Xiaomi Heavy Industry, its first entrepreneurial venture!

Chapter 394 One Table for Two Guests! (First Update!)

After cursing in his heart for a long time, Lin Yi finally thought of checking what level the head of the European External Action Service was.

I've heard of the European External Action Service in my past life, but I've never seen it.

The main reason is that the level is not high enough.

In my past life, I was in business, and the department that dealt with the EU the most was the import and export department. Strictly speaking, this import and export department had to be broken down into individual EU member states.

It's a small office located outside the Fifth Ring Road.

It's really hard to find such a big shot.

I've met a lot of people in my life, and the highest-ranking ones were Guo Song and Zhu Jingyao, but they were all family, so I didn't put on any airs.

On the EU side, those bastards bring their own photographers. If you don't treat them well, it'll be on the front page of major media outlets tomorrow.

Then people like Ai Dajin will bring it up every day and nag about it.

It doesn't cause any real harm, but it's like a toad crawling on your foot—it doesn't bite, but it's disgusting.

After much deliberation, Lin Yi decided to seek outside assistance.

When the call reached Guo Song, he didn't waste any time on small talk and went straight to the point about why he was calling.

Guo Song hesitated for a long time on the phone, then said, "I'll arrange it and call you back later," and hung up.

Less than half an hour later, Guo Song called back:

“I just contacted the comrades in the commerce department, and they said they can vacate the space for you between 1 p.m. and midnight the day after tomorrow.”

"But they will remove some of the decorations from the venue, because those are things that are only used for extremely important meetings."

"You need to rearrange it yourself after 1 p.m.

"Here's the phone number of the person in charge on site. You can contact him directly."

The call ended, and immediately a text message arrived.

The text message contained only a name and a phone number.

[Huang Wenbin 139...]

It was only a little past 9 p.m., and after a moment's hesitation, Lin Yi pressed the number.

As soon as the call connected, a loud male voice came through: "Hello, Mr. Lin!"

"Director Huang, hello! Director Guo from the General Armament Department asked me to contact you, saying that you can lend me your space for a while."

"Yes, we can lend you the venue you need. If you're free tomorrow at noon, you can come over and I'll tell you which decorations we'll be removing tomorrow. Seeing the site will help you plan ahead."

"Then we'll see you tomorrow!"

"See you there or not!"

Having resolved the venue issue, Lin Yi didn't rush to rest but continued preparing materials for the negotiations.

Fortunately, Xiaomi Heavy Industry is a self-governing entity, and it is very clear about the relevant costs and processes, so it can be managed by one person.

I organized all the contracts, agreements, preferential terms, and foreign trade-related negotiation conditions that I might need, and then I got a printer and printed out all of these documents.

By the time I finished, it was already 2 a.m.

Wash up, turn off the computer, and go to sleep.

At 11:30 a.m. sharp, he appeared in front of the Yanjing Hotel and gave his name, Huang Wenbin. A receptionist immediately came out and led him upstairs.

I casually tossed him a work badge.

After waiting for a short while in the hotel VIP room on the second floor, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Huang Wenbin, wearing a black executive jacket, walked in and raised his hand to greet Lin Yi:
“Mr. Lin, nice to meet you. I am Huang Wenbin, head of the European office of the business department.”

"You can call me Lao Huang."

"sit down!"

After Lin Yi sat down again, Huang Wenbin leaned on an armrest, tilting his body towards Lin Yi, and said with a smile:

"Director Guo has already contacted us about your matter, so there's no need to go into the details."

Before I tell you about the scene, let me tell you some details of the negotiations between the European External Action Service and us this time.

"Their attitude towards our official duties this time was essentially just going through the motions, fulfilling their obligation to inform us, and taking advantage of any opportunity they might have."

"However, in many details of the conversation, they mentioned your names, and the attitude they conveyed was that we should still exploit our own company to win their favor, just like when we needed their technology before."

"But I dodged all those questions."

"You don't need to worry about it!"

"Our business department's attitude towards this cooperation is the same as theirs: take a chance, even if there's no guarantee of success. If there's something to be gained, great; if not, it's fine too."

"So when you talk to them, if they ask you to consider the official stance, ignore them and just treat it like a dog barking."

Huang Wenbin was speaking, and Lin Yi was taking notes; one spoke very clearly, and the other remembered very clearly as well.

After Lin Yi finished taking notes of the main points, Huang Wenbin got up and led Lin Yi around the hotel, starting from the VIP room.

"The hotel's first floor is the main hall, the second floor is the restaurant, and the third floor is mainly for conference rooms, as well as a reception room."

"You don't need to worry about security. Our security will continue until midnight tomorrow."

"You just need to complete the negotiations before the deadline."

"We will remove these welcoming messages from the main hall, as well as these decorations."

"Then there are some things from the restaurant."

"Finally, there's the equipment in the conference rooms..."

When they got to the conference room, Huang Wenbin suddenly stopped and turned around to stare intently at Lin Yi: "I heard from Director Guo that you seemed to have only brought a few bodyguards?"

The topic suddenly shifted, and Lin Yi stood there stunned for a moment. He spread his hands and stammered, "Well... the information from the General Armament Department only said that the EU and America want to discuss a cooperation."

Neither side has said how many people there are.

"After all, the things everyone was talking about were rather private, so I didn't think there would be many people."

"Who would have thought that the EU would send a Director General of the External Operations Agency directly, and America would send a department from the Ministry of Defense Logistics Bureau?"

"When I received this news, I thought they were crazy."

After receiving the explanation, Huang Wenbin touched his nose and nodded in agreement: "It really is a bit crazy!"

He rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment, then continued walking forward, talking as he went:

"In that case, there's no need to leave the meeting room and reception room equipment to you."

As they spoke, the two went up from the first floor to the second floor, and then up to the third floor.

I glanced quickly at the conference room door and then went into the reception room.

As the two entered the reception room, there was a row of people standing there, a row of people in charge of etiquette.

Huang Wenbin led Lin Yi to the row of people and pointed at Lin Yi:
"Mr. Lin from Xiaomi Heavy Industry, the on-site handover will be completed after the agenda concludes tomorrow morning."

"He will be hosting guests from the EU and America here."

"You need to help him and provide good service at the scene."

After instructing the greeters, Huang Wenbin waved his right hand lightly, signaling them to leave. As soon as they left, he glanced at his watch on his left wrist, then looked up:

"Mr. Lin, I have a short meeting to attend to later, so please excuse me."

"You can continue to wander around the hotel for a while, just leave before 2 p.m. and avoid those nooks and crannies."

"goodbye!"

After giving Lin Yi a few more instructions, Huang Wenbin turned and left without any hesitation.

Lin Yi held his work badge and stood in the meeting room for a while before turning around and retracing his steps.

Instead of returning to the VIP lounge, I went directly to the hotel reception.

The person who had led him upstairs not long ago was at the front desk. Upon seeing him, the person quickly approached and asked, "Mr. Lin, are you leaving?"

"Yes!" Lin Yi nodded, returning the work badge he was wearing to the person in front of him. After the other person put the badge away, he asked again:
"I just need to bring people over tomorrow, no other procedures are required, right?"

“Yes!” The staff member understood what Lin Yi meant by asking this question. He pointed to the front desk and then to the people scattered in the lobby:

"We will remain on duty until midnight tomorrow."

"You can just bring your people over then!"

"Even if I'm not there, the other people at the scene will recognize you, so there's no need to worry about anything going wrong!"

"Thank you!" Having gotten the answer he wanted, Lin Yi nodded slightly to the staff member, thanked him, and then turned and left the hotel.

Half an hour later, Catherine, who was waiting at the Yanjing Hotel for the start of the next round of negotiations in the afternoon, received a report from her subordinate.

[Negotiation time: Tomorrow at 2 PM, 3rd floor of Yanjing Hotel.]

Holding the information, Catherine wanted to complain, but before she could speak, her subordinate chimed in again: "Ms. Catherine, the other party's personnel have entered the venue!"

Negotiation is important!

Catherine could only swallow back the words she was about to say, get up, and walk towards the conference room.

Meanwhile, Frain also received the message.

Upon learning that the negotiations would take place at the Yanjing Hotel, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

Since arriving in China the day before yesterday, they have been closely monitoring the EU's developments.

Knowing that the negotiations between the European External Action Service and China were taking place at the Yanjing Hotel, he suspected that he would run into people from the European External Action Service when he went there.

Furthermore, the two sides will even negotiate with the same group of Chinese people in two conference rooms separated by a wall.

Then the Chinese on the other side used their own conditions to attack the EU, and then used the EU's conditions to attack themselves.

No, we have to find a way.

After much deliberation, the only solution Frain could think of was to directly contact the European Union and join forces.

After weighing the options in his mind for a long time, he finally decided to contact the EU directly to understand the terms between them.

After all, when faced with two evils, one must choose the lesser. No matter how much the EU tries to scheme, they can't outsmart the CIA.

On the Chinese side, the CIA is outmatched.

He immediately informed America's Department of Defense Logistics about the idea, which was then reported to higher authorities, and eventually the idea ended up in Barack's hands.

Barack didn't hesitate much and readily signed the approval, agreeing to Frain's idea.

So, three hours after receiving the specific negotiation time, Manuel appeared before Catherine with Frain:

"Ms. Catherine, as allies, I feel it's necessary for us to have a discussion. What do you think?"

The intense exchanges of opinions over the past few days had left Catherine somewhat exhausted, but she still forced herself to look at Manuel before her:

“Alright! Since Mr. Manuel made this suggestion, why don’t you go first? What price are you prepared to pay for purchasing their satellite navigation equipment, and how do you plan to use it?”

"Explain yourself, and we can explain ourselves!"

Across from them, Manuel and Frain exchanged a glance and uttered the words they had prepared beforehand:

"Our budget is around $100 million for a complete system service."

"After we receive the system, we will conduct a series of tests according to the normal procedures."

"If we confirm that this system is fully functional and has reached the same level as GPS, then we will adjust our military policies accordingly."

"We don't know the specific conditions; everything will only be confirmed after we see the system."

"Now it's Ms. Catherine's turn to state your terms."

When the discussion reached a crucial point, Catherine sat up straight and gently massaged her temples with her long, slender hands.
"Our bottom line is $110 million for the whole system."

After Catherine finished stating the number, everyone in the room lowered their heads and fell silent.

America's civilian GPS signal is free, but if you need a boost, you have to pay extra, with an annual fee of several hundred thousand dollars.

Military GPS signals are charged on an annual fee basis, with the basic annual fee ranging from $1000 million to over $5000 million depending on the terminal purchased and the service level.

Spending millions of dollars to buy services...

They spoke so frankly just now, so neither side can easily accuse the other.

After an awkward moment, Manuel thought for a moment and then said goodbye together with Frain.

Catherine stood behind them, watching the two men walk away.

…………

Time flew by, and it was noon on the second day.

After lunch and resting until 1:45, Catherine naturally followed the address Lin Yi gave her, leading the people up to the 3rd floor and arriving at the door of the meeting room marked in the information.

The hostess at the door smiled naturally, bowed, and pushed open the door.

Directly opposite the main entrance, a young man dressed in a pure white suit, with an exceptionally refined appearance, was sitting on the sofa. When the door opened, he smiled naturally and nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Catherine quickly slowed down, turned her head slightly, and whispered to her subordinate beside her to confirm.

The subordinate slowed his pace further, repeatedly comparing the young man in front of him with the person he remembered, gritted his teeth, and nodded slightly: "Yes!"

“We thought his information was fake, but he actually looks younger than in the photos.”

Having received confirmation, Catherine looked straight ahead and calmly walked to sit down opposite Lin Yi.

After sitting down, she gently waved to the people behind her, signaling them to leave the reception room first.

After everyone left, she looked around again, her gaze lingering for a moment on the unused camera in the corner and the empty seats, before returning to the young man in front of her. She smiled and spoke:

“Catherine Abbotton, Director General of the European External Action Service.”

"This visit to China is the first diplomatic visit since the establishment of the European External Action Service."

"Your company's inventions are amazing, and we at the European Space Agency have high praise for your company."

"On their recommendation, we would like to purchase a complete set of military-grade satellite navigation services from your company."

"I wonder if Mr. Lin is willing to sell?"

(End of this chapter)