Yesterday's Indifference, Today's Welcoming Smile

"NNDX, if it weren't for my boss breathing down my neck, I wouldn't bother with you!"

In Peng City, at Zhong Wei Technology, listening to Zhou Feiyu's teasing voice coming from his phone, Peng Fan couldn't help but curse inwardly, feeling unlucky. However, he had no choice but to put on a humble front and say some pleasantries.

Speaking to people like people and to ghosts like ghosts was the experience Peng Fan had gained over the years. He wasn't worried about his face or dignity at all.

Being in Peng City meant being a Peng City person, possessing the Peng City soul.

In Peng City, nothing was important except for six words: Make money! Make money! Make money!

As long as he could make money, everything else was negotiable.

The Oupai customer's phone project was snatched by Hua Long Technology. From top to bottom at Zhong Wei Technology, from sales to R&D to procurement, everyone was chewed out by the boss.

Yes, after the sales director chewed out their procurement department, the boss, upon hearing the news, pulled the leaders of these departments in and chewed them out again. Especially the procurement department; their director, Liao Yongqing, was so roasted he was practically smoking. When he came back, he immediately roasted Peng Fan, clearly venting some of the anger he had received onto him.

Peng Fan couldn't do anything about it. After all, it was he who had arranged to meet with Zhou Feiyu, only for Hua Long Technology to use Zhou Feiyu's materials to catch Zhong Wei Technology off guard.

It was like a mute eating bitter herbs – he had suffering but couldn't express it. Moreover, he had brought this bitter herb upon himself.

The final result was that Peng Fan wrote a deep self-criticism and was fined a quarter of his performance bonus. Along with him, his direct superior, Procurement Director Liao Yongqing, was also fined a quarter of his performance bonus.

In addition, Peng Fan was assigned a task: to get Zhou Feiyu's materials for testing. This was why, after much hesitation, he had finally bitten the bullet and called Zhou Feiyu today.

"Mr. Zhou, you're still in Peng City, right? Let's meet tonight, I'll treat you to drinks!"

After the pleasantries and polite talk, Peng Fan said with a fawning smile.

Zhou Feiyu said, "Next time. I've already returned to Nanjiang Province. Next time Mr. Peng comes to Nanjiang, I'll treat you to a meal and some Nanjiang specialty dishes."

"You've already gone back?"

Peng Fan was surprised. He really hadn't expected Zhou Feiyu to leave Peng City so quickly. "Alright then, it seems we can only meet up when we have time in the future."

Zhou Feiyu replied with an "Mhm" and then said nothing more.

Peng Fan smiled bitterly to himself and had no choice but to get straight to the point: "It's like this, Mr. Zhou, Zhong Wei Technology wants to use your FY-01 material. I wonder if it's convenient for you to arrange some samples? Don't worry, I can sign a confidentiality agreement to ensure your material isn't leaked."

"That's quite proactive?"

Zhou Feiyu was inwardly surprised. It seemed the pressure Hua Long Technology put on Zhong Wei Technology was not ordinary. Such a large listed company was actually bowing to him.

However, since the other party had said so, Zhou Feiyu paused for a moment before giving a positive reply: "Okay, Mr. Peng. I'll send you a confidentiality agreement shortly. Please sign it, and once signed, send me an email with your sample requirements. I will arrange for a response."

Doing business with anyone was still doing business, especially with Zhong Wei Technology, the second largest company in the mobile phone ODM industry, which had a huge scale.

As for the competition between Zhong Wei Technology and Hua Long Technology, it actually had little impact on his supply. Although the two companies' businesses overlapped, the projects each customer gave them were not a zero-sum game. They were very scattered, as their customers were also afraid of putting all their eggs in one basket and having them all broken.

Therefore, supplying the FY-01 material to Hua Long Technology and also to Zhong Wei Technology would not be affected by each other. On the contrary, it would greatly increase the market share of FY-01.

In addition, the customer bases of Hua Long Technology and Zhong Wei Technology did not completely overlap. This market was not large, but it was not small either.

After hanging up the phone with Zhou Feiyu, Peng Fan let out a long breath. The task was more than half completed and would likely be finished soon, which was a major issue resolved.

Ding dong!

Zhou Feiyu quickly sent him an electronic contract, clearly having been prepared.

Peng Fan quickly finished reading it, immediately signed his name, and stamped the company's procurement seal. Then he sent it back to Zhou Feiyu. After doing this, he quickly went to find the project and R&D managers to discuss the sampling and verification of the FY-01 material.

The project and R&D departments, along with procurement, were the ones getting chewed out by the boss. Hearing his purpose, they quickly discussed and finalized the verification plan.

An hour later, an email detailing the sample requirements from R&D landed in Peng Fan's inbox. Peng Fan glanced at it and immediately forwarded it to Zhou Feiyu.

Peng Fan didn't forget to take a photo of the email with his phone and send it to Zhou Feiyu, followed by a message. This was to prevent Zhou Feiyu from missing it.

"I'll follow up tomorrow."

Peng Fan thought to himself, feeling a bit weary. It had been years since he'd done such a tiring procurement job.

He recalled that only when he first started working and doing procurement, due to his unfamiliarity with the business and company payment issues, he often had to smile apologetically at suppliers.

Since becoming the procurement manager at Zhong Wei Technology, except for chip and glass suppliers who still needed to be wined and dined, suppliers of other materials basically came begging him for favors. He had grown accustomed to them seeking him out while he comfortably sat in the office waiting for their public relations efforts.

Fei Yang Technology was the first "other materials" supplier in "history" that made him put on a smile.

Ah, chip and glass manufacturers had always been the big shots. You couldn't just be a customer and act like God to buy their products. They were the type who acted high and mighty, playing favorites.

By the time he finished all this, it was almost time to get off work.

Just as Peng Fan was preparing to leave, he received a call from the sales director of another materials manufacturer.

Qian Jia Optics, Sales Manager Deng Guangyi.

"Manager Peng, almost off work, right? The usual spot, Xiaoxiang Farmhouse Restaurant. I've ordered a table full of good dishes, all free-range chicken and duck, and brought a bottle of good wine. Just waiting for you."

As soon as the call connected, Deng Guangyi's hearty laughter came through.

"Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating."

Peng Fan was in a bad mood right now. Seeing it was from Qian Jia Optics, and the one who had bid alongside Zhou Feiyu that day, he couldn't help but curse inwardly.

However, Peng Fan was quite restrained after all. He didn't curse out loud and wouldn't vent his anger on the supplier, especially since the other party was kindly inviting him to eat and drink.

"Then wait a bit, I'll be a while."

Peng Fan thought for a moment and said.

Regardless, he still needed to maintain his relationship with these material suppliers. Qian Jia Optics was still one of their larger optical material suppliers.

"Strange, he seems a bit off today?"

On the other side, Deng Guangyi, the sales manager of Qian Jia Optics, who had ordered good wine and food and was waiting for Peng Fan, felt a bit puzzled after hanging up the phone.

Normally, when he called Peng Fan for a meal, Peng Fan would be laughing heartily, but today he was quite cold, as if he had offended him.

Deng Guangyi thought about it. Recently, he and Qian Jia Optics hadn't done anything to offend Peng Fan or Zhong Wei Technology, had they?

"Could it be that there's a large batch of quality issues with our supply? That doesn't make sense. The production people inside Zhong Wei Technology are familiar with me; if there were problems, they would have informed me first, right?"

Deng Guangyi was a bit bewildered.