Chapter 85

"Impossible, I haven't had much contact with him," Deputy Engineer Xie said, his face slightly flushed as he tried to defend himself. "After all, I'm still a technical person. The more I studied the technology they provided, the more surprised I became. The gap between them and me is too great. At first, I admitted that I was a bit envious and jealous. Later, I realized that they are like people flying in the sky, while I am just running on the ground. I don't even have the right to be jealous."

General Engineer Liu, a straightforward and honest person, had never been jealous of anyone. After hearing Deputy Engineer Xie's words, he nodded his head. "It's good that Xiao Xie has this understanding. It shows maturity and progress, which is worth affirming."

Deputy Engineer Xie smiled bitterly inside. He had indeed made progress, but more importantly, the other party had something on him. If he still harbored animosity towards them, even secretly, and if it were to leak out, the other party might get angry and send him to jail. For a senior technical person like him, the word "jail" was something he couldn't face.

"Let's talk about the main issue. The other party wants to renegotiate the commercial contract. How should we handle the negotiations?" Xu Yan didn't press for more details and asked directly.

"There was a preliminary contract signed earlier. According to the contract, a lot of expenses have already been incurred. Those payments should be made now, and then we can discuss the new commercial contract. The amount to be paid involves data statistics. General Engineer Liu and I have already calculated the number of doctor uses and the accuracy rate of the life-threatening alarms. The finance department can use this as a basis to make the payment," Deputy Engineer Xie explained.

Xinghui Company wasn't a large company and didn't have formal meetings. For issues involving expenses, Xu Yan usually consulted the two chief engineers of the production department, as they had a more direct understanding of the costs.

Of course, this was also because Xu Yan didn't have absolute authority and didn't have the confidence to make decisions alone. Therefore, Deputy Engineer Xie still had a certain amount of say.

"Speaking of which, I need to ask, the hospital's feedback is indeed good. What is the specific accuracy rate?" Since it involved spending money, Xu Yan, despite having seen the previous work reports, wanted to confirm it again.

"Oh, the accuracy rate isn't very high, between 50% to 60%. However, I noticed a phenomenon. The program they demonstrated to us the first time was different. It seems they upgraded the server-side program later. Now, it mostly gives false alarms about physiological crises that don't actually happen, but it doesn't miss any real crises. This has a benefit: although doctors have to make more trips, it avoids situations where patients are left unattended if something happens," General Engineer Liu explained. He had carefully summarized and discovered this pattern, which had been verified without any issues.

"It seems they have adopted a strategy of 'better safe than sorry.' This is good. On a large scale, compared to before, the workload for doctors has actually decreased, and the psychological pressure is greatly reduced. Manager Wang, how is the situation on your side? The contract stipulates that the hospitals will bear the costs for the later software usage, and both parties will share the profits. How is this progressing?" Xu Yan nodded and then asked Manager Wang from the sales department.

"Hospitals that have newly purchased our equipment are very willing to accept this pay-as-you-go model. They are smarter than us. They charge patients for this medical service, providing early warning services to those willing to pay. Think about it, once patients confirm the effectiveness of this device, who would be stingy with a hundred or two hundred yuan? After all, the doctors explain that with early warning services, emergency response can be timely, which can save a lot of additional drug costs, and if it's inaccurate, the hospital won't charge," Manager Wang's words reassured Xu Yan.

"Without even mentioning the long-term benefits of continuous revenue, just look at the increase in equipment sales over the past month. I don't need to say more. Since joining the company, I've never felt that sales work has been as easy as it is today. Yesterday, a county hospital asked me for another hundred units, more than their total purchases over the past five years. This kind of thing hasn't happened in years," Manager Wang, a middle-aged man in his fifties with some gray hair, said with great emotion.

"Relying on leading technology to capture the market is different. We don't need to be humble or invite people to dinner. On the contrary, many hospitals are asking me about the details and begging me to take them to visit the previous hospitals," Manager Wang couldn't help but add a few more words. With years of sales experience, he had many insights.

Most domestic competitors had average products and relied on under-the-table deals, kickbacks, personal connections, and advertising to capture the market, with high costs. Prices were squeezed, and profits were declining year by year. This was a stark contrast to foreign companies that relied on leading technology and a small team to generate substantial profits.

"We can't give up this advantage. In the future, any ECG product without this interface authorization and the ability to provide early warning functions will be eliminated by hospitals. Even if it's given away for free, it can only be used in lower-level hospitals," Manager Wang emphasized again.

"Since that's the case, we will advance the payments that the hospitals haven't yet settled. Based on the data provided by the two chief engineers, I will immediately instruct the finance department to make the payment. Then, the business department must ensure that the subsequent contracts are signed, at least guaranteeing that only our company has this interface authorization within the province," Xu Yan made the final decision after getting the agreement from both the sales and production departments. Since relying on personal connections didn't work, they would rely on the most effective means.

...

In the afternoon, Finance Manager Li Zhengding excitedly knocked on Zhuo Chuan's office door.

"Let me guess, it's the payment from Xinghui Company for the previous arrears. How much?"

"Yes, they have made the payment. They also sent a detailed data report, completely in line with the personal contract you signed with them. They charge 60 yuan for each successful early warning and deduct 10 yuan for each false alarm. They explained that since all false alarms are over-reports rather than missed reports, there is no negative feedback from clients, so they don't deduct extra fees. They only charge for successful early warnings, and this can be the basis for future calculations."

As he spoke, Li Zhengding handed over a printed report.

Zhuo Chuan glanced at it and immediately memorized the data.

"Software usage time: 84 days.

Service request times: 12,342.

Successful early warning times: 6,240.

Single successful early warning fee: 60 yuan.

Total payment: 37.44 million yuan."

"The amount isn't huge, not even enough to cover the company's employee salaries for this month, but it's a steady and continuous cash flow, not a one-time payment. Future income will definitely increase significantly. They say they have only truly promoted it in a dozen or so hospitals. Imagine if thousands of hospitals use it. Boss, I am truly impressed. When you founded the company, you were right. Money will not be a problem for us, and survival will be even less of a concern."

Li Zhengding said with great emotion. As a financial professional, he was particularly sensitive to cash flow and could see the potential clearly. Therefore, he was extremely impressed by Zhuo Chuan's previous confidence. People always admire those who can predict wealth.

...