Almost at the same time. In the Detroit-style Motor City of the United States, in the headquarters building of DaimlerChrysler AG, which had just been established in 1998 by the merger of Daimler AG and Chrysler AG, the directors of DaimlerChrysler AG sat solemnly in their luxurious offices on the top floor, discussing a matter that had reached a serious moment for DaimlerChrysler.

"Gentlemen, I need to remind you," said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler, as he looked at the other eight directors of DaimlerChrysler AG flanked himWe must immediately make a decision on whether or not to continue working with Mitsubishi Motors. ”

"I think it can be stopped," said Director Jürgen. Schrenpei nodded, "Now I don't see what cooperating with the damn Japanese can bring us in addition to dragging us down. ”

Daimler from Jürgen. Schrenpei, who is disgusted by the fact that the current Mitsubishi Pajero quality problem has caused a slight decline in sales of Mercedes-Benz cars owned by DaimlerChrysler, in the eyes of this somewhat white supremacist guy, the Japanese? Do they deserve to work with the great Daimler? From the very beginning, Jürgen. Schrenpei was opposed to DaimlerChrysler's cooperation with Mitsubishi Motors, but her voice did not form a majority on the board.

"But Mitsubishi Motors offered us more favorable terms," said one director, who disagreed. "It would be irresponsible to our shareholders and directors to let this money go unearned."

"But why do damn Mitsubishi keep raising prices? That's because they want to tie us to DaimlerChrysler and make DaimlerChrysler pay for their stupidity if necessary," said Director Bert. Yi Tong retorted, "What we got from the damn Mitsubishi Motors is far from compensating for our losses, so we lose not only money and time, but more importantly, the market." I think you know very well the reaction of the people who are buying cars in the market to our DaimlerChrysler models, and the number of sales in recent times, that there is no reason for us to pay for the stupidity of the Japanese. ”

Former Chrysler Graduate Bert Brown. Yitong, when I think of what I saw this morning, the sales of the three major brands of JEEP, Chrysler, and Dodge under the former Chrysler Corporation in the past 45 days have dropped by 3.3 percentage points year-on-year! While Japanese cars are experiencing a rare winter in the U.S. auto market, and General Motors and Ford are gearing up for a hard time, DaimlerChrysler's market share has fallen. This makes Bert. How can Yitong accept it?

"But ......" a new round of quarrels began again......

As in previous meetings, when the issue was discussed, several directors once again debated whether to immediately terminate the all-round strategic cooperation negotiations with Mitsubishi Motors, and neither side seemed to be able to convince anyone.

"Since no one can convince anyone now, I will make a decision with the right of the chairman and vote by a show of hands." Dr. Chua Che, the president and CEO, who had some headaches, pinched his eyebrows lightly and waved his hand to signal the directors to pause, "Then let's vote, how many people think this matter should be resolved immediately?" If you agree that it should be resolved immediately, please raise your hand. ”…,

"Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~" One hand after another was raised.

"Very well, seven of the nine directors are in favor of resolving this matter immediately, and according to the law, we can move on to the next procedure immediately," Dr. Chua Che nodded. "If you agree to immediately terminate negotiations with Mitsubishi Motors, please raise your hand."

After speaking, Dr. Cai Che took the lead in raising his hand and clearly expressed his attitude.

Former President of Daimler AG and currently Director and Executive Vice President of DaimlerChrysler AG. Schrenpei raised his hand.

Former Chrysler Corporation Chief Executive Officer, current member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of DaimlerChrysler AG Robert Murphy. Yi Tong raised his hand.

A hand was raised. The second hand was raised, and the third hand was raised......

Dr. Cai Che stood up with a smile on his face, "Okay, six of the nine directors are in favor and three are against, and the number of people in favor and the proportion of shares are more than half, and now I officially announce with the sacred right granted to me by the shareholders of DaimlerChrysler AG that DaimlerChrysler AG will immediately stop the cooperation plan with Mitsubishi Motors and officially hold a press conference to announce this matter in a week." ”

――――――――――――――――

The headquarters of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, located in the southwest of the city of Tokyo, Japan, looks like an old 18-story building, with a mottled and sometimes strangely colored façade that does not seem to match the name of the world's financial capital.

But what makes the mottled façade even more unbearable is that compared to the many new buildings in Tokyo, this "measant" 18-storey building occupies no less than 1,000 square meters of land here, remember, just the area of the land, not the entire floor area of the building, is a great sin enough to cut the stomach! When will Japanese people be able to be so extravagant?

How much money can be made by demolishing this dilapidated building and building a new building with a height of seventy or eighty floors on the basis of the original land! Countless ordinary Japanese people who see this building every time they pass by here always feel this way in their hearts. But strangely. It is strange that the presidents of the major trading companies, who are definitely better than themselves, have never mentioned it, as if this building is the one they are most satisfied with.

Yes, this building is not very remarkable, but those who really know something about the automobile industry will never dare to underestimate the automobile industry association of any country, and Japan, as the world's second largest automobile producer, has the energy and influence of its country's automobile industry association, which should not be underestimated.

There are many car fans all over the world, and there are many fans who can easily bring the performance data and characteristics of each car of those famous car brands in the world, but not many people know about the automobile industry associations of various countries, and even many people have never heard of this name.

To what extent do the automobile industry associations of a country have powers? Taking the American Association of Automobile Manufacturers as an example, if any motor vehicle products sold in the American market do not meet the relevant standards set by the American Automobile Manufacturers Association, then sorry, no matter who you make the car, don't want to sell it in the American market, even if it is hand-built by the President of the United States.

This is something you can understand when you see that the Tokyo Motor Show, one of the world's top five major auto shows, is hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

In a way, the Japan Association of Automobile Manufacturers (JAMA) is an alliance of Japan's major automobile manufacturers to keep to know each other and to protect their interests and to compete with foreign car brands.

But today, outside the gate of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, there are more than a dozen people standing neatly, all of them in suits and leather shoes, standing there respectfully, looking as if they are greeting someone, if you know the identity of these people who are respectfully waiting outside. You will be surprised: Tetsu Aoki, President of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Yoshishi Fujita, Chairman of the Japan Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Naosa Akino, Manager of the External Liaison Department of Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., and Jiro Aso, Vice President of Mitsubishi Motor Co., Ltd., Deputy General Manager of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. .........,

Of course, outside the gate of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, this is not the case, and there are two or three hundred reporters carrying cameras, video cameras, and voice recorders who are all standing here, and each reporter's face is full of anxiety and excitement, as if something big is about to happen.

These people, any one of them can cause a big earthquake in the world automobile industry, who is worth waiting for so respectfully? The mayor of Tokyo does not have this qualification, could it be that the Japanese Prime Minister Puppy is going to come here to inspect? It doesn't seem right, if the puppies were coming, it didn't seem like there was a need for the top executives of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mazda, Japan's five major automakers, to wait here.

The suspense didn't make people wait long, and as a luxury convoy of Rolls-Royce Phantoms, the Emperor's Scepter, slowly approached this direction, it seemed that the Japanese seemed to be relieved.

The reporters outside the gate suddenly became excited, like sharks smelling blood, and the flash on the camera crackled at this luxurious motorcade, and countless female reporters forgot their own work, their faces flushed, and they shouted incoherently at the car when they saw the Rolls-Royce Phantom in the middle of the motorcade, the Emperor's Scepter!

These high-ranking guys in the Japanese economic circles in the courtyard did not take it easy for long, and they didn't know why when they saw the fierce black-clad bodyguards running in small steps on both sides of the convoy. I couldn't help but beat a little drum in my heart, and a few little Japanese people observed the person next to them slightly, but they secretly muttered in their hearts: Things seem to be more difficult to deal with than they imagined.

That's right, it was Xiao Chenxi and Zhang Lan who were going to greet them.

Although they may not be able to afford the Alice Group in their hearts, and they hate the Alice Group to death, they also have to admit that the Alice Group is the biggest enemy of the Japanese automobile manufacturing industry at present, stronger than any automobile manufacturing company in Japan. That's respectable, too.

The biggest reason why Zhang Lan and Xiao Chenxi came to Japan this time was also the invitation that the Japanese had sent to them before, asking everyone to sit down and give some explanations about some of the previous "misunderstandings".

Although they understand very well that this is the "drag" trick performed by the anxious Japanese who are now busy, Zhang Lan and Xiao Chenxi still came: there are some things that still need to be done.

I am afraid that the same is true in the minds of these Japanese, whether there is sincerity in the negotiations or not, but at least they have to buy some time for themselves -- the most important thing in the Japanese automobile industry now is time, and a series of previous changes have made a series of measures formulated by them useless.

It is precisely because of this that so many journalists from all walks of life gather here.

The Japanese are planning to put pressure on the Alice Group in this way, if the people of the Alice Group do not come, they will do as they wish, and then the Japanese will be all over the world shouting: Oh, everyone come to see, we sincerely hope to talk to them about the problems of the previous time, but have you seen it, the damn Alice Group didn't even come, this is not like they are the Alice Group who solved the problem!

"Miss Zhang, Mr. Zhang," Aoki Tetsu took a few steps forward with the group behind him, and bowed respectfully to welcome the two, "Welcome to the arrival of the two of you, you have worked hard all the way." ”

Although several Japanese behaved very politely, a trace of anger that flashed quickly in those eyes still did not escape the eyes of Zhang Lan and Xiao Chenxi, obviously, the insincere behavior of the Alice Group made the Japanese very unhappy. …,

But Zhang Lan obviously couldn't see the Japanese spirit, coughed lightly, and waited until these guys bent down deeply before nodding with a smile, giving people the feeling that the status of Aoki Tetsu and his party was invisibly beaten by Zhang Lan and Xiao Chenxi, "Where, where, we don't work hard, President Aoki is hard, it's such a cold day, and I trouble you to wait here for a long time." ”

Xiao Chenxi, this girl, was very unscrupulous on the side, pursing her lips and stealing fun.

Aoki Tetsu was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect Zhang Lan to answer him like this, and nodded after a moment's pause. "Where, Mr. Zhang is our honored guest, as he should be."

During this period, the sound of crackling shutters and flashing lights came and went, and they never stopped, but the things that were filmed made many Japanese reporters very unhappy.

The group of bodyguards who had just heard Zhang Lan's cough immediately released their bloody and ferocious aura that they had worked hard to restrain so as not to frighten the children, especially in this one, and deliberately straightened their waists that looked obviously bulging, and the smell of demonstration and provocation instantly spread throughout the parking spot.

Just looking at the bulging waists of the eight tall bodyguards beside Zhang Lan and Xiao Chenxi, everyone secretly felt a pang in their hearts: Obviously, what these bodyguards have pinned to their waists is definitely not a flashlight or something, it is very likely that they are real guys who can kill people!

Obviously, Xiao Chenxi and Zhang Lan's actions are to give these arrogant Japanese a disadvantage, and now it seems that their idea has succeeded, and the Japanese really eat this set! In front of the ferocity and murderous aura deliberately exuded by these guys, they knew that Zhang Lan's bodyguards would never do anything to him, but there were still people whose faces couldn't help but change some color.

After taking a deep look at these bodyguards, Aoki Tetsu obviously understood what Zhang Lan was trying to say, "Mr. Zhang, Miss Zhang, please!" ”

…………

There were many media who knew about this meeting, but the Japanese, who had miscalculated, obviously did not steal the chicken this time, but instead lost a handful of rice.

A week later, Zhang Lan and Xiao Chenxi took the special plane specially sent by Alice back to China with a smile on their faces, but none of the heads of the Japanese automobile industry, which has always been known for paying attention to etiquette, came to see off the plane......

The domestic media are quite elated to speculate, could it be that the Japanese have suffered a big loss this time? It's a pity that when the reporters asked Alice Group about this issue, the external relations department, which has always had a good relationship with the media, actually sold the guanzi this time, and occasionally those who knew the inside story of this matter also laughed and did not answer.

No one wanted to interview Xiao Chenxi, although they all knew that the daughter of the Zhang family was now becoming more and more important in the Alice Group, but since returning from Japan, Xiao Chenxi's figure has disappeared from the eyes of the media.

――――――――――――――――

"Dad, Mom. I decided to license part of the company's engine technology to the state, that is, the manufacturing technology of those all-aluminum engines and cast iron engines that we used in the early days, and now we can no longer use them. Zhang Lan said to Zhang Zongjun and Yang Zhi, "What do you think?" ”

"Huh? Why? Zhang Zongjun and Yang Zhi were taken aback, Zhang Lan's words were too shocking, making them feel a little uncomfortable, "Although we don't use these technologies, they are still the best engine technologies for other automobile companies." ”

"Son, you don't have a fever, do you? A lot of words, "Yang Zhi is more direct, he stood up directly and reached out to touch Zhang Lan's head," to determine whether his son is thinking normally now. ”

"Mom, I don't have a fever," Zhang Lan couldn't cry or laugh, "I just thought, our country's current engine technology has always been a bottleneck, restricting the development of many aspects of our country's economy, in this case, it is also time for us to repay the country and society, after all, we have earned so much from the society over the years." ”

"That's what you think?" Zhang Zongjun stared at Zhang Lan, and Yang Zhi looked at his son with a strange expression, as if he was very strange about what happened to his son today.

"Of course, or would I have come up with the idea?" Zhang Lan spread her hands ......,