Siheyuan: a better life

Chapter 823 Deception!

Li Jianshe caused the Red Star Trading Company to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars because of gambling. If this matter were to be exposed, Li Jianshe would definitely be in big trouble, but it would not be able to shake the foundation of the You family. Therefore, I, Wu Aiguo, do not intend to use this matter to attack the You family now.

Wu Aiguo hung up the phone, put the receiver back on the landline, and said to himself with a smile, "Since Li Jianshe dared to go to the casino in Majiao to gamble, if it happened once, there will be a second time. When Li Jianshe makes this hole bigger and bigger, even if You Guokai is in a high position, the You family will eventually pay for what Li Jianshe did."

After the meeting at the Ministry of Industry ended, President Kou did not call President Yan immediately. Instead, he asked his secretary to confirm President Yan's itinerary and then drove to the Ministry of Commerce.

"Mr. Kou! If you have anything to say, just tell him on the phone. Why bother making this trip in person?" In Mr. Yan's office, Mr. Yan saw Mr. Kou walking into the office from outside, and immediately walked up to him and greeted him enthusiastically.

At this point, Mr. Yan immediately instructed his secretary, "Xiao Guo! Go to the cabinet where I keep the tea leaves, take out the tea leaves that Aiguo brought last time, and make a cup for our Mr. Kou."

When Mr. Kou heard what Mr. Yan said, he immediately rejected it and said, "Mr. Yan! I came to see you today specifically for the Red Star Trading Company. After I finish talking about the matter, I will go back. You don't need to brew this tea."

When Boss Yan heard what Boss Kou said and saw the serious expression on Boss Kou's face, he immediately realized that something was wrong and asked Boss Kou, "Old Kou! What happened at Red Star Trading Company? Is it necessary for you to make this trip in person?"

When Mr. Kou heard Mr. Yan's question, he said to him in a sarcastic tone, "Old Yan! The factories under our Ministry of Industry are now counting on your Ministry of Industry to support them. Can I not come here in person to pay my respects?"

When General Manager Yan heard what General Manager Kou said, he couldn't help but frowned and asked General Manager Kou in dissatisfaction: "Old Kou! We have been comrades for many years. If you have something to say, just say it. Why do you have to belittle me like this?"

When Mr. Kou heard Mr. Yan's answer and saw his dissatisfied expression, he immediately realized that Mr. Yan did not know about this matter.

Realizing this, CEO Kou introduced to CEO Yan, “Boss Yan! Yesterday, Red Star Trading Company sent a telegram to all factories engaged in export trade, asking them to increase production capacity by 30%, but the price of the products needs to be reduced by 20%. In addition, the telegram also indirectly stated that if the factories do not agree, they will reduce the purchase volume.”

Hongxing Trading Company has a certain degree of autonomy, but things like asking factories to increase production capacity and lower prices must be reported to the competent authorities for approval.

Although similar approval work only requires the approval of the deputy general manager in charge, the deputy general manager in charge did not inform him of such an important matter, which made General Manager Yan very angry. He said to General Manager Kou: "Old Kou! To be honest with you! I don't know about what you just said, but don't worry, I will call Comrade Zhao Youde over now, and let's see what Comrade Youde says about the specific situation!"

When President Yan said this, he immediately told the secretary who came in with a cup of tea, "Xiao Guo! Go to Vice President Zhao's office and ask him to come over."

A few months ago, when Mr. Kou learned that the Ministry of Commerce had passed a resolution to remove Lou Zhenhua from the position of general manager of Red Star Trading Company with a majority vote in favor and a minority against, Mr. Kou realized that Mr. Yan no longer had absolute control over the Ministry of Commerce as he did in the past.

What happened today made Mr. Kou more certain of his guess. Thinking that a vice president could ignore Mr. Yan's existence and make such a major decision, Mr. Kou reminded Mr. Yan: "Mr. Yan! You are the head of the business department!"

"Red Star Trading Company can be regarded as one of the most important departments of your Ministry of Commerce. However, the vice president in charge ignored you as the president when making important decisions. This is not a good thing for you, right?"

President Yan also felt very aggrieved about what President Kou said. He originally had absolute power in the department, but since the personnel changes last year, his advantages no longer existed. Now the vice president actually bypassed him and approved the application of Red Star Trading Company. This was like a slap in the face to President Yan, making him feel ashamed.

When President Kou saw President Yan's reaction and thought about the situations of several vice presidents in the business department, he began to sympathize with President Yan's current situation.

"Mr. Yan! I heard from Xiao Guo that you have something to talk to me about?" The two of them didn't wait long before a middle-aged man wearing glasses walked into Mr. Yan's office from outside and asked Mr. Yan politely.

When the middle-aged man said this, he saw Mr. Kou sitting in the office and immediately understood why Mr. Kou came. He pretended to be surprised and greeted Mr. Kou, "So Mr. Kou is here too!" When Mr. Yan saw the middle-aged man walking into the office, a look of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes. He smiled and said to the middle-aged man, "Old Zhao! What's the matter with the Red Star Trading Company asking all manufacturers to increase production capacity and reduce sales prices?"

When Vice President Zhao came to President Yan's office and saw President Kou sitting in the office, he had already guessed why President Yan wanted to see him.

Faced with Mr. Yan's inquiry, Vice President Zhao, who had already thought of an excuse, smiled and replied, "Mr. Yan! According to the news from Red Star Trading Company, some foreign factories are imitating our products in large quantities in an attempt to snatch our customers."

"Red Star Trading Company asked the factory to increase its production capacity in order to grab market share. As for why they asked for a price cut, it was mainly to give customers some concessions to prevent them from being snatched away by counterfeit factories."

When Mr. Yan heard Vice President Zhao's explanation, his brows immediately knitted together. He asked Vice President Zhao with a dissatisfied look on his face, "Old Zhao! For such an important matter, why didn't you inform me in advance and directly agreed to the request of Red Star Trading Company?"

Vice President Zhao was not upset by President Yan's questioning. He still had a smiling face and answered, "President Yan! I was originally in charge of Red Star Trading Company, and I thought that Red Star Trading Company's request was reasonable, so I agreed directly. I didn't report it to you in advance. It was my negligence in my work. I will definitely correct it in the future."

Vice President Zhao's answer was well-reasoned and made CEO Yan unable to find fault with it. However, CEO Kou on the side did not buy it at all and questioned Vice President Zhao: "Vice President Zhao! When Lou Zhenhua was the general manager, he also had many competitors. Why did the business of Red Star Trading Company reach new heights every year?"

"Now you have changed the general manager, who has only been in office for more than three months. On the one hand, he is asking for an increase in production, and on the other hand, he is proposing to give customers concessions. Can I think that the new manager of Red Star Trading Company is deliberately infringing on public interests for the sake of his own political achievements?"

The questions raised by Mr. Kou were very incisive, leaving Vice President Zhao at a loss as to how to respond for a moment.

When Mr. Kou saw that Vice President Zhao was stumped by his question, he immediately took advantage of the situation and said directly, "I remember that Li Jianshe was the deputy general manager of the Import and Export Trading Company. At the beginning, the Import and Export Trading Company was disbanded by the State Council because it violated the interests of the public for the sake of political achievements."

"Li Jianshe has only been the general manager of Red Star Trading Company for three months, and this has happened. If you don't give me an explanation today, I will stop the factory from supplying you and report this to the State Council."

Because the You family has absolute say in the commerce department, Vice President Zhao dares to ignore the existence of President Yan. However, President Kou is the head of the industrial department. Once President Kou asks the factory to stop supplying or complains to the State Council, it will eventually cause unbearable consequences to Vice President Zhao, which is definitely something Vice President Zhao does not want to see.

In order to stabilize Mr. Kou, Vice President Zhao quickly reminded Mr. Kou: "Mr. Kou! The work of Red Star Trading Company is related to our foreign exchange earning task. If you ask the supplying factory to stop supplying to Red Star Trading Company, the consequences will be disastrous."

Mr. Kou is a veteran who survived the battlefield. How could he be afraid of Vice President Zhao's threats? He replied angrily, "In order to complete the foreign exchange earning task, the factories under our Ministry of Industry have to invest a lot of money in the purchase of equipment and the research and development of new products. If we reduce the price of products by 20%, almost all the factories under us will suffer losses."

"It is absolutely impossible for our factory to sell products at a loss to satisfy certain people's political achievements. Moreover, on behalf of the Ministry of Industry, I am now officially notifying you that from today onwards, if Red Star Trading Company wants goods, it will pay first and then ship them."

President Kou said this without giving Vice President Zhao a chance to answer. He just stood up and walked out of the office door.

President Yan saw President Kou walking out of the office without even saying hello, and immediately realized that President Kou was really angry this time. Although this matter had little to do with him, he was the head of the Ministry of Commerce. Once the higher-ups pursued him for this matter, he would definitely be implicated.

At this time, President Yan immediately stood up from the sofa and shouted to President Kou who had already walked to the door of the office: "Old Kou! If you have anything to say, we can sit down and discuss it! How can you just leave like that?"

When Mr. Kou heard Mr. Yan's attempt to retain him, he understood why Mr. Yan was sidelined. He walked away without looking back, and replied, "Mr. Yan! Take care of yourself!"

(End of this chapter)