This city simulation game can affect reality.

To outsiders, this proposal, overflowing with sincerity, would undoubtedly be a tremendously good thing.

It was so good that Chen Jun subconsciously thought of a saying—"a pie falling from the sky."

The other party used Yunhai Woodworking Workshop's most valuable, even confidential, core technology in exchange for brand-level cooperation.

If Wang Wang's vision can be realized, at least in the niche field of woodworking, the two sides, with their combined strength, will likely have no rivals.

But it was precisely because this pie, with its almost unrealistically generous filling, was right in front of him that alarmed Chen Jun.

He did not immediately express his opinion, but simply smiled and raised his hand, gesturing for Wang Wang and the other man to drink tea.

In those brief few minutes, Chen Jun's thoughts were racing.

Even though he hadn't been in the mall for very long, he could keenly sense that something was amiss.

After quickly reviewing the whole situation, four words came to Chen Jun's mind: brand value.

Let's assume that the three masters in Wang Wang's proposal truly possessed the so-called endangered skills.

In the short term, the resort can indeed receive a solid infusion of traditional skills.

This seems to be entirely beneficial for enhancing the professional depth of the courses and the appeal of the promotion.

The problem is that business decisions cannot be made like fast food delivery, which only aims to satisfy immediate hunger.

In the long run, once this deep brand sharing is accepted, it completely dilutes the brand value of Lumberjack's Hut for the resort.

It's important to know that the three master carpenters from Yunhai did not sign any indenture with the agritainment business.

Their relationship was purely professional.

In essence, Wang Wang's move was an attempt to use a carefully woven logical trap to exchange these non-permanent, exclusive, and fluid resources for a deep bond with the woodcutter's hut.

This kind of potential crisis, disguised in a sugar coating, can easily trap those who are inexperienced or eager for quick success.

"Being at a disadvantage, yet trying to leverage it, they've really played a clever game."

Chen Jun felt a chill run down his spine. Although Wang Wang's posture was humble this time, his essence was no different from when they first met. Deep down, he still had that arrogance of having everything under control.

The other side has clearly done a thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.

But perhaps he was too dismissive, or perhaps he was gambling.

I bet Chen Jun, a newcomer to the business world, won't see the tricks of the trade.

The resorts don't realize that the human resources advantage that farmhouses rely on is not monolithic, but rather time-sensitive and fluid.

This kind of "arrogance" is understandable, after all, in terms of his resume, Chen Jun is just a kid who graduated from university a few years ago—from Wang Wang's perspective, he can indeed be called a kid.

"If Mr. Wang's proposal comes to fruition, it will be of great help to the current development of our woodworking workshop."

After a long silence, Chen Jun finally spoke, first expressing his agreement, but then changing the subject: "However... the path that Woodcutter's Hut wants to take, and even the various projects of the resort, all have long-term plans and brand positioning. Cooperation is good, but it will inevitably conflict with our development path."

Without any ambiguous diplomatic language, Chen Jun clearly expressed his refusal.

In a sense, his choice at this moment is exactly the same as Wang Wang's mindset of wanting to win alone back then.

Chen Jun has reason to believe that the future development potential of the Woodcutter's Hut and even the resort is immeasurable.

In other words, he felt that the resources and value that Yunhai Farmhouse currently possessed were not enough for him to choose to "share the world equally" with the other party.

This is a kind of almost absolute self-confidence.

Faced with such a direct rejection, Wang Wang's facial muscles stiffened almost imperceptibly, and he swallowed back all his extra plans B, C, and D.

A hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

Having weathered some storms himself, he knew that forcing things was pointless, so he simply smiled and said, "I understand. Boss Chen has lofty ambitions; I was just being naive."

Having said all that, Wang Wang had no intention of staying any longer. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he got up to take his leave.

"Since we're already here, let's have a simple meal at the resort before we leave."

In truth, both sides knew that at this point, having a meal together was no longer an option.

But Chen Jun still went through the motions of trying to persuade him to stay.

Wang Wang also politely declined in a standard manner.

After seeing the other party off from the resort and returning to his office, Lao Zhou, who had been thinking about the meeting, pushed open the door and came in.

"Mr. Chen, judging from the situation... it seems the negotiations failed?"

The private dining room that had been reserved was not used, and Lao Zhou already had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

"Over there in Yunhai, seeing that the woodworking workshop can't compete with the resort, they're thinking of merging with it. That way, they can at least keep some of their profits and not lose everything," Chen Jun said calmly.

For agritainment businesses, the woodworking workshop is a new project, but the initial investment is quite substantial.

Seeing the resort's growing momentum, they could only take advantage of the uncertainty and adjust their tactics to try and get a piece of the action.

"Why are you only bringing up the merger now? Where were you before? When both sides were just starting out, they should have been willing to send the masters to the resort for exchanges. That would have shown real sincerity." Old Zhou directly saw through Wang Wang's thoughts.

If they come up with such a proposal at the very first dinner, it shows they are sincere in their cooperation.

Even if Chen Jun wouldn't accept it at the time due to strategic considerations, he would at least offer a compromise solution to ensure the other party gets a share.

Bringing this up now is just a soft test of the resort's capabilities. If they give in, they'll easily become easy targets for manipulation in the future.

"Wang Wang is a man of considerable experience, but ultimately lacks a bit of shrewdness," Chen Jun commented honestly. "However, since he is the representative chosen by the agritainment businesses, he naturally carries the collective will of Yunhai."

Based on these two encounters, the other party appeared very experienced in both interpersonal relationships and business operations, but this experience seemed more like a fixed template, lacking flexibility and adaptability.

Just like someone who spends decades grinding an iron pestle into a needle, their ability is certainly admirable, but that cannot be called wisdom.

This accurate assessment made Lao Zhou realize once again Chen Jun's unique ability to judge people.

Although he still retains some of the sharpness of a young man, it is no exaggeration to say that he is exceptionally gifted, given his shrewdness and decisiveness at such a young age.

In a sense, although Chen Jun is the only heir that Old Master Chen can rely on, it is clear that this one and only "lottery ticket" has won the grand prize.

"This negotiation failed, and I don't know if Yunhai will respond even more strongly. After all, they have already incurred a lot of sunk costs, and they probably won't give up easily," Old Zhou said with some concern.

"Who knows?" Chen Jun said calmly, looking out the window.