Chapter 575: Holding On

The table was covered in documents.

Lin Sicheng and Li Zhenghao sat in the middle, finishing one signature after another.

Signing, stamping, organizing, backing up... no arguments, no bickering, everything went very smoothly.

After signing the last one, Lin Sicheng stood up and reached out his hand: "President Li, a pleasure doing business with you!"

Li Zhengwu was dispirited, his face showing deep exhaustion: "President Lin, I hope you keep your word!"

Truly, he had already collapsed. Right now, he was just holding on by force...

"All the terms are written in the contract, aren't they?" Lin Sicheng looked calm. "President Li, I don't want to look for trouble for myself!" Li Zhenghao looked sarcastic: As if you haven't caused enough trouble?

But he only thought it in his heart; he did not say it out loud.

The two exchanged documents, and the agreement officially took effect.

Li Zhengwu's lawyer stood up, holding a folder in his hands: "As the lawyer for the Licensor Alliance (a joint venture of six companies), I will reiterate once more:

First, please strictly abide by the licensing permissions of each company, including research areas, application fields, sales scope..."

"Second, please strictly abide by the restrictive clauses: including restricted entities, restricted paths, cooperation..."

"Third, please strictly abide by the Betting Mechanism, including technology digestion, productization, market verification, and time to market..."

"Fourth, please strictly abide by the Financial Clause, submit financial reports regularly, and report the use, timing, and details of the research funds..." There were over ten items in total, trivial and complex; the lawyer read for over ten minutes.

Finally, he closed the folder: "Lastly, a reminder for President Lin: for the time being, at least at this stage, your company's registered capital is only three million (USD), and the business scope is limited to the traditional fields of Cultural Relics and Artifact Research..."

Lin Sicheng smiled: "Lawyer Lai En doesn't need to worry about this. If the Alliance's requirements are not met within the stipulated time, it can be executed according to the agreement."

With the agreement signed so rigidly and so many restrictive clauses, did he really need a separate reminder?

The lawyer said nothing more and nodded toward Li Zhenghao.

Li Zhenghao felt a weight lift: Finally over?

This damn negotiation, even staying one more minute was torture.

It was all because of Lin Sicheng.

Truly, he swore: he would rather be locked in a horse stable, smelling the stench of excrement every day, than see this face in front of him...

Cursing inwardly, Li Zhengwu kept a straight face: "President Lin, welcome to the United States!"

He was mocking Lin Sicheng, and also reminding him: Lin Sicheng, although your goal has been achieved, from now on, trouble and danger will accompany you for the rest of your life.

My friend, good luck.

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: that dump of a place, he had already been there enough in his past life.

"President Li, if I go, I will definitely notify you! If President Li comes to China next time, you must also notify me, so I can play the host!" Next time, come to China?

Li Zhenghao's mouth couldn't stop twitching: Come to China, my ass?

Such a massive accident, someone must be held responsible; as for Smith, chopping him into meat paste wouldn't be enough.

In the coming years, what awaited Li Zhengwu would be a leisurely life on a ranch...

Li Zhenghao looked cold and pulled his hand back: "Lin Sicheng, I will not notify you!"

Looking at the hand frozen in mid-air, Lin Sicheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: You won't even have the chance to notify me, right?

Forget it, if he won't shake, he won't shake!

He nodded: "President Li, until we meet again!"

Everyone stood up, and the representatives of both sides shook hands to say goodbye.

There were quite a few people, but the atmosphere was oppressive, even a bit tense.

But it wasn't strange: anyone who had a piece of meat bitten off their body would want to bite the other person to death.

That the representatives of several companies were willing to shake hands and return a "goodbye" was already quite cultured...

Lin Sicheng left the table first, with the others following behind.

The conference room was half empty.

Cha Er looked around, observed the expressions of the various representatives, and picked up the agreement again: "Mike, don't be angry. Although the agreement is signed, it is not without loopholes!"

"Look at this clause: if a Password Lock or Core Code leak occurs within the limited period, the Alliance has the right to terminate the authorization. And according to the breach of contract clause, it can claim damages from Party B (Lin Sicheng)..."

Li Zhengwu was stunned for a moment, his expression extremely strange.

Especially his eyes, as if he were looking at an idiot.

Li Zhengwu certainly knew Cha Er was not an idiot, but Cha Er was treating him and the representatives of the six companies like idiots.

To put it bluntly: Cha Er meant that even if Lin Sicheng wouldn't leak it, couldn't others leak it?

No matter who leaked it, the license could be terminated, and then a huge claim for damages could be filed against Lin Sicheng.

Li Zhengwu frowned: "Cha Er, who are you planning to have do it, you?"

Cha Er was stunned: "Of course not, I am a Federal Employee, that is illegal!"

"Haha... Cha Er, so you know, you are just a Federal Employee?"

Li Zhengwu laughed out loud, "From now on, no matter who does it, I will assume it was you. If your superior is not yet prepared to face the wrath of Wall Street, then please be prepared to take responsibility for this matter."

"Cha Er, I know, you are a brave man!"

After saying this, Li Zhenghao stood up and walked straight out.

Then followed the lawyer, the Assistant, and the representatives of the remaining companies.

When passing by, whether unintentionally or intentionally, they would all glance at Cha Er.

Some were sneering, as if cursing: You are a moron.

Some were very serious, as if trying to carve his appearance into their minds.

In an instant, Cha Er's face changed.

He had wanted to remind the representatives of the companies: Lin Sicheng wouldn't leak it, but they could leak it themselves.

No matter who leaked it, according to the agreement, the technology authorization could be revoked.

But Li Zhengwu told him: no matter who leaked it, the stock of several companies would fall.

Wall Street investment banks cannot deal with Lin Sicheng hiding in China, so can they not deal with a small Federal Employee?

The reason they were wary before was because behind Cha Er was the Security Bureau. But once these words were spoken, he could only represent himself. Daring to come up with such an idea requires paying a price; Cha Er's superior does not have dung in their head...

Furthermore, they did not believe that with so many licensing restrictions and such harsh Betting Mechanisms, Lin Sicheng could research anything by taking these technologies.

Taking a step back: even if Lin Sicheng could research results, it would be technology one version behind the current cutting-edge, which for each company would not be a substantial loss.

But if the stock price falls, that would be hundreds of millions, billions...

The people left one by one, and finally, only Cha Er and the Assistant remained in the conference room.

He kept a cold face and stared fixedly at the assistant: "Dan Ni'er, watch your mouth!"

The Assistant waved his hands repeatedly: "Sir, you know, my mouth has always been tight!"

Cha Er said nothing more, lowered his head, and left the conference room.

Why did he come up with such an idea?

The several companies certainly would not do it, but would the Security Bureau, for example his superior, do it?

After doing it, would they frame him?

The more Cha Er thought, the more he regretted it, wishing he could slap himself a few times.

Actually, he was worrying unnecessarily: Cha Er's superior was not as selfless as him, willing to sacrifice their own life for the sake of the country's interests.

Wall Street is truly capable of killing people...

The motorcade made a turn and drove to the Technology Park.

The group entered the elevator and arrived at the tenth floor.

The machines were shipped back from Hong Kong two weeks ago, which was the batch Liu Anhua had swapped, meaning they were returned to Lin Sicheng intact. They were already installed in place, all verifications and debugging were completed, and they could be used upon turning them on.

Water, electricity, doors, windows, and soft furnishings were all finished, and a housekeeping company had been hired to clean up. Now they were just waiting for people to enter; once training was finished, they could open for business. Unfortunately, plans are not as good as changes.

In the compensation agreement, there was indeed a clause for free training, but there was one point: once the instrument company's Engineer provided training, it meant all agreements had entered the performance stage.

Including the Licensing Agreement.

At the same time, it also meant the Betting Mechanism officially took effect. If the corresponding technology was not researched within the limited time, or if the technical verification requirements of the Party A were not met, the technology license would automatically terminate.

Lin Sicheng could indeed do some training, but he had no time...

He took a rough look and then instructed Li Zhen to have them make a procurement plan for Reagents and Consumables.

The group of people then headed downstairs in a grand procession.

Just as they stepped out of the elevator, several people sitting on the lobby sofa stood up. Lin Sicheng was startled for a moment, then hurriedly walked up to them.

Leading them was a Division Chief from the Property Rights Bureau, as well as Director Su, and the remaining two he did not recognize.

"Teacher Lin, let me introduce you: this is Division Chief Li from the Municipal Commerce Bureau, and this is Director Liu from the Municipal National Development and Reform Commission..."

Lin Sicheng hurriedly reached out his hand: "Greetings, leaders!"

"Teacher Lin, don't be so formal!" The two handed over business cards, "This is our phone number: if you need consultation in the future, contact us at any time..." The Commerce Bureau is responsible for compliance review of technology imports, while the National Development and Reform Commission is responsible for the approval and filing of "foreign investment" projects.

And technology transfer falls under the category of foreign investment.

The Property Rights Bureau is responsible for legal licensing review of relevant patents, while Director Su represents the Technology Department, responsible for on-site inspection of whether the project complies with national or local policies.

At first glance, were they all here to create obstacles?

Actually, it was the exact opposite: these few, or rather the units they represented, were all here to provide support.

When necessary, they could provide guidance and assist in cross-departmental communication.

In plain language: they were here to help Lin Sicheng avoid falling into the traps of those several companies.

Lin Sicheng also knew that these few were very urgent. He forced a smile: "Leaders, since you are here, let's have a casual meal at noon and discuss it formally in the afternoon!"

"Teacher Lin, don't misunderstand, we just received the news and came to show our faces!"

Division Chief Chen of the Property Rights Bureau waved his hands repeatedly, "Let's meet again on Monday!"

Today is Thursday, meaning he was letting Lin Sicheng rest for three days.

Division Chief Chen was not being polite, but was speaking from the heart.

Before the negotiations officially began, upon receiving notice from his superiors, he brought three technical personnel to provide Lin Sicheng with support in patent technology and intellectual property rights.

Among them was Director Su.

At the beginning, there were only the four of them, but slowly, the members became more numerous and the fields involved became broader: Property Rights Bureau, Technology Bureau, Commerce Bureau, National Development and Reform Commission, Public Security, Court, Customs, Information Detachment, Drug Supervision, Ecological Environment.

From the initial one group, it expanded to four groups, a full twenty-plus people...

It was not that they were making a big fuss over nothing, but that every nook and cranny one could think of had restrictive clauses in the transfer Contract. Especially the initial Betting Mechanism, which was a pit among pits...

He who travels one hundred miles covers ninety as half the journey; with victory in sight, no one wanted to step into a pit in some inconspicuous place and cause all previous efforts to be wasted.

Therefore, over these twenty days, apart from Lin Sicheng, they were the ones who understood it most deeply: these foreigners were digging pits and burying mines in various ways, playing with a copy of The Art of War until it was exhausted.

Retreating to advance, seizing the initiative, feigning ignorance, creating something from nothing, making a feint to the east while attacking in the west... there was nothing you couldn't imagine, only things they couldn't do. The twenty-plus members put in 120% of their spirit to guard strictly.

In Director Su's words, when he first joined a group with his mentor and only slept three or four hours a day, he had never been this tired.

They were only providing support from behind; for Lin Sicheng, who was facing more than a dozen foreign representatives and Lawyers at the front, being besieged and intercepted by the other side, how tense must his spirit have been, and how fast must his reactions have been, to avoid being led into a ditch?

Every day, Lin Sicheng was as taut as a bow pulled to its limit.

But the results were also excellent: that Lin Sicheng could negotiate to this point had long since far exceeded the expectations of them and the several leaders who had been following this negotiation.

According to their previous assumptions, being able to negotiate to one-fourth, or even one-fifth of the current state would be a victory.

How was it done?

There was certainly their contribution in this, but asking themselves, it was at most twenty or thirty percent.

The remaining seventy or eighty percent was all ground down by Lin Sicheng bit by bit.

Just take one point: there were several technologies that all brushed the edge of the Industry Association Authorization Catalog. If it were normal times, don't even think about it. So why could it be negotiated this time, not only agreeing to the transfer, but also a free transfer?

Lin Sicheng once said this: these six companies are a whole, this is correct. The original intention of their establishment was to oppose us, this is also correct.

But if utilized well, it is not necessarily impossible to contend with the Industry Association.

Everyone understands the logic: the essence of capital is the pursuit of profit, especially at a time like this, which is a matter of life and death and could very likely cause the companies invested in by capital to suffer broken bones and damaged vitality.

When necessary, they will negotiate with the Association and make certain concessions.

But the problem is, this time, it is not just the Association standing behind these companies.

For example, that translator Cha Er, so everyone feels the possibility is not high.

But the result exceeded everyone's expectations.

It seems that every time, Lin Sicheng can accurately grasp the other party's bottom line, and then raise it just a little bit more. It is equivalent to the other party being at the critical point of "in principle, it can be agreed to, but psychologically, it is unwilling" every time.

Whenever this happens, other representatives will persuade: although it exceeds a little, it does not exceed much, and it is not unacceptable.

To put it bluntly: better them than me.

At the same time, they jointly exert pressure on the Association and Cha Er: if the talks fail, someone must be held responsible for the resulting losses.

One company, the Association certainly does not care about, but what about six?

To put it bluntly: if these six companies were to form a new association, the original association would have to dissolve.

It is the same on Cha Er's side: behind every company is an investment bank, and behind every investment bank is capital. Behind every capital, there is one or several congressmen...

One cannot have congressmen calling every day over some trivial matters, right?

Then, logically and naturally, it was successfully secured.

Next time, repeat this process again.

To say it without exaggeration: having talked for nearly three weeks, the representatives of these companies had long since reached the verge of collapse.

Not only psychologically, but also physiologically.

And Lin Sicheng, all by himself, had to deal with over a dozen people.

Fortunately, he persisted...