Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 670: Win-Win

To summarize, Ma Lu secured $100,000 in cash, $200,000 in compensation, the right to a draw, and home-field advantage from tonight's negotiation.

He originally wanted to push for more, setting the competition a month later, which would have removed all suspense, but Luo Xiangshi had been studying Hou De recently and was well aware of the school's unbelievably rapid growth.

Thus, he adamantly insisted that the competition must take place next week, no matter what.

In fact, if it weren't for the requirement to apply for a school competition a week in advance, Luo Xiangshi would have wished for the contest to be held tomorrow, ready to transport his students by airplane overnight.

And the price for all this was that Hou De would face the Ministry of Education's fourth-ranked Hero school next week.

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Well, truth be told, this was within Ma Lu's expectations.

Actually, even if it were Hero he had to face, he wouldn't find it unacceptable. The only reason he clung to Heroic Concealment at the start was to strike a pose.

Negotiations are like this, the more you appear to care, the more likely you are to extract greater benefits from the other party.

If Ma Lu had started by asking for Hero, not only would the $300,000 have been lost, but Luo Xiangshi might also have become suspicious, wondering if there was deceit involved.

However, now, even though he had paid an extra $300,000 and signed a series of unequal treaties, Luo appeared ruddy and exuberant.

In Luo's eyes, which school would fight was undoubtedly the most important matter; everything else was trivial detail.

Of course, it would be best if it were Hero, but Hero wasn't a bad choice either. This was a school ranked fourth on the Ministry of Education's high school leaderboard, selecting the most outstanding youth from all provinces, with the least talented being of Grade C caliber, and even those had to come from families with strong connections.

Students of commoner backgrounds who wanted to enter Hero needed to start with at least Grade B Talent.

At the same time, the group invested heavily in hiring renowned teachers to give lectures, provide ample Cultivation Resources, create scientific training schedules, and regularly arrange for them to accumulate real combat experience in the catastrophe belt.

If they still couldn't win, wouldn't that be a failure of modern education?

Therefore, when Ma Lu finally relented under the onslaught of money, Luo maintained composure on the surface, while inwardly, he was already cheering jubilantly.

A mere $300,000 was negligible compared to the value of that item, not to mention that Hou De wouldn't receive the following $200,000 in compensation.

That is to say, for only $100,000 and some inconsequential concessions, he had gained the greatest advantage.

Fearing that Ma Lu might reconsider and back out, he immediately drafted a banknote of $100,000 on the spot.

Ma Lu was pleased with the clear gain of $100,000, with another $200,000 waiting in the wings.

In the end, both parties felt they had won the negotiation, and to avoid letting the other side see their triumph, they both coincidentally chose to keep a straight face.

Seeing this matter finally come to a close, the guests all breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, up until now, many still had a sense of unreality.

It was expected that Hero Group had a background, but Hou De had been in decline not just for one or two years.

As locals of Ping City, no one knew better than they how tough these past years had been for this lone survivor of a talisman master school.

The Cao siblings still had some connections, primarily relying on alumni from their own graduating classes or former schoolmates to get by. Among these, there were successful individuals in business and politics, but the highest they went was just to the city bureau level.

There was no one above that; otherwise, they wouldn't have sunk into the previous desperate straits.

But this time, a Vice Commander and even a provincial governor made an appearance to support Hou De, which truly caught all the guests by surprise; from now on they would never underestimate Hou De again.

After the banquet ended, many people actively came over to greet Ma Lu.

No matter who would win or lose the bet between Ma Lu and Luo Xiangshi, at least after this night, Hou De had firmly established itself in Ping City.

Even Hou Chengyi, who had previously made things difficult for Hou De, took the initiative to come over and apologize, his attitude having done a complete one-eighty.

He pat his chest and promised that the city's Ministry of Education would increase its support for local schools, and that for Hou De, financial allocations would be increased. He also said that he would hold a meeting tonight to discuss these matters.

Afterward, Director Hou affectionately put his arm around Principal Ma's shoulder, suggesting that from now on, they could address each other as brothers.

Ma Lu glanced at Hou Chengyi, who was nearly seventy years old, and felt a bit of admiration in his heart.

But when it comes to being an official, a thick skin is the least important thing.

Considering that they were all in Ping City and would have to see each other again, Ma Lu exchanged a few words with them. Seeing that there were still many people waiting to get close to him, Ma Lu directly pulled Lu Yingying and Cao Youyi to his side.

He let them handle the socializing, while Ma Lu took the opportunity to slip out of the restaurant.

He made his way to the back door of the hotel, peering cautiously up and down the street.

Before long, a black car stopped in front of him and then the car door opened. A voice from inside called out, "Get in."

Ma Lu heeded the voice and sat in the car. Besides the driver, there was another familiar figure in the back seat.

"I owe you thanks for this time," Ma Lu said to Yuan Ruonan.

"Don't mention it, you helped me with the recording device incident, so consider this repaying the favor."

Yuan Ruonan was wearing a man's suit today, looking quite dashing.

"Uncle Li was brought up by my father, he's one of our own. I've already given him a heads up, so if you ever need anything, you can go directly to him."

"What about Chen Meng?" Ma Lu asked curiously. "Why would she speak up for me?"

"Chen Meng's fiancé, Vice Commander Wei, is one of the President's people, but he's rather slick, so he's a potential ally. However, this time's event had nothing to do with him.

"Luo Xiangshi learned that Chen Meng was coming to Ping City to shoot a film and thought to bring her over with money. But it so happens I'm friends with Chen Meng. I met her before she arrived at the restaurant and asked her to make an appearance for you. Essentially, I was just like Luo Xiangshi, trying to borrow Vice Commander Wei's influence.

"To be honest, I didn't expect Governor Zheng to show up. He and Vice Commander Wei have only sworn brotherhood in a perfunctory manner.

"Yet with that connection, he was able to take Chen Meng away under the pretext of protecting her. Fortunately, I had a backup plan, or his involvement could have been very detrimental to you."

Although Yuan Ruonan had not been at the restaurant, she was thoroughly informed about what had happened there.

After a pause, she asked, "Speaking of which, what exactly is in that box that Hero Group is willing to go to such lengths?"

"I don't know," Ma Lu spread his hands. "When I got my hands on it, there was already a Secret Token on the iron box, I didn't get a chance to see what was inside. But Teacher Cao mentioned that the iron box might have been left by Houde's first principal, Ye Wangshu."

Yuan Ruonan raised an eyebrow, "Why would Luo Xiangshi know what Ye Wangshu's relic is?"

"If that iron box really was left by Ye Wangshu, and Luo Xiangshi can open it, it means he must have found Ye Wangshu's descendants. The information about the box probably came from Ye Wangshu's descendants as well," Ma Lu speculated.