“Chief Jia, you all are not sincere for this private settlement. Why is the compensation amount so high?” John asked angrily.

  Station Chief Jia sat there, sipping on his tea. “It’s better for the lawyers to handle the legal issues. I don’t know much about laws, and I should not interfere in this.”


  John is furious. Are you implying that I am interfering?

  The lawyers are only our representatives, and we should be the decision-makers!

  Wilson interrupted. “Mr. John, please don’t show such attitude during our negotiation. If you continue to behave this way, we will stop the negotiations and settle this in courts.”


  Lawyer Zhang nudged John lightly and shook his head. They are losing, and private settlement is the best outcome.

  “Chief Jia, Mr. Wilson, we should settle this amicably since you all are willing to negotiate. But 2 billion USD is out of our league. All our companies will be bankrupt if we compensate this amount, and those workers will lose their jobs.”


  “Workers losing their job is your problem. Your companies cannot afford the compensation, but your parent company can afford it. Maybe we should try getting the compensation from your parent companies, and I believe the odds are against them.” Wilson glared at Lawyer Zhang. You all cannot afford it?! Bankrupt?! What has it got to do with us?!

  Although Wilson knows Feng Yu does not want to see, these companies go bankrupt. But he knows it’s alright for these companies to close down. They can use their factories and brands to repay their debts, and Feng Yu can save money on their acquisitions.

  Chief Jia felt it’s about time to step in. “Mr. John and other representatives. Have you all thought about it? CCTV can settle privately with you all, but what about those internet companies, Tai Hua Supermarket, etc.? How much are you all going to compensate them?”


  John and the other representatives’ faces changed. They had not expected things to turn out this way. So this private settlement is only with CCTV, and the other companies will sue them?

  “How about I be the mediator? I will settle this for you all, and we can lower the compensation amount. After all, you all are our friends who had invested here. Although you all had done something wrong, we will still take care of you.”


  “Asking you all to fork out 2 billion USD as compensation at once is a lot. Each of you will need to compensate at least a few hundred million, but this amount is reasonable. We cannot lower it by too much. Alright. How about you all compensate 200 million USD each. CCTV will get half of it, and the other half will go to those online companies and Tai Hua Supermarket Group. I am confident I can persuade them.”


  Chief Jia said in an “I am helping you all” tone, but his expression pissed them off.

  “200 million USD each? This amount is too high! I think it should be 200 million RMB.” Someone grumbled.

  “Eh…… Mr. Wilson, I think we should end this private settlement negotiation, and there’s no point in such negotiations in the future. My time is precious as our TV station has over a billion viewers. We are the biggest TV station in the world, and I’m very busy. So let’s settle this in courts. I believe you all can win and help us get the reasonable compensation, right?” Chief Jia looks at Wilson with an impatient expression.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Jia. We are confident of winning, and those internet companies and Tai Hua Supermarket Group had contacted us. I think they also believe we can help them get the reasonable compensation.”


  John and the other representatives are speechless when they heard Wilson and Chief Jia’s conversation. They are acting and is threatening them.

  But this is telling them that if they don’t agree to the compensation amount, the incident will be escalated further.

  “Chief Jia, we really can’t afford the compensation. Even if we include our fixed assets, we are unable to raise this amount. We will surely be bankrupt. It’s not nice for others to know a few foreign companies are sued bankrupt in China, right? Our companies also intend to increase our investments in China, and our tax contribution will increase.” John said after a short discussion with the other representatives.

  Chief Jia smacked his lips. So who cares about your taxes?! If you all lose your companies, the taxes and profits will still be ours.

  Chief Jia puts down his teacup slowly. “What have these got to do with me? I am only the Chief of a TV station. Does your country’s different departments can interfere in each other businesses?”


  John is speechless. He wants to reply that he would rather drown in the cup of coffee in front of him than believe the Chinese Government is not involved!

  Your higher-ups had expressed their support for you openly, and you still dare to claim they are not involved? If they are not involved, why is CCTV the first to sue them?

  The Chinese Government is behind all this. But John and the other representatives can only tolerate it now.

  “Chief Jia, I believe you can help us. Can you tell those companies to lower their demands?”


  “Mr. Jia, it’s not right for you to interfere with other lawsuits when we are discussing our case. We can talk about other companies another time.” Wilson purpose said this.

  John gave Wilson an angry stare. This damn lawyer is after their money. He knows many lawyers charge a percentage of the claims, and Wilson does not want to lower the compensation amount.

  “Mr. Wilson, China is a big country, and we should be more forgiving even towards someone who had made mistakes. We should give them a chance to turn over a new leaf. But this will also depend on the other party. If they are not sincere, I don’t mind using the law to handle them.” Chief Jia replied.

  John and the other representatives exchanged looks. They had been working in China for years and understood the meaning of ‘sincerity.’


  “Chief Jia, we will treat you as our buddies, and we will let our friends……”


  “Are you trying to bribe me?!” Chief Jia interrupted them.

  Lawyer Zhang quickly reply. “Chief Jia, what they mean is they will try their best to agree to your conditions.”


  Lawyer Zhang scolded in his heart. These idiots…… how can they hint they will bribe Chief Jia openly? If this is recorded, he will never become a lawyer again!

  Chief Jia smiles. “Oh…… Since joining venture companies is in China, it should be better for China to own the controlling shares. What do you all think?”