After Mr. Xiang divorced, the president regretted it

"A new company?" Xiang Yu frowned and repeated it, with a barely perceptible solemnity in his tone. He put down his phone, leaned forward slightly, and motioned Li Ling to continue.

"Yes, this new energy vehicle company called 'Tianxing' just released their first model a month ago, focusing on intelligent driving and ultra-long battery life, but the price is nearly 30% lower than ours." Li Ling reported concisely, "In just a few days, their order volume exceeded units, and the momentum is still growing. Many automotive media call them the dark horse of the industry..."

"Tianxing?" Vice President Wu, who had been silent the whole time, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and raised a scornful smile. "A company that has only been established for less than half a year deserves to be called a dark horse? It's just a marketing gimmick. Once this wave of popularity passes, it will naturally disappear."

"Mr. Wu, you can't say that." Financial Officer Sun looked through the report in his hand with a frown, "Tianxing is backed by the largest Internet technology company in China, Spark, whose financial strength and technical reserves should not be underestimated. Moreover, the models they launched this time are indeed ahead of us in some technologies..."

"Boss Sun, you are worrying too much, aren't you?" Vice President Wu interrupted disapprovingly, "Our Xiang Group has been deeply involved in the automotive industry for many years, with strong technical accumulation and brand advantages. How can such a fledgling small company shake us?"

The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became a little solemn. Xiang Yu tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and his eyes swept over everyone present, taking in their changes in expression. He knew in his heart that although Vice President Wu's words were somewhat absolute, they also represented the views of some senior executives. They underestimated the strength of the new opponent and even looked down on him, which made him feel a little uneasy.

"Call all department heads and hold an emergency meeting at 2 pm." Xiang Yu ordered decisively, with unquestionable majesty in his tone, "I want to hear everyone's opinions in person."

At the afternoon meeting, heads of various departments reported on the market impact brought by "Tianxing" and their response strategies. Some advocated price cuts to promote sales and regain market share; some suggested increasing publicity efforts to highlight their own brand advantages; and some proposed developing new models to enhance product competitiveness...

Listening to everyone's speeches, Xiang Yu's brows were getting tighter and tighter. He knew that these plans were only temporary solutions and not fundamental solutions. If he wanted to truly defeat "Tianxing", he had to find their weaknesses and develop more targeted strategies.

"Consultant Zheng, what do you think?" Xiang Yu turned his gaze to Consultant Zheng who was sitting in the corner. He was a management consultant specially hired by Xiang Yu and was known for his keen business sense and unique strategic vision.

Consultant Zheng slowly stood up, pushed up his glasses, and said calmly but powerfully: "I think the biggest advantage of 'Tianxing' lies in their technological innovation and cost control. If we want to surpass them, we must also work hard in these two aspects..."

Consultant Zheng paused and looked at Xiang Yu firmly: "I suggest that we increase investment in research and development, focus on conquering intelligent driving and battery technology, and launch new models that can compete with it as soon as possible. At the same time, we also need..."

"Increase investment in R&D?" Finance Director Sun couldn't help but interrupt, "But our current financial situation..."

Advisor Zheng's words were like a stone that caused a thousand waves. The conference room suddenly exploded. Everyone was whispering and looking at Xiang Yu, waiting for his decision...

As soon as Consultant Zheng finished speaking, the conference room suddenly exploded. Everyone was whispering, their eyes focused on Xiang Yu, waiting for his decision.

"Increasing R&D investment is not easy..." Finance Director Sun pushed his glasses and flipped through the financial statements in his hand with a worried look on his face, "Our current financial situation..."

"Mr. Sun, you mean..." Xiang Yu keenly caught the hesitation in Mr. Sun's tone, and a sense of uneasiness rose in his heart.

"It's like this, Mr. Xiang." Financial Officer Sun coughed lightly and handed the report in his hand to Xiang Yu. "You also know that last quarter, in order to fight against the hostile takeover of Hongyuan, we used a large amount of funds to repurchase stocks. In addition, the recent market competition has been fierce, and our profit margin has declined..."

Xiang Yu took the report, quickly scanned the densely packed numbers, and his face gradually became solemn. The data on the report clearly showed that the group's recent cash flow showed signs of tension. If it increased its R&D investment, its financial situation would face tremendous pressure.

"I understand." Xiang Yu took a deep breath, put the report back on the table, tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and fell into deep thought.

The meeting room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath and stared at Xiang Yu nervously, waiting for his final decision.

"Consultant Zheng's suggestion makes sense. If we want to be invincible in the competition, we must have leading technology and excellent products." Xiang Yu was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke with a firm and decisive tone, "Increasing investment in research and development is imperative. As for the funding issue..."

Xiang Yu paused, and his eyes swept across everyone present, finally stopping at Finance Director Sun, and his tone left no room for doubt: "Boss Sun, I hope you can do everything you can to raise funds as soon as possible to ensure the smooth progress of the R&D project."

"I'll do my best, Mr. Xiang." Finance Officer Sun agreed reluctantly, but he was secretly complaining in his heart.

"The meeting is adjourned." Xiang Yu said, then stood up and left the meeting room.

Looking at Xiang Yu's departing back, Sun Finance frowned tightly, his heart filled with anxiety and uneasiness. He knew that the funding gap this time was huge, and it would not be easy to raise enough funds in a short period of time.

"It seems like I have to ask my old friend for help..." Finance Sun muttered to himself, picked up his phone, and dialed a number...

At this time, Xiang Yu had returned to his office. He stood in front of the French window, looking at the busy city outside the window, with a lot of thoughts in his mind. He knew that this challenge was different from the past. In order to defeat "Tianxing", in addition to funds and technology, he also needed...

"Knock knock knock..." A knock on the door interrupted Xiang Yu's thoughts.

"Come in."

"Mr. Xiang, are you looking for me?" Li Ling pushed the door and walked in.

"Please help me arrange it. I want to visit ..."

Undercurrent

Back in the office, Xiang Yu immediately arranged for Li Ling to contact Professor Zhao, a highly respected expert in the industry. Professor Zhao has a very high reputation in the industry and has led the team to overcome many technical difficulties. He is the most ideal technical partner in Xiang Yu's mind.

The next morning, Xiang Yu personally drove to visit Professor Zhao. In Professor Zhao's study, Xiang Yu sincerely expressed his willingness to cooperate and introduced the future development direction and R&D plan of Xiang Group in detail.

However, after listening to Xiang Yu's introduction, Professor Zhao just smiled faintly and said, "Mr. Xiang, forgive me for being frank, but my impression of your company seems to still be stuck on the 'plagiarism' incident a few years ago."

Professor Zhao's words were like a blow to the head, and Xiang Yu's heart sank. He knew that although the incident a few years ago finally proved the innocence of Xiang Group, it caused great damage to the company's reputation and also caused the outside world to question Xiang Group's innovation ability.

"Professor Zhao, that incident did cause great harm to our company, but we have learned a lesson and have been working hard to improve our R&D capabilities." Xiang Yu said sincerely, "This time we come with a sincere willingness to cooperate, and hope to get your support."

Professor Zhao was silent for a moment, as if he was weighing something. He spoke slowly, with a hint of tentativeness in his tone: "I heard that your company is planning a new brand promotion project recently?"

Xiang Yu's heart moved. He keenly realized that Professor Zhao's words seemed to have other meanings. He replied calmly: "Yes, we hope to show a brand new Xiang Group to the outside world through this brand upgrade."

"Oh?" Professor Zhao showed a playful smile on his face, "I wonder how your company plans to create this 'new' image?"

Xiang Yu took a deep breath. He knew that this would be a difficult negotiation, and the outcome of this negotiation would not only affect the future of Xiang Group's technology, but also the fate of the entire group. He looked at Professor Zhao and said slowly, "We..."

"Dong dong dong..."

At this moment, a quick knock on the door interrupted Xiang Yu's words. Li Ling pushed the door open with an anxious look on her face: "Mr. Xiang, please take a look at this report..."

"Mr. Xiang, please take a look at this report..." Li Ling hurried into the study, handed a document to Xiang Yu, and interrupted him.

Xiang Yu took the document and frowned. This report was the latest brand promotion plan drawn up by Li Ling's team. The plan proposed a series of big plans, including naming international events and inviting top spokespersons. These plans can indeed quickly enhance the brand image of Xiang Group, but they also require huge investment.

"These plans are all good," Xiang Yu rubbed his brows, "but," he paused, "Li Ling, you should know that the current financial situation of the group is not optimistic. We..."

"I know, Mr. Xiang," Li Ling understood Xiang Yu's concerns, but she still insisted, "But brand image is crucial to a company, especially after we went through the last 'plagiarism' storm. We need a successful brand promotion to rebuild the public's trust. Although these investments are huge, they are definitely worth it in the long run!"

Xiang Yu was silent. He knew that what Li Ling said made sense, but the current predicament made him feel extremely stressed. On one hand, there was a research and development project that urgently needed financial support, and on the other hand, there was a huge brand promotion plan. In addition, the company had just experienced a personnel earthquake. Xiang Yu felt like he was being roasted on the fire, with no way out.

"Professor Zhao, look..." Xiang Yu looked to Professor Zhao for help, hoping to get some advice from this experienced expert. However, Professor Zhao just smiled and shook his head, "Mr. Xiang, the business world is like a battlefield. How to make decisions depends on you."

Xiang Yu felt heavy-hearted when he left Professor Zhao's residence. Just as he was about to get in the car, his cell phone suddenly vibrated. It was a message from Yan Jin. She briefly told Xiang Yu that her overseas investment project had made a major breakthrough and was about to sign an important cooperation agreement.

Looking at Yan Jin's name on the phone screen, Xiang Yu felt mixed emotions. After the divorce, Yan Jin was like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, flying freely in the sky of career, while he was trapped in the same place, facing a bunch of difficult problems.

"Mr. Xiang, where are we going now?" the driver asked softly.

Xiang Yu put away his phone and looked out the window. What Consultant Zheng had said before came to his mind: "If the company cannot raise enough funds internally, perhaps we can consider introducing external investment..."

"Go to the company," Xiang Yu closed his eyes and said firmly, "Contact Consultant Zheng. I have something important to discuss with him."