Chapter 83 A Good Relationship
Liu Yong drove Li Changle back to their rental house the following day before heading to the company.
His visit was to oversee the arrival of the first 100,000-ton oil tanker scheduled to dock that day.
"Lele, let me accompany you upstairs," Liu Yong offered.
Li Changle declined, saying,
"No need. I can go up by myself. You go to the company first, and don't worry about me."
After some hesitation, Liu Yong agreed as the elevator had already arrived downstairs for Li Changle.
"Alright," he said.
"Yong, goodbye," Li Changle bid farewell.
"Goodbye," Liu Yong replied.
To Liu Yong's surprise, Li Changle unexpectedly kissed his cheek before entering the elevator, taking him aback.
Li Changle had just kissed Liu Yong on his cheek before joyfully running into the waiting elevator.
If one were to observe closely, one would notice that her ears were slightly reddened.
This marked the first time that Li Changle had proactively initiated a kiss with Liu Yong since they had met.
After standing outside for a few minutes, Liu Yong happily headed to the company.
Upon entering the rental house, Li Changle was surprised to find Wang Li in the living room instead of out. Seeing Li Changle come in, Wang Li jokingly asked,
"Lele, you didn't come back home all night yesterday. Did you spend the night at a hotel with Liu Yong?"
Li Changle blushed slightly and quickly replied, "No, what are you thinking? We didn't go to a hotel."
Wang Li persisted and asked, "If not a hotel, then did you stay over at Liu Yong's place last night?"
Feeling embarrassed, Li Changle refused to answer and retorted,
"You nosy girl, why do you have to ask so many questions?"
Wang Li, still curious, approached her and asked, "Was it at Liu Yong's place? Did you use the TT I gave you last time?"
Feeling even more embarrassed, Li Changle replied firmly,
"You're so dirty! I won't tell you anything!" and hurried back to her room.
At the HTC Group, Zhao Zhenbiao was experiencing a successful streak in his life.
The new desk he had ordered had arrived, and it was made of a single piece of golden nanmu wood. Zhao Zhenbiao was thrilled with the final result.
Aside from this significant achievement, the acquisition of many Jinsinan and Huanghuali wood planks bolstered Hongda Group's reputation in the industry, making many of his colleagues envious.
This hefty investment of over two billion yuan in these precious woods would likely lead to a significant return on investment for Zhao Zhenbiao.
In his office, Zhao Zhenbiao was enjoying the company of his friend Zhou Zhengming, a middle-aged man.
The two sat sipping tea and engaging in casual conversation.
Zhou Zhengming is a wealthy and influential figure in the manufacturing industry of Huahai City, specifically in the Finishing area. His company had two brushes.
One day, Zhou Zhengming's friend asked him, "Old Zhou, how come you have time to sit with me today?"
Zhou Zhengming decided to confide in his friend and said,
"I have encountered a problematic matter, Lao Zhao. You have many ways, and I'd like to know if you can help me find a solution."
Zhou's friend replied, "Your matter is my matter. As long as I can help, I will do my best. Tell me, what is it?"
Zhou Zhengming explained,
"In order to improve our precision machining capabilities, I spent a lot of effort and finally bought two high-precision CNC machining centers from RB. I bought the things, but they couldn't be shipped back. I was really anxious to death."
Zhao Zhenbiao responded, "Oh, there is such a thing. The shipping industry is very developed now, so it should be able to be shipped back."
Zhou Zhengming then revealed the real issue:
"Old Zhao, you may be a little ignorant if you don't do our business. Many countries prohibit the export of high-precision CNC equipment to us, and RB is no exception."
Upon learning that exports of high-precision CNC equipment were prohibited, Zhao Zhenbiao nodded in agreement, realizing that the machines could not be shipped back.
Zhou Zhengming explained that he had attempted to arrange for the devices to be sent back through unique channels, but no ocean shipping company was willing to take on the risk.
"I even increased the shipping cost to 5 million units, but no company dared to take this risk. Now it seems that I was sloppy,"
Zhou Zhengming shared with a worried expression.
The so-called particular channel is smuggling, and Zhou Zhengming had initially thought that the machines could be shipped back quietly through smuggling, but in the end, no one dared to accept the order.
Zhao Zhenbiao was surprised by the high shipping cost and asked Zhou Zhengming about the total expenses.
Zhou revealed that the CNC machining centers were highly advanced and had top-of-the-line precision, which made them expensive.
"How much did you spend in total, and the shipping fee is so high," asked Zhao Zhenbiao.
Zhou Zhengming replied, "This is an advanced CNC machining center with very high precision. RB's latest product represents world-class machining accuracy. Of course, it is also expensive. The purchase of these two devices alone cost me nearly 50 million."
Zhao Zhenbiao was taken aback by the staggering figure.
"Nearly fifty million! Every two thousand is several million. It's really not that expensive," he remarked.
Zhou Zhengming may have paid a higher price than the actual value. Still, there was no denying that the precision CNC machining center cost more than 20 million yuan, and its high price reflected its high precision machining capability.
"Spending tens of millions of dollars is worth it,"
Zhou Zhengming said with hope.
"With these two devices, our finishing ability will reach new heights, and we'll be able to process many previously impossible-to-machine parts."
Despite his optimism, Zhou Zhengming sighed softly, knowing the devices couldn't be shipped back to the factory.
Seeing his friend's disappointment, Zhao Zhenbiao thought of the shipping company next door, Global Ocean Service Company, and said,
"Old Zhou, the boss of Global Ocean Service Company is a friend of mine. Let me see if he can help us."
Zhou Zhengming's hope was reignited.
"Thank you, Old Zhao. Please take care of this for me."
Zhao Zhenbiao responded,
"No need to thank me. I'll go see Mr. Liu now and ask for his help."
The two left the office together, and Zhao Zhenbiao went to Universal Company next door while Zhou Zhengming waited in the reception room, sipping tea.
Meanwhile, Liu Yong was in his office, having just received news that the company's first 100,000-ton oil tanker had arrived and was docked at the port.
After making some preparations, it was ready to transport crude oil to the Middle East or other locations, pending transportation business.
Shortly after, there was a knock on Liu Yong's office door.
Zhao Zhenbiao entered the office, surprising Liu Yong, who greeted him warmly.
"Mr. Zhao, please have a seat," he said.
The two had a good relationship and were very comfortable with each other. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhao Zhenbiao explained his request.
Liu Yong then remembered that the two precision CNC machining centers had been shipped back from RB and that the reward for their safe return was 10 million yuan. With that kind of money, arranging for their shipment to be transported seemed feasible.
"I'll see what I can do,"
Liu Yong said with a smile.
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