Chapter 117 A Pound of Liquor

The business car stopped in front of the hotel's main entrance, and Xie Jingxing found a seat in the hotel lobby alone.

Liu Qiming took the others upstairs. In the restaurant box, five taxi company bosses were smoking and talking in low voices. The floor was covered with cigarette butts, and the smoke that could not be filtered out by the fresh air system made the place look like a paradise on earth.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I'm late. I'll drink three glasses of wine as punishment."

Liu Qiming put his hands together and said politely, "Let me introduce you first. This is Jean Liu, the president of Didi Chuxing. The person next to Jean Liu is Mr. Tang, the managing director of Grapefruit Capital, and Mr. Xie's assistant."

"Hello, Chairman Xie Cheng's assistant, nice to meet you." A young man with a bald head and two walnuts in his left hand was the first to express his attitude.

Liu Qiming smiled and was about to say something, but Song Anli spoke first: "Hello, Mr. Liu, you may not know that Chairman Xie Cheng is very busy at work, and now Mr. Xie is in charge of the investment business. I am Mr. Xie's assistant."

"I'm sorry, I'm just a country bumpkin, running a small business in Harbin. I'm not familiar with big bosses like Chairman Xie Cheng."

Mr. Liu leaned lazily against the back of his chair and raised his head to touch his scalp, with a bit of Brother Huaqiang's temperament.

"Mr. Liu is too modest. All the bosses are well-known entrepreneurs in Harbin."

As they talked, they sat down and Song Anli filled the glass in front of them. "Chairman Xie Cheng often said that whether it is Yunshan or Taihe, we should try our best to contribute to the development of our hometown in Northeast China. Mr. Xie agrees with him, so we will have many opportunities for cooperation in the future.

"I toast to Mr. Liu when we first meet. We are familiar with each other after drinking this glass of wine."

The smile on Mr. Liu's face froze slightly. This little girl really thinks that people in the three northeastern provinces are surnamed Xie. The thought flashed through his mind, and he suppressed his dissatisfaction and picked up the wine glass to drink it all.

There is definitely no one with the surname Xie in the three northeastern provinces, but when the Yunshan Group entered Longjiang Province around 2,000 to collect grain and recruit various grain dealers, he had not yet shaved his head and dyed his hair yellow to watch over the game hall. Compared with that, the scene last night was nothing.

Even if it was out of respect for the seniors in the martial arts world, Mr. Liu barely comforted himself by spitting out the smell of alcohol, and the walnut in his hand turned faster and faster.

After drinking a glass of 2 liang of white wine, Song Anli's face was visibly flushed. She smiled and filled the glass again, looking at the next taxi company boss: "Mr. Chen, this is a toast to you. Please take care of me if there is an opportunity for cooperation in the future."

"You are so generous, little girl. I don't care about Mr. Xie. I am just drinking this glass of wine for you. I will welcome you anytime you come to Harbin in the future."

Mr. Chen, with a mixture of black and white hair and a gold Rolex on his wrist, sat motionless on the chair. He took a sip of wine, put down his glass, and stared at Song Anli leisurely.

The atmosphere in the room was a little subtle for a moment. Liu Qiming knocked on the table and interrupted: "Assistant Song toasted Mr. Liu and Mr. Chen successively, so the remaining three must be taken care of. Can you still sit down to eat after drinking so much?"

"All of you bosses are my seniors. It's not shameful for me to be carried out on a stretcher while drunk today." Song Anli remained calm.

Liu Qiming nodded his chin: "It doesn't matter how you go out. If you can't finish the wine halfway through, it will be embarrassing for Mr. Xie."

"Not really, Lao Liu."

A middle-aged man sitting next to him, who looked pale and fat with a beer belly, looked around in a gentle tone and said half-jokingly, "Assistant Song is right. We are your seniors at the table. If I get you drunk today, you are scolding us old guys for being shameless and bullying the weak."

"Now that we're talking about this, I have to have a drink with you." Mr. Chen picked up the glass again with a stern face and drank it all, then turned the glass over to indicate that there was not a drop left.

Liu Qiming had a smiling face, but the man sitting next to him couldn't help but frown because of his fat beer belly. Tang Man and Liu Qing wanted to help but couldn't. The other taxi company bosses just watched the show and said nothing.

Song Anli pursed her rosy lips, swallowed her saliva to suppress the churning in her stomach, and raised her glass high: "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for your honor."

After finishing the glass of wine, the room fell into complete silence. The only sound was the sound of water flowing as she poured wine into the glass, which she repeated three times.

…………

In the hotel lobby, Xie Jingxing was playing with his phone, passing the time by every second.

The work environment where he deals with money all the time often makes him ignore the fact that he also has a philosophy degree certificate. Various schools of thought in the traditional Western philosophical system have different angles to deconstruct the source of social power.

Ancient Eastern philosophical thoughts also have less systematic theoretical viewpoints, but no matter what, it seems that philosophical schools all over the world believe that the sacredness of power is unquestionable.

This can be roughly reflected in the context of Confucian culture as follows: those who hold power must come forward when the final judgment is made, which is a negotiation skill.

Twenty minutes, Xie Jingxing had to go upstairs to the box in twenty minutes, or go back directly from where he came.

"Don't worry, wait another ten minutes, and you'll know what to say when you go upstairs, right?"

"If a person commits a crime, he must be punished. This is the same everywhere. If my brother is shot, I will go to collect his body. If he is sentenced to life imprisonment, I will educate him and reform him to try to get him lenient treatment!"

The sound of conversation behind him perked up Xie Jingxing. He looked towards the pillars in front of him that were covered with crystal glass on all four sides, which reflected the three figures sitting in the seats behind him.

The man in a suit and tie continued with satisfaction, "Yes, when we go upstairs later, the two of you will refuse to reconcile, go to Beijing to file a complaint and seek help from the media, and make a big deal out of it."

The young man, wearing a pair of glasses and a wrinkled Prada leather jacket, scratched the back of his neck hesitantly: "Lawyer Wang, you promised before... It's not that I don't believe you, but it will cost a lot of money to go to Beijing to file a lawsuit and ask the media for help."

"Here are four hundred thousand. When we come down from upstairs, you can split it in half."

The man in the suit patted the bag at his side, paused and corrected, "You can go up and talk, but I'm not really asking you to go to Beijing to file a complaint and have the media expose it. You don't need to worry about how this case will work."

"Lawyer Wang, my husband has never quarreled with anyone before, so he can't be the main culprit. I can't take the money, I just want to be cleared of all charges."

The slightly plump woman with long curly hair had a tearful voice. Lawyer Wang comforted her earnestly, telling her not to worry, that this case had caused a big stir, and the relevant departments would consider the social impact when handling the case, and there was a high chance that the case would be dealt with leniently.

They absolutely cannot bow their heads now. Once their momentum weakens and they lose their reason, the relevant departments will easily sided with the victim's family and make a ruling that is unfavorable to them.

In a nutshell, we need to take a tough attitude and fight to the end with the relevant departments and online ride-hailing platforms.

[Among the two main culprits identified in the taxi driver group conflict last night, Li Qiang had a younger brother who came forward as a family member to handle the formalities, and the other main culprit Zhang Penggang had his wife come forward.]

Xie Jingxing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he received the WeChat message from Yu Ying.

Several leading taxi companies obviously intend to use the families of the two main culprits as guns to bargain with local relevant departments and Didi. Otherwise, there is no reason to prevent the families of the two main culprits from accepting media interviews now and making a big deal out of the matter.

Didi’s core demand is to quickly use public relations to resolve last night’s negative events and reduce public opinion; the core demand of the taxi companies is to get online ride-hailing vehicles out of the market; and the core demand of local officials is to get taxis back to normal operations as soon as possible.

As for the two dead and the suspect last night, including their families, they are just bargaining chips. The price can be high or low and we can negotiate it.

After watching Attorney Wang and the two suspects' families go upstairs to the private room, Xie Jingxing raised his wrist to check the time. Five minutes later, Tang Man sent a WeChat message. He went to the front desk to get a bottle of beer, opened it and drank a few sips on the spot, then walked upstairs to the private room at a leisurely pace.

"Boss Liu, it's not that I don't give Boss Xie face. The key is that Didi is too shameless to take advantage of its low cost to maliciously grab the market. The brothers below are angry! You also saw it with your own eyes. The family members are determined to sue. They want to compensate the dead person according to the law..."

Even from a distance away, he could hear the loud shouts from the private room. Xie Jingxing walked closer and opened the door. Immediately, all eyes turned to him.

Liu Qiming stood up and looked around: "This is Mr. Xie."

"Mr. Xie, why did you come here in person?" The fat man with a beer belly sitting next to him stood up and greeted him.

The other few people looked at each other and didn't stand up. Xie Jingxing got straight to the point and asked, "I'm passing by. How was your conversation?"

"Mr. Xie, it's a good thing you're here, otherwise we wouldn't be able to explain it clearly."

Mr. Chen, wearing a gold Rolex, crossed his legs and said in a light tone, "We are very willing to cooperate in the negotiation to resolve the problem, but the families of the drivers who participated in the conflict last night are unwilling to do so. These two are the family representatives. Please repeat what you just said in front of Mr. Xie."

"What's your name?" Xie Jingxing waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to say more.

Mr. Chen stood up slowly, picked up the small iron box on the table, took out a cigarette from it and lit one with a match: "My name is Chen Xu, my friends can call me Brother Xu for face, Mr. Xie, would you like a cigarette?"

"Brother Xu... In addition to your taxi company, you also have a hardware and building materials wholesale station, right?"

Xie Jingxing asked thoughtfully, picking up a box of Zhonghua cigarettes from the table.

Mr. Chen handed him the small iron box without saying anything, and said, "You should smoke mine. I roll my own Kongtang tobacco. It doesn't make you choke."

"Yunshan is going to build two new granaries in Jiansanjiang in the near future. Do you have enough building materials?" Xie Jingxing asked calmly.

Mr. Chen paused his movements, put down the small iron box with his eyes clicking, sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

"Lend me the matches."

Xie Jingxing walked over to him, picked up a match, lit a cigarette, put the matchbox in his pocket, and tilted his head to the side: "What's your name?"

"Bangs."

The bald young man who was playing with walnuts subconsciously sat up straight and reached for the wine glass.

Xie Jingxing moved his feet and stood behind him, pressing his shoulders with both hands: "You... seem to have a car scrap recycling plant and an auto parts and auto repair city, right? Can you provide long-term maintenance and repairs for agricultural machinery and freight vehicles?"

"Mr. Dai, you don't need to say more. You have been a first-class partner of Yunhe Logistics for so many years."

Xie Jingxing patted the bald young man on the shoulder and glanced at the other taxi company bosses: "I can see that you all have many talents and have both main and side jobs. Didi is not like that. It relies entirely on the transportation industry to make a living."

"If the conflict last night is not resolved, the bosses will continue to live comfortably. I'm afraid Mr. Liu will be unemployed and starve to death."

He withdrew his hand and stood up straight: "Always leave some room for maneuver and don't push people into a desperate situation. Let's end this matter here."

"Mr. Xie, we really don't want to offend you. If you think highly of me, Old Chen, please give me a few days. I have to give an explanation to the brothers who rely on me for a living." Mr. Chen threw away the Kongtang tobacco in his hand and seized the moral high ground to save face.

Xie Jingxing raised a finger: "I have prepared 100 million market subsidies and 50 servers for the Harbin area. If taxis in the city do not resume operation tomorrow morning, Didi will do the work for you."

"...Mr. Xie, the time is too short and it is indeed difficult for us to handle. There are more than five of us in the market. At least allow us to discuss it with other peers." The plump and white Mr. Dai stepped forward to play the good cop.

There are dozens of taxi companies with tens of thousands of taxis in Harbin. The five companies present here only account for half of the market share. The bosses of other small taxi companies do not have other businesses like them and rely entirely on taxis for their livelihood.

Even if Didi promises not to force its way into Harbin for the time being, it will not be easily persuaded. The most ideal negotiation outcome would be for Didi to enter Harbin and only taxis to accept orders. This depends on the attitude of relevant departments.

So it will take a few days until the negotiation process with the relevant departments is completed. No matter what the result is, at least they will be able to take advantage of the opportunity.

Xie Jingxing was very clear about this. Both parties had privately agreed to give these taxi companies two days, but now he changed his mind.

"My assistant can't even drink two taels of wine next to me. She must have drunk more than two taels today, right?"

Xie Jing Xing smiled and looked at Song Anli who was sitting in the corner holding a trash can: "Nothing is difficult in the world if you set your mind to it. I'm waiting for your good news."

"..."

Several taxi company bosses were speechless, especially Mr. Chen, who had a sullen look on his face and forced an awkward smile.

Liu Qiming's face flushed red and he lowered his head with gritted teeth. Originally, the job of drinking was assigned to him or Tang Man, but it was difficult for such things to go 100% according to the script.

He had tried his best to make up for it, but the pretentious guy who was smoking Kongtang tobacco held Song Anli hostage and refused to give him a way out. There was really nothing he could say in that situation.

"Mr. Xie, I'll take you there."

The whole place was silent until Xie Jingxing helped Song Anli wipe the corner of her mouth and helped her walk out. President Dai spoke to break the silence. Seeing this, several other bosses stood up and expressed their attitudes, confirming that taxi operations would resume tomorrow morning.

It is not right to get a girl drunk, and it would be very frustrating if the favorable conditions at hand were to fall through because of this.

There is no way, Xie Jingxing is so old, everyone assumes that he has the qualifications to be young and hot-tempered and fight for his beloved... Liu Qing, Tang Man, why is there only women around this kid...

Everyone escorted him from the restaurant box to the hotel entrance with courtesy. Mr. Chen spat in confusion: "He is such a big boss, but his assistant can't even drink a pound of liquor. There must be something wrong with his ability."

"Don't be so nice, my friend. Who is he? Why would he drink with you to discuss business? You are just used to pretending to be cool and you want to show off to everyone. You are talking about Kongtang tobacco and Botou matches. People who don't know you would think you are Du Yuesheng!"

The bald young man playing with walnuts was cursing with resentment.

Now that the deal was done, seeing Xie Jingxing acting so kindly to the woman, he, as the contestant who had started the drinking conversation, might be held responsible, which would be very upsetting.

Several other bosses were also uncomfortable. They only had one night to convince the small taxi company whose interests were not completely aligned with theirs. It was a lot of work.

(End of this chapter)