Chapter 88 Export turned into domestic sales

  When Du Lijun heard Su Cheng's words, his face changed slightly, and he secretly thought that the orders obtained by Dahua Industry might not be as many as rumored.

  Dahua Industrial uses production lines manufactured by Jinshi General Factory, with a capacity that Du Lijun is very clear about. At normal speed, 2 million sets can be produced in 4 years, and at full load, 7,000 sets can be produced per year. As long as Suzhou signs more than 3,000 orders per year, it will have to order production lines from Jinshi General Factory again to meet the demand, otherwise, the penalty for delayed delivery will be enough to bankrupt Dahua.

  Du Li Jun secretly calculated and thought that the information he had obtained should be accurate. So, ignoring Su Cheng's threat, he said: "If our Jinshi General Factory doesn't have a good New Year, the workers will naturally not have the spirit to produce, and when the time comes, your side wants production lines and so on, we are afraid that we will also be powerless."

  "Does Director Du mean you're no longer capable of working on the production line?"

  "It can be done, but our production tasks are also very tight. As for the delivery time, I'm afraid we won't be able to satisfy Director Su." Duli Jun said with a smile, "We've had a lot of installation work recently, can the parts be delivered a bit later?"

  Du Lijun couldn't help but burst out laughing after finishing speaking.

  Su Cheng didn't feel helpless, but rather that Du Lijun's face was detestable. Jinshi General Factory is a heavy equipment enterprise, with production lines worth tens of millions of yuan, and they can only produce a few units per year, but it should be the most profitable product. As the factory director, to give up orders for personal gain, and even use them to coerce other factories, is simply more despicable than openly asking for bribes.

  Su Cheng didn't bother to say more, spreading his hands and saying: "Whether Director Du is willing or not to sell the production line is one thing, whether we want to buy it or not is another. As for the accessories, delivery cannot be delayed."

  Du Lijun was taken aback, then looked at the expressions of the people around him. Feeling that he had been fooled, his head spun around. He angrily said: "Don't think you can pressure me with your ministry's power. Our Jinshi General Factory, if we say we won't give you a production line, then we won't give you one. I'd like to see how you'll complete next year's orders."

  He turned and walked away on his own.

  Su Cheng was speechless and lost his smile, and he was also speechless about Du Lijun's monologue. He thought to himself: When did I think of using the ministry to suppress people again? There are not many factories that can deliver production lines within a few months, but it's not like only Tianjin Shiye General Factory has production lines. Isn't there still one at Zhan Sen's place?

  He looked around and went to where the foreigners were gathering. This time, the ambassador's dinner party was attended by many important figures in the political circle. According to protocol, even deputy ministers of lower ranks couldn't get in. However, Chinese officials weren't used to attending such dinner parties, and various political scrutiny explanations were also very annoying. Therefore, it was common to see young people of younger generations coming and going, playing happily.

  People who really talk about things have all gathered in several corners.

  Su Cheng looked around for half a day before catching a glimpse of Zhan Sen's profile. Just as he was about to approach, he was intercepted by someone again.

  "Director Su." Li Lin smiled cleverly and wrapped her arm around Su Cheng's arm, saying: "You still haven't brought a female companion, have you?"

  Su Cheng was startled and asked, "How did you get in?"

  "It's not just you who doesn't have a partner. I'll just wait at the door, and if I see someone single, I'll ask them to take me along."

  "It's not that easy."

  "I went to review in advance, and it was easy to come in." Li Lin chuckled: "There are little girls who come here to see the dressing of the dinner party, seeing me mixed in, also want to follow in, unfortunately didn't do the review, can only regret now."

  "Not bad." Su Cheng raised his thumb. This kind of dinner party, every year someone tries to sneak in, but few succeed. Li Lin, although from Ji Jing, seemed even more at ease.

  "Don't underestimate me." Li Lin giggled and spun around, then asked: "How's the skirt I borrowed?"

  The long skirt is close to the ground, with excellent drape, perfectly showcasing her body curves. Li Lin's S-shaped figure has attracted attention from many foreigners.

  Su Cheng's heart moved slightly, and he said: "You come with me, we'll play it by ear."

  Li Lin's eyes fluttered back and forth, but she didn't say anything. She just continued to hold Su Cheng, her soft chest lightly leaning against him.

  There are a few tables and chairs upstairs for people to rest, but most people still stand.

  Jensen chatted with several foreigners of similar age and occasionally greeted passersby.

  Su Cheng pretended to go upstairs to rest, making a gesture of hugging Li Lin, and only greeted Zhang Sen in surprise when he reached his side.

  Li Lin didn't understand foreign languages, stood with a smile on her face at the side, immediately making the atmosphere much more relaxed.

  Making small talk, Su Cheng seemed to pick up the topic and curiously asked: "Jensen, you mentioned earlier that the production line is moving to Mumbai, how's the production going over there?"

  "Artificially, it's only slightly more expensive than China, but the price of hydroelectric power plants is a bit higher. If we send American staff to manage and build new factories, it's still not worth it." Jensen said lightly: "Now, laying off those factories and workers can save tens of millions of dollars every month, not a bad choice."

  "What about the production line? Have you sealed it off?"

  "Further consideration is needed, some directors suggested selling, but it has not been implemented yet." Sealing is a bit of a hassle, apart from cleaning and grinding with oil seals, long-term storage warehouse environment is also required. The Soviet Union sealed its unused weapons in mountain caves, waiting for the day when World War III breaks out. Halliburton's company sealed them at a much higher level, and even if they were dug up decades later, they might not be worth anything.

  Su Cheng felt at ease as long as he knew that the thing was still in Harry's hands, and kindly helped to dispel his worries: "Actually, what you need is an oil extractor. Instead of selling the production line to other companies for renovation, why not sell it back to us? Our output will increase, which will also help you buy a cheaper and better oil extractor."

  Jensen was quick-witted and saw Su's intention, immediately changing his tone to say: "This set of equipment has only produced 1,000 oil extraction machines, with depreciation of less than 10%. If we sell it at a 20% depreciation rate, I can suggest to the headquarters..."

  "$100,000 in cash or 250 sets of oil extraction equipment for bartering. Judging from the current production capacity of Dahua Industry, the value of $100,000 in cash far exceeds that of 250 sets of oil extraction equipment."

  But from Harle's point of view, $100,000 was too little. The 250 oil wells, on the other hand, were worth about $750,000, roughly Jensen's depreciated price.

  "Bartering is a bit of a hassle."

  "My people will take care of it." Su Cheng promised: "We often make this kind of deal with the Soviet Union, and the process is very familiar."

  Dahua Industrial had never actually traded with the Soviets. However, bartering was a common practice among Chinese people at that time. Bank endorsement was very convenient.

  Jensen believed it. Perhaps in his eyes, the red nation was like a close brother.

  He thought for a moment and didn't haggle, saying only: "I'll report this to Mr. Hudson."

  "If possible, we'll sign the contract today." Su Cheng said with sincerity: "We plan to increase production after New Year's Day and purchase existing production lines. It will be easier than re-ordering from domestic manufacturers."

  "I understand, it's a win-win situation, I'll definitely try my best to make it happen." Jenson couldn't have imagined that there would be so many company orders that they couldn't finish them. Even more unthinkable was that some companies would rather not make money than take on orders...

  They spent $1 million on a production line, but if they could get an oil extractor worth $750,000 in return, it wouldn't be a loss.

  If calculated based on the patent price at the time of purchasing the oil extraction machine, the difference between before and after would be even more pronounced.

  Jensen went up to report very positively from this.

  Li Lin and others left, smiling with narrowed eyes. "Did you calculate that foreigner?"

  "What did you say?"

  "When you're calculating people's moves, your eyes are really attractive." Li Lin said as she leaned in closer.

  Behind Su Cheng was a pillar. Using his hand to push it wasn't right, and not pushing it also wasn't right, instantly falling into the dilemma of being at a loss.

  This scene happened to be seen by Du Lijun downstairs.

  Li Lin's fiery figure wrapped in evening dress ignited Du Lijun's raging anger. He thought to himself: This Su City, could there be some other hidden means, how can it be so easy?

  However, no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't have imagined that the production line he sold to a foreign country would end up being "exported back for domestic sales".

  Soon after, Jensen invited Su Cheng into his inner chamber to sign a contract.

  This was the ambassador's Christmas party, not Harry Burton's Christmas party. A $750,000 barter contract wasn't worth advertising.

  Several signatures later, the major problem on the production line was resolved, and Su Cheng let out a sigh of relief. He thought to himself: From now on, he couldn't just follow the bureaucrats' intentions anymore. Even if it was unavoidable, he had to leave a backdoor open for himself. He couldn't let companies like Jinshi General Factory control his lifeline again. As soon as he got back, he would order another production line from other companies, and the Double Mule Oil Extractor probably still had more than ten years of life left in it.

  The rest of the evening turned into a purely social activity, Lin diligently followed Su Cheng's side, making jokes and also acting as a wine blocker, gathering many gazes on himself, letting Su Cheng, who was new to this, breathe a sigh of relief.

  Out of the embassy, it was already early in the morning. Su Cheng sent Li Lin to a taxi and paid the fare, promising her a woolen coat before escaping her grasp. Without time to savor the moment, he rushed to the hotel and woke up Ho Chang, telling him what Du Lijun had said.

  Huo Chang was somewhat dazed, but after listening to Su Cheng's description, he suddenly came to his senses and burst into anger: "He's just a parts factory, and he dares to provoke us. Doesn't he think that if the leaders hadn't spoken up at the time, would Jinshi General Factory have gotten the current parts orders?"

  "When you pick up the bowl to eat meat, put down your chopsticks and scold your mother, it's also normal." Su Cheng tapped his finger on the table and said: "If it weren't for Harry Burton having another production line, we would have been held back by him. By then, not only would we have to go ask him for help, but we might even have to obediently transfer the payment over. If he's a bit more ruthless, he can even demand that all accessories be paid in cash."

  The whole machine manufacturer has a great advantage over the parts factory, which can control quality, time and payment. Especially the latter, whether it is monthly settlement, quarterly settlement or half-yearly settlement, it controls the downstream manufacturers' neck, forcing them to make concessions in terms of quality and speed.

  Once a dispute arises between the two parties, since the money is in the hands of the whole factory merchant, the parts factory naturally cannot afford to be tough and often suffers losses. Many people doing business have no choice but to sit in someone else's factory all day, entertaining guests and begging for favors just to get their money back.

  Dahua Industrial also owed a large sum of money to the Tianjin Shi Zongchang factory, including not only one quarter's payment but also deposits for previous repairs and annual guarantees, totaling over 10 million...

  This includes both profit and production costs, which is equivalent to Tongshi General Factory providing capital for Dahua Industry's production.

  If this money can't be gotten back, Jinshi General Factory will have a bad New Year.

  Du Li Jun also thought that he had already eaten the fixed assets of Su City, so he was so arrogant. Of course, whether the factory has money or not, his year-end bonus will definitely not be less than one cent.

  Su Cheng smiled slightly and looked at Huo Changzhang: "Old Huo, we should let Director Du have a good year too."

  Huo Chang suddenly understood the situation and saw Su Cheng's smile, so he gritted his teeth and said: "I'll call the factory right now and tell them to freeze Tian Shi General Factory's payment, not a single cent is allowed to be given, whoever says otherwise is useless..."