"Hey, Jianguo, why are you calling me this late at night instead of spending time with your girlfriend!" Huang He asked with a chuckle over the phone.
"I am Dr. Mirae Cooper Goldman, you can call me Dr. Cooper!" The old man finally had a name. It was not easy.
"Oh, I thought you wouldn't be interested in chatting with me and would have Jianguo communicate with me tomorrow. I'm truly honored to have the opportunity to speak with you, a senior like yourself!" Huang He said with sincere emotion.
"Enough. There's no need for such formalities between us. Just tell me what you want, and I'll see if I can agree," the old man said.
"Alas, I had hoped to chat with you a bit longer, but since you are so direct, I will speak my mind. If anything I say displeases you, please bear with me. After all, whether you bear with me or not is of little consequence, as the facts are laid out before us. You have no choice but to accept."
"Why so much nonsense?" the old man's voice was devoid of emotion.
"Alright, to be honest, your actions have indeed caused me much trouble, especially by tying up both my legs. It has truly been painful. But then again, while you have entangled my two legs, your two hands have also been entangled by me."
"So, how about we make a deal? I'll give you one leg, and you release one hand!"
"Either you give me the patent for the magnetic levitation train technology, and in exchange, I will return Android Company to you, and guarantee that all enterprises under Jiangnan Group will act as your OEM at market prices!" Huang He said.
"Or, you return Android to me, and hand over all Android-related technology patents that you have applied for behind my back to Android Company. Then, I can give you all the technical data for the vacuum high-speed railway, and concede the US and European markets to you. Our company will only be responsible for the Chinese domestic market and will not step an inch outside of it!" Huang He stated very frankly.
"Concurrently, I hope that after Jiangnan Group makes its concessions, Goldman Sachs will cease all actions against our Jiangnan Group. From then on, neither party shall interfere with the other. Jiangnan Group will never provoke Goldman Sachs again, and Goldman Sachs shall not infringe upon Jiangnan Group's interests."
"Oh!" the old man responded faintly, but in his heart, he began to calculate wildly, pondering how much truth and how much falsehood lay in Huang He's words.
Later, the old man concluded that Huang He's words were nine parts true, but one part false. He believed this was the most effective way to deceive people, as many old foxes would be fooled by such tactics.
The truth in Huang He's words was that he had indeed admitted to holding Huang He's two legs, and Huang He had indeed abandoned the idea of moving forward with both legs, wanting only to save one. His actions had effectively restricted Huang He.
Moreover, there was a detail in Huang He's statement that further convinced the old man that Huang He genuinely intended to follow through. It was when Huang He mentioned giving up the vacuum high-speed railway to preserve the PT, he specifically stated it would only be for non-Chinese markets.
The old man knew this was the absolute truth, as he also understood that the Chinese government was involved in this vacuum high-speed railway. If Huang He dared to concede the Chinese domestic market, he would cease to exist in this world.
This was why Huang He had directly stated that the Chinese market would not be ceded, which was a manifestation of his subconscious honesty. Otherwise, if Huang He had simply offered to give up the entire vacuum high-speed train market, the old man would have become suspicious.
As for the final requirement of mutual non-aggression, that was also a sincere statement from Huang He. After all, no one wished to be targeted and disrupted by a terrifying monster like Goldman Sachs. Hadn't Jiangnan Group already suffered greatly?
This also indicated Huang He's desire to do his utmost to lure him into a trap. Therefore, the old man was convinced that Huang He was speaking the truth.
The question then arose: where did that one part of falsehood lie?
It lay in Huang He's tone and demeanor. When communicating with him, Huang He appeared flippant, confident, and completely in control, as if he held all the cards and didn't take the old man seriously.
But if one felt it carefully, this attitude was entirely different from that of someone with both legs trapped and facing a desperate situation.
What did this signify?
It meant that Huang He was bluffing, that he wanted to use this seemingly formidable attitude to force the old man's hand, to make him obediently follow the path he had set, to choose one leg to snatch from the two, and then return the other leg to Huang He.
It should be noted that the industries represented by these two legs were both industries destined to change the world. As long as Huang He could save either one, Jiangnan Group would prosper in the future.
Furthermore, once an agreement of mutual non-aggression was reached with him, Jiangnan Group could expand its market throughout the United States, and its future profits would be immense.
In this light, although Huang He was willing to give up one leg, the remaining leg was still worth its weight in gold. It was indeed a wise choice for a businessman.
So, it seemed to be the old man's turn to make a choice, to decide which of Huang He's legs to amputate and which to return.
Goldman Sachs had also conducted a detailed analysis of this matter and unanimously agreed that the PT market was far superior to the vacuum magnetic levitation train market.
Although from the perspective of the overall market size, the vacuum magnetic levitation train, which could completely replace trains, would inevitably have a market size several times larger than the PT market, this was something that did not require deep thought.
But the problem was that the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation train market required far more effort and energy than PT.
If nothing else, the old man, just by thinking about the prospect of building vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation trains throughout the entire United States, involving countless land acquisition and demolition issues, felt a pang of pain.
After all, the United States was a country with complete land privatization. Every inch of land had an owner. If vacuum high-speed trains were to traverse these lands, compensation would have to be paid to all owners of the occupied land.
If paying compensation alone could solve the problem, then it would be fine. But the issue was that there would inevitably be many landowners with misguided notions who wanted nothing but to keep their land.
Or they might simply ask for exorbitant prices, demanding compensation ten times the normal rate.
As soon as such a landowner appeared, it could delay the process by several months or even one to two years. If they continued to build in this manner, the time wasted on land acquisition alone might exceed ten to twenty years. Who knew when the vacuum high-speed railway would be completed?
And whether the vast amount of manpower and financial resources wasted during this period would bankrupt Goldman Sachs.
In contrast, although the PT market was smaller, as long as it was produced, it could be sold. Market returns could be seen within a month, the company's market value could increase by tens of billions within one to two years, and creating a world-leading high-tech enterprise within ten years seemed not impossible.
Therefore, according to the advice of Goldman Sachs' think tank, it was absolutely the most sensible choice to abandon the vacuum high-speed railway and fully acquire the entire PT industry.
However, after discerning Huang He's weakness and bluff, and understanding the path Huang He had laid out for him, the old man couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Did this fellow truly believe he would act according to his plan?
Did he not know that only those who lacked ability made choices, while true强者 chose to have it all?
Indeed, the difficulty of building vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation trains was far greater than PT, but Goldman Sachs had no need to be responsible for such matters!
Goldman Sachs only needed to invest in a traditional American train company, then high-profilely unveil the vacuum high-speed train technology and exhibit it to the world. Simultaneously, they would work with government departments to create design plans that looked convincing, and even directly declare in the media that they would invest trillions of dollars in infrastructure, including these vacuum high-speed stops.
The stock price of such a train company would undoubtedly skyrocket, attracting immense capital. The stocks in which Goldman Sachs invested would multiply at an unimaginable speed. A $10 billion investment could potentially yield trillions of dollars.
As for whether the vacuum high-speed railway could ultimately be built and when it would be completed, that was not Goldman Sachs' concern. After all, by then, Goldman Sachs would have already exited and profited immensely in the stock and capital markets.
How could the old man possibly let go of such a lucrative opportunity that could multiply investments a hundredfold simply by moving through the capital markets?
Therefore, just like PT, the technology for vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation railways must be firmly held in their hands, and not left to Huang He.
After understanding these matters, the old man's attitude became very clear. He frankly stated to Huang He over the phone, "I do not accept your proposal. I want both your legs!"
"..." There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a busy signal. Huang He had hung up directly, clearly angered by the old man's stance.
"Sir, I shouldn't have to go to work tomorrow, should I!" Hao Jianguo asked cautiously again.
"Did Huang He fire you?" the old man retorted.
"No..." Hao Jianguo shook his head with a dejected expression.
"Then that's right. You should continue to go to work tomorrow. As long as you are still the president of US Jiangnan, you must remain at your post and perform your duties faithfully."
"By the way, I expect Huang He will proactively contact you again tomorrow, hoping to continue communicating through you. You only need to reply to him with one sentence: either he gives me both legs, or he lies down. In any case, Goldman Sachs is a vast enterprise with dozens of hands. Having two of them tied up by him is no big deal. It's just a waste of some money!"