Wu Lingling's expression was very grim, and she even appeared extremely flustered.
This was understandable. Just as Wang Yu had previously taken actions that seemed foolish and wasteful, his ultimate goal was to consolidate resources and build a robust industrial foundation. The new industrial park was the initial result of this effort, and Wang Yu intended to continuously expand it into a powerful and complete industrial empire!
Wu Lingling was in a similar position. Her initial collaboration with Wang Yu was driven by her interest in his product resources.
The fundamental purpose of all their dealerships, agencies, and commercial trades was to penetrate the infrastructure market of the twelve small Southeast countries of Dongzhou.
These countries were all poor and underdeveloped third-world nations. Naturally, national development was impossible without infrastructure, and this was Wu Lingling's objective!
Everyone knew that the infrastructure industry was incredibly lucrative, especially in these poor, underdeveloped nations with imperfect systems; the profits were even more immense!
Therefore, the tender for 500 construction vehicles in Dongma Country became the crucial first step in her ambitious plan, a step that could not afford to fail!
Seeing Wu Lingling's flustered demeanor, Wang Yu couldn't help but find it amusing. This was likely a case of concern leading to panic.
"Don't rush. Tell me what's wrong slowly. Sit down and catch your breath first."
Wang Yu chuckled, inviting Wu Lingling to sit. He then poured her some tea and, after shaking the teapot, turned to Liu Lu, who was nearby.
"There's no water in the teapot. Go and boil some."
Liu Lu immediately stood up. She glanced at the seemingly full teapot, then understanding, smiled and turned to leave without a word.
"I'll go check on the current production progress and also implement the rest system you just ordered."
With that, Liu Lu departed, leaving Wang Yu and Wu Lingling alone.
"Alright, now that there are no outsiders, tell me what exactly happened. What do you mean the bid slots were replaced?"
Wang Yu asked Wu Lingling, his tone as gentle and steady as ever.
"You're not in a hurry?"
Seeing Wang Yu's composure, Wu Lingling felt a slight sense of relief.
"What is there to be hurried about? We need to understand the specific situation, analyze the reasons, and then find solutions and methods. What's the use of just being anxious?"
Wang Yu chuckled and pushed a teacup towards Wu Lingling, gesturing for her to drink some water first.
"Yes, you're right."
Taking the teacup, Wu Lingling sipped her tea. For some reason, seeing Wang Yu gave her a sense of peace and relief, as if no problem was insurmountable for him.
"Didn't Dongma Country provide the tender information back then?"
Wu Lingling began, "And you prepared the corresponding bid information."
"Yes, that's correct." Wang Yu nodded with a smile.
"I put a lot of effort into this bid document. Their documents required writing in both English and Dongma Country's language. I went through a lot of trouble to find a translator.
Fortunately, the product parameter requirements perfectly matched our new Hope series agricultural vehicles, saving us the hassle of developing separate products and going through tedious procedures like official declarations."
Listening to Wang Yu, Wu Lingling nodded slowly, then said with a sigh,
"After I received your bid document, as a precautionary measure, I prepared a decoy bid."
"Decoy bid? Whose information did you use?"
Wang Yu was slightly stunned and asked, a bad feeling suddenly arising.
A decoy bid was a common tactic in the tendering process.
Basically, it involved a bidding unit finding other companies to act as a facade. If the bid was already internally decided, they would invite other units to go through the motions, creating the appearance of fair competition and a carefully chosen product.
Well, such troublesome and roundabout practices were usually only seen with private enterprises like Wang Yu's.
For state-owned enterprises, bidding was a matter of chance; whether they won or lost was irrelevant, as they had stable incomes.
As for central government-owned units... apologies, they could just do whatever they wanted directly without the need for bidding... cough!
The tender in Dongma Country this time also involved Wu Lingling's efforts. It wasn't a sure thing, but the probability was very high.
Otherwise, how could she have obtained the internal bid documents before others even knew about the tender? What more was there to say?
Even though her sister, Wu Manman, had obtained it, and there might have been special circumstances involved, the ability to obtain it was a testament to her competence!
"For the decoy bid information, I used your old acquaintance, the agricultural machinery factory's information."
Wu Lingling said,
"They are basically bankrupt now, and the factory director, that Tao, has disappeared, so they pose no threat. Moreover, they coincidentally had a product that copied yours. Apart from the trademark, there was no other difference, so..."
"So you directly used the agricultural machinery factory's information as a decoy?"
Wang Yu nodded slightly, then added with a smile, "Their factory director's name is Zhao Tao. I'm not an old acquaintance of his, and I don't want to be. Of course, my classmate, Du Yujuan, who was the class beauty, should be very familiar with him, in all sorts of ways!"
Hearing Wang Yu's jests, Wu Lingling playfully hit him. "Stop joking! I'm telling you something serious now! The problem is that that Tao... Zhao Tao, for some reason, has reappeared and actually participated in this tender, somehow replacing our originally allocated slot!"
Wu Lingling's words were filled with helplessness. She had been hoist by her own petard. She never expected that the opportunity meant for them would go to the agricultural machinery factory!
How could she not be angry? To watch a perfect opportunity slip through her fingers and become a stepping stone for others, how could she not blame herself?
"Is that so?"
Wang Yu pondered deeply. Zhao Tao wouldn't have reappeared without reason. He had seemingly vanished before.
Furthermore, his reappearance coincided perfectly with him taking the slot originally meant for their automobile factory. Wang Yu would be insulting his own intelligence if he didn't suspect something was amiss!
"Could it be Mu Yuntao's doing?" Wang Yu mused. The only one who could influence Dongma Country and be at odds with him and Wu Lingling was likely Mu Yuntao, possessing both the means and the motive!
"I know that guy. He's arrogant and condescending. If he did this, he would definitely flaunt it in front of us!"
Wu Lingling said, and Wang Yu found some logic in her words. That guy really was like that. If he had done it, he would have likely been arrogant and boastful from the start.
"Forget it. Regardless of who's behind this, our priority now is to solve the current problem! I think..."
Wang Yu thought calmly and slowly began to speak.
However, before he could finish, the office door was opened again, and Liu Lu returned.
"Something's wrong, Little Factory Director! Our transport fleet has been robbed on the road!"
"What?"