How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 330

Buy a Car, Get a Model?

President Liao Yongfu of Zhongxing Group received a call from Zhang Yongjun. After understanding what happened, he immediately comforted him, “Xiao Zhang, don’t worry. You are one of us. As long as I don’t nod, no one can fire you. I’ll call Jonathan and ask. Xingchen Investment definitely can’t have the CEO position!”

With Liao Yongfu’s promise, Zhang Yongjun felt relieved.

Liao Yongfu called Jonathan, the chairman of Mercedes-Benz China Group, and asked directly, “What exactly does Xingchen Investment mean? Do they think they can take the CEO position of Mercedes-Benz China Group just because they acquired 15% of the shares? Tell them to stop dreaming. This position must be held by someone from our Zhongxing Group. They shouldn’t even think about it.”

Jonathan replied, “Zhang Yongjun took advantage of his position to accept sexual bribes from Legendary Model Company. Yang Chen, the boss of Xingchen Investment, happened to catch him. Yang Chen made it clear that if we don’t remove Zhang Yongjun, he will, as a major shareholder, request a shareholders’ meeting to decide on the CEO of Mercedes-Benz China. Your Zhongxing Group holds 49% of the shares in Mercedes-Benz China, but not in Mercedes-Benz Group, so what you say doesn’t count.”

Liao Yongfu: “But Zhongxing Group controls 45% of Mercedes-Benz’s sales in China and even Southeast Asia. Is the small amount of shares in his hand more important, or is our Zhongxing Group’s channel more important? I think all the shareholders know! I can tell you clearly that there is absolutely no way to kick Zhang Yongjun out! Tell them to go ahead and hold a shareholders’ meeting.”

Jonathan: “OK! I will reply to them and let them decide what to do.”

Soon, Jin Ming received a reply from Mercedes-Benz China Group that they would not fire Zhang Yongjun.

Jin Ming did not hesitate and immediately sent a request to the secretary of the board of directors of Mercedes-Benz Group in the name of Xingchen Investment to convene a shareholders’ meeting.

Upon receiving Jin Ming’s email, the secretary of the board of directors of Mercedes-Benz Group immediately reported to the chairman and then sent a notice to all shareholders to convene a shareholders’ meeting on December 30 via online video conference.

Soon after, the chairmen of Beijing Automotive and Geely Automotive both called Jin Ming, expressing their intention to join forces with Xingchen Investment.

Xingchen Investment holds 15% of the shares, Beijing Automotive holds 9.98% of the shares, and Geely Automotive holds 9.69% of the shares. If the three companies join forces, they will hold a total of 34.67% of the shares, leaving less than two-thirds of the shares outside, many of which are in the hands of retail investors and investment institutions.

As long as the three parties stand on the same front and deliberately cause trouble, even the policies proposed by the Mercedes-Benz executives will not be passed.

In fact, Yang Chen was waiting for Beijing Automotive and Geely Automotive to send an invitation to join forces.

None of these three companies can compete with the shares held by Mercedes-Benz executives if they are singled out, but they can if they join forces.

To put it bluntly, Mercedes-Benz can only operate well if these three companies want it to. If these three companies deliberately sabotage, only the German government can solve the problem.

For example, legislation could prohibit Chinese companies from holding more than a certain percentage of shares in German companies, thereby restricting Xingchen Investment, Beijing Automotive, and Geely Automotive from jointly checking and balancing the Mercedes-Benz Group’s management.

Of course, if companies from various countries want to participate in international competition today, they must be able to afford to play. The WTO [World Trade Organization] rules are not just for show.

At worst, if they dare to legislate against Chinese companies, China can also legislate against their companies. No one wants to see a situation where both sides are destroyed.

Normally speaking, Germany would not damage the interests of other companies in China in order to protect Mercedes-Benz alone.

Therefore, the final result is that Xingchen Investment, Beijing Automotive, and Geely Automotive jointly have a strong say in the shareholders’ meeting.

Liao Yongfu, chairman of Zhongxing Group, obviously foresaw this. He quickly called the chairmen of Beijing Automotive and Geely Automotive, trying to persuade them not to join forces with Yang Chen.

That’s really ridiculous. Why should the two major automobile giants listen to a sales channel?

Beijing Automotive and Geely Automotive have their own sales channels and networks. Even if Zhongxing Group is willing to provide sales channel services to the two companies, they don’t care.

Therefore, the result was that Liao Yongfu was rejected by the chairmen of Beijing Automotive and Geely Automotive. Moreover, the chairmen of the two companies clearly told him that the two companies had reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Xingchen Investment, and the three parties would stand on the same front on matters concerning the Mercedes-Benz Group.

Liao Yongfu was now anxious. Yang Chen alone would definitely not be successful, but the alliance of the three companies was something even the Mercedes-Benz executives could not do anything about.

With this, Zhang Yongjun’s CEO position would definitely be lost.

The key is that his loss of position is a trivial matter. The consequences of Zhongxing Group offending Yang Chen because of this matter are unpredictable.

Sunday.

Yang Chen was delivering food when Zhao Chunxue sent him a message.

“Brother, I’m starving to death. I haven’t eaten much in the past two days, and I feel a little dizzy. Can you bring me some glucose? Please, dear brother. You don’t want my body to collapse, do you? After all, this innocent body of mine is reserved for you. (灬灬)”

Damn, what kind of wild words are these? Is this the kind of content a girl can chat with a man about?

Yang Chen replied, “Wait, I’m going over now. I’ll check out the car show to see if there’s anything good and buy new cars for my girlfriends as New Year’s gifts.”

Zhao Chunxue: “Is the treatment for being your girlfriend so good? I won’t say more, I’m in the bathroom, I have to go to the booth quickly. Come here quickly, remember to bring some glucose, I feel like I’m a little hypoglycemic from hunger.”

Yang Chen bought glucose solution and took a portion of sea cucumber fried noodles to the car show.

Zhao Chunxue, who was about to collapse, saw Yang Chen coming, quickly told the manager, grabbed the things, and went to the back to eat.

It’s almost New Year’s, and the girlfriends have performed very well in the past year, so Yang Chen plans to reward each of them with a car.

Last time, he rewarded them with BMW Z4s, so this time, he will reward them with Mercedes-Benz.

Yang Chen called the manager Zhao Xin over and asked, “Hey, introduce me to some cars suitable for girls. Just something beautiful and comfortable, no need for too much horsepower or speed.”

Zhao Xin fell into thought as he looked at the Meituan [a Chinese e-commerce platform for ordering food] uniform on Yang Chen.

*Can you afford a Mercedes-Benz by delivering food?*

*Or rather, if you can afford a Mercedes-Benz, why are you still delivering food?*

Yang Chen guessed what Zhao Xin was thinking and immediately rolled up his sleeves, saying, “It’s quite hot in here.”

Zhao Xin immediately saw the Patek Philippe Celestial watch on Yang Chen’s wrist, and his eyes widened.

*Goodness, can you wear a watch worth more than two million by delivering food now? Am I, as the general manager of Beijing Automotive Mercedes-Benz Haicheng Branch, not as good as a food delivery guy?* Zhao Xin thought to himself, instantly feeling a little inadequate.

Beijing Automotive and Mercedes-Benz jointly opened a joint venture called Beijing Automotive Mercedes-Benz.

This company not only produces joint venture Mercedes-Benz cars but is also responsible for expanding Mercedes-Benz’s sales channels in China.

Beijing Automotive Mercedes-Benz and Zhongxing Group control more than 70% of Mercedes-Benz’s sales channels in China.

Many of the Mercedes-Benz cars that people buy are actually models produced by this joint venture, not imported Mercedes-Benz original cars.

At today’s car show, although the Mercedes-Benz area is exhibiting Mercedes-Benz cars, the on-site employees are not from one company, but half from Beijing Automotive Mercedes-Benz and half from Zhongxing Group.

Yang Chen had already shown his strength, so Zhao Xin didn’t dare to neglect him any longer and quickly greeted him with a smile, “Sir, please come this way, I’ll take you to see the cars suitable for ladies. May I ask what your name is?”

Yang Chen: “Yang Chen.”

Zhao Xin: “Okay. Ah? Yang Chen? Are you Mr. Yang from Xingchen Investment? The one who just acquired 15% of the shares of Mercedes-Benz Group?”

Yang Chen: “Shhh… don’t talk. I don’t want others to know my identity, just treat me as an ordinary guest.”

Zhao Xin swallowed. *The big boss is disguised as a food delivery guy to inspect in disguise.*

“Mr. Yang, please come this way, I’ll take you to see the car now,” Zhao Xin said quickly.

He had to serve him well. He heard that the CEO of Mercedes-Benz China was going to be removed by Xingchen Investment for improper conduct, even if it meant requesting a shareholders’ meeting.

“Mr. Yang, what do you think of this Mercedes-Benz A-Class AMG?” Zhao Xin asked, pointing to the car.

The car on display was a red one, which looked quite delicate and good for girls to drive.

At this time, Liu Qiang, the manager of Zhongxing Group, came over with a few people.

The leader of these people was Huang Dafa, a coal mine owner from Xishan Province.

Huang Dafa said with a smile, “We don’t lack cars, if it’s not particularly attractive, we won’t buy it. Does Mercedes-Benz have any promotions? For example, buy a car and get a model?”

“Haha…” The entourage laughed.

Liu Qiang immediately replied, “As long as the bosses like it, giving away car wraps [vinyl coverings to change a car’s appearance] is a small matter.”

Obviously, these two people were not on the same page. One was joking about wanting a car model, and the other thought he wanted a car wrap.

Huang Dafa: “Really? You said that. Then we’ll go in and take a look.”

As soon as they entered, they saw Yang Chen looking at the car.

Huang Dafa’s family can be said to be hereditary coal mine owners. His grandfather’s generation was the mine manager, and he took over the family business.

Originally, his grandfather and father wanted him to study hard, get into a famous university, and even go abroad to study advanced management experience.

After returning to take over the family business, he could bring the company to a higher level.

After all, coal is a sunset industry, and the country’s control is getting tighter and tighter. Their family cannot rely on coal mining for generations. They hope that he can return from his studies and expand other new businesses.

But this guy doesn’t think so. His idea is that his family is so rich, why should he study hard like the children of poor families?

According to the current situation, at least his generation can continue to mine coal. As for expanding other businesses, it will be left to future generations. He only needs to maintain the current situation and enjoy life.

The difference between studying and not studying is really big, which is an indisputable fact.

Huang Dafa, who has nothing to do outside all day long, likes to pretend to be a big shot and bully the weak with a group of younger brothers.

He has been doing this since the fifth grade of elementary school.

Therefore, when he saw a person in a food delivery uniform also looking at Mercedes-Benz, he almost instinctively said, “Damn, when did Mercedes-Benz become so downmarket that even food delivery guys can come to buy it? If you’re so downmarket, I won’t buy it. It would be so embarrassing if I drove the same car as a food delivery guy.”

Liu Qiang quickly said, “Mr. Huang is joking, how can a food delivery guy afford a Mercedes-Benz car? If you could afford a Mercedes-Benz, would you still deliver food? You’re right, aren’t you? He must have just come in to wander around, take a photo, and post it on Moments [a feature in WeChat, a popular Chinese social media app, used to share updates with friends] to pretend to be a big shot. You know.”

Huang Dafa and others laughed.

They were originally from two different companies and didn’t like each other.

Liu Qiang thought it would be better to take this opportunity to deliberately ridicule Zhao Xin.

So, he walked over and said loudly, “Manager Zhao, that’s not how sales are done. You have to go out and find customers, not wait for customers to come to your door. Look at me going out to find customers, and I brought Mr. Huang from Huang’s Mining in Xishan to see the car. You’re guarding the house, guarding a food delivery boy to see the car.”

Zhao Xin thought to himself, *You son of a bitch, you better say something to belittle Mr. Yang, and see if you will be banned from touching Mercedes-Benz business forever like Zhang Yongjun.*

So, Zhao Xin quickly said, “Liu Qiang, you do yours, I do mine, we don’t interfere with each other. I didn’t say anything about your customers, and you can’t say anything about my customers.”

Huang Dafa and others came over and said, “Young man, you have no tact. How can a food delivery guy afford a Mercedes-Benz?”

Liu Qiang said with a smile, “Mr. Huang, don’t be as knowledgeable as him, let’s go see other cars. There’s a G-Wagon [Mercedes-Benz G-Class] over there, which is especially suitable for a domineering president like Mr. Huang.”

Huang Dafa said with a smile, “Buy a G-Wagon, get a car model?”

Liu Qiang: “Of course!”

Huang Dafa immediately happily followed Liu Qiang to see the G-Wagon.

Zhao Xin quickly whispered, “Mr. Yang, I’m sorry, they are from Zhongxing Group, I am from Beijing Automotive Mercedes-Benz, we two companies do not interfere with each other, I can’t help it.”

Yang Chen: “Oh? You mean that although the Mercedes-Benz cars here are the same, the sales staff are divided into Beijing Automotive Mercedes-Benz and Zhongxing Group?”

Zhao Xin nodded and said, “Yes! That’s what it means.”

At this time, Zhao Chunxue, who had finished eating, came out and stood next to the Mercedes-Benz GLE.

The youthful and beautiful Zhao Chunxue with an outstanding figure instantly attracted Huang Dafa’s attention.

“Manager Liu, what’s the background of that car?” Huang Dafa asked, pointing to the Mercedes-Benz GLE.

Liu Qiang quickly replied, “Hehe… Mr. Huang really has good taste. This is the new Mercedes-Benz GLE hybrid coupe SUV this year. Isn’t our country always advocating the development of new energy vehicles? But electric cars still have two major problems: battery life and charging. Therefore, hybrid cars have become the first choice for many consumers. We can use electricity when we can charge, and when there is no electricity, or when it is not easy to charge, we use gasoline. Isn’t it very convenient?”

Huang Dafa nodded with a smile and said, “It is very convenient.”

But his attention was not on the car, but on the car model Zhao Chunxue.

“If I buy this car, will I also get a car model?” Huang Dafa asked.

Liu Qiang immediately replied, “Of course! If you buy it on the spot, Mr. Huang, I guarantee the car wrap will be arranged.”

Huang Dafa said with a smile, “Okay! I want this car.”

Saying that, he reached out to pull Zhao Chunxue’s hand.

Seeing this, Zhao Chunxue quickly dodged to the side, frowning at him.

Huang Dafa: “Hehe… beauty, your manager said that if I buy this car, you will be given to me.”

Liu Qiang was immediately dumbfounded and quickly said, “Mr. Huang, I didn’t say that! I said car wrap, car film. The car model you are talking about is a model?”

Huang Dafa: “What else? What do I want a car wrap for? Can’t I afford it? Of course, I want a car model!”

Liu Qiang: “No… Mr. Huang, you’re making it difficult for me. I can’t traffic people.”

Huang Dafa’s entourage spoke.

“Are you stupid? We don’t really want her, can’t we just have a meal and sing?”

“That’s right! As long as she accompanies Mr. Huang for dinner and singing, we will also buy an A-Class car for commuting.”

“You promised us to give away a car model, if you can’t do it, then we won’t buy it.”

…

Liu Qiang looked embarrassed, but these were indeed people who didn’t lack money, and they could really afford to buy if they said they would.

So Liu Qiang looked at Zhao Chunxue and said, “Miss Zhao, can you accompany Mr. Huang and them…”

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Chunxue refused, “Of course not! I’m just a model, not a prostitute.”

The onlookers gathered around.

“This boss is a bit of a bully, buying a car and asking the car model to accompany him for eating and playing.”

“Isn’t he deliberately making trouble? There’s no such thing as buying a car and getting a car model. The salesman thought it was giving away a car wrap, so he agreed, after all, no one would have thought that he wanted to give away a car model.”

“Are you saying a tongue twister?”

…

Huang Dafa immediately said, “Don’t talk nonsense, he himself said to give away a car model, I didn’t force him to give it away. Now that I want to buy it, he says he won’t give it away, isn’t this playing with us? Although we are not local to Haicheng, we are not someone you can play with. Of course, what I mean by giving away is not really giving her to me. At least have a meal and sing a song together, that’s okay, right? As long as she agrees, we’ll buy six at a time.”

This is a big order, Liu Qiang immediately said to Zhao Chunxue, “Miss Zhao, please do me a favor, we will definitely continue to use you for Mercedes-Benz car shows in the future. Okay?”

Zhao Chunxue immediately shook her head and said, “It’s not up to you to decide whether to use me or not, I can’t do this kind of thing! I’m a model that Mercedes-Benz China Group headquarters specifically asked for, you are not qualified to ask me to do things.”

Liu Qiang: “Miss Zhao, if you talk like this, it’s not interesting. Do you have to make the situation very bad? It’s convenient for others to be convenient for yourself, don’t you understand this principle?”

Zhao Chunxue shook her head and said, “I don’t understand!”

At this time, Yang Chen walked over with a smile and said, “Manager Zhao, do you give away car models when you buy a car here?”

Zhao Xin thought that Yang Chen was deliberately mocking Liu Qiang and Huang Dafa, so he followed his words and said, “Of course we give away car wraps! Which car wrap do you want, I’ll give you that car wrap.”

Yang Chen pointed to Zhao Chunxue and said, “Then I want her!”

After saying that, Yang Chen picked up Zhao Chunxue and left.

Zhao Chunxue smiled and patted Yang Chen’s back, saying, “Oh, what are you doing? Let me go!”

Yang Chen smiled and said to Huang Dafa, “Sorry, I’m going to buy this car, this car model is mine.”

Huang Dafa immediately pointed at Yang Chen and said to Liu Qiang, “What does this mean? He just carried her away?”