RBCT Chapter 1702 The Worst Outcome
Chapter 1702 The Worst Outcome
Chapter 1702 The Worst Outcome
"Approximately how much will it cost?"
Gu Litong rubbed his face and looked at Li Xuewu, reminding him, "I'm telling you upfront, there's no more if you want more."
"Our situation is similar."
Yang Aidong of Changzheng Automobile said with a wry smile, "We've spent all our money this year, and now we're living on a tight budget."
"Can you stop acting like you're collecting rent?"
Li Xuewu glanced at everyone in the conference room, tapped the conference table with his pencil, and said, "I'm not Huang Shiren."
"This money isn't for me. We're taking your money to serve everyone and to do things for you. You need to understand that."
"Alright, we trust Li Xuewu's character."
Seeing that he was serious, the old chairman of Harbin Automobile Group stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "But you know everyone's situation this year, right?"
"Otherwise, why would I have invited Director Hu here?"
Li Xuewu gestured to Hu Ke beside the conference table and said, "Otherwise, it will really become a case of Honggang Group collecting protection money."
"No way, hahaha—"
Wang Xiansheng from Jiqi chuckled and turned to Zhang Jing, the office director of Li Xuewu, saying, "Zhang Jing, hasn't the hotel's budget been finalized yet?"
“The leader said that since everyone is spending money, we have to discuss it in a meeting.” Zhang Jing turned around and gestured to the clerk, explaining, “We’ve come up with a few plans.”
"In addition, we have also found the budgets of several typical guesthouses in China for your reference."
The clerk was prepared and quickly delivered a thick stack of documents to each person at the conference table.
"Good, Zhang Jing is indeed reliable."
They've all gotten to know each other. Yang Aidong and his colleagues have dealt with Zhang Jing more times than Li Xuewu. Currently, Zhang Jing is in charge of coordinating the auto city project.
Li Xuewu oversees and coordinates matters that are all in the millions; smaller matters are handled by the project team.
Honggang Group has a systematic and mature process and plan for project construction, which is something that other departments present did not have.
A copy was also placed in front of Hu Ke and Wang Lu. The two felt a chill run down their spines, realizing they had been tricked.
Wang Lu, being a woman, dared to speak her mind and asked jokingly, "What about our share?"
"You are the host, and also a parent to this community, how could we leave you out?"
Zhang Jing was very clever. He would proactively say things that Li Xuewu was not comfortable saying, because saying more would only make him lose face.
If Wang Lu says no in a joking tone, then he will say no in a joking tone so that she won't refuse.
"It's okay, those with money can contribute money, and those with strength can contribute strength."
Li Xuewu smiled slightly and said calmly, "Today is not about assigning tasks, but about uniting our efforts."
Look at those beautiful words! Even the sharp-tongued Wang Lu couldn't say anything more. If she were to argue with that, she would be acting petty as a local official.
Especially in front of a room full of people who are in charge of the car city project, she could still bluff her way out of it in private, but now she has to be decisive.
However, having boldness doesn't mean spending money recklessly. She nudged Hu Ke under the table, and Hu Ke's face instantly fell.
He knew that meeting Li Xuewu would be bad news. When he received the call, he felt like he was going to fall into a trap. He didn't expect it to be a series of traps, a trap within a trap.
Wang Lu couldn't show any weakness. If he made a mistake in the conversation, he would have to cover for him, since he was the superior authority.
During the morning's research activity, Li Xuewu clearly stated that the automobile city project is only the first step, and the next integrated project will be the aircraft city.
Well, a car city project has directly brought hundreds of millions of yuan in annual output value to the steel city. If an aircraft city project is built as well, it will surely compete for first-tier status!
Although they all knew that Li Xuewu would be transferred back to the group headquarters at the end of the year, or at the latest, the beginning of next year.
This aircraft city project is very likely just a pie in the sky. Their earlier claim that they trusted Li Xuewu's character is absolutely bullshit.
Think about it, can the things these people say in a serious manner really be serious?
Even if Honggang Group has the capability and the potential to replicate the success of the auto city, and has already achieved remarkable results in auto parts and vehicle assembly, but!
However, it should be noted that compared to Steel Auto, SteelFly is inferior in both scale and production capacity.
However, cars cannot be compared with helicopters, and Steelfly is the leading helicopter manufacturer in the country.
Why isn't it the leader?
Sheep are nowhere near as fierce as dogs. The aircraft manufacturing industry that Li Xuewu brought out was a complete charade, claiming to be for civilian use only, but...
Wang Lu no longer dares to hope that the aircraft city project will be implemented in Gangcheng, because she is afraid, afraid of overeating.
Even a steel city can't handle so many projects. One automobile city would be enough to sustain a steel city for thirty years. That's about the limit of a city's current capacity to serve industry.
To support more industrial projects, unless the province or higher authorities provide support and special assistance, it's hopeless.
Honggang Group's appetite is growing bigger and bigger. In the past, we didn't need to ask them to raise money for things like entertaining guests at hotels.
One thing is clear: Li Xuewu's hotel project was definitely not just about assigning tasks; you can tell just by looking at his demeanor.
Instead of providing specific figures, they sent them the data so they could have a basic understanding of the current state of the project.
Honggang Group can definitely afford this money, but what's the cheaper way to use a partner who experiments with small projects on large ones?
Want to grow and prosper together with Honggang? Then you should at least show some attitude. If you're not even willing to spend this little bit of money, what are you talking about for shared prosperity?
Why did she dare to threaten Hu Ke? Because Hu Ke was the biggest fish Li Xuewu wanted to catch today.
Hu Ke didn't come to the steel city because he cared about the automobile city project; he came because he smelled the bait of the aircraft city project.
Even if Li Xuewu was really fishing, he had to admit it.
Even if Li Xuewu is transferred back to the group company, he will not be demoted or punished; instead, he will be promoted.
There are people who retire in their twenties, right? Even if he gets punished, no one here would dare to look down on him.
Sometimes, within the system, age really is a hard truth, and there's no point in arguing about it.
Hu Ke had to guarantee the success of this project, ensuring the smooth progress of the automobile city project, and then finalize the aircraft city project before Li Xuewu returned to Beijing.
According to Wang Lu's conjecture, the aircraft city project is very likely, or rather, will definitely be located in Fengcheng, even if Gangfei is located in Gangcheng.
Just think about it. Fengcheng is not far from the steel city. Railway transportation is very convenient, and the G202 national highway, which is being widened, will soon be completed.
Honggang Group has the largest machining industrial base in the country in Gangcheng, and the first CNC machine tool and precision machine tool manufacturing plant built in the country in Fengcheng.
The key point is that Honggang Group has an airport in Fengcheng, and the Tadong Airport will be fully completed by the end of this year.
Another key reason for the establishment of the aircraft city in Fengcheng is that the aircraft research and development and manufacturing industries in Liaodong are all located in Fengcheng.
Li Xuewu's move was extremely bizarre. Even though he had already broken ties with Shen Fei, he still insisted on placing the aircraft city in Fengcheng.
What is this called?
In Chinese chess, it's like calling checkmate!
Block your door, go your own way.
While maintaining a strained relationship, they also leveraged the strength and convenience of Liaodong's aircraft manufacturing industry to gain resources in Fengcheng.
At that time, Honggang Group will jointly produce aircraft parts in Fengcheng and Gangcheng, establish an aircraft assembly center in Fengcheng, and use Tadong Airport for testing and research. Don't you think that's an attractive offer?
Why did Hu Ke take the bait? Because he thought it over and over again, and even had experts conduct a feasibility discussion, and he believed that Honggang Group could pull off this project.
With Honggang Group taking the lead, even if we don't mention anything else, just building a helicopter assembly plant in Fengcheng would attract helicopter manufacturers all over the country.
What really got Hu Ke excited was that Li Xuewu's proposed aircraft city project wasn't just about producing helicopters; he was doing it in a very secretive way.
What's all the mystery about?
Honggang Group's core research projects are currently completely confidential, but people at their level can still learn some of them.
The drone project, jointly invested by Honggang Group and Dongcheng Credit, was mentioned by Li Xuewu at the last meeting in Fengcheng, and it has actually taken off.
Wang Lu was unaware that Shangguan Qi had already achieved wireless control and was working on the next stage of technical breakthroughs.
To be honest, they don't know much about drones, and they don't even know how many types of drones there are.
Li Xuewu had once used a real-world example to explain this to them: the shipborne unmanned helicopter that America was currently using.
Single-rotor aircraft with a tail rotor, commissioned in 61, used for anti-submarine warfare, capable of carrying torpedoes, and operating from destroyers. (QH-50 DASH)
Simply remembering these phrases is enough to determine the vast market potential of the drone project that Honggang Group is about to undertake.
Whether Gangfei makes money or not, others may not know, but how could Wang Lu not know?
SteelAir currently only produces three types of helicopters, and all of its technology and equipment are sourced from abroad. Even the workers on the production line are trained by foreign engineers.
Moreover, the majority of the production capacity of these three helicopters was absorbed by the Santa Ya Group, impacting the entire Southeast Asian market.
With its modern management and high-tech factories, these plants under the Honggang Group are absolutely trustworthy.
So when it came to talking about money, none of the people present said they wouldn't give it; they just habitually complained about being poor.
To reiterate, Wang Lu intended to cry, but she didn't get the chance.
"Where did you find these cases?" Hu Ke looked at the materials in her hand, then looked up at Zhang Jing and asked, "From legitimate channels?"
"Look at what you're saying—" Zhang Jing smiled, but did not answer his question directly.
Just by looking at the materials, Hu Ke pointed to the first project, Project 704. Wow, it's a project that was just completed this month! The information is quite comprehensive.
The 704 project had a construction period of one year and two months, with a building area of more than 28,000 square meters, including four buildings above ground and an underground command center of 4,000 square meters, with a total investment of 31 million yuan.
Its features include high standards, a large amount of marble, imported materials, a complete set of air conditioning, a swimming pool, and underground waterproofing.
This is a top-tier, special project; it's not an ordinary guesthouse at all.
The second example is Yangcheng Nanhu Guesthouse, one of the key construction projects in Yangcheng this year, which is a provincial-level guesthouse.
The total construction area is just over 40,000 square meters, consisting of 55 villas plus a main building, with a total investment of 60 million yuan. It includes gardens, roads, protective tunnels, and supporting barracks, which translates to less than 1,500 yuan per square meter.
That's why Li Xuewu is so cunning; he puts these two examples first, and then puts the guesthouse that Honggang wants to build later.
Just look, they have guesthouses worth tens of millions, but we haven't built any.
"This is alright."
Gu Litong scratched his head and pointed to the third example: the Hongqi Hotel in Daxian County, Sichuan Province. It has a building area of 2,000 square meters, is a three-story brick-concrete building, and has simple decoration. The construction cost is about 600,000 yuan, which is equivalent to 300 yuan per square meter.
This standard is already quite high; it belongs to the top tier of regional guesthouses. It can't be achieved without spending millions.
After he finished speaking, no one responded; instead, they silently looked at the fourth example.
The guesthouse in Zhangpu County, Hu Province, has a building area of 650 square meters and an infrastructure expenditure of more than 20,000 yuan, which is equivalent to 300 yuan per square meter.
A guesthouse costing over 20,000 yuan and measuring over 600 square meters—this example is utterly pathetic.
The Honggang Group is now using the former guesthouse of the metallurgical plant, which is already over a thousand square meters. How can it be made smaller and smaller?
"Ahem—" Hu Ke knew it was her turn to speak, so she cleared her throat and said, "I think everyone has finished reading, so they should have a better understanding now."
Everyone looked up at him, knowing that Lao Hu was about to offer his pledge of loyalty.
“Let’s not talk about the last one, Zhang Jing is just being silly.” Hu Ke smiled, looked down at the documents in his hand, and then looked up at everyone and said, “However, the last two examples still provide a building standard.”
“Our colleagues from several automobile manufacturing plants are all here,” he nodded, glancing at Harbin Automobile, Sichuan Automobile, Changzheng Automobile, Nanjing Automobile, Jinan Automobile, Chaohu Automobile, Beijing No. 2 Automobile, and Li Xuewu, and said, “We can’t be too stingy.”
"Just as Comrade Li Xuewu said, the future of the automobile city is very promising, and the hospitality work will be beyond our imagination."
He pointed at the materials and emphasized, "Since we're going to build it, and Honggang has said they'll cover half the cost, what are we hesitating for?"
"If you ask me, two thousand square meters is definitely not enough." Hu Ke leaned back in his chair, paused, and continued, "Let's double it, that would be about right."
“Four thousand square meters, three hundred per square meter…” Wang Xiansheng calculated, raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s one million two hundred thousand.”
"Well, I reckon it's more than that."
Gu Litong nodded and said, "The decoration can't be too bad, and the equipment and facilities are also important. All marble is too extravagant, and there has to be an elevator."
“The Unity Hotel in Honggang has construction standards, such as 24-hour hot water, which is basically a basic requirement.”
"Then let's budget 1.5 million?"
Hu Ke tapped the conference table with her pen, glanced at everyone, and then asked Li Xuewu, "Do you have any ideas on your end?"
"Yes, what everyone said makes sense."
Li Xuewu thought for a moment and said, "I have also thought about this question. What can the newly built guesthouses be used for?"
"If the lobby, restaurant, conference room, and logistics area are 4,000 square meters, the remaining space can be used to arrange about 80 to 120 guest rooms."
He frowned and said, "I don't know what you all think, but if it's for training or a meeting or something, are these rooms enough?"
"Training sessions and meetings..."
Gu Litong and others also hesitated because, according to the original plan and scheme, they had made a simplified design in the automobile city project.
In other words, production and warehousing are prioritized, followed by office areas.
To put it bluntly, this place doesn't produce parts; it's just an assembly plant, a branch of the main factory in Liaodong.
There aren't that many office workers; it's mainly production units, so the demand for office buildings isn't very high.
Furthermore, Honggang Group has promised that the supporting services for Honggang's industrial park will also cover the automobile city project.
This includes sanitation, cleaning, landscaping, maintenance, etc., which saves them a lot of labor costs. They only need to pay service fees annually.
To be honest, starting a hotel project to serve guests is actually serving them, since their current guesthouses are sufficient.
You say the Unity Hotel doesn't provide good service to outsiders, but it mainly serves employees and businesses in the industrial zone.
So, after thinking about it, they realized that 80 to 120 guest rooms really weren't enough.
"Double it again?" Gu Litong raised an eyebrow and said, "Build a comprehensive service area? The hotel is considered a supporting industry?"
“If it’s 8,000 square meters, that’s 2.4 million.” Yang Aidong said with a bitter face, “That’s more than 200,000 per family on average.”
“It’s alright, the city can share some of the burden,” Wang Lu said proactively. “We certainly won’t have much funding, but we can coordinate the construction materials.”
She nodded and said, "Since it's for everyone's benefit, there's no reason for us to just stand by and watch. Director Hu and I will cover for everyone."
Hu Ke looked at her speechlessly, thinking to herself: Do you think I need you to do me a favor?
“Two million four hundred thousand is definitely not enough. Let’s add another three hundred thousand for renovations,” he said. “I’ll coordinate some materials and equipment with the provincial industrial department.”
"Two million seven hundred thousand, if we break it down to one million three hundred and fifty thousand."
Wang Xiansheng looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "Three hundred rooms should be about right, what do you think?"
"Either way is fine, Honggang will cover half the cost no matter how big the building is."
Li Xuewu nodded casually and said, "If the project is approved now, it will be completed by the beginning of next year."
"The project must be handed over to United Construction for construction. This will ensure speed and quality, and also allow for budget control."
He thought for a moment and said, "Besides Honggang Group, the seven of you will each receive 1.35 million, which is roughly 200,000."
"It should be less than 200,000; the part coordinated by the city and province should be around 200,000 to 300,000?"
Hu Ke glanced at Wang Lu before speaking to the others, "It's inconvenient to provide direct financial support, but we can make up for it in other ways."
“Let me state my position,” Wang Lu said. “Based on the current budget, the city will cover 10%, and we will reduce or exempt taxes.”
"Hmm, I think that's a good idea." Hu Ke nodded and said, "The provincial industry department will also provide compensation to everyone. Don't worry, I keep my word."
"In that case, if the seven families split it equally, it would be around 110,000 to 120,000?" Wang Xiansheng was quite the shrewd strategist; upon hearing that the city and province had covered a portion, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
Although the construction of the car city project has now reached a point where an additional 100,000 yuan is needed, which is an astronomical figure for an individual in this day and age.
However, this money still needs to be spent on industrial management and business operations, even if it hurts.
For them, tens of thousands of yuan might be enough for employees to live in guesthouses for half their lives, but the meaning is different.
With over 100,000 yuan invested in Honggang Group, they have the financial security to arrange hospitality without worrying about being kicked out at any time.
"Then let's do it this way. Zhang Jing, you contact United Architecture to come up with a plan."
Li Xuewu stated bluntly, "At the same time, we will notify Hongxing Property Management to take over the subsequent work and ensure smooth communication."
Hongxing Property originally intended to build a site of about 4,000 square meters, which would have been sufficient. The construction cost of over one million yuan was to be borne by the metallurgical plant, which would cover half of the cost.
They could come up with 600,000, but now it seems there's still a big shortfall.
***
After the meeting, Li Xuewu had just returned to his office when he received a call from Miao Fang.
"Secretary-General, what should we do?"
Miao Fang said helplessly, "We already had a shortfall of half, and now it's even more. What are we going to do with the remaining 750,000?"
"Can't you do the math?" Li Xuewu reminded her, "The total budget is 2.7 million. The city will coordinate the land, and the province will coordinate the equipment."
"They say it's 8,000 square meters, but let United Construction calculate for you whether it's possible to get more than 10,000 square meters."
He said impatiently, "Go ask President Jing if she'll approve the construction of a 1.35 million yuan guesthouse that's over 10,000 square meters."
“If she doesn’t approve it, then you shouldn’t build it. I’ll hand over this project to United Savings Bank for independent operation, that’s all.”
He hung up the phone after saying that.
Cadres of this era, especially those over thirty-five or even forty, tend to have somewhat rigid thinking.
They became increasingly timid and liked to calculate every little detail in everything they did.
This time, he used the Unity Hotel project to extort money from the Automobile City project, thus collecting a sum of interest.
Once this project is up and running, it will only become more and more profitable, and more and more automotive companies will be attracted to it.
At the beginning of the project, and even before going to Japan, neither Chaohu Auto Parts Factory nor Sichuan Automobile Factory had decided whether to join in.
When they returned from Japan with a contract with Honda, the two companies immediately signed an agreement to move in.
If you don't act decisively when this opportunity is right in front of you, you'll regret it later.
Including Gangqi, there are currently eight car companies in the auto city. The factory areas are not very large, and they mainly focus on vehicle assembly projects.
Technical personnel from eight companies have gathered together and are organizing and compiling the parts used in each factory.
If a universal solution can be achieved, then the parameters need to be modified; if the engine and transmission systems can be standardized, then the latest and best system should be used.
No wonder Gu Li complained about being poor to them. Although the branch factory built in the steel city this time was small, it was a completely automated assembly line operation.
Honggang Group, in conjunction with Beijing No. 2 Machinery Plant, configured production equipment for the entire project and designed the parts and storage structures.
Beijing No. 2 Automobile Factory placed the BJ130 model in a branch plant. If the steel city plant can achieve low-cost, high-capacity production, then the parts production part of the Beijing plant will have to be shut down.
This is a very real problem. Currently, the assembly line transformation of the Beijing factory has been completed, and the price of the BJ130 has been reduced again and again.
From research and development starting in 66, to trial production in 68, and then to official mass production last year, production capacity has continued to rise.
The more you produce, the higher your production capacity, the lower your production costs, and the lower your selling price.
Honggang Group initially built its business on price wars, unlike Beijing Second Automobile Works, which had virtually no competitors in the domestic market for light trucks.
Now all they need to do is reduce costs, lower prices, and expand market coverage as quickly as possible.
The marketing tactics employed by Honggang Group for automobiles have already frightened them, especially the concept of market share proposed by Li Xuewu.
Looking at the Beijing Automotive Group's 212 now, it's a foregone conclusion that it will lose to the Hongxing Antelope. Companies that purchase the Antelope can enjoy a full range of repair, maintenance, and servicing services at the Hongxing Automotive After-Sales Service Center, saving on the company's own labor costs.
They have good after-sales service and strong pre-sales capabilities.
Honggang Group's sales branch has already achieved network integration in all major cities across the country and is currently building a city-level sales network.
Gu Litong has already reached an agreement with Honggang Sales Corporation that once the production capacity of BJ130 increases and inventory is generated, the sales business will be handled by Honggang Group.
Not only domestically, but also for export, this was the original intention of almost all the manufacturers moving into the auto city project.
By working with Honggang Group on exports, you don't need to go through the import and export corporation. Even if you don't get foreign exchange, you can still get real profits.
By opening an account at United Savings Bank and then exchanging the funds through Hong Kong Oriental Times Bank, one can either exchange them for scarce resources or key technologies.
Of course, directly exchanging for local currency is the worst option.
Everyone involved in the car city project was eager to make a fortune.
With such a large investment, the number of car companies that will move in in the future will explode. Is there any need to consider whether the only large-scale guesthouse in the industrial zone will make a profit?
Moreover, Li Xuewu was not very satisfied with Miao Fang; she was not as quick-witted as Qin Huairu, whom he had taught.
Despite controlling all the group's hospitality facilities and owning brands like the International Hotel, Unity Hotel, and Seaside Club, they had no money.
This is no joke!
If Li Xuewu were to become the general manager, he could raise the funds to build the Steel City Unity Hotel within six months.
In the service industry, making money couldn't be easier.
However, since Miao Fang was someone arranged by Li Huaide, even if he was dissatisfied, he couldn't veto her at the meeting, and he wouldn't even raise any objections.
Old Li hired her not because she was particularly smart, but because of her commendable loyalty.
There's a saying that goes, "Speaking, imitating, teasing, and singing are not as good as loyalty."
***
"Boss, Ms. Shantal, President of the Santayar Group, has arrived."
Hearing his superior scolding someone, Ma Baosen cautiously walked in and reported, "Should we arrange for him to go to the sanatorium first, or should we arrange a meeting first?"
"Let's arrange to meet at the sanatorium."
Li Xuewu took a deep breath, put aside the matter of Hongxing Property, and looked at him, asking, "How many people came?"
“Six of them, and they said they had assistants and security personnel with them,” Ma Baosen explained. “They came from Beijing on a chartered plane, Red Star No. 1.”
"Okay, I understand." Li Xuewu thought for a moment and said, "Organize the materials I asked you to prepare a few days ago; I need them tonight."
"Okay, boss, I'll go get it right away."
Ma Baosen responded and left. He was under increasing pressure from the Secretary-General, especially after June.
He understood his superiors' perspective; he still had a lot of work to do, but the group had given him a final deadline.
I will return to Beijing no later than the beginning of next year. I must use these six months to sort things out and hand them over to the next person in charge.
Fortunately, the Secretary-General has already transferred Xu Sinian, the director of Yingcheng Shipyard, and Kuang Yusheng, the director of the steel rolling mill, to serve as vice presidents of Northeast Industrial Development Corporation.
It now appears that Xu Ssu-nien will take over as the group's industrial head in Northeast China from the Secretary-General, while Kuang Yu-sheng will succeed Xu Ssu-nien as the Executive Vice President.
The leadership team at Northeast Industrial is still in the adjustment period, and everyone is very busy. They also have to take time out each week to conduct research together.
When inspecting a factory, one must have a complete grasp of its basic information, which is where Xu Sinian and Kuang Yusheng's strengths come into play.
The two were originally members of the group's industrial leadership team stationed in Liaodong, and they were very familiar with the group's industrial enterprises in Liaodong.
The other vice presidents are newly transferred, so they need more time to familiarize themselves with the new roles.
Ma Baosen is now responsible not only for the daily work arrangements of the secretary-general, but also for coordinating with other vice presidents and communicating their weekly schedules.
He happened to meet his master, who reminded him that he should remain calm and focus on training and learning, as this was a rare opportunity.
After Zhang Enyuan was transferred to work at the hardware factory, he rarely came to see the leaders unless it was for work purposes.
This is what my master often referred to as "the sense of proportion."
It is said that a leader's secretary is superior to others, but during his time as the secretary-general, Zhang Enyuan, the mentor, did not feel this way, nor did he.
I heard that after he became a secretary to his boss, the threshold of his house was kicked down by matchmakers.
Everyone outside says he's making progress, has a bright future, and is at a suitable age; they want to introduce him to potential partners.
Honestly, Ma Baosen really wants to find a partner and get married, but he's so busy right now, he doesn't have time for that.
His parents were anxious but dared not disturb him. Holding the girls' information, they were as stressed as if they were choosing a concubine.
He's very clear-headed about the fact that he can't just quit his job to date. Without a job, where would all these women come from, eager to be with him?
A man should prioritize his career.
He didn't have as much experience as his mentor, nor was he as smart as the other secretaries. He couldn't multitask, so he could only bury himself in his work.
The secretaries Li Xuewu encountered all possessed a remarkable tenacity, a rarity indeed. Even Xiangtar, whom he met that evening, praised Ma Baosen.
"Want to try something special from Northeast China?"
He shook hands with Shantal and greeted him with a smile, "Is the environment here alright?"
“I’m not here to enjoy myself,” Shantal said with a smile. “Sometimes I do think that the benefits you provide to your workers are indeed a factor in ensuring management and production quality.”
"What? Inspired?"
Li Xuewu joked, "If capitalists also start building welfare systems for their employees, does that mean they've awakened to the concept of modern management?"
"You're always so sharp-tongued."
Chantal rolled her eyes at him, then walked into the restaurant and said, "I'm not the capitalist you think I am."
"I know you're also a philanthropist."
Li Xuewu pulled out a chair for her, and as soon as she sat down, he pushed it forward a little further. This initiative was not just politeness, but courtesy.
The French are all about this; actually, those were tough years.
The history of high heels is essentially the history of French fashion, which is quite fascinating.
Later generations have always valued the feeling of stepping in poop, but after high heels became popular in France, people actually wore them because they were afraid of stepping in poop.
“I do charity not to glorify myself,” Shantal said, raising his chin. “You don’t need to mock my intentions.”
"Actually, I have no objection at all."
After Li Xuewu sat down, he looked at her naturally and frankly and said, "What's wrong with doing charity for fame and fortune?"
“I’ve said it before: if you really do charity, it’s only right to gain some fame and fortune. The worst thing is to gain fame and fortune but do fake charity.”
"See? I told you you were sharp-tongued and mean!"
Chantal chuckled and tapped him, saying, "If you said that at a banquet in France, you would be the most unpopular person in all of Paris."
"That depends on who I am."
Li Xuewu smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Let's not talk about Napoleon, let's just talk about modern times. Your behavior after surrendering was..."
"Hey!" Shantal glared at him, reminding him, "You learned this in East Germany, didn't you!"
"Hahaha—" Li Xuewu laughed and explained, "Actually, we learned all of this from the British."
“That Smith, right?” Shantal rolled his eyes at him and said, “Learn something good. None of the British are any good.”
The French look down on the British, just as the British look down on the French, and this has historical basis.
Li Xuewu was adept at sowing discord and shifting blame, but he would never admit that he was deliberately teasing her.
Having spent more time in China, Chantal developed a deep love for Chinese food and even hired a chef from the port city in France.
As for Northeastern Chinese cuisine, she said that East Germans should get used to it.
"I heard you're recalling those East German engineers?"
She took a bite of the braised fish, nodded, and asked, "How's it going? Is it progressing smoothly?"
"It's alright, the key is to persevere."
Li Xuewu offered to help her remove the fish bones, explaining, "If one comes back, it's a success; if ten come back, it's a victory."
"I like your attitude."
Shantal readily accepted his initiative and goodwill, smiling as he said, "Someone like you will succeed at anything."
"That's because I've met a lot of successful people."
Li Xuewu placed the selected fish in front of her and gestured, "You can add some fish soup; it's especially delicious."
"Don't you not eat fish?"
Shantal glanced at him and asked, "Still not eating?"
“I do eat fish, but not much. I’m not a picky eater,” Li Xuewu explained. “I’ve heard that fish contains amino acids that the human body needs, which is good for you.”
“I still prefer steamed fish; the flavor is purer.” Shantal nodded, gesturing to the fish on the plate, and said, “But the braised fish today is also very good; it’s the best braised fish I’ve ever had.”
"Yes, our chefs here are quite skilled," Li Xuewu explained with a smile. "You should know how good the benefits are in our group, and you should also know how difficult it is for young people in the city to find jobs these days."
"There are only a few channels to get into Honggang Group, and chefs are one of them, and the requirements for their skills are extremely high."
He picked up the red wine and poured some more for Chantal, saying, "Only those with excellent skills can get this job."
"So you have a lot of good chefs?"
Chantal wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and took an elegant sip of red wine.
Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said, "On the contrary, there aren't many. Good chefs are hard to find, so we've started training them ourselves."
"Our group's catering service business is currently expanding, and the need for chefs is increasing, so we have started cooking courses at the vocational college."
He raised an eyebrow and said, "In the future, we may be running many restaurants, throughout the country, and even in France."
“That would be wonderful.” Chantal put down his glass and said, “If you could open a restaurant in Paris, I would definitely patronize it.”
"I look forward to that day."
Li Xuewu also picked up his wine glass and took a sip, starting the meeting with casual conversation and providing plenty of emotional value.
Don't talk about work while eating, otherwise it will affect your respect for the food.
Therefore, the two of them only sipped the red wine in their glasses and did not intend to get the other drunk and then proceed to the final step.
The people she brought are still reviewing the documents for this negotiation in the conference room, and it is estimated that it will take some more time.
"Tell me about your profession of making cha (a type of fried dough).
Chantal looked at him and said, "Apart from the cooperation between the automotive industry and Honda."
Have you heard about Sanhe?
Li Xuewu raised his eyes and said, "I was almost shot dead, but luckily I survived."
"I heard about it, and I was really worried for you." Shantal looked him up and down and said, "I've met that Nishida before, I never expected him to be so crazy."
"A cornered dog will jump over the wall—" Li Xuewu took a bite of vegetables and said, "I was on guard against him at the time, but I didn't expect him to actually dare to launch a sneak attack."
"Did you injure the general manager of Honda?" Shantal narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Was that one of the reasons you reached a cooperation agreement with Honda?"
At this point, she gave Li Xuewu a deep look, then quickly suppressed her sharpness and understanding.
"That must be one of the factors."
Li Xuewu shook his head and said, "But I firmly believe that it was our sincerity that moved them."
"Hehe—" Shantal chuckled and said, "Sincerity? What sincerity? Did you reach some kind of agreement with him?"
"Honda is on the rise," Li Xuewu said earnestly. "They need overseas markets and foreign assistance."
"You don't have any connections in Japan, how can you support them?"
Shantal raised an eyebrow and asked, "Just because you invested in Sanhe? Sanhe is an electronics company, it has nothing to do with automobiles, right?"
"We can do contract manufacturing."
Li Xuewu smiled and explained, "Currently, the cooperation between the two parties is in technology and equipment; the next step is sales."
"If we can reach a compensation trade agreement through the efforts of both parties, I believe Honda would be very willing."
He nodded and said, "Just like now, we can provide products with very low costs, and they can also improve their competitiveness."
"So I'm your insurance?"
Shantal rolled her eyes at him with amusement and said, "You're going to pull this again, always guarding against the worst-case scenario."