196: A plain and simple business war: watering the money tree with boiling water!

According to Qinchuan morning news reports, the new products produced by Julong Steel Factory, such as ballpoint pen tips and fountain pen nibs, were highly sought after by major stationery manufacturers, all of which were demanding exclusive usage rights.

"When did this happen? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Nie Erhu said furiously.

The administrative assistant whispered, "The report was broadcast by Qinchuan TV Station at 7:00 this morning, but other companies had already been in contact with Julong Steel since yesterday afternoon."

"We were clearly the ones who... Immediately! Right now! Book me the earliest flight to Qinchuan right away. They want to steal business from Twilight Stationery? In their dreams!"

As Nie Erhu was about to leave, the assistant reminded him, "President Nie, it is rumored that President He of Liwang Stationery has let it be known that he intends to spend 50 million to secure the authorization from Julong Steel, seemingly to force other participants to back down."

"Liwang Stationery? Aren't they busy with laser printers and consumables? Why are they meddling in the stationery field again?" Nie Erhu asked, puzzled.

"President Nie, shouldn't we also increase our offer?" the assistant suggested.

Nie Erhu hesitated for a moment: "Go book the ticket first; we'll talk once we get to Qinchuan."

The assistant nodded heavily and left, but returned shortly after.

"Is the ticket booked?" Nie Erhu asked.

The assistant said bitterly, "No."

"Then why aren't you going quickly? If you wait any longer, the early flight will be gone."

"President Nie, I don't know who did it, but all the direct flights to Qinchuan have been booked up."

"What? Booked up? How is that possible? What about business class and premium seats? Are those gone too?"

"They're all gone. I even checked several other nearby airports; there are no tickets left at all."

How could that be! Direct flight tickets to Qinchuan were always 50% off; how could they suddenly be sold out?

A sleazy-looking man suddenly appeared in Nie Erhu's mind: "Damn it, it must be that old ghost He from Liwang. We haven't even settled the score from when he poured boiling water on my money tree last time, and now he actually wants to trap me by buying up all the tickets."

"Liwang Stationery? President Nie, what should we do now?"

"Drive to Qinchuan. It's only a thousand kilometers; if we drive fast, we can get there by the afternoon."

Nie Erhu gritted his teeth: "Take two drivers, we're leaving right now."

Half an hour later, a top-spec GL8 minivan was speeding down the highway, drawing curses from a crowd of drivers along the way.

"Damn it! Driving that fast, are you in a rush to reincarnate?"

"Don't curse, that's a GL8!"

"Going a thousand miles to fetch the company seal, pedal to the metal, it only takes less than 4 hours."

"Are you bragging? The GL8 isn't a fighter jet, can it really be that fast?"

"Trying to race a GL8? You must have a death wish, kid."

"In the eyes of a GL8 driver, traffic rules simply do not exist."

Nie Erhu set off at 7:30 in the morning and sped all the way. As a result, before noon at 12:00, he had already exited the Qinchuan highway.

"President Nie, the highway toll is over seven hundred," the assistant said.

Nie Erhu didn't care at all: "Not too expensive, and the speed was decent."

"But President Nie, we also have 6,300 in speeding tickets," the assistant said with a bitter smile.

"Is a mere 6,300 anything to worry about?"

"There's also 36 points deducted for speeding; three driver's licenses have been completely wiped out."

"Stop talking nonsense, grab the company seal and come with me. We must get the contract negotiated today."

That afternoon, the group met with Lu Shenwei again.

"President Nie, how were the test results?"

"Could there be any problems with something produced by Julong Steel?"

Nie Erhu kept a very humble posture. Lu Shenwei said, "Regarding our price..."

Before he could finish, Nie Erhu spoke up immediately: "You know that I was the first to talk to your factory about cooperation, so everyone else should definitely step aside. I won't ramble on; a flat price of 75 million for exclusive authorization, how about it?"

The old ghost He from Liwang Stationery had already offered a high price of 70 million. To get Lu Shenwei to agree, he couldn't offer any less than that.

"This... this price is quite appropriate."

Lu Shenwei had originally intended to say to just go with yesterday's price, never expecting that Nie Erhu would increase the stakes himself.

It was a favor to help him out; if President Nie wanted to give away money, he couldn't very well stop him.

"Really? Then shall we sign the agreement now?" Nie Erhu said excitedly.

Whether it was 70 million or 80 million, as long as he could get the authorization from Julong Steel, the money spent could be recouped on the A-share market.

The green leeks now loved Julong Steel concept stocks the most. Look at Nifeng Express; after getting involved with Julong Steel, its stock price had doubled in just three months.

And Crazy Rabbit Express, which hadn't been able to latch onto the Julong Steel concept, had suffered seven consecutive limit-down days. Bai Jie was about to go crazy.

"Sign now? Sure, but the company seal is still at the factory," Lu Shenwei said seriously.

Nie Erhu was all smiles: "As long as you sign it, that's fine. We can stamp it tomorrow."

"If you're not in a rush, President Nie, I can mail the agreement to you later."

"Don't do that. I happen to be free these two days, I can wait."

Just kidding. He was still waiting for the stamped agreement to boost the stock price; how could he go back now?

Seeing that Nie Erhu had no intention of leaving, Lu Shenwei arranged for someone to stamp it that afternoon.

Half an hour later, Twilight Shares issued an announcement on the A-share market, announcing that it had reached a cooperation with Julong Steel and successfully overcome technical difficulties regarding ballpoint pen tips, fountain pen nibs, and lighter gaskets, causing an uproar among investors.

【Damn it, why is the news so sudden? I haven't even gotten on board yet, and it's already hit the daily limit?】

【That's outrageous! Wasn't it said before that Liwang Stationery had a chance to secure the cooperation with Julong Steel? How did President Nie suddenly issue an announcement?】

【President He of Liwang wanted to work a miracle with brute force and just throw money at it, but Twilight Stationery got there first. Besides, their offer wasn't low either—75 million in hard cash.】

Seeing his own stock price skyrocketing, Nie Erhu didn't forget the one who helped him.

"Director Lu, I have a cultural and creative idea that might help your factory earn a bit more."

Nie Erhu said leisurely while holding the phone.

Cultural and creative products? Steel artwork?

"What do you mean? I don't have the energy to deal with anything too complicated."

"It's not very difficult. It's just combining the ballpoint pen tips, fountain pen nibs, and lighter gaskets into handicrafts. You don't need to worry about sales; our offline Twilight Stationery stores will be responsible for selling them."

"That's an idea. I'll think it over and contact you later," Lu Shenwei said.

He wouldn't refuse easy money that wasn't too complicated.

"There's one more thing; I hope Director Lu can give me some advice."

"Go ahead, as long as I can help."

"Twilight Stationery has released a new children's watch, the kind with a quartz movement. I was thinking that you have a wide network, Director Lu, so could you help us find a partner company for button batteries?"

Nie Erhu was killing two birds with one stone; while helping Lu Shenwei solve a problem, he hadn't forgotten his own troubles.

Twilight Stationery had launched a new children's watch with a price of just over a hundred, but they were having trouble choosing button batteries.

The quality of domestic button batteries was uneven, and the price of those produced by Eagle Sauce overseas was too high. After much thought, Nie Erhu finally sought help from Lu Shenwei, as in his view, Lu Shenwei had many connections.