Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen: The Chameleon (Seeking Collection)

“You Zhang, you’re committing a crime!”

“Our TV station will expose you, take you to court—you’re going to jail!”

After learning what the satellite dish was for, Zheng Zutai’s face turned red as he pointed his finger at Zhang Xiao’s nose and screamed.

Zheng Zutai spoke with confidence—today’s reporters were called the “crowned kings without crowns”; if even department heads were exposed by reporters, they might lose their posts, and if major companies faced scandals, they could collapse entirely, with founders ending up in prison.

That was why so many feared reporters—but this “crowned king” status wasn’t self-proclaimed; it came from the TV station, newspaper, or magazine behind them.

Now, someone dared to snatch the TV station’s bread—and even invited people over to inspect it! Zheng Zutai felt this was a direct provocation against Pingyang TV Station!

“Director Zheng, we invited you here today because we have something to discuss with your TV station…”

Zhang Xiao called out from behind, but Zheng Zutai ignored him completely, charging toward the Jeep like an enraged bull, too furious to be stopped.

Just as Zheng Zutai was about to get in the car, a voice rang out: “Director Zheng, even if you shut down the Yuanchi Factory and confiscate these satellite dishes, will that stop other brands from appearing?!”

“We invited Pingyang TV Station here today because we want to cooperate—otherwise, you’d never have seen these satellite dishes at all; they’d already been sold!”

Zheng Zutai, hand already on the car door, turned around to look at Li Dongling, the one who had spoken.

A moment ago, in his rage, he’d only wanted to shut down the factory and make Zhang Xiao pay—he hadn’t thought of anything else. But now, hearing Li Dongling’s words, he realized: satellite dishes had already appeared; it was like opening Pandora’s box—there was no way to make them disappear again. This device was far superior to closed-circuit TV; even if Yuanchi Factory was shut down, others would surely make them.

“Please, Director Zheng—even if you plan to tear this place down, it can wait until after we’ve talked,” Li Dongling said, extending his hand.

“Hmph!”

Zheng Zutai grumbled angrily but didn’t get in the car. “Fine, I’ll see what kind of flowers you can spin today. Even if you do spin flowers, I’m still filing a report to have this place shut down.”

The three entered Zhang Xiao’s office. Zhang Xiao willingly ceded the negotiation seat to Li Dongling—he could handle operations, but reporting, negotiations, speeches? Not his strength.

“Director Zheng, how many closed-circuit TV users are there in Pingyang City? Even the entire urban area probably doesn’t have two thousand households—and the towns would have even fewer!”

Li Dongling looked at Zheng Zutai. Two or three hundred yuan per year for closed-circuit TV equals a worker’s monthly salary—how many families would spend a full month’s income just to watch TV?

“Even if there are few users, they still belong to the TV station! This isn’t an excuse for you to use underhanded methods to steal our viewers!” Zheng Zutai slammed the table.

Li Dongling chuckled and pushed the tea Zhang Xiao had prepared toward him. “Whether it’s closed-circuit TV or satellite dishes, both exist to let viewers access more channels—essentially, they’re the same, just different paths to the same goal!”

Hearing Li Dongling’s theory, Zheng Zutai frowned, ready to argue—but Li Dongling stopped him.

“Director Zheng, we didn’t invite you here to argue. I’m saying this to make it clear to Pingyang TV Station: the satellite receiver project isn’t meant to steal your viewers—it’s meant to help viewers access more channels, raise the cultural and entertainment standards of our people, and bring greater value to TV users!

Isn’t that also the TV station’s original intention?!”

These morally superior words left Zheng Zutai stunned. They were so grand and righteous he couldn’t possibly refute them—he couldn’t say the TV station’s real goal wasn’t to help viewers watch more channels, but to earn more ad revenue. Even if he thought that, he couldn’t say it aloud.

“Director Zheng, you know how many TV owners there are in Pingyang. The TV station struggles to get these users to adopt closed-circuit TV—but satellite dishes can!”

Li Dongling said to Zheng Zutai, “Even if only one-tenth of Pingyang’s TV owners use satellite dishes, how many units would be sold? You can calculate that yourself.”

Zheng Zutai involuntarily swallowed. He knew perfectly well whether satellite dishes could sell: compared to ordinary TV antennas, their advantages were enormous; they were cheaper than closed-circuit TV. Even he, if forced to choose, would pick the satellite dish. If eighty to ninety thousand units were sold, the profits would be staggering—he dared not imagine the scale, but it would certainly far exceed Pingyang TV Station’s ad revenue.

Li Dongling glanced at Zhang Xiao, who cleared his throat. “Director Zheng, our Yuanchi Factory’s satellite dish project is essentially the same as your TV station’s work. So I propose we collaborate on this project!”

Zheng Zutai was utterly speechless—not much better than when Zhang Xiao first heard Li Dongling mention this. His mind was spinning.

“We can give the TV station a share of the profits from the Starwatch satellite receiver project!” Li Dongling said outright—he wanted to drag Pingyang TV Station onto the same boat, so satellite dishes could be used openly in Pingyang.

“This… this isn’t fair!”

Zheng Zutai wanted to refuse as forcefully as before—but the words stuck in his throat.

“If the Provincial Broadcasting and Television Bureau investigates, who will bear the responsibility?!” Zheng Zutai hesitated, stalling.

Watching Zheng Zutai’s greed mixed with fear, Zhang Xiao spat inwardly—he’d bet his life on this project, and Zheng Zutai still feared everything.

“If we cooperate, Pingyang TV Station’s service centers must allow sales of Starwatch, and their repair technicians must provide after-sales service to Starwatch users!”

“The Starwatch satellite receiver is preliminarily priced at 300 yuan. If sales meet expectations—or if we sell ten thousand units—the TV station can receive 10% of the profits. How much that is, Director Zheng, you can calculate yourself!”

Li Dongling wanted to partner with Pingyang TV Station not only to legitimize the project, but also to tap into the TV station’s resources.

With Yuanchi Factory’s current strength, it couldn’t possibly send enough technicians to towns and villages for after-sales service—the cost would be too high to bear.

With Pingyang TV Station’s help, it would be different. To serve closed-circuit TV users, the TV station already had service centers in the city, towns, and even some populous villages. If these centers could handle Starwatch after-sales, it would be far easier—just pay the repairmen a little extra.

Zheng Zutai hadn’t even heard the part about after-sales service—he only heard: selling ten thousand satellite dishes meant the TV station could earn millions. At 10%, that was two or three hundred thousand yuan—equivalent to several months of ad revenue. Most crucially, this money was the TV station’s slush fund—no need to report it, no need to hand it over; the station could use it internally!

Whether they used it to buy things or distributed it directly to staff as bonuses, no one could question it. Zheng Zutai calculated: given his seniority and rank at Pingyang TV Station, he could easily pocket four or five thousand yuan—more than his entire salary last year!

At this moment, Zheng Zutai was a completely different man from the one who had just pointed his finger at Zhang Xiao’s nose. Whether to cooperate with Yuanchi Factory was no longer the issue—he was still negotiating for the TV station’s benefit, because who turns down money?

“Ten percent is too little. The risks we bear are too great—I can’t explain this to our leadership. The TV station demands 30%!” Zheng Zutai said.

Zhang Xiao’s thick eyebrows furrowed—he was already furious about giving the TV station a cut, and now Zheng Zutai was complaining it wasn’t enough.

“Impossible!”

“How much profit do we make per unit? We bear all costs—materials, labor, transportation, sales. The TV station just sits back and collects money—and now you want 30%? Why don’t you just rob us?!”

“The TV station bears even greater risks! Who will shoulder the responsibility later? Didn’t he just say after-sales service will be our duty?!” Zheng Zutai pointed at Li Dongling.

Watching Zhang Xiao and Zheng Zutai turn red in the face, Li Dongling remained unfazed. This quarrel was only about how much more to earn. With the satellite dish as the carrot, neither side would break the deal.

“At least 15%! We’re struggling—our provincial station requires us to ‘report and coordinate’ with them too. If we get less, the risk is too high!” Zheng Zutai whined. This money wouldn’t just go to Pingyang TV Station—there’d be countless bosses above them all wanting a cut.

Zhang Xiao looked at Li Dongling, who nodded. Zhang Xiao grunted in resignation.

Zheng Zutai’s attitude toward Zhang Xiao and Li Dongling had shifted completely from earlier. “Factory Director Zhang, Brother Li, rest assured—I’ll fight for your cooperation with our leadership. I won’t delay you at all!”

Zheng Zutai, seasoned in dealing with all kinds of people, was sharp—he could tell who truly held power in the Starwatch satellite dish project, even if Li Dongling was only officially a technician.

“You can start selling Starwatch now!”

As soon as Zheng Zutai left, Li Dongling said to Zhang Xiao.