Chapter 55: A Formidable Opponent

Page 1/3

Perhaps having heard voices from outside or sensing the agreed meeting time was near, Feng Feifei also came out with Hou Fei to greet them, just as Chen Xiao brought Cha Lan and Xu Wu entered! After introducing both parties, Chen Xiao stepped aside. Feng Feifei invited Cha Lan, Xu Wu, and the others to the conference room for discussions. Cha Lan was very courteous; after all, Chen Xiao had secured a 7 million yuan order for him weekly, and now was bringing in a collaboration on this major project. This was more than just an order—it opened a new business pathway with great future potential.

“President Cha, please have a seat! Our company is small, so the space is a bit limited,” Feng Feifei said humbly.

“President Feng, you’re too modest. If we talk about which company in the industry has the most potential, it’s without a doubt Dr. Feng’s robotics firm—strong in technology and capable in business!”

Such bland corporate flattery was best taken lightly. Once the support staff brought in tea, both sides began to address the main topic. Their research and development divisions were well defined, but disagreements emerged over profit sharing.

Hou Fei explained Dr. Feng’s stance: since the project was secured by Dr. Feng personally and involved the provision of core technology, the company deserved a larger share. Cha Lan was less polite than with Feng Feifei, bluntly stating, “Zhifei Aerospace is responsible for the hardware investment, while your company is only developing algorithms—just a few people writing code. It wouldn’t be fair for you to take the majority of the profit.”

Hou Fei was looking out entirely for his company’s interests, while Cha Lan was firmly defending his own—both positions reasonable. In fact, Cha Lan had already been quite restrained; for him, no matter how good the project, if it wasn’t profitable, what was the point?

He bore the investment and risk, yet the benefits didn’t correspond—wasn’t that being the big loser?

As the negotiations reached a stalemate, Xu Wu turned to Chen Xiao and said, “Chen Xiao, since you were the one who initiated this project, why don’t you share your thoughts?”

Chen Xiao found it difficult to respond. Supporting Hou Fei meant endorsing a negotiation style he frankly didn’t approve of. Supporting Xu Wu risked seeming like betraying his own company’s interests. But now that Xu Wu had asked, he couldn’t feign ignorance.

“I have a suggestion,” Chen Xiao said. “Let’s stop arguing over profit sharing. Instead, let us act as the general contractor for this project and place orders with Zhifei Aerospace.”

“We guarantee that within one contract cycle, the order amount will not be less than fifty million yuan. Zhifei Aerospace will bear the R&D costs themselves. If the order amount falls short, we will proportionally compensate Zhifei Aerospace for their losses.”

“Agreed!”

“No way!”

Page 2/3

Cha Lan agreed, but Hou Fei immediately rejected the proposal.

Hou Fei said, “I personally took part in and actively secured this project. The prospects are clear to everyone. As soon as we leak any news, a flood of companies will come knocking for partnerships!”

“In such circumstances, I cannot find any reason to concede on profits!”

You claim to have led the deal? Chen Xiao remained silent. Some people mistake a bloated ego for dignity; with them, it’s pointless to argue—it’s just like a clash of incomprehensible languages.

Cha Lan, displeased, didn’t look at Hou Fei but addressed Feng Feifei, “President Feng, what is your opinion?”

Feng Feifei was troubled. She agreed with Chen Xiao’s proposal, but Hou Fei’s stubbornness made it difficult for her to undermine his authority in front of outsiders.

Yet hesitation could jeopardize the project. After a moment of thought, she said, “President Hou and Chen Xiao both have valid points.”

“President Hou is considering our company’s own interests, while Chen Xiao focuses on how to facilitate cooperation between our two sides.”

“This collaboration involves three parties and time sensitivity, so I am willing to concede part of the profits.”

“Since we are working with a new partner, there will be a need for adjustment and technical validation. I worry about impacting delivery and acceptance.”

“Let’s go with Chen Xiao’s plan. President Cha, please offer a sincere price. This will be our agreement for this collaboration.”

“President Feng, you’re a woman who rivals men in decisiveness—refreshing indeed. Rest assured, we will offer a price well below market value. We value long-term cooperation over small gains and losses,” Cha Lan said with a slight veiled criticism toward Hou Fei’s inflexibility, though Hou Fei didn’t catch the underlying tone.

With the plan finalized, the subsequent discussions eased considerably.

Cha Lan reminded everyone present, “Although Jiangzhou Design Institute is very strong, water conservancy is not their core business. Their advantage in this field won’t be significant.”

“Jiangzhou faces a formidable rival in water conservancy—‘Nantong.’”

“Nantong is a company established by a group of people with extremely powerful social connections. Leveraging their networks, they quickly captured the vast majority of the market share.”

“Their annual output value reaches 15 billion yuan!”

Everyone felt the weight of this pressure.

Dr. Feng’s robotics company had been on the brink of collapse two weeks ago but was now experiencing a resurgence. According to Feng Feifei’s plan, this year’s output value was expected to surpass 100 million yuan—a rapid development indeed!

Page 3/3

Zhifei Aerospace was somewhat better, with an annual output value of just under 200 million yuan.

Compared to Nantong, they were like a small fry facing a giant.

The market was vast, competition fierce, and the business team had to work hard!

After seeing off Cha Lan and his group, on the way back to the company, Hou Fei told Chen Xiao, “Chen Xiao, make sure you submit the OKRs and today’s daily report before the end of the workday!”

Feng Feifei glanced at him in surprise but said nothing.

Chen Xiao responded calmly, “Okay.”

For now, the assistant would handle it for a few days, preserving appearances. If they didn’t start cooperating, they couldn’t blame him for being uncooperative.

It seemed this CTO was not entirely satisfied with him either, feeling that Chen Xiao wasn’t very collaborative.

He didn’t take it to heart, knowing that Feng Feifei was the boss, and her attitude represented the company’s stance.

At the underground parking lot of Lakeside Manor, Wang Hao parked his Mercedes E-Class, then turned to Zhao Xiangjun’s parents and Zhao Hui. “Uncle, Auntie, we’ve arrived. Please get out.”

Since the last visit to Zhao Xiangjun’s home, Wang Hao had barely slept at night. Seizing the opportunity after contacting Zhao Hui, he fulfilled his promise to bring Zhao’s parents to see his house.

Lakeside Manor was a relatively large residential complex, partly high-rise apartments and partly garden villas.

Wang Hao’s apartment was in the high-rise section. As they went to his unit, he talked about the neighborhood layout, the greenery, available recreational facilities, and the quality of property management services.

These were luxuries unavailable in the resettlement housing, causing Zhao Hui to look on with envy.

Wang Hao’s apartment was on the 10th floor of a 28-story building—a modest floor level.

Opening the door, the apartment seemed freshly renovated; the scent of newness still lingered.