! His niece's suggestion had been brilliant. There was real skill in being someone's junior—no wonder Fatty Lai was so formidable. It turned out the benefits were simply without end!

"Divine Doctor Lin, then I won't stand on ceremony. The Liu family's resources are yours to use however you wish!" Liu Tianyi drew a deep breath and spoke, forcing himself to sound calm. In his heart he was far too happy for words.

"Then it's settled. Get in touch with Fatty Lai and work out the details between you. I'm a hands-off boss—this sort of thing is beyond me," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

As for Liu Tianyi, Wei Zhao still had him under observation; he could not yet trust him the way he trusted Fatty Lai. So he gave him only a small taste of sweetness. If the man truly followed him with single-minded devotion, Wei Zhao would not mind granting him more benefits.

Liu Tianyi hung up the phone and let out a long breath. From what he could see, Wei Zhao's impression of the Liu family was still very good, and he had gradually come to accept him. When Liu Jinghan had first proposed that the Liu family attach itself to Wei Zhao and serve as his junior, Liu Tianyi had agreed—but that agreement had come from consideration of the bigger picture. On a personal level, he had found it a little hard to swallow.

But now Liu Tianyi genuinely felt that being the junior was a fine thing indeed! Right at the start he was already receiving those top-grade pills—would he not get even more, and better, later on?

"Brother, why didn't you take the chance to set a few conditions?" The whole Liu family had been listening in while Liu Tianyi made the call, and Liu Tianli had heard his words. He did not understand. Since Wei Zhao had been the one to propose finding a partner, why had Liu Tianyi not seized the moment to raise his price, instead of offering to do it for free? Was that not foolish? If the Liu family had come begging to Wei Zhao for the distribution rights, taking a small loss would have been nothing. But the thing was, Wei Zhao had asked for a partner himself—so why should the Liu family still suffer a loss?

"Conditions? What conditions?" Seeing how short-sighted his younger brother's view was, Liu Tianyi decided to keep Wei Zhao's reward to himself for the moment, and asked with feigned ignorance.

"Brother, if our Liu family had gone to Wei Zhao on our own to ask for the distribution rights, then a small loss would be nothing. But the problem is, Wei Zhao came to the Liu family himself—so why should we take a loss and ask for no return?" Liu Tianli said, frowning. "Brother, that head of yours really isn't cut out for business!"

"Haha!" Liu Zhenhu burst out laughing, and turned to his granddaughter, Liu Jinghan. "Jingjing, you tell us—in this matter, whose judgment was right, your uncle's or your father's?"

"Dad, Uncle really isn't cut out for business..." That one sentence from Liu Jinghan made Liu Tianli beam—his daughter was on his side after all! But then he heard the second half of what she said, and his expression changed. "But Dad, your head is only cut out for plain, straightforward business!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liu Tianli frowned. He had not quite understood his daughter, but he knew it was no compliment.

"Jingjing is right! Tianli, you're only cut out for plain, straightforward business!" Liu Zhenhu said, laughing. "To you, seen from the merchant's angle, the Liu family has come out at a loss this time. But as a long-term investment in goodwill, the Liu family has won Wei Zhao's recognition!"

"That..." Liu Tianli hesitated. It could not be denied that his father was right—but his own vision was still confined to that of an ordinary merchant, not a successful entrepreneur.

"And I'd guess Wei Zhao must have promised the Liu family some benefit too—isn't that so, Uncle?" Liu Jinghan's beautiful eyes shifted toward Liu Tianyi.

"Heh heh, Jingjing is clever! That's right, Wei Zhao did promise the Liu family certain benefits!" Liu Tianyi smiled. He had not expected his niece to hit the point at once.

"Brother, Wei Zhao gave the Liu family benefits as well? Then why didn't you say so?" Liu Tianli was startled and asked hurriedly, "Brother, what benefits did Wei Zhao agree to give us?"

"Wei Zhao agreed to give the Liu family a number of pills each year as a return, among them the Life-Extending Detox Pill and the deluxe edition of the trauma medicine. Now—do you think the Liu family's investment has paid off?" Liu Tianyi said with a smile.

"The Life-Extending Detox Pill? That single pill alone is enough to repay everything we put in! And it comes every year—this is simply too worth it, more worthwhile than taking a cut of channel fees!" The moment Liu Tianli heard his brother's words, his face lit up with delight. The Life-Extending Detox Pill was a thing that had a price but no market; if the Liu family could obtain one every year, that would be tremendous. If he could not use it himself, selling it to a friendly clan would become a bargaining chip for the Liu family!

At that thought, Liu Tianli nodded deeply and said, "Brother, you really are the capable one! If we had seized the chance to set conditions this time, Wei Zhao definitely would not have agreed to benefits like these!"

"Tianli, if the task were simply to hold on to what we have, you would be quite a talent. But if we want to drive the Liu family to its peak, we will have to rely on Jingjing. Only... Jingjing will marry and leave us sooner or later..." Liu Tianyi sighed.

Though among ordinary families nowadays a son or a daughter made no difference, the great clans placed far more weight on boys—after all, only a boy could carry on the family line and keep the clan name unchanged. Girls were different: once married, their children would take another surname, unless the husband was taken in as a live-in son-in-law.

"I'm not getting married. I'll stay by Grandpa's side!" Liu Jinghan said, a little embarrassed, with a coquettish pout.

"A girl has to marry in the end—how can you not marry?" Liu Tianli glared at his daughter. It was true that only if she never married would the Liu family's interests be maximized, but to watch his daughter grow old alone was not what a father hoped for.

Liu Jinghan stuck out her tongue, showing that quirky, mischievous side of a young girl. She was, after all, still a child; clever as she was at business and sharp as she usually was, her age was what it was, and she liked the things ordinary girls liked.

"I think that this time, let Jingjing handle the cooperation with Wei Zhao," Liu Tianyi said. He was afraid his brother's profit-mindedness would act up again and end up offending Wei Zhao—and that would cost far more than it gained.

"I'd rather not show my face..." Liu Jinghan spoke up first and shook her head. "I'm better off staying behind the scenes..."

For the fastest updates and pop-up-free reading, please visit us.