April 6 at 10 a.m. sharp.

After half a year of preparation, the cooperation negotiation of Fuhua Shipbuilding was officially launched at Jiujin Manor in Kyoto, Japan.

The morning was just the opening scene, and the two sides completed the morning procedure smoothly in a relaxed atmosphere.

On behalf of Helian Shipbuilding, Heishi Matsui submitted the equipment and technical information planned by the foreign party to the Fuhua Shipbuilding Preparatory Office.

On behalf of Xuyang Group, Ms. Chen Yiyi handed over the existing site, equipment and technical data of Zhongtian Shipping Company to United Shipping.

There are several reports, drawings, and data, all of which are very professional, and most of them are not understood by Zhu Tong.

Over the next three days, think tanks and expert groups from both sides began a general review of the information and exchanged preliminary views on more important equipment and technical issues. The professional technicians of both sides will then devote themselves to tedious desk work until the end of the negotiations.

Qian Ding's two assistants were brought with him, and the fog almost became a communication center, maintaining 24-hour uninterrupted contact with the expert team in Shanghai. Zhu Tong also assigned Xiao Xiao and Ye Er to his dispatch, and Yu Lan volunteered to join in. A large amount of technical data needs to be transmitted, which is the most labor-intensive.

On the morning of 7 April, in the reception room of Jiujin Fenglu, the highlight of the negotiations officially began.

Zhu Tong and Smith are the protagonists of course, and Xiao Xiao and Sireya sit next to them as their respective secretaries and assistants. Mr. Wenger appeared in front of Zhu Tong for the first time as an assistant to Smith. Smith said he needed a translator, and Mr. Wenger must have spoken good Chinese.

Heishi Matsui and Ms. Chen Yiyi attended as stakeholders, and Kazuo Ikeda, as the representative of Ms. Yukimi Iike, sat at the end of the long table with the mediator, Lord Hamilton, in his capacity as president of the Iike Foundation.

The atmosphere of harmony lasted only ten minutes, the smell of gunpowder gradually rose on the negotiating table, and the first step to be decided was the timetable for negotiations.

Different from the joint venture negotiation, Fuhua Shipbuilding was divided into two parts due to the complexity of the shareholding structure and the investor. The technical equipment part is similar to other joint venture projects, cumbersome and specific. The main battlefield is in the distribution of interests, that is, the division of shares, the allocation of board members, and the proportion of capital contribution in the infrastructure part. Zhu Tong and Smith have been fighting openly and secretly for so long, in order to take the initiative in this regard.

Zhu Tong pointed out at the beginning that the Fuhua Shipbuilding project has been delayed for a year, and the negotiations should have a final result before the end of April. Regardless of whether the parties cooperate or not, April 30 is the deadline.

Smith disagreed, arguing that Fuhua Shipbuilding was a multibillion-dollar project of the century, involving too many details and too many points of disagreement between the two sides, and it was impossible to reach a consensus in just three weeks.

"Details? Well, you're talking about the details. Zhu Tong picked up a document and threw it in front of Smith; Here's a list of equipment from Orton, may I ask Mr. Smith, how much can you read? ”

"It's not our job." Smith threw it back in front of Zhu Tong without looking; "We all have specialists, and it's their job."

"So, what are you sitting here for?" Zhu Tong asked.

"I'm the chairman of the board of directors of United Shipping."

"Why you, and not someone else?"

"Because I have enough shares, we paid a lot of money for this partnership."

"So, you've invested so much money, the sooner you can complete the negotiations, the sooner you can benefit you and your shareholders. I think you're a very irresponsible chairman. ”

"To approach negotiations carefully is to be accountable to shareholders. We've been waiting for a year and won't care about waiting another month or two. You know, some of the experts we hire are in Europe, and they need time to study your stuff in detail, and if necessary, field trips. It takes time, and three weeks is simply not enough. Smith seemed to have a good handful of cards in his hand, smoking a cigar leisurely.

"I don't have that much time. Mr. Smith, I must make it clear that if negotiations are not completed by the end of April, I will be visiting several shipyards in Europe, and it is unlikely that I will have time to sit at a table with you again until at least July. ”

"July." Smith blinked, confused; However, he soon realized something: "No, it must not be delayed until July." We have to get everything done by the end of June. ”

The right to use 15 percent of Lan Zhanjiang's shares is only half a year, which means that it expires in July. If negotiations are not completed by this deadline, and if Matsui is on Zhu Tong's side, Smith will lose his controlling stake in the ship.

"The choice is yours, either complete the negotiations by the end of April, or wait for me to come back from the inspection. There are four shipbuilding companies in Europe that want to exchange views with us, and our experts suggest that they should stay in Ukraine for a few more days, and the situation at the Chervochik shipyard is similar to that of the Fukui shipyard, whose technology is a little crude but the asking price is reasonable. In the meantime, you can go back to China to find out if there are any other partners? I haven't been to Europe yet and I'm looking forward to it. Mr. Smith has been in Shanghai for almost a year, and I should know that I haven't been out of Asia yet. ”

Arsene Wenger whispered something in Smith's ear, and he translated every word of Zhu Tong well. With only the level of translation, Wenger seems to be more professional than Xiao Xiao.

Smith looked at Lord Hamilton uneasily, the lord was calm on the surface, but in his heart he was shouting: this scoundrel, he is blackmailing!

However, in the face of blackmail, there is no good way to do it for the time being, except for compromise. The Lord wiped his mustache and signaled that Smith didn't have to dwell too much on the issue, and that time was of the essence to both parties.

The next step is to discuss the schedule, and Zhu Tong and Smith are not good at details. Fortunately, there is a team of experts behind both sides, and Xiao Xiao and Sireya both have a plan in their hands. The exchange of readings took a small hour and a half. In the meantime, each side returned to his assistant several times to ask for advice, and gradually reached a consensus and finalized a timetable.

Before signing, Zhu Tong made another suggestion.

"Since it is a timetable that has been set by both sides, it is necessary to respect its seriousness and authority. In my opinion, there has to be an additional clause. ”

"What additional terms?" Smith has been through many similar negotiations, and this is not the first time he has encountered such a difficult negotiator, and he is always extremely careful. Otherwise, a simple schedule won't waste that much time, that's part of the trick.

But Zhu Tong's opponent is really the first time he has encountered it, he used to dig pits for others, and now, what he is most afraid of Zhu Tong will do in front of the pit and what the store will do.

"Penalty clause." Zhu Tong took out another document; "The sooner Fuhua Shipbuilding starts construction, the sooner it will bring benefits to our shareholders, and none of us has the right to waste shareholders' time. Every day represents a huge amount of money. ”

Smith took it and looked at it carefully, and like Kazuo Ikeda and Lord Hamilton, Matsui Heishi and Chen Yiyi also got a copy of the same document, and looked at it, with a slight smile on the corner of his mouth. The document was tantamount to handcuffing and shackling Smith. If you want to play any tricks, you must first think about the consequences.

The document is not long, only a thin five pages, and it lists 12 articles that govern the conduct of both parties. There is a lot of content on the negotiation timetable, but it does not have much practical significance.

There are only three key points, of which Article 6 stipulates that this cooperation must be an all-round cooperation, and in order to protect the interests of shareholders to the greatest extent, no party can cooperate with a third party in any way and to a certain extent. This is to prevent Smith from taking advantage of the Fuhua project and adopting a spin-off or technology transfer to form a separate joint venture shipyard.

Article 7 is more fatal, Zhu Tong proposed that in order to reduce unnecessary legal disputes, once the contract is signed, no one is allowed to pretend to interpret the laws or rules of any country in different meanings, otherwise it will be regarded as a betrayal of Fuhua Shipbuilding and will be regarded as an automatic waiver of all rights, including shares.

Article 9 means that no member of the board of directors shall transfer or sell his shares in his name in any way until the Fuhua shipbuilding project is fully completed, and the board of directors has the right to decide whether to sue the defaulting party for double penalties.

It's a deed, and as long as you sign your name on it, you have to keep it if it's legal or not.

"You're wasting your time!" Sure enough, Smith adamantly disagreed with the signing of the add-on clause and angrily left the negotiating table.

The first formal negotiations between the two sides ended in an unhappy breakup.

Zhu Tong followed before he stood up and stopped Mr. Wenger, who was about to leave with Smith.

"Sir, please wait a minute."

"Mr. Li?" Arsene Wenger stopped.

"I would like to remind you that any guest is welcome in Shanghai, regardless of his purpose. But I don't like to see Mr. Wenger in Shanghai again, you know what I mean? ”

Zhu Tong spoke in Chinese, and Xiao Xiao translated it word by word, the same as when he negotiated just now.

Wenger looked at the cold light from behind Zhu Tong's glasses, of course he was angry in his heart, and immediately, anger turned into fear. He knows the details of Zhu Tong. In Shanghai, if Zhu Tong plots to have an accident with someone, it must not be intimidation. Because, Zhu Tong has a reason to do this, and the mastermind of the Kyoto assassination is Arsene Wenger.

"I see." Arsene Wenger forced his composure and turned and walked out of the room.

"Any questions?" Lord Hamilton walked over and asked with concern.

"No, I just wanted to get to know Mr. Smith's assistant. Unfortunately, Mr. Wenger did not seem to be interested. ”

In Ikeike's absence, Kazuo Ikeda took on the role of host, preparing a sumptuous Japanese dinner for the guests after a stressful day's work.

The unpleasantness of the afternoon did not seem to have happened at all.

Smith and Zhu Tong toasted each other to one holding a bottle and drinking each other, and after a while they were both drunk.

The role of Lord Hamilton's mediator was on display.

After two of his mediations, Zhu Tong agreed to put aside the additional clause for the time being, and proceed to the next negotiations.

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