Excuse me, may I borrow your restroom?
That's right, Huang He's reason was perfectly normal.
As you get older, you sometimes can't hold it in. What's wrong with asking to borrow your restroom?
Muttering to himself, Huang He slowly ambled towards the conference room door... completely ignoring the fact that the restroom and the conference room were in opposite directions.
That's right, as an old man, it's easy to get confused about directions.
By the time Huang He sauntered to the conference room door, he found it already crowded with people.
They were all the very people who had loudly declared they would absolutely not yield to Wang Yu, yet after turning away, they had all detoured back!
"Ahem! I was just here to borrow a restroom."
Feeling the collective gaze of everyone, Huang He's old face flushed red, and he said awkwardly.
"Mm, yes, I was just here to borrow some water."
The factory director of the kettle factory said the same, his eyes scanning around.
"Uncle borrowing a restroom, and you borrowing water?"
Brother Hu, standing beside them, had a face so red it looked like he was constipated. He bit his lip hard, desperately trying not to laugh.
Because he knew that if he laughed, these people might get embarrassed and actually leave.
And his own uncle might even kick his butt...
"That's right, I just need to borrow some toilet paper."
"Yes, yes, I just dropped a pen in the conference room, I'll come back for it later."
The crowd, each finding their own excuse, figured the reasons were just for show, and whether anyone believed them was another matter.
They all crouched by the conference room door, waiting for Wang Yu to appear.
...
Inside the conference room, Wang Yu looked relaxed, gently sipping his tea. In stark contrast to him were the Ice Bear Kingdom's representatives, their faces etched with misery, as if burdened by deep-seated grievances.
"My dear Wang, your terms are a bit too harsh."
Makarov spoke on behalf of the group.
"Our equipment is top-of-the-line. Take, for example, my four five-axis CNC machine tools.
We specifically imported them from the Island Nation at great cost to produce parts for aircraft carriers.
To withstand the pressure from Uncle Sam, we paid an exorbitant price to the Island Nation back then. And after our own improvements, their efficiency and precision are a hundred times that of ordinary lathes!
To put it bluntly, your entire country might not even have such advanced machine tools! Converted to your currency, each one is at least 2 million!
Don't think I'm exaggerating to scare you; they are worth that price. Furthermore, such high-end equipment is often unavailable even with money. I'm telling you, it's not just about who pays; otherwise..."
Makarov went on and on, his expression and demeanor best described as indignant, as if Wang Yu had stolen his wife.
His eloquence was a stark contrast to his rugged appearance!
As his spittle flew, Wang Yu subtly moved his teacup away, preventing it from being splashed.
Wang Yu knew that what Makarov said was the truth. Physical manufacturing is extremely capital-intensive, which is why so many companies in later generations wanted to go into finance, the internet, and real estate.
High-end equipment and technology are often subject to commercial monopolies.
In his previous life, those great powers dared to sell tiny components that cost a few dozen yuan for thousands or tens of thousands.
Not only would they refuse to negotiate, but if they were in a bad mood one day, or their factory caught fire, they would simply cut off supply.
No matter how much you cursed internally, you had to smile and appease them, because you couldn't produce it yourself.
And once you could produce it yourself, those great powers would suddenly feel fine, their safety measures would improve, fires would stop happening, prices would plummet, and they would constantly call you an old customer and sell at bargain prices...
"Since Mr. Makarov, you say it's so difficult, perhaps I shouldn't ask for this machine tool. It's not good to force things."
Wang Yu lowered his head slightly, sipping his tea.
"Uh..."
Makarov, who had been speaking eloquently, suddenly fell silent, like a rooster whose throat had been squeezed.
"That..." Makarov looked at Wang Yu with a conflicted expression.
"Actually, considering our close friendship, it's not impossible to negotiate. One machine tool at 2 million, or if you buy all four, it'll be 6 million."
Makarov said to Wang Yu, "I'm giving you this discounted price purely out of our close friendship. It's really not expensive."
Wang Yu just chuckled at this.
To Makarov and his group now, this equipment was nothing more than scrap metal.
Under the economic crisis, their factories had no orders to keep them running. No matter how advanced the equipment, it was useless.
The price of 2 million was still outrageous!
"I have no doubt about Mr. Makarov's sincere friendship, but my factory is too weak, I'm afraid we can't afford it! So I can only regretfully thank you for your kindness."
Wang Yu smiled, a look of deep regret on his face.
"Uh, this..."
The muscles around Makarov's eyes twitched. Why wasn't Wang Yu playing by the usual rules?
Ask a high price, then negotiate down – isn't that the basic way of doing business? Why was he refusing outright? How was he supposed to respond?
"Actually, the price could be slightly lower."
Makarov said cautiously to Wang Yu.
"I can't help it, my small business can't afford to dabble in such matters."
Wang Yu sighed, his expression still unyielding.
"Well... actually, we can still negotiate the price. Our friendship is so deep, why don't you just make an offer?"
Makarov urged Wang Yu.
"It's just that I'm afraid my offer will be too low and will affect our friendship!"
Wang Yu sighed helplessly.
"It's fine, just make an offer first," Makarov quickly said.
"100,000 each, I'll buy two. If you bundle all four, I'll pay 300,000."
Wang Yu's direct offer stunned everyone.
My goodness, that's not how you bargain! Others cut the price in half; you're wiping off a zero!
"I said my price was too low. So it's unworthy of our friendship..."
Before Wang Yu could finish speaking, Makarov slammed his hand on the table.
"Sold!"