Chapter 27: Relentless Conning
Secretary Park smiled without speaking, which was her way of telling Director Min to stop prying, as it wasn't something she needed to know.
Kim Young-min and Li Xiuman's confrontation hadn't escalated yet, and they still maintained an outward appearance of harmony. As the leader of the largest faction besides the two of them, Director Min wasn't particularly afraid of Li Xiuman, but with Jiang Shu, an outsider, present, she couldn't disrespect Li Xiuman.
"Okay, I understand," Director Min replied, then looked at Jiang Shu.
Secretary Park breathed a slight sigh of relief, genuinely worried that Director Min wouldn't show the Chairman respect.
"After this is over, shall we exchange production insights?" Director Min invited.
Jiang Shu's lips curved slightly.
If he remembered correctly...
S.M's internal situation seemed to be in constant turmoil, didn't it?
"Sounds good, I'd be delighted," Jiang Shu readily agreed.
Director Min nodded, took out her phone, and handed it to Jiang Shu.
"Let's exchange numbers."
"Sure."
After exchanging contact information, Director Min left, and Secretary Park led Jiang Shu upstairs.
Chairman's Office.
"Chairman Jiang, please come in," Secretary Park stepped aside.
"Thank you," Jiang Shu said, then walked into Li Xiuman's office.
As soon as he entered the office, he saw a figure standing with his hands behind his back, looking out at the view from the floor-to-ceiling window.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Shu's mouth twitched involuntarily.
Are you filming a TV show?
"Chairman Li," Jiang Shu called out.
"Chairman Jiang, you've arrived," Li Xiuman smiled and turned around. "Please have a seat."
Jiang Shu didn't stand on ceremony and sat down immediately.
Jiang Shu's directness momentarily stunned Li Xiuman, but at his age, he had seen all kinds of people, so he also sat down on the sofa.
"Chairman Li, IVE is not for sale."
Li Xiuman had just settled onto the sofa when Jiang Shu's words reached his ears.
This unconventional style again caught Li Xiuman off guard, but then he started to laugh.
"Chairman Jiang is a straightforward man, so I'll get straight to the point. There's nothing in this world that can't be traded. Chairman Jiang, name your price," Li Xiuman said confidently.
"Not for sale," Jiang Shu said again.
Li Xiuman was somewhat speechless; he wished Jiang Shu would just name a price.
"Chairman Jiang, this isn't how negotiations work. You have to name a price, don't you?" Li Xiuman said helplessly.
"IVE is not for sale. Even if you offered S.M, I wouldn't sell them," Jiang Shu said, looking at Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman: "?"
You really dare to say that.
You wouldn't trade them even for S.M?
He really wouldn't.
The sheer potential of Yuan Shen and Xiao Liu alone meant their future value far exceeded what was currently apparent, and using that money to buy the current S.M...
One could only say, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
And Li Xiuman also realized that this guy was a hothead, someone who truly didn't value money that much.
"What a pity," Li Xiuman shook his head. "Then, what about DM Entertainment?"
"Not for sale either."
"Okay," Li Xiuman nodded. Since neither was for sale, there was nothing more to discuss. He was about to see him out when Jiang Shu's voice rang out.
"I also have a deal I'd like to discuss with Chairman Li."
Li Xiuman looked at Jiang Shu in confusion.
What else at DM Entertainment, besides IVE, was worth trading?
"Lending people."
"Lending people?" Li Xiuman looked at Jiang Shu, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Our DM Entertainment is starting from scratch and needs manpower. As an industry leader, S.M has many talented people under its wing. I'd like to borrow some staff to help us out in a pinch."
With IVE's sudden popularity, Li Xiuman had also looked into DM Entertainment.
Hmm... how should he put it?
It was a pile of crumbling mess.
It was normal for DM Entertainment to be short-staffed.
"What do we get in return?" Li Xiuman didn't refuse immediately but asked a question.
"We can't sell IVE to you, but we can let Rainbow Girls ride on their popularity," Jiang Shu said with a chuckle.
Li Xiuman didn't feel humiliated; instead, his eyes lit up.
The entertainment industry is a place of fame and fortune. It's a common method for less famous acts to piggyback on the popularity of more famous ones.
S.M was stronger than DM Entertainment, but IVE was stronger than Rainbow Girls. It was perfectly feasible for IVE to let Rainbow Girls ride on their popularity; whoever was popular was the boss.
"Three months," Li Xiuman set a time limit for riding the popularity.
"Three times," Jiang Shu held up three fingers. "Three months is too long, three times."
Li Xiuman frowned slightly; three times seemed a bit too few.
"How about DM Entertainment covers the salaries of the personnel seconded from your company?"
Li Xiuman glanced at Jiang Shu and nodded.
"Deal."
Anyway, core personnel couldn't be lent to DM Entertainment. Lending some peripheral staff to DM Entertainment meant he didn't have to pay them, and he would get three opportunities to ride on their popularity. This deal was viable!
"Then, a pleasure doing business with you," Jiang Shu extended his hand to Li Xiuman.
"A pleasure doing business with you," Li Xiuman reached out and shook Jiang Shu's right hand.
"I'd like to see your company's trainees, if that's possible?" Jiang Shu said with a chuckle.
"Of course," Li Xiuman smiled and nodded. "If Chairman Jiang is willing, you can take two trainees below A-grade."
Trainees below A-grade were essentially expendable, meant for trading and filling numbers. Since Jiang Shu was interested at this moment, it wouldn't hurt to do him a favor.
Jiang Shu raised an eyebrow, not expecting Li Xiuman to proactively offer him two trainees.
Was Li Xiuman unaware that Yuan Shen came from YG?
That's right.
Why would Yang Hyun-suk publicize such a "family scandal"?
Jiang Shu's lips curved slightly, and his gaze towards Li Xiuman grew increasingly admiring.
What a good man, Old Man Li!
"Then I thank Chairman Li for your generosity!"
"Chairman Jiang, you're too kind," Li Xiuman was also very satisfied. A few expendable trainees made Jiang Shu so grateful. After all, it was a small company, hehe.
After leaving Li Xiuman's office, Jiang Shu didn't rush to the archives to look at trainee information. He hadn't forgotten the discussion he had scheduled with Director Min.
He didn't understand girl group concepts, so he could consult the 'Concept Queen' about it.
With that thought, he turned to Secretary Park, his guide at S.M.
"Please take me to Director Min's office."
"Certainly, Chairman Jiang, this way please," Secretary Park had witnessed the entire conversation between Director Min and Jiang Shu, so she naturally knew Jiang Shu was going to meet Director Min for their appointment and readily led the way.
With an insider leading the way, Jiang Shu quickly arrived at Director Min's office.
Unlike Li Xiuman's office, Director Min's office was made with transparent windows, making it easy to see the situation inside.
Director Min was on the phone, and from her expression, it was clear that this strong woman was not in a particularly good mood at the moment.
"Please bring over the archived data for your company's trainees below A-grade. I won't come over."
"Okay."