Wang Yu’s question was met with a grunt from Wu Lingling, who then tossed her head back. Wang Yu, accustomed to her habits, knew this was an admission of guilt stemming from her shyness. All goods from his factory required cash upfront; no one was allowed to extend credit without his explicit order, not even Wu Lingling. Moreover, he hadn't heard of her extending any credit so far. This meant… Wu Lingling had collected the payments from these distributors but hadn't used them to pick up the vehicles from Wang Yu. Instead, she had first used the funds to procure supplies for the Ice Bear Kingdom, intending to pick up the vehicles from Wang Yu after payment was received. She was essentially double-dipping, no different from the leveraged capital operations of real estate speculation groups in later eras! The only difference was that her operation carried virtually no risk. Both the Ice Bear Kingdom and the distributors dealt in absolute necessities; they would never abandon the transaction. The only complication was the slow capital turnover. This woman! Wang Yu shook his head. He understood Wu Lingling's ambition: to rapidly expand her trading company and achieve the modest goal of one hundred million yuan set by her father. Despite Wu Lingling’s current success, she was still a long way from that target, especially since their agreement specified a net profit of one hundred million, after deducting all expenses! Perhaps feeling uncomfortable under Wang Yu’s gaze, Wu Lingling pouted and quietly said, "Well… I couldn't help it… my cash flow is very tight." Under Wang Yu’s stare, she spoke a few more words before falling silent.
“Miss Lingling, even if your cash flow is tight, you can’t use our money for your operations?” Hu Pangzi and the others were immediately displeased. “Do you know how fierce the competition is in our market right now? Jiang Ping Machinery Industrial Company has also launched products identical to ours and is fiercely competing for market share. They have the backing of traditional agricultural machinery company channels, making them very formidable competitors!”
“Oh? You say Jiang Ping Machinery Industrial Company has also launched a similar product?” Wang Yu’s interest was piqued, and he inquired further.
“That’s right. If you don’t look at the logos, they’re almost identical, just like…” Hu Pangzi hesitated before slowly saying, “Just like that batch of imitation products from the agricultural machinery factory back then. They seem to be cast from the same mold. The only difference is that the issue of frame beam breakage has been completely resolved.”
The agricultural machinery factory? Zhao Tao? A figure suddenly flashed through Wang Yu’s mind. That fellow Zhao Tao had been missing for a long time, rumored to have vanished into thin air. He had been in possession of Wang Yu’s new agricultural machinery design drafts. Although those drafts had severe safety hazards, a careful study of their products, compared to the ones sold by their automotive factory, should have revealed the reasons for the problems. At the very least, it was possible to reverse-engineer the design and fix the issues, even without fully understanding the underlying principles. Based on Wang Yu’s understanding of Zhao Tao, since he chose to flee, the possibility of him selling the design blueprints to others for a profit was very high. And the buyer being Jiang Ping Machinery Industrial Company, owned by Zhao Guozhu, the president of the Machinery Industry Association who had previously been at odds with Wang Yu, was perfectly logical. After all, only they had the means to acquire such blueprints and a market for them. Furthermore, the enemy of my enemy is my friend; Wang Yu felt it was highly likely Zhao Tao would do something like this!
“Originally, we had suppressed the people from the agricultural machinery company with our product advantage, preventing them from even lifting their heads. But now, with this product, they are regaining significant market share. They are also imitating our light trucks and small dump trucks, although the results are not as good,” Hu Pangzi continued. When discussing business, his eyes filled with shrewdness. “This puts us in a very passive position. After all, the people from the agricultural machinery company have monopolized the market for too long. In terms of connections, capital, and strength, we are no match for them. Now, we can only rely on the first-mover advantage of being the first to enter the market…”
Listening to Hu Pangzi, Wang Yu nodded. It was like a race between a tortoise and a rabbit; only by running first and not stopping could they gain an advantage. And now, with Wu Lingling having diverted their funds, causing delays in the delivery of the agricultural vehicles, it was naturally having a significant impact on them.
“Alright, don’t be so downcast,” Wang Yu pondered for a moment, quickly piecing together the crucial parts of the situation. He then smiled at Hu Pangzi and the others. “Lingling’s delay in your payments was actually at my instruction.”
This statement stirred up a tempest! The moment Wang Yu spoke, everyone was stunned, and then an uproar ensued. “Factory Director Wang? At your instruction? Why? Do you know how difficult we are facing right now?” “Exactly, it’s not easy for us brothers. All our capital has been invested, and we’re barely able to put food on the table. How could you do this, Factory Director Wang?”
… Everyone spoke up, and even Wu Lingling’s expression changed. She looked at Wang Yu incredulously. The misappropriation of funds was her own private action; why would Wang Yu take the blame? “What nonsense are you talking about? It was clearly me…” Wu Lingling’s words were cut short as Wang Yu placed a hand on her head. The height difference, with Wang Yu being a head taller, allowed him to easily press down on her, stopping her from speaking.
“It was clearly my request of you!” With these words, he silenced Wu Lingling, preventing her from speaking further. Then, Wang Yu’s gaze swept over the surrounding distributors. “I know you are all anxious. In fact, the reason your funds have not resulted in timely delivery of vehicles is that I am developing a new generation of agricultural vehicles! They will be of better quality, more efficient, and with no increase in cost compared to the initial generation of new agricultural vehicles! Because the development of the new product has been slightly delayed, it has caused the inability to deliver on time. However, it will be resolved soon. And I guarantee that by the end of next week at the latest, you will all receive your vehicles. Compared to the older models and Jiang Ping Machinery Company’s products, they will have an absolute competitive advantage! If you don’t believe me, you can stay here and supervise me to ensure I don't abscond!”
Wang Yu’s words quieted everyone down. A new generation of agricultural vehicles? And a product with an absolute competitive advantage? If that were true, then waiting a bit longer would be acceptable! Considering Wang Yu’s usual astonishing methods, everyone felt reassured. They didn’t believe Wang Yu would abscond over this. So, it was just a false alarm; they thought Wu Lingling had embezzled their funds, but it turned out they were releasing a new product! Everyone was finally appeased. Wu Lingling, however, looked at Wang Yu with a peculiar gaze. Wang Yu also deliberately winked at her.
“Factory Director Wang, we all trust you. But what if we don’t get our vehicles within a week, or if the vehicles don’t have the absolute competitive advantage you mentioned?” However, at this moment, someone in the crowd spoke up with opposition!