Chapter 11: You Help Me, I Help You

Chen Geng looked deeply at Jindler and then Jindler turned and walked out of the room.

Chen Geng knew that Jindler was making a phone call.

In 1985, the domestic telecommunications system still used an analog switching network. To establish a direct connection between the capital and Shanghai, it would take a considerable amount of time. Waiting for Shanghai to complete the testing of the Santana with the electronic fuel injection system and then provide feedback would take at least two hours.

In fact, it took exactly three hours for the feedback from Shanghai to come back.

Three hours later, Jindler returned to the meeting room with a pale face and spoke with difficulty, "Chen..."

Chen Geng had anticipated Jindler's reaction and didn't wait for him to finish. He asked, "What is the probability of occurrence?"

"...30%." Jindler took a deep breath and said.

"It's about the same as what I calculated." Chen Geng looked as if everything was under his control.

But Jindler's face became even more grim.

For those in the industry, the most feared thing was this kind of uncertain, random failure. For automotive engineering, such random events were a nightmare for automotive engineers.

Jindler was clearly bringing the latest orders from Wolfsburg to find Chen Geng. He tightly held Chen Geng's hand and said with a mix of worry and pleading, "Chen, please keep this secret for Wolfsburg. If you can keep this secret for us, Wolfsburg will definitely..."

"How much?"

"What?" Jindler was stunned, suspecting he had heard wrong.

"Keeping the secret for you is not a problem, and telling you about the faults and calibration and logic issues I discovered is also not a problem, but what do I get in return?" Chen Geng repeated.

"..."

You actually talk about money with me? Jindler was instantly dumbfounded.

Jindler had lived in China for nearly two years. In his understanding, Chinese people were always reserved. They were shy, especially when talking about money with foreigners. They preferred to talk about friendship and connections. The Chen Geng he remembered seemed to be like that, but now, he was unsure if the person in front of him was the same Chinese young man he knew.

Seeing the stunned Jindler, Chen Geng smiled. If it were the old him, he wouldn't have talked about money with Jindler and wouldn't have had the nerve to do so. But now, Chen Geng wouldn't be polite to Wolfsburg. He smiled and said, "What? Is this making you uncomfortable?"

"A bit..."

Although Chen Geng's reaction surprised him, Jindler thought it was a good thing. If this problem could be solved with money, it would be the best outcome. He quickly adjusted his mood and said, "Okay, let's do it your way. Tell me all the issues you found, and we can give you 1000 yuan..."

"1000 yuan? Mr. Jindler, you are really generous." Chen Geng interrupted Jindler, mocking him.

Jindler's face turned red, and he said apologetically, "The money is indeed a bit low, but it's the decision of the person in charge of Wolfsburg in Shanghai..."

Actually, he also felt that 1000 dollars was an insult to someone who had discovered the issue and was willing to share it with Wolfsburg. If it were up to him, Jindler wouldn't mind giving Chen Geng more, but the problem was that it wasn't up to him.

"I know you don't have the final say," Chen Geng wasn't angry but asked Jindler, "Mr. Jindler, this is just an initial communication between us. If our communication doesn't go well, the people from Wolfsburg in Shanghai will come over, right?"

"In fact, the people from Wolfsburg have already started preparing in Shanghai. Once we can't reach an agreement, they will take the fastest flight over."

"Your reaction is faster than I expected," Chen Geng smiled, but he wasn't surprised by the speed of Wolfsburg's response. "Mr. Jindler, let me make one thing clear. I respect and appreciate you personally, but right now, you represent Wolfsburg, so..."

Chen Geng spread his hands, making it clear: let's talk money seriously, not feelings, or it will hurt the money.

"I understand your meaning," Jindler nodded. Although it felt strange for a Chinese person to talk about money with him, this was his forte. He immediately said, "Let's put personal feelings aside. Tell me, how much do you want?"

"1 million dollars," Chen Geng said, "As long as Wolfsburg is willing to pay 1 million dollars, all the issues I found will be yours, and I will keep these secrets for you."

"1 million dollars?!" Jindler was shocked, his eyes wide open. "Chen, that's absolutely impossible! The board of directors of Wolfsburg will never agree to your terms. They will see this as extortion!"

"For those big shots, whether they are willing to give me so much money depends on how serious the issue is. If I tell you that the electronic fuel injection system on the highly anticipated C3 also has several serious calibration and logic errors, do you think these issues are worth 1 million dollars?" Compared to Jindler's panic and fear, Chen Geng was incredibly calm.

"C3 also has problems?" Jindler exclaimed, "Oh God, that's impossible!"

Chen Geng shrugged, saying nothing: believe it or not, it's up to you.

Jindler's face instantly turned extremely grim: he couldn't afford to disbelieve.

The C3, also known as the Audi 100, was a model that Wolfsburg had high hopes for.

How much hope did Wolfsburg have for the Audi 100? They hoped that the Audi 100 could capture a share of the mid-to-large car market dominated by Mercedes-Benz E-Class. For this, Wolfsburg spared no expense, equipping the C3 with Bosch's most advanced KE-Jetronic electromechanical combined fuel injection system and the latest ABS system. The high-end models even came with Audi's signature quattro all-wheel drive technology.

If the Audi 100 really had serious issues, it would be a fatal blow to Wolfsburg's layout in the mid-to-large car market. Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which were being challenged, would not let this opportunity to strike at Audi pass.

He also believed that Chen Geng wouldn't let this opportunity pass, but Wolfsburg would never agree to Chen Geng's 1 million dollar condition. If Chen Geng insisted, the big shots at Wolfsburg might even use their influence in the upper echelons of the Republic to pressure Chen Geng.

"No problem. If the big shots at Wolfsburg don't agree, I'll tell the colleagues of Wolfsburg in the United States and Japan. I believe that the colleagues of Wolfsburg in Japan, the United States, and Europe would be willing to pay for this information." Chen Geng said with a smile, as if he were casually asking a colleague to borrow a pen.

It was like a bolt of lightning on a clear day! Jindler was completely stunned.

He finally understood the true meaning behind Chen Geng's words: you are using this to threaten me? Fine, let's see who suffers more!

Wolfsburg was already in a difficult situation. If their competitors found out that Wolfsburg's cars had serious safety issues, Jindler couldn't even imagine the dire consequences. Compared to these severe consequences, using a bit of money to solve the problem would be a bargain for Wolfsburg.

At this point, there was no need to play games anymore. Jindler sighed, and when he looked at Chen Geng again, his eyes were completely different. Before, when he looked at Chen Geng, it was with admiration, pity, and encouragement... but there was no respect. Now, respect finally appeared in Jindler's eyes.

Chen Geng suddenly smiled and said to Jindler, "Mr. Jindler, this might not be a bad thing for Wolfsburg. Whether it's the LH-Jetronic electronic fuel injection system on the B2 or the KE-Jetronic electronic fuel injection system on the C3, they are all products of Bosch. Your losses can be more than compensated from Bosch. You are worried about the loss of reputation, but I believe Bosch wouldn't want the news of serious issues with their products to spread around the world. Your losses can be passed on to Bosch."

Right! How could I forget Bosch? Jindler's eyes suddenly lit up.

To seal Chen Geng's lips, Wolfsburg would certainly have to pay a price, but no matter how much money Wolfsburg paid, they could make more from Bosch. Considering that Wolfsburg could quickly take measures to prevent a serious crisis of trust and market crisis, from this perspective, Wolfsburg would not only make a profit but a huge profit.

Realizing this, Jindler's face immediately improved.

He became much more enthusiastic and was about to say something to Chen Geng when he heard Chen Geng say softly, "Mr. Jindler, has the money for your wife's surgery been raised?"

The money for his wife's surgery? Jindler's face darkened, "Not yet, thank you for your concern."

Last month, before Chen Geng returned to school from Shanghai, Jindler had just received the news that his wife had discovered a tumor during a hospital check-up. The doctor advised her to have surgery as soon as possible, but the cost of the surgery and post-surgery recovery was over 50,000 dollars. For an ordinary family, 50,000 dollars was a huge sum. Jindler had worked at Wolfsburg for 20 years, and his annual salary was just over 20,000 dollars. His wife's annual income was only about 14,000 dollars. How to raise this medical expense had made Jindler's hair turn gray with worry.

"Mr. Jindler, you help me, and I will help you."

"What do you mean?" Jindler's heart started pounding, and his mouth suddenly felt very dry.