12dz Chapter 645 A Two-birds-with-one-stone approach
Chapter 645 A Two-birds-with-one-stone approach
After hanging up the phone, Li Xiangyang felt much relieved, but still felt he should make more preparations.
The next morning, Li Xiangyang met with Zhang Xiaowei, Lao Ma, and Xiao Li separately and told them about the plan to safely evacuate their family members.
"Boss, won't doing this alert them?" Zhang Xiaowei asked, somewhat worried.
"No, we'll arrange it naturally," Li Xiangyang reassured him. "Just say your daughter is going to the county to attend an extracurricular class, Lao Ma says his mother is going to the county hospital for a checkup, and Xiao Li says his wife is going to take care of relatives in the county."
Having done all that, Li Xiangyang then began preparing for the next step.
“Now we can go all out,” Li Xiangyang said to Wang Ergou. “Tonight we’ll put on another show.”
At 7 p.m., Li Xiangyang deliberately answered an "emergency phone call" at the factory gate.
"What? Hualian wants to cancel the cooperation? How is that possible!" His voice was loud enough for everyone in the guardhouse to hear. "No, I have to go to Guangzhou right away. This contract absolutely cannot be lost!"
After saying that, he hurriedly ran to the parking lot and drove straight to the county town. In reality, he simply booked a room at a hotel in the county town, then quietly returned to the vicinity of the factory and hid in a position where he could observe the factory gate.
Sure enough, less than an hour later, two cars pulled up near the factory. Four people got out of the cars, walked around the factory, and then one of them took out his phone and made a call.
"The boss really went to Guangzhou. Our people just saw him drive away."
Although Li Xiangyang couldn't hear the specifics, he could tell from their actions that they were confirming his whereabouts.
After a while, the leader made another phone call, this time a little louder. Li Xiangyang vaguely heard a few keywords: "tomorrow," "negotiation," and "acquisition."
It seems the other side is indeed about to take action.
The next morning, Li Xiangyang deliberately did not appear at the factory. He had Wang Ergou take over the daily operations as the acting factory manager, while he hid in an empty room on the third floor of the office building, observing the factory through the window.
Around 10 a.m., the four people seen the night before swaggered into the factory gate. Following Li Xiangyang's instructions, the gatekeeper, Xiao Wang, pretended to stop them briefly, then "reluctantly" let them in.
"We want to see your boss." The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a suit and tie, but with a cunning look in his eyes.
“Our boss went to Guangzhou yesterday. If there’s anything, you can talk to our Deputy Factory Director Wang,” the gatekeeper, Xiao Wang, replied.
The middle-aged man and his companion exchanged a glance, clearly pleased with the news.
"Alright, please have Deputy Factory Director Wang come over here."
Wang Ergou quickly arrived at the guardhouse. He pretended to be anxious, as if the factory had really encountered some difficulties.
"Who are you?" Wang Ergou asked.
"We're from Huasheng Investment Company." The middle-aged man handed over a business card. "We've heard your factory is currently facing financial difficulties, and we'd like to discuss an acquisition."
Wang Ergou took the business card and glanced at it, feigning surprise: "Acquisition? This... Boss Li didn't mention selling the factory to me."
“We understand that your factory’s cash flow is about to dry up, and if you don’t inject funds in time, you may face bankruptcy,” another tall, thin man said. “Rather than waiting for bankruptcy, it’s better to sell it off sooner rather than later and preserve some assets.”
Wang Ergou feigned difficulty: "This is a big matter; I, as a deputy factory director, cannot make the decision."
"When is your boss coming back?" the middle-aged man asked.
“It’s not so certain. He said he’d stay in Guangzhou for a few days to try and salvage that big client,” Wang Ergou shook his head. “But judging from the situation, the chances aren’t great. Hualian’s attitude is very firm; they say they don’t trust our delivery capabilities.”
Upon hearing this, a hint of excitement flashed in the eyes of the group.
“Well then,” the middle-aged man said, “we can wait for your boss to return before we discuss this formally. But time is money; the longer we delay, the lower the factory’s value will be.”
“I understand what you mean.” Wang Ergou nodded. “Why don’t you leave your contact information, and I’ll let you know as soon as the boss gets back?”
“Okay.” The middle-aged man handed over another slip of paper. “This is my phone number. Remember, our patience is limited.”
After the group left, Li Xiangyang came downstairs with a serious expression.
"They're really greedy," Wang Ergou said. "Judging from their attitude, they want to take advantage of our difficulties and buy us at a low price."
"Now we can confirm that all those acts of sabotage were intended to create the illusion that we were facing financial difficulties," Li Xiangyang analyzed. "Their tactics are very sophisticated; this is probably not the first time they've done something like this."
"So what's our next step?"
Li Xiangyang thought for a moment: "Keep acting. This afternoon, release some more information saying that my negotiations in Guangzhou failed and that Hualian is indeed canceling the cooperation. Then imply that the factory really can't hold on any longer and might have to be sold."
"I understand." Wang Ergou nodded. "But if this continues, won't the employees start to believe it too?"
“This is indeed a problem.” Li Xiangyang pondered for a moment, then a glint of light flashed in his eyes. “However, it may not necessarily be a bad thing.”
Wang Ergou looked at him suspiciously: "What do you mean?"
“Since we’re going to put on an act, we should do it thoroughly,” Li Xiangyang said slowly. “I’ve decided to pay all employees three months’ salary in advance. Those who want to stay, we’ll weather this storm together; those who want to leave, we won’t force them, consider it compensation.”
Wang Ergou's eyes widened: "Three months' salary? That's a considerable sum!"
“I know,” Li Xiangyang nodded. “In the short term, this will indeed put a strain on our finances. But in the long run, the employees who stay during difficult times are the truly trustworthy ones. This is more important for our future development.”
He paused, then continued, "Moreover, there's another advantage to doing this. Seeing our 'do-or-die' approach will make the acquirers even more convinced that we're truly at our wits' end."
Wang Ergou nodded thoughtfully: "That's a way to kill two birds with one stone. But what if too many people leave?"
"The fact that so many people left shows that they were never the kind of people who could share hardships," Li Xiangyang said calmly.
That afternoon, Li Xiangyang had Wang Ergou convene a meeting of all employees.
The conference room was crowded with people, and the employees were whispering among themselves, their faces showing worry.
The recent financial crisis that has been making headlines in the factory has everyone on edge.