Chapter 1606 Exactly Five Million
After receiving Li Ye's call, Tan, the factory director of Weixian Diesel Engine Factory, rushed to Beijing that very evening and hurriedly met with Li Ye to discuss the matter of 5,000 engines per year.
Although Li Ye's reputation for "keeping his word" has spread throughout the circle, these days there are many cases of people being caught off guard and failing because they placed too much faith in the past reputation of certain individuals.
Moreover, Director Tan had also heard about the comparative testing in Kunming and knew that the prototype of the first factory used an imported Kamaz engine, and that the localization research of the first factory was also about to make progress.
So when Li Ye suddenly placed an order and brought up the matter of Southwest Heavy Truck, it was clearly a strategy to deal with Southwest Heavy Truck.
This kind of purchasing driven by "spirit" is the most risky. If you buy today and return tomorrow, wouldn't Lao Tan be caught in the middle, suffering from both sides with no way out?
Factory Director Tan first toasted Li Ye with a glass of wine, and then asked very seriously, "Mr. Li, it was inconvenient to talk about this in detail on the phone this morning, but you said that you want to purchase 5,000 large-displacement diesel engines every year. Is that related to the launch of Southwest Heavy Truck's new car?"
Li Ye glanced at Factory Director Tan and said with a smile, "If I said it's alright, would you believe me, Factory Director Tan?"
"Of course I don't believe it, hahaha."
Factory Director Tan was a straightforward man. After laughing heartily, he asked, "We're all from Dongshan, and we're all honest people. Mr. Li, just tell us what you need! Otherwise, we won't be able to enjoy this drink!"
Li Ye pursed his lips and said with a half-smile, "I've already made myself clear, Brother Tan, you're still asking questions you already know the answer to. That's just too unpleasant, isn't it?"
"Hahaha, Brother Li, you're playing riddles with me!"
Factory Director Tan laughed again, then said, "Our factory's production plan has always been linked to Jicheng Heavy Truck, so our annual output isn't high."
However, our production capacity far exceeds our current output level, so if Brother Li can purchase 8,000 engines per year, we will have no spare capacity to supply any manufacturer other than Jicheng Heavy Truck.”
"Oh? You can do that?"
Li Ye feigned surprise and said, "If I purchase 10,000 units every year, wouldn't you be unable to complete even the supply plan for Jicheng Heavy Truck?"
Factory Director Tan was taken aback for a moment, then said seriously, "Of course! Our production capacity is limited. If we give it to this company, we won't be able to give it to that company, right?"
"Hahaha, Brother Tan is indeed an honest man."
Li Ye was also amused by Director Tan.
Weixian Diesel Engine Factory was supposed to be a subsidiary of Jicheng Heavy Truck. Director Tan's words were quite rebellious, but Li Ye, who was familiar with history, knew that Director Tan had the talent of a hero and was truly independent and self-reliant.
After laughing, Li Ye said seriously, "Since Brother Tan is honest, I won't play tricks. I will purchase 8,000 units every year, but you have to guarantee the quality and give me a discount."
Factory Director Tan straightened his back: "I'll give you the cost price, and you can even send someone to my factory to monitor our production at all times."
"Okay, that's great. Boil this one down, and we'll go to the branch factory to collect the money tomorrow."
"A drink won't do; we're not leaving until we're drunk tonight."
"No, that won't do. My daughter doesn't like me getting drunk. I should only drink so much. Drinking too much will cause trouble."
"Hahaha, no matter how much or how little I drink today, it's all so enjoyable and satisfying."
...
Li Ye was both delighted and relieved, while Dong Shan was naturally both frustrated and resentful.
After enterprises were decentralized, he gained more power and freedom, but the pressure also increased. Before, if he really couldn't survive, he could go to his superiors and complain about being poor; now, the local governments are even poorer than him.
Moreover, a few days ago, Director Qian implied that the factory should first "make some contributions" to the Southwest region, which made Dong Shan feel uneasy.
These days, many companies, after failing miserably, sell their houses, land, and equipment to make their last contribution, but this is a contribution that Dong Shan is absolutely unwilling to accept.
We must make money as soon as possible.
Dong Shan held a mobilization meeting for the factory's key personnel, demanding that the new car be launched around the Spring Festival this year, striving for a resounding success and great profits.
However, when the scheduled time passed, the planned engine still hadn't been delivered, which panicked Dong Shan.
He quickly called Jicheng Heavy Truck: "Hello, is this General Manager Fan? This is Dong Shan. Hello, hello, I have something I want to ask! The two hundred diesel engines we purchased should have arrived on time, but we haven't received them yet. Is there a problem with the transportation?"
"Really? I didn't know that! Let me ask around for you, don't worry."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Fan, please understand. The main problem is that the production plan for the workshop has already been set, and the lack of engines will affect production!"
"Okay, okay, I'll take care of it right away."
Fan Hongqi on the other end of the phone promised to do it immediately, but a week passed without any news.
At this point, Dong Shan finally understood why Li Ye was so determined to develop the engine himself. It was because there was no substitute for this thing, meaning that the lifeline of production was in someone else's hands!
If a car is missing its engine, it's inconvenient to produce other parts first. You can't just install all the other parts and then manually push it to an open-air parking lot to wait, can you?
Left with no other option, Dong Shan had to personally go to Jicheng to pick up the goods. However, upon arriving in Jicheng, he discovered that the city itself didn't even have enough engines to go around! There was no plan to allocate any to Southwest Heavy Truck.
Dong Shan was immediately terrified.
Southwest Heavy Truck's funds can only support it for a maximum of six months. If it waits for ages, how can its cash flow not break down?
Dong Shan had no choice but to beg and plead, and even privately "communicated" with Fan Hongqi several times. In the end, Fan Hongqi made a demand—to place an order with full payment.
Dong Shan gritted his teeth in anger: "President Fan, we already agreed that the first batch of engines would be on credit, and we would pay the deposit later. We can't go back on our word at this crucial moment!"
"It's not that we've changed our minds, it's just that times have changed."
Fan Hongqi said meaningfully, "Weixian Diesel Engine Company is facing a cash shortage, so all purchase plans on credit have been postponed. Now, we have to pay cash for any engines we want to use ourselves."
"Times have changed?"
Dong Shan seemed to have figured something out.
Jicheng Heavy Truck uses its own engines through internal procurement, and there has always been a situation of credit. Now, Weixian Diesel Engine can no longer tolerate it and is demanding cash. In fact, it is Jicheng Heavy Truck's fault, but it has fallen on Dong Shan's head.
However, Dong Shan felt that Fan Hongqi's words had another meaning.
Times have changed. Back then, Jicheng Heavy Truck strongly supported Southwest Heavy Truck because Southwest Heavy Truck belonged to Jingnan Group. By supporting Southwest Heavy Truck's technical solution to win the only production license, they could destroy the technical solution of the No. 1 Factory.
But now that Southwest Heavy Truck has become independent, no matter what Dong Shan does, it can no longer affect the rise of the No. 1 Factory. It's no exaggeration to say that it's like the rabbit being killed and the hound being discarded.
Dong Shan felt dejected, but he gritted his teeth and paid the money quickly. He wanted to pay Weixian Diesel Engine directly, but Jicheng Heavy Truck wouldn't allow it.
Helpless, Dong Shan could only silently pray in his heart that the other party would keep their word and not let him be hurt again.
Unfortunately, Murphy's Law proved true once again: if you worry about something happening, it's more likely to happen. After paying the deposit, Dong Shan waited until New Year's Day but still didn't receive his engine.
But Dong Shan received a call from Li Ye instead.
Before answering the phone, Dong Shan composed himself and said casually, "Hey, Deputy General Manager Li, what brings you to call me? You're not here to ask for money again, are you? We really don't owe you that money; in fact, you're the ones who owe us."
Li Ye said calmly, "You should obediently return those five million to us."
Hehe~
Dong Shan chuckled, his expression full of sarcasm.
But what Li Ye said next almost made Dong Shan furious.
"I heard you urgently need engines, right? I can sell you five hundred large-displacement diesel engines."
Dong Shan was stunned for several seconds before asking, "Has the Kamaz diesel engine been successfully developed at the First Factory?"
Li Ye said calmly, "You wouldn't be able to use the Kamaz diesel engine. Of course, it has to be the Weixian diesel engine, the kind used in your prototype."
How did you come to have diesel engines from Weixian?
Dong Shan was very surprised. He had begged and pleaded with everyone he knew, but he still couldn't buy a diesel engine through Jicheng Heavy Truck. How did Li Ye get one?
Li Ye said calmly, "Payment is required for pickup. No waiting after the deadline. But you have to give me a handling fee of 10,000 yuan per diesel engine, which adds up to exactly five million."
Dong Shan: "."
Holy crap!
(End of this chapter)
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