"Let's go, let's go!" shouted Liu Yong as he and his companions made their way through the flashy crowd. Despite the few bodyguards clearing the way, Liu Yong and his group were pushed aside without courtesy.
Hu Shijun, one of Liu Yong's companions, was particularly upset after being pushed aside by one of the bodyguards. He found their behavior unreasonable, especially since they weren't even on the bodyguards' private property.
"It's not the road of your house, why should I get out of the way," he grumbled under his breath.
Another bodyguard attempted to push Liu Yong, but it was like a gnat trying to shake a tree. Liu Yong stood his ground and gave the bodyguard a disapproving look.
The bodyguard felt like he was pushing against a mountain and was surprised by Liu Yong's strength. He was about to push even harder when Liu Yong shouted, "Get out!"
Liu Yong ignored the bodyguard, who was panicking and walked towards the hall on the first floor. When he entered the hall, he saw two middle-aged men walking outside, followed by at least a dozen people about to come out.
As Zhang Lian whispered to Liu Yong, he pointed toward two individuals in the distance, saying, "The one on the right is the vice president of our company, and the one on the left is Luo Maoyuan, the boss of Risheng Ocean Shipping Group."
Liu Yong was familiar with Luo Maoyuan's name. He knew that Risheng Ocean Shipping Group was one of the largest shipping groups in China, even larger than the Proton Group. Luo Maoyuan claimed to be the king of ships in the Yan Kingdom.
The group's primary business was crude oil transportation, and over 80% of Yanguo Petroleum Group's ocean-going crude oil transportation was handled by Risheng Group. As Liu Yong took a closer look at Luo Maoyuan, he couldn't help but notice the man's ostentation.
Numerous people surrounded him, and several bodyguards cleared the way before him.
Liu Yong's thoughts raced as he observed Luo Maoyuan. He wondered why someone with such power and influence would be attending this event and if there was any potential for a partnership between their two companies.
As Luo Maoyuan and Liu Yong walked by, Zhang Lian led them to a reception room and introduced the shipyard's current situation.
After everyone settled on the sofa, Zhang Lian inquired, "Mr. Liu, what type of ship are you interested in ordering? If you place an order, we can arrange it for you promptly."
Liu Yong asked, "Do you have any pre-made ships available? Ocean-going tankers would be ideal, and it would be even better if they are ready for delivery."
Zhang Lian pondered momentarily and replied, "Typically, we construct ships according to customer specifications after receiving an order. Unfortunately, we don't have any ready-made ships available for immediate delivery."
Liu Yong expressed disappointment upon hearing this, as he had billions in hand and was eager to expand his company's scale and acquire more ocean-going ships.
His ultimate goal was to increase the capacity and size of crude oil transportation, as the profits from transporting crude oil from the Middle East back to China were substantial.
When Liu Yong arrived at the Qidong shipyard, he hoped to find existing ships available.
However, he was disappointed to learn that there were none available. "I came here full of hope," he said to the deputy sales manager, Zhang Lian.
"I thought you had existing ships. Unfortunately, I originally planned that as long as you have existing ships, I will buy as many ships as you want. Four, five, or even seven or eight ships are fine."
Zhang Lian was incredulous. "What! You want so many ships!" he exclaimed.
Liu Yong was undeterred. "Of course," he replied. "We are preparing 5 billion procurement funds this time. Facing the whole country, as long as any shipyard has existing ships or ships that are nearly completed, we will buy them without hesitation."
Zhang Lian was initially skeptical but soon became excited at the prospect of such a significant deal. "Oh my God! 5 billion procurement funds!" he exclaimed. "Mr. Liu, drink tea first, and I will report to our president."
As Zhang Lian waited for his Boss to arrive, he couldn't help but think about the potential benefits of securing such a deal. "Such a big deal!" he thought to himself. "Such a client with strong financial resources, I know that I, a small deputy sales manager, would never be able to receive him, and the boss needed to come forward in person."
As he thought to himself, "Mr. Liu is certainly low-key enough. He's incredibly powerful, with access to five billion in funds, and yet he sought me out, the deputy manager of the sales department. He should be dealing directly with our Boss."
Despite having only interacted with Zhang Lian a few times, Liu Yong had developed a good impression of him and saw no reason to involve the owner of Qidong Shipyard. So, he contacted Zhang Lian directly.
The president of Qidong Shipyard, Gao Weiguang, was in his office when he received the news that the two 200,000-ton ocean-going oil tankers ordered by Risheng Ocean Shipping Group were being canceled. As he finished a phone call, a vice president reported the cancellation.
When Gao Weiguang learned that the Boss of Risheng Group, Luo Maoyuan, had come in person to cancel the order, he was initially planning to receive him himself. However, upon learning the reason for his visit, Gao wanted to avoid showing up and instead sent a vice president to receive him.
Frustrated and angry, Gao Weiguang remarked, "It's just playing the piano!"
The construction of the two tankers was almost completed, and they were about to enter the customer acceptance phase. It was a colossal waste to cancel the order at this point.
Gao was worried about the breach of contract by Risheng Group. Despite a long-standing cooperative relationship, Risheng still needed to pay a penny for the two ships, per their agreement. Now that the contract was breached and the other party demanded liquidated damages, they were unlikely to be paid.
"I trusted Luo Maoyuan too much," Gao lamented. "This is a lesson for me. What should I do with these two oil tankers now? Should I sell them at a low price?"
However, Gao needed help finding a buyer for the tankers at that time, and even if he did, it was unlikely that they could afford the price. The thought of the two ships lying idle in the company's possession worried him, as it would require a lot of funds.
Gao was under pressure, not only because of the canceled order but also because of the possibility of having to fund the new ships. He vowed that in the future, Risheng Group would have to pay a deposit and half of the total payment when the vessel was half-built to avoid such situations.
As Gao sat in his chair, smoking a cigarette, he thought about handling the situation and preventing it from happening again.
After taking a long drag from his cigarette, he stubbed it out with ferocity in the ashtray.
His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of which domestic ocean shipping companies would be interested in purchasing one, or even both, of his tankers.
Suddenly, a loud knocking on his office door disrupted his thoughts. Without missing a beat, Gao Weiguang bellowed, "Come in!"
Zhang Lian barged in with an ecstatic look, paying no attention to Gao Weiguang's sour expression. He announced triumphantly, "Boss, we've got a rich client! He wants to buy seven or eight ships at once and have billions of dollars to spend!"
Gao Weiguang's eyes widened in disbelief. Just moments ago, he was racking his brain on how to dispose of those two ships, and now this opportunity presented itself. He stood up, waved his hand, and declared, "Where is this client? I want to personally greet him."
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