2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 250 New Ways of Cooperation (5K)

"Brother, brother, play horseback riding with me."

"Brother has to go to work now. I'll come back after work and play horseback riding with you, okay?"

What is going to work?

"Um, going to work is just to buy Barbie dolls and pretty clothes for Xiao Jinyue. How about your brother brings the dolls back so you can play with them?"

A one-and-a-half-year-old child can talk and run, but explaining to her what going to work is really a bit difficult. Fortunately, Tan Jincheng has experience taking care of children. As soon as she heard about buying toys, Tan Jinyue was happy and couldn't wait for Tan Jincheng to leave immediately.

Clapping her little hands, Tan Jinyue's cheerful voice reached her ears: "Okay, okay, then brother should go to work quickly."

"Jin Yue, do you want to kiss your brother? If you don't, your brother won't buy you any toys."

"Hurry up and go, you have to see your boss today, don't be late." Zhang Suzhi was getting anxious as she saw her son still playing with their little daughter and showing no sign of leaving.

On the way back from the city the day before yesterday, my son mentioned that he had to meet with the leaders in the district on Monday morning, which was a big deal. I didn't expect that he wouldn't be in a hurry or nervous at all this morning. He has learned a lot of composure and calmness.

"No rush, it's not far, and it doesn't start until 9:30, there's no point in going that early." Tan Jincheng replied to his mother while teasing Xiao Jinyue.

It's only a little past 8 o'clock now. It only takes 15 minutes to drive to the district government, so there's no need to go so early. If it were the neighborhood I lived in in my previous life, I could just walk there. Unfortunately, it's not built yet.

"How many times have you met high-ranking leaders? How come you're not nervous at all? I remember I was a little nervous when I met our factory director," Zhang Suzhi asked curiously.

"We haven't met many times, so I wouldn't say I'm nervous. I haven't done anything wrong, so what's there to be nervous about?"

This is probably the difference between having worked within the system and not having worked within it. In his previous life, Tan Jincheng did business but did not have access to such high-level leaders. Although there were some unpleasant phenomena at the lower levels, he was still in a region with a good business environment.

My life has been going smoothly, so I don't have much of a feeling for power.

Zhang Suzhi's feelings are due to the different era and environment she lived in.

"Well, you're pretty good. But you should hurry up and get ready. Don't tease Jin Yue anymore; she's wrinkled your clothes."

"Haha, it's okay. Jin Yue seems to be having a lot of fun these past few days, let her have fun."

"How could I not be happy? When we were in our hometown, your dad had to go to work, so most of the time it was just the two of us at home. There wasn't much for her to play with, and we didn't have that many toys. You should buy fewer toys in the future, as we're almost out of space at home."

“It’s okay. If you can’t let it go, just buy a house. I’ll go take a look at that villa when I get back in a few days. Maybe you can have Qingqing go with you then.”

"Yes, good. Qingqing is a really good girl. She's beautiful, capable, and can even help you at work. You should treat her well."

"Okay, don't worry, I'm leaving now, Mom. My assistant is downstairs," Tan Jincheng said, glancing at his phone.

"Well, let's go."

"Jinyue, say goodbye to your brother."

"Bye-Bye."
-
"Good morning, boss. We're going straight to the district government, right?"

"Well, just go there."

"Okay, boss, give me the keys, I'll drive."

Tan Jincheng glanced at her, nodded, and without saying anything, handed over the keys and sat down in the back seat.

Seeing that the boss didn't object, Zhao Xinyi stuck out her tongue, thinking to herself that it was good. This excessively young new boss seemed a bit strange to her. He liked to be alone. She had been with the company for almost 10 days, and as the boss's personal assistant, he never took her anywhere with him.

Today was the first time I went out with my boss. I wanted to make a good impression, but I was also afraid of offending him, so I offered to drive for him as a way of testing the waters.

Zhao Xinyi is 26 years old this year. She graduated from Yongcheng University and is considered Gu Qingqing's senior. However, she does not know Gu Qingqing and was not introduced by Gu Qingqing. She was recruited through normal recruitment. She is from Beicang and is one of the assistants newly recruited by Tan Jincheng after Zhang Xuhui was transferred.

Another assistant is Zeng Jixiang, 25 years old this year. He also graduated from Hangzhou University of Electronic Science and Technology. He was introduced by Gu Yanning. He is Gu Yanning's senior, and his girlfriend is also Gu Yanning's best friend.

Since Tan Jincheng himself did not understand computer technology, he needed an assistant who knew some technology. Zeng Jixiang was introduced under these circumstances. He happened to be from Yinzhou, so working in Beicang was relatively close to home.

Zeng Jixiang was assigned by Tan Jincheng to be in charge of the establishment of Orange Technology. His division of labor with Zhao Xinyi was also very clear: Zhao Xinyi was in charge of the work of Flash Technology and industrial enterprises, while Zeng Jixiang was in charge of the Internet part.

Both assistants are college graduates. Together with Zhang Xuhui, the newly recruited employees of FlashTech have finally improved their educational backgrounds. For entry-level employees in physical enterprises, educational qualifications may not be that important.

However, for internet companies and their senior management, having more highly educated talent join them is still very beneficial for the company's development.

There's a saying that business owners often use motivational platitudes to convince employees that academic qualifications aren't that important, but you never see any Fortune 500 companies recruiting from colleges or vocational schools. So just listen to this and don't take it too seriously.

Reading is still very important.

Tan Jincheng himself is a high school graduate, and his company is engaged in physical manufacturing, so he naturally wouldn't look down on employees with lower educational backgrounds. However, he also hopes that the company can attract more highly educated employees.

Simply put, this is one of the best symbols of a company's strength.

There are still too few talents available. Tan Jincheng himself doesn't actually have much talent resources. The biggest asset in his talent pool right now is Lu Ruifeng and his group, but that's just a collaboration.

I just hope that they can train a group of qualified talents in lithium battery-related fields for Hang New Energy within a few years. This is something that Tan Jincheng specifically instructed Zhang Xuhui to do when he went north.

Talent in lithium batteries, internet-related technologies, and automobiles are the key areas that Tan Jincheng needs to focus on recruiting in the future.

These are all directions for the future development of Flashpoint Technology.

Perhaps because it was her first time driving for her boss, Zhao Xinyi was a little nervous, which Tan Jincheng, who was sitting in the back seat, quickly noticed.

"Don't be nervous, just drive slowly. We're not that familiar with each other yet. I'm actually very easy to talk to. Just do your job. If there are similar occasions in the future, you can bring the company driver along."

"Oh, okay, I'm not nervous. I'm just not familiar with the way. Don't worry, boss, nothing will happen," Zhao Xinyi quickly replied.

"Come on, look how tightly you're gripping the steering wheel. Besides, you're a local from Beicang, and you're telling me you don't know the roads? If I hadn't seen that it wasn't far, I wouldn't have dared to drive for you. Female drivers are a terrifying creature."

“Beicang has changed so much in the past few years. I was studying at school and doing an internship, so it’s normal that I don’t know the way. Who says that locals will definitely know the way?”

"Besides, so what if she's a female driver? Maybe I've been driving longer than you, boss."

When her boss joked with her, Zhao Xinyi felt much less nervous.

Dream on! You've been driving longer than me; to exaggerate, my driving experience is almost as long as your age.

"Once you arrive at the district government, don't talk much. Just take good notes. Remember to observe and learn as much as possible. Zhang Xuhui has already told you this, hasn't he?"

"Yes, Assistant Zhang mentioned it before. Don't worry, boss, I'll be careful."

At nine o'clock, the two arrived at the district government. With half an hour to spare, Zhao Jinsheng arranged for them to rest in the reception room.

As soon as he entered, Zhao Jinsheng looked Tan Jincheng up and down, making Tan Jincheng feel uneasy: "Brother Zhao, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. You've caused us a huge mess in just a few days, and it even made me work overtime on Saturday. I had planned to take the day off. You'll have to treat me to a meal next time to make up for it."

“No problem at all, Brother Zhao. I’ll be waiting for you whenever you’re free. It’s just a meal.” Tan Jincheng replied quickly.

It was a meal, but it wasn't just a meal. Zhao Jinsheng was trying to curry favor with him, and Tan Jincheng couldn't possibly not understand.

"Is this your new assistant?"

"Yes, Zhao Xinyi, you share the same surname as Brother Zhao. Xinyi, this is Zhao Jinsheng's secretary, who serves Leader Gu. You will inevitably have to deal with each other frequently in the future, so remember to learn more from Brother Zhao."

"He's a high-ranking official," Zhao Xinyi's first thought was this, and she greeted him repeatedly, "Hello, Secretary Zhao, I'm President Tan's new assistant. Please give me your guidance in the future."

"I wouldn't call it giving pointers, let's just learn from each other." After saying that, she winked at Tan Jincheng. "Xinyi, go out for a bit, I need to talk to Brother Zhao about something."

"Ok."

After Zhao Xinyi left, Tan Jincheng quickly asked, "Brother Zhao, is there something you want me to be careful about?"

"It's a good thing, don't panic. But how could you bear to find a female secretary? Aren't you afraid your sister-in-law will be jealous?" Zhao Jinsheng teased, not in a hurry.

Zhao Xinyi, dressed in professional attire, was indeed pleasing to the eye to have by her side. Her judgment was also much better than Zhang Xuhui's. This idiot Zhang Xuhui had been with her for so long, yet he never once offered to help drive.

Zhang Xuhui still has a lot to learn about being an assistant.

"Why are you jealous? I have a male assistant too. I hired two assistants this time. Besides, isn't it reasonable for a private company owner like me to have a female secretary? I don't need to hide anything."

"You little rascal, that's enough, I can't argue with you." Zhao Jinsheng pointed at Tan Jincheng and laughed.

Zhao Jinsheng witnessed the entire development of Flash Technology and felt the importance the leaders placed on Tan Jincheng. For example, last Saturday, the two leaders were able to add a meeting at the last minute, which was quite unexpected for him.

However, when Zhao Jinsheng thought about how Xiao Tan might bring a whole automotive industry chain to the district, he understood that this treatment was reasonable, all for the sake of economic development!

Therefore, Zhao Jinsheng paid more attention to Tan Jincheng. Anyone who is capable and daring in the automotive industry, regardless of success or failure, is an extraordinary person.

"Let's get down to business. It's good that I'm informing you in advance, but the city investment company won't be directly involved." Although somewhat puzzled, Zhao Jinsheng still conveyed his leader's message effectively.

Tan Jincheng was taken aback, but he quickly remembered that Zhao Jinsheng had said it was a good thing, and then he understood.

Since it's a good thing, there's only one reason why the city investment company didn't come forward: the two leaders tacitly approved of their plan to seize shares later. Judging from Brother Zhao's reaction, he probably doesn't know the inside story yet.

"Understood, thank you, Brother Zhao."

"Aren't you curious?"

"I'm curious, but since Brother Zhao emphasized that it's a good thing, then the leader must have his reasons for doing this. We'll find out when the time comes."

"Okay, I underestimated you. I thought you would ask me why this is the case, but even if you ask me why, I can't tell you, because I don't know either."

Tan Jincheng smiled. The fewer people who know about this, the better. He guessed that was the leader's consideration as well.

“Since Brother Zhao doesn’t know either, I won’t ask him anymore. I’ll just do whatever the leader tells me to do. Anyway, we’re in control of this matter. Neither I nor the district will suffer any losses. If he doesn’t agree, I’ll just find a piece of land and build a factory myself. Then I can bring in a few production lines and get it up and running.”

Since a tacit understanding had been reached in advance, the subsequent meetings were basically just going through the motions. As expected, Mr. Qin, the person in charge from the city investment company, did not show up. A new company would go to Yongkang to negotiate with Flash Technology.

Regardless of the circumstances, since this company was able to emerge, it must have some connection with the city investment company or the district government. Let's call it a shadow company for now.

Time was of the essence, and delays could lead to unforeseen circumstances. Tan Jincheng did not want to waste too much time, so after communication, he decided to officially set off for Yongkang the day after tomorrow. Today and tomorrow would be the two days left for the district to communicate with Yongkang and Zhongtai.

The meeting was very simple, with only a small number of people attending. There wasn't much small talk; the main focus was on discussing the minimum number of shares the two companies would be satisfied with acquiring combined.

“I think we shouldn’t be fixated on the parent company’s equity. If we want the parent company’s equity, it would be easier to do so through a share issuance or even a secondary market acquisition. How about we keep an eye on Zhongtai Auto’s equity instead? After all, what we need is the production chain, and Mr. Tan just wants to sell it for a good price.”

On the other hand, Zhongtai Auto is currently facing difficulties. Although their products have been manufactured, they cannot be sold without a production license, and they have not yet been validated by the market. Therefore, we can better suppress their valuation.
But the parent company's market capitalization is what it is. Even if we wanted to acquire it at a much lower price, secondary market shareholders wouldn't agree, and our reputation would be ruined.

One of the financial leaders present suggested that he was unaware of Tan Jincheng's plans and was only calculating from the perspective of financial market valuation.

The meeting room fell silent as soon as the suggestion was made, clearly everyone was considering its feasibility.

"What does Mr. Tan think of this proposal?" Leader Gu asked Tan Jincheng, while the senior leader also looked at Tan Jincheng.

Everyone couldn't help but turn their heads, not expecting that the leader would value this young man's opinion so much.

After a moment of contemplation, Tan Jincheng said, "Okay, we'll focus on Zhongtai Auto's equity. The worst-case scenario is that we don't want any equity in their parent company or even Zhongtai Auto itself, but we need to acquire more than 51% of the equity in Zhongtai Auto's Beicang branch, using our influence in Beicang to gain greater benefits."

The automobile production qualification was given to Zhongtai in exchange for Zhongtai investing in and building a factory in Beicang. Under the names of Xinchi Intelligent Manufacturing and a shadow company, Zhongtai would hold a total of 51% of the equity in the Beicang branch, thus giving Zhongtai complete control over Beicang.

Even if Zhongtai gets bogged down in trouble later and the acquisition cost is too high, it can be divested in time. At that time, only the Beicang branch can be acquired and a new company can be started.

As for the shares in Zhongtai Auto, it would be best to acquire more, as it would greatly benefit both subsequent acquisitions and cashing out after the IPO. However, it wouldn't matter if we couldn't acquire more.

The deal was reached: Zhongtai Auto would be responsible for setting up the Beicang Auto branch plant, the Beicang District Government would be responsible for providing land and policy resources, and Xinchi Intelligent Manufacturing would be responsible for providing the automotive production qualification.

It is believed that Zhongtai and Yongkang would be willing to accept only control of the Beicang branch.

For Zhongtai Auto, the founder's family's equity control is not greatly affected, nor is it greatly affected Yongkang. With the car factory in Beicang District, the industrial chain can be developed, which is the most ideal result.

The industrial chain is more important to Beicang District than the so-called control of the automobile factory, and it is actually beneficial to Tan Jincheng.

All you need to do is provide a car production license, and people from all walks of life will help you set up a car factory in Beicang, taking care of production and sales. It's like handing over all the preliminary setup work so you can leave it all behind.

When the time is right, they can acquire the shares held by the shadow company or Zhongtai in one fell swoop, and then they can get a complete car factory.

He has satisfied his pursuit of the automotive industry while withdrawing from it at this stage to avoid attracting too much attention.

To outsiders, FlashTech is currently an electric vehicle manufacturer. Having just established itself, its high-profile entry into the automotive industry is bound to have a significant impact on its existing business.

"President Tan's plan is even better. We can make our own decisions on our own turf, which allows us to focus on developing the industrial chain. However, it will have some impact on President Tan's original plans." It was the same financial leader who spoke.

"It's alright, I won't lose anything anyway. The vehicle license isn't very useful to me, so it's only right that I contribute to the district."

“Good, young people have vision. It’s a blessing for the district to have an entrepreneur like Mr. Tan.”

"You flatter me, it's just what I should do."

Leader Gu's lips curled up slightly, but he couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Little sly fox." He was very good at saying nice things, but the equity of a branch company was naturally incomparable to that of the head office.

But those who know his ultimate plan can easily understand the key behind it.

It's normal for business partnerships to break down when things don't work out. By having both companies hold controlling stakes in the Beicang branch, we can then find a reason to say that we no longer want to cooperate, and thus smoothly take over a complete factory.

The abacus beads are practically hitting people's faces with all the pounding, yet they're still pretending to be good people, putting on an air of righteous indignation.

Combined with his youthful face, it was truly somewhat comical.

"Since that's the case, let's settle on this plan then." Seeing that Tan Jincheng was still interrupting and continuing to boast, Leader Gu couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted him.

"Okay, it's settled then. You, Lao Gu, will handle the rest," the senior leader said.

He knew the inside story and understood why Lao Gu interrupted; everyone was old enough to be Xiao Tan's father, and knowing full well that it was his own idea, it was really awkward to listen to him rambling on.

"Okay, thank you, boss." Tan Jincheng was also good at reading the room and immediately shut up.

"Alright, meeting adjourned. Everyone go and prepare, and try to open up a new industry for the district." After saying that, he gave Tan Jincheng a meaningful look, then got up and left.

"President Tan, you should also go back and prepare. We'll be leaving at eight o'clock the day after tomorrow. Make the plan more detailed and try to persuade them," Director Gu said to Tan Jincheng.

"Okay, we'll go back and prepare now," Tan Jincheng said, bowing.

Watching everyone leave, Tan Jincheng said to Zhao Xinyi, who had been taking notes and hadn't been able to speak, "Let's pack up and go back."

Today's two chapters totaled over 8000 words, so this is considered an extra update.

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(End of this chapter)