“Mr. Kirilenko, these specifications had been proven, and we can let your men test it. Our factory has all these models now, and they are all mass produced. This factory is only manufacturing the 3 versions of the Olympic model. The other two models are manufactured by our factory in Jinling. If you have the time, I can bring you there for a visit.” Li Mingde said with a proud look on his face.
Kirilenko looked at his engineer, and his engineer said: “Sir, these specifications are among the best in the world. If these figures are real, then these cars are way ahead of Volga’s latest models!”
What? Way ahead of Volga’s latest models?
“You sure?”
“I must test the cars first to be sure.” The engineer replied seriously.
Kirilenko nodded. Li Mingde waved his hand, and his staff brought the Russian engineer to test drive the vehicles.
Feng Yu smilingly looked at Kirilenko: “Brother Ki, how is it? Do you like the interior and exterior designs of my cars? Do you think that these cars will be popular in your country?”
“How are these cars selling in your country?” Kirilenko asked Feng Yu back.
Feng Yu casually replied: “A few days ago, CCTV, our national TV station, had purchased a batch of our cars. Mayor Zhang here can prove that I am not lying to you.”
Zhang Ruiqiang stared at Feng Yu. This rascal was quoting out of context again. CCTV had indeed placed an order, but CCTV was the only one who had placed any orders. Other than CCTV, Feng Yu had not sold a single car yet.
But Zhang Ruiqiang chooses to support Feng Yu as the other party was a Russian.
“That’s right. CCTV is the voice of our government. This TV station has a high status in China. They have indeed ordered a batch of Songjiang Motors vehicles. They had wanted to purchase German’s Audi and Santana. But they realized Songjiang Motors vehicles are better and have better specifications. That’s why they changed their mind.”
Li Mingde added: “We have already delivered CCTV’s cars to them. You do not need to worry about our production not keeping up.”
But one of Kirilenko’s men suddenly asked: “Can I ask Mayor Zhang, is Bing City’s Government buying Songjiang Motors vehicles too?”
Zhang Ruiqiang was stunned. Why was this question suddenly thrown to him? His faced changed. He understood what that Russian wanted to know. Since you claim this Songjiang Motors vehicles are so good, then why is Bing City’s government not purchasing these figures?
“We are still discussing the purchasing contract. As we will be purchasing in large numbers, we need to get approval from the Provincial government. That’s why we still cannot finalize the contract yet.” Zhang Ruiqiang explained after thinking for a while.
Kirilenko frowned: “Mayor Zhang, why do you still need to consult the Provincial Government over such a trivial matter? I did not see your car when I come. Can you tell me what car you are using now?”
Zhang Ruiqiang looked at Feng Yu, and Feng Yu shrugged his shoulders. Why are you looking at me for? Answer him yourself.
“My car is an old car, Audi 100. We are planning to change our cars. Personally, I prefer the Songjiang Motors Olympic model. It looks grand and suits government officials.” Zhang Ruiqiang gritted his teeth and said.
Zhang Ruiqiang was regretting. He should return back to his office after he met Kirilenko. He can just show up again when Kirilenko was about to sign the contract.
Now, Zhang Ruiqiang had no choice. He can’t tell Kirilenko that he does not want to purchase Songjiang Motors vehicles. This was the Machinery Company to export their vehicles. He can’t mess up this deal.
Wait, Li Mingde had told the City that there will be a businessman from Russia visiting the Machinery Company and they will be discussing about his purchase. Was this on purpose? If this was not on purpose, why would Li Mingde ask him to be present to show his support for the Machinery Company?
Zhang Ruiqiang gave Feng Yu a stare. He felt he had been tricked by Feng Yu!
Feng Yu had an innocent look. He also did not expect Kirilenko’s man to ask this question. He was innocent.
But now, Zhang Ruiqiang could not stop the City Government from purchasing Songjiang Motors vehicles. Li Mingde had tried to persuade the City to buy these vehicles but were stopped by Zhang Ruiqiang. Zhang Ruiqiang had set an example by traveling in the former Mayor’s Audi 100. How could his subordinates still dare to suggest changing their vehicles for better ones?
If the City Government changed their vehicles, then the counties and agencies will find all sort of excuses to replace their current fleet. Bing City’s finances were still doing well these few years.
Kirilenko looked at Zhang Ruiqiang: “How many Songjiang Motors vehicles does Bing City wants to purchase and which model?”
Zhang Ruiqiang was cursing in his heart. Why are you keep focusing on me? Seems like he cannot just purchase a few cars to fool Kirilenko. Does this mean that the City will have to buy a batch of vehicles?
“Ermm…… we are still considering about the models. But the total number of vehicles should not be less than 100 units!” Zhang Ruiqiang replied.
He was afraid that if the number of vehicles was too little, Kirilenko would have doubts. As for how many cars will be purchased in the end can be discussed later.
Kirilenko still wanted to ask more questions, but Zhang Ruiqiang glanced at Li Mingde, and Li Mingde immediately changed the topic.
“Mr. Kirilenko, if these cars are as good as what was written on the brochures, will you be interested in ordering a batch?”
“I am interested of course. But there are still many factors like prices and some other conditions to consider.” Kirilenko smiled and answered.
Feng Yu gave Li Mingde a look, and Li Mingde did not carry on asking. Feng Yu can negotiate the prices with Kirilenko himself. After all, Feng Yu was more familiar with Russia than them.
“Brother Ki, the cheapest version of our Olympic model, is also equipped with airbags. The cost is more than 20,000 USD. The cost for this mid-range version is almost 40,000 USD. The top tier model’s cost is 60,000 USD. The cost for both diesel and petrol versions of this Off-road SUV model is about the same. About 40,000 USD. Finally, this Red Star model is about 60,000 USD. How many do you want? I can give you some discounts.”
Kirilenko looked at Feng Yu. The cost of these cars was so high? Then if Feng Yu were to add in the profits and the transportation charges to Moscow, there would not be any profits left.
“Feng, the prices for your cars is a bit high. If I want to sell your cars, I will not have any profits.” Kirilenko was not happy. Didn’t you promise that I will be able to make lots of money?
Feng Yu also knows that prices he gave were slightly higher. Those were not the cost of the vehicles. Those were the retail prices in China.
“Brother Ki, look. We are selling these cars to Russia, and we need to pay the exportation taxes. The taxes are included in the price.”
Currently, China’s exportation tax was very low for vehicles. Not only vehicles, but the rest of the products were also the same. China was encouraging exportation. To earn foreign currency, China had used all ways and means. Some items that were lacking in China were also exported and then imported again. This was turning exports into domestic sales. This way, China would be able to get foreign currencies.
“I also need to pay importation taxes, and our taxes are quite high too. These are not those small tickets items.” Kirilenko winked at Feng Yu.
Kirilenko had never paid any taxes for his commodities trade all this while. Anyway, all his goods were in the military train carriages. When the train reaches Russia, there will be no one checking. When the products reach Moscow, no one dares to interfere with his business due to his father.
But vehicles were different. There was no way to hide. If he were to import these vehicles into Russia without paying any taxes, there would be some impact on his father’s reputation.
“How about this, Brother Ki? Our production had not started completely. That’s why our cost is a bit higher. I will speak to the leaders and see if we can get some government policies to lower the taxes. This way, the cost of each car can be lowered by about 1,000 USD. With these new prices, I think you will surely have more profits.”
Damn, England imported cars used by the Russian officials were more expensive. If Kirilenko was able to make use of his connections and background properly, he should get at least a few thousand USD of profits for each car. If he could sell 1,000 cars, his earnings will be at least a few million USD. This was not a small sum and was much higher than his monthly commodities trade.
Of course, this was only if Kirilenko was able to sell so many vehicles.
Zhang Ruiqiang looked at Feng Yu and said: “Hmmm… We can discuss this later.”
Of course, this was only lip service. Zhang Ruiqiang will never agree to waive off the taxes. Feng Yu had made so much money. What’s wrong with him paying the country and the City some taxes?
Kirilenko was still thinking about this deal when his engineer returned. The engineer was very excited and kept nodding to Kirilenko.
“Sir, there are no problems with the cars’ performances. Their cars and engines are much better than the Volga. The suspension, anti-collision, and other safety features were much better than Volga cars. Overall, these cars are excellent.”
The engineer had wanted to say the overall performance of these cars were almost perfect. But he did not want to say it in front of all the Chinese.
“Brother Ki, why are you hesitating? The performance is much better than your country’s Volga and is about the same as those English cars. The prices are also much lower. Not only individuals will buy. Have you ever considered if your government will make a bulk purchase?” Feng Yu raised one eyebrow.
That’s right. Why didn’t I think of this earlier? If I could sell these cars to the local governments, it will be much easier. I can also place an order with Feng Yu after I receive orders from the local governments. This way, I do not have to use any of my capital.
“Feng, after you have spoken to your government, give me the final price list.” Kirilenko said after a short pause.
“No problem. The price I am giving you will surely let you make lots of profits.” Feng Yu was overjoyed. Seems like Kirilenko was interested. He knew that Kirilenko would be interested if the profits were high enough.
The deal this time was considered a win-win situation for both parties. Feng Yu believed that Kirilenko could sell off this batch of vehicles at high prices to the corrupted Russian governments easily. Even if the rates offered to Kirilenko remained the same, Kirilenko would still have high profits.
Now, Feng Yu had offered to lower the prices slightly, that means Kirilenko’s profits will increase further. His profits might even be higher than the Machinery Company.
Zhang Ruiqiang looked at Feng Yu in a daze. Did this kid plan to sell these vehicles to Russia from the start? No wonder he dares to guarantee that the sales will exceed 50,000 units within 3 years.
Now it seems that Feng Yu does not even need 3 years.
Zhang Ruiqiang was puzzled. Russia had inherited most of the Soviet Union’s assets. Why did their automobile industry decline to such state? Even if the former Soviet Union’s industrial developments were in the wrong direction, but Russia now should also be considered a powerful industrial country.
This Russian had agreed to import a batch of vehicles from the Machinery Company!
This Russian should be the one who had been selling the former Soviet Union industrial equipment to Feng Yu. That means he should also know that this factory’s production lines were second-hand production lines from the former Soviet Union. Why was he still willing to buy the Machinery Company’s vehicles?
Could it be that these vehicles were really as good as what Feng Yu claims?
Feng Yu had bought second-hand equipment from the former Soviet Union previously and then manufactured vehicles from those equipment. The cars produced were then sold back to Russia. Was this considered buying a hen and then selling eggs back to the seller?
Li Mingde immediately asked his men to prepare lunch at the factory’s canteen.
Kirilenko’s eyes widened and said something in a weird accent: “Xiao Chi?” (Xiao Chi refers to street food or snacks in Chinese)
Li Mingde looked at the translator confused. The translator was also staring at Kirilenko blankly. The translator had not heard of such Russian word before.
Feng Yu helplessly said: “He wants to eat street food. Tell the canteen to prepare some local snacks. Oh, prepare a carton of Bing City’s strongest Baijiu!”
Feng Yu was screaming in his heart. Die Kirilenko! This afternoon, we have so many people. You will be drunk for sure!