Chapter 98

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. This morning, Lin Qiangsheng saw Emma off at the airport. She flew back to the United States to prepare her studio and began designing mini-skirts for Lin Qiangsheng's Xpress company.

The delegation had traveled through Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, and now they were in Finland, visiting several large paper companies.

Lin Qiangsheng walked out of Charles de Gaulle Airport, got into a taxi, and occasionally closed his eyes to rest, or glanced at the good street views.

After about ten minutes, Lin Qiangsheng said to the driver, "Sir, you're going the wrong way!"

The white driver glanced at the rearview mirror, touched the edge of his cap, and said, "Mr. Lin, someone wants to see you!"

Lin Qiangsheng's eyes narrowed, and he smiled, "Is it someone from Peugeot? They finally found me!"

The white driver nodded ambiguously and drove towards the Seine River.

At a quiet riverside, the taxi stopped. Lin Qiangsheng got out of the car, looked around, and found the place to be very quiet. It was an open park with few pedestrians and tall trees in the distance.

The taxi shifted gears and accelerated, quickly driving away.

Lin Qiangsheng looked back at the taxi and muttered, "What's your hurry? I haven't paid the fare yet!"

At this moment, a series of clapping sounds came from the riverside. Lin Qiangsheng saw a man in a dark overcoat stand up from a bench. It was Leon from Peugeot.

Lin Qiangsheng walked over and greeted Leon, smiling, "You're looking for me?"

Leon still looked the same, but his stubble was more noticeable, and his golden-brown hair was a bit messy.

Leon smiled and nodded, pointed to the bench, and the two sat down. Then there was a long silence.

After a while, Lin Qiangsheng broke the silence, "How are those five cars?"

The five cars had arrived in France yesterday. After receiving the notification, the domestic side quickly arranged for the flights, but due to the limited transportation capacity within the province, they could only send five cars at a time. The first batch of cars was delivered to Peugeot yesterday afternoon.

Leon rubbed his hair, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one.

"Well, it doesn't seem like your own technology! It's hard to believe that you designed those cars, and you're so young!" Under the cover of the smoke, Leon carefully observed Lin Qiangsheng's expression and slowly spoke.

Lin Qiangsheng shrugged, "Before we delivered the cars to you yesterday, we registered the relevant patents!"

Leon smiled and nodded, "It must have cost you a lot, right?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded seriously, "Yes."

After a few probing questions, Leon felt he couldn't get much information and said, "I never expected the car to appear at this time! You may not know, but the German Vaux company will launch a three-box sedan this summer. Do you know what it's called?"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Leon.

Leon seemed surprised, "Surprised? The car they are about to launch is called the Jetta! It's so similar to your car name!"

Lin Qiangsheng shrugged, "Maybe it's just a coincidence!"

Leon laughed and looked at Lin Qiangsheng meaningfully, then took out two photos from his pocket and handed them to him, "See if there's any difference?"

Lin Qiangsheng took the two photos. One was taken in the factory.

The other, after a careful look, was taken at a test site. Lin Qiangsheng immediately recognized it as the first-generation Jetta, a genuine German-made car.

The car in the photo had a bright white metallic paint, with a very high-quality finish. The body manufacturing was exquisite, and the quality of the bumper, fenders, and other parts was high. The cars made by domestic factories couldn't compare to the German-made cars at all!

Lin Qiangsheng opened his mouth and quickly put on a surprised look, staring at Leon and exclaiming, "Where did this come from? This isn't our car! Why is this car identical to our product? Why?"

Leon carefully observed Lin Qiangsheng's expression, then took back the photos and said, "I also want to know why! But I know that one of you must have copied the other! One of you!"

Leon and Lin Qiangsheng looked at each other. He suddenly laughed and said, "But it doesn't matter! The most important thing is that you Chinese were the first to mass-produce this car, right? As far as I know, your rudimentary factory in H Province in China produced this car in the second half of 1977! At that time, the Jetta project in Germany had just started!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and continued to stare at Leon, "Made by the Germans? Which company?"

Leon frowned and turned his head, "After receiving the cars you sent, we did a small inspection. We found that your technology has a bit of German heritage. The body design you created and the engine developed by the Chinese are truly amazing! A simple and smooth design, but your manufacturing technology is too low! What should have been a masterpiece has been turned into junk by you!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled. The engine was the EA113 engine developed by Volkswagen in the 1980s, the earliest model, a 2.0-liter inline-four with 8 valves. The Germans used the EA113 engine as a platform to develop a series of products. This series of engines has been listed on the Ward's Top 10 Engines list multiple times!

Lin Qiangsheng's memory was accurate, but the manufacturing process of the car factory was really not commendable. The engine produced was just barely usable.

Leon looked at Lin Qiangsheng and said, "Young man, I have a proposal. Do you want to hear it?"

Lin Qiangsheng turned to look at Leon, frowned, and asked, "Speak! Why did you call me here alone?"

Leon looked at Lin Qiangsheng and slowly said, "The German-made car is exactly the same as the one you produced! Don't you find that strange? They actually copied the car you designed!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded with Leon's words, "I am angry! But what can I do?"

Leon smiled, "That's exactly what I want to suggest to you!"

Leon continued, "I suggest you sue the Germans for infringement, hire a lawyer to sue the company for reverse-engineering your car!"

Lin Qiangsheng, hearing Leon's words, widened his eyes and exclaimed, "Are you crazy! You want me to sue a German company?!"

Leon continued, "The Germans did copy your design, so you should sue them! You registered patents in France, right? You should know that the law in Western countries can force the Germans to stop infringing on your rights!"

Lin Qiangsheng widened his eyes and said to Leon, "You're really crazy! If I sue, the news will be on the front page the next day! What good will that do me? Can I afford a lawyer? Even if I can, can I win against a well-funded German company?"

Leon waved his hand, "Hey! Calm down! Just sue them, and the Germans will definitely lose! You will win the lawsuit and they will pay you a large sum of money!"

Lin Qiangsheng carefully looked at Leon, seeing his serious and concerned expression, and shook his head, "Even if I win, what then? Can I return to China in the short term? I have offended a foreign large company, and I am still a Chinese citizen! Leon, you're really crazy! Do you have shit in your head? Do you think I'm a three-year-old who will listen to your sweet talk and sue the Germans? Do you think I will believe I will win in the end? Stupid ass!"

Lin Qiangsheng cursed in Chinese, stood up, and walked away.

Leon suddenly stood up, raised his hand towards Lin Qiangsheng, who dodged to the right and quickly turned around.

Leon's right hand quickly reached for Lin Qiangsheng's neck, and Lin Qiangsheng kicked Leon's lower body. Leon had to block Lin Qiangsheng's kick.

Lin Qiangsheng quickly retracted his leg and jumped back, out of Leon's attack range.

Leon looked at Lin Qiangsheng in surprise and said, "I didn't expect you to know how to fight!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Leon and smiled, "Mutual!"

Leon shook his head, put down his hand, and said, "Alright! I admit I oversimplified it! I deceived you!"

Lin Qiangsheng asked, "What does Peugeot really want?"

Leon looked at Lin Qiangsheng and said, "Do you really want to hear it?" He slightly turned his head to look at the woods.

Lin Qiangsheng turned his head and saw three white men in dark overcoats, forming a semi-circle to guard several directions.

Lin Qiangsheng turned back and saw Leon already pulling out a black gun, pointing it at him. Lin Qiangsheng smiled, "You really have a deep purpose!"

Leon waved the gun, and Lin Qiangsheng shook his head, sighed, and sat on the bench.

"Speak! What do you want me to do?" Lin Qiangsheng asked Leon, who was standing in front of him.

Leon, holding the gun, said, "You're a surprising young man! You're so calm facing several guns! I thought you would pee your pants!"

Lin Qiangsheng waved his hand, "Speak quickly! I don't like being threatened with a gun!"

Leon smiled and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't want me to say anything! Because, after you hear it, you must cooperate with us! Otherwise, you will end up as a dead body at the bottom of the Seine River!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked straight at the Seine River and slowly said, "Speak! What do you want me to do for Peugeot?"

Leon, expressionless, said, "We need you to sue the German Vaux company for infringing on your patent rights. You also need to cooperate with media interviews!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Leon and laughed, "The German car will be launched in Europe and North America this summer! Regardless of the design costs, the pre-launch publicity, advertising, and sales channels, the Germans have spent at least several hundred million dollars and used countless resources! You want me to sue them for infringement and create a scandal for the German company? Do you want me to die and not return to China? They will kill me!"

Leon raised the gun, threatening, "I have to remind you, you have no way out! After hearing our plan, you know the consequences of backing out! You don't want to be a missing tourist in the Seine River, do you? Maybe tomorrow, a Paris tabloid will have your news, saying: An unidentified person jumped into the Seine River. That's all!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Leon, then at the gun in his hand, and still shook his head, "For the launch of this car, the Germans have used a lot of resources and spent hundreds of millions of dollars! If I sue them, I might disrupt their original plans and production schedules, causing fatal damage to the company's operations! Not to mention, it will make their work in vain, forcing them to redesign the car, which will delay their development time. The losses could be over a billion dollars! Such losses are hard to estimate! Just hearing you say it so simply, you want me to do such a big thing! Sorry, I can't agree to it!"

Leon glared and shouted, "Bastard! Don't you know we are demanding that you do this! You must do it! Look at the gun in my hand!"

"!... My gun!"

Taking advantage of Leon's momentary distraction, Lin Qiangsheng quickly grabbed the gun from his hand, jumped up, and turned behind Leon, pointing the gun at his head!

"Don't move!"

As Leon was about to move, Lin Qiangsheng pressed the cold gun barrel against his head and chambered a round.

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