Chapter 13: Making Money

"Alright," Kindler immediately pulled out a small notepad and opened it. "According to what Chen said, apart from the previously confirmed issues, b2 has four serious safety hazards, and c3 has three."

Cole Fritz stretched his neck, waiting for Kindler to continue. After several minutes with no response, he couldn't help but ask in surprise, "What else? What are the issues?"

"There's nothing else," Kindler said with a bitter smile.

"Nothing else? Why nothing else? How can there be nothing else?"

"Because Chen refused to say."

Refused to say...

Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz were momentarily speechless. This reason was powerful; if the other party refused to speak, Kindler had no choice.

Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz were professional negotiators, and they immediately saw through Chen Geng's intentions. He was simply trying to drive up the price. They quickly followed up, "So what does he want? Hmm, we can throw money at him. I don't believe he can resist the power of 1000 dollars."

Even in the City of Magic, in 1985, the average monthly wage for workers was only around 60 yuan. At the official exchange rate, 1000 dollars was equivalent to about 2500 yuan RMB, which was the total income of a worker for four years. If exchanged on the black market, it could fetch around 10,000 yuan RMB. For Chinese people of that era, this was an unimaginable sum of money. The two of them didn't think a Chinese person could resist such a huge temptation.

But Kindler poured a bucket of cold water over their heads: "Not enough."

"Not enough?" Philip Rössler was stunned.

"Not enough," Kindler nodded solemnly.

Cole Fritz's face turned angry: "Then 2000 dollars. Surely he'll be satisfied with that?"

Kindler's smile became even more bitter: "2000 dollars is not enough. His appetite is huge..."

"Does he want 10,000 dollars?" Philip Rössler exclaimed in shock. "This bastard, he's outright extorting!"

"Exactly! This is extortion against Wolfsburg!" Cole Fritz said with a dark face. "It seems our young friend is mistaking our friendship for weakness. We should remind him that some people are not to be messed with."

Philip Rössler continued, "Then let the parents of this naughty child give him a good lesson."

Both knew that the Santana project was a highly valued project by the government, with all policies making way for it. Countless eyes were watching this project from top to bottom. Using the hands of government officials to deal with a greedy young man would be incredibly easy.

But the next moment, the two, who were confident that they could easily solve this problem, were soon dumbfounded...

Kindler said with a bitter smile, "If we don't agree to his terms, he will hand over the other potential hazards of b2 and c3 to the Japanese and Americans..."

"..." Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz were stunned. They even began to doubt whether the Chinese young man was the same Chinese person they knew.

Wolfsburg was almost on the brink of loss, and the company, which was in a precarious position, could not afford any more blows. If the issues with b2 and c3 fell into the hands of Wolfsburg's competitors...

Thinking of the severe consequences, Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz shivered: If the final outcome was such a terrible situation, what good would it do for Wolfsburg to pay nothing?

Taking a deep breath, Philip Rössler, who quickly recognized the reality, asked helplessly, "Alright, what are his terms?"

It was a difficult moment for Wolfsburg. After so long, they finally thought to ask about Chen Geng's terms.

"His first condition is 1.5 million dollars..."

"1.5 million dollars?! F**k! Why doesn't he rob a bank?!" The figure of 1.5 million dollars scared Philip Rössler so much that he jumped up. "Who does he think he is?!"

Kindler shrugged: You don't have to agree...

Then, the previously aggressive Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz immediately became timid: They could refuse, but they couldn't bear the consequences. But to agree to the Chinese young man's terms? Wolfsburg headquarters would kick them out...

"Actually, the situation might not be so bad," Kindler said as Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz were racking their brains for a solution. "Chen told me that several of the faults in b2 and c3 are due to the incomplete logic and calibration of the electronic fuel injection system. We use Bosch's electronic fuel injection system, so..."

Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz's eyes immediately lit up: If that was the case, the matter would be much simpler. Wolfsburg's losses could be passed on to someone else, and they might even make a small profit.

Philip Rössler immediately followed up, "Um... Mr. Kindler, are you sure?"

"I'm not sure, but we can clearly tell the Chinese young man that we will seriously consider his terms, but he must provide us with a fault in the Bosch electronic fuel injection system."

Cole Fritz nodded excitedly, "That's a good idea! But Mr. Kindler, it's not appropriate for us to appear now. We'll have to trouble you to negotiate with that damn Chinese young man."

"Of course, no problem, leave it to me." Kindler nodded readily; this idea was something he and Chen Geng had agreed upon.

...

The information about the calibration and logic defects of the Bosch electronic fuel injection system and the activation method provided by Chen Geng was quickly sent back to the City of Magic. It was then quickly verified. Seeing the results from the City of Magic, Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz felt much more at ease: No matter how much Wolfsburg had to pay, someone else was now footing the bill.

Although the other party was paying for their own mistakes, Wolfsburg felt that it was better to save as much as possible. However, they underestimated Chen Geng's tenacity. Chen Geng firmly held his ground: If you don't meet my conditions, I will hand over the issues with b2 and c3 to your competitors, no matter the cost. You decide what is more important.

Wolfsburg was formidable, and in the eyes of the Chinese, it was incredibly prestigious. But Chen Geng, with nothing to lose, was not afraid of them, so Wolfsburg had to back down.

The next step was to see the negotiation skills of Philip Rössler and Cole Fritz.

With the core issue resolved, the focus of the negotiations was on the amount of "information fees" to be paid to Chen Geng. Considering future cooperation with Santana, Chen Geng "had" to gradually back down. In the end, both parties agreed on a price of 800,000 dollars.

As for Chen Geng's other conditions, such as 1,000 sets of Santana tires and 1,500 sets of shock absorbers, and participation in the localization of Santana, these were not issues for Wolfsburg, especially since Chen Geng was paying.

The agreement was finally reached, and Kindler was very happy. This meant that the surgery and post-surgery recovery costs for his loved one were covered, and he could earn an additional 30,000 dollars.

Kindler, who was extremely satisfied with the outcome, smiled broadly, "Chen, thank you, I am very grateful for everything you have done for me. You are a good person. Rest assured, I will help you get the carburetor production line as soon as possible. If you need any more help, just let me know."

"There are a few things I need your help with," Chen Geng thought for a moment and said, "I need you to help me buy two personal computers; second, you know I studied automotive engineering, can you help me buy some similar books from abroad? Yes, regularly and frequently."

"Trivial matters, I have some of the books you need, and I will give them to you," Kindler agreed readily.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Kindler, you are a good person."

Chen Geng generously gave Kindler a "good person" card.

"Making money, making money," after sending off Kindler, Chen Geng happily rolled around on the bed several times, "I'm making money, I have a Nokia in one hand and a Motorola in the other..."

It was not easy to squeeze 800,000 dollars out of the stingy Wolfsburg. Reflecting on the past few days of negotiations with Wolfsburg, Chen Geng felt a bit emotional. But it was time to move on, right?

...

Li Jianguo thought that Chen Geng's idea of going to the third-line area was a heat-of-the-moment decision. Once he calmed down, he would give it up. Who would choose to go to the grassroots when they had the opportunity to stay in the central government?

He had specifically looked into the situation of the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory of the East China Military Region. It was a direct subordinate unit of the East China Military Region, a regiment-level unit, mainly responsible for the repair of military transport vehicles, armored vehicles, towed artillery, and firearms. Above the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory were the First and Second Military Equipment Repair Factories... Compared to the First and Second Military Equipment Repair Factories, the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory was a marginalized role.

Indeed, the military equipment repair tasks of the East China Military Region were mostly handled by the First and Second Military Equipment Repair Factories. The Third Military Equipment Repair Factory had been in a semi-shutdown state for the past two years. It was only because they were a direct subordinate unit of the East China Military Region and all the personnel were active-duty military personnel with salaries paid by the state that they had managed to survive. Otherwise, they would have been unable to continue.

Chen Geng had only mentioned it in passing. With a bright future ahead, how could he go back?

But he didn't expect Chen Geng to be so stubborn. He had to patiently persuade him, "Chen, you should understand that the situation down there is definitely not comparable to our Ministry of National Defense. Not to mention the benefits, living conditions, and promotion speed, but when you have children in a few years, their education and medical conditions will also be far inferior to those in the capital. Most importantly, once you go down, it will be hard to come back."