Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 659 The Frenzied Underground Market (First of Four Updates)
The first round of negotiations between the two sides was called off because of this brawl, and a few days later, the EU headquarters launched a second round of negotiations.

This time, Microsoft sent Business Negotiation Specialist Puskin, who has extensive experience in thorny business negotiations and whose track record is well-documented globally.

Enze Capital, however, still sent out the ruthless Tony.

Tony's track record is also verifiable in Europe.

"Gentlemen," Puskin said gently, "we have gathered here to correct market biases and rebuild a level playing field. Momo Group's actions in China have undoubtedly crossed the line."

He gently pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and said, "If you want us to stop the sanctions, the Momo system must immediately stop its technical interference with MSN and KartRider. Our data clearly shows that our products have experienced abnormal delays under the Momo system's operating environment."

Tony slumped back in his leather chair and looked at Puskin, saying, "Mr. Puskin, where's the evidence? If you can't produce it, it's slander. You're blaming Momo Group for network fluctuations on your servers? Besides, we no longer control the Momo system. We only own 40% of the shares. You can apply to China to check the system logs."

Pushkin, with impeccable composure, barely twitched his facial muscles before smiling and saying, "Mr. Tony, we have detailed data to prove it."

"Data?" Tony shrugged, interrupting the other person, and said, "What can your own data prove? Can I say that Windows is targeting us all the time? Should I compile a set of data too?"

Mike calmly replied, "Mr. Puskin, technical disputes require adjudication by a third-party authority. Unilateral accusations are invalid. If you have solid evidence, please submit it to the EU according to procedure."

Pushkin took a deep breath, feeling somewhat annoyed.

evidence?

Their evidence was all compiled by themselves. To obtain truly conclusive evidence, one would need to log into the Momo system's management backend and view the logs.

But now that the Momo system has been taken over by China Software Group, how can they access the logs? Should they send a notification to China?
Puskins paused for a few seconds, then turned to the second topic, saying, "Okay, let's put that aside for now and talk about another undeniable fact: Momo Group used its influence to force the software within its ecosystem to collectively withdraw from the Windows platform. This is a brutal deprivation of users' right to choose. We demand that all software return unconditionally, and that Momo Group issue an apology statement indicating that this will not happen again."

Tony glared at him and yelled, "Fuck you—"

Under Mike's warning glare, he abruptly stopped himself from speaking, muttering, "You guys really know how to frame people. Those companies decided not to use your crappy system because they felt they couldn't make money on it and the maintenance costs were too high. Don't you understand market choice? When you used IE bundling to kill Netscape back then, where was the user's choice? You guys are really masters of double standards."

Puskin's cheeks finally flushed slightly. He lowered his head to sort out his thoughts, then looked up and said, "The situation is completely different now. We did not restrict Netscape from running on Microsoft systems. We are competing fairly with Netscape. But Momo Group's actions are a typical abuse of its market dominance."

"Different? How are they different?" Tony laughed loudly. "Dominating means Momo Group has a high market share in China? What about Microsoft's decades-long global monopoly? Super domination? Why don't you dismantle yourself first before talking to us about domination?"

Seeing the software issue at a standstill, Intel representative Anderson immediately stated: "Putting the software aside for now, manufacturers like Lianxiang, Shenzhou, and Honor have openly abandoned the stable and reliable Wintel architecture and promoted systems with unknown risks, seriously damaging the stability of the global PC ecosystem. We demand that these three companies immediately issue a written apology and thoroughly rectify the situation in strict accordance with our Wintel technical specifications."

Mike quickly turned to Anderson and said, "Mr. Anderson, which international standard did Momo Group's computer company violate? When did the Wintel standard become a global standard? Users chose us with their own money, which is the strongest market recognition in itself. Demanding that the winner apologize for winning the competition? That sounds absurd."

Tony slammed his fist on the table and pointed at Anderson's nose, yelling, "Apologize to your mother! You fucking cut off our chip supply, and you expect us to kowtow and thank you? Is the Wintel alliance's face made of computer cases?"

Anderson roared, "Mr. Tony, don't think I don't have a temper!"

"So what if you have a temper?" Tony rolled up his sleeves, put one leg on the conference table, and made a move as if he wanted to climb over it. He roared, "You're allowed to set fires, but we're not allowed to light lamps? You cut off our supplies and expect us to kneel and worship you? Keep dreaming!"

Anderson couldn't hold back any longer. He climbed onto the conference table and grabbed Tony by the collar.

Tony pulled back, but the conference table was too slippery, so Anderson had no foothold and was dragged off the table by Tony.

He fell to the ground with both legs, gasping in pain.

Tony wasn't about to miss this opportunity. He grabbed Anderson's head and yelled, "Damn it, you dare to hit me first? Go ask around in Europe, who the hell dares to lay a hand on me first!"

Tony's character is one who's always causing trouble and making a scene.

Because the atmosphere is the most important factor in negotiations.

Once the atmosphere that Microsoft has created is broken, the initiative in the negotiations will shift.

In addition, Tony's notorious reputation meant he had many warlord friends not only in the Middle East, but even the Italian Mafia treated him like a brother.

His daily routine consisted of eating, sleeping, fighting Germans, French, British, Spanish, and Italians...

While the EU was embroiled in one difficult negotiation after another, Bangkok was going crazy over chips.

Chen Wei, the owner of Siam Technology Trading Company, sat in a private room at a club in the Sathorn district.

Sitting opposite him was Song En, the sales director of Chaowei's general agent in Thailand.

"Brother Song En, this batch of 20,000 Athlon 64 3200+ is a real lifesaver." Chen Wei spoke Thai with a Chaoshan accent, but his gesture of raising his glass was full of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) spirit. He laughed and said, "My channels in Cambodia and Laos are almost out of stock. They only recognize the cost-effectiveness of Supermicro there."

Song En took a sip of wine, her eyes filled with scrutiny.

This Chen Wei, who was just an ordinary electronic component middleman a few months ago, now has an astonishing appetite, continuously consuming huge quantities of chips, always citing the reason of supplying emerging markets in Southeast Asia.

But where do Cambodia and Laos get such a huge digestion capacity?
He knew perfectly well that the ultimate destination of these chips was most likely the Huaxia Momo Group, which was being jointly sanctioned by the Wintel alliance.

This is a minefield, but also a gold mine.

“Mr. Chen’s business is thriving, which is admirable.” Song En put down his wine glass and said cautiously, “However, you have already ordered 30,000 units this month, which far exceeds the normal market capacity. The headquarters will inevitably have some questions.”

Chen Wei chuckled and said, "Don't worry, brother. We've just started to make progress in Vietnam and Myanmar. They're poor places, so they only care about practical things. There's nothing I can do about it. They can't afford Intel."

He took out a contract from his bag and smiled, "The price will be based on this. Although we need a large quantity, we won't try to lower the price. As for your trouble fee, brother..."

Chen Wei extended two fingers and tapped them lightly on the smooth tabletop, saying, "Same as always, everything's arranged."

Song En's heart began to beat faster than usual.

That "hardship fee" was enough to boost his Swiss bank account by an order of magnitude. Since the Supermicro headquarters kept asking him for sales and profits, why should he make things difficult for himself?
The hesitation on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a genuine smile. He raised his glass and clinked it against Chen Wei's, laughing heartily, "Mr. Chen is a straightforward man. Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation. I'll do my best to get you a larger quota next month."

"Haha, that's great." Chen Wei downed his drink in one gulp, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

This Bangkok connection is now firmly in our grasp.

At almost the same time, in the Penang Free Trade Port in Malaysia, the huge bonded warehouses were brightly lit.

Lin Youshan, the person in charge, wearing a sweat-soaked polo shirt, held a walkie-talkie and shouted in a hoarse voice: "In Area A, use Xingzhou Precision's label, and be quick about it. In Area B, use Penang Electronics' channel. Be damn careful, if the barcodes don't match, I'll deduct their wages."

He used to be just a nobody dealing in secondhand electronic devices in the gray area, until he was spotted by Penang Electronic Logistics Company under Enze Capital and took over this huge and secretive transshipment hub, and his status instantly rose.

He has no other advantages, but his biggest advantage is that he is very popular in Malaysia.

Watching the containers being loaded onto the cargo ship, Lin Youshan breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped his sweat, a look of joy spreading across his face.

This means that another batch of goods can leave the port on time.

He looked at the mountain of shipping containers in front of him, each container representing a flood of commissions, enough for him to buy the villa he had been eyeing by the sea for a long time, and even add a nice yacht and ten fair-skinned, beautiful Vietnamese girls.

"Brother Shan, this quantity is terrifying, and you still insist on changing the packaging..." a trusted foreman whispered over.

Lin Youshan glared at him fiercely and cursed, "Shut up and do your job. Have you forgotten the rules? Only look at the receipts, don't ask where they came from! Only check the labels, don't care about the contents!"

He pointed to the seemingly ordinary security cameras high up in the warehouse and said, "Also, keep your mouth shut. If I hear the words 'repackaging' again, I'll use you to fill the sea."

"Yes, yes, yes! I won't do it again." The foreman fell silent, terrified, and quickly ran away.

Lin Youshan turned and walked into his office, where a complex logistics system on his computer screen displayed the cargo's trajectory.

Goods are picked up from Chaowei's warehouse, enter its logistics area, have their original labels removed and are given new identities, and then, according to instructions, are diverted to Singapore or shipped directly to China.

Superway Malaysia is also happy to see this happen. They get preferential prices under the guise of supplying ASEAN countries, and can make a profit by reselling them. Their performance is outstanding.

Now Mom no longer has to worry about them not meeting their performance targets.

Lin Youshan is the key cog in this golden road, seizing wealth he never dared to dream of before through this hidden rotation.

The real core is located in a numbered bonded warehouse in Jurong Port, Singapore.

Compared to the logistics area, this place is much quieter, with only the low hum of machines and the low murmurs of staff talking.

Raw materials from Bangkok, Penang and other places converge here to undergo their final purification.

One by one, the technicians were calmly issuing tasks.

"Thai batch, 8,000 units, destroyed with receipts."

"Malaysia batch, 30,000 units, label updated."

"Generate a new invoice. Shipper: Xingzhou Precision Components; Consignee: Shenzhen Xiahuarong Import & Export. Declared price: Singapore market price plus 5%."

The nationality of chips is completely blurred and reshaped here.

They are no longer smuggled goods from Southeast Asia, but have become legitimate products with perfect Singaporean origin certificates and have paid almost zero tariffs.

David, the person in charge, is a stern-faced Singaporean. When he received the encrypted call from Tony in London, he said calmly, "Mr. Tony, everything is going smoothly. We can complete the transshipment of over 130,000 items this week. Customs really likes our efficiency."

Tony's signature laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Great, keep it up. You'll get your share of the rewards once it's done."

A few days later, at Huaxia Deep-Sea Port.

In the customs inspection area, a young customs officer was carefully checking the documents: "Sing Chau Precision... Computer Central Processing Unit... Declared Value... All Documents Complete."

He picked up a sample; the label indicating it was made in Singapore was clear and neat, and immediately stamped it to release it.

Not far away, the purchasing manager of Honor Computer, seeing the goods successfully delivered, immediately sent Li Xiang a message: "Goods received, cost reduced by another 2%."

At the end of the month, at the source of this storm, Chen Wei in Bangkok was partying with a group of beautiful women on his newly purchased yacht, Lin Youshan in Penang signed a villa purchase contract, and David in Singapore received a generous bonus.

A secret gold route spanning several countries not only averted the annihilation of the Momo Group, but also cultivated a group of regional tycoons operating in the gray area.

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind this celebration is currently sitting in the quiet office building of Jingzhou University, playing chess with President Gao Lifu.

This time, Gao Lifu's expression was much more serious.

He suddenly realized that Cheng Yi's chess skills had greatly improved after nearly a month of playing against each other.

Cheng Yi picked up a chess piece, calmly placed it down, and laughed, "Uncle Gao, I'm about to checkmate you."

Gao Lifu hurriedly stepped forward, looking at Cheng Yi with surprise, and asked, "Where did you receive special training?"

"No, that's more like human potential," Cheng Yi laughed. "The more I lose, the stronger I become."

(End of this chapter)