Chapter 70

"Since we have a car, why would we need to take a plane?" Before Chen Geng could say anything, Zhang Xiangyang hastily shouted, "I won't take a plane, I'll just drive the car back!"

Chen Geng turned to look at Jindler, shrugged, and said, "You saw that?"

Jindler shrugged indifferently, indicating that he didn't care at all: just two cars that his work team didn't need, he didn't even think about it.

...

Although housing in Shanghai was very tight, as one of the largest corporate groups in Shanghai, SAIC Group had its own guesthouse. It was no problem to arrange a suite for Chen Geng and Zhang Xiangyang, given Jindler's status as an engineer from the Volkswagen project team in Wolfsburg.

After Chen Geng and Jindler agreed on the schedule for the next few days and saw him off, he returned to the room to find Zhang Xiangyang lying on the bed, humming contentedly.

Seeing Chen Geng, Zhang Xiangyang lifted his head and greeted him, "Third Brother, you know, people in Shanghai really know how to enjoy life. They even have spring mattresses on the beds in this guesthouse... I'll save up money and buy one for my wedding."

"Alright, stop dreaming about the spring mattress. Find a girlfriend first. How about this: I'll give you a spring mattress bed as a wedding gift."

The allure of the spring mattress was so strong that Zhang Xiangyang immediately jumped up from the bed, excitedly asking, "Third Brother, are you serious?"

"Of course, you're my brother. Isn't it normal for me to give you a wedding gift to show my sincerity?"

"Then..." Zhang Xiangyang blinked and asked cautiously, "Can I borrow the car for my wedding?"

Hai Zhou's economy wasn't very developed. In places like Shanghai, a few years ago, it was a great honor for young people to find a Shanghai car for their wedding. However, with the reform and opening up, more and more good cars entered the country through various channels, and the prestige of the Shanghai car wasn't as high as before. Now, the most prestigious cars were luxury imports like the Toyota Crown, and if you wanted even more prestige, it had to be a Mercedes-Benz.

But for Hai Zhou, being able to find a 212 Jeep and a Shanghai car for the wedding was still a great honor. Even before Chen Geng returned, Zhang Xiangyang's greatest hope when he lay in bed at night dreaming about his wedding was to borrow a 212 Jeep.

Hearing Zhang Xiangyang's modest hope, Chen Geng smiled, "A Shanghai car is all you want? Don't worry about the wedding car, leave it to me. I'll at least get you a Mercedes-Benz for the occasion."

A Mercedes-Benz. Zhang Xiangyang's face immediately showed a look of longing, "Third Brother, can you really find a Mercedes-Benz?"

If he could use a Mercedes-Benz for his wedding, it would be incredibly prestigious. But as far as Zhang Xiangyang knew, there wasn't a single Mercedes-Benz in the entire Hai Zhou region. The most luxurious car in the area was an imported Japanese Toyota Crown.

"Don't worry." Chen Geng didn't boast about his abilities, but these simple words immediately put Zhang Xiangyang at ease.

Zhang Xiangyang stared at Chen Geng, then suddenly jumped off the bed, opened his travel bag, and pulled out a large notebook.

Chen Geng was startled by Zhang Xiangyang's nervous actions, "Second Brother, what are you doing?"

"Tomorrow we're going to visit the Zhengtai Tire Factory and talk about cooperation, so I'm doing some extra research."

Chen Geng didn't say anything, just nodded.

Although the change in the second brother seemed sudden, it wasn't hard to understand. Seeing how familiar Chen Geng was with the people from SAIC and how he could "borrow" two cars so easily, how could it not be a shock?

...

"Chen, Zhengtai Rubber Factory said they welcome you to visit and discuss business whenever you want. When are you going?" Early the next morning, Jindler rushed to the guesthouse to share this good news with Chen Geng.

Chen Geng thought for a moment and said, "Can you take us to visit some of Volkswagen's facilities first?"

"Oh, you want to visit the SAIC-Volkswagen production line? That's a bit tricky," Jindler was a bit hesitant, "You know the company's rules..."

Chen Geng, of course, knew how important SAIC-Volkswagen was to Wolfsburg and how strict the management was. Visiting the production line required several layers of approval. Although Jindler was a German engineer, he didn't have the authority to take people to the production line casually. Chen Geng waved his hand, "No, no, I don't mean the SAIC-Volkswagen production line. I mean the various facilities under SAIC Group."

"That's no problem," Jindler immediately relaxed. As long as it wasn't the SAIC-Volkswagen production line, taking two people to any SAIC Group factory was no issue. "Which factory do you want to visit?"

After a moment's thought, Chen Geng said, "How about the SAIC Engine Factory?"

"The SAIC Engine Factory?" Jindler's gaze immediately became strange.

"Is there a problem?" Chen Geng asked.

Jindler immediately laughed, "No problem, of course not."

But his gaze was quite meaningful.

Chen Geng understood what Jindler's gaze meant but pretended not to notice.

The three got into the car and headed straight for the SAIC Engine Factory. At the factory gate, the guard didn't even look at them; the car slowed down slightly and then entered the factory premises.

This scene made Chen Geng frown: when did the management become so lax?

Last year, when Chen Geng interned at SAIC Group, he had visited the SAIC Engine Factory several times for work. At that time, the security was very strict. Only a few factory leaders and group leaders could enter without inspection. Even regular factory vehicles had to be verified by the guards. Now, the guards were lazily dozing in the guardhouse. Was this... a sign of disintegration?

It really was a sign of disintegration! Chen Geng confirmed this in the next moment.

Before the cooperation with Wolfsburg, SAIC Group had over 2,900 employees. After the cooperation agreement was signed last year, at the insistence of Wolfsburg, SAIC Group transferred over 1,600 employees to produce the Santana, leaving only 1,300 employees to maintain the 12 subsidiaries of SAIC Group, including the chassis parts factory, the engine factory, and the machine parts manufacturing factory (transmissions and bevel gears).

With the relocation of the Santana production line and assembly plant, the basic production capacity of the entire SAIC Group was severely damaged. Although these subsidiaries were still maintaining production, after seeing the group's focus on the Santana, the morale of the employees in the various factories was low. Knowing the group's future direction, only a fool would want to stay.

Inside the factory, the situation confirmed Chen Geng's suspicions. It was a far cry from the bustling scene when Chen Geng first interned in Shanghai last year. Last year, the sounds of machinery could still be heard in the workshops, but now, it was eerily quiet. The loudest sound in the vast factory was the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the entire factory was almost dead silent.

Chen Geng asked Jindler in a low voice, "Mr. Jindler, if, hypothetically, I hire some people from SAIC's supporting enterprises to work for my company, would there be any trouble?"

Jindler slammed on the brakes, turned to look at Chen Geng seriously, and said, "Chen, are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious."

"Then I can tell you now, no problem, absolutely no problem." Jindler then smiled slyly, "Chen, you should understand that for Wolfsburg, what you're doing actually aligns with Wolfsburg's interests."

That's right! That makes sense!

Last year, when Wolfsburg signed the cooperation agreement with SAIC Group, they immediately demanded that SAIC Group transfer skilled employees from its subsidiaries to work on the Santana project. The official reason was that SAIC Group's technical capabilities were far from meeting Wolfsburg's standards, and to ensure the quality of the Santana, the best technical forces had to be transferred. But did Wolfsburg have other motives?

Of course, they did.

Wolfsburg's thinking was actually quite "simple": to completely dismantle SAIC Group's R&D capabilities and turn SAIC Group, Wolfsburg's partner in China, into a production factory for Wolfsburg!

Before the mid-1980s, SAIC Group had a complete automotive R&D team capable of developing everything from engines, transmissions, suspensions, chassis, steering systems, and more, as well as integrating the entire vehicle. Although limited by its technical foundation, SAIC Group's R&D team couldn't compare to Wolfsburg, it was far from as incapable as Wolfsburg claimed. In fact, very few companies in the world had a complete R&D team, even Wolfsburg didn't.

Why? Because some of the transmissions used in Wolfsburg's various models were jointly developed with ZF, and some were directly purchased from ZF.

Without Wolfsburg, SAIC Group had a chance to become a world-class automotive company. But because of Wolfsburg, that hope was completely shattered. The last shining moment of SAIC Group's excellent team was successfully helping Wolfsburg develop a model that didn't exist in Wolfsburg's lineup but became a star in the Chinese market, once becoming the symbol of mid-level official and business cars in China: the Santana 2000.