"Did your boss say when he'll be back?"
"The boss is in Guisheng recently and hasn't said when he'll be back, but it should be soon, the event there is almost over."
"Alright then, ask him when he'll be back. Constantly playing around like this isn't a solution."
Zhang Xuhui nodded, thinking to himself,
'We didn't invite you here; you insisted on coming yourself. Otherwise, I could have stayed home for a few more days.'
Indeed, after Xu Xueming chatted with Zhang Xuhui twice in Yicheng, he asked Zhang Xuhui to accompany him to Beicang under the guise of an inspection.
Zhang Xuhui had no choice but to go with him.
He had informed the boss before coming, but the boss was busy preparing for the "Journey of Ten Thousand Miles" event, so he ignored him, hid in the city, stopped coming to the company, and left Xu Xueming to Zhang Xuhui.
Zhang Xuhui had no choice but to accompany him on factory tours, visit the industrial base under construction, and entertain him with food and drinks.
Through this interaction, Zhang Xuhui also experienced the difference in working styles between the two places.
Here, there are also some entertainment tasks, but most are normal "celebrations" after a collaboration is finalized.
During collaboration talks, for example, during meetings, it can actually be very simple; in the company canteen or even ordering takeout is fine, and no one would say anything.
But the current situation of taking him around to play has never happened before.
However, the boss said that for normal hospitality, even if it goes a bit over budget, it's fine.
As for other things, don't mind him, pretend not to understand any hints, to avoid causing trouble.
'Play for as many days as he likes, he'll naturally let you know when he gets tired of playing or is eager to talk business.'
Sure enough, after wandering around Yongcheng for four or five days, the guy finally remembered the main business.
The boss was also about to return, so he could finally relax.
"The days of accompanying him for food and drink are coming to an end, sigh,"
Zhang Xuhui secretly lamented.
It was also a benefit; since arriving in Yongcheng, he hadn't toured the city.
Not to mention Chenghuang Temple, he hadn't even visited the Jiufeng Mountain scenic area within Beicang.
This was a good opportunity for a publicly funded trip.
During their two talks in Yicheng, Xu Xueming clung to the collaboration, ignoring their pure acquisition offer for intangible assets, which meant there was nothing to discuss.
However, through several interactions, Zhang Xuhui did gain some useful information.
The reason the other party was so calm was that besides Shanchi Technology, another enterprise was also interested in Andaer's intangible assets.
It was also an electric vehicle company, located in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province.
This enterprise aimed to develop electric cars and planned to build an electric car factory in Wangjiang County, under Yicheng, to continue making the Andaer brand shine in the market.
Through connections, Zhang Xuhui also found out that this electric vehicle company was merely a small workshop with a registered capital of only 1 million yuan.
In the boss's words, it was "pure bluff."
At that time, the concept of electric cars didn't even exist on the market.
It was probably trying to trick them into getting the intangible assets at a lower price.
As for when to build the factory, that would be entirely up to him, and in what manner to build the factory would also be entirely up to him.
In fact, if Shanchi Technology were to agree to the car factory's terms in the same way, acquiring the intangible assets wouldn't be difficult, and their advantage would be greater.
But Tan Jincheng couldn't do that.
The other party wasn't from Yicheng, so they could get the assets and run.
But all his social connections from the first half of his life were in Yicheng, and he could never deny his identity as an Yicheng native in this lifetime.
He couldn't trick Yicheng, no matter who else he tricked.
In terms of negotiation difficulty, Shanchi Technology's side was higher, but higher also had its benefits; as long as this deal was made, it would reduce a lot of other troubles later.
February 13th, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.
Tan Jincheng, who had detoured via Nanning and returned to Yongcheng, met Xu Xueming at the new factory office.
"Manager Xu, my apologies for the delay. The plan was made before the new year, and I had to attend this event, otherwise, it would affect the marketing plan for the next few months."
Upon meeting, Tan Jincheng poured tea, offered cigarettes, and apologized repeatedly.
Xu Xueming was indeed somewhat displeased about being left in Yongcheng for several days, but with Tan Jincheng's attitude and the immediate meeting upon his return, he found it difficult to say anything more.
Although these past few days were mostly for sightseeing, he had also done some serious business.
He and his entourage had visited Shanchi Technology's two existing factories and also toured the industrial base currently under construction.
The two factories were not large, but the production speed was very fast.
At the same time, electric vehicles were truly in high demand, being shipped out in batches, with almost no inventory in the warehouse.
They also visited Shanchi Technology's direct store in Beicang.
Right after the Spring Festival, a new batch of migrant workers, led by experienced factory employees, came to the store to buy electric vehicles, and business was very good.
Shanchi Technology employees, in addition to enjoying in-store discounts, could also receive a 200 yuan coupon each.
This 200 yuan coupon was not restricted to personal use; it was fine to sell it to others, whatever they wanted to do with it.
However, each person only had one opportunity.
Some employees who didn't need to buy a car would sell their coupons at a discount to friends or fellow villagers.
These direct store operators didn't care; they only recognized the coupon.
Anyway, as of now, the company had issued fewer than 1000 coupons, and the store staff could verify if any were fake.
Furthermore, with previous car purchase invoices, one could also enjoy a 100 yuan discount once, and trade in old vehicles at the store.
This 100 yuan discount could be stacked with the employee coupon and was not limited to specific models.
Calculating with the Shanchi economy model's price of 1999 yuan, with both discounts stacked, an electric vehicle could be obtained for only 1699 yuan.
This price was very attractive given the current general price increases for electric vehicles.
Xu Xueming naturally didn't know these details; he only saw that the store's business was very booming.
He also learned about Shanchi Technology's sales performance last year through Zhang Xuhui.
By the end of the year, with only half a year of official sales, it had sold 38,000 electric vehicles, with sales exceeding 60 million yuan, already making it a medium-sized enterprise.
This was only half a year after its establishment.
During the visit, Xu Xueming also learned about Shanchi Technology's sales forecast for this year.
It must be said that their ambition was huge: Shanchi Technology's full-year sales forecast for this year aimed for 200,000 vehicles! If this sales volume could be achieved, that would be an annual production and sales exceeding 300 million yuan.
Compared to the electric vehicle company in Taizhou, Shanchi Technology's strength was more than just one level higher.
If such an enterprise were located in Yicheng, it would be a resounding success.
How wonderful it would be if it could be brought to Yicheng! Unfortunately, this young man seemed to have no interest in investing back in his hometown.
'Sigh, young people nowadays have no sense of contributing to their hometown. Why can't they accept cooperation?'
"I understand, General Manager Tan, your business is so big, it's understandable that you're busy. It's alright, there's no rush between us, cooperation isn't something that can be decided in a day or two,"
Xu Xueming forced a smile.
"Thank you very much for your understanding, General Manager Xu. To avoid further wasting your time, let's get straight to the point. I heard General Manager Xu is not satisfied with our offer?"
Tan Jincheng smiled.
"I'm not exactly dissatisfied with the offer, but I feel the method of cooperation is a bit unsuitable. General Manager Tan is also from Yicheng, growing up in the petrochemical residential area. Does he really have no interest in investing in his hometown at all?"
Regarding the offer, Xu Xueming truly wasn't dissatisfied.
Shanchi Technology offered 2 million yuan, while the electric vehicle company in Taizhou offered 800,000 yuan plus a plan for expected R&D investment in electric vehicles.
In terms of price alone, Shanchi Technology could be considered to have some sincerity, but Xu Xueming clearly wanted more.
2 million was a one-time price, and afterward, it would have nothing to do with him.
If the superiors thought it was sold too cheaply, he would definitely be held accountable.
But with 800,000 plus expectations, even knowing that company's strength was mediocre and there was a high possibility of it being a big bluff, at least there was an expectation, which satisfied the superiors' lingering hope for the Andaer brand, making the probability of accountability much smaller.
Expectations could be for one year, or two, three, or even more years, and after many years, it would have absolutely no relation to him.
As for other things, Xu Xueming hadn't done anything.
Honestly, Xu Xueming actually preferred dealing with that Mr. Lin from Taizhou.
The other party was an old hand, very savvy, unlike this young man, who was impervious to persuasion.
How could one do business like this?
However, in Tan Jincheng's view, doing business could indeed be like this.
This was no longer a chaotic era; doing business honorably, contributing to the local economy, and solving employment problems could also lead to making money.
Taking shortcuts might indeed work, but not everyone could take them.
If he couldn't acquire Andaer, he would only lose one opportunity, and he could find other opportunities in the future, or like Chery, Geely, or even Zotye, achieve his car-manufacturing dream by borrowing qualifications.
But taking shortcuts would bury a big hidden danger for his future.
"General Manager Xu, I can't bear such words. As an Yicheng native, of course, I have thoughts of building and investing in my hometown. But currently, we really have no plans to invest in cars. As you know, our company has another shareholder, Beicang Chengtou. For something as big as manufacturing cars, I cannot make the decision entirely on my own."
"However, since General Manager Xu brought this up, I can offer another proposal."
"I will acquire Andaer's intangible assets for 5 million yuan. Additionally, I will invest in and build an electric vehicle logistics transit center in Yicheng, which will radiate to Central and even West China through both Yangtze River waterway and land transport channels in the future. The scale will not be small."
"Furthermore, I can donate a sum of money to my hometown in my personal name to improve people's livelihoods. Besides that, I can also promise that if Shanchi Technology has new industrial plans in the future, I will also consider Yicheng."
Tan Jincheng's remarks, soft yet firm, left Xu Xueming stunned for a while before he finally reacted, saying in a deep voice,
"I'll report this to my superiors."
(End of chapter)