Although Luo Jingxuan agreed to Li Xi's plan to make things difficult for Shen Zhou, he didn't elaborate on the specifics. It wasn't that he thought Li Xi, a "woman," wasn't suitable for participating in a business war between men, but simply because he hadn't decided which project to tamper with.
With roots in Jiangcheng, the Luo and Shen families are naturally close friends. Going back several generations, the heads of the families might even be related. However, times have changed, and the Luo family is now nothing more than a nodding acquaintance with the Shen family. The Luo and Shen families, while not sworn enemies, are competitors. Their products and services share many similarities, making them highly substitutable for consumers. They often simultaneously identify a particular market, entering the market at roughly the same time, and then collide in a fierce battle.
Before Luo Jingxuan took over the Luo Corporation, it was controlled by Uncle Luo and Uncle Luo. These two, with limited abilities, had once dreamed of making grand plans, showing everyone that they, the eldest and third sons, were no less capable than the second sons. However, each impulsive move yielded less than ideal results. Winnings were modest, but losses were substantial, leaving the company's annual financial statements looking dismal. While not in the red, profits were down year-over-year. As a result, the two men gave up their ambitions.
At the time, Shen's was run by Shen Zhou's grandfather and father, who prioritized stability. With past experience, profits were still present, but they weren't growing much compared to previous years. From a broader perspective, the company seemed to be stagnating, with little progress.
However, compared with the negative growth of Luo's, it is very good.
During that period, Shen's naturally dominated Luo's, causing Luo's to lose many projects.
Luo Lao Da and Luo Lao San were also anxious, but they could do nothing. The situation did not improve until Luo Jingxuan took over the company.
Luo Jingxuan had always been a bright and composed child. Even when Luo Er was still around, he'd praise him to everyone, promising him great success. Later, a sudden change in his temperament, while not a significant change, had intensified his ruthlessness, becoming more decisive and resolute in his actions. After taking over the Luo Group, he implemented drastic reforms, much to the dismay of the stubborn upper management.
The approach was indeed somewhat radical, but the results were remarkable. In Luo Jingxuan's first year, Luo's profits saw year-on-year growth. By the second year, they had regained the glory of Luo Er's time, practically rivaling the Shen's. While growth slowed in the third and fourth years, it was still significantly better than other companies.
However, in the past two years, Shen Zhou has also begun to participate in the operations of the Shen Group. This has enabled Shen to increase innovation while maintaining stability, and the results are encouraging. Annual profits are also slowly increasing. As a result, in the past two years, the gap between Luo's and Shen's has not been very large, and they can be said to be evenly matched.
By Luo Jingxuan's fifth year at the helm of the Luo Group, the "innovation" introduced by Shen Zhou had gradually worn off, and Shen's development had reverted to the same "stability" path it had been before Shen Zhou's involvement. Meanwhile, at the Luo Group, Luo Jingxuan's previous years' planning was beginning to pay off. The company, with its accumulated strength, was not only profitable, but its stock price was also skyrocketing, widening the gap with the Shen Group.
From that point on, the Luo family was increasingly stronger than the Shen family. Even after Shen Zhou implemented reforms and absorbed new blood, and even after the Luo family slowed down its development and its growth rates flattened, this situation remained unchanged.
The two companies' products are still interchangeable, and their sales are roughly the same. However, when it comes to developing new projects and new business models, Luo's receives more and better support than Shen's.
For example, the government decided to build a health resort in the south of the city and allowed businesses within its jurisdiction to participate in a bidding auction for government partnerships. Luo and Shen attended simultaneously, and Luo Jingxuan and Shen Zhou met up with the project manager for dinner around the same time (don't ask why they could dine with government officials before the auction; asking is just hypothetical and illustrative, not necessarily realistic). Luo Jingxuan's meeting was all about drinking and talking freely, with the official perhaps even slipping in some inside information. Shen Zhou's meeting, on the other hand, was all about flattery and acting to suit the situation. The official might have laughed the entire time, but kept a secret of what was said outside the table.
Why? Of course, it’s because working with Luo Jingxuan is not only easy but also profitable.
Although the Luo family did not always win in every fight between the Luo and Shen families, most of the time, the Shen family was no match for the Luo family.
Therefore, if Luo Jingxuan wanted to trip up Shen Zhou, he only needed to interfere with the project that Shen Zhou was leading. As a benchmark company, there were many such projects.
As a competitor, Luo Jingxuan had his eye on both Shen's and Shen Zhou, but relatively speaking, he wasn't paying much attention to Shen Zhou himself. Therefore, Luo Jingxuan wasn't entirely clear on the projects Shen Zhou was currently pursuing, and he wasn't even sure if Luo's company had any interest in or involvement in Shen Zhou's projects. This was also why Luo Jingxuan didn't make a decision immediately.
It is easy to trip up Shen Zhou, but if it can bring benefits to the Luo family at the same time, why not do it?
Luo Jingxuan didn't have a good choice, but Li Xi did. After all, according to the original timeline, Shen Zhou's opportunity to find Li Xi and deceive her about her business secrets was about to come.
The cause, or rather, the source, of the incident was the Jiangcheng government's plan to build a smart park in the city, which required cooperation with private enterprises. This would be the largest government initiative in the past decade, and it also presented private enterprises with the best opportunity to ride on the wave.
Luo's wanted it, and naturally Shen's wanted it too. But based on past experience, Luo's chances of getting government-cooperated projects were far greater than Shen's.
After crossing over, Li Xi hadn't actually paid much attention to the development of companies like the Luo, Shen, Li, and Lu corporations. For her, the operation of a business was too far away; there was no need to pay attention, nor was there any interest in following it. Although gossip might occasionally touch upon information about business wars and corporate espionage, Li Xi had never actively paid attention to it.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
