I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

“Okay, I’ll do whatever you say. At least I can see a return on my investment here, unlike that conman Chen Xi who just tries to fob me off with a few hundred thousand in dividends all day long.”

Xu Yun gets furious whenever Chen Xi is mentioned.

"Haha, I dealt with him when I was in Australia, and we couldn't work together at all."

Thomas laughed.

"Oh? He tricked you too?"

"That's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore," Thomas waved his hand.

"By the way, someone as capable as you, why don't you make a name for yourself in the association? I think you're much better than Chen Xi and Lin Xi. When I become president, I'll definitely promote you to vice president!"

"No... I prefer to keep a low profile..."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Truly capable people are all low-key." Xu Yun stroked her chin thoughtfully.

Tuao.

Carsales' stock price has recently surged, thanks to a major initiative recently pushed by Norbert.

For a long time, the repair of new energy vehicles imported into Australia has been monopolized by 4S stores, making it difficult for independent repair shops to obtain business.

As new energy vehicles become increasingly popular in Australia, not only repair shop owners are dissatisfied, but car owners are also unwilling to continue to bear the high maintenance costs of 4S stores.

Norbert keenly seized this business opportunity and quickly partnered with the Australian government to launch the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information System (MVIS).

The system clearly stipulates that automakers must disclose key repair information such as vehicle diagnostic software and technical parameters to all independent repair shops on a designated official platform (AASRA) on the first day of a new car's launch, and provide it at a reasonable price (supporting daily, monthly or yearly subscriptions).

This move aims to break the monopoly of automakers in the after-sales repair market through technological barriers, protect car owners' right to choose their repair locations, and promote fair market competition.

Although most electric vehicle malfunctions are battery-related, other components such as onboard electronics, software, and chassis suspension also frequently experience problems.

Once independent repair shops can obtain this key technical information, they will be able to provide comprehensive repair services.

Norbert also publicly stated that Carsales will continue to reduce the cost of ownership for electric vehicle owners in the future.

The news sent the company's stock price soaring, catching competitor Real-Car off guard.

Carsales meeting room.

“Currently, most of the electric vehicles imported into Australia come from China and the United States, resulting in a lack of brand diversity. I recently visited Europe and South Korea, and exchanged views with local automakers, who are also vigorously developing new energy vehicles. I have reached an agreement with a South Korean battery manufacturer to use their batteries in the future. The batteries for Volkswagen, GM, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are mostly manufactured by LG, Samsung, and SK. However, SK Group's previous cooperation in supplying batteries to Mercedes-Benz has been terminated because another battery manufacturer has secured all of Mercedes-Benz's orders. This presents an opportunity for us to establish a partnership with SK Group first, and other battery manufacturers will naturally follow suit,” Norbert excitedly shared the latest developments.

"Boss, if we diversify our investments globally, won't that lead to our domestic market being eroded by competitors?" a manager expressed concern.

“The owner of Real-Car is Chinese. To defeat your rivals, you must first understand their way of thinking. Over the years, I’ve studied many books about their history and culture, and I’ve discovered that several founding emperors faced dire situations in their early years. They then led their troops on expeditions, finding alternative routes, and waited for the right opportunity to return to their home turf. This is called a strategic retreat or a grand flanking maneuver. You should all go back and read that too.” Norbert smiled and showed everyone an English version of Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Norbert continued, "According to news from Europe, major automakers may stop developing new gasoline-powered vehicles and fully shift to electric vehicles in the future, and the electric vehicle market will only grow larger. Although the boss of Real-Car and I both believe that electric vehicles are industrial waste, we should vigorously promote them as long as consumers are willing to pay for them."

“Boss, Australia is sparsely populated and electricity is expensive. Although the electric vehicle business is showing some promise, I don’t think it’s a sustainable development path. Australians are conservative; they’ve spent most of their lives in gasoline-powered cars. Take transmissions, for example: many Asian countries have long since adopted automatic transmissions, but white people in Europe, America, and Australia still prefer manual transmissions. Asking them to jump directly from manual to electric vehicles is too far ahead of their time. Current data shows that electric vehicles are mainly purchased by wealthy people for the experience, car collectors, or rental car customers. Very few people actually buy an electric vehicle and choose it as their next car. After a period of use, many users cannot accept the various drawbacks of electric vehicles. Although there are government subsidies, the continuously rising electricity prices will eventually offset the subsidy advantage, causing charging costs to approach gasoline prices, and the competitiveness of electric vehicles will disappear,” another employee added.

"There's no need to worry about that. The international situation is changing, and America's new leader is a businessman, who is naturally passionate about business. America manipulates oil prices every year, and I believe it won't be long before oil prices skyrocket," Norbert said confidently.

People remained skeptical.

Fuel prices in Australia are inherently volatile, fluctuating like stocks, and prices can vary significantly between different regions and even between different gas stations of the same brand. Therefore, no one can accurately predict fuel price trends.

In Melbourne, for example, there was a gas station where the price of gas was once nearly half that of the surrounding gas stations, causing residents to queue up to fill up their tanks, while other gas stations were deserted.

Furthermore, consumers can enjoy discounts at the supermarket's affiliated gas stations with their shopping receipts, and for higher purchases, they can even get half a tank of gas for free. These factors make most Australians still reluctant to give up gasoline-powered cars. While they were having their meeting, a meeting was also taking place in the Real-Car building across the street.

Dressed in a business suit, Liya sat in her executive chair, her hair piled high, exuding the aura of a business queen. She frowned slightly and said, “Everyone is aware of the current situation. Carsales has been silent for so long, and finally, they’ve launched a counterattack. New energy vehicles are a hot topic right now; regardless of the quality of the cars themselves, they can create a wave of hype in the capital market and make a quick buck. We must also come up with corresponding countermeasures.”

Silence fell over the conference room. After a while, Lin Yu spoke thoughtfully, “I have an idea. I remember Chen Xi once said that he didn’t consider trolleybuses as cars at all, but more like electronic products. Like mobile phones, consumers encounter problems like lag after a few years and have to replace them. Think about it, don’t mobile phones often remove some functions from older models when they are upgraded? Just like trolleybus door handles have become electronic, rearview mirrors and steering wheels will probably be fully electronic in the future. If they break down, the consequences will be unimaginable. Think about it, the autonomous driving technology that trolleybuses are now promoting is actually an evolution of cruise control. But cruise control has been around for so long and still often has problems. Some cars have experienced cruise control failure and brake failure on highways, leading to accidents and fatalities, let alone autonomous driving. Any electronic device is at risk of being infected by viruses. Once the control system malfunctions, everything is over. We can release some information to create negative news about trolleybuses and use that as a counterattack…”

“No…no. Chen Xi said before he left that if Norbert wants to make new energy vehicles, we should not only not hinder him, but also let him expand. We need to think of another way.” Liya interrupted him.

“Then let’s imitate them. They expand overseas, so can we. The goal is to drive up the stock price anyway, and it’s not difficult to create some hype overseas,” Lin Yu said, scratching his head.

“That works.” Liya nodded.

When it comes to innovation, the Chinese may be slightly lacking, but their ability to replicate models and make minor adjustments is unmatched by other countries.

As a result, Real-Car followed the same path as Carsales and began to accelerate its overseas expansion.

One month later, in America.

A tall, somewhat overweight, blond middle-aged man stood on the stage, raised his fist, and shouted, "Let America... Go America again!"

"Hahahaha." The audience burst into laughter.

The middle-aged man made a face: "Thank you! Thank you! What a great group of patriots! I can see you're all very smart, extremely smart people. You all know I'm very reliable and only make the greatest deals. Obama's oil prices? Too low! Disastrous! Weak! Just like he is with everything, weak!"

"Clap clap clap!" The crowd cheered.

"They say I'm crazy? No, they're the crazy ones! Listen, I have an idea, a brilliant idea that will make everyone say, 'Wow, Trump is a genius! We're going to raise oil prices high! Higher than the tears that rolled on the day Ladoli lost the election! Quiet! Quiet! Let me finish! Think about it, this will make our oil wells more valuable! We'll make our shale oil brethren in Texas and North Dakota rich again! $50 a barrel? That's pathetic! We'll make it $100! $150! That way they can buy bigger trucks, gold toilets! This will create jobs! Lots and lots of jobs! Believe me! This is punishing our enemies! Isn't that right? High oil prices will hit those guys driving cheap foreign cars really hard!"

He pointed to the audience: "You, you drive a Toyota? Really? You should be driving a Chevrolet! A big one! It drinks gas like water! That's a real domestic car! High gas prices can help us eliminate these foreign junk! This can promote innovation! Listen, I've said before, we have all the best things. Now, we're going to invent the best new energy! But listen, here's the key point: if gas prices stay this cheap, who will buy our... uh... those beautiful electric trucks?"

He turned to his assistant and asked, "What's it called again? Cybertruck? Right! We're going to make gasoline so expensive that everyone's begging to buy Musk's stuff! Even though his rockets are a bit noisy, business is business. It's a grand strategy! The best part is, it saves us money! Yes! Saves us money! Think about it, if gas prices are so high that nobody dares to drive, there will be fewer cars on the road, right? Then we can save trillions... trillions... to build roads! Or we won't have to build any at all! Perfect! And the air will become incredibly clean, even Gore will call me to thank me, though I won't answer."

So, my plan is this: I'll make a call to OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Just one call. I'll say, "Listen, you guys, double the price of oil! It's for the good of America!" They love me, they'll do it. They know I'm serious. We'll have the highest oil prices ever! The greatest oil prices ever! Nobody knows oil prices better than me!
Thank you! God bless America! God bless...high oil prices!

As Norbert had predicted, the new leader did indeed make a move on oil prices after taking office.

In Wu Wanrong's office at Xinlu.

"What exactly is going on? Before, you said you wanted to develop finance and support financing for small and micro enterprises, but now suddenly it's a crackdown. The policies change every day, and my money is swallowed by the banks and I can't get it back! I asked you for help, but you said there was nothing you could do. Banks are banks, and the government is the government. Everyone knows you're still connected even if you're broken bones. What am I now? A chamber pot that's used and then discarded? When you need me, you praise me as an outstanding entrepreneur in the country, but when you don't need me anymore, you call me a capitalist, right..." Chen Yifeng kept complaining to Wu Wanrong.

If it were anyone else, Wu Wanrong would have already asked them to leave.

"Hey, as far as I know, Secretary Shi already reminded you to shut down the financial company you were working for, but you didn't listen." Wu Wanrong leaned back in his chair with a smile, leisurely sipping his tea.

"How can I stop? The snowball is getting bigger and bigger, it's not something you can just stop whenever you want!" Chen Yifeng retorted, banging on the table.

"President Chen, you are completely different from your son. Chen Xi is quite politically astute. If you think about these things carefully, you should be able to understand them."

"I don't understand what you're saying!" Chen Yifeng waved his hand impatiently.

"You know, our development over the years has always been a process of trial and error. From real estate to internet technology to finance, we've learned from others' experiences. We've absorbed the achievements of our predecessors, but we also have lessons to learn from their mistakes. Just look at Japan; their real estate market was booming back then, but then the bubble burst. And the consumer finance companies we have now are things Japan did decades ago. Back then, their economy was booming, and consumer finance companies sprang up everywhere, advertising even more aggressively than we did, with celebrity endorsements. And what was the result? The average Japanese person was burdened with multiple loans, with shockingly high annual interest rates. High interest rates meant more debt collection, and in those early Japanese gangster movies, every gang leader was a loan shark. Ultimately, this has led to many people in Japan still being in a state of per capita debt."

"What does this have to do with politics?" Chen Yifeng glanced at him sideways.

“Of course there’s a connection. Just think back to what happened with Ding Ningwen and you’ll understand.” Wu Wanrong blinked.

Chen Yifeng still looked completely bewildered. (End of Chapter)