Chapter 109: Sister Yu's Methods

The night passed without incident, and soon it was the following day, August 22nd.

Today, Zhou Xuan’s destination was the Peking University Phalanx Group, where he was scheduled to meet with Manager Tian, a sales manager at Phalanx, to discuss a bulk computer procurement deal.

The establishment of Universe Chain Internet Cafes had been underway for a month or two. The Weilian team had already inspected over a hundred locations across the provincial region and Chongqing. From these, they selected more than twenty prime locations, signed the leases, and commenced initial renovations. They were merely waiting for the renovations to finish and the computers to arrive before officially opening for business.

Beyond acquiring a stake in Sohu, the other purpose of Zhou Xuan's trip to the capital was to secure a reliable computer supplier offering reasonable prices and exceptional quality.

Manager Tian had been introduced by Deng Cheng, as all the computers used by their Blue Sky Group were procured through him.

At this time, Phalanx computers were comparable to Legend in terms of specifications, yet carried a slightly lower price tag. They were ideally suited for a customer like Zhou Xuan, who required bulk purchases while wishing to avoid pirated operating systems.

As for why Zhou Xuan sought to steer clear of pirated software, it was simply to deny Microsoft any pretext for legal action. He was well aware that once his chain of internet cafes was established, it would require at least several thousand computers. Sensing such a lucrative piece of the pie, Zhou Xuan could not guarantee that Microsoft wouldn't sue Universe for software piracy years ahead of schedule to claim massive damages.

Consequently, Zhou Xuan decided to open negotiations with Phalanx; should the pricing prove appropriate, all future Universe internet cafes would exclusively utilize Phalanx computers.

For the initial batch, Zhou Xuan planned to procure 1,200 computers at no more than 7,000 RMB per unit, with 6,000 RMB being the optimal target.

Nevertheless, Zhou Xuan suspected that a 6,000 RMB price point was somewhat unlikely. Mainstream configurations from Legend and Phalanx hovered around 10,000 RMB at the time. The machines for his internet cafes could not fall short of mainstream standards if he wished to provide customers with an optimal experience and fluid performance.

Backed by Peking University, a premier Chinese institution of higher education, the Phalanx Group naturally possessed formidable technological capabilities. Since its inception, it had reaped a succession of scientific and technological achievements.

Phalanx Technology, the corporate manifestation of Phalanx Group’s supreme technical prowess, had just been established this May. Yet Phalanx computers had already begun quietly asserting themselves; by the second quarter of next year, Phalanx would rank among the top ten brands in the Asia-Pacific region.

Arriving at the Phalanx building and stepping into the office area, Zhou Xuan was greeted by an atmosphere of bustling prosperity. One could not help but admire the enterprising spirit of the Phalanx people. Following the advent of the 21st century, Phalanx actively transformed itself into a major conglomerate encompassing information technology, medical pharmaceuticals, real estate, financial services, and bulk commodity trading, among other industries.

One could say that Phalanx’s corporate transformation was an astounding success, leaving countless other large enterprises far behind.

Manager Tian led Zhou Xuan and Mai Zhuo into a conference room, handed them a set of promotional materials and price quotes for Phalanx computers, and invited them to look things over.

"I never imagined President Zhou would be so young. This comes as a genuine surprise," Manager Tian said, looking at Zhou Xuan in astonishment.

In an era when computers readily commanded tens of thousands of yuan, they were entirely beyond the reach of ordinary families. Phalanx's principal clients were government agencies, corporations, and, amidst the recent internet cafe boom, internet cafe proprietors.

When Deng Cheng called to introduce a major client, Tian had never anticipated that the person looking to purchase a thousand computers would be such a young man.

Zhou Xuan was barely older than Tian’s own son, who was currently in junior high school, yet he was already negotiating a business deal worth nearly ten million yuan.

Manager Tian could not help but marvel at how swiftly the times were changing; truly, the waves of the Yangtze River push the ones ahead, driving the former generation out of the race.

Zhou Xuan smiled. "You flatter me, Manager Tian. I’ve simply had a bit of good luck."

"Haha, President Zhou is far too modest. Still, since you've chosen to purchase our Phalanx computers this time, allow me to thank you on behalf of the company for your support." Manager Tian was well aware that with a sale of over a thousand computers, his year-end bonus would swell considerably.

Zhou Xuan politely replied, "This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. However, after reviewing these computer configurations—while they are certainly quite impressive—the pricing is undeniably on the high side. Your quotes are not much lower than Legend's, yet their brand recognition far surpasses yours."

Manager Tian smiled. "President Zhou shouldn't judge solely by brand recognition; our Phalanx computers are in no way inferior to Legend's. How about this? Adhering to our major client pricing structure, I will shave another 500 yuan off the price per unit for you. What do you say?"

The price quote Zhou Xuan had just examined was Phalanx’s rate for major clients ordering over 1,000 units, which stood at 8,000 yuan per computer. A further reduction of 500 would bring it down to 7,500 yuan. Although close to Zhou Xuan’s target of 7,000, he still hoped to drive the price down further.

"Manager Tian, you are well aware that I am not purchasing a mere handful of computers, but upwards of a thousand units, which places considerable pressure on our capital reserves. A price of 7,500 yuan remains somewhat steep for us; I believe 6,500 yuan would be much more reasonable." Zhou Xuan slashed a thousand yuan off the price in a single stroke.

Hearing Zhou Xuan's aggressive counteroffer, Manager Tian shook his head. "President Zhou, you certainly drive a hard bargain. 6,500 yuan is utterly out of the question. You must realize that computers with this configuration command a market price of over 9,500 yuan. At 6,500 yuan, Phalanx would make virtually no profit whatsoever."

"Haha, Manager Tian is joking. Who doesn't know that computers are a super-high-margin industry right now? Let's do this: our internet cafes have no need for optical drives, nor do we require hard drives of such massive capacity. You can suitably downgrade the specifications, can't you?" Internet cafe computers had no optical drives—largely because they were rarely used and prone to damage.

Manager Tian pondered this for a moment before replying, "In that case... the absolute minimum is 7,000."

"6,800, and not a penny more. My chain of internet cafes will be expanding nationwide in the future, and the total will far exceed just this thousand computers, Manager Tian," Zhou Xuan countered, shaking his head.

"Very well, but we must sign a letter of intent concerning future procurements. Afterwards, I will need to consult with my superiors, as we have never offered such a low price before." Hearing Zhou Xuan's final remark, Manager Tian felt tempted.

Even so, the matter required formal reporting, especially since this constituted a super-sized client.

After Manager Tian departed, Mai Zhuo asked, "Zhou Xuan, do you think Phalanx will actually agree?"

Zhou Xuan smiled. "This is a multi-million yuan deal; surely they will agree."

Yet half an hour passed before Manager Tian returned, his expression entirely devoid of joy, replaced instead by anxiety.

Zhou Xuan asked with a hint of surprise, "Manager Tian, what is the matter?"

"President Zhou, did you offend someone in the capital? When I was reporting to my superiors just now, they were originally inclined to agree. But then a sudden phone call came in, and afterward, my boss completely changed his mind, stating that they would no longer sell computers to you." Manager Tian looked thoroughly aggrieved at the loss of such a massive transaction.

Tian had offered a few words of persuasion, but his superior’s single remark—that they could not afford to provoke the other party—prompted him to shut his mouth.

Upon hearing Manager Tian's words, Zhou Xuan immediately understood what had transpired. Aside from Sister Yu, there could be no one else.

A cold smile crossed Zhou Xuan's mind. Sister Yu had actually gone so far as to have him followed; otherwise, how could she have known so quickly that he had come to Phalanx?

He promptly said, "Thank you for letting me know the reason, Manager Tian. I understand what is going on. Since things stand thus, we will take our leave."

"Sigh, how could it come to this?" Seeing the deal fall through, Manager Tian let out a heavy sigh.

Stepping out of the building, Zhou Xuan remarked, "What a formidable Sister Yu! I suppose no one in the capital dares to sell us computers now, do they?"

Observing Mai Zhuo's "I-told-you-so" expression, Zhou Xuan rubbed his chin and thought: Could it be that a trip to Pengcheng is truly unavoidable?