Chapter 1894

Chapter 1894: Chapter 1894

Jiang Zhengdong saw it.

He saw Song Guanchao brushing aside Wu Qiangwei’s hair.

He seemed not to look this way but was actually watching out of the corner of his eye.

When he saw the intimate gesture between Song Guanchao and her, Jiang Zhengdong wasn’t shocked; instead, he felt this was how it should be.

Honestly, he envied Song Guanchao.

Who hasn’t been full of youthful vigor and fantasized about being surrounded by beautiful women when they were young?

However, most people are just working folks who can only fantasize.

Only a very few, who have both luck and skill, can truly rise above.

He didn’t display any odd behavior and, together with Song Guanchao, hailed a taxi to head downtown.

Last night, after Wu Qiangwei fell asleep, Song Guanchao spent over an hour thinking through his next plans.

In his view, there are only two ways to attract those foreign companies to Jiangzhou.

First, offer conditions far better than what other cities could provide.

Second, take down the competition.

Wu Qiangwei’s work plan for this year was to revive the declining economy.

Therefore, it was destined that they couldn’t offer excessively high conditions.

That leaves only the second way.

To take down the competition, you must first understand the opponent.

Know the enemy and yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.

But the problem in front of Song Guanchao now is that he has no idea which cities are in contact with these foreign companies.

According to his analysis, the biggest competitor is Luzhou City.

However, he also couldn’t guarantee that his analysis was completely correct.

What if these companies don’t play by the book?

So the safest approach is to list all cities that contacted them.

For an average person, this is nearly an impossible task.

But for Song Guanchao, it’s very simple.

Just go straight to those foreign companies and ask, right?

They returned to the city, and the car stopped at an open-air parking lot near a middle school in the Gulou District.

The two got out of the car, walked to the shadow outside the school wall.

Song Guanchao took out a cigarette and offered one to Jiang Zhengdong.

Jiang Zhengdong put down the briefcase he was holding, took a puff, and started making a phone call.

A few minutes later, he finished the phone call and said, "Ji Dengke is coming over shortly."

Yes, Song Guanchao intended to ask Ji Dengke.

Han Zhenhua is the director of the Asia-Pacific region; if you ask him, would he tell you?

Ji Dengke is just a general manager; what he cares about is the position he holds. After the foreign companies withdraw from Gusu City, can he still hold onto his seat?

Therefore, as long as you offer him tempting benefits, Ji Dengke can completely stand on his side.

About a quarter of an hour later, a taxi stopped outside the school gate.

Wearing a tracksuit, mask, and hat, Ji Dengke got off the car, looked around, and walked this way.

"Mr. Jiang, Director Song." The two parties greeted each other like underground operatives, even lowering their voices deliberately.

Song Guanchao took his cellphone out again, turned all his pockets inside out, indicating he had no recording devices, showing sincerity.

Jiang Zhengdong was taken aback, obviously not expecting Song Guanchao to do this, and reluctantly followed suit.

Then, Ji Dengke also copied them by turning out his pockets.

A passing elderly man taking a walk glanced over, muttering, "Three grown men can’t cobble together a single penny, broke as hell."

The three of them: ...

After the old man left, Ji Dengke coughed lightly, "Director Song, what do you want from me?"

Song Guanchao said, "I hope that Ligong Electronics will settle in Jiangzhou."

Ji Dengke smiled wryly, "That’s not something I can decide."

Song Guanchao said, "Help me with one thing, when your company settles in Jiangzhou, I’ll help you secure the chairman position."

This statement felt a bit uncertain, and Ji Dengke wasn’t tempted at all.

"I’ve said, where the company goes is not up to me."

"You help me, and I’ll make it happen."

Ji Dengke clearly didn’t believe it; he knew his own limitations without needing reminders from others.

As a general manager, the things he could do were extremely limited.

He didn’t have the power to influence major company decisions.

He looked into Song Guanchao’s eyes and saw sincerity, determining that he wasn’t joking.

"What does Director Song want me to do?"

"Since the news broke of Ligong Electronics planning to leave Gusu, which government agencies have contacted you? Which places has Chairman Han met? Which ones are he most interested in currently?"

Ji Dengke felt a bad premonition: "What are you planning to do?"

Song Guanchao flicked his cigarette ash and said casually, "Take down the competition, and Ligong Electronics can only choose Jiangzhou."

"..." Ji Dengke’s mouth twitched uncontrollably, he wasn’t Han Zhenhua, he frequently dealt with governmental leaders but had never seen anyone like Song Guanchao.

However, this unconventional behavior made Ji Dengke feel that maybe, just maybe, Song Guanchao could actually pull it off.

Thinking of Song Guanchao’s promise, Ji Dengke admitted he was tempted.

Song Guanchao also saw from his changing expressions that he was tempted.

"Mr. Ji, are you 40 this year?"

"41." Ji Dengke was still hesitant, confused by the sudden question, wondering why this was being brought up suddenly.

"At 41, it’s the perfect age for a career push. Doesn’t Mr. Ji want to advance further?"

This hit the nail on the head for him, Ji Dengke said, "Even if I told you, it wouldn’t help, too many governments have reached out, you can’t be going to each one, can you?"

Song Guanchao shook his head: "Going door-to-door would be something only a fool would do. I just need to focus on the few municipalities Chairman Han is most interested in."

"Actually, I can roughly guess that the ones Chairman Han is most inclined towards are Luzhou, Hanwu, Da Chang, and Jiangzhou. Of these four cities, Luzhou is most likely."

Ji Dengke raised an eyebrow, full of surprise.

He really hit the nail on the head.

"That’s right." Ji Dengke said, "The executive decision-makers are most inclined towards Luzhou."

Song Guanchao smiled, "Then why not directly negotiate with Luzhou? Let me guess, it’s probably because Luzhou knows your intentions, so the conditions they offered are mediocre."

"Exactly." Ji Dengke nodded, "The leaders of Luzhou City Government think we can’t do without them, the conditions they offered are very..."

He paused for a few seconds before blurting out a fitting term: "Insulting!"

Now it was Song Guanchao’s turn to be surprised, but soon, he wanted to laugh.

It’s not an intimidating opponent you must fear, but a foolish partner.

The representatives of Luzhou City in these negotiations with foreign enterprises seemed overly confident.

Relying on Luzhou’s geographical advantage, they believed success was guaranteed, thus intentionally lowering the price.

Such actions are normal.

They just overlooked one thing: foreign companies are merely inclined towards them, not bound to them.

Acting like this could easily lead to a failure.

Song Guanchao guessed their terms were not just average.

If only they offered what Wu Qiangwei proposed, these foreign companies wouldn’t hesitate.

"When was the last time Chairman Han met with Luzhou City?" Song Guanchao asked.

Ji Dengke pondered for a few seconds and replied, "Tonight."

Song Guanchao’s eyes instantly brightened.