As Xu Chenhao's phone began to ring, Li Yaowen's conversation with Qiu Dongsheng was also drawing to a close.
"Manager Qiu, how many people know about your Feidu Station project?"
"Certainly only you, Chairman Li! Tongda is the leader in the express delivery industry, so naturally Tongda Express is the first choice for project cooperation."
Qiu Dongsheng on the other end of the line sounded very confident. Based on their earlier discussion, Chairman Li likely didn't know about Jingda's Beehive Station yet.
Li Yaowen then changed the subject abruptly, asking sharply, "Let me ask you another question, Manager Qiu: do you have any inside information on the arson case at the express delivery warehouse in Wutong District?"
Instantly, the laughter on the other end of the line ceased. Qiu Dongsheng immediately skirted the topic, saying, "Chairman Li, I hope you will consider the station project. I eagerly await our cooperation." With that, the call ended.
At that moment, the three people present knew that Qiu Dongsheng must be involved behind the express delivery warehouse arson.
Gao Fei glanced at Xu Chenhao, who immediately answered the phone and put it on speaker.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Director Xu, you have a bad memory. It's me, Yan Chengfan of Xingcheng Express."
Yan Chengfan was the current CEO of Xingcheng Express Group. Xu Chenhao glanced at Gao Fei and Li Yaowen, whose expressions had subtly changed, and asked with a smile, "Mr. Yan, why are you calling me so suddenly?"
"Cooperation!" Yan Chengfan on the other end of the line uttered the word "cooperation," then continued, "The arson at the express delivery warehouse in Wutong District has had a significant impact online and on society. Your company's spokesperson, Gao Fei, will likely sever ties with you soon. Once he cuts ties, Su Yue's business volume will surely return to normal, and Tongda Express will once again be the sole dominant force in Wutong District. Rather than letting Tongda be the sole dominant force, why don't we several express companies cooperate, share resources, and suppress Tongda."
Upon hearing this, Li Yaowen's face darkened. If the other four express companies united, it would be easy to suppress Tongda Express. Fortunately, Gao Fei was not cutting ties as Yan Chengfan suggested; instead, he wanted to cooperate on a new project with them.
After Yan Chengfan finished speaking about cooperation, Xu Chenhao retorted, "Mr. Yan, the arson at the express delivery warehouse in Wutong District, does it have anything to do with your other companies?"
"A small fire leads to cooperation among our four express groups. This is a win-win situation. Director Xu, the arsonist has been apprehended, why dwell on it?"
"Heh, let me consider it!" Director Xu smiled faintly and hung up the phone.
At this point, two phone calls had confirmed that the Wutong District warehouse arson case was intricately linked to the other three express companies, as well as Qiu Dongsheng, who was discussing the station project. The trio, already aware of the arson, shifted their focus from the case to discussing the Beehive Station project. During this time, Xu Chenhao also received a call from Qiu Dongsheng, who also wanted to cooperate on the Beehive Station project. Li Yaowen, likewise, received calls from the presidents of two other express companies, all expressing a desire for cooperation to monopolize the express delivery industry. However, whenever the arson case was mentioned, their attitudes were all the same as Yan Chengfan's. In their eyes, human lives were as insignificant as grass; profit was the ultimate truth. Moreover, the two who tragically died in the fire were recently released detainees.
Yet, these individuals were ultimately a step too late in discussing cooperation compared to Gao Fei. He had already revealed his hand, reaching a verbal agreement with Li and Xu, and preparing to jointly develop the Beehive Station. However, while Gao Fei was in talks with Li Yaowen and Xu Chenhao, a man sat at the corner of the stairwell on the first floor, unbeknownst to them. With every piece of information he overheard from the phone calls, his fists clenched tighter.
Three hours later, the Beehive Station project was officially settled.
"Mr. Gao, regarding the warehouse losses and compensation in Wutong District, I will have finance tally the figures and transfer the funds to the district company. It will be processed by tonight at the earliest, and by tomorrow morning at the latest."
"Same here, Mr. Gao!"
"Thank you both!" Gao Fei stood up and lightly shook hands with them. "Gentlemen, for the Beehive Station cooperation project, I hope your funds will be in place promptly."
"Once I return, I will immediately convene a board meeting. For the Beehive Station project, no one will be held back!"
"Me neither!" Li Yaowen and Xu Chenhao nodded in agreement. Gao Fei said no more, personally seeing them off from the villa.
However, before they departed, he suddenly reminded them, "Gentlemen, regarding the operating system, with the current talent pool in our country, it will be very difficult to produce it quickly. At the earliest, it will take a year, and at the latest, eighteen months!"
Li Yaowen and Xu Chenhao, who were about to get into their cars, paused slightly, then nodded in understanding. This was Gao Fei's warning to them not to even think about bypassing him to undertake the station project independently. But he was also telling the truth; the Beehive Station project was his brainchild, and he had constructed the operating system. As long as Liao Chang remained by his side, with the current computer talent in the country, developing the system comprehensively would require not only assembling a team but also a considerable amount of time.
Due to Gao Fei's reminder, President Li and President Xu immediately convened their respective board meetings upon their return. The Beehive Station project was also swiftly approved. Compensation for the burnt-out warehouse in Wutong District was fully settled that same evening. As for the funds for the Beehive Station cooperation project, they arrived the following day, after Gao Fei and the two gentlemen proceeded to sign the cooperation agreement. The initial phase of cooperation funding from Tongda Express and Su Yue Express totaled ten million yuan. Upon receiving the ten million yuan, Gao Fei immediately felt energized and ready to go all out.
...
Four days later, in the male dormitory area for second-year university students. A tow truck and a crane were parked beneath a male dormitory building. Xu Yong stood by the crane, directing the driver to lift the old express cabinet and place it onto the tow truck. Then, a new express cabinet from the tow truck was placed in its original position. The new express cabinet was blue and white. The original eighty storage boxes had now been replaced with two hundred. The two hundred storage boxes could accommodate various express packages of different weights and shapes. Furthermore, each storage box now had a transparent glass cover, and the old keyhole design had been replaced. Now, all couriers only needed to enter their employee ID on the console to deposit or retrieve express packages, a more advanced design than the previous keyhole system.
Once the new express cabinet was connected to power and the backend password was entered, a concealed camera at the top of the console began to operate. After debugging the express cabinet, Xu Yong called out to the onlookers from the surrounding university students, "Dear students, the new express cabinets now have many new features, such as anti-theft and pick-up functions. Additionally, Beehive Station has partnered with the three major telecommunications companies, so from now on, you will receive a verification code when picking up packages, eliminating the need to use your personal phone numbers..." Old Xu stood among the crowd, introducing the new features of the express cabinet. When he mentioned anti-theft, several students in the crowd frowned. After listening, they quickly withdrew from the crowd.
The new express cabinets were not only being replaced in the dormitory areas for first and second-year male students. The areas that Beehive Station had not yet covered, such as the dormitory areas for third and fourth-year male students, female students, graduate students, and faculty and staff dormitories, were now all covered by Beehive Station's express cabinets. Upon receiving the news, Qiu Dongsheng was stunned!