"Mrs. Chaykov, please let me explain. There must be some mistake. This contract is not the one I was given," Wei Yumeng hurriedly explained, though she couldn't figure out when the contract could have been swapped.
Mrs. Chaykov sighed as she looked at Wei Yumeng. "Mrs. Zhan, I understand that everyone makes mistakes. How about this: in consideration of our past good relations, I will give you one more chance. Come back tomorrow with a revised contract..."
However, before she could finish, the conference room door was pushed open.
"Wen Xueshan?" Mrs. Chaykov frowned. "Who allowed you in so casually? Our cooperation has been terminated."
Wen Xueshan glanced at Wei Yumeng before speaking to Mrs. Chaykov. "Mrs. Chaykov, please give us another chance. This project is truly important to us, and we have made revisions to both the project and the contract. We have already offered the largest share of the benefits to your company. Please, won't you give us another opportunity?"
Although Wei Yumeng didn't know Wen Xueshan, she found her appearance to be too coincidental. It was precisely on the day she had arranged to sign the contract with Mrs. Chaykov, and precisely when her contract was swapped, that Wen Xueshan showed up seeking an opportunity. Everything made Wei Yumeng suspect that the contract swapping incident was related to Wen Xueshan. However, these were just her suspicions, and she couldn't jump to conclusions. If Mrs. Chaykov insisted on not giving Wen Xueshan a chance, then she wouldn't have an opportunity to uncover any issues with Wen Xueshan.
"Mrs. Chaykov, this project was originally intended for you to cooperate with them. And the mistake with the contract today is indeed partly my responsibility. I think you might as well give her a chance," Wei Yumeng suggested. Although she had just angered Mrs. Chaykov, she wasn't sure if the latter would listen to her.
Mrs. Chaykov pondered for a moment and finally nodded. "Alright, then you have an opportunity. Let's hear your new proposal."
Wen Xueshan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mrs. Chaykov." As she spoke, she handed the materials she had brought to Mrs. Chaykov.
"Based on this research, we have discovered several new problems that were not apparent in the original project, and we have formulated corresponding solutions. For example, here, here, and here," she said, pointing them out to Mrs. Chaykov.
Seeing these, Wei Yumeng frowned. These were exactly the same problems she had discussed with Mrs. Chaykov before, and although the solutions were presented differently, the underlying principles were similar.
"Did you come up with all of this?" Mrs. Chaykov, not easily fooled, directly voiced her doubts.
Wen Xueshan, however, appeared very sincere. "Of course, Mrs. Chaykov. We have been preparing for this project all along. These problems are the results of our practical work. To test whether our solutions were truly effective, we also conducted simulations. Only after numerous verifications did we arrive at these results."
Yet, Wei Yumeng continued to regard her with suspicion. Was this really the case? At this moment, Wei Yumeng noticed an issue: the survey data provided by Wen Xueshan was problematic.
"May I be so bold as to ask, Miss Wen, are you also from China, here for this collaboration?"
Wei Yumeng's question left Wen Xueshan somewhat bewildered. "No, I have been living here for many years and naturally work here."
"Then it's strange. Why does this survey data use figures from China?"
As Wei Yumeng pointed this out, Mrs. Chaykov also noticed the discrepancy. The data was similar to what Wei Yumeng had previously told her, but it differed from Wen Xueshan's situation.
"How do you explain this?"
Wen Xueshan's lips twitched. She had compiled these materials based on Wei Yumeng's contract and hadn't had time to meticulously verify them. However, she couldn't let Mrs. Chaykov see through her. She simply said, "After conducting my research, I chose the country with the highest projected sales as an example, because I believe such data would be more representative."
Mrs. Chaykov nodded, accepting her explanation for now. Wen Xueshan's subsequent presentation also revealed similar issues, but each time Wei Yumeng raised a concern, Wen Xueshan managed to provide a plausible explanation. Nevertheless, this confirmed Wei Yumeng's suspicion: Wen Xueshan was indeed problematic. If Wen Xueshan had won this project solely through her own merit, Wei Yumeng would have conceded. However, her methods were far too dishonorable.
"Mrs. Chaykov, my company and my team sincerely wish to continue our cooperation with you. Please give us a chance." Wen Xueshan said this while bowing deeply to Mrs. Chaykov.
Mrs. Chaykov did not respond immediately but fell into thought. In essence, Wen Xueshan's current proposal was no different from Wei Yumeng's, with only minor variations in the execution of activities. Therefore, Wei Yumeng reasoned that Mrs. Chaykov's deliberation was unlikely to be about whose plan was superior. Given this, why not take advantage of Mrs. Chaykov's goodwill?
"Mrs. Chaykov, I find Miss Wen's proposal to be excellent. However, the content is not significantly different from what I proposed earlier, which makes it difficult for you to choose between them. How about this: let's set a deadline of two days, and we will each create a completely new proposal. Whoever's proposal is more outstanding will then be awarded the cooperation rights for the project."
Upon hearing Wei Yumeng's suggestion, Mrs. Chaykov nodded in agreement. "Indeed, both proposals you have presented today are excellent, and choosing between them is difficult. This is a good idea." However, she then looked at her assistant. "To prevent you both from presenting similar proposals again, I will give each of you two different scenarios. You will then create corresponding proposals based on your assigned topics."
"Certainly," Wei Yumeng readily agreed. This also indicated that Mrs. Chaykov was not as easily swayed as she appeared and had recognized the potential for similar proposals.
"Since Mrs. Chaykov has suggested this, I am naturally willing to accept the challenge," Wen Xueshan said, casting a provocative glance at Wei Yumeng. "I am confident that the result this time will satisfy Mrs. Chaykov."