A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 134 A Wasted Life as a Petty Person

"No!"

When Li Xingping finally agreed, before Li Mu could even rejoice, Zhao Fengrui suddenly spoke up.

And his tone was quite resolute.

As Li Mu shifted his gaze to himself, Zhao Fengrui, now somewhat "reckless," said, "Mr. Li, it's not that I'm overstepping my bounds, but my cousin is young and lacks business experience. Although this is a lot of money—I need to help him calm down and think it over. He's acting a bit impulsively right now, please forgive his rashness, but I feel—"

He's still too young and doesn't consider things comprehensively. Please, Mr. Li, give him two more days to calm down. He can give you an answer in two days, okay?

After Zhao Fengrui finished speaking, Fan Bing frowned first: "Manager Zhao, isn't this inappropriate? Although I understand your intention—to prevent him from acting impulsively—you are not the founder of the website. Even if you are related, business is business. Today, we are investors, and you, Manager Zhao, are sitting at this table as a project intermediary. We have been communicating with President Li the entire time, and an agreement has been reached. Is it appropriate for you to interfere?"

Zhao Fengrui was actually quite embarrassed.

Because what Fan Bing said is completely correct.

Whether you call it an intermediary, a financial advisor, or a consulting service—whatever you prefer. But the core job of this industry is to introduce projects to investors, and after a project is successfully negotiated, they collect a commission of one to five percent of the investment, and witness the completion of the transaction and the signing of the contract.

That concludes the discussion.

This is the function of an intermediary.

And that was his plan before his somewhat "foolish" cousin exposed his identity today.

Despite all his calculations, he never expected that his identity would still be "betrayed" by his cousin. But that wasn't the most important thing; what mattered more was the negotiation style of the Mr. Li he was dealing with.

He clearly looks very young; to put it more bluntly, this Mr. Li's face is so youthful it's almost as if he's still wet behind the ears.

However, this person's negotiation style was completely different from his appearance.

It came slashing down like a sharp machete.

There was no haggling or delaying; it was a simple, one-stop service with a fixed price. The money was paid, and they explained everything they could offer very clearly.

This is utterly unreasonable.

That's way too aggressive.

Not to mention my cousin, even he couldn't handle it.

But given the current situation, as an intermediary, it's really not appropriate for him to speak up.

It even violated industry regulations.

But—who can blame me when he's my cousin?

When he heard the offer of 70% ownership and 500,000, his first reaction was to try to secure more benefits for his cousin.

Just as this immature fool said, my cousin's family lives in a small village under Xingping.

My uncle and aunt are true farmers, the kind who toil in the fields their whole lives. My cousin is their only child—and they've always worried he won't amount to anything. And my cousin himself—indeed, hasn't lived up to their expectations.

He dropped out of school in the second year of junior high and worked odd jobs for a few years before turning to internet cafes.

Putting everything else aside, I remember very clearly when I went to find him at the internet cafe a couple of years ago. My cousin's hair was incredibly long and greasy, practically scalp enough to fry vegetables. His fingernails were long too, filled with grime. And don't even get me started on the smell—

This one kid has actually created a pretty good website.

He was naturally happy for his cousin, but along with his happiness, his uncle also asked him to help his cousin earn some money.

The uncle's expectations were equally humble. He didn't even expect his cousin to buy a house in Xingping City. Instead, he hoped that his cousin could earn some money, renovate the house in his hometown, and have a "wedding house" so that he could naturally settle down and start a family.

Subsequently, HA0123 was developed.

Seeing that this website was about to change his cousin's fate, but—whether it was his own desires or his instincts as a real estate agent who had handled many projects, his intuition told him that his cousin had received too little money and made too hasty a decision.

Not careful at all.

Therefore, he subconsciously violated his professional ethics and rashly intervened in the negotiations.

Then he got roasted by the celebrity he'd met a few times.

They are in the right.

That's very true.

His expression immediately turned awkward.

But just then, Li Mu's voice rang out: "Ha, it's not that bad."

After casually suppressing Fan Bingbing's dissatisfaction, Li Mu smiled and said, "Although business is business, I know that Manager Zhao's perspective at this moment is not that of a middleman, but rather that of Mr. Li's cousin, right?"

Without waiting for Zhao Fengrui's reply, he looked at Li Xingping and continued, "Mr. Li, if I may ask, if I invest 500,000, will you need to pay Manager Zhao a brokerage fee?"

Li Xingping shook his head subconsciously.

My cousin never mentioned this matter. He did ask about it, though, since my cousin had been running around a lot because of his own business. He mentioned that if he could secure investment, he could give my cousin 10,000 yuan.

You should know that this is not ten thousand yuan of five hundred thousand, but ten thousand yuan of one hundred thousand.

But my cousin refused, saying to me, "What would I do with your money? How would I face your parents during holidays? How could I hold my head up then?"

Seeing him shake his head, Li Mu turned to Zhao Fengrui again: "Manager Zhao, what's your typical commission rate?"

"Mr. Li, I definitely won't accept it—"

No, I mean under normal circumstances.

Li Mu interrupted him directly.

Therefore, Zhao Fengrui could only tell the truth: "Generally, it depends on the investment scale. If it's less than one million, it's five percent. After one million, it starts to decrease, and it usually depends on the asset valuation forecast. Small investments in the early and mid-stages will generally not exceed this amount, but for later-stage or large investments, it's about one to three percent."

"I see. So, under normal circumstances, you'd get a commission of 25,000 on this order?"

"Yes, but I'm sure—"

"Manager Zhao."

Li Mu waved his hand, interrupting him, and then looked at Li Xingping: "President Li, do you think our cooperation is a good idea?"

"I'm quite optimistic about it, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do it well."

After Li Xingping finished answering, Li Mu smiled and said, "But you're not alone. We two, being the best of friends, will work together to figure out how this website should develop. If we win, we all make money together; if we lose, we all lose together. But similarly, I understand your cousin's concerns. He might think the price should be higher, or perhaps you should calmly consider what will happen if we kick you out later after giving us so many shares. Manager Zhao, am I right?"

"That's absolutely true."

Seeing that Li Mu had made his point so clear, Zhao Fengrui stopped hiding his intentions and nodded directly.

So Li Mu shrugged: "But this is also one of the investment risks I will face, isn't it? As I just said, I will not interfere with the company's operations without authorization, but similarly, I will still retain the most basic shareholder rights. Whether our development strategies are consistent and unified in the future is also based on the judgments of the three of us—me, Mr. Li, and her—about the future. This is a variable that requires finding common ground while reserving differences, and frankly speaking, even if I reduce my shareholding, this risk will still exist."

Furthermore, I can see that Mr. Li is actually quite inexperienced, after all, he's only 22 years old this year. The money I invested didn't come from thin air either. Although I can understand Manager Zhao's consideration of retreating before even entering the market, to be honest, at least after Mr. Li agreed to this investment, I didn't consider how to acquire the company or kick him out.

To reiterate, this is a process of finding common ground while respecting differences. What we need to do is work together to find a path that satisfies everyone, balancing money, dreams, and the future. I don't criticize your overly cautious approach, but ultimately, we need to work as a unified force. And in the process of working together, this kind of thinking can be detrimental to our partners.

His remarks were well-reasoned and supported by evidence, leaving Zhao Fengrui speechless.

Fan Bingbing's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this.

And what's even more outrageous is that Li Xingping seemed to agree with Li Mu's words and nodded subconsciously.

It's somewhat like they're siding with outsiders.

So, Li Mu smiled and picked up his teacup: "But we still need to discuss what needs to be discussed. Mr. Li, I—actually, still hope to reach a cooperation agreement with you. So I'll offer you another guarantee."

As he spoke, he held up five fingers: "Fifty thousand yuan. Don't misunderstand, this fifty thousand isn't included in the investment; it's personal. Mr. Li, let's be business, but I understand your cousin's feelings. So, I'll cover the fifty thousand yuan brokerage fee. For the five hundred thousand, we want HA0123 with a 70% guarantee; I'll cover the brokerage fee again. As for how you, as his cousin, negotiate with him and how you thank him for his hard work, that's your own business. If possible, Manager Zhao, I'd like an investment contract from Haitian Investment Consulting. What do you two think? Mr. Li, is that acceptable?"

Zhao Fengrui was speechless.

Because he understood all too well what Li Mu meant by those words.

I'll pay the agency fee as promised.

Let's talk business.

If my cousin agrees, then the investor and the investee have reached a cooperation agreement.

They paid a hefty commission to the agency, and the negotiations went so smoothly. Is all of this thanks to me?

of course.

However, it wasn't Zhao Fengrui, but Zhao Fengrui, a senior client manager at Haitian Investment Consulting.

Once agreed, the process involves the company issuing a contract, both parties signing it, the capital injection taking place, and then the collection of intermediary fees, which becomes legally binding.

If Li Xingping changes his mind, or if the investment deal falls through, then—trouble will fall on Zhao Fengrui, the senior client manager at Haitian Investment Consulting, and on the company itself.

And considering Mr. Li's influence—

The Southern Metropolis Daily is not a force to be reckoned with. If a real incident were to occur, I wouldn't even be able to continue working for the company—the losses it would bring to the company would be immeasurable.

Whether I can continue in this industry by then—whether my boss will force me to apologize and make amends, and what methods he will use to get this collaboration done again—that's another story altogether.

After all, for an agency, nothing is more important than its reputation.

He understands.

He understands.

That's why he could better understand just how painful it would be when that machete slashed his neck.

But just then—

"Can!"

When his cousin gave his response again, Zhao Fengrui sighed inwardly.

well----

That's unnecessary and makes you look like a petty person.

It really is————