Chapter 161 The Contract is the Most Important

Li Baiwan's words were full of deep affection and loyalty, which completely shut Liu Shengli up and made him lose the courage to continue speaking.

He originally wanted to complain to Li Baiwan and test his attitude.

During this period, things happened one after another in the factory. Li Baiwan held a general meeting without telling him and took the opportunity to fire a large number of employees. In addition to his relatives and friends, some of these people were squeezed in to save face for customers.

This dismissal offended all his relatives, friends and clients.

That would have been fine, but Liu Xin's behavior at the dinner table today had completely put him in a rage. He watched as Li Baiwan's expression grew increasingly grim, until, in the end, Liu Xin actually bypassed him and spoke to Li Baiwan alone.

He was the head of the supply and marketing department, and being humiliated in front of others was clearly a slap in the face of the factory director.

Only a few people knew about the "Ruifeng" cement factory. Liu Xin's purpose in coming today was clearly not to sign a contract. So what did he and Li Baiwan discuss in private? Will they disclose this matter?

Liu Shengli was unsure and spent the entire afternoon feeling anxious and worried. He had finally gotten this far, and if he failed because of this, it would be a huge loss!

But now hearing what Li Baiwan said, it seemed as if he was completely unaware of the situation and had no grudge against him.

He quickly replied with a smile: "Look at what you said, how can I give up? It's been so many years, don't you know what I am like? Don't worry, as long as the factory needs me, I, Liu Shengli, will never say no."

This was said sincerely. Li Baiwan looked at him, nodded, and asked, "What did you call me here to say? Tell me."

He picked up the cup and blew on it, and found that there was no tea foam, so he picked it up and drank it.

Liu Shengli poured him another glass, sat down and said slowly, "Director, what Liu Xin said at the dinner table today really surprised me."

Perhaps because he was afraid of saying something wrong, he lowered his head and thought about his words, weighing each word carefully: "From the moment you promoted me from the stone nest, I secretly vowed to work hard and make a name for myself! Over the years, whether it was the quarry, the red brick factory, or now the stone factory.

In order to attract business, I have to put on a smile and give gifts to people without any shame, build relationships and establish friendships. I just want to create more results for the factory, reduce your burden, and make myself proud.

But you also know that in business, it's all about give and take, and if you're not careful, you can fall into someone's trap, and it's not uncommon to offend people. Over the years, I estimate that the number of people I've offended in business is not tens of thousands, but it would fill a train car."

Liu Shengli laughed wryly and said to himself, "Liu Xin is a young man, after all. I've heard much more harsh words than this, but for the benefit of the factory, I never care about it. As long as the order can be signed smoothly, I can tolerate people spitting in my face."

He paused at this point, looking at Li Baiwan's gloomy expression, and couldn't figure out what he was thinking for a moment.

Li Baiwan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I know that. I've seen all your hard work and contributions over the years. Don't overthink it!"

"Director, I'm not saying this to show off in front of you, nor do I mean to complain.

To be presumptuous, I feel that after all these years, there is no longer any crisis of trust between us.

You take the lead and steer the ship, and I'll be your assistant. This requires tacit cooperation. You know this, and I understand it too."

"Yeah!" Li Baiwan looked at him and responded, his face still gloomy and expressionless.

Seeing that he had a sullen expression, Liu Shengli tried to change the subject and said, "But it doesn't matter what others say about me. Over the years, I haven't had anything else, but I've developed a pretty thick skin. It's just..."

He hesitated for a moment, his face showing difficulty, and he began to stammer: "I don't think it matters to me, but... exposing my shortcomings in front of you... isn't this... a slap in your face?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Baiwan's face. Li Baiwan had been listening the entire time, his expression remaining gloomy throughout, without any change.

Hearing this, he interjected, "This brat is indeed a bit ignorant, but you shouldn't mind him."

"I definitely don't care about that," Liu Shengli immediately said, "I'm just worried you might care. He said that in front of everyone at the dinner table today. If it gets out, how will others view us? More seriously, we might not be able to sign this contract smoothly."

"We have to sign it whether we can or not. If we get this order, the factory's efficiency will be stabilized, which will be beneficial to long-term development." Li Baiwan stood up and walked towards Liu Shengli.

Liu Shengli quickly stood up and looked at Li Baiwan nervously, not knowing what he was going to say.

Li Baiwan patted his shoulder, his expression softened slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid I'll have to wrong you this time!"

"No, no, no, that's not right, Director, you're exaggerating!"

Liu Shengli, neither standing nor sitting, was uneasy as he expressed his determination: "As long as the factory can get this order, it doesn't matter who goes to negotiate. Since Liu Xin doesn't want to talk to me, let's get someone else to go. Didn't you talk to him? How was it? Did it go smoothly?"

"It's not going well," Li Baiwan shook his head. "His demands are very demanding, and I'm trying to figure out how to resolve them."

"What demands?" Liu Shengli laughed. "How much more demanding could it be? We didn't reach an agreement last year, and he said it was because our offer was too high. If he thought the offer was too high, why is he coming back with this now?"

"Could it be that Mr. Liu just wanted to humiliate me on a whim to vent his anger over not completing the contract last year? That's not possible, is it? He's an entrepreneur after all, so why would he come to me for such a trivial matter?"

Li Baiwan's face darkened when he heard him say this. "Shengli, tell me the truth. What happened with last year's contract? Why is Liu Xin so upset with you?"

"Alas..." Liu Shengli sighed: "Where should I begin?"

"Tell the truth!"

"Okay!" Liu Shengli responded, recalling, "If we talk about this, both sides are responsible."

He stood up and walked to the window, his hands behind his back looking at the mist on the glass, and slowly said: "The quote we gave them at the time was actually not much different from that of other companies. But they were a new company, and they lacked manpower, financial resources, and resources. In order to reduce costs, they kept lowering the price. The negotiations with them broke down after just a few rounds.

Our factory was in a tough spot at the time, with raw material prices rising like crazy, changing every few days. Even if I tried to save money, I couldn't create something out of nothing. So, I might have said something a bit harsh at the time, and offended Mr. Liu.

After he finished speaking, he walked over to Li Baiwan and said in a deep voice, "I also know that this matter is not going well, so I didn't tell you too much about it at the time.

Now that they are interested in cooperating again, you should do as they say! No matter how demanding their demands are, we should agree to whatever we can! The contract is the most important thing!"