Chapter 311 306: Negotiation Meeting

Although it was a drinking occasion, the four of them called it a night after just one bottle of Maotai.

Wu Yun had wanted to pay the bill, but the owner, Zhang Tao, was a man of principle and would only take Liu Song's money. It wasn't until later that Wu Yun learned Zhang Tao had only charged them at cost.

Once in the car, Wu Yun, his mind perfectly clear, took out his phone and dialed Li Qiuliang first.

"Hello? President Li! This is big! Find somewhere quiet!" Wu Yun said loudly. It sounded noisy on Li Qiuliang's end.

"Alright, President Wu. Go ahead!" Li Qiuliang was at a family gathering. His relatives had just been showering him with compliments, which made him a little uncomfortable. Wu Yun's call was a welcome rescue.

"I got a tip tonight. Modu is about to regulate the shared bike market and crack down on the chaos of bikes being parked everywhere!" Hearing Wu Yun's words, Li Qiuliang's heart skipped a beat, but then he relaxed.

Sure enough, before Li Qiuliang could say anything, Wu Yun continued, "I've already made the arrangements. We're going to the City Management Bureau at ten tomorrow morning to discuss how we'll cooperate with the new regulations."

Li Qiuliang sensed something was up. For Wu Yun to be calling at this hour, he had clearly just finished dinner with someone. It looked like someone had given Wu Yun a heads-up. He asked, "President Wu, will it be just our company tomorrow?"

"That's right. It'll be just us and the City Management Bureau discussing our cooperation. We'll follow the business plan I gave you before. Review and organize it tonight. Also, it's time to upgrade our system." Wu Yun's voice was perfectly calm. That business plan already contained thorough countermeasures for this major crisis facing the shared bike industry.

"Understood, President Wu! I'll have someone book me a flight immediately! I'll be in Modu tonight or tomorrow morning!"

"Okay. Contact Wang Hao for the details. If you get in early, have him book you a hotel."

Wu Yun remembered something and suddenly added, "Give Tencent a heads-up. While you're at it, notify Zhang Cheng, the manager of the Modu branch, and tell him to join us tomorrow."

'Can't let a PR master like him go to waste!'

After hanging up, Wu Yun said to Wang Hao, "Contact President Li in a little bit and go over tomorrow's itinerary. We have a meeting at the City Management Bureau at ten o'clock."

Wang Hao quickly jotted down Wu Yun's instructions in his phone's memo app. "Understood, President Wu!"

When he got home, Qi Fei caught a strong whiff of alcohol from Wu Yun and pinched her nose. "You stink! Go take a shower! And make sure to brush your teeth, or else you're sleeping in the guest room tonight!"

.....

The next morning, after breakfast and a short rest, Wei Wu arrived with the car for Wu Yun.

As he got into the executive van, Wu Yun saw Li Qiuliang already seated inside.

"President Li! When did you get in?" Wu Yun asked with a smile, looking at the high-spirited Li Qiuliang.

"I caught a ten o'clock flight last night."

"And Zhang Cheng?"

Wang Hao answered, "President Zhang has already gone ahead."

On the way there, Wu Yun and Li Qiuliang continuously discussed whether their plan needed any improvements.

Following the address Li Bin had given them, the group soon arrived at the entrance to the City Management Bureau.

Only after Wei Wu completed the check-in process did the security guard at the gate let them through.

As Wu Yun and his entourage walked toward the lobby, he spotted Zhang Cheng, who resembled a Laughing Maitreya, waiting by the entrance.

"President Wu! President Li! You're here! I've already coordinated with the staff. We'll head up to the third-floor conference room first. Li Bin will bring the rest of the team over shortly!"

Led by Zhang Cheng, the group made their way to the third-floor conference room.

Zhang Cheng said, panting, "It's just up ahead!"

Wu Yun teased, "President Zhang, you need to lose some weight! You're this out of breath just from climbing a few flights of stairs!"

Zhang Cheng chuckled. "President Wu, I'd love to, but I just can't control my appetite!"

Tea and water had already been set out in the large conference room.

On the row of tables against the window, several nameplates had been set out. The one in the very center was for Li Bin.

On a row of tables behind that, more nameplates were arranged, presumably for secretaries and note-takers.

Wu Yun took the main seat on the guest's side of the table and waited quietly for Li Bin and the others to arrive.

As ten o'clock approached, a group of people filed in.

Wu Yun and his team rose to their feet, waiting for the officials from the City Management Bureau to take their seats before sitting down themselves.

Here, Zhang Cheng's skill truly shone. He had memorized the titles of all the officials present. When introducing his team and fielding questions, he was able to address everyone by their proper title, which put all the officials at ease.

After Li Bin concluded with his remarks, laying out all the requirements and the desired results of the new regulations, the moderator said, "We will now have the representative from the Little Red Car Company explain their plan for cooperation and the technical support they can provide."

Li Qiuliang opened the PowerPoint he had prepared and projected it onto the large screen in the conference room before beginning his explanation:

"Good morning, distinguished leaders. I am Li Qiuliang, General Manager of the Little Red Car Company. I will now explain how our company plans to cooperate with your bureau to address the issue of improperly parked shared bikes."

Li Qiuliang began by introducing the benefits and social contributions of Little Red Car, before acknowledging the company's own shortcomings regarding insufficient oversight and inadequate technical design.

"Therefore, our company has held internal discussions regarding these issues."

"The following are the solutions our company can implement on its own."

"First, we will increase our efforts to educate Little Red Car users on proper usage, ensuring everyone understands that bikes must be parked in designated areas on the street."

"Second, on the technical side, our company can restrict the return locations to designated zones. If a user tries to end their ride outside of this zone, they will receive a warning and will be unable to lock the bike and complete the trip."

As he spoke, Li Qiuliang displayed two comparative images. In the second image, the return area was significantly smaller and clearly marked within a rectangular boundary.

Then, the PowerPoint switched to the next slide.

"Third, if users repeatedly fail to park in the designated areas, our company will deduct a penalty from their security deposit."

The solutions Li Qiuliang presented earned him repeated nods of approval from Li Bin and the other officials.

Then, Li Qiuliang's tone shifted. "However, if we could have the assistance of your bureau, our company could certainly do even better."

"For example, you could plan designated parking spots along the streets. Once your bureau has designated these spots, our technical team will update our system to restrict return locations to precisely these positions."

"This would not only solve the problem of haphazardly parked shared bikes, but the uniform parking would also beautify the city's appearance!"

"To support your bureau's work, our company will allocate a special fund of five to ten million yuan for the planning of these parking spots. This money can be used for things like installing signs and painting boundary lines!"

This finishing move brought smiles to the faces of all the City Management Bureau officials, including Li Bin.

And so, in this harmonious atmosphere, the two sides began a friendly negotiation on how to plan the locations and number of parking spots, as well as the use of the funds.

It wasn't until noon that the preliminary results of their discussion were finalized.

Li Bin stood up and said with a smile, "President Wu, President Li, President Zhang! Please, allow me to invite you to sample the food in our bureau's cafeteria!"