HLnovel Chapter 1135 Xu Yi
Chapter 1135 Xu Yi
The fabric was tough and chafed his skin. His pants were made of the same material, and the cuffs were caked with dirt. He struggled to his feet and was about to stop a passerby to ask what was going on when he was stopped by a man in a black uniform and a hat. The man was tall, his eyes sharp, and his tone was clearly hostile: "Hey! Who are you? Why are you lying in front of the lobby door of our Hengtong Group? You look so tattered, are you trying to scam me?" "Scam me?" Su Qin frowned. He had never heard of the term, but he sensed a strong sense of hostility in the other person's tone and eyes. He subconsciously adjusted his short coat. Although the clothes were worn, they still retained the demeanor of the time when he wore the seals of the six kingdoms. He bowed to the man, his tone respectful yet dignified. "My name is Su Qin, courtesy name Jizi, and I have served as Prime Minister to six states. I wonder who you are? Whose lord is this 'Hengtong Group'? Why is the scenery here so strange?" Some wore tight, tight-fitting "buyi" (leotards), others wore brightly colored dresses. Their hair styles varied, from short, crew-cut to dyed in all sorts of colors. Most of them held a palm-sized "square," rapidly prodding it with their fingers, occasionally pressing the square to their ears and muttering something he couldn't understand. "Whose lord's land is this? Why is the scenery so strange?" Su Qin muttered to himself. He looked down at his clothes and nearly cried out in shock—his brocade robe, embroidered with subtle patterns, was gone. In its place was a rough, gray short coat. He couldn't quite tie the "belt" (tie) at the collar, and finally Lin Zhou had to help him do it. Zhao Heng was poring over documents when Su Qin, dressed in a suit, followed Lin Zhou into Zhao Heng's office. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, and the moment he saw Su Qin, his eyes widened. The man before him was tall and straight, his suit fitting perfectly. A calm and composed demeanor emanated from his features, and his eyes, piercing as if they could see through people's hearts, made him look like an ancient strategist straight out of a history book. "Lin Zhou, this is..." Zhao Heng asked in surprise, pointing at Su Qin. "Mr. Zhao, this is Mr. Su, Su Qin," Lin Zhou introduced. "He said he's good at giving advice. I thought he might be able to help you with the East City land issue, so I've brought him here." Zhao Heng looked Su Qin up and down, puzzled. "Mr. Su? Which consulting firm are you from? Why haven't I heard of you before?" Su Qin bowed, his tone respectful but not overbearing. "I'm Su Qin, not from any consulting firm. If you have any difficulties, Mr. Zhao, please feel free to tell me. If I can help, I will do my best." Zhao Heng's doubts were somewhat alleviated by Su Qin's eloquent speech. He detailed the difficulties in the East City land bidding process—how Dingsheng Group had made an aggressive bid, how they had wooed partners, and how Hengtong had been put on the defensive. Su Qin listened quietly, not interrupting Zhao Heng. After Zhao Heng finished, he picked up a pen from the desk and began to scribble on a blank piece of paper. He drew quickly and smoothly, and before long, a "relationship diagram" appeared on the paper - the diagram used different symbols to mark the locations of Hengtong, Dingsheng, government departments, Chengxi building materials merchants, and several small businesses, and connected them with lines to mark the relationship between them: Dingsheng and the building materials merchants had cooperation disputes, Hengtong and small businesses had potential cooperation possibilities, and government departments were concerned about the compliance of land development... After finishing the drawing, Su Qin pointed to the "Chengxi building materials merchants" in the diagram and said to Zhao Heng: "Mr. Zhao, although Dingsheng Group has strong capital and seems unstoppable, it has a fatal weakness - there is a dispute in its cooperation with Chengxi building materials merchants. According to my speculation, in order to gain an advantage in the bidding, Dingsheng will inevitably invest a lot of money in the bid, resulting in the inability to pay the advance payment to the building materials merchants on time. If we can first reach an agreement with the building materials merchants, promise to pay on time, and sign a long-term cooperation contract to cut off Dingsheng's supply of building materials, Dingsheng will not be able to develop even if it wins the land. "Besides that," Su Qin pointed at several small businesses in the diagram, "although these small businesses have been temporarily wooed by Dingsheng, their intentions aren't genuine; they're simply motivated by short-term gains. We can send people to persuade them, promising them 'equal benefits'—if Hengtong wins the land, we'll subcontract some of the construction work to them, allowing them to earn a stable profit. We can also emphasize 'sharing risks'—if Dingsheng wins the land but can't develop it due to a lack of building materials, they won't only lose the benefits but will also offend Hengtong. This way, they'll inevitably turn to us, forming a 'vertical coalition' to jointly oppose Dingsheng." Zhao Heng leaned over to the table, carefully examining the relationship diagram, and listened as Su Qin meticulously analyzed each step—how to negotiate with building material suppliers, how to persuade small businesses, how to leverage government regulations for compliant development to contain Dingsheng... Each step hit the nail on the head, with clear logic and interconnected links, as if directing a meticulous "commercial war." Zhao Heng had been in business for many years and had met countless consultants and strategic experts, but he had never seen anyone as thorough in understanding complex business relationships and as precise in planning response strategies as Su Qin. He looked at Su Qin, his surprise gradually turning into admiration. "Excellent! Well said!" Zhao Heng slammed the table and stood up excitedly. "Mr. Su, I'll do as you say! From today on, you'll stay by my side as my 'strategic advisor,' with a monthly salary... starting with 10,000!" Although Su Qin didn't know the exact amount of "10,000," he sensed his importance from Zhao Heng's excited tone and admiring eyes. He bowed again and said firmly, "Thank you, Mr. Zhao, for your trust! I will live up to your trust and help Hengtong dominate the local business world!" Sunlight streamed through the office window, illuminating Su Qin with a golden glow. He looked at Zhao Heng in front of him, and at the "relationship map" on the table, and secretly made up his mind: more than two thousand years ago, he was able to wear the seals of the six kingdoms and unite to resist Qin; more than two thousand years later, he could also rely on his own strategy to help Hengtong gain a firm foothold and create a legend in this unfamiliar modern business world. "Consultant Su, you are amazing! What you said just now left Mr. Zhang speechless. It is more effective than those professional lawyers we hired!" Zhao Heng smiled even more. He walked up to Su Qin and shook his hand tightly: "Consultant Su, you are really my 'stabilizing force'! With you here, Hengtong will have an extra weapon in the business world in the future!" Su Qin gently withdrew his hand, bowed and said: "Mr. Zhao, you are too kind. This is the 'art of winning the heart'.