Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
During the following days, Chen Jin and Wong Quan Long ran through the whole country and visited many places. In Fuchi Province, Fuzhou City, lay Tongda Motor Limited Company, the largest manufacturer of brushless motors in China.
Chen Jin made a visit, and a manager received them. His last name was Hu; he was stout and round in the face, weighing at least two hundred pounds.
“I am sorry. We cannot accept the terms you made. The performance of your brushless motors is indeed pretty nice, but that doesn’t mean that you have relevant technology, unless you give us the technology for testing. Even if the technology is real, we can only sell you 20% of the shares, 50% is out of the question!” Hu Tiantai’s eyes slanted, revealing his spite at the corner of his mouth.
Chen Jin and Wong Quanlong glanced at each other. Simultaneously they stood up and left. “Let’s go!”
…
In Youxi City, a city near Shanghai and only twenty kilometers away from Suhong City, in the Chengbei Development Zone, there was a factory named You Ying Motor Limited Company. In this factory, there was a tug-of-war negotiation going on.
Zhang Dawei was a thirty-eight-year-old man and the founder and director of You Ying Motor. He was dressed in an ordinary working uniform and working in the factory. Looking plain and thin, he looked more like an ordinary worker than a boss at the first impression. However, his education background was astounding. He graduated from an elite university with a master’s degree and he was an expert in the motor field. He had already earned over ten thousand dollars a month more than a decade ago. But in the tenth year, when he wasn’t even in his thirties but had some money on hand, he decided to quit his job and start a business, so he found You Ying Motor.
In nine years’ time, he turned his small factory with only eight workers and an annual profit of a million, to a medium-sized factory with more than a hundred workers and an annual profit of around twenty million. Though he burned himself out at work, the company could only manage to get by. But fortunately, after the experience from all of those years, You Ying Motor had a solid technological foundation, and the product qualities were also recognized by the users. It finally came into a little bit of fame in the country.
This was something that made Zhang Dawei very proud and satisfied. He had the confidence to enhance the company’s products quality as well as the scale, thus becoming the top giant factory in the country. It would be a long and rocky road… after all, the effectiveness of the factory was right there, but taking a million every year for research was very hard. The consequence of not investing enough in research and development meant that technology advancement was very slow.
But a great opportunity was laid before Zhang Dawei. As long as he nodded his head and agreed to sell part of the company’s shares, he could acquire the process flow and the manufacturing information of the world’s most high-quality brushless motor. As long as he got hold of the technology, his You Ying Motor company could produce motors with the performance comparable to Yaskawa Electric in Japan.
Moreover, sales were guaranteed. As long as You Ying Motor got hold of the technology to the extent that it could actualize mass production, the director of Ling Feng Jing Mi Company, the gentlemen accompanying the young boss, would immediately offer an order contract of one million brushless motors. The order was so huge that the factory might need to race against the clock.
Not only did they provided the technology, but they also guaranteed the order. For You Ying Motor, this could shoot the company to the top of the sky. Still, Zhang Dawei was very hesitant in the face of such a tremendous opportunity. 50% of the company’s shares was really too much. This factory gathered all his toil and effort, he was just reluctant to sell half of the shares.
He bargained, “How about 40%? I really want to collaborate with you, but you asked for too many shares! I’ll budge an inch, 45%! 49%! I need to get a grip on the management and decision-making, otherwise, I cannot work with peace of mind.”
In the face of the two gentlemen that would not even budge an inch, Zhang Dawei kept giving in. He hoped to grab the opportunity tightly, but meanwhile, he was afraid to.
Looking at Zhang Dawei, whose face was intertwined with struggles, Chen Jin shook his head and said, “Chief Zhang, to be honest, I want to hold more than 51% of your company’s shares in the first place. After all, core technologies are the most valuable asset these days. There are dozens of motor factories like yours in the country. I considered licensing the technology to your factory because I think your technical level is pretty well, the factory equipment, the workers’ quality, and the product quality are also acceptable, and it has the potential to develop. But you do not think that the technology I supply is worth 50% of your factory’s value. Your factory is only worth a hundred million max! And the technology I have is worth a hundred billion! As long as you agree, what you get is 50% of a hundred billion, and what you lose is 50% of a hundred million… The math is very clear.” He stretched out his palm. “Five minutes, Chief Zhang, I’ll give you five minutes. If you do not agree with the terms, I’ll look for other motor companies to collaborate with me.” Chen Jin gave him the last call, giving him only five minutes to think about it.
He insisted on holding 50% of the shares of You Ying Motor because he wanted them to value Xing Hai technologies as their business partner, and value the function Xing Hai Technologies could bring. Regarding the power of management and decision-making, Chen Jin was not interested, and he didn’t have the time to care as well. What he desired was the 50% share of profit! In addition, in order to protect his interest, the collaboration Chen Jin offered was a patent technology licensing model, which only licensed the technology to You Ying Motor. The ownership of the technology still belonged to Chen Jin.
If You Ying Motor gave themselves away and did anything that harmed the interest of Xing Hai Technologies, Chen Jin could withdraw the technical authorization in accordance with the terms of the contract! Then he would choose another motor factory to collaborate with, and help other manufacturers to rise. He could even support several brushless motor factories as a replacement, and You Ying Motor could not intervene… The collaboration partner was not limited to only one factory. The biggest initiative was still held tight in his hand!
Apparently, such a collaboration model was a bit harsh for You Ying Motor, but they couldn’t have a say because the core technology was in the hand of Xing Hai Technology. Of course, the collaborated motor factory was not in a disadvantage too, if they did their part and did not play any tricks, they could enjoy the extravagant life with Xing Hai Technologies. They would be rolling in money.
As soon as Chen Jin said the last word, Wong Quan Long hurriedly advised, “Chief Zhang, do not hesitate, this is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity. If you miss the boat, you will miss it forever.”
Sitting next to Zhang Dawei, Zhang Xiaolong, the younger brother in charge of sales work, also persuaded, “My brother, you’ve seen the performance of the brushless motor brought by the two directors. Even if we work for a hundred more years, we can’t produce such an excellent brushless motor. The technology gap is too huge! Brother, agree to the terms immediately. Time is running out!”
Zhang Dawei glared at him, not accepting his brother’s words. He said, “Who said we need a hundred years? I can produce the same motor in fifty years at the most.”
Zhang Xiaolong looked at his brother as if he was looking at an idiot, and he said, “Fifty years later, we’re both dead, how are we going to produce motors?” He answered for his brother, “Chief Chen, Chief Wong, my brother agrees, he agrees to collaborate! From now on we will work together and produce the world’s best brushless motors.”
Zhang Dawei glanced at his brother, moved his lips a little, but in the end, he did object, and instead acquiesced to the outcome. The collaboration of the three parties was smoothly achieved, and the contract was signed.
At the evening celebration party, Zhang Dawei expressed a predicament that his company was facing. “Chief Chen, I have read the technical document that you handed to me, and the technical flow is indeed feasible, but I also need to purchase a lot of sophisticated equipment that will cost fifty million or above. The capital in my company’s account has never reached five million, so…” He looked at Chen Jin helplessly, with much awkwardness on his face.
The funding problem was exactly the Achilles’ heel of You Ying Motor. Even if the ready-made technology was laid before it, the factory had to spend over fifty million purchasing equipment to actualize the technology. Raising money became a vexing problem. Even if he could raise fifty million, he had to bear heavy debts, let alone the time-consuming process.
Chen Jin thought for a while and said, “Don’t worry about the funds, fifty million, I can lend it to you first without any interest, but I hope you can repay the money within a year. Is that a problem?”
“Sure, no problem!” Overjoyed, Zhang Dawei made a toast to Chen Jin again and again. He said, “Chief Chen, thank you very much! Thank you! I’ll drink a toast to you!” At that moment, all of the troubles in his heart were gone and replaced by abundant hope and confidence. With the help of a benefactor, it was time for You Ying Motor to rise and fly off!