Chapter 43.2: The Perfect Solution
Ren Yan pretended to be the
assistant to Gelan'er's sales manager and called a Gelan'er client. Using his
expert rhetoric, he extracted information from the client. Ren Yan asked how
much the subsequent rebate would be. The client replied, "It's the same as
always. Don't worry, everyone's well-being is the real good."
This brief exchange had exposed the
bribery between Gelan'er and its distributors. While these were unwritten
industry rules, practiced privately by many companies, the evidence was a
different story.
Ren Yan put away the recorder and
said to Peng Yishen, "Mr. Peng, let's get back to the issue of Hanhai Home
Textiles going public. It would actually be bad for you if Hanhai didn't go
public. From your perspective, you should help us go public."
Peng Yishen smiled and said,
"Oh?" "I'd really like to hear Mr. Ren's detailed
explanation." "
Ren Yan responded with a formal,
polite smile. "The reason is actually very simple. Since Hanhai isn't
going public, we're going all out to fight you, Gelaner. With the corporate
spies we've uncovered within Hanhai, the recordings of my phone calls with
reporter Tong, the forensic appraisal of the timing of the patented
technology's creation, and the shady dealings between Gelaner and its clients,
if we really start fighting and suing each other, we might as well fight to the
death. These battles and lawsuits will eventually bear fruit, and the final
outcome will undoubtedly be in favor of Hanhai. All illegal operations will
ultimately target Gelaner and you, don't you agree?" "
Peng Yishen smiled silently,
remaining noncommittal.
Ren Yan felt it was about time. He
winked at Chu Qianmiao.
Chu Qianmiao picked up on his
signal and immediately understood.
He'd finished playing the bad guy;
now it was her turn to play the good guy.
"Mr. Peng," Chu Qianmiao
said with a charming smile, catching Peng Yishen's attention. "In fact, if
Hanhai decides not to go public, and they're suing you, the end result will
likely be damage to your and Gelaner's reputations, and you'll need to pay
compensation for your actions. Hanhai can rest and recuperate for a few years
before trying to go public again."
"But then again," Chu
Qianmiao switched her flattery to a vision of a bright future. "If Gelaner
withdraws the lawsuit this time, reconciles with Hanhai, and helps Hanhai go
public, it will actually be a huge boost to Gelaner's development. After going
public, Hanhai will firmly hold the top spot in the industry, and you can then
assume the position of second place." "
Chu Qianmiao paused, then changed
the subject, asking Peng Yishen, "Mr. Peng, have you heard of the
relationship between Mengniu and Yili? Mengniu's boss, Niu Gensheng, originally
came from Yili. After leaving Yili, he founded his own milk brand. At the time,
Yili was the dominant dairy company. To expand Mengniu, Niu Gensheng cleverly
leveraged its strengths. He emblazoned the slogan "Strive for national
industry, learn from Yili" on Mengniu products. Even more cleverly, he
included the slogan "Become Inner Mongolia's second brand" on his
billboards. At a time when no one knew which company was second in the
industry, his association with the first subtly created the impression that
Mengniu was second.
"The same situation exists now
between Hanhai and Gelaner. If Hanhai goes public and secures its position as
the industry leader, then no matter which home textile company is second, as
long as Gelaner is tied to Hanhai, people will think of Gelaner as second. In a
given product category, the brands that people remember are generally the top
two. Maintaining the impression of being first and second in the industry is
sufficient. In the future, Gelaner and Hanhai can join forces, soar together,
and together squeeze out the market share of other home textile companies.
Isn't this far better than us two giants fighting each other while other
smaller home textile companies reap the benefits?"
Chu Qianmiao's words were met with
not only repeated nods from Peng Yishen, but also a glance at Ren Yan, who
smiled and nodded at her.
It seemed as if her performance had
exceeded his expectations, leaving him pleased and satisfied.
Then she and Ren Yan, one playing
the hard-charging, the other the soft-hearted, echoed each other, one harshly
admonishing, the other softly flattering. Their combined tactics, combined with
both hard and soft tactics, surprisingly worked seamlessly together. Finally,
they convinced Peng Yishen to make a decision on the spot.
"Come on, Mr. Zhou, let's sign
a strategic cooperation agreement tomorrow. You're number one in the industry,
and I don't care. I'm just going to tie the number two to the number one. From
now on, we'll join forces and become even bigger and stronger! I'll have
someone go to court to withdraw the lawsuit tomorrow!"
The negotiations finally concluded
perfectly. Zhou Hanhai and Peng Yishen said goodbye to each other with a
lingering, heartfelt farewell, like longtime friends.
After seeing Peng Yishen off, Ren
Yan took the opportunity to ask Chu Qianmiao, "How did you hear about the
Mengniu and Yili story? Is it true?"
Chu Qianmiao blinked and said,
seemingly obediently, "It's true! I checked Gelaner's industry position
yesterday to see if it was number two."
I didn't find out Ge Lan'er's
status, but it did connect to the Mengniu and Yili situation. I took a look and
found it useful today!
She looked quite docile as she
spoke. Ren Yan, for some reason, seemed to lose control. He raised his hand and
patted her on the head, raised his lips, and said, "Well done."
"
Chu Qianmiao's eyes narrowed with
joy.
The next day, several events
unfolded.
Ge Lan'er withdrew its lawsuit
against Hanhai Home Textiles.
Ge Lan'er announced to the media
that its previous patent infringement lawsuit against Hanhai Home Textiles was
a misunderstanding. The two companies have now resolved the misunderstanding
and become friendly partners.
Hanhai Home Textiles' IPO crisis
was finally resolved.
After this incident, Chu Qianmiao
once again experienced the unpredictable nature of the business world—perhaps
one day they were still mortally wounded enemies, but after a day or two, they
could be partners, chatting and laughing.
She felt that her mindset had grown
and matured significantly after this experience.
Ren Yan, afterward, gave her a word
of caution, telling her, "Business is a place where people have many
faces. It's a place where you play with masks, so it's better to avoid being
too personal. If you're not careful, you could be completely ripped off."
He always feared her humanity would backfire on her.
But somewhere, deep down, she still
clung to a shred of humanity.
After all, when humanity is lost,
how can anyone experience satisfaction and happiness, no matter how much money
they earn? After all, when a person's only faith is money, the hole of greed
can no longer be filled.
But she didn't argue too much with
Ren Yan. Time will give a perfect answer to every dispute. So there's no need
to dwell on it.
After the matter was completely
resolved, Hanhai Home Textiles finally went public. After such an emergency
halt, Hanhai Home Textiles' listing seemed all the more difficult and worthy of
celebration.
The group rushed to Shenzhen again,
and this time, they successfully completed Hanhai Home Textiles' bell-ringing
ceremony.
The moment the ceremony concluded,
Chu Qianmiao wasn't sure what to feel. This was her first time personally
overseeing a project from start to finish, taking a company from restructuring
to IPO. She felt like an old mother, watching with satisfaction as her child
grew up and was able to navigate the secondary market on their own.
That evening was the IPO
appreciation reception, held in the banquet hall of the five-star hotel where
everyone was staying in Shenzhen. Zhou Hanhai hired a planning company to
oversee the entire event. He also used his connections to secure two nationally
renowned hosts to host the reception and invited government officials to
deliver speeches.
Overall, the reception was a grand
affair, a truly impressive affair.
Before the reception began, Zhang
Teng told Chu Qianmiao, "Go back upstairs to your room and change into
something formal. It'll show you're taking the event seriously." After a
pause, he asked, "Did you bring a formal dress or something?"
Chu Qianmiao nodded,
"Yes!" She rubbed her hands and said, "I spent thousands of
dollars. I'll go up and change it right away!"
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