44: Order

In the Magic City, at the China headquarters of the Toyota Group.

In the office of the President stationed in China, President Tanaka Rie was watching the recorded video of yesterday's Great Wall Motors new product launch with a gloomy face.

Not long ago, the Toyota Group board of directors issued an order to Tanaka Rie: at all costs, she must obtain the super carburetor technology announced at the Great Wall Motors new product launch.

Tanaka Rie had an impression of this super carburetor. Because she was inspecting a branch office yesterday, she didn't watch the Great Wall Motors launch. The content was reported to her by her secretary later. At the time, Tanaka Rie thought it was just a gimmick by Wang Jian of Great Wall Motors and didn't pay it much attention. But who could have imagined that in just one night, even the headquarters in Japan received confirmed news that the item was real, ordering her to get her hands on this technology no matter what.

Moreover, Tanaka Rie also learned that the negotiations with the owner of this technology in China had fallen through. When she received this news, she was so angry she almost fainted.

She wasn't angry about the failed negotiations, but that the headquarters had gone behind her back to negotiate with the other party, and then turned around and dumped this mess on her, telling her to commit seppuku if she couldn't get it done?

Tanaka Rie just wanted to tell the board of directors to go to hell!! Wasn't this just bullying an honest person!

Of course, angry as she was, Tanaka Rie still had to carry out the order issued by the board.

After watching the launch, Tanaka Rie understood why the board valued this invention so much. It was an invention that could pull the Toyota Group down from its pedestal. To put it clearly, if other car companies used this technology and Toyota did not, it would lead to a serious shrinkage of their existing market share, and the territory they had once conquered would be occupied by enemies. This was something a multinational car company like Toyota could not accept.

After thinking for a while, Tanaka Rie called for her secretary.

"Go and call Koizumi Junzaburo," said Tanaka Rie.

The secretary respectfully said yes and immediately went out to call for him.

Not long after, the president's office door opened, and the secretary led in a middle-aged man with a receding hairline.

"Mr. Tanaka!" The balding man bowed to Tanaka Rie after entering, calling out.

Tanaka Rie waved her hand to dismiss the secretary, then said, "Mr. Koizumi, there's no need to be so formal between us. I asked you here because I want to ask, what do you think of Great Wall Motors' launch yesterday in China?"

"Mr. Tanaka, I have watched the Great Wall Motors launch. I have a deep impression of this person, Wang Jian. He is definitely not someone who shoots without a target. Since he dares to be so certain about the existence of that technology, I think it is really possible that the Chinese have developed it. There might be some exaggeration in the tests, but it is certain that the fuel consumption will be lower than existing fuel vehicles. Once vehicles equipped with that technology hit the market, it will be an unprecedented test for our group. Now, my thought is to see if we can negotiate with the company that possesses this technology. Acquisition or equity investment would be best. If not, we should engage in deep cooperation with them to keep the usage rights of the technology in our own hands, so it won't have too great an impact on the group!" Koizumi Junzaburo replied seriously.

Tanaka Rie nodded and said, "Mr. Koizumi's thoughts coincide with mine. But unfortunately, such a simple matter was screwed up by the idiots at headquarters. Headquarters went behind my back and negotiated with the technology holder without my knowledge, and the negotiations collapsed. Today, the board of directors issued an order to me, demanding that I get my hands on this technology at all costs."

"Ah? How could it be screwed up? Logically speaking, even if the other party doesn't agree to be acquired or accept investment, they wouldn't refuse normal cooperation! No one would turn away money!" Koizumi Junzaburo looked at Tanaka Rie, looking completely confused.

"It's the consequence of that idiot Shinji Toyoda acting on his own!!" Mentioning Shinji Toyoda, Tanaka Rie revealed an expression that showed she wanted to eat him alive.

"So it was him. Then it makes sense that he would do such a stupid thing." Mentioning Shinji Toyoda, Koizumi Junzaburo was no longer surprised. Shinji Toyoda had entered the board of directors by inheriting shares from the Toyota family, but he himself was a thorough playboy, used to being arrogant and domineering. In Japan, he was lawless. Many major projects had been ruined by his hands, but this guy didn't realize it and would point fingers at various issues within the company. The current chairman of the board needed the voting rights in his hands and had always protected him. Therefore, although many senior executives of the group hated him, they were helpless.

"Did Mr. Tanaka call me here because you have some ideas?" Koizumi Junzaburo asked next.

"Yes, Mr. Koizumi. You have lived in China since you were a child, have a Chinese name and habits, and are yourself a master of machinery. My idea is that I hope you can enter that company called Qins Machinery Manufacturing Plant. With your ability, I presume it won't be long before you are put in an important position. This way, you can figure out what their core technology is and bring it back. In this way, we can not only save a lot of money but also master this technology."

Hearing Tanaka Rie's idea, Koizumi Junzaburo's face instantly turned ugly. Although Tanaka Rie said it lightly, it was actually asking him to be a corporate spy. He was a dignified master of mechanical manufacturing; wasn't this clearly meant to ruin him!

"This..." Koizumi Junzaburo just wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Tanaka Rie: "The matter is settled. Mr. Koizumi, there is an old Chinese saying: one must not forget their roots. Don't forget why the group sent you to settle in China in the first place."

Koizumi Junzaburo was a bit dazed after hearing this, and finally nodded, "Okay, I accept this mission. But I request that once I successfully bring the technology back, I want to return to my home country!"

"Haha, that is natural. We will arrange the follow-up after Mr. Koizumi succeeds." Seeing Koizumi agree, Tanaka Rie finally revealed a smile.

What happened in the office of the Toyota President in China was just a microcosm. They were not the only ones with ideas about the super carburetor; many large foreign groups had already started to take action just like the Toyota Group. Of course, superficial cooperation would still continue.

Another day, past eight in the morning, outside the Qin Group headquarters office building, rows of vehicle convoys were constantly arriving at the parking lot in front of the company building.

Then, groups of elites, dressed in bright clothes and acting efficiently, stepped out of the cars.

The various parties glanced at each other, roughly seeing where the others were coming from. In the dark, a strong smell of gunpowder seemed to arise among the parties. Then everyone averted their eyes and walked towards the office building with the same goal.

At this moment, several administrative staff belonging to the Qin Group walked out from inside the office building.

"President Yu, President Li, President Zheng, President Feng... Hello, I am Li Mantong, manager of the Customer Department of the Qin Group. President Zhao is already waiting for your arrival in the conference room." The leading Qin Group employee said with a smile to the leaders of the several parties.

"Sorry for the trouble, Manager Li, please lead the way!" The middle-aged man referred to as President Yu replied very politely.

"You don't have to be polite, Presidents. This is what I should do. Please, this way!" Li Mantong reached out to invite them.

Everyone nodded and followed Li Mantong into the building.

Twelfth floor, Qin Group headquarters main conference room.

Zhao Zhi had already sat in the main seat in advance, waiting for the arrival of the representatives of various car companies.

The purpose of the various car companies coming today was for orders. The car industry circle couldn't hide any big secrets. Wang Jian signed an order for one million super carburetors with Qins Machinery Manufacturing Plant yesterday, which had now spread throughout the industry. These companies had originally thought about buying a batch of super carburetors to test the results first, but they didn't expect Wang Jian's actions to be so fast. Moreover, according to their investigation, the manufacturer producing the super carburetors did not have a large production scale. In other words, whoever could take the order for the super carburetors first would occupy the market's first-mover advantage.

Therefore, after a night of deliberation by the major car companies, today's activity, which was supposed to be a tour of Qins Machinery Manufacturing Plant, was changed to a signing event. After all, no one was stupid.

After Li Mantong led the representatives of the car companies into the conference room, Zhao Zhi stood up unhurriedly and smiled at everyone: "Welcome, Presidents, to the Qin Group. I am Zhao Zhi, the current CEO of the Qin Group. I will represent the Qin Group's subsidiary, the Machinery Manufacturing Branch, in today's negotiations."

Zhao Zhi's behavior did not cause dissatisfaction among the crowd. Of course, even if they were dissatisfied, they had to hold it in, because now the Qin Group was the one in charge.

"Hello, President Zhao, very nice to meet you. I am the representative of BYD, Yu Dongxu. You can call me Old Yu."

"Hello, President Zhao, I am the representative of Changan Automobile, Li Ke."

"Hello, President Zhao, I am the representative of SAIC, Zheng Dongfang."

"Hello, President Zhao, I am the representative of Chery, Hu Mingliang."

After everyone introduced themselves, they were invited by Zhao Zhi to take their seats.

After sitting down, Zhao Zhi went straight to the point: "The purpose of everyone's visit today has been communicated over the phone. Here, I won't waste any more words. Now, please listen to our terms. Due to factory capacity issues, our company can only provide 150,000 orders to each company per month, and the orders require a 70% deposit paid in advance. Among them, for companies like BYD, Changan, Geely, Chery, Haima, Wuling, BAIC, and Hongqi, the unit price our company gives is 3,000 each. As for the remaining companies, the unit price is 30,000 each!!"

"Boom!" As soon as Zhao Zhi's voice fell, the room exploded.

"President Zhao, why is this? Why is the unit price for BYD and the others 3,000 each, but for us, it's 30,000 each? This is too outrageous!" SAIC representative Zheng Dongfang asked very anxiously.

Zhao Zhi waved his hand, signaling Zheng Dongfang not to be anxious, then looked at the BYD and other representatives he had just mentioned and asked: "Do you have any questions on your side?"

Actually, when Zhao Zhi said the unit price of 3,000, BYD representative Yu Dongxu wanted to ask, but then heard the high price of 30,000 that the Qin Group demanded from companies like SAIC, GM, and Honda, he immediately stopped. As the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison. Others are at 30,000, while they are selling to them for only 3,000. Why would he ask? Did he want to push his own company into the 30,000 bracket?

Hearing Zhao Zhi's question, Yu Dongxu hurriedly replied: "No problem, President Zhao. The price, the deposit, everything is fine. But is this order quantity a bit small? Can we add some? How about 200,000 per month?"

"President Yu, it's not that I don't want to add more, it's just that the production capacity cannot keep up. Our company is also assembling and acquiring new production lines. Please wait a little longer. In a few months, when the new production lines are assembled, it won't be too late to add more!" Zhao Zhi replied.

"Alright then, BYD has no problem."

Then Zhao Zhi turned his gaze to the representatives of Chery, Hongqi, and other car companies, and these representatives also hurriedly indicated that there was no problem.

Zhao Zhi nodded, and then looked at Zheng Dongfang and the other representatives of foreign-invested or wholly foreign-owned car companies.