The engagement party has ended.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window onto the desk, and Chen Ze sat down early to begin another busy day of work.
On his desk, a thick stack of documents was neatly piled up, almost obscuring his view. He picked up the top document with focused attention and carefully read every line and every piece of data.
After reading it, he frowned slightly and pondered for a moment. Then he picked up his pen and signed his powerful name at the end of the document with a flourish. He then gently placed the completed document on top of the mountain of read documents piled up to the side.
Just as he was about to continue reading the next document, the internal telephone on his desk suddenly rang urgently.
Chen Ze calmly reached out and pressed the speakerphone button. Immediately, the sweet and soft voice of Xiao Mei, the receptionist, came from the other end of the phone.
"Boss, the chairman of Alibaba Group has come to our company! He said he has something very important to discuss with you." Xiao Mei's tone was tinged with surprise and curiosity.
Upon hearing this news, Chen Ze couldn't help but mutter to himself.
It's important to know that his company and Alibaba Group have always been competitors, and the two sides have been fiercely rivals in the market, neither willing to give an inch.
It's baffling that the renowned chairman of Alibaba has suddenly come to our door in person, claiming he has something important to discuss.
Despite his doubts, Chen Ze quickly straightened his slightly wrinkled suit, cleared his throat, and said, "Okay, please take Chairman Ma to my office first."
Not long after, a soft knocking sound reached Chen Ze's ears.
"Please come in." As Chen Ze's steady voice fell, Xiao Mei gently pushed open the door and walked in first. Following behind her was the legendary chairman of Alibaba Group—Brother Ma.
Big Brother Ma walked into Chen Ze's office with a smile on his face and a calm gait.
Chen Ze got up and walked out of his desk, quickly went forward to shake hands with Brother Ma, and said with a smile: "Mr. Ma, I have long admired your name. It is an honor for me to visit my small company. If you had notified me in advance that you were coming, I would have definitely sent someone to pick you up from the airport."
Big Ma waved his hand: "Chairman Chen, you're too kind. I didn't come here specifically to see you. I just happened to be passing by your company and stopped by to take a look. I happen to have something important to discuss with you."
Chen Ze gestured for him to sit down, "Chairman Ma, how about we sit down and chat over tea?"
Big Ma shrugged: "Either is fine."
Secretary Shen immediately started boiling water to make tea.
Chen Ze sat opposite Brother Ma and spoke first: "Mr. Ma, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Big Brother Ma smiled and said
"Of course, we should talk about Panda Takeout and Ele.me Takeout. I don't think it's a good way out for the two of us to keep fighting like this."
Chen Ze sighed heavily and said helplessly, "To be honest, Chairman Ma, our Panda Takeout has really been pushed around and forced to fight back all along."
"The former CEO of Ele.me, Mr. Zhang, was single-mindedly focused on keeping me firmly under his thumb and grinding me into the ground. He was determined to make sure I would never be able to recover! But thankfully, I'm thick-skinned and tough, so I gritted my teeth and endured it."
After hearing this, Brother Ma made no attempt to hide his thoughts and bluntly stated, "My business philosophy is completely different from that of the previous General Manager Zhang. I came here specifically to completely resolve this troublesome problem."
"So I think we should each focus on running our own businesses. Ele.me won't be launching a series of subsidy campaigns like before. So I sincerely hope that Panda Takeout can stay aligned with us and that we can all live in peace."
Chen Ze's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile: "In the end, it is Chairman Ma who has a long-term vision. If Mr. Zhang Xuhao had been so enlightened back then, I wouldn't have lost more than a billion yuan."
"After all, it's not easy for anyone to earn money, and nobody's money just falls from the sky with a strong wind."
Upon hearing this, Brother Ma couldn't help but laugh, and then asked, "So, according to you, you agree with the plan I proposed?"
"Of course!" Chen Ze nodded without hesitation. "Who in this world would willingly keep doing business that loses money but only generates publicity?"
Just then, a delicate and elegant aroma of tea wafted into their nostrils.
Shen Xiyu stood up gracefully and picked up the teapot with practiced elegance. She first poured a steaming cup of tea for Brother Ma, and then turned to Chen Ze, carefully filling his teacup to eight-tenths full.
After doing all this, she sat quietly to the side, as serene and beautiful as a blooming lotus flower.
Big Brother Ma picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then put it down, saying, "Chairman Chen, business matters are unreliable if spoken, only written agreements can bind both parties, so it would be appropriate for everyone to sign a non-compete agreement."
"Either is fine." Chen Ze turned to Secretary Shen and instructed, "Secretary Shen, go and draft a competition agreement."
Secretary Shen nodded and quickly got up and left the office.
A moment later, Secretary Shen came in with two copies of the agreement and placed them on the coffee table.
After carefully examining the document and finding no problems, Brother Ma readily signed his name.
After both of them signed the agreement, Brother Ma smiled and extended his hand: "Chairman Chen, the Chinese market is so big, I believe it's enough for our two food delivery companies to make a lot of money."
Chen Ze shook hands with Brother Ma and said politely, "Indeed, Mr. Ma, I hope we will have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."
Although Chen Ze was just being polite, Brother Ma was taking it seriously.
"Chairman Chen, I've heard you own a beauty company called Xiyue Beauty & Skincare Company. I'm very interested in your company. Could I invest in it?"
Chen Ze smiled and said, "Chairman Ma, it feels a bit awkward for you to keep calling me Chairman Chen. You can just call me Xiao Chen. As for the issue of Xiyue Beauty and Skincare Company, I am just a major shareholder and have no decision-making power, so you should talk to the Wang family in Beijing."
Big Brother Ma chuckled.
"Okay, Xiao Chen, you can call me Brother Ma too, it's more friendly that way."
Brother Ma simply mentioned the matter of addressing him, without mentioning contacting the Wang family in Beijing. After all, he wasn't stupid; asking him to go to the Wang family, the second largest family in Beijing, to discuss investment was just nonsense.
The two talked for more than three hours, negotiating and chatting. He had to admire how talkative Big Brother Ma was. He could talk about anything from the heavens to the earth in a very logical and reasonable way.
Chen Ze raised his left wrist and looked at his watch; it was already past noon.
So he immediately suggested, "Brother Ma, let's go eat. Let me do my duty as a host."
Big Brother Ma wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth. "Little Chen, you've gone to so much trouble."
Chen Ze waved his hand, got up and left Panda Delivery Company with Brother Ma, then drove towards Guangfu Hotel.
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