Chapter 28: Share of the Spoils
Editor: Atlas Studios
"There's no doubt that your company's profitability has shocked the world, and perhaps the number one spot in this year's global quarterly revenue ranking edition is none other than XlouS. Mr. Ren, your achievements are astonishing at such a young age," said a middle-aged man with a smile.
"I'm sure you're aware of our Sino-foreign joint venture, Shanghai Construction Group. Over the past 50 years, Shanghai Construction Group has been involved in large construction projects in many countries. Especially since the 1990's, Shanghai Construction Group has set a series of new records, such as the Lupu Bridge, the world's largest steel arch bridge, the world's first commercial operating line for high-speed maglev trains, and the East China Sea Bridge, the country's first outer sea bridge.
"We also built many skyscrapers, including the 468-meter-tall Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower; the 420.5-meter Jin Mao Tower; and the 492-meter Shanghai World Financial Center. With a monumental track record of construction history in China and around the world, we are very experienced. If you contract your company's headquarters to Shanghai Construction Group…"
As the middle-aged man introduced his company, another man interrupted, causing dissatisfaction among several major construction groups in China. Despite that, the man didn't pay attention to their disdainful eyes. He continued to speak fluent English with a Korean accent: "Mr. Ren. Indeed, Shanghai Construction and many of your country's mainland builders are world-class. But our Samsung Construction Group is also a world-renowned builder.
"In 2000, our company won the Gold Award for Golden Tower Industrial; in 2002, we won the Most Valuable Construction Award for its successful construction of the World Cup stadium in Korea; in 2004, Samsung Construction Group stood out by announcing the construction of the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, and was completed in 2010. Mr. Ren, we're sure that your company's headquarters will be a staggeringly tall skyscraper with the capital of 5 billion USD. In this regard, Samsung Construction Group is unmistakably the most experienced."
A few major domestic builders couldn't wait to chase the Korean out of the room. The smug look on his face was asking for a beating, but apparently, chasing him out was impossible. But that didn't mean that they couldn't attack using their eyes.
Ren Hong smiled and looked around at the crowd, "You may not be aware of this, but I have been talking for a long time with Mr. Cullen, the world's top architectural designer. Also, XlouS isn't just building a single building for its headquarters."
"More than one building?" The few people present looked at Ren Hong in confusion, who stretched out his right hand and spread his five fingers wide. "Five separate buildings! And, the company has decided to increase the headquarters expenses from 5 billion USD to 10.5 billion USD."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the representatives of these major builders were stunned. They stared blankly at the cheery young man in front of them.
Is he out of his mind? Why does he need all those buildings for? What's the point?
"Five buildings… 1-10.5 billion USD?" The representative of Shanghai Construction Group asked in surprise, somewhat nonchalantly.
"Five buildings. 10.5 billion USD." Ren Hong looked at the men who were around twice his age and repeated with unusual certainty.
"Mr. Ren, just to be sure…" The Korean was bewildered, but soon after, he became excited.
Five buildings. An additional 5.5 billion USD. This is one fat, juicy deal!
"Mr. Lee Zaiji, let me finish my sentence first." Ren Hong interrupted the Korean, pondered for a moment, and made a phone call. Soon after, his assistant entered with a laptop. Ren Hong took the laptop and opened it in front of the puzzled eyes of the crowd. He turned the screen to the crowd. "This is the rendering of XlouS's headquarters; a cluster of five buildings and corresponding to the English name of the company respectively—XlouS!"
"This…" Everyone hesitated after seeing the rendering, and even the Korean went silent.
"The… 'X' and 'S' shaped buildings are simply impossible!" The head of Shanghai Construction Group exclaimed.
"Forget that." Ren Hong explained to them, and after a short while, the crowd's minds began to come alive again.
Not only would the profits be huge, but people could imagine that once the five buildings were completed, they would leave a mark in the history of world architecture. And for the contractors, they would also leave a mark on the group's CV, just like Samsung Construction Group, whose construction of the world's tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa, now came to mind. The completion of each building would bring a higher reputation to the builders concerned.
Ren Hong ignored everyone's thoughts and said, "I only have two requirements. I won't condone to any inferiority in quality, at the same time I require that the project be completed within two years!"
"That's impossible!" As soon as this was said, the crowd denied it right away. The representative of Samsung Construction Group said, "Mr. Ren, I dare say that no other builder in the world has been able to build five skyscrapers in just two years; it's a matter of common sense!"
"Could it be that Samsung Construction Group wants to have the entire project to itself?" Ren Hong looked at Lee Zaiji with a surprised expression and added, "Of course, if you can fulfill my requirements, there's no harm in contracting this entire project to you!"
"Erm…" Lee Zaiji was dumbfounded at his words and revealed an awkward smile. That was indeed what he thought.
"It has to be completed within two years?" The representative of Shanghai Construction Group asked.
"Yes!" Ren Hong affirmed.
"Hah, hah! There are five buildings in total, which is good. No one can take in such a huge order in one mouthful." The representative from China Construction International said, shooting looks at Lee Zaiji, who was embarrassed for a moment. He looked at Ren Hong after withdrawing his gaze, smiling, "China Construction International can contract one of the 'o' shaped buildings. We will work 24 hours a day, and it can be done within two years."
Ren Hong had no doubts about the speed at which the domestic builders were building, which was famous all over the world!
"Mr. Ren, don't worry about the quality. We can sign a quality assurance guarantee for the project." The representative of China Construction International said when he witnessed Ren Hong's hesitant expression.
The others couldn't sit still either and spoke up one after another.
"Our Huashi Group is willing to build the 'L' shaped building! We provide the same commitment to completion and quality within two years!"
"Shanghai Construction Group is willing to contract the 'u' shaped building, also promising completion within two years and guaranteed quality of work!"
Lee Zaiji became anxious when he heard the interpreter's words and hurriedly said, "Samsung Construction Group is willing to contract the 'X' shaped building and promises two years of completion and quality assurance!"
Two hours later, Ren Hong personally finalized the five major builders.
The 'X' shaped building was contracted to Samsung Construction Group; the 'L' shaped building was contracted to Huashi Group; the 'O' shaped building was contracted to China Construction International; the 'U' shaped building was contracted to Shanghai Construction Group; and the 'S' shaped building was contracted to a builder from the United States.
After the preliminary finalization, the specific contracts and details would be handled by the relevant company professionals, and the matters regarding the construction of the headquarters were considered to have taken a step further.
-- Gift
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