In the conference room of Huanghai Petrochemical, members of the board of directors gathered together.

Song Jinlong looked at the notepad in his hand and said: "The situation is like this. Huafu Gas has received technical support from the American Enron Company. The technical level of the plan they proposed not only surpassed ours, but was also the best in the country, so we

In the end, we didn’t win the project.”

"So that's it. How can a company like Huafu Gas, which distributes natural gas, beat us? It turns out they hired foreign aid!"

"And this is not just an ordinary foreign aid. Enron of the United States should be the largest in the world in terms of natural gas projects, right? Their technology is also the best in the world, so we did not lose unjustly!"

"Yes, losing to Enron cannot be regarded as our mistake. It is really a non-war crime. I think if it were other domestic companies, they would definitely lose against Enron!"

Everyone spoke one after another, undoubtedly looking for a reasonable excuse for throwing away such an important project, so that they would not have to worry about being held accountable.

It’s not that I don’t work hard, it’s just that my opponent is too strong, and failure is also a non-fighting crime!

After everyone had finished making excuses, Song Jinlong continued: "After the bidding results were announced, Li Weidong, the chairman of the Puppy Group, came to me and said that he had a way to help us get this project back, provided that the New Oriental Motor Factory was sold to

he."

"Li Weidong is also a well-known big entrepreneur in China, and he has cooperated with Huanghai Petrochemical for many years. His words should be reliable, and he will not make unreliable remarks." Someone said immediately.

Another person said: "New Oriental Motor Factory was originally just a workshop of our Huanghai Petrochemical Company. Later it became independent and became a specialized factory. It is not an important core industry for us. If we can use New Oriental Motor in exchange for this project, it will definitely be worth it.

of."

"Director Song, has Li Weidong revealed what method he will use to help us get this project? After all, this is a key national project. Now that the bidding has ended, it is almost impossible to change the result." The person next to him said.

Asked.

Song Jinlong sighed and replied: "Li Weidong said that the reason why Huafu Gas can beat us is mainly because of the technical support of the American Enron Company. As long as Enron collapses and Huafu Gas loses its technical support, it will inevitably

The project will be abandoned, and then the project will be back in our hands."

"Can you imagine the collapse of Enron? This is such a logic genius!" Everyone suddenly showed various expressions.

Song Jinlong continued: "Li Weidong said that he would find a way to shut down Enron Petrochemical and help us get the project back. When the time comes, I hope we can keep our promise and sell New Oriental Electric to him."

"Shut down Enron?"

This time, everyone looked disdainful and incredulous, and you had more disdain.

The person closest to Song Jinlong thought to himself: "Would you like to give Director Song a box of peanuts?"

Then the man secretly took a breath and smelled the smell of alcohol on Song Jinlong. He probably thought that Song Jinlong had drunk too much and was still drunk, so he brought this issue to the board of directors for discussion.

If you give me a box of peanuts to go with the wine, you won't get so drunk!

The person who just said that Li Weidong was reliable had an embarrassed expression. He had just finished saying that Li Weidong was reliable, but he didn't expect that Li Weidong started telling fairy tales!

Finally, one person couldn't help but said: "Does Li Weidong know what kind of company Enron is? He wants to shut down Enron? It's a good thing that there is no bragging event in the Olympics, otherwise our Chinese team would definitely be able to win more

Get a gold medal!”

"Yeah, this bragging is too exaggerated. That's Enron! Let alone Li Weidong, even if there are a hundred Li Weidong bundled together, they can't be as rich as Enron!"

"Li Weidong has earned a lot of money over the years. It seems that people become arrogant as soon as they have money. This is true. He is still too young. Young people are prone to inflation!"

After all, Song Jinlong is the top leader. We can't say that Song Jinlong is unreliable. We can only condemn Li Weidong.

Song Jinlong also understood this, so he said: "I also think Li Weidong is talking nonsense, but I still agreed and let Li Weidong give it a try.

Everyone, I didn’t drink too much. The reason why I agreed to Li Weidong was because I thought that if Li Weidong really succeeded in bringing Enron to bankruptcy, then we would be able to get the project.

And if Li Weidong is bragging, at most we just heard a joke and have nothing to lose, since this project is not ours anyway."

"Director Song, having said that, this matter is too unreliable! Li Weidong made such an unreliable promise, and we also promised him, how can we act like children playing house? If word spreads, maybe

You will be laughed at by your peers." The eldest director said.

"I also know that it won't sound good if it is spread out, so I hope you will keep this matter secret for the sake of Huanghai Petrochemical's face." Song Jinlong paused and then said: "And what if Li Weidong really succeeds?"

"What if? There are so many what-ifs! I have been working for more than 40 years and I have never encountered such a possibility!" The elderly director looked like he was relying on his old age.

Song Jinlong sighed softly, and then said: "Lao Du, I have been working for more than thirty years, and I have only encountered two unforeseen circumstances. One was when I went to Japan to buy plastic processing equipment, and the other was when I went to the United States to buy ethylene.

Production equipment. But both times, it was Li Weidong who negotiated it! So I really have to believe in Li Weidong just a little bit!"

…

After the conference room ended, Lao Du couldn't help but ask: "What happened to the two deals that Director Song said about Li Weidong?"

Someone immediately explained: "Mr. Du, you came here after Huanghai Petrochemical was transformed into a group. You don't know what happened back then. At that time, Huanghai Petrochemical wanted to purchase a batch of plastic processing equipment, which were actually blow molding machines and injection molding machines."

machine and the like.

But at that time, our country did not know how to manufacture these products, so we could only import them. We contacted a Japanese company and planned to purchase equipment, but the Japanese quoted a price of US$100 million.

Those were the years when the country's foreign exchange was most tense, and we simply did not apply for so much foreign exchange. Moreover, the Japanese offer was really impressive. But we cannot build these equipment ourselves, so we can only let others do it.

Fish meat.

For this batch of equipment, Director Song personally led a team to Japan to negotiate with the other party. After talking for a long time, the Japanese were only willing to get a discount of one to two million US dollars.

That time we went to Japan, there were people from the Provincial Department of Foreign Trade, and Li Weidong was with the people from the Department of Foreign Trade, and when we couldn't negotiate, he took the initiative to help us negotiate with the Japanese."

"Has the negotiation with Li Weidong concluded?" Lao Du immediately asked.

"After the negotiation, the Japanese gave us a big discount. Li Weidong helped us save 45 million!" the other party replied.

"Is it RMB or Japanese yen?" After Lao Du asked this question, he immediately replied: "It should be RMB. Forty-five million yen is not much. Forty-five million yuan is equivalent to

It’s 5.5 million US dollars, which is another half discount, which is quite a lot.”

"It's 45 million U.S. dollars!" the man replied immediately.

"What? U.S. dollars? How can he cut off 45 million for something worth 100 million? This is close to half the price! The bargaining in China is not so ruthless! I'm going to the vegetable market. If you dare to bargain like this

, the vegetable seller can just kill me! How could the Japanese agree?" Lao Du said in surprise.

"In fact, the Japanese really agreed and signed the contract quickly. We paid and they shipped the goods." The other party said.

"What about the ethylene equipment?" Lao Du then asked.

"It's our large 400,000-ton ethylene project. It was purchased from Mobil at the time, but Mobil didn't actually want to sell the equipment to us. They had better customers, they were Saudis, and they were willing to pay more. Mobil

The reason for hosting us is to introduce a competitor so that the Saudis can increase their prices!" the other party explained.

"The Saudis are extremely rich. If we compare banknotes, how can we be better than the Saudis? How was that project built?" Lao Du then asked.

"It was also Li Weidong who came to negotiate. After Li Weidong talked with the top management of Mobil Company, Mobil Company immediately changed its attitude. Not only was it willing to sell equipment, but it also rushed to sign a contract with us, and finally gave us some discounts!" the other party explained.

There was an incredible expression on Lao Du's face: "What method did Li Weidong use to even deal with Mobil?"

"Who knows! Anyway, this Li Weidong is not ordinary." The man continued: "If others say that Enron will be closed down, it is absolutely impossible. But Li Weidong's words may really be so true.

One possibility!”

…

In New York City, the United States, the famous financial reporter Bethany MacLean walked into a coffee shop, and then she immediately saw a man wearing a hat and glasses sitting in the corner.

"Wearing a hat and sunglasses, I don't want others to see his appearance clearly. That should be him!"

Bethenny McClain immediately stepped forward and touched her pocket with her right hand. There was an envelope containing $200, which she planned to pay as an informant.

Not long ago, someone called Bethany McClain and said they had news tips to provide.

Bethany McClain came to the appointment without hesitation. For reporters, the so-called insider tips are a very important source of information. Maybe a tip can make a big news, so reporters often don’t let it go.

Take this opportunity.

The United States is a society that values ​​money. If you want to get the other party's information, you often need to prepare some informant fees. So Bethany McLean prepared 200 US dollars in advance. This money can already buy some financial information that is not outdated.

The inside story.

Bethany McClain walked to the table of the man in sunglasses and sat down, and then said: "Hello, I am Bethany McClain. Are you looking for me?"

"Ms. McClain, are you investigating Enron's profits?" the man in sunglasses asked.

"Do you have any information about this?" Bethany McClain said, subconsciously touching her pocket.

If the other party provides some important information, the informant fee of US$200 is really not enough, and Bethenny McClain may have to withdraw some more money from a nearby ATM.

The man in sunglasses took out a thick envelope from his arms and pushed it in front of Bethany McClain.

When Bethenny McClain saw the thickness of the envelope, she thought to herself that there was a lot of information. It seemed that the informant fee of 200 US dollars was definitely not enough.

"Let's see if this is important information first." Thinking of this, Bethany McClain opened the envelope.

However, there was no so-called breaking news inside, but a stack of US dollars!

Bethany McLean understood instantly, and she said: "Are you sent by Enron? Doesn't Enron want me to continue the investigation? So it wants to pay me hush money? It seems that there is really a problem with Enron's profitability.

Ah! Do you know that your behavior is commercial bribery? "

After several questions in a row, the man in sunglasses opposite did not panic at all. He said: "Ms. McClain, don't get me wrong, I am not from Enron. What I give you is not hush money, but sponsorship money."

!”

Bethany McLean was slightly stunned, and the man in sunglasses continued to explain: "Miss McLean, my boss knows that you are investigating Enron. But for such a big company, Enron wants to learn from the financial reports and data they released.

If you find problems, you still need a professional accountant to conduct an audit.

It costs a lot of money to hire an accountant, and it also costs money to collect relevant data. So my boss is willing to sponsor you US$20,000 to help you complete this news report on Enron's profitability issues!
To be continued...