Deputy Mayor Xu thought for a while and answered Feng Yu: “Feng Yu, I know that you had made great contributions to the Machinery Company, but we are also not asking you to sell all of your shares. We only want 11%, and we will pay you the market price. The City has a comprehensive development plan for the Machinery Company, but you kept opposing Li Mingde’s decisions. This is not good for the company’s development.”
Damn, you are saying that I am hindering the company’s progress?
Feng Yu was pissed. Who was the one hindering the company’s progress? Since you want to talk about this, then let’s discuss this!
“Deputy Mayor Xu, then can I hear about your plans or Director Li’s plans for the company?” Feng Yu asked sarcastically. What city’s plan are you talking about? It was all Li Mingde’s ideas.
Hearing Feng Yu’s harsh words, Li Mingde was also not embarrassed. He looked at Deputy Mayor Xu and got an approving look. He then proudly said: “Xiao Feng, I know the machinery and technologies you got from the Soviet Union are advanced and you did well with the sales. But you have never managed such a big factory before. There are many things to handle and to be a qualified leader, you need to consider the company’s future. The Machinery Company would focus on the agriculture machinery production in future. There has been a lot of demand for this. Although, the profits from the motorcycles are high but is the market big enough? Even if we are able to achieve 200,000 units a year, the other motorcycle factories in other cities would also be set up and what developments can the motorcycles have?”
Eh? Li Mingde also felt that agriculture machines have a better prospect than motorcycles? This was the same as Feng Yu! In future, China would have a lot of policies to encourage agriculture. The market for agriculture machines will be huge. The prices for the machines will increase, and this would lead to some old agriculture machinery factories reviving. On the other hand, the prices of the motorcycles will drop, and there would be more and more competitors.
If Li Mingde really wants to develop agriculture machinery, Feng Yu would see him differently. But what had Li Mingde done? He had been resting on his laurels!
Increasing the production of agriculture equipment now was just to meet the demands. But without R&D of agriculture equipment, how long more can the Machinery Company stay ahead of its competitors by relying on the advanced machinery and technologies from the Soviet Union? The machinery and technologies from the Soviet Union were 10 years ahead of China, but if nothing was done, 3 to 5 years later, the Machinery Company might lose this advantage.
The first thing Feng Yu wanted to do after he had the full control of the company, was to invest in the R&D of agriculture equipment. They must continue to modify and improve their machines to be the best in China. This would be the prerequisite for being the leader in the industry!
But Feng Yu had never told anybody about this. Li Mingde said that he had considered about this. Since you had plans for the agriculture machinery, why you did not invest more in the R&D department? Feng Yu wanted to test if Li Mingde really felt that the agriculture machines had potential or this was just an excuse to deal with him.
“Deputy Mayor Xu, Director Li, the both of you thinks that the agriculture machines have more potential, but you can’t deny the fact that the motorcycles’ profits are the highest in the company! The motorcycle sales have been doing well and as the weather got warmer and the brand awareness increases, the sales will increase further. The profits from 2 motorcycles are equivalent to the profit of a tractor. But if you factor in the cost, a tractor is comparable to 4 bikes! You still have not looked at the time used for the production. What targets did the city set for the Machinery Company? The target set by the city is not earning more profits for the government?”
“But what if the motorcycles’ sales drop? I had just mentioned that the other motorcycle factories in the country are improving their techniques. The market is only this big, and soon, the market will be flooded. How can the motorcycles maintain its sales? The only way is to lower the retail price! But the agriculture equipment is different. Other factories cannot compete with us, and we will be the industry leaders!” Li Mingde retorted.
Feng Yu smile: “Even if we lower the prices, the profits from the motorcycles will still be higher than agriculture machines. Although there will be more competition, our motorcycles still have many advantages like exterior designs, brand awareness, comfort, etc. In future, we can be China’s largest motorcycle manufacturer and can have a constant flow of income for the Machinery Company and also lots of taxes for the City.”
“The motorcycles are too expensive, and there might not be many who are willing to buy, even if they can afford it. But agriculture equipment is different. We have the most number of farmers in China. There are a lot of farmlands, and there is a huge demand for agriculture equipment. Regarding demand, agriculture would have better potential than the motorcycles.”
Feng Yu was looking at Li Mingde differently. He can foresee this? It seems like this Li Mingde still has some foresight.
“Since Director Li have so much confidence, why not we have a bet? Even though other motorcycle factories would introduce new motorcycle model the year, the most prominent motorcycle would still be Songjiang Motorcycles.” Feng Yu was playing with words again. Most prominent does not mean the highest sales and also the most profits.
Li Mingde righteously said: “Xiao Yu, how can you bet on the company’s matters? Furthermore, I am a party member, and I don’t gamble!”
Feng Yu: “……”
Damn, the 2 contracts you signed with me had betting elements. Feng Yu saw Deputy Mayor Xu sitting at the side, and he understood. Li Mingde dare not to bet in front of the leader.
“Deputy Mayor Xu, Director Li, I will not sell the shares no matter what you say. Also, I had been the temporary Factory Director of the motorcycle factory for quite some time. Shouldn’t I be promoted to the Factory Director?”
Deputy Mayor Xu almost died from anger. Feng Yu not only refuse to sell the Machinery Company’s shares and still want authority?
If Feng Yu agrees to sell the Machinery Company’s shares, then they might give Feng Yu that position. Deputy Mayor Xu was confident that he could convince the City Government to get a bank loan to purchase the shares from Feng Yu. But Feng Yu was firm, and he refuses to sell. Deputy Mayor Xu was prepared to use an executive order to force Feng Yu to sell the shares back to the City!
He could not touch that old Hou Haitao, he can at least take care of this brat!
Meanwhile, the Machinery Company’s Office chief was rushing to the City Government. Something big had happened, and he must inform Director Li immediately. He had paged Li Mingde, but Li Mingde had yet to call him back.
“Feng Yu, you must agree to sell the shares today. This is an order!” Deputy Mayor Xu snapped.
Feng Yu stared at Deputy Mayor Xu. What? You want to fall out with me? Fine, I also do not intend to give you face anymore!
“Order? What order? Who are you to order me around? Am I your subordinate? I had never heard before that a Deputy Mayor can force a civilian to sell a company’s shares!” Feng Yu sneered.
Feng Yu’s series of questions angered Deputy Mayor Xu even more!
“If you do not agree to sell the shares today, you can forget about being the motorcycle factory’s director. You will not even be the temporary director. Feng Xingtai can also forget about his position as the Deputy General Manager!” Deputy Mayor Xu banged the table and shouted.
Hou Haitao’s Aviation Factory had military backings, and Deputy Mayor Xu could not do anything to him. But to a young brat from a farming family, he was confident he could deal with him anything. He will remove Feng Yu and his father from all their positions and then use some tricks to dilute their shares, This way, the Machinery Company will still be in the City’s control!
There were people walking pass Deputy Mayor Xu’s office, and they were the city government’s staffs. Some of them were there to watch the show, and some were sent over by other leaders. They wanted to know what was happening. Some of the staffs were hoping for the opportunity to shine in front of Deputy Mayor Xu.
Secretary Sun immediately close the door. Deputy Mayor Xu had already banged the table, and it would not be good if words spread to other leaders.
Feng Yu glanced at Li Mingde: “Does this means that Director Li had already appointed someone to succeed my position? Seems like you have planned for this long time ago.”
Li Mingde tried to persuade nicely: “Xiao Yu, just sell the Machinery Company’s shares to the City and I will let you be the Factory Director of the motorcycle factory. Don’t lose such an important position because of some shares. Take the money and do whatever you like with it. Don’t you still have a trading company?”
Feng Yu smiled sarcastically: “Director Li really takes good care of me. You even thought of ways for me to spend the money from the sales of shares. But are you sure you can remove me from my position? We are a collective enterprise, and the appointed leaders have to go through an election!”
