Chapter Forty
Hu Zhengrong was the most eccentric investor Peng Kun had ever met. When they first discussed cooperation, he arranged to meet at a top-tier shopping mall in Longjin City.
The overpowering perfume in the private room made him dizzy, and the dazzling colored lights made his eyes water. Introduced by a middleman, Peng Kun shook hands and exchanged a few pleasantries with General Manager Hu. Just as the three sat down, a dozen or so "princesses" dressed in sheer fabrics filed in, standing neatly in a row before them like merchandise waiting to be sold. Each wore a white tag with blue lettering and their respective number, and wore standardized professional smiles. Their "clothing" was pitifully scantily clad, barely covering a few key areas, leaving their body curves completely exposed.
Having worked in the business world for over a decade, Peng Kun had naturally witnessed such scenes before. He glanced at President Hu without showing any emotion, awaiting his next "arrangement." Hu Zhengrong scrutinized each woman, inwardly marveling at how this truly was a top-tier shopping mall. The overall attractiveness of the women was far above the industry average, some even rivaling celebrities. Take, for example, number 8, who caught his eye. Her features were exquisite, and her demeanor refined. It was a pity, however, that her attire was somewhat conservative. President Hu's gaze lingered on her for a few seconds before shifting to number 12. Compared to number 8, her looks were slightly less striking, but she possessed a stunning figure and more revealing clothing.
His gaze kept shifting between the two men, unable to make a decision, so he turned to Peng Kun and said, "President Peng, you choose first."
Peng Kun understood, of course, that if he declined, the financing would definitely fall through. So he looked up, decisively stretched out his hand, pointed to number 5, and said, "Let's go with her."
The woman who was called paused for a moment, and the other women also looked surprised. Hu Zhengrong shook his head in disappointment. He had wanted Peng Kun to help him with his indecisiveness, but he ended up picking the oldest and ugliest woman in the room.
Number 5 stood there absentmindedly, without any hope. Under normal circumstances, if the private room wasn't packed with men, she would never have had a chance to be kept. Unexpectedly, she was the first one to be chosen today, and the one who chose her was a handsome guy.
The princess next to her pouted indignantly, wondering if today's guest was a severely nearsighted person who wasn't wearing glasses. Every man who came here was judged by his looks and physique, but this guest had chosen an unremarkable, anime-like figure.
Hu Zhengrong was still hesitating between No. 8 and No. 12. He wanted to keep both, but because of his pride, he could only reluctantly give one up. He looked at No. 8's face, then shifted his gaze back to No. 12, staring at her chest, and couldn't help but ask, "Is it true?"
Number 12 twisted her body and said in a coquettish voice, "It's true!" She deliberately increased the amplitude of her movements, and Hu Zhengrong's eyes followed the trembling of her chest, and the smile on his face became more and more intriguing.
"You stay." He finally made his decision. Sure enough, in the eyes of straight men, physique is more important than looks.
After a few rounds of drinks, Hu Zhengrong was already slightly tipsy, but he didn't mention investment at all. He was having a great time playing dice with number 12, drinking a glass of wine when he lost and letting the other person touch him when they lost. Peng Kun tried several times to steer the conversation towards financing, but all attempts failed. After a while, Mr. Hu finally got tired of playing, turned around and looked over, his gaze sweeping over number 5 sitting next to Peng Kun, and said bluntly, "Mr. Peng has a truly unique eye."
One sentence brought Peng Kun's memory back to more than 20 years ago. When he was eleven years old, he suddenly wanted to have a pet dog. His mother took him to the dog market, and he went to all the stalls and finally picked a particularly ugly mongrel.
Unable to resist his persistent pleading, the mother bought the dog. Little did she know that her son had chosen this dog because he overheard the owner saying to it, "If no one else wants you, I'll send you to a dog meat restaurant tomorrow."
After bringing the dog home, Peng Kun immediately named it Xiao Mei. His parents tried to persuade him to change the name because it was a male dog, but Peng Kun refused and said, "I think it's the most beautiful dog in the world, so I named it Xiao Mei."
The couple looked at each other, and could only comfort each other: "Our son has a really unique eye."
In truth, 11-year-old Peng Kun knew very well how ugly the dog was; he only said it to avoid his parents giving it away. He never told his parents the truth until the day Xiao Mei passed away. Now, of course, he couldn't possibly reveal the real reason he chose number 5.
“She must have some skills to stay here,” Peng Kun said vaguely. He certainly didn’t think Number 5 had any extraordinary skills, let alone expect her to show any special talents. But at this moment, Number 5 stood up on her own initiative, looked at him gratefully, and volunteered, “I’ll dance for the bosses.”
After speaking, she silently walked to the song selection counter and chose a lively dance track. The moment the melody began, her previously listless expression suddenly came alive, as if she had been reborn. Her body danced gracefully to the music, sometimes as supple as silk, sometimes as powerful as a waterfall. Every glance was measured, every movement precise and fluid. Her ordinary face, under the shifting lights, radiated an indescribable brilliance. Everyone present was deeply captivated by her dance, and even after the last note faded, no one had come to their senses.
At this moment, Hu Zhengrong realized a truth: true charm is not just about superficial appearance. He led the applause for No. 5, and his attitude towards her changed from initial disdain to admiration.
"President Peng truly has a keen eye for talent," he exclaimed sincerely.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Peng Kun changed the subject and talked about the company's talent resources: "The core members of our R&D team were also personally selected by me. They have strong technical skills and resilience, and can independently tackle key problems in a short period of time, achieve technological innovation breakthroughs, and promote the implementation of projects."
Mr. Hu smiled noncommittally. As an experienced investor, he had heard this kind of rhetoric too many times and it was nothing new. He valued some visual data more, so he asked directly: "I heard that you are building your own production base in the hydrogen energy industrial park. How is the progress?"
Peng Kun knew perfectly well that since Hu Zhengrong had agreed to meet with him, he must have already conducted an in-depth investigation and evaluation of the company and him as the founder. He straightened his back and spoke more formally: "Yes, we just purchased 20,000 square meters of independent factory buildings in the park last month, and we are currently carrying out overall renovations. After the base is completed, the company's R&D, management and production teams will move there."
After hearing this, Mr. Hu's expression didn't change much, and he continued to ask, "What is the planned capacity of the production line?"
Peng Kun lowered his head and pondered for a moment, seemingly considering more appropriate wording: "The initial plan is to have an annual production capacity of 1,000 fuel cell stacks, mainly targeting the commercial vehicle market for cold chain logistics vehicles and long-haul heavy-duty trucks."
Hu Zhengrong frowned slightly after hearing this: "1,000 sets? That's too conservative. Do you know that the province is promoting the construction of a hydrogen energy industry demonstration city cluster? At that time, related supporting resources, policy support and market demand will be stimulated. If the production capacity is too small, it will be difficult to form a core competitiveness within the cluster, and it may be gradually marginalized."
Peng Kun was well aware that without large-scale production capacity, it was impossible to reduce unit costs through economies of scale and gain a favorable position in the winner-takes-all industry landscape. However, expanding production scale required more capital investment, which would further exacerbate the company's already strained cash flow. Nevertheless, if they could secure strategic investment from President Hu through this opportunity, it would certainly be a chance to break through the impasse.
With this in mind, Peng Kun frankly said, "I understand that the industry is currently in its early stages, and with such a small production capacity, it is difficult to receive large orders. We also cannot compete with large manufacturers in terms of cost and efficiency. However, we are indeed under considerable financial pressure. If we can get your support, I am confident that we can expand our production capacity to a higher level in the shortest possible time."
"The companies we invest in must have an annual production capacity of at least 5,000 units."
After Hu Zhengrong finished speaking, Peng Kun was stunned for a moment. Such a huge production target far exceeded his expectations. He quickly calculated in his mind: 5,000 sets! This meant that he had to bet all his wealth, and even going all in wouldn't be enough. He would also have to divert the operating funds he had set aside for the nursing home. Back then, when he didn't have the money to start a new company, he would rather sell his villa than touch a single penny in that account.
Peng Kun looked troubled. He couldn't gamble with the future of dozens of elderly people in the nursing home. So, although he agreed with President Hu's strategy of building industry barriers with industrial scale, he couldn't afford any potential risks.
"President Peng, I admire your keen judgment and swift action in the lithium battery industry, which has enabled you to build Polar Blue Sky from scratch into a leading enterprise in the province's new energy industry." Hu Zhengrong paused, then changed the subject, "But hydrogen energy is different from lithium batteries. It's a capital-intensive game and not suitable for a high-risk, high-reward approach. Currently, hydrogen fuel cells are in a window of policy support, and large-scale production capacity has a better chance of obtaining policy support and cooperation with leading automakers."
After saying that, Hu Zhengrong dismissed the others in the private room. When only the two of them were left, he lit a cigarette and said in a low voice, "Let me tell you something else. Our province plans to build 100 hydrogen refueling stations and promote 15,000 hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles within five years. The country encourages local industrial collaboration, and demonstration projects will give priority to local enterprises. If we miss the current policy dividends, even if we meet the production capacity targets in the future, we may lose our first-mover advantage."
Peng Kun finally wavered. The hydrogen fuel cell industry is still in the early stages of commercialization, and the overall market capacity is very limited. Only by seizing opportunities can one survive in the fierce competition.
"If we increase production capacity to 5,000, how much are you planning to invest?" he asked.
“250 million.” Hu Zhengrong said a figure that was hard to refuse, and then handed Peng Kun a pre-prepared letter of intent. It seemed that he had come prepared.
Peng Kun opened the agreement and skimmed through it: "90-day exclusivity period? That long?"
“If Mr. Peng has any concerns, I can pay a deposit of two million yuan first,” Hu Zhengrong said sincerely. “As far as I know, your company’s production and R&D base will not be completed for another three months…”
Peng Kun suddenly remembered that Mr. Hu was known in the industry as a "timely rain in the business world" because he could always inject capital in a timely manner when his partners were facing cash flow problems. The reason was now clear. Before the meeting, Peng Kun had conducted thorough research on him. Hu Zhengrong had virtually no record of defaulting on previous investment collaborations, and with a two million yuan deposit as a guarantee, he finally dispelled his concerns and signed the letter of intent for investment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
