When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

the next day.

Wang Donglai met Cook again.

"It seems you've brought me some good news today."

Wang Donglai looked at Cook and said with a smile.

Cook remained calm and said, "I think we need to have a serious business negotiation."

"Regarding the purchase of Xuanwu batteries, we have decided to accept the price you offered."

"But regarding the exclusive agreement, we believe there are more ways to cooperate."

Wang Donglai was curious, so he asked, "What do you mean by 'more ways of cooperation'?"

“We not only need exclusive supply rights overseas, but we also need to delay supplies to our competitors,” Cook said to Wang Donglai with a serious expression.

"This is impossible!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Donglai immediately expressed his refusal.

"In business, all Yonghe products will be treated fairly."

"The only difference is the speed of supply between domestic and overseas markets."

Cook frowned slightly and said, "If we reach an agreement, it will be a big deal worth more than two hundred billion dollars. I think that's enough to make you give up some unnecessary things."

"No! No! No!"

"Two hundred billion dollars is indeed a huge business, but I understand even more clearly that there are some things that can be done and some things that cannot be done."

"Unfair treatment of users will only affect the commercial value of the Xuanwu Battery brand."

"The commercial value of Xuanwu Battery is immeasurable, and two hundred billion US dollars is far from enough for me to give up and take this risk."

Wang Donglai said firmly.

"I remember an old saying here: there's no such thing as loyalty, it's just that the price of betrayal isn't high enough!"

"It's just a delay in supplying our competitors. Your production always has a ramp-up process. We're just getting priority access to supplies. As your biggest customer, I don't think this is an unreasonable condition."

"Looking at smartphone brands worldwide, I think we are definitely number one in terms of orders and profits. Are you sure you want to refuse such a small request from a super big client?"

Cook was genuinely surprised, just as he said.

Based on Apple's shipment volume, purchasing Xuanwu batteries would bring in more than $20 billion.

According to the analysis of the cost of the Xuanwu battery, it sells for one hundred US dollars, but its cost may be less than half of that.

In fact, the cost of the Xuanwu battery is lower than outsiders speculate.

Galaxy Technology offers high salaries and benefits, and its rapid expansion into so many industries naturally requires high profit margins to support it.

The more high-tech and technologically advanced a product is, the greater its profit margin will be.

For example, the cost of Changqing Liquid is only a few dozen yuan, but the selling price reaches thousands, which is dozens of times higher.

Especially when exported overseas, where the currency is in US dollars, the profit has increased more than sevenfold.

The same applies to Xuanwu batteries.

Once mass production begins, costs can be quickly amortized.

With the superior performance of Xuanwu batteries, there is no need to worry about a lack of market demand.

So, despite Cook's questions, Wang Donglai remained steadfast in his belief.

"I refuse!"

"To ensure production capacity, we will invest more than 10 billion yuan to build a super factory and recruit a sufficient number of workers."

"Given China's speed, I think you don't need to worry about production capacity at all."

Cook had never encountered a business negotiation like this before.

In the past, with Apple's brand, every supplier was careful and tried to curry favor with him.

They were terrified that if anything went wrong, they would be removed from the supply chain.

Cook has never seen anyone with an attitude like Wang Donglai before in all these years.

He wanted to walk away, but Cook suppressed the thought as soon as it crossed his mind.

The board of directors has reached a consensus.

That means temporarily accepting Wang Donglai's terms and striving not to fall behind in the global wave of smart device upgrades triggered by the Xuanwu battery.

On the one hand, they increased investment in an effort to reverse engineer the manufacturing process of the Xuanwu battery.

The price of the Xuanwu battery is already more than twice the cost of previous batteries. Coupled with the digital service tax that China is about to introduce, it is obvious that Apple's financial report next year will be extremely bad.

The more this is the case, the more we must not fall behind.

Otherwise, the price to pay for catching up would be even greater.

With a sigh, Cook knew he couldn't change the situation, so he said, "Well, it seems I have no choice but to agree."

From the very beginning, Wang Donglai knew how this would end.

When Cook decided to fly over from across the ocean, this outcome was already predetermined.

Now that the main framework for cooperation has been agreed upon, the rest is much simpler; we can just leave it to the people below.

This collaboration is primarily limited to the smartphone business; as for Apple's self-driving car, it's just an intention.

Since the finished product hasn't been released yet, there's no rush to equip it with the Xuanwu battery.

Wang Donglai also mentioned this point.

Being able to accept a price of one hundred dollars is already the maximum of Cook's tolerance.

If the Xuanwu battery were to be used in Apple's self-driving car, the cost of the battery would be too high.

Cook did some mental calculations. If Apple were to launch a self-driving car, it would actually be working for Galaxy Technology, with all the money going to Wang Donglai.

With this in mind, Cook was naturally unwilling to do so, and therefore avoided the point raised by Wang Donglai.

A cooperation agreement involving two hundred billion US dollars could not possibly be finalized by Wang Donglai and Cook with just a few words; there were still a lot of details to be negotiated and discussed by their subordinates.

Even so, Cook stayed in Tangdu City for three days.

After finalizing the basic framework agreement, Cook left Tangdu City, leaving the rest to his subordinates.

On the plane, looking down at the Chinese land below, Cook's eyes were cold, and his heart was filled with anger.

Nothing like this has happened since he took over as Apple's CEO.

In the past three days, he has come up with a series of countermeasures.

"Let's start by eliminating phone chargers and earphones in China!"

Cook muttered to himself.

soon.

News has circulated in China that Apple's CEO visited Tangdu City and signed a memorandum of understanding with Galaxy Technology regarding Xuanwu batteries.

This news immediately alarmed many domestic manufacturers.

Because anyone with eyes can see that Apple's order volume is definitely larger than theirs, and their profits are higher.

If Galaxy Technology prioritizes supplying Apple because of this, then they will lose their first-mover advantage.

Wang Donglai's phone was immediately bombarded with calls from CEOs of various brands. Although they received confirmation from Wang Donglai that their supply would not be cut or delayed, their Xuanwu batteries were crucial to the lifeline of their future products, so none of them dared to be careless.

Almost simultaneously, major brands immediately purchased plane tickets to Tangdu City, wanting to meet and talk with Wang Donglai in person.

The one who arrived the fastest was none other than the boatman.

Originally, Wang Donglai did not intend to waste any more energy on this matter, but since the boatman came in person, Wang Donglai naturally had to receive him.

The location for the reception was the super lithography plant that Galaxy Technology is currently building.

This project has long been designated as a key project.

The sooner production begins, the greater the potential profits.

Tangdu City and Qin Province had no choice but to pay attention.

"Academician Wang, I heard that Apple CEO Tim Cook has reached a cooperation agreement with your company on Xuanwu batteries in the past two days."

The boatman didn't beat around the bush and brought up the matter directly.

"Indeed, Mr. Wang, you didn't come here because of this, did you?" Wang Donglai asked.

"That's not true. I'm here with some good news. There will be a lot of difficulties in relocating BYD's headquarters."

“BYD has been able to develop over the years thanks to the local community’s efforts, so it’s not appropriate for us to move our headquarters away all at once.”

"However, in order to support the construction of the Xuanwu Battery Industrial Park, we plan to establish our second headquarters in Tangdu City and build our largest factory there, with an estimated investment of over 150 billion yuan, which will create more than 20,000 jobs."

Through his interactions with Wang Donglai over the past few years, and by analyzing Wang Donglai's past practices, the boatman felt he had figured Wang Donglai out.

So the first thing they said was about the scale of investment and the number of jobs created.

However, Wang Donglai saw right through the boatman's little tricks.

"Mr. Wang, this is actually a win-win situation."

"I think Mr. Wang understands the importance of Xuanwu batteries better than I do, and their impact on new energy vehicles is even more significant."

"Whoever gains an advantage here, relying on the Xuanwu Battery Industrial Park, will take a leading position in the subsequent development of new energy vehicles."

"The investment of 150 billion will generate more profits for your company in the future. As for the jobs created, those are just byproducts of the expansion."

"Galaxy Technology is willing to take on more social responsibility, but that doesn't mean it's without considering its capabilities and scope."

"We will only promote our practices and adhere to our principles within our capabilities."

The boatman's expression was somewhat stiff; he hadn't expected Wang Donglai to respond in this way.

"Academician Wang's ideas and practices are truly admirable."

"To show our support for Academician Wang, we will improve the benefits for our employees in the factory we are building. Although it will certainly not be as good as yours, it will be the best we can do."

When the boatman said these words, there was a hint of reluctance in his tone.

Raising employee benefits means increased costs and reduced profits.

In recent years, BYD has seen its product competitiveness continuously improve and its sales soar due to the development of its self-developed technology.

However, from the very beginning, Boatman Brother set a development model based on volume and cash flow.

Supply chain finance has emerged as a result.

Relying on this strategy, BYD has developed extremely rapidly.

As a result, Galaxy Technology emerged and directly overcame the technical difficulties of solid-state batteries.

This immediately put BYD in a decision-making dilemma.

Should we invest resources in developing our own technology, or directly adopt Galaxy Technology's mature products?

The former carries high risk but offers high returns, while the latter carries low risk but offers stable returns.

After much deliberation and careful consideration, the boatman finally made his decision.

That means temporarily embracing the Xuanwu battery, secretly persisting in research and development, and preserving the spark of research.

"Mr. Wang, may I ask how long it would take to purchase your company's products, given your company's salary levels?"

Wang Donglai directly asked a crucial question.

The boatman thought for a moment, then said, "Two years!"

"Is this data after deducting necessary expenses?" Wang Donglai pressed.

The boatman hesitated slightly before shaking his head.

"I understand the pursuit of profit and the pressure on profit margins in business operations."

"However, this is not a reason for me to reduce employee benefits."

"As far as I know, BYD's market share in new energy vehicles is rising steadily, and its shipments are also heading towards the top tier."

"However, the improvement of employees' wages and benefits has not been in place."

"Twenty-five per hour is too low. It would be difficult for your company to raise it to thirty-five in one go, but I don't think raising it to thirty is excessive."

"With your company's technology, the performance of your products has been improved by several levels after incorporating the Xuanwu battery."

"I think it's entirely possible to go global and develop both the domestic and international markets simultaneously."

"I believe that a good product, with its vitality and competitiveness, can overcome many of the difficulties of going global."

“In the past, we traded market access for technology, hoping that one day we could regain our market share through technological breakthroughs and enter other markets to make profits.”

"I think our technology has developed to the point where we can do this."

The boatman looked at Wang Donglai with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

In fact, there is already a consensus within the company regarding BYD's overseas expansion.

This time, the reason for coming to find Wang Donglai is related to this matter.

"Academician Wang, we really are on the same page."

"In fact, we have already established an overseas business department. We will actively promote BYD's overseas expansion. On the one hand, we will build factories locally for production, and on the other hand, we are also preparing to build our own roll-on/roll-off ships to sell our vehicles overseas."

"In this regard, we also need the assistance of Academician Wang and your company."

Wang Donglai nodded and immediately understood what the boatman meant, saying, "Indeed, given the performance of the Xuanwu battery, applying it to roll-on/roll-off ships would be an excellent choice."

"The technical difficulty in this area is not high. I will give the order. If you need any technical assistance, you can contact me at any time."

The boatman smiled and replied, "Then thank you very much for Academician Wang's support."

"Mr. Wang, you didn't come all this way just to say this, did you?" Wang Donglai asked.

"Academician Wang, to be honest, I want to offer a portion of BYD's shares to form a strategic partnership with your company."

"This includes, but is not limited to, priority access to the supply of Xuanwu batteries and manufacturing licenses!"

Upon hearing the boatman reveal his true purpose, Wang Donglai immediately burst out laughing.

Wang Donglai wasn't too surprised by the priority supply rights and OEM licenses.

Countless people have said this, both openly and secretly.

However, Wang Donglai never directly agreed or refused.

The boatman was the second person to mention priority supply rights and OEM licenses to him in person.

The first one, naturally, is Cook. (End of Chapter)