Chapter 151
Early on Saturday morning, Jiang Nuo began to make arrangements and took Gu Jiangkuo to the villa where Mr. Zhang lived in the morning.
Mr. Zhang lives in the suburbs, across a large golf course, but his house is not a single-family house like Jiang Nuo's, but a townhouse, right at the edge.
"The townhouses on the sides are expensive, but the ones in the middle are cheap," Jiang Nuo whispered. "This villa complex was built four or five years ago, before Yanlin's housing prices started to rise, and the location was quite remote. This one only cost two or three million. It seems Mr. Zhang's treatment at Xingxu wasn't satisfactory."
Although Gu Jiangkuo has seen a lot now and can easily buy an island for his lover, he still lived in poverty for nearly twenty years. In his value system, two or three million is not cheap.
But Mr. Gu Dajiang never refuted his wife on these trivial matters. He worked tirelessly, carrying large and small bags and following Jiang Nuo.
Because I had greeted him in advance, Mr. Zhang came out to greet me personally as soon as I rang the doorbell.
Seeing Zhang Weijun in person, Jiang Nuo felt relieved. Since he could come out to greet him in person, it meant that Mr. Zhang was still willing to come back and was just waiting for an opportunity.
"Mr. Zhang," Jiang Nuo said, a bright smile plastered across his face as he warmly apologized. "I should have come to visit you a long time ago, but I've only just taken over Xingxu, and I'm still not fully aware of many of the personnel relationships. Jiang's company is also plagued by numerous other matters, so it's truly wrong of me, as a junior, to come and visit you today."
When Mr. Zhang first heard that the new boss was a few years younger than Wei Sizu, he was extremely resistant. He thought that Jiang Nuo was just like Wei Sizu, a fool who knew nothing but was arrogant. He didn't expect that this young man was so good at talking and his attitude was impeccable.
Mr. Zhang felt a little embarrassed: "No way...don't stand outside, Mr. Jiang, please come in."
Mr. Zhang glanced at the burly man with broad shoulders and long legs behind Jiang Nuo and thought he was a bodyguard, but he didn't think he had the right temperament. Seeing this, Jiang Nuo smiled and introduced, "This is my wife. I regard you as a senior, so I brought my family to visit. Please don't be disgusted."
"How could that be?" Mr. Zhang hurriedly offered, "Please sit down, everyone, please sit down."
At his age, his thoughts are somewhat traditional and he cannot accept homosexuality, but he has seen and known about it. When it comes to his own children, he may try to stop it. But Mr. Jiang is not his junior. Whether he likes men or women, or dogs is none of his business. Mr. Zhang just has a subtle feeling of being recognized: Mr. Jiang is willing to reveal such a private matter to him, as if he does not regard him as an outsider.
And then, Jiang Nuo pushed this feeling to a new level:
Mr. Jiang kept calling Mr. Zhang "senior" and saying "I have to learn from you" every time, praising Mr. Zhang to the point of being all smiles, as if Xingxu would have no way of continuing to operate without him. He also praised the decoration style and even the remote location of the villa, and was full of praise for Mr. Zhang's little grandson, whom he had only met once when he entered the door.
It was as if the three or four-year-old child was a reincarnated prodigy, good in every way, which left Gu Jiangkuo stunned.
As the saying goes, "Flattery never wears out, no matter how many times it is worn." Especially the part about praising the little grandson, it hit the mark for the old man, and Mr. Zhang was so happy that the wrinkles on his face stretched out.
When it came to the point, Mr. Zhang didn't really make things difficult for Jiang Nuo like he did for Chu Le. He said bluntly: "Mr. Jiang, if you don't mind my age and stubbornness, I'm willing to go back, but..."
Generally speaking, the key point comes after "however".
Jiang Nuo pretended to listen attentively. Mr. Zhang said, "However, the project you mentioned wasn't entirely halted because of those personnel issues. While the 'purification patent' could be put into production with high efficiency and high output, it has a fatal flaw."
"What's the shortcoming?"
"The initial investment is huge, and all equipment needs to be updated. Furthermore, it's not a one-step purification process. Yanlin isn't near the sea, and unlike some coastal cities and countries, where they use fluid diversion technology to extract lithium from seawater, our costs are already relatively high. This patent requires crudely refined industrial-grade lithium carbonate as raw material, so the cost will be further increased. Furthermore, using it to purify to battery-grade levels isn't cost-effective, and there isn't a large market for purifying to experimental-grade high purity."
"So," Mr. Zhang concluded, "this project looks high-tech, but in reality, it's useless. So, Mr. Jiang, don't blindly believe others and think I'm so great. It's just a useless project. Hey, I'm really grateful for your special visit, so I'm telling you the truth, so..."
"Who said there is no market?" Jiang Nuo interrupted him.
Before Mr. Zhang could finish his refusal, he looked at Jiang Nuo in surprise and waved his hand. "You mean those labs? The total number of university labs and corporate labs combined wouldn't be very large. Besides, they usually have fixed supply channels."
"No." Jiang Nuo winked at Gu Jiangkuo.
Gu Jiangkuo handed over his prepared business card. "Mr. Zhang, I'm the chairman of Baimi Technology. I have a subsidiary called Shengchen New Energy, and we're willing to sign a long-term supply agreement with Xingxu."
To match Jiang Nuo's needs, Mr. Gu smiled with his neat white teeth and added, "As long as the purity of lithium carbonate is above experimental grade, we can take as much as Xingxu can produce."
Mr. Zhang couldn't help but sit up straight, took the business card and looked at it again and again, "Yes, yes, I remember Shengchen. After Mr. Jiang took over Xingxu, the first thing he did was to sign a long-term supply contract with Shengchen. I remember, yes, I remember."
"In this case, can you agree to come out of seclusion?" Jiang Nuo said with a smile.
"Well," Mr. Zhang shook his head and laughed, "I really have no reason to refuse. However, Mr. Jiang, Mr. Gu, there's one thing I need to inform you both in advance. I want to warn you that no new technology can be profitable in the first two years."
"I know," Jiang Nuo said seriously, "especially for a technology like this that requires a large initial investment. Furthermore, it comes with various uncertainties. Whether the technology can be perfected, whether the subsequent market can be opened up... However, I think that standing still is not a long-term solution. Xingxu, guarding the largest lithium mine in China, is only thinking about eating up the resources and will never achieve a breakthrough... Don't worry, Mr. Zhang. Since you dare to restart this project, I am prepared to assume the worst possible outcome. Just go for it and don't worry too much. If you have any needs, just tell me directly and I'll cover it."
Mr. Zhang looked at Jiang Nuo and inexplicably thought of his former boss, Wei Sizu. They were both young men, so how could there be such a big difference in their character? He was silent for a long time, as if he had a thousand words to say, but in the end, he only uttered three words firmly: "Don't worry."
"Okay." Jiang Nuo said with a smile, "But there is one more thing. The new technology based on Shengchen New Energy needs to be kept confidential, and our purification technology must also be kept secret from the outside world."
In fact, Mr. Jiang had another reason that he didn't tell him. The 180,000-ton short position that Wei Sizu opened before always made him feel uneasy, so it is better to keep the new technology confidential if possible.
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