Sun Tzu said, "He who wins a battle before it is fought has many calculations in his favor; he who loses a battle before it is fought has few calculations in his favor. Many calculations lead to victory, few calculations to defeat, and what about those who make no calculations at all?" This means that those who plan extensively before a battle often achieve victory, while those who plan little will fail.

How could Duanmu Ci not know such ancient and practical wisdom?

Before the negotiators from Australia's F Group arrived, Duanmu Ci had already instructed Bu Tongxun to conduct thorough preparations and investigations. The saying "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated" applies not only to the battlefield but also to the business world. Before Joseph's plane even crossed Sydney's time zone, Duanmu Ci had already thoroughly investigated his background.

This included F Group's financial reports and cooperative relationships for the past two years, as well as its debt situation, in order to determine F Group's maximum tolerance limit. As F Group's representative in this negotiation, Joseph was naturally not spared from investigation by Bu Tongxun. After a period of investigation and evidence collection, a series of documents about Joseph were placed on Bu Tongxun's desk.

This included not only Joseph's personal resume and personality analysis, but also Joseph's work style. All the relevant processes of important negotiations that Joseph had presided over or participated in were reviewed by Bu Tongxun one by one. Finally, she combined all the information to draw conclusions and then devised countermeasures.

As a result, Bu Tongxun concluded that F Group had a very high bottom line. In other words, F Group could withstand considerable price reductions. Of course, this would require the other party to have the qualifications and strength to do so; otherwise, they would rather see negotiations break down than make concessions.

As for Bu Tongxun, the negotiator for F Group, she believed that Joseph was undoubtedly a very capable person, having completed many excellent negotiations, but his personality seemed a bit too amiable. Of course, "amiable" is generally a positive word, but Chinese people are particular about context; different contexts mean different meanings, and in the business world, these two words...

Therefore, Bu Tongxun felt that she could bully, cough cough, take advantage of honest people.

...

...

For the past two days, Duanmu Ci had arranged Sichuan cuisine for Joseph and his entourage. The spicy flavors made these guests from the southern hemisphere coast feel very uncomfortable. Some of the entourage even broke out in pimples, and some suffered from diarrhea afterward. Even Joseph felt unwell, so he asked Duanmu Ci to change the menu.

Duanmu Ci, being the host, readily agreed with a smile. Originally, this was just a little trick of his, and now that it had achieved some effect, weakening the enemy's "combat power," he could naturally consider canceling it.

So tonight's banquet theme is a proper Western meal, and the gleaming silver cutlery delights Joseph and the others.

After a pleasant dinner, Joseph suggested continuing negotiations while the afternoon's discussions were still going strong, but Duanmu Ci politely declined, saying he wanted to invite the guests to enjoy the early winter breeze on a boat on the Huangpu River, so that the guests from the Southern Hemisphere could also breathe some Northern Hemisphere air...

This "breathing" lasted all night, and naturally, the negotiations failed. After a night of cold wind and a cup of hot wine, Joseph and the others returned to the inn to rest.

The next day was the third day of negotiations. Joseph and his team got up early, prepared a lot of materials, and even mentally prepared their arguments for a verbal battle with their opponents. However, despite their elaborate preparations, the other side completely ignored them, sending a secretary to inform them of an event, after which the negotiations would take place.

Today's activity involves visiting scenic spots and historical sites near Haishan, including ancient towns and mountains. Haishan is located at the crossroads of north and south, and borders the East China Sea, so it's been exposed to a lot of "outside influences," making its people and scenery quite interesting. With some other things to do, Joseph and his group almost forgot that their purpose in coming here was to negotiate; they were practically thinking they were on vacation!

Things like "tourism" can't be accomplished in a short time. Joseph woke up in an ancient town to find that it was already his fourth day in China, and he hadn't accomplished anything he needed...

Duanmu Ci has accomplished quite a bit. These past few days, he's been squeezing in classes whenever he can, all so he can ask Yan Zhigui for two days off without any pressure, to properly entertain the guests who have come from afar... So Tang Luoluo and the others suddenly realized their schedules were packed these two days...

When Joseph woke up, he felt things couldn't continue like this; the hosts were being too enthusiastic, and they were finding it hard to handle. He asked Duanmu Ci to allow negotiations to begin immediately.

Duanmu Ci calmly said that there was no problem, but it was still early, so they might as well have a meal first and then talk about it. After the meal, they could return to Haishan City and then proceed with the second round of negotiations.

Joseph nodded, but he had assumed that Duanmu Ci's "let's talk after we eat" referred to breakfast. He hadn't expected it to mean lunch. Clearly, he had underestimated the host's shamelessness...

It was already afternoon when they returned to the office building in downtown Haishan for negotiations. This time, Duanmu Ci did not attend; instead, Bu Tongxun took charge. During the negotiations, Bu Tongxun constantly stalled for time, proclaiming with each concession that her side had made "huge sacrifices" and "huge compromises," appearing utterly sincere.

However, this negotiation also did not last long. After receiving another phone call, Bu Tongxun proposed that the negotiation meeting must end early so that the guests could go play golf.

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