Chapter 557: What he wants, really isn't much

The man was forty-five or forty-six, his suit was neat and tidy, and his hair was slick and shiny.

He wore an all-English name tag on his chest, which translated to: Beijing Saishi Instruments Service Co., Ltd., General Manager Wu.

Zhao Xiuneng raised an eyebrow: General Managers wear name tags too?

Wang Qi Zhi returned a look: Usually they don't, but things are unusual now.

Didn't he see Lin Sicheng ask him to sit down and talk twice, yet he wouldn't even touch the edge of the chair?

After stating his purpose, General Manager Wu took out an invitation, bowed his waist, and handed it over with both hands: "General Manager Lin, on behalf of President Smith and all the members of Saishi, I await your arrival. Please, you must grace us with your presence!"

Lin Sicheng took it and flipped it open.

It had a deep blue background, with two champagne glasses clinking together at the bottom, and small, gold-stamped bilingual text printed in the middle:

To: Mr. Lin Sicheng.

Respected Mr. Lin Sicheng, we are very honored to invite you to our Shanghai headquarters for business cooperation negotiations.

Saishi Technology (China) Co., Ltd.

There were very few words, just three lines; no date was written, no location was written, and it didn't even specify what cooperation was to be discussed.

But those who needed to know, knew what was being discussed this time.

Lin Sicheng nodded: "General Manager Wu, please tell President Smith that I will arrive on time!"

There wasn't even a date on it; what day would count as "on time"?

It wasn't that Saishi had forgotten to write it, but rather they were afraid Lin Sicheng would put on airs and drag his feet.

Muttering to himself, General Manager Wu smiled: "General Manager Lin, could you disclose the specific time and the number of people, so I can have my Assistant book the flight tickets and hotel..."

"Thank you, General Manager Wu, we will arrange it ourselves. Once we arrive in Shanghai, we will notify your company by phone. As for the meeting time, let's make it the day after tomorrow." The implication was: he would be going by tomorrow at the latest?

Even earlier than Smith had expected...

Breathing a secret sigh of relief, General Manager Wu reached out his hand: "Thank you, General Manager Lin, we look forward to your arrival!"

"Alright, I'll see you out, General Manager Wu!"

After shaking hands, Lin Sicheng accompanied General Manager Wu out of the suite. Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng stared at the invitation, their expressions indescribably strange.

Two weeks ago, Lin Sicheng had taken them to Shanghai specifically to visit Saishi President Smith. As a result, let alone Smith, they hadn't even seen the face of Smith's Assistant. They had only met an Intern Lawyer and a secretary to an Assistant.

They hadn't even managed to get a glass of water?

To put it bluntly: Saishi hadn't treated them like human beings at all.

At the time, Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng were furious enough to explode, but Lin Sicheng had been very calm. He even persuaded them: there was no need to be angry; this frustration would be vented sooner or later.

Even that Lawyer Tan had warned Lin Sicheng: there was no need to make contact with Saishi too early. The implication was: the more you push, the more humiliation you will receive.

Did he remember what Lin Sicheng had said?

Contact would certainly be made, but he would no longer take the initiative to reach out; instead, he would wait for Saishi to contact him.

When Lin Sicheng said those words, Wang Qi Zhi had seen it very clearly: that Lawyer Tan, known as the Gold Medal Lawyer of Shanghai, had curled his lip, the meaning self-evident: wishful thinking, a pipe dream.

Including Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng, they all felt Lin Sicheng was being too presumptuous.

If foreign capital could lower its status and bend its waist, it wouldn't be foreign capital.

But now?

The gold-stamped invitation was sitting right there on the table, the wording extremely respectful; did this count as taking the initiative?

When that General Manager Wu had just handed over the invitation, his waist had been bent nearly ninety degrees; did this count as lowering his status, did this count as bending his waist? Anyone with eyes could see the anticipation, urgency, and even panic revealed in General Manager Wu's words.

The contrast was too great, so great that it was hard to fathom...

While they were pondering this, Lin Sicheng entered the suite.

"Junior Brother still has such self-restraint; after being treated with such disdain last time, you're still so polite to the people from Saishi?" Zhao Xiuneng said with emotion, "If it were me, even if I didn't spit in his face, I would have thrown the invitation at him."

Lin Sicheng didn't speak, he just smiled.

There are many ways to take revenge and vent one's anger; the least cost-effective is to lose one's cool on the spot and completely burn bridges.

Lin Sicheng's personality wouldn't allow him to do that either.

Sun Tzu said: Plan before you act; show the enemy weakness, then strike with strength.

If it hadn't been for that near-humiliating slight, Lin Sicheng wouldn't have known that Saishi Company had ignored this case to such an extent. No... to call it "ignoring" was giving them too much credit; to be precise: they hadn't taken it seriously at all, purely acting as if it hadn't happened.

That was why he hadn't rushed back to Beijing, nor had he rashly attacked Liu Anhua. Instead, he had observed Saishi's countermeasures while collecting data, comparing them one by one with other instrument companies.

After waiting for ten full days, Saishi Company had finally communicated with the Consulate and prepared to go through foreign affairs procedures. By then, Lin Sicheng already knew that his subsequent plans would not encounter any accidents.

Whether it was Liu Anhua, Saishi China, or the Saishi headquarters.

And wasn't it just as expected?

Lin Sicheng let out a breath and picked up his phone: "Teacher, Senior Brother, I'll have Li Zhen book the tickets; we're leaving this afternoon!"

"We really should go early; we need to discuss things with Lawyer Tan!"

Replying, Wang Qi Zhi looked suspicious, "But I didn't expect Saishi to be this urgent. Just how many incriminating handles does Liu Anhua have in his hands?" It wasn't that Liu Anhua had many handles, but that he was bold enough to put the entire Saishi company on the fire.

Of course, Smith's courage wasn't small either: daring to open up permissions, letting Liu Anhua promote Refurbished Machines in Saishi's name, and even letting him use Saishi's purchasing channels to launder money.

From the client's perspective: this was no different from Saishi Company openly defrauding them, selling refurbished equipment as brand-new equipment. Which company wouldn't be anxious?

"Then what do they mean? A cover-up?" Wang Qi Zhi frowned, "But just covering your mouth probably won't be enough, right?"

Because what Liu Anhua confessed wasn't just a fraud case, but "collusion from within and without" and "knowingly selling fakes": colluding with the Person in Charge of institutions to replace the brand-new machines in the Contract with refurbished ones.

It wasn't even a matter of deception; it was selling them openly.

The key was that among the tens of billions in funds involved in the case, this part was the bulk, accounting for over seventy percent. What kind of concept was that?

The Discipline Inspection Commission would inevitably follow up. Once they investigated, wouldn't all those units that bought the refurbished equipment find out?

It's easy to cover one mouth, but what about hundreds or thousands of them?

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Teacher, there's no need to cover those up!"

Wang Qi Zhi was stunned: "Why?"

"Because they have no channel to voice their grievances!"

To put it simply, even if they wanted to sue, they have nowhere to sue: because the place of arbitration is invariably abroad, and there are various legal clause restrictions, ninety-nine percent of enterprises would give up voluntarily before they could ever reach the final ruling.

Even if they wanted to expose a major scandal, at most they could only expose it domestically. If Saishi were to play the rogue and shirk responsibility, not only would they be unable to recover a single cent of their losses, but those refurbished devices would have to be shut down immediately.

Operating on the principle that losing less is gaining, these institutions would never completely burn bridges unless they reached the final step.

What's more, this is collusion between inside and outside: the primary responsible parties are those who knowingly bought fakes and took kickbacks; these people bear the main responsibility. Added to that is the Disclaimer Clause that every foreign enterprise Executive must sign, leaving Liu Anhua with secondary responsibility.

And Saishi at most bears joint and several liability; even if they pay a portion in compensation, it won't account for much of a percentage. At most, the Ministry of Commerce will issue a huge fine, capping out at a hundred million at the very top.

Saishi has also calculated this point: whether this portion of institutions knows or not has little impact on them. It is highly probable that after the Commission for Discipline Inspection closes the case, some department will represent the victimized enterprises and negotiate with them.

Full compensation is impossible; at most, they will replace old parts for free, offer a few years of maintenance, and provide a few years of free training.

"Lin Sicheng, according to what you're saying, aren't we also one of these victimized enterprises?" Wang Qi Zhi was even more confused, "Since we don't need to cover these people's mouths, do we not need to cover ours either?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Teacher, it's different!"

Because he has a bomb in his hand, the kind that can blow Saishi to smithereens.

And it's not just one bomb.

Wang Qi Zhi just wanted to ask "How is it different," but seeing Lin Sicheng press his lips together, he knew he had asked too much.

Thinking back to the beginning, Lin Sicheng had said more than once that he could definitely recover the losses, and he was exceptionally certain: Teacher, Senior Brother, believe me! At that time, whether it was himself or Zhao Xiuneng, didn't they both doubt it?

But what was the result? It couldn't have been better: the Saishi headquarters personally entrusted the branch General Manager to deliver an invitation, accompanying them with smiles the whole way, even to the point of being somewhat obsequious, terrified that Lin Sicheng wouldn't be willing to settle.

So, there is no need to get to the bottom of it; as long as the matter can be resolved and the losses can be recovered, isn't that enough?

Wang Qi Zhi waved his hand: "Fine, book the tickets!"

Li Zhen was right next door and arrived in an instant; the flight booked was for the afternoon, and the three of them would go as before.

After booking the tickets, Lin Sicheng contacted Tang Nanjin again.

Wang Qi Zhi was still baffled, thinking to himself, you're going to negotiate with a foreign company, what use is finding Tang Nanjin?

He's a soldier; what help can he provide?

But immediately, he looked as if he had been stunned.

The call was answered quickly; it only rang twice before Tang Nanjin's voice came through: "Sicheng, what a coincidence, isn't it? I'm just on rotation leave and was about to call you: I'm inviting Jing San'er and Nanyu, let's have a couple of drinks!"

Where would there be time for drinking?

"Brother Jin, I'm a bit busy these two days; I'll treat you when I'm done!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "I wanted to ask if you have any friends in Shanghai, like Brother Tao, who could help out for a few days?"

Brother Tao's full name is You Tao; he is Tang Nanjin's comrade-in-arms, as well as Lin Sicheng's driver and bodyguard, and furthermore, a versatile Soldier King who retired from a special department. If there were nothing going on, why would Lin Sicheng look for someone like that?

Tang Nanjin's eyelids twitched: "Sicheng, have you run into trouble?"

"No trouble, just taking precautions."

"Defending against whom?"

Lin Sicheng paused: "Foreign companies!"

Tang Nanjin suddenly realized: he had been wondering what kind of person Lin Sicheng would have to offend to need a bodyguard, given his skills and his connections with the public security department. So it turns out it's foreigners?

He was both surprised and curious: "Sicheng, what did you do?"

"Helped the Customs and public security with a little something!"

He couldn't say the specifics, so Lin Sicheng could only be ambiguous, but Tang Nanjin could understand: Lin Sicheng, acting as a "Consultant" again?

But, to what extent must one "consult" to make a foreign company want to kill?

Since he was asking for help, he couldn't hide what shouldn't be hidden; Lin Sicheng was concise: "Mainly, the other side's losses are a bit large!" "How much?"

"It's hard to calculate for now; if we can't reach an agreement, at least ten billion!" Lin Sicheng paused, "Euros!"

Hearing the figure of ten billion and the word "Euros," Tang Nanjin's scalp went numb: converted to Renminbi, isn't that a hundred billion? Take Beijing as an example: for the entire year of 2008, Beijing's fiscal revenue was 180 billion, and that's even including the inflated indicators during the Olympics. That means Lin Sicheng "consulted" a bit and "consulted" half of Beijing's fiscal revenue from last year into the mix?

If he were the foreign company, he would have the heart to chop him up and swallow him.

Tang Nanjin really wanted to ask: how did Lin Sicheng "consult"?

But he knew the gravity of the situation and had a sense of propriety.

"When are you going?"

"Tomorrow!"

"Wait for my call!"

After saying that, he hung up, and Lin Sicheng put away his phone.

Immediately, he paused again: Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng were staring with their eyes wide, looking as if they had seen a ghost.

Because Lin Sicheng had never said that this time, he would cause the foreign side to lose over ten billion Euros.

Wang Qi Zhi looked terrified: "Over ten billion... how could it be so much?"

Actually, that was even a low estimate.

Whether it is Keyence, Bruker, or Elmer, as well as Agilent and Rigaku, they are all giants in the high-end instrument industry. In their respective specialized fields, they are the true number ones.

If it were exposed that Saishi Company used the authorization they granted to knowingly sell fakes, these companies would inevitably terminate cooperation and revoke the authorization.

This includes but is not limited to purchasing agents, floating pricing, pre-sales technical training, after-sales maintenance and repairs, as well as data management and software/hardware system upgrades. Just in China, just one of these authorizations brings Saishi at least over a billion in profit every year.

How much is five or six of them added together?

And this is just China; if an explosive crisis of trust occurs, these companies will inevitably take emergency remedial measures: pinning all the blame on Saishi, while simultaneously canceling global authorization and filing joint claims for damages.

By then, ten billion Euros would just be the starting point.

So, thinking from their perspective: is it easier to solve the troublemaker Lin Sicheng, or to pay out tens of billions?

One can only say, it's a good thing this is in China...

After a brief explanation, Lin Sicheng was fine, but cold sweat was pouring down the foreheads of Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng.

Over ten billion... Euros, how many hitmen could that hire, damn it?

Wang Qi Zhi stared: "Then you still dare to go?"

"Teacher, that's just in case; it shouldn't reach that point!"

Because Lin Sicheng did not intend to make an exorbitant demand, and even if he wanted to, the relevant departments would not agree.

Secondly, some things cannot be produced just because Lin Sicheng thinks about them.

Because at this stage, personal interests are already too small to be worth mentioning; whether it is the local government or the relevant departments, it is impossible for them to agree to him holding a weapon of mass destruction just to strive for a bit of petty profit.

Only by giving weapons to the right people can the greatest benefits be secured.

It is not as if they are mortal enemies, and Lin Sicheng is not a fighting cock,

What he wants is really not much...