March 15th is also International Consumer Rights Day. The choice of this day is naturally intentional. After careful preparation, Baida and Yishan held a press conference in Beijing, officially announcing that the drinking mineral water standards since 1987 have not kept pace with the development of the times and are far behind the international average. They will do their utmost as individuals and society, and work with relevant national administrative departments to formulate new drinking water standards suitable for China's current development status, striving to let the people drink safe, clean and healthy water.
At the press conference, a media reporter asked a sharp question, saying whether Baida gave up the original mineral water standard for its upcoming new products. Huang Ji, the vice president of Baida, replied that I do not deny that Baida is indeed planning a new product layout, but this has nothing to do with whether the old standard is abandoned. We have a large amount of data and expert appraisals to prove that the mineral water industry is full of various shady dealings that are detrimental to the interests of consumers, and the phenomenon of selling inferior products as good ones and fraud is very serious. In the spirit of being responsible to consumers, I hope that all conscientious companies can stand up and support the formulation of new standards. Thank you.
Zhong Congjiang had been sitting next to Huang Ji. Facing the cameras and guns off the court, he was calm and steady, which quickly attracted the attention of the reporters. After Huang Ji answered the question, someone immediately stood up and said, "I would like to ask this person," he looked down at the business card in his hand, "General Manager Zhong of Yishan Drinking Water Company. Excuse me, before today, I'm afraid no one knows the name of your company, and of course it is even more impossible to know your company's strength. May I ask why do you think you have the confidence to face the anger and obstacles of more than a thousand mineral water factories and promote the formulation of the new national standard?"
Although today's press conference was selected and screened in advance, there were still media close to the mineral water merchants who sneaked in to try to disrupt and fight back. As soon as this question was asked, mocking laughter immediately rang out from some places in the audience. Zhong Congjiang did not take it as an offense. After the laughter stopped, he smiled and said, "This media friend asked a very good question. Why does Yishan have such confidence to go against the world's condemnation? Because we have 1.3 billion consumers behind us! 1.2 billion versus 1.3 billion, anyone who has been to elementary school will definitely know the difference between the two, so we are confident and fearless!"
The reporter was speechless and sat down in dismay. Someone immediately stood up and asked, "General Manager Zhong, I admire the courage in your words just now, but I think that courage cannot replace strength. It's like me, I speak much more fluently than my nephew, but I am left behind by him in the 100-meter race." There was another round of laughter, and he continued, "For example, Baida has developed for 14 years and is already the leader of the first group in the industry, but Yishan is probably still a toddler. When you two companies cooperate, one is fast and the other is slow. How can you coordinate and unify?"
Zhong Congjiang replied without thinking, "I have always believed that the most important things in doing business are 'three sincerity': sincerity, honesty and sincerity. As long as you make products sincerely, promote them honestly, and listen to opinions sincerely, it doesn't matter whether it's four years, fourteen years, forty years, or even four hundred years. What's important is whether your products can impress the people, whether your quality can make the people trust you, and whether your reputation can support the development of your company. So I think your worries are unnecessary. The reason why Baida chose Yishan as its partner is because Baida's President Su and President Huang both have such foresight!"
This person lost again, but he gave a thumbs up before sitting down. I think he accepted the defeat with all his heart. After sending away the troublesome reporter, everything became peaceful. After all, everyone received red envelopes, so they had to show their support and not lose their professionalism. Otherwise, who would be willing to give money next time
After the press conference, with a large number of subsequent reports and the crazy counterattack of mineral water factories, Yishan Drinking Water Co., Ltd. went from being unknown to a company with a huge brand recognition like Baida. At that time, Yishan did not even have a product on the market.
Sometimes I can’t help but sigh that clinging to someone’s thighs is really a shortcut to success!
While Wen Liang was actively preparing for the launch of Yishan Pure Water, Ning Xi also reached a cooperation intention with Lingyang City. Hengsha Mining invested 1 billion yuan, accounting for 49% of the shares of the newly established Xishatou Port Company, and the Lingyang Municipal Government invested 700 million yuan and invested in ports, land, policies, taxes and other resources to account for a total of 51% of the shares. It is expected that the project will be completed in three phases over three years. Although the intention was reached, the formal signing of the agreement still requires the approval of the Hengsha Board of Directors. On this morning, five people sat in the conference room of Hengsha headquarters, all of whom were members of the board of directors, including two deputy general managers, an assistant general manager, a director of the strategic planning department, and a director representing employees. However, Ning Xi and Lei De, the two chairmen, had not yet appeared. Everyone sat separately, maintaining a depressing silence with each other. Occasionally, there would be eye contact, but no one spoke, and they were all quietly waiting for the storm that might come next.
It was already an open secret in the company that Reid opposed the cooperation with Lingyang. Although the people below him might not know much about it, as a director of the company, they all got the news in advance. Therefore, it was still unknown whether the resolution could be passed safely at this meeting. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that if Reid could not convince Ning Xi before the meeting, or Ning Xi suppressed Reid, a conflict would inevitably break out. If it was forced to a vote, it would be a serious blow to the prestige of the loser.
In the general manager's office, Zhuo Min was guarding outside the door, while a tense conversation was unfolding inside.
"Xiao Xi, listen to me. Hengsha is still in its infancy. How many places do they need the money? Is it really necessary to invest 1 billion in a terminal that won't see any return in the next five years?" Reid had been talking to Ning Xi for an hour, but there was no progress. He changed his address from President Ning to Xiao Xi, trying to play the emotional card. Unfortunately, he didn't understand Ning Xi's temper at all. He handled business matters impartially and rationally. It was useless to try to get close to her.
"Boss Lei, have you read Walras's Elements of Pure Economics?" Ning Xi asked calmly.
Reid was stunned. He was smart and had a good business sense, but he was clueless when it came to professional training. He knew Ning Xi was deliberately humiliating him, but he still smiled and said, "No, I'm not so lucky to have attended Wharton School..."
"If you don't have any, go back and study hard. This is not the age where you can make a fortune by reselling securities and train cars with your connections. If you want to run a company, you have to learn management. If you want to do business, you have to learn economics. If you just read some economics books, you wouldn't have asked the question you asked just now."
Lei De's smile froze on his face. He said, "Xiao Xi, I mean well. I'm not targeting people, but the matter. Why are you so... "Vice President Lei, please call me President Ning, or Chairman. I don't want to hear any other names in the company!" Ning Xi interrupted Lei De and said, "Regarding the crude oil terminal, I have made a decision and reported it to the board of directors. I hope you can accept it. If you really can't accept it, it's best to reserve your opinion."
Lei De's nickname is Fake Mercy. No matter how he messes up things behind the scenes, he always does things to save face to the extreme. He is not annoyed even if he does this. He said, "Okay, Mr. Ning, we won't talk about personal friendship, so let's just talk about business. Although I don't know what kind of relationship you have with Zuo Jing from Lingyang, and I don't know why you want to spend 1 billion to help his future, I have made it clear that participating in the crude oil terminal is absolutely not feasible! As the representative of the Lei family in Hengsha, I have to be responsible for the company, and even more so for the alliance between the Ning and Lei families. I can't just watch you push the company into a dangerous situation step by step."
"Danger?"
"Yes, taking out 1 billion yuan at once will bring extremely serious cash pressure to Hengsha. Once the capital chain is broken, it will greatly delay Hengsha's pace of mergers and acquisitions, which is extremely disadvantageous in the long run."
"One billion is not something that can be taken out all at once. We also have a lot of bank loans... In addition, Mr. Lei, you are not in charge of finance and you don't understand Hengsha's funds. We lack everything, but the last thing we lack is cash!"
Reid shook his head and said, "No, the risk is too great. It's better to be cautious!"
The two of them didn't agree on anything, so it was pointless to continue talking. Ning Xi stood up and said, "Okay, I understand your opinion. Let's do this for now. It's getting late, let's go to the meeting." After that, she walked out the door. Reid stood up and shouted at her back, "Boss Ning, do you think the board of directors will pass your resolution today?"
Ning Xi walked out without stopping, as if she hadn't heard what he said. Lei De's eyes were filled with unspeakable anger. He smiled coldly and said, "Okay, if you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust. Today I will let you have a taste of the feeling of having your prestige destroyed!"
Time ticked by, and the meeting was already delayed by half an hour. Ning Lei and the others were nowhere to be seen, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became increasingly tense. Ten minutes later, the door finally opened, and Ning Xi, wearing a black windbreaker, strode in. Not far behind her followed Lei De. Both of them looked normal, with no signs of change, and seemed to be confident about today's vote.
The general assistant then introduced the details of the situation. Ning Xi glanced around without further ado and said, "I'm sure everyone has heard that President Lei has a different opinion on this matter. In that case, let's not waste time. Let's vote by raising our hands. Those who agree to a joint venture with Lingyang City, please raise your hands."
She was the first to raise her hand, followed by the general assistant, who was Ning Xi's confidant. Reid had expected this to happen. The next person to raise his hand was the vice president, and then there was a brief pause. Reid's eyes showed a bit of smile, and he turned his head to look at Ning Xi's face. Of course, he would not be stupid enough to confront Ning Xi without any preparation. Among the remaining people, the vice president was from the Lei family, and the director of the strategic planning department had been very close to him recently. They were brothers in private, and they had a one-stop service for eating, drinking and having fun. Last night, he also promised to support him today. As for the remaining employee representatives, it was even simpler. He just promised him a Beijing household registration for his family of three, plus a house within the third ring road, and he was almost kneeling down to kowtow to him. With these three people, plus his vote, Ning Xi was doomed to lose today!
Just when Reid was feeling smug and thinking about how to embarrass Ning Xi, the director of the Strategic Planning Department suddenly raised his hand. Since it was completely unexpected, Reid was stunned for a moment before he was sure that what he saw was not an illusion. His face suddenly turned dark and he glared at him fiercely, but he saw that the director was looking at him without hesitation, his eyes were clear and bright, without any fear or guilt in them.
Lei De was shocked, and instantly realized that this person was arranged by Ning Xi!
Ning Xi had four votes at this time, and was already slightly in a position to win. Lei De was also a fierce man, he could take it or leave it. If he lost, he would lose. At least he still had three votes, so it wasn't too embarrassing. But God was destined to play a cruel joke on him. The employee representative also raised his hand like the minister. The vice president of the Lei family hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to show his support.
Six to one!
In other words, except for Reid's vote, everyone else stood on Ning Xi's side. Ning Xi, who had won an overwhelming victory, did not look happy. She lowered her eyes, as if she did not care about the result at all. She said, "Boss Lei, please think about it again. Do you oppose it or do you reserve your opinion?"
Reid felt his face stiffen. He was silent for a while, then slowly raised his hand and said, "I support Mr. Ning's investment in the crude oil terminal!" (To be continued)