Reaching for the stars with one hand

Chapter 82 Huo Zhichao 3
Zhang Yong, who was sitting opposite Holden again, felt that Holden seemed to be a different person.

Without the previous bluff, Horton calmed down a lot.

"What did you see?"

"I just see that you're not what Carl thought you were."

"Well, in fact, my identity is not difficult to see through. I know that I can't hide it from my countrymen. I just do business with foreigners like Karl. As for you, I thought you were just a respondent to foreigners. It seems that I misread you. Are you wondering why Karl can't see through me?"

"It's a little strange. The vice president of Skydon shouldn't have the ability to recognize people. How could he fail to see through your clumsy deception."

Holden was completely different from just now, he was not angry, and there was even a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Take back your words first. There is no trickery, and I am not a liar. I am doing a legitimate business, and I signed a legal contract with Skydon. I only make reasonable money. After this incident, I have to go back to the United States. I definitely don’t want the FBI to trouble me. So I will never do anything illegal. …”

"As for my clumsy performance, yes, it's a performance, not a deception. Performance is just a marketing tool. American society is a big stage, and everyone is a performance personality. My performance can be accepted by Carl because he is self-righteous. think they understand China."

After all, Zhang Yong is still young, and his ideas are not wrong, but he still lacks sufficient understanding of a Westerner like Karl.

Carl is recognized in SKydon as the person who understands China best, so even Steve will listen to Carl's opinions on China issues as soon as possible.

His so-called understanding of China led him into a misunderstanding.Carl did not really live in China, and all his Chinese knowledge was obtained from various sources of research, the result of his hard research and study, rather than the conclusions drawn from practice.

From the research, he learned that there is indeed such a class in China, they have special rights and a complex network of relationships, and many of their children are overseas, especially in the United States.Their identities are concealed, and many things should not be disclosed...

After he came into contact with Holden, he found that almost all of Holden's characteristics matched the class he knew, so he thought he had captured an opportunity.

Just as Zhang Yong thought, Horton is not smart, and Karl is not stupid, but all the arrangements of Horton are designed for someone like Karl who thinks he understands China.

Horton is indeed doing legal consulting business, which generally means providing some Chinese industry reports to American companies.When Karl thought his identity was special, he took the opportunity to guide, deepen and confirm Karl's thoughts.

He has been in this industry for many years, and he does have a lot of contacts of his own, and he can also help Karl connect with some resources.But it was far from reaching the height that Karl expected.

Zhang Yong roughly understood everything, "I remembered a story about nail soup, but I didn't expect to come across it."

Horton didn't understand, "I haven't heard of it."

"A tramp stayed at a woman's house and wanted to beg for a stutter. The woman said that there was nothing in the house. So the tramp took out a nail and said that he could use magic to cook a pot of soup with the nail. Put the nail into the pot, The tramp said for a while that adding a little onion would be more delicious, and for a while he said that a little cheese is the king's delicacy. Finally, the woman added almost all the delicacies in the house into the pot, and the tramp fished out the nails secretly. The woman But I think this pot of delicious food is cooked by homeless people with nails."

Holden laughed, "You're good at telling jokes, it's true. But the tramp didn't use illegal means to force the woman to give everything."

"But do you know? You are so immoral. You arouse the ambition of a retired old man, but let him fail. Now our Beijing representative office is also involved. You have wasted a lot of our resources, but doing Things that don't make sense."

Holden shrugged, "I didn't do anything immoral, and I didn't ask you to get involved. Everything was chosen by Karl and SKydon. My contract is signed by your president Steve, which is subject to the law. Protected. It’s just that I didn’t expect that they have an employee like you in China, you seem to be very courageous and not too afraid of power.”

Zhang Yong laughed, he had never heard such a funny joke, "I'm just an ordinary person, no one is afraid of power. I just trust my own eyes, I don't think you can really threaten me."

"Oh, that seems to be a problem with my acting skills. What are you going to do? Can you work with me?"

"I won't cooperate even if you threaten me. Now that I've confirmed that you didn't threaten me, how could I possibly cooperate with you?"

Holden shrugged, "The reason why I called you down is actually because of this sentence. The rest are all nonsense and we cannot cooperate. Let's sleep peacefully."

"You don't seem to be afraid of me exposing you to Karl."

"Like I said, what I'm doing is a serious business and I'm signing a legal and valid contract. Of course I'm not afraid of what you say. Maybe this will cause me a little trouble, but it doesn't matter. Instead, I want to advise you, this matter You can't stop the matter now, if you talk too much, it may make the top management of Skydon unhappy. It's best for everyone to live in peace like this. Otherwise..."

"Are you threatening me again?"

"No. Otherwise, I will lose the balance of the consulting fee at most. It doesn't matter. I have already taken what I should have. And you will make many people in Skydon unhappy. Your consequences are more serious than mine. If you don't believe me, we will wait and see. Remember, young people, political correctness is not just a Chinese characteristic, the gentleman-like foreigners around you, they care more than the Chinese. Good night, thank you for your wonderful story."

……

……

Paul made a phone call to John, "For Karl's affairs, Zhang Yong alone may not be enough. If possible, all of your representative offices should move to help him. Of course, our performance at the end of the year is also very important, you try to take care of it .”

John was puzzled, "Why did you do that?"

"Carl has Steve's support, and the president will come to China to participate in Carl's activities in person. You don't want to see only Carl and Steve standing together, without you and the Beijing representative office, right? This matter is no longer simply a matter of a retired consultant. This time, there will be a group of high-level executives who will accompany Steve to China. Now the entire Skydon is preparing for the trip of the president. Do you think you can not move? ?”

John was so surprised that he let out a long breath, "Okay, I understand, I will arrange it immediately. Is Karl so powerful? What did they do in Shanghai?"

"Isn't Zhang Yong by Carl's side? You can ask him directly, none of us know what this old guy has done."

……

……

On a new day, Zhang Yong and Karl had breakfast at the same table.

"Carl, I want to tell you about Holden."

"I can see that you don't like him. You had a fight yesterday, but it's your job and you need to cooperate with him."

"Everything Horton does, we can do directly without any help from him. And the so-called high-level people he talks about don't exist at all."

"Everything is your speculation, Yong, you can't speculate about our partners so maliciously."

"I'm not speculating. We communicated yesterday and he didn't deny it."

Hearing the sound of "bang", Zhang Yong looked up in surprise, and found that Karl had slammed the knife and fork on the table heavily, his face sinking like water.

"Yong, I have heard your idea, and I will consider it. Now our plan is based on Horton. If you have an idea, you can let it go temporarily. We must follow Horton's arrangement."

Zhang Yong couldn't adapt to the sudden change in his attitude towards Karl for a while, he was stunned, not understanding where Karl's anger came from.

"Sorry, Carl. I don't want to offend you, I just want to tell you that there is something wrong with this Holden."

Karl's Adam's apple trembled, and Zhang Yong could feel the anger suppressed by the other party.

Carl tried his best to use a calm tone and said to Zhang Yong: "I'm also sorry, I shouldn't be so angry with you. I don't know if you know, I have always been optimistic about you, the account you registered with SKydon technical support back then , I was the one who gave you the highest authority. When you came to SKydon for an interview, Tiger didn’t want to accept you, and I personally recruited you into the Beijing representative office.”

Zhang Yong felt that the topic seemed to be far away, but he still said, "Thank you." He knew that what Carl said was true, and he really thanked the old man, but it didn't mean that Holden was right.

Carl continued, "I say this not to ask you to thank me. It is my job to choose you. But now that I have retired, this is an opportunity at the end of my career. I want to have a perfect career. I don't want to be in Last minute, what's the blemish. You know what I mean? Yong, again, I've always been bullish on you. After this event, I'll still be recommending you to Paul and even Steve. But now, I need your help I."

Zhang Yong faintly understood that he never took Horton's words seriously last night, and now it seems that Horton is very likely to be right.

"What can I do for you? If Holden's arrangement is completely followed, our gains may be very limited, and a lot of time and energy will be wasted."

"Then don't worry about Holden, you can help me arrange some fruitful activities. Don't worry about the Beijing representative office, I will communicate with Paul and John, and they will even get involved."

Everything gradually became clear in Zhang Yong's mind, "You mean, we will replace Holden and cooperate with you in arranging all the activities here? Carl, I don't understand the meaning of this arrangement? The representative office is doing this There is no need to put down all the work in hand, disrupt the plan, and operate these things."

Carl gradually lost his patience, "Don't you understand? I've made it very clear that I need a perfect career."

Zhang Yong understood, a trace of anger appeared in his eyes, and his respect for this old man was slowly being lost.Is your perfect career all that important?If you want the whole representative office to accompany you for a show, even the real business can be put down.

"I don't know what to say, how do you convince Paul and John? What I know is that your business promotion work is independent of the Beijing representative office, and they seem to find no reason to cooperate with you."

"They are already cooperating with me." Carl smiled smugly, "Well, let me tell you frankly, I did misread Holden, but I definitely did not misread Paul and John, and now they are Come here actively, I'm afraid it will be difficult not to let them participate."

Zhang Yong finally became angry, "You already know what the role of Holden is?"

"He could have fooled me in the United States, but when I come to China, if I can't see through him, I would be too stupid. But what can I do? Call him a liar and terminate our cooperation? Then me and Shi How will Tiff and the board of directors explain it?"

"However, if you fail to achieve anything in China, it is still difficult to explain."

"So I need the joint help of you and John. Also, our president Steve will come to Shanghai in person, so the cooperation with Holden will no longer be my personal matter. Listen, Yong, I am here Try to save my career. But this is your chance. You can show your ingenuity in front of Steve, believe me, you will have a bright future in SKydon." Carl's tone revealed a A kind of fanaticism, very inspiring.

"What do you do with Holden?"

"No need to deal with it, just put him here as an ornament. When I return to the United States, I will terminate my cooperation with him, and everyone will go their own way."

"It seems that Holden will not only have no consequences, but also get his final payment. Are you really not worried that doing so will affect business in China?"

"I know that the Chinese are the most hardworking people in the world. They will have a way to make up for these impacts and ultimately ensure China's performance. I believe in you, especially you."

"Thank you for your trust, wait a minute, I'm going to get a cup of coffee. Can I get you a cup?"

"No thanks."

Zhang Yong got up, he didn't need coffee, he just wanted to calm down, give himself a buffer, and think about how to answer Carl.

The moment just now was his most angry moment. The hard work and bravery of the Chinese people is not an excuse for you to squander their labor.

It is said that foreigners do not care about human relations like Chinese people do, but Karl clearly placed his kindness in front of him and let him make a choice.

Next to the coffee machine, Zhang Yong found that Horton was eating at a place by the window. He had obviously been paying attention to Zhang Yong. When their eyes met, Horton immediately smiled and waved to Zhang Yong.

Zhang Yong didn't like Horton's smile, he finally made up his mind.

He walked back to the table, put down his coffee, sat down, and looked Carl straight in the eye.

"Sorry, Carl. I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me, and I'll always remember it. I can't help you with this one, I don't know how important your perfect career is, but it obviously shouldn't override above the interests of SKydon and the Beijing representative office."

"Oh," Zhang Yong's answer surprised Karl, he gradually straightened his body, and the dignity of the first vice president returned to him, "You were sent to help me, if you don't accept it, So what are you going to do? Tell Steve on me?"

Zhang Yong felt the pressure from Karl, but he was ready and still looked into Karl's eyes. "Steve? Of course not, he doesn't know who I am, and I will never report to anyone. I don't want to report you to anyone, I will only communicate with John, saying that I am not suitable to be your assistant, please He transferred me back, that's all. I hope, you also support this application, because it is obvious that I will not get along well with Holden here."

Carl smiled with a cold smile, "You can apply with John, I'm waiting for his decision. Steve is coming, if he is not satisfied, everyone will take responsibility, don't think you are just from the representative office A small role, it will not be affected, you are now in the same boat as us."

"Everything will be decided after I communicate with John. Please give me a day, I don't want to participate in any of your actions today. See you later, I will go back to the room first."

When Zhang Yong walked out of the restaurant, he found Horton waiting for him at the elevator entrance. The smile on his face clearly expressed to Zhang Yong, "I knew it a long time ago!"

(End of this chapter)