Huang He's cigarette dropped to the ground, and this time he truly couldn't pick it up again.
It burned for a while and quickly extinguished, emitting wisps of smoke.
Huang He stared blankly at Wang Yu, memories and past experiences of dealing with him flooding his mind.
His intuition told him that everything Wang Yu said was true.
This young man who planned meticulously and acted decisively clearly had no reason to deceive him on this matter, especially with such an easily exposed lie!
The only explanation was... everything he said was true!
It was true!
So, in the end, he still couldn't outmaneuver him! How foolish of him to think he had everything under control!
Huang He smiled bitterly, collapsing into his chair, his face ashen, all his previous spirit and vigor gone.
If Huang He was like this, the others were even worse. One by one, they wailed and cried, admitting their mistakes to Wang Yu and begging him to be magnanimous and forgive them this once.
This was especially true for the factory director of the kettle plant, whose pleas were tearful, as if his parents had just died, his nose and tears streaming down.
He kept edging closer to Wang Yu, trying to beg for his forgiveness.
However, Wang Yu was prepared for this. The subordinates of Brother Hu stepped in to act as security, directly blocking these people.
"Uncle, you're not being fair about this."
Brother Hu looked at Huang He and could only sigh. He had lived under the shadow of his formidable uncle since childhood.
He used to fear him and obey his commands.
But ever since he followed Wang Yu, Brother Hu felt his horizons and vision had broadened significantly. A small factory director was a person of great ambition, and he and his men should follow him and work hard, not focus on petty gains.
Therefore, when Huang He united all the suppliers and contract manufacturers to pressure Wang Yu for a price increase, Brother Hu was the first to try and dissuade them. For this, he was scolded and kicked by his uncle several times, who told him he didn't understand anything.
Now, it seemed, he was the one who understood!
Brother Hu shook his head. Wang Yu could make the factory so big, while his uncle couldn't.
This showed that Wang Yu was smarter and more capable than his uncle. How could his uncle not understand such a superficial principle of survival of the fittest?
Perhaps it was because smart people thought too much.
Brother Hu curled his lip and personally helped Huang He up.
"So... please be mindful of our contract breach penalties when you return. Brother Hu – escort them out!"
Wang Yu smiled and addressed the crowd, immediately eliciting a wave of wails!
But... who could they blame? Hadn't Wang Yu given them a chance before? Who else could they blame but themselves for their greed and for not cherishing that opportunity?
Now, what else could they do?
The crowd watched helplessly as Brother Hu and his subordinates escorted them out. They had tried to soften Wang Yu and failed, and trying to fight him was clearly impossible. Dejected, they all turned and left.
After watching Brother Hu see them off, Wang Yu turned his gaze to Andre, Makarov, and the others. He spoke very gently and courteously,
"Please, have a seat. Let's discuss our mutual cooperation."
...
Led by Huang He, the group walked out of the Jiangyang County Automobile Factory, dejected and silent.
They had come full of confidence, and they left with helplessness. That was probably the best description of their current state.
They had tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice. They had intended to unite and raise prices, seizing an opportunity to bite Wang Yu.
Who would have thought he wasn't a fat, juicy pig, but a hedgehog full of thorns?
Not only did they fail to gain any advantage, but they also lost their cooperation with Wang Yu and would even have to bear huge breach of contract penalties!
This was simply falling from heaven into hell!
The parts suppliers were slightly better off, as they still had some existing business. Even without Wang Yu's business, they still had the agricultural machinery factory and others... although the agricultural machinery factory wasn't doing well either, and their factory director, Zhao Tao, had vanished for a long time, leaving them unsure if he had absconded.
But compared to them, the contract manufacturing factories were much more miserable. For instance, Huang He's bicycle factory, the kettle factory, and the motor factory two, which contracted to produce new electric fans for Wang Yu – these factories were originally on the verge of closure.
Thanks to the contract manufacturing orders from Wang Yu, they were able to resume production.
Now, they were back to square one and had to bear enormous debts.
This was no longer a simple matter of closure!
They feared that upon returning, they wouldn't just be beaten to death by their angry workers, but might even end up in jail!
In this era, there weren't many debtors; those who owed huge sums generally went straight to prison.
Thinking of this, everyone was worried, each lost in thought, feeling their future was bleak.
"Everyone, wait!"
Someone shouted, and it was Brother Hu, who had chased after them and blocked their path.
"Brother Hu, what do you want?"
Everyone looked at Brother Hu with caution, unsure of his intentions.
After all, his reputation in the past wasn't exactly good.
"Everyone, don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble."
Brother Hu smiled ingratiatingly at them. "I'm just here to ask everyone, how do you plan to repay those huge breach of contract penalties? I remember the small factory director said that the contracts you signed stipulated that either party in breach would cease cooperation and pay compensation ten times the amount.
Tsk tsk tsk, ten times! That's a lot of money!"
Brother Hu narrowed his eyes and laughed with schadenfreude.
"Hmph! Wang Quanhu, your wings have hardened now, haven't they? You think you can just mock me because you've latched onto Wang Yu's coattails?"
Huang He snorted coldly, looking at Brother Hu sternly.
"No, no, Uncle, I wouldn't dare mock you even if I had eight more guts!"
Perhaps due to Huang He's deep-seated authority, Brother Hu instinctively flinched slightly before speaking slowly,
"Well... I'm just asking on behalf of our small factory director, if you can't pay the breach of contract fees, are you willing to sell yourselves... pfft, I mean, sell your factories?"
Sell their factories?
Everyone looked at each other, stunned for a moment.
"You all know the character and methods of our small factory director.
He means that if you are willing, he can acquire your factories at a reasonable price, and the breach of contract fees can be waived or offset."
Brother Hu's words made everyone's hearts warm.
If you can't beat them, join them. It seemed like a good option. Who in Jiangyang County didn't know that Wang Yu was rich? The automobile factory had first-class welfare benefits, surpassing even those in the provincial capital!
Sometimes, they, the factory directors and managers, would even feel envious of those laborers.
"What a joke! Wang Yu just humiliated us, and now he wants to turn around and acquire us. What a brilliant calculation he's making!"
Huang He reprimanded unceremoniously. "Let me tell you, I'd rather starve to death than yield to Wang Yu!"
"That's right, we will not yield!"
"Wang Yu's just using schemes and tricks, what kind of skill is that?"
...
The crowd immediately became indignant, each speaking out.
Facing the agitated crowd, Brother Hu shrugged. "Alright, don't get worked up, everyone. I'm just relaying information. If you're not willing, that's fine too.
However, the small factory director said that if you're willing to discuss an acquisition, you can wait for him at the conference room, and we can discuss it later."
With that, Brother Hu turned and slowly walked away.
"Hmph, how could I possibly bow my head to Wang Yu?"
Huang He snorted coldly and turned away without hesitation.
The others also declared indignantly that they would absolutely not yield to Wang Yu, and then they each walked out of the automobile factory's gates and dispersed, going back to their respective homes and families.
...
After a long while, an old figure slowly emerged from the corner.
Huang He looked hesitant, then muttered to himself as he slowly stepped through the automobile factory's gate.
"I'm just going to borrow the restroom..."