in2ebook Chapter 407 Ling Yun's Counterattack
Chapter 407 Ling Yun's Counterattack
Ling Yun already knew who was causing trouble yesterday, but he felt it wasn't that simple. This A-Qiang clearly didn't have the ability to cause trouble for Xinghuo in several cities at the same time, but he still hadn't figured out a solution.
It was already completely dark outside the window, but Ling Yun was still sitting at his desk with the sales report spread out in front of him. The numbers for the second week were not good, and the tea on the table had gone cold, but he hadn't taken a sip.
Suddenly his phone rang. He glanced at it; it was Wang Degui. He answered it.
"Mr. Ling, you're still awake?"
Ling Yun said, "No. I'm still at the company!"
Wang Degui said, "President Ling, I found out that this wasn't something A-Qiang did alone. He has connections behind him, a chamber of commerce called the 'South China Electronics Chamber of Commerce.' This chamber of commerce was jointly established by more than a dozen electronics factories in the Pearl River Delta, and A-Qiang was just a lackey they put forward."
"The real person in charge is Liu Zhenxiong. He's the boss of Shenzhen Xiongfeng Electronics, which is the largest MP3 OEM manufacturer in Shenzhen, shipping millions of units a year. Before the M1 came out, they were doing very well. After the M1 came out, their orders dropped by 40%. Distributors stopped buying their products because the M1 was cheap and of good quality. Their products couldn't compete with the M1, so they came up with a crooked trick: they hired people to scare people at the store entrance."
Lingyun asked him, "What's Ah Qiang's relationship with them?"
Wang Degui said, "A-Qiang used to work at Xiongfeng Electronics, and later he started his own business. The MP3 players he made, the casing, the solutions, and the distribution channels were all provided by Liu Zhenxiong. Liu Zhenxiong provided the technology and the supply chain, while A-Qiang provided the manpower and labor. For each unit sold, A-Qiang got ten yuan, and Liu Zhenxiong got thirty yuan. A-Qiang was just a front man, doing things for Liu Zhenxiong. Liu Zhenxiong is a bit ruthless and involved in both gray and black markets."
Ling Yun asked him, "Do you have any evidence?"
Wang Degui said, "With A-Qiang's confession, he admitted everything. He told us who gave him the money, the technology, the supply chain, and who instructed him to hire people to film customers. Some of the conversations were recorded, as well as phone records between Liu Zhenxiong and those dozen or so factories, and some of the recorded conversations. There were also videos secretly filmed during their meetings, in which Liu Zhenxiong said, 'Lingyun wants to monopolize the business? Then let's make sure he can't sell a single unit.' His exact words were recorded. He used this to protect himself, afraid that Liu Zhenxiong would sell him out."
Ling Yun didn't speak.
Wang Degui continued, "President Ling, this Liu Zhenxiong is no ordinary person. He's been working in Shenzhen for over a decade and has connections in both the legal and illegal worlds. Xiongfeng Electronics has thousands of workers and an annual output value of several hundred million yuan. He has good relationships with the local government, banks, and the media. If you mess with him, he'll retaliate. It won't be like A-Qiang's petty squabbles; it'll be a major operation. And this chamber of commerce—it doesn't have any very large companies, but they are all companies with considerable influence; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to cause trouble for us in every city."
Ling Yun said, "I don't want to fight with these local bullies, but if others want to take a bite out of Xinghuo, I have to prove I'm not a pushover!"
Wang Degui was silent for a few seconds. "Okay. Mr. Ling, what do you suggest?"
Ling Yun said, "First, organize the evidence. A-Qiang's confession, Liu Zhenxiong's recordings, transfer records, and call records. Compile them into a booklet, three copies. I'll go see Liu Zhenxiong. Let's try diplomacy first, then force. We in Shandong are very particular. If he's unreasonable, we still have some methods."
Wang Degui said, "Okay, I'll organize it tonight."
Ling Yun said, "Okay."
The phone hangs up.
At 2 p.m. the next day, Lingyun arrived in Futian District, Shenzhen.
The sky in Shenzhen was overcast, the sun was nowhere to be seen, and the air was damp and stuffy. Ling Yun got out of the car, wearing a dark gray jacket unbuttoned, revealing a white T-shirt underneath. Zhao Hu got out of the passenger seat, carrying a briefcase, and stood beside him.
The building in front of me is the Shangri-La Hotel, located in the Futian Central District. Its glass curtain wall is dark brown, reflecting the shadow of the building opposite.
A red carpet was laid out at the entrance, and two doormen in red uniforms and top hats stood on either side of the revolving door. Ling Yun walked in; the lobby was brightly lit, and the air conditioning was on full blast, making it pleasantly cool. He greeted the receptionist, gave them his private room number, and a waiter led them to the elevator.
The private room was on the third floor, and the door was closed. The waiter knocked twice and pushed the door open. Inside was a large round table that could seat twelve people. Several cold dishes were laid out on the table: peanuts, smashed cucumber, braised beef, and jellyfish skin. There were two sets of bowls and chopsticks, one set on the opposite side and one set on this side.
Liu Zhenxiong sat casually opposite him at a large round table, three or four meters apart. He wore a black jacket over a dark red polo shirt, the collar open to reveal a gold chain. Four men stood beside him, all in dark suits, burly and with their hands at their sides, their eyes fixed on Ling Yun.
Ling Yun went inside and sat down in a chair.
Liu Zhenxiong didn't stand up or reach out. He leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, twirling a bunch of stainless steel keys in his hand, making a jingling sound. He looked at Ling Yun, sized him up for a few seconds, and then smiled. Not a warm smile, but a smile that said, "I'll see what you're capable of."
"Mr. Ling, I've heard so much about you. The dishes haven't been served yet, please have some tea first."
He picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup, but didn't pour one for Ling Yun. A bodyguard next to him walked over, picked up the teapot, and poured a cup for Ling Yun. The tea was hot, and the rising steam blurred Ling Yun's face.
Lingyun picked up the teacup, took a sip, and put it down.
Liu Zhenxiong spoke up, his voice not loud, "President Ling, I'm a straightforward person, I don't beat around the bush. Your MP3 player, the Spark M1, sells for 1499. Our MP3 player, with a 128MB configuration, sells for 1400. You take the lion's share, we get the scraps, no problem. But you're not even leaving us the scraps, you're pushing the price down to 1499, our product won't sell. You're trying to kill us with this pricing!"
Ling Yun looked up at him. They stared at each other for about five or six seconds. Ling Yun spoke, "Mr. Liu, do you know why I can make an MP3 player priced at 1499, while you can't?"
Liu Zhenxiong remained silent, waiting for Ling Yun to continue.
Ling Yun said, "Because I have chips, I have screens, I have the operating system. You don't. Every single chip you're using is imported. The flash memory you're using is from Samsung. The screen you're using is from Taiwan. The controller you're using is from Zhuhai Jieli. None of it is your own. Because you don't have these things, you're at the mercy of others. Being at the mercy of others means you have no pricing power. Without pricing power, you can only follow my lead. Do you think you can win?"
Liu Zhenxiong placed the bunch of keys on the table; the metal made a crisp sound as it hit the surface. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and looked at Ling Yun.
"Mr. Ling, I'm not here to argue with you. I'm here to discuss cooperation, and the conditions are simple. First, you must prioritize supplying us with your chips, screens, and flash memory. Not exclusively, but exclusively. We'll place the order, and you'll ship first. Second, you must raise the price of your MP3 players to 1999. We'll follow suit and raise ours to 1499. Everyone will make a profit, everyone will survive, and it'll be a win-win situation. If you insist on going your own way, then I'm sorry, but the entire industry will be your enemy."
Ling Yun chuckled, "I really want to see how the entire industry treats me as an enemy."
He didn't want to waste any more time on this person. After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the door. Zhao Hu opened the door and he went out.