Speaking of which, Tan Jincheng preferred traveling by high-speed rail, but unfortunately, it wasn't available yet.
Before the cross-sea bridge was completed, the journey to Gusu was much longer, taking several hours by car, and driving was also physically demanding.
"Boss, why don't we buy a commercial vehicle?"
Li Yaohui chatted with Tan Jincheng on the road.
"Are you talking about an MPV like the GL8?"
"Yes, exactly. With more people traveling in the future, I think a commercial vehicle like that would be more comfortable."
"You have a point, Xiao Zeng, make a note of it and arrange it when we get back. Also, investigate the vehicle usage of each branch company. Recruit drivers if needed, and organize existing drivers into a driver squad for unified management. Brother Li, please take on the role of the leader of this driver squad."
"Okay, understood,"
Zeng Jixiang replied.
This was Zeng Jixiang's first business trip with the boss, and sitting next to Tan Jincheng, he was still a bit nervous, unlike Zhao Xinyi in the front row, who had habitually lowered her seat.
"Uh, can I do it, Boss?"
Li Yaohui was surprised.
He just wanted to drive a powerful car, not become some kind of team leader.
"Why not? Just treat it like you're in the army. If you need people, you can find them from your comrades who are retired, about to retire, or having trouble finding jobs. This way, you'll all be more familiar with each other.
Furthermore, if anyone in your family wants to work for Shanchi Technology, we can prioritize hiring them if the conditions allow. You can tell Xiao Zhao and Xiao Zeng about this directly.
There's no need to worry about anything; as long as they work hard, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."
Li Yaohui awkwardly glanced at Zhao Xinyi in the passenger seat.
He had mentioned to Zhao Xinyi once before that his wife wanted to work here but couldn't seem to find a good job.
He hadn't expected Zhao Xinyi to remember it and even tell the boss.
Li Yaohui was a bit touched; the boss was quite humane.
"Thank you, Boss."
"Don't thank me. The company needs many employees as it develops. Our new factory will be operational in the second half of the year, requiring a large number of entry-level employees. As long as they are willing to come and meet the requirements, the company can accept them."
While Tan Jincheng couldn't make everyone's fortunes rise just because of his success, for close staff like drivers and assistants, he could still help if they had needs.
Every company has some relatively easy positions that don't involve efficiency, which are used to arrange these personnel.
It's not just the relatives of close associates; companies like Shanchi Technology, with their comprehensive welfare systems, are also favored by relevant personnel from places like the street office, as everyone has a few less fortunate relatives.
In an era with limited job opportunities, working in a factory was a good option.
When such matters arose, Tan Jincheng generally wouldn't blindly refuse; suitable arrangements would be made without affecting work efficiency.
Those who could be arranged into the factory were usually honest people, but Tan Jincheng still wouldn't allow them to get involved in core positions.
Of course, those with ability and connections would be treated differently.
Tan Jincheng wasn't a rigid person; what's wrong with leveraging connections that can help the company's development?
Tan Jincheng and his party chatted and laughed on the road, while Bafang Electric was somewhat nervous.
The company's largest client was visiting, and the client already intended to develop its own research, which would greatly impact the company's future.
It wasn't a matter of life or death, but once they lost this major client, Bafang Electric's three years of effort would be undone, forcing them to deal with various small factories again, collecting debts at year-end, perhaps even failing to get paid, returning to that small-factory operational model.
Wang Qinghua really wanted to keep Shanchi Technology as a major client.
In his analysis, this company, unknown a year ago, was now completely different, thanks to its status as an Olympic sponsor and its comprehensive product line.
If managed carefully, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, this company was bound to become a top-tier brand, sharing the leading market with established electric vehicle manufacturers like Xinri, Yadea, and Luyuan.
To some extent, Wang Qinghua was more optimistic about Shanchi than Luyuan.
Luyuan's boss was admirable, but his focus wasn't entirely on the company; otherwise, with Luyuan's solid foundation, it would never have been surpassed by Xinri.
Shanchi's Tan Jincheng was young and ambitious; his words at the press conference showed his soaring ambition, and his methods were also very diverse.
At such a young age, he understood how to seize the market and possessed superb marketing skills.
Furthermore, in business operations, Tan Jincheng was very clear-headed, focusing on improving self-research capabilities while excelling in marketing.
Their company's self-research capability for exterior components could be said to be one of the best in the industry.
Especially in aesthetic design, they were truly several steps ahead of their peers.
Battery self-research was already underway, and motor and controller self-research were also to be initiated.
From a business management perspective, if Wang Qinghua were in Tan Jincheng's shoes, Wang Qinghua would also initiate self-research for core components like motors and controllers, as holding core technology in one's own hands is fundamental to a company's development.
But when it came to his own interests, Wang Qinghua was quite conflicted.
Asking Shanchi Technology to abandon self-research and confidently hand over orders to Bafang, with Bafang promising not to 'choke' them, such a promise clearly couldn't reassure Shanchi Technology, not even through a signed contract.
Bafang Electric had no ambition to produce complete vehicles.
While retaining Shanchi Technology as a major client, it also hoped for more clients.
Therefore, Wang Qinghua himself might not even believe such a promise at a critical moment.
So, to avoid losing the order, the only thing Bafang Electric could do was to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with Shanchi Technology.
The foundation of strategic cooperation was to introduce Shanchi Technology as a shareholder!
After figuring this out, Wang Qinghua probably understood the reason for Tan Jincheng's visit to Gusu.
While Shanchi Technology developing its own motors and controllers and building factories was feasible, it would also take time.
It would take at least a year, and more likely two or three years, for mature products to be put into production.
Judging from the working style of Tan Jincheng and Shanchi Technology, they clearly didn't want to waste this time.
"So, Mr. Wang, are you interested in reaching a strategic cooperation agreement with Shanchi Technology?"
In the meeting room, Tan Jincheng smiled and said to Wang Qinghua.
Being able to guess the reason for his visit, instead of blindly asking him to temporarily abandon the self-research project, Tan Jincheng knew that the middle-aged man in front of him was smart.
Chatting with smart people was quite easy.
"Yes, I believe Mr. Tan also intends this, otherwise, I estimate Mr. Tan would be scouting locations for a motor factory right now,"
Wang Qinghua also smiled as he looked at the unusually young Mr. Tan before him.
Tan Jincheng nodded and said,
"That's right, technology is important, but technology can be surpassed, while time waits for no one. Shanchi Technology has always prioritized high efficiency, and since time waits for no one, we must fully utilize the advantage of time."
"Technology can be surpassed, but time waits for no one."
Wang Qinghua savored Tan Jincheng's words.
After a good while, Wang Qinghua came back to his senses and said,
"Mr. Tan's words are very well put. Today's technology might be thrown into the trash tomorrow."
"Since Mr. Wang agrees, I won't hide anything anymore. Yes, I'm indeed here to seek a strategic cooperation opportunity with you, Mr. Wang. During our cooperation with Bafang Electric, we have highly recognized your motors and controllers, and your technical R&D capabilities are also quite good."
"Thank you for Mr. Tan's affirmation. Bafang Electric is also very honored to have clients like Shanchi Technology, and we hope to achieve deeper cooperation with Shanchi Technology."
"Before we discuss formal cooperation, I'd like to tell Mr. Wang a story, if Mr. Wang is willing to listen,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
Wang Qinghua was a bit surprised.
They were about to get to the main topic, and Mr. Tan actually wanted to tell a story.
What kind of story could a 20-year-old young man have to tell?
However, Wang Qinghua still patiently replied,
"Please go ahead, Mr. Tan."
"I have a good friend named Zhang Xupeng. We grew up together. From kindergarten until we were 19, aside from going home to sleep at night, we were rarely apart for more than half an hour.
The year we graduated from high school, we went to Shanghai to play. At the time, we heard there was a luxury cruise ship docked at the port, and out of curiosity, we went up to have a look."
Wang Qinghua interjected,
"I have some recollection. It must have been the first luxury cruise ship to dock in China, in 2003, right? I was preparing Bafang Electric at the time."
"Yes, that was the year. We went aboard under the guise of working, but by a strange coincidence, we couldn't get off. Otherwise, I would probably be a third-year student at Wansheng University right now, facing the worries of graduating and finding a job."
"Such is fate! Who would have thought that an accident would lead to Mr. Tan's current success?"
Wang Qinghua, hearing this for the first time, couldn't help but exclaim.
"I wouldn't call it success. If time could rewind, I would rather not have gotten on that ship. But facts cannot be changed, and we can only look forward. A little over a year later, we disembarked and returned, settling in Beicang. Then, at that time, we both decided to start a business in Beicang."
"Later, we both co-founded a trading company. After earning some money, I chose to strike out on my own and established the current Shanchi Technology. I imagine Mr. Wang has heard about what happened next, so I won't go into it."
Wang Qinghua hadn't expected these events in Tan Jincheng's entrepreneurial journey, and surprisingly, the timeline perfectly coincided with the establishment of Bafang Electric.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Both were entrepreneurs, but the young Tan Jincheng had even spent over a year at sea, and returned to do better than himself.
"And then what?"
Wang Qinghua asked after his bitter smile.
Clearly, Tan Jincheng wouldn't just be recounting his past for no reason.
"Then, after we separated, I transferred the position of major shareholder in that previous trading company to my good friend. He did quite well, but with our company's restructuring this time, he seized the opportunity to stand with me again."
"What does 'stand with me' mean?"
"He transferred 21% of his shares to Shanchi Technology, reducing his own stake to 49%, in exchange for 3% of the shares in Shanchi Technology's parent company after the restructuring. As he put it, 'Brothers united, their strength cuts through metal.' And another saying is, 'It's good to lean on a big tree for shade.'"
Wang Qinghua now understood.
Tan Jincheng meant that strategic cooperation was possible, but Shanchi Technology wanted to gain control of Bafang Electric.
What a strong-willed young man!
(End of chapter)