Chapter 100

In the highest floor meeting room of the Peugeot Group headquarters, the curtains were all drawn at this moment.

The CEO Bregley was introducing Lin Qiangsheng's information to the Peugeot executives.

The image projected on the screen was an internal photo of the H Province city car factory. The Peugeot executives exchanged a few words, and some of them chuckled softly.

Bregley smiled and said to everyone, "This is the Chinese car manufacturing factory. Clearly, this factory is still using extremely outdated technology to produce cars! Perhaps we should pay attention to this factory, as it might become a strong competitor in the near future!"

"Ha ha ha..." The French people in the meeting room burst out laughing at this amusing joke.

"Click." The slide changed to an image of Lin Qiangsheng, then to an image of his father, Lin Xiangrong.

Bregley said, "This Mr. Lin Xiangrong is the factory manager of this car manufacturing plant. He recently visited France and even toured one of our assembly plants."

The slide then switched back to Lin Qiangsheng's image. Bregley pointed to the image and said, "This young man is Lin Qiangsheng, a shrewd and greedy little guy! According to our intelligence department's investigation, this young man is the third son of the factory manager. On this visit, he is also an important member of the Chinese delegation, and it's clear that he holds a significant position in his father's factory! He can even influence the decision-making of this state-owned enterprise!"

"Is this the little greedy guy who asked us for 5 million dollars, plus two car production lines?" one of the Peugeot executives said. The old man had a vulture-like nose and squinted his eyes at Lin Qiangsheng's photo.

Bregley, a minor figure in front of these Peugeot decision-makers, humbly replied, "Mr. Jean, yes, this young man is very greedy! Our intelligence agents tried to control him, but they didn't succeed! When I negotiated with him, he initially asked for 20 million dollars! I managed to bring it down to 5 million dollars! Additionally, he insisted on getting two car production lines from us!"

"Oh?" The people in the room let out a series of surprised exclamations.

Jean sneered and said, "Does this Chinese man even know what dollars are?! He actually wants our complete car production equipment!"

After a discussion, everyone felt that the best strategy was to agree to his demands. After all, giving him the equipment from two old factories wouldn't mean much to the vast Peugeot Group.

"The Linwood factory in Scotland can be given to him. This factory has been closed for over a year. Its machines are just a pile of scrap iron, and the local workers are always on strike! It has no value to us. But I'm afraid even if he gets the equipment from this factory, he won't be able to transport the machines out! The Scottish thugs will teach him a lesson!" one of the directors said with a laugh, which caused more laughter in the room.

Bregley also smiled lightly. He had guessed that someone would think of this factory, so he readily agreed to Lin Qiangsheng's demands.

Jean tapped the table and said, "Which other factory's production line can we give him?"

The others also discussed for a while, and finally, their gazes focused on the lead director.

The lead director asked his subordinate, "If we agree to the young man's demands, which other factory's equipment can we give him?"

The subordinate replied, "Any of the production lines from the Rootes company can be given. This company's contributions to the group are not proportional to its costs! Since Chrysler withdrew from Europe in 1978 and we took over Rootes, its factories have been in a loss-making state! Although we closed the Linwood factory, we still have the Leyton factory in England, which has outdated equipment, lagging technology, and increased labor unrest! Many of the older workers are nearing retirement age! All of this has caused significant losses for the group!"

"But the Leyton factory is a large factory! It can produce over 150,000 cars per year!" Director Jean said.

The man who had spoken earlier adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and continued, "The Leyton factory currently produces the Avenger sedan and station wagon, which are American models from the late 1960s. Although they have undergone several modifications, the brand is now outdated and nearing the end of its life. This model performs poorly in the European market, and buyers have lost interest. The Leyton factory now produces fewer than 30,000 cars per year, and it has over 3,000 workers. Even if all 30,000 cars are sold each year, it's not enough to cover the workers' wages, factory operating costs, production costs, and taxes to the British government!"

"Maintaining this factory means we not only don't make money but also lose money?" a Peugeot executive asked, and the people in the meeting room murmured.

"Is this deal worth our return?" the lead director asked himself.

"Yes! I believe this deal is worth it! Once this young man files an infringement lawsuit against Vauxhall, it will certainly damage Vauxhall's reputation in Europe! Since Vauxhall launched the Golf hatchback, this car has become a global sensation! This company's small cars have no rivals in Europe! Since the Golf was launched in 1974, this brand has produced nearly 2 million cars! Vauxhall and its Golf have proven the resurgence of German car companies, and they will certainly be a strong competitor to our French automotive industry! Disrupting Vauxhall's development by even a year or two through an infringement lawsuit would be extremely beneficial to us! This lawsuit is a huge piece of good news for us! The benefits are not just that! We can do even more!" the man with the gold-rimmed glasses said passionately.

"Yes! Less than five years to produce and sell 2 million cars! That's terrifying!" someone said in shock.

At this moment, the lead director looked at the man with the glasses and asked, "What other plans do we have around this lawsuit?"

The man with the glasses smiled and said, "We can take advantage of Vauxhall's involvement in the lawsuit, when its reputation is suddenly damaged and public confidence is affected, and its stock price falls. We can use this time difference to short sell its stock and achieve a huge profit for the group's financial department!"

He continued, "Vauxhall has many enemies! Renault and Fiat might also kick in! We don't have to worry about Vauxhall's counterattack. By the time it recovers, Peugeot might be even stronger than it is now!"

"Oh, God! We can actually make money from Vauxhall!" one of the directors said in amazement.

The lead director nodded in satisfaction and said, "Let the financial department analyze this carefully! See how much capital we should invest in this plan! And keep it confidential, the fewer people who know, the better!" He glanced at the company's executive directors in the room, and they all swore to keep the secret.

Bregley also joined in excitedly. Although he had equity incentives, it was a world apart from the directors who held shares! Being able to act with these directors would significantly boost his position within the group.

"I can invest some money!" someone said finally.

"I can too!" another director said with interest.

Everyone was excited, rubbing their hands together, ready to take advantage of the situation. They all wanted to seize this sudden opportunity to earn revenge from their competitors.

The lead director said to Bregley, "That's settled! We'll give him the money and the equipment, and he will file an infringement lawsuit against Vauxhall just as they are about to launch a new car, causing trouble for our competitor! Bregley, stay behind, the rest of you can leave..."