I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Ever since Gu Jinhua and Shen Kang started talking about serious matters, Zhang Demin's "colleagues," who had been trying to liven up the atmosphere, all became very quiet.

Qiao Na remained silent, simply attending to Shen Kang's every need, serving him tea and water. She no longer avoided his gaze.

She realized that Xiao Bonian's son did not recognize her.

This put her at ease, and some strange thoughts popped into her head: Professor Xiao's son, although not as handsome as Professor Xiao, was still quite handsome. The key was that he was already the CEO of a company at such a young age, and he was chatting and laughing with Philip's executives. It was really tempting—just like sometimes when she was walking on campus and saw a handsome guy she had never seen before, she would also feel a flutter in her heart.

Jona even thought of a saying—"If I can't be your mother, being your bride isn't bad either?"

Just as Jona was thinking about all this nonsense and chuckling to herself, she heard Director Liang, representing Philip, extend an olive branch to Shen Kang, seeking cooperation.

This surprised Jona.

She's attended many dinner parties and has seen her share of business situations. Therefore, she has some understanding of the current market structure and food chain hierarchy.

In the various gatherings Jona had witnessed, these bosses could be roughly divided into three types:

One type is local small businesses like Shen Kang's; they are at the very bottom of the food chain.

One type is large domestic enterprises, which are in the middle of the food chain;

The last type is large Western international corporations like Philips, which are at the very top of the food chain.

This pattern can be seen in many places, such as the skincare industry, which Jona is most familiar with:

Local small businesses like Shen Kang's are like "Lankou"—not the brand name Lankou, but the "kou" in Lankou, which sounds like "bandit bandit." Looking at the production address, it's No. 13, Yangcheng High-tech Industrial Park.

Even if it were cheap, Jona would never buy it; it's too tacky.

Large domestic companies are equivalent to companies like "Ding Jia Yi" and "Xiang Yi Herbal".

Before Jona started accompanying clients to meals, she was short of money and would buy these brands.

Large international corporations include companies like L'Oréal, Estée Lauder, and Lancôme.

Ever since Jona started working as a hostess, she's only been buying these brands.

In all the dinner parties Jona had attended before, it was always local small businesses that were eager to curry favor with large domestic companies and seek cooperation.

If given the opportunity to connect with a large international corporation like Philips, local small businesses would be even more willing to suffer losses in order to do so.

But now, Philip is taking the initiative to extend an olive branch to Shen Kang's Anjia Housekeeping, a small local business, and actively seeking cooperation.

This was something Jona had never seen at any of her previous dinner parties.

It seems Professor Xiao's son is quite remarkable, to be so highly regarded by Philip.

This surprised Qiao Na, who looked at Shen Kang and thought of the joke, "If I can't be your mother, I'll be your bride."

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However, what surprised Qiao Na even more was Shen Kang's reaction.

If Lancôme were to extend the invitation, Jona believes that Lancôme would be more than willing and eager to accept, seizing this opportunity to officially become a Lancôme.

But Shen Kang remained silent.

What is this guy thinking?

Jona was incredibly curious.

Even Qiao Na noticed it, and Liang Siyuan, Zhang Demin and the others naturally also noticed the strange attitude revealed by Shen Kang's silence at this moment.

This made Liang Siyuan raise an eyebrow, quite puzzled.

Many companies are lining up to cooperate with Philips, but none of them have the opportunity. For example, distributors like Zhang Demin go to great lengths to secure a Philips distributorship.

Now they've proactively offered Anjia a cooperation opportunity, even making a promise that the price they'd receive wouldn't be higher than other channels, showing their utmost sincerity.

What else is he thinking about? ...

Unfortunately, Liang Siyuan couldn't see what other people were thinking, otherwise he would have been able to see what Shen Kang was thinking right now.

Shen Kang thought to himself, according to Lu Lan, Philip offered no money, no personnel, no exclusive territorial protection, no payment terms, and didn't even mention a decent commission policy. Moreover, they demanded that after settling down, they could only sell their goods.

Is this cooperation? It's more like being offered amnesty.

However, he actually understands.

In this day and age, the domestic environment is like this: a big Western brand is considered superior. Department stores treat them well, the government treats them well, distributors treat them well, and even consumers treat them well and look up to them. Being able to align yourself with such a powerful entity is like waiting to rake in money.

Therefore, Philip's attitude is quite normal.

In their view, the fact that they proactively approached Anjia to discuss the matter was already a sign of humility. Offering a promise that the price would not be higher than other channels showed their utmost sincerity. They couldn't offer more, nor did they feel they needed to. Because in their eyes, Anjia, a small local housekeeping company, should be grateful they could even sell Philips products.

Shen Kang completely understood this mentality.

But that doesn't mean acceptance.

He knew a lot about Philips—the company looked glamorous, but it was actually withdrawing from the consumer electronics sector.

To take a recent example, Philips spun off its semiconductor business in recent years, and then gradually withdrew from the LCD panel business as well.

This is only what's happening now.

Shen Kang knew more.

He knew that Philips' future focus would be on increasing profit margins and protecting shareholder rights, so its television, home appliance, lighting, and other businesses would be continuously sold off or spun off. In the end, the only competitive businesses Philips would have left in the Chinese market were medical equipment and personal health.

By then, Philip will no longer be a Fortune 500 company.

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So the olive branch that Liang Siyuan is now extending is ostensibly Philippe's "global brand," but in reality, it's him taking a rope that will inevitably loosen from a group that is withdrawing from the business.

Getting on Philip's ship now is similar to joining the National Revolutionary Army in 49... well, to be precise, it should be similar to joining the National Revolutionary Army in 45.

"That sounds good."

Shen Kang finally spoke, nodding and saying, "However, there are a few points that need to be changed."

Should I change it?

What time is it?

Liang Siyuan laughed.

He had met many people at the negotiating table in his life, but he had never seen any small local distributor dare to "change a few points" on Philip's terms.

Shen Kang continued, starting to list the issues: "First of all, the clause 'can only sell Philips products' is not a good one. If companies like Siemens, Panasonic, and Samsung come knocking on our door in the future, I can't just turn them away because of this clause, can I? So this clause needs to be changed to allow Anjia to sell other brands at the same time."

He spoke with utmost seriousness, as if he were stating a perfectly reasonable principle.

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Lu Lan looked at him as if he were a mental patient.

Ignoring all that, Shen Kang continued enthusiastically, "Secondly, the price can't just be 'no higher than other channels.' Anjia is different from retail stores; we go door-to-door, which increases our service costs. Philips should offer Anjia a price that's at least 15 percent lower than traditional channels; otherwise, our service staff won't even earn their commission after a single trip."

Zhang Demin's face twitched.

"Third, payment terms. Anjia is a small company and can't advance funds. Philip has to stock the goods first, and we'll settle the payment after we sell them. Payments are made every three months, and Philip is responsible for any losses."

Even Gu Jinhua frowned.

"fourth,"

Shen Kang, seemingly oblivious to the expressions on the faces of the others, continued, "Since we're cooperating, Philip should at least offer some support."

"Our service staff need training. Philips needs to send instructors over at least twice a month, and also provide materials such as brochures, demo units, and display stands. Philips should also provide us with a promotional vehicle, painted with Philips' logo, so it will look presentable when driving around the neighborhood."

After he finished speaking, he thought for a moment and added, "Let's use a Land Rover Range Rover for the promotional vehicle. I haven't driven one yet... No, I mean, this car is good, it's stylish, it gets a lot of attention, and the promotional effect will definitely be good, um, that's how it is."

After Shen Kang finished speaking,

The private room was so quiet it was as if a vacuum had been drawn out.

The piece of fish that Xiao Wang had just picked up fell back into the plate. The girls all lowered their heads, their shoulders trembling slightly. Shen Kang's last words made them want to laugh, but none of them dared to.

Liang Siyuan, however, could no longer laugh.

Gu Jinhua opened her mouth, wanting to smooth things over, but found that she couldn't respond to this at all.

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Shen Kang picked up his teacup, took a sip, and frowned slightly. "This tea is cold. Xiao Zhang, get a fresh pot."

These words snapped Zhang Demin out of his shock. He exclaimed "Ah!" and hurriedly got up to change the water, only to see that "Little Zhang" next to Shen Kang had already gotten up. He then realized that the conversation wasn't with him.

Lu Lan then looked at Liang Siyuan.

Liang Siyuan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, but this time the laugh was different; it was the kind of laugh that said, "So that's how it is."

He realized that Shen Kang had no intention of cooperating at all.

These conditions, at first glance, seem like the pipe dream of an arrogant young man, but upon closer inspection, each one strikes at the very spot where Philippe is least likely to concede—exclusivity clauses, channel pricing, payment terms, market support… This guy is either doing it on purpose, or he's a once-in-a-century idiot.

Liang Siyuan looked at Shen Kang and slowly said, "President Shen, if I dared to report these conditions to headquarters, they would think I've been kidnapped."

Shen Kang said indifferently, "Then Director Liang can think about it some more. I'm not in a hurry anyway."

His tone was casual, as if he were saying, "Boss, another serving of this dish, please."

Liang Siyuan looked at him and shook his head. "So, can I understand that, Mr. Shen, you're refusing to cooperate in this way?"

Next, he wanted to say something like, "You missed a tremendous opportunity," express his deep regret, and never give the kid another chance.

But to his surprise, Shen Kang looked at him with a look of astonishment.

"What do you mean by refusing to cooperate? I mean it sincerely."

He slammed his hand on the table, not with much force, but with a crisp sound, drawing the attention of everyone in the private room.

Shen Kang seemed completely unaware that the atmosphere had become icy. He leaned forward and began to analyze the situation for them earnestly.

"Director Liang, think about it. Anjia only has a couple hundred people in Yangcheng right now, and they can sell ten thousand rice cookers a year. What about the future? Next year we'll expand throughout the entire province, and then to the Southwest, Central China, and North China. By then, which city in the country won't have Anjia? If Philip boards my ship now, he'll be the first one in first class!"

Shen Kang's words were firm and resounding.

"Looking at it now, you might think I got a good deal. But if you ask me, it's quite the opposite; you've made a huge profit!"

"Whichever brand first partners with Anjia will then follow Anjia's service personnel, knocking on doors in every household. Three years later, when Anjia has expanded to 100 cities, what will Philips' position in the small home appliance market have to do with Oral-B? What will Braun have to do with it?"

Shen Kang confidently countered with a question.

"Payment terms, training, promotional vehicles—what are these compared to what you'll earn in the future? This is just initial investment. Give me a Land Rover Range Rover now, and wherever I settle down, Philip's GG will go. Isn't that more cost-effective than renting a display space in the store? How much does a display space in the store cost per month? That money could buy a Land Rover Range Rover, which I could drive for several years."

Shen Kang let it slip.

Before he knew it, Mr. Shen blurted out, "I can run this business for several years."

However, Liang Siyuan did not pay attention to this small detail.

He simply stared at Shen Kang and asked, "Mr. Shen, are you so confident that your Anjia business can cover a hundred cities?"

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Shen Kang shook his head. "Not a hundred cities, but number one."

He held up one finger.

"Number one in the country."

President Shen exudes an aura of dominance.

Then he shrugged.

"That's why I think that Director Liang's current obsession with exclusivity, pricing, and payment terms shows a narrow-minded perspective."

"You should talk to me about how Philip managed to snag the first ticket, because if you're too late, the seats will be reserved for Siemens, Panasonic, and Samsung. These brands won't hesitate like you; when they see my order, their first reaction will be to sign it."

"You might think the conditions I'm offering are a bad deal now, but let me tell you, that's the price Anjia is paying today. Once Anjia expands to a hundred cities, the price won't be the same if you want to get on board."

After finishing speaking, Shen Kang leaned back.

Whether or not one joins the National Revolutionary Army in 45 is actually not a big deal.

If I don't join, that's my original plan. If I do join, I can take advantage of Philip's sinking ship, knock some nails off, and fleece some capitalist sheep—I won't lose either way—of course, this can only be achieved on the basis of fair cooperation.

For a moment, no one spoke in the private room.

Zhang Demin sat to the side, looking at Shen Kang.

At first, he thought, like Liang Siyuan, that President Shen had refused, but now, after listening and observing... it seems that's not the case.

This Mr. Shen is frighteningly sincere.

He seemed genuinely to think he was giving Philip a chance.

Zhang Demin had never seen such an arrogant distributor in his life. He was both surprised and secretly pleased.

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