Negotiation

"I'm here to help you," Augustus messaged Grace.

"So, I need your cooperation for this. Don't worry, they can't see this screen. This screen can only be seen by both of us from this angle and distance. If you don't believe it, try walking around this room, and you won't be able to see this screen."

After Augustus finished his message, he asked Grace to run around the room. She did as she was told and couldn't see the screen.

Augustus then continued his plan. "Now that I have made sure that no one knows that we're talking, I want you to answer the question truthfully. Are you being abused by your grandfather, type 'yes' or 'no' on the screen," Augustus messaged Grace.

Grace contemplated her answer for a while before reaching for the table to tap the screen. Augustus watched intently as Grace pressed 'Yes.'

'She agreed!' Augustus was grateful that Grace decided to open to him.

"Thank you for being honest. Now I can get to the main point. I will do business with your grandfather under one condition. I will invest in you, invest in your freedom. You'll reach adulthood in a year, right? Type 'yes' if I'm right," Augustus messaged Grace.

But Grace pressed 'no' and typed a message to explain. "Seven months and thirteen days."

Augustus was surprised at how precise Grace was. He speculated, "So she's planning to run away from this family too, but what made her fail in the previous life?"

"Do you have someone else that you are worried about?" Augustus asked Grace, who hesitated before typing her answer.

"My little brother. He's not part of the Wang Family; he's currently living at my aunt's house." Augustus quickly realized what was going to happen.

That greedy old man probably bribed her aunt with money and threatened Grace with his brother's life to make her stay.

F*ck, the more I find out, the more I want to kill the old man right here, right now.

"I'll do something about your little brother. Don't worry. I have the Chen Family on my side. Do you trust me?"

Grace's heart raced as she read the words on the screen.

She had been analyzing Augustus's behavior since she entered the room, trying to figure out if she could trust him. But as soon as he asked her if she did, she knew the answer.

"Yes," she messaged back without hesitation.

Augustus's lips curved into a small smile as he read her response. He knew that she was putting her life in his hands, and he wouldn't let her down.

"I'll tell you about the plan I have right now, and I want you to remember the plan," Augustus messaged Grace, and she replied with a simple "Okay."

…

…

As Augustus opened the door and he found Old Wang eavesdropping on their conversation which is not surprising as Augustus already knew.

"Old Wang, I know you're listening, you can come in now," Augustus said firmly, his eyes fixed on the old man.

Old Wang quickly pretended to rub his back and leaned on the wall, trying to cover up his actions, "Ehem, I'm just having backache," he claimed, despite the obviousness of his act.

"Whatever, we're done discussing," he said coldly, giving Old Wang a stern look. .

'What discussion?! You were just fooling around with my granddaughter,' Old Wang thought, having heard and seen the entire conversation that was nothing but nonsense.

Old Wang sat down beside Grace, and Augustus proceeded with the negotiation. "I will sell Venom Weed and Deadly Lotus for 200% market price under one condition," Augustus proposed confidently, catching Old Wang's attention.

Old Wang couldn't believe his ears, "200%? When did I already offer 1000%? Is this boy stupid?" he thought to himself, trying to suppress his greed.

Augustus then handed Old Wang a digital contract that he had prepared beforehand. After reading it, Old Wang was satisfied with the proposal, but he wanted to push his luck. "70% of the profit is too low, I want 80% at least," he demanded.

Augustus knew Old Wang was being greedy, but he was willing to compromise, "We can do 75%, I'll make the changes right now if you want," he said calmly.

"Deal," Old Wang finally agreed, feeling triumphant. Augustus rewrote the contract, and this time, it was more favorable to Old Wang.

"So, in conclusion, Wang Estate will receive 75% under your name, Wang Junjie. Then, Augustus Gray will receive 5% of the profits, and Ian Chen will receive 5% of the profit. The rest of 15% will go to Grace Wang under the name of the Chen Family as her guardian," Augustus explained.

"But that's not all," Augustus continued, "We have another condition. Grace Wang will come under the custody of the Chen Family under condition of her constant supply of pills, producing at least 30 pills per day for sales. And to further benefit your business, Ian Chen will constantly be supplying you guys with Venom Weed and Deadly Lotus, using his connections."

Old Wang was initially hesitant about the additional condition, but the prospect of earning a fortune made him ignore it and discard Grace's true worth.

"This contract shall terminate in seven months from today and will be subject to renewal under new terms if any party is dissatisfied with the results." Augustus explained.

Meanwhile, Old Wang didn't careless about what Augustus just said, as he still imagining his future.

'I couldn't believe my luck. Not only had he struck a great deal, but I had also gained a powerful ally in the Chen Family. It was a win-win situation for me.'

"If you agree with everything, go ahead and sign it. Then, I can send it to the Chen Family for their signature," Augustus said.

Without hesitation, Old Wang signed the contract, despite the dubious seven-month termination clause. All he cared about was the condition of producing thirty pills per day.

"With thirty pills per day, the Wang Estate will earn at least sixty-grade spirit stones per day. SIXTY! WE WILL BE RICH!" Old Wang exclaimed.

'Look at this old man... He thinks he just won the lottery, but he actually threw away the whole lottery company itself.'

"A single high-grade spirit stone was worth five hundred million dollars, which meant that sixty of them would be worth thirty billion dollars in a single day. Even with 75% of the profit and expenses such as taxes, auction service charges, and others, they would still earn at least ten billion dollars per day." Old Wang was drooling as he thought about it.

'Now that I'll have money, I don't even care about that stupid girl. Who would care?' Old Wang thought, fantasizing about the possibilities.

'My hard work finally pays off. Maybe I can restore my cultivation and live longer too. Yeah, let's do that. I'll spend fortunes to buy meridian restoration pills, I'll also buy Body Restoration Pills, and I don't know, let's just buy them all, hehe.'

Augustus handed the contract to Old Wang and he signed it immediately, oblivious to the disgust in Augustus' eyes. Old Wang was too busy thinking about money and butterflies to notice.

"Thank you for signing. I've signed it too, as has Grace. I'll be giving it to the Chen Family to process the contract. Once it's done, I'll send you a copy of it," Augustus said.

"Thank you!" Old Wang happily shook Augustus' hand.

"I'll be taking Grace with me now," Augustus said, pulling Grace to his side. He whispered, "Hope we never meet again."

Before they discussed the contract, Augustus already tasked Ian with bribing Grace's aunt and forcing her to sign the contract, passing her guardianship rights of Jackson Jameson to the Chen Family.

"It's done, Brother. She agreed instantly as soon as she saw the money," Ian Chen reported through messages.

"Good work. I have secured everything on my side too. I'll send you the contract, and you sign it and process it," Augustus replied him with a thumbs up.

"Okay, I'll do it right away," Ian Chen replied.

"So, where are we going now?" Grace asked Augustus.

"Hm? For now, let's get you some proper clothing, and maybe you should rest for a bit. You look very tired," Augustus replied.

"Okay," Grace said, nodding in agreement.

With the money that Old Wang transferred to Augustus for the Venom Weed and Deadly Lotus, Augustus took Grace to the nearest mall to buy her some proper clothing.

"Choose at least ten clothes. You'll be living in a different home now, so you should get at least a week's worth of clothing," Augustus told her.

Grace was confused and amazed when they arrived at the mall. It was like she had never been outside world before. She was mesmerized by the surroundings and lighting and continued to observe her surroundings with curiosity.

"You guys come to this kind of place every day?" Grace asked as she leaned onto the railing and looked above and below, not afraid of the heights.

"Not really. It's my second time here. We just got some money to spend from your grandfather, and it's a necessity for you," Augustus explained.

'Well, technically, in this life, it's my second time,' Augustus added in his thoughts.

"I see. I don't mind wearing any clothes as long as I can make pills," Grace said.

"No, you're going to wear comfortable clothes and you'll be wearing different clothing when making pills." Augustus insisted.

"Then I'll get the long-sleeved ones," Grace said, and Augustus chuckled at her innocence.

"Go and choose it yourself. I'm not your grandfather," Augustus said, smiling at her.

"Okay," Grace said and randomly went into a clothing shop.

In the end, she bought a few clothes that she just looked at and didn't bother to try on.

"Send it to this address," Augustus said to the receptionist. We didn't want to carry the clothes by hand. "Except for this one."

"Change into it," Augustus said, grabbing a set of clothes that looked nice and gesturing for her to go to the changing room.

"I don't want to," Grace protested.

"These clothes are more comfortable," Augustus said, caressing the clothes' material as he judged them to be kind of comfier than his own clothes.

"I hate mirrors," Grace said, explaining her reluctance.

Hearing her statement, Augustus instantly realized the reason. He saw that Grace had glanced into the changing room once and decided that she didn't want to change. 'It must be because of the scars and bruises.'

"Can you remove the mirror in the changing room?" Augustus requested the receptionist.

"Yes, sir. Give us a minute," the receptionist quickly called someone over and told her Augustus's request.

After a while, someone came over and said, "This way, Miss."

"Follow her. There's no mirror anymore," Augustus said, reaching out his hand and handing her the clothes.

Grace was hesitant at first, but she grabbed the clothes and followed the woman to the changing room.

As she finished changing, Grace looked way better than before.

She was now wearing cute children's clothing with a cute cat logo on it.

With her small stature, children's clothes definitely fit her better, although Augustus felt that she was quite small for someone the same as his age.

"Probably lacking nutrition. She should be growing more under the Chen Family's care. I shouldn't worry too much," he thought.

"You look cute," Augustus complimented her, the receptionist also smiled and agreed with him.

Grace was expressionless when she heard his compliment. She didn't know how to react.

"Never mind, Are you hungry? Let's go grab some food," Augustus said, taking her hand and leading her towards the exit.