Chapter 217 Trust

Pei Qian’s hand trembled slightly as he picked up the red wine on the table, took a sip, and calmed himself down.

Well, why did he have this feeling of "as expected"...

Being hit by sudden bad news at a dinner party wasn't a one-time thing anymore; it seemed he had developed some resistance.

However, President Pei, who had been through countless battles, definitely wouldn't give up so easily.

If President Pei didn't approve this, then there was still room for reversal!

Pei Qian put down his wine glass. "Are you sure you want to cooperate with those furniture brands and real estate companies?"

"Aren't you going to reconsider?"

"This idea doesn't seem very well-thought-out."

As for what specifically needed consideration, Pei Qian himself wasn't very clear. Anyway, what he was considering was how to make less money, or even not make any money at all, but he couldn't find a suitable excuse.

When President Pei couldn't come up with anything, he needed to reverse-leverage his employees' brain-storming effect.

Song Kai was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "That's right, President Pei, why not?"

"Real estate companies are known for being rich!"

"As for furniture companies, although many brands aren't very well-known, their profits are very high, and there's a lot of room for price reductions. We can help customers get lower prices, and we can get a cut ourselves. What's not to like?"

Pei Qian's face darkened.

Did he not know that real estate companies were famous for being rich?

Did he not know that many furniture brands had high profits?

If you emphasize it any further, I definitely can't agree!

Song Kai looked blank, and Liang Qingfan also fell into a pensive state.

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment.

Pei Qian felt that it wasn't good to keep the silence going, so he wanted to dismiss them to go back and eat first, and shelve this matter for the time being, to consider it slowly.

After all, the longer he considered it, the later he would make money; he would delay it as long as he could.

But just then, Lü Mingliang, who had been listening silently from the side, spoke.

He sighed softly. "The two of you are new to Tengda, so your working style hasn't aligned with the Tengda spirit yet. It's no wonder you can't hear the deeper meaning in President Pei's words."

Song Kai and Liang Qingfan were stunned for a moment, then showed an expression of humility and eagerness to learn. "President Lü, could you please enlighten us?"

Pei Qian also looked at Lü Mingliang, a question mark floating above his head.

?

I invited you here just to eat and make up the numbers; don't misinterpret me!

Oh, it's Lü Mingliang; never mind then.

If it were people like Lin Wan, Huang Sibo, or Bao Xu, Pei Qian might consider interrupting them, not letting them continue.

Because when these people interpreted things, something often went wrong!

But Pei Qian still deeply trusted Lü Mingliang, so he could allow him to say a few more words.

Lü Mingliang organized his thoughts and said, "Actually, when I first heard about this profit model, I was also very surprised; it was indeed unexpected."

"But after thinking about it carefully, I realized a problem. The profit model you're thinking of now might just be a small part of what President Pei originally conceived."

Pei Qian: "..."

Liang Qingfan and Song Kai were in awe, listening even more attentively.

Lü Mingliang continued, "Congratulations to the two of you; you've already entered President Pei's realm of thinking, recognizing Tengda Group's second most valuable asset: trust."

"Tengda has long adhered to honest operation and never engaged in any falsehoods, establishing a good reputation among customers. Therefore, even when entering a new industry, customers will tend to trust us."

"'Tengda's products may be expensive, and the cost performance may be worse, but they will definitely not cheat people.' This is the customers' trust in Tengda, and it's also our second most valuable asset."

Song Kai cautiously raised his hand and asked, "Excuse me for interrupting, but what is our first most valuable asset...?"

Lü Mingliang was a little puzzled, thinking, did I have to say it so explicitly?

But he realized that Song Kai really hadn't guessed it, so he had no choice but to explain helplessly, "Of course, it's President Pei's brain."

Song Kai suddenly understood, nodding vigorously.

That's right, how could I not have thought of such a simple question!

Pei Qian: "..."

He didn't know what to say for a moment.

Lü Mingliang continued, "It's precisely because of the customers' trust in Tengda that Tengda can be invincible in various new fields. So this trust itself is valuable. Using the Sloth Apartments brand to cooperate with other furniture manufacturers and real estate companies is essentially using customers' trust in us to endorse these companies."

"In an ideal situation, this is indeed a win-win situation: we, as intermediaries, help consumers and manufacturers build a bridge of mutual trust. Manufacturers earn a little less, but sell more at a small profit; consumers get real benefits, and we can also get income from it."

"But the problem is, how do we ensure that this cooperation is always in an ideal situation? What if the manufacturers cooperate well with us at the beginning, but gradually find that it's easy to make money this way, and they can get a lot of profits by cutting corners a little, and consumers can hardly notice..."

"Then, how do we guarantee that the companies we cooperate with won't deteriorate?"

"Once this kind of thing is exposed, it's equivalent to polluting Tengda's water source and shaking the foundation of Tengda's existence, which outweighs the gains."

"Don't believe that these companies are as conscientious as Tengda. The lesson of Zhujia Group's Anxinfang is still fresh in our minds, isn't it?" (Anxinfang = Worry-Free Housing)

Liang Qingfan and Song Kai suddenly understood.

This was indeed a huge hidden danger!

In fact, the two of them had more or less realized this problem, but on the one hand, it was because it was only the advocacy stage of cooperation and no formal agreement had been reached; on the other hand, they had thought of it but didn't give it enough importance, thinking too kindly of other companies, so they didn't consider this in depth.

But now, hearing Lü Mingliang's words, the two of them instantly woke up.

So President Pei was worried about this!

They couldn't help but look at President Pei, finding that President Pei was holding a wine glass and contemplating, looking profound and unpredictable.

They couldn't help but become even more awestruck.

However, Pei Qian was actually thinking about another problem.

When he heard "shaking the foundation of Tengda's existence," he was a little tempted.

It sounded like it would be easy to lose money if he did that!

Due to the system's restrictions, Pei Qian's own industries must never engage in falsehoods or deceive consumers with inferior goods, but if other companies cooperating with Tengda do this without Pei Qian's knowledge, the system doesn't seem to have any clear regulations.

In other words, this seemed to be a loophole...

But this thought only flashed through his mind briefly before being completely suppressed by Pei Qian.

I only lose money, I don't betray my conscience.

Let those garbage companies that use inferior products swindle and cheat under my banner? Absolutely not!

Let them get as far away as possible!

However, after listening to Lü Mingliang's words, Pei Qian suddenly thought of a new idea.

Since Liang Qingfan and Song Kai had expanded the business scope for Sloth Apartments, then he had to fleece you in return!

Just like when ROF was building computers, Zhang Yuan originally planned to use the brand effect of Moyu Internet Cafe to create a computer building brand to make money, but Pei Qian turned around and used ROF computer building to create the 1024 Programmer's Day, achieving the purpose of spending money in a surprise attack.

Of course, there was no need to mention what happened afterwards.

At least under the circumstances at the time, the decision was still very successful!

He could just follow up on the problem raised by Lü Mingliang and make a fuss about it.

According to the system's unspoken rules, when an industry can establish a good reputation, the system will greatly relax the profit requirements for this industry, such as Upwind Logistics.

Thinking of this, Pei Qian said, "Sloth Apartments can consider cooperating with home decoration brands and real estate companies, but there must be very strict requirements."

"Specially hire people to form an inspection team, and before cooperation, conduct in-depth investigations into the actual situation of each brand, and grasp their actual profits and operating conditions."

"The inspection team must regularly rotate the areas they are responsible for to prevent the occurrence of fraud."

"All expenses for the inspection team's outings, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation, will be borne by us, and their identities must never be revealed."

"Even after the cooperation is reached, the inspection team must conduct regular random anonymous spot checks, and customers are also welcome to actively report any non-compliance with the standards, and the contract will be terminated immediately, and the customer's full losses will be borne."

"All terms must be clearly written into the contract at the beginning of the cooperation. If these terms are not accepted, then cooperation with Tengda will not be allowed."

"If any problems occur with the cooperation, it will be the responsibility of the two of you."

Liang Qingfan and Song Kai's expressions became serious. "Yes, President Pei!"

Obviously, with this standard, the furniture brands and real estate companies that actually cooperate with Tengda will probably become fewer and fewer, or even one in ten.

Who would sign a contract with so many rules and regulations?

These home decoration brands and real estate companies are already making money lying down. It's good to have the Sloth Apartments brand, but without it, it wouldn't delay their making money.

Now, just to use your Sloth Apartments brand, they have to accept your various supervisions, and if problems are found, they have to be responsible for compensation. Why?

But Liang Qingfan and Song Kai felt that President Pei's requirements made sense, because without signing this kind of contract, there was no way to guarantee that these cooperating companies would keep their promises.

In this world, there are very few companies like Tengda that can always firmly reject immediate interests and only want long-term interests.

But this is precisely what makes Tengda the most respected.

Lü Mingliang couldn't help but nod slightly. Very good, these two people in charge are gradually feeling the true meaning of the Tengda spirit!

Pei Qian drank a sip of red wine to calm his nerves. He never expected that Sloth Apartments would cause such a big thing.

He originally thought that this was an absolutely, absolutely failing project, but now it seems that he was still lacking a little imagination.

Or... is the imagination of this world too rich?

Then the question is, should Sloth Apartments continue to operate?

From the current situation, Sloth Apartments can indeed burn money, because buying buildings can spend a lot of money at once, and this money cannot be recovered in a short time.

However, there is also a great risk in the Sloth Apartments model. Just like today, when a certain business is suddenly expanded, there may be another undiscovered huge market, and profits will be directly thrown in his face.

Pei Qian couldn't help but fall into a dilemma.

"Oh, right, President Pei. I have something here to give to you." Song Kai suddenly remembered something, took a letter from his pocket, and handed it to Pei Qian.

Pei Qian was stunned for a moment, then reached out to take it.

There was no stamp or signature, just a simple envelope, and inside was a thank-you letter.

"Hello:"

"I am a victim of a 'formaldehyde house'. In fact, long before Sloth Apartments appeared, I had been fighting 'formaldehyde houses' for a long time, spending a lot of time and energy, but with little effect."

"There's no way, the voices of ordinary people are still too small."

"I am very grateful to the kind people on the internet for speaking out about this matter; I am also grateful to Sloth Apartments for being able to provide me with a more worry-free and reassuring solution. I don't need to argue with Zhujia Group and defend my rights anymore, but just need to give up Zhujia Group and choose Sloth Apartments."

"I sincerely hope that Sloth Apartments can leave Jingzhou as soon as possible, so that tenants all over the country can rent safe houses!"

There was no signature, so there was no way to know who wrote it.

Pei Qian was silent for a moment, folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and returned it to Song Kai.

"Keep this letter safe, don't lose it."

"Sloth Apartments will definitely work hard to ensure that all tenants can rent safe houses!"