Chapter 78: Chapter 78 - 78 077b Plan

Chapter 78: 077b Plan Chapter 78: 077b Plan The companies bidding had already begun arriving one after another, with Yi Lixing looking worried as he followed He Xing, saying while walking, “Mr. He, have you reprinted the tender document? Should I ask if we can go ahead with the bidding and then submit the tender document afterwards?”

He Xing’s face was expressionless, acting as though he hadn’t heard Yi Lixing’s words at all.

He personally handed in the tender document, and then the three of them handed over their phones at the entrance and entered the bidding site.

Xia Guoxiong was seated in the center of the front row, with Xia Cheng by his side; upon seeing He Xing come in, he immediately got up with a smile plastered on his face: “Xiao Xing, we meet again. This tender should belong to He Group without a doubt, I’m just here to show Xiaocheng the ropes.”

“It’s good to broaden one’s horizons,” He Xing replied coolly, ignoring the unpleasant looks on the faces of Xia Guoxiong and his son, and chose a seat by the window for himself.

With less than five minutes to go before the start of the bidding, He Xing stared at a nondescript morning glory outside the window, his thoughts drifting far away, naturally not noticing the exchange of glances between Yi Lixing and Xia Guoxiong.

When Mrs. Xia Du Wanting died, Xia Group was still a small workshop company.

The company had grown bigger and bigger with the support of He Xing, and the commercial competition between Xia Group and He Group had also increased.

Actually, when He Xing supported Xia Group, he had deliberately avoided the commercial territories of He Group, but over the past two years, Xia Group’s business scope had increasingly encroached upon that of He Group.

Encounters like today’s, with He Group and Xia Group at the same bidding meeting, had become common – although most of the time, it was He Group that emerged victorious.

The bidding soon started, announcing the content and requirements of the tender – the process was no different than usual.

He Xing’s gaze calmly settled on the projector, as though he were looking at something, although his eyes lacked focus.

The most tense moment arrived, the announcement of the successful tender enterprise.

Finally, He Xing’s eyes settled on the host, but in truth, he had not taken his peripheral vision off Yi Lixing for a moment; Yi Lixing sat up straight, obviously nervous.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the document in my hands is the successful tender for this bidding. I now solemnly announce that today’s winning enterprise is He Group. Let’s congratulate He Group on their successful bid with a warm round of applause and welcome them as our new partner.”

He Xing slowly stood up, his calm eyes sweeping over the audience as he confidently said, “Thank you for your trust. He Group will certainly live up to the expectations.”

His peripheral vision calmly swept over Xia Guoxiong, over Yi Lixing, as if blind to the shocked expressions on their faces.

It was Liang Tao who was truly ecstatic. He was still excited even after leaving the meeting room: “Mr. He, you’re incredible. Without you, our bidding wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

As He Xing was turning on his phone, he replied without even looking up, “Avoiding unexpected situations is simple – always have a PLAN B.”

“PLAN B?” Liang Tao’s eyes widened as he looked at He Xing. “Mr. He, did you know our tender document would go missing? But that’s not right. If you knew in advance, you should have printed it ahead of time so we wouldn’t have had to look everywhere for a printing shop.”

Playing the lute to a cow,” He Xing quipped with a smile, no longer continuing the topic.

Liang Tao was left completely confused. As he was leaving, he saw Yi Lixing and immediately greeted him enthusiastically: “Mr. Yi, Mr. He and I are heading back to the office, do you want to join us?”

Yi Lixing managed a strained smile: “You guys go ahead, I have to visit a client.”

He Xing, who had been walking ahead, stopped suddenly. He turned back and said indifferently to Yi Lixing, “You could have finished your business by noon, right?”

After receiving an affirmative reply, He Xing continued, “Come to my office at two-thirty in the afternoon.”

…

The cafe was very quiet in the morning, with only two staff members, one cleaning and the other making coffee while doubling as the cashier.

Few people come to cafes in the morning. The spacious cafe had only three customers, and they were all men: Xia Guoxiong with his son Xia Cheng, and the PR Director of He Group, Yi Lixing.

The three cups of coffee on the table had cooled down from steaming hot without anyone taking a sip.

Xia Guoxiong had an ugly look on his face as he glared at Yi Lixing: “Dare you to play me?”

“Mr. Xia, I didn’t,” Yi Lixing’s face was flushed with anxiety as he blurted out incoherently, “The tender document I got was the one I gave to you. I don’t know how He Xing suddenly came up with a new one, I’ve never seen this tender document before.”

Xia Guoxiong snorted coldly without responding.

Xia Cheng started laughing and said, “Mr. Yi, are you expecting us to believe that, as the person in charge of He Group’s tender, there was a tender document you’d never seen before? You might as well just say you’re a double agent, taking our money to show loyalty to He Xing.”

“I wouldn’t do something that lacks professional ethics,” Yi Lixing said, his eyes red with desperation, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Professional ethics?” Xia Guoxiong slammed his hand on the table and stood up: “Did you ever have such a thing as professional ethics since you first cooperated with us?”

Yi Lixing’s face alternated between pale and flush, like a Sichuan Opera Face Changing act, under the mocking stares of Xia father and son, he retorted sarcastically: “I thought I was a grasshopper on the same boat with Xia Group, but it turns out I’m just a piece you can throw away at any time?”

Xia Cheng spat viciously: “Advance and retreat with Xia Group? Who do you think you are? You are nothing but a dog we bought with money. You had better scram, or I’ll beat you up every time I see you.”

Yi Lixing looked awful, his mouth opened to say something, but in the end, he said nothing at all.

After he’d gone, Xia Cheng moved closer to Xia Guoxiong and whispered, “Dad, didn’t you say this bid was almost a sure win? How did we capsize in a gutter?”

“Seems we underestimated He Xing after all.” Xia Guoxiong’s face was darker than the bottom of a pot: “We’ve let Yi Lixing take tender documents before, and He Xing has never really cared. It seems he doesn’t value those crumbs, treating us like beggars. He surely wouldn’t give us such a big project this time.”

“So what do we do now?” Xia Cheng asked, clearly worried: “We were going to push He Xing into a corner so he had to turn to us for help, then we could make him engage to Xiaoning by taking advantage. Now, won’t it be difficult to have an engagement?”

“It’s more difficult, but not entirely impossible,” Xia Guoxiong said with a sinister smile: “He Group is divided at the moment. While causing it to fall apart might be hard, we can still put pressure on He Xing.”