ABT Chapter 195: It Takes Many Hands to Lift a Sedan Chair

When the car door opened, Li Fanyu was still fumbling in his pocket for the fare.

An Ning’s qipao had no pockets for money, and she only carried a mobile phone in her hand. So, naturally, all the payment duties fell on Li Fanyu.

Seeing this, Liu Wenhai quickly stepped in to stop him.

“Oh no, President Li, please get out of the car. Let me handle it.”

Li Fanyu waved his hand; "Why would I let you pay for a taxi fare? That would be too cheap a favor..."

While politely declining, he pulled out a red bill from his wallet and handed it to the driver.

Taxi drivers are well-informed, but their main sources of information are through radio broadcasts or chatting with passengers.

This driver didn’t know what the legendary CEO of Zhengxin looked like, only that he was supposed to be very young.

In his mind, even a young company president should be around thirty.

So, when he saw Li Fanyu, who looked about twenty, he didn’t think much of it.

Now, seeing the grand reception outside the car, he immediately realized who had been sitting in his back seat—Zhengxin, surname Li, CEO.

Who else could it be?!

He slapped his thigh, "Ah! You’re Li Fanyu?"

Li Fanyu nodded and smiled, "Driver, did you misjudge me this time?"

The driver knew he was being teased and laughed, "Misjudged, misjudged. Next time you come to Pushi, I'll give you a free ride!"

Li Fanyu was amused, "With a population of millions in Pushi, the odds are quite slim…"

The driver wasn’t embarrassed about being called out. He knew such a high-ranking person wouldn’t mind a little joke.

“Do you think if I took a photo with you, I could get a discount on an Audi in the future?”

Li Fanyu spread his hands, “National uniform pricing, fair to all.”

The driver scratched his bald head, “I was hoping a photo would get me a discount, so this time, I’ll waive your fare…”

Li Fanyu almost choked on his drink, having heard of Pushi people’s shrewdness... now he saw it firsthand...

Helping An Ning out of the car, they were immediately surrounded by a group of people.

Initially, the crowd at the entrance thought Liu Wenhai was eagerly welcoming some high-ranking government official. They didn’t expect it to be the recently famous CEO of Zhengxin.

Though it was different from what they imagined, Li Fanyu was a rising star in the automobile industry, so they quickly surrounded him, eager to shake hands and introduce themselves.

“Hello, President Li, I’m Wang Guanghai, General Manager of Guanghai Crankshaft Factory.”

“President Li, I’m Wu Meinian from Baochi Spark Plug Factory. Here’s my business card. I hope to collaborate with your company in the future.”

“President Li, the connecting rods used in your A4 model are supplied by our company.”

“President Li…”

Most of those approaching were parts suppliers. With the A4’s phenomenal sales and Audi’s rising brand reputation, automakers and parts suppliers were inextricably linked, making Li Fanyu very popular among them.

It takes many hands to lift a sedan chair, and faced with everyone’s enthusiasm, Li Fanyu naturally shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

After greeting the people on the outer circle, Li Fanyu finally saw someone with a bit more status.

A man, appearing to be around forty, stood at the entrance, raising his hand to Li Fanyu, revealing just the right amount of white shirt cuff.

Although he stood a bit further away, his friendly voice closed the distance, "Brother Li, long time no see. Don’t stand outside, come on in."

Li Fanyu found the man’s face familiar; he had seen him before but couldn’t recall his name.

Fortunately, the man didn’t come over to chat, presumably aware that their acquaintance was superficial and that approaching might cause awkwardness if Li Fanyu didn’t remember him.

Such a simple greeting conveyed goodwill and left plenty of room for the other party. A small detail like this made Li Fanyu feel that this person was not simple. And indeed, this person was a seasoned veteran deeply versed in the art of social interaction.

Li Fanyu smiled and waved in response. Seeing this, An Ning leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Kang Tongcheng, Operations Director of Guangqi Group."

Upon hearing Kang Tongcheng's greeting, Liu Wenhai clapped his hands, "That's right, let's not stand outside anymore. Let's go in and talk."

Everyone then crowded into the venue.

Although Guangqi Group is also a state-owned enterprise, it has been striving for self-improvement in recent years. After years of effort, they finally successfully launched the legendary SUV this year. Although they had previously been working hard for Mitsubishi, now they could finally be the master of their own fate.

Li Fanyu had discussed Guangqi's situation with An Ning and Old Zhang before. Old Zhang had angrily remarked that trading the market for technology might be an extremely wrong strategy, but among the national car companies, only Guangqi had truly achieved it.

In this respect, Guangqi was commendable. Li Fanyu admired enterprises with goals and ambition.

So, after entering the room, he proactively extended his hand to Kang Tongcheng, who was waiting at the door. "Director Kang, long time no see. Recently, I've been hearing a lot about Guangqi's legendary achievements."

Kang Tongcheng shook his hand and joked, "My dear friend, your words sound like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Audi has already dominated the B-segment car market, with the A4 occupying the third spot on the sales chart. Now you're saying you keep hearing about our achievements, aren't you teasing me? Haha."

Li Fanyu also laughed along. In such situations, mutual flattery was the norm.

Seeing him humbled, Kang Tongcheng laughed heartily, then turned his gaze to An Ning. "I first met Brother Li at the summer Nanhao exchange meeting, introduced by Miss An. I remember Brother Li had just returned from winning an award in Germany, and Miss An asked us to take care of him. Now Zhengxin has become a hot car company, and Miss An has become the second in command at Zhengxin. Here, I still have to ask for your support."

"Don't mention it. People say that besides Chairman Xue, you're the most important person at Guangqi. Zhengxin is new and has a lot to learn from you."

An Ning thought Kang Tongcheng was just joking, so she smiled and replied.

Unexpectedly, Kang Tongcheng said seriously, "This is not a joke. I really have some matters to discuss with you two. Now is not the right time with so many people around, but let's find a place to talk later."

Li Fanyu and An Ning exchanged glances, both feeling curious—what was Guangqi planning?

Logically, there shouldn't be much connection between the two companies, so they were puzzled about what Kang Tongcheng wanted to discuss.

Seeing the host already on stage, Li Fanyu and An Ning had to agree and take their seats.

An annual meeting is nothing more than reminiscing about the past and looking forward to the future.

The host on stage continued to say flowery but meaningless words, which Li Fanyu did not care for.

So he quietly said to An Ning, "Sis, what do you think Guangqi wants from us?"

An Ning frowned. She had thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out either. "I really can't guess this. Guangqi only has one model now, and it's doing well in the market. Logically, they make SUVs, and we make mid-sized cars, so there's not much overlap. Unless... unless..."

"Unless what?"

A flash of insight crossed An Ning's eyes. "Unless they want to develop a new model! Could it be that they also want to enter the sedan market?"


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