That evening, Si Weimin passed away so quickly that everyone was surprised.
According to Si Weimin's wishes, he was in Hanjing Spark, and his ashes would be taken back to his hometown. Xu Cang originally planned to go to the UK with Jonathan, the chief engineer of Rolls-Royce, but this incident happened at the last minute, so he had to postpone the time.
Si Weimin was from Shangdu. The next night, the urn was sent back to his hometown in Shangdu by a motorcade. In fact, if you take a plane, it will take more than an hour to get there. However, there are some restrictions on air transportation of ashes.
Of course, with Si Weimin's status, Muhua Airlines had plenty of planes willing to fly, but Si Linglong did not accept and insisted on returning home by land.
Fortunately, it was not too far from Hanjing to Shangdu by land. On the way, a group of people took turns driving and rushed back non-stop. They arrived at their destination just after twelve o'clock.
Shangdu's hometown had already received the news in advance, and the mourning hall and other things had been set up. When Xu Cang arrived with the motorcade, a large group of people in mourning gathered around him, all of them crying bitterly. Infected by the surrounding atmosphere, Xu Cang's nose was also sore. It was really hard to accept that the person who seemed to be fine not long ago was gone all of a sudden.
Xu Cang and some other people were just guests, so they didn't need to wear mourning clothes. According to the local customs of Shangdu, they would have to eat a meal at noon and another at night, and go to a nearby small temple to burn incense every hour. The process was quite complicated.
Xu Cang naturally didn't have to follow the funeral procession to the small temple. He was responsible for eating the feast and occasionally helping out. However, what surprised Xu Cang was that there was a custom of cutting hair when someone passed away.
In Xu Cang's hometown of Weiyang, if someone passes away, the direct relatives will be asked to cut their hair. If there is a request to grow long hair, just cut a small lock of hair. If not, the hair will be shaved directly into a buzz cut.
However, there is no such rule for guests or distant relatives. However, in Shangdu, Xu Cang was also asked to cut a small lock of hair.
Xu Cang didn't mind this kind of thing, he just felt it was a little strange.
To be honest, Si Weimin was old, and even if this incident hadn't happened, he would have only lived for a year or two. Therefore, most people were just surprised and shocked that Si Weimin left so quickly, but they were not that hard to accept his departure.
So, when we had lunch the next day, the atmosphere was not as sad as it was the night before.
Si Weimin's hometown is in the village, but there is no big hotel, so he just found an open space, set up a shed, and then put the table underneath. He didn't use the kitchen much to prepare the food, but just pulled a gas tank and cooked in the open air next to it.
Xu Cang's hometown is also a small town, so he has no aversion to this kind of rural custom and even feels a little bit familiar with it.
Si Weimin's immediate family hadn't slept since last night. They started burning incense at six in the morning and continued until the sun went down at six in the evening, a total of twelve trips. However, the small temple that Xu Cang saw was not far away, as it was only three or four minutes' walk away.
Some big names in the civil aviation industry came to pay their respects one after another. Some of them left on the same day because they were busy, and came back when Mr. Si was buried. Those who were not busy stayed here to help out a little, and those who were not busy could just sit there.
According to rural customs, funerals must be held in a grand manner. The more lively the better. With more people, it will naturally be more lively.
The Si family was a big family in the area, and they had no shortage of manpower. After Xu Cang helped out symbolically, he had nothing else to do. Xu Cang didn't want to lie down in the small hotel in the village, so he moved a small stool and found a place to sit there and stare blankly.
The noisy sound of gongs and drums rang out, and Xu Cang knew that the incense-burning team had returned. At this moment, it was almost afternoon, and there were only a few more times left to go to the temple to burn incense.
Just when Xu Cang was doing nothing, a middle-aged woman suddenly came over. She wore a scarf on her head and a thick coat. She was plump and looked at Xu Cang curiously: "Who are you..."
Xu Cang hurriedly said, "I am Mr. Si's junior, and I came here to help."
"Hey, you can talk, you're alive!" The middle-aged woman hurriedly shouted in one direction: "Come here, come here!"
Suddenly, a large group of rural women gathered around him. They were dressed similarly, and many of them were holding a handful of melon seeds and peanuts in their hands. They surrounded Xu Cang, cracking them and looking at him as if he were looking at something new.
Xu Cang knew that there was little entertainment in the countryside, and people liked to ask questions when they met outsiders. The people in his hometown were the same, but it was still nothing compared to the scene of more than a dozen people surrounding them now.
"Hey, young man, I saw you and Linglong talking just now. Are you two..."
"How come you are whiter than Linglong? This is the first time I have seen such a handsome boy."
"Didn't the Si family say they were looking for a son-in-law? Is that you?"
Xu Cang was overwhelmed by the questions. How could he answer them?
"Aunt, what are you doing?" At this critical moment, Si Linglong came out to the rescue.
Si Linglong was dressed in plain clothes, holding an oil lamp in her left hand, which could not be extinguished until the burial. Originally, the eldest son or grandson should have carried the eternal lamp, but Si Linglong's father had passed away, and there was no grandson, so Si Linglong had to do it.
It can be seen that Si Linglong has a very high status in the Si family. As soon as he spoke, the rural women dispersed awkwardly, but the eyes they looked at Xu Cang and Si Linglong were even more amused.
"Sorry, they are more... curious when they see outsiders." Si Linglong found a stool next to Xu Cang and sat down, put the eternal lamp aside, tilted her head, and looked very tired.
From the time Si Weimin was critically ill to his death and now to his funeral, Si Linglong only dozed off in the car for more than an hour, and did not close an eye at all for the rest of the time.
"Why don't you take a nap? You can still take a nap for half an hour."
Si Linglong shook her head: "Someone will come to pay their respects later. I want to return the gifts, so forget it."
Si Linglong said, as if she had thought of something: "Xu Cang, you don't have to agree to what grandpa told you before."
"No need to promise anything?" Xu Cang clicked his tongue: "Since things have come to this, just accept it."
Si Linglong looked at Xu Cang seriously: "Xianchi branch is very troublesome. I don't care about Muhua Airlines. I know everything about Xianchi branch. Grandpa threw such a big trouble to you..."
"It's okay!" Xu Cang waved his hand: "If it can be handled properly, it may be a blessing in disguise. By the way, what did you say later? You should go back to Muhua, right?"
"Yes." Si Linglong lowered her head: "Grandpa left me the shares of Muhua, and I will have to return to Muhua in the future."
Suddenly, Si Linglong turned around and said, "Xu Cang, do you want Muhua's shares?"
"Ah?" Xu Cang was stunned: "Isn't it left for you?"
"I don't understand anything, and those shares are meaningless to me. The money my grandfather left me is enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life. Rather than letting those shares sit idle and meaningless, I might as well give them to you."
"This..." Xu Cang didn't know how to deal with this situation.
Si Weimin has been the chairman since the establishment of Muhua Airlines. Over the years, Si Weimin must have private shares in Muhua Airlines, and they are definitely not small.
These shares are not public but completely private, which is very tempting to anyone.
It can be seen that Si Weimin originally planned to leave these shares to Si Linglong's husband. He could see that his granddaughter had no interest in doing business and just wanted to live an ordinary life.
However, Si Weimin passed away too quickly and too hastily. Before his death, he wanted to entrust Si Linglong to Xu Cang, but was rejected in the end.
However, it seems that these shares will eventually return to Xu Cang's hands.
Xu Cang organized his words: "Linglong, Mr. Si probably meant that if we...are together, he will give me the shares. But...the current situation seems to be different from what Mr. Si expected."
Thinking of the scene where her grandfather entrusted her to Xu Cang before his death, Si Linglong couldn't help but feel her face getting hot: "Grandpa has his own plans, and I have my own plans. Now those shares are inherited by me, and I am free to dispose of them however I want. I'm sorry, Grandpa did something wrong in this matter."
Si Weimin wanted to tie Xu Cang down with the succession rights of Muhua Airlines, and then use his own private shares in Muhua Airlines as a bargaining chip to force Xu Cang and Si Linglong to be together. This is of course a somewhat selfish approach.
Logically speaking, Si Weimin shouldn't do such a thing given his character, but when he realized that death was approaching and time was running out, he had no choice but to resort to this last resort.
"There is no such thing as being right or wrong." Xu Cang was open-minded and did not dwell on the matter too much. Xu Cang would still be relatively tolerant of people he recognized.
Moreover, Xu Cang was not just trying to comfort Si Linglong, but telling the truth. The Xianchi branch incident did have its pros and cons. It would give him a headache to take on such a big trouble, but correspondingly, if he could suppress it, it would be a huge benefit to the entire Spring Airlines.
You know, even in the relatively poor northwestern market, even when being continuously drained by the headquarters, the performance of the Xianchi branch is still very good, which shows that the commercial value of this company and Gong Yue is still very high.
In the domestic civil aviation market, the most prosperous North, East and South have already been occupied by the three major airlines. The Northeast is also under the jurisdiction of Guoda Airlines. If Xu Cang wants to develop, he can only go west.
After we have established a firm foothold in the West, we can proceed step by step.
Moreover, contrary to the stereotype that the northwest is barren, Gong Yue has proved that the northwest civil aviation market still has good prospects. Moreover, once Xu Cang has incorporated the southwest and northwest into his sphere of influence, it means that on routes like Lhasa, Xu Cang will have great priority, instead of only one flight a day like now.
You know, the single-route revenue of these routes has already surpassed the entire Spring Airlines, it's like a treasure pot.
In fact, there are still many undiscovered treasures in the southwest or northwest. For example, Lhasa and Jinghong, the economy of these places is not eye-catching in China, but the air routes are profitable.
Relying on the advantage of rebirth, Xu Cang can develop these places first and seize the market. The profits he will obtain will not be much less than those of the three major airlines.
However, the premise of all this is that Xu Cang has a way to subdue Gong Yue, otherwise everything is out of the question.
Si Linglong paused for a moment and said, "Xu Cang, I can entrust you with the voting rights of Muhua Airlines' shares. In the future, you can occupy a board seat on Muhua Airlines' board of directors. However, you need to give me half of the dividends from the shares. The money my grandfather left me is enough for me to live on my own, but he also sponsored a lot of students, and I need those dividends from the shares to make up for the funding."
"I don't want your dividends..." Xu Cang waved his hand: "Linglong, think about it carefully. Voting rights are much more valuable than dividends."
Certain voting shares of giant companies like Muhua Airlines cannot be bought with money alone, just like the previous transaction between Xu Cang and Nagano Hideki, who only wanted the qualification to subscribe to 1% of Japan Airlines' Class A shares.
These shares have voting rights, and once you have voting rights, you can participate in decision-making. According to Si Linglong, Si Weimin left her quite a few shares, and her voting rights can even support Xu Cang to directly obtain a seat on the board of directors of Muhua Airlines.
However, Xu Cang always felt that doing so was taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
Sometimes, Xu Cang would be troubled by his own overly high moral standards. If he could be more shameless, he would be able to reduce a lot of unnecessary troubles.
Just as Xu Cang was hesitating, a man's voice suddenly sounded behind him: "What are you still hesitating about?"
Xu Cang was startled and turned around, only to find that Ma Cheng had been standing behind him without him noticing.
Ma Cheng walked in front of the two people and said, "The shares left by the chairman can support you to become the fourth largest shareholder of Muhua. As long as you accept it, you can participate in Muhua's decision-making without being restricted."
If you become the chairman of Muhua Airlines, you will need to abide by many rules, including not being able to hold other private company positions concurrently. However, if you are just a shareholder, there are fewer restrictions.
However, if you are not the chairman, then due to the limitation of power, some decisions cannot play a decisive role.
This is the commonality between rights and obligations.
"The fourth largest shareholder?" Xu Cang was stunned. He really didn't expect that Si Weimin would leave so many shares. "Can a state-owned enterprise allow an individual to hold so many shares?"
Ma Cheng said expressionlessly, "It shouldn't be possible. This situation doesn't exist with Guoda Airlines and Tiandong Airlines, but Muhua Airlines is different. Since the establishment of Muhua, there has only been one chairman, Mr. Si. It can be said that Muhua Airlines is a loose alliance that Mr. Si forcibly held together with his personal prestige. It is for this reason that Mr. Si refused to step down after reaching retirement age, because he cannot step down. Once he leaves, Muhua will fall apart. For so many years, the chairman has devoted himself to Muhua. Perhaps in order to recognize his contribution to Muhua, he was allowed to increase his stake in Muhua as an exception."
"Xu Cang, Miss has never participated in corporate management and has no relevant experience. Moreover, in a place like Muhua, it is full of intrigues, and Miss is not suitable to participate in it. Since Miss doesn't like it and is not suitable, instead of leaving the position of director vacant, it is better to find someone to give it the value it deserves."
Xu Cang hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded: "Okay!"
"However, you are so eager to get me on the board of directors of Muhua. I think it's not all for Linglong's sake." Xu Cang said indifferently: "Let alone the branch company, even in the Yangcheng headquarters, I'm afraid there are many people who don't obey you. You want me to join the board of directors and help you?"
Ma Cheng did not hide anything about this and admitted it very readily: "That's right! My foundation in Muhua is not stable. Even without the Xianchi branch, it is not easy for me to completely control Muhua. On the board of directors, there must be someone with enough weight to echo me, otherwise I will be in danger of being sidelined."
Xu Cang was somewhat caught off guard by Ma Cheng's confession: "It seems that you have no confidence in your future in Muhua."
With Ma Cheng's gloomy personality, he could say it so clearly, which shows that he really has no idea.
"But I want to know what I can get from this cooperation."
Ma Cheng narrowed his eyes: "What do you want?"
"Being the fourth largest shareholder is still not enough. I need to be the third or even the second largest shareholder. Can you get the board of directors to agree to my increasing my stake?"
As a result, Ma Cheng said without a second thought: "Impossible. Increasing your shareholding to the fourth largest shareholder in your own name is already the limit. Can you make a greater contribution than Mr. Si? Xu Cang, you have to understand that Muhua will not belong to one person alone. This is fundamental and cannot be shaken."
"I know, so I only want the position of the second or third largest shareholder. I didn't say I wanted to be the largest shareholder. Of course, I don't have that much money."
Ma Cheng snorted: "Even if you sell all of Spring Airlines, even if the board of directors agrees to your increase in shares, you can't buy enough shares to exceed the current third largest shareholder. The size of Muhua Airlines is beyond your imagination."
Even if the board of directors agrees, it is only agreeing to the qualification to purchase, not giving it away for free.
"Then can't I let Muhua Airlines' A380 enter Hanjing Airport?" Xu Cang asked.
"Isn't that a condition for expelling the management above the M2 level at Jianchuan Base?"
Xu Cang smiled and said, "You are probably thinking too much. Can the values ​​of the two be equal? ​​Now the biggest threat to you, Xianchi Branch, is gone. Even if I don't mention that condition, as a routine operation for the new leader, you have to clean it up. You won't take action against Jianchuan Base that has been against you before? So, even if I don't mention it, you will still take action against Jianchuan Base. I just want you to be more ruthless and act more decisively. Can this kind of help be used as a condition?"
Ma Cheng's mouth twitched. People said that he was very stingy, but compared with Xu Cang, he could actually be considered an honest man.
However, Ma Cheng thought for a moment and said, "I feel that this is not enough. Simply letting the A380 enter Hanjing Airport is not enough to convince the chairman to agree to let you increase your shareholding."
For the change of major shareholders, it is not enough to just have money to buy stocks. Once it involves the change of shareholder position, the board of directors needs to agree. This is a hard and fast rule that cannot be circumvented.
"Why do you want the A380 to be stationed in Hanjing?" Xu Cang suddenly said, "On the one hand, Hanjing Airport's cost advantage in flying to Europe and the United States is much greater than that of Yangcheng Airport. Another more important thing is that it should increase Muhua's influence, right?"
Ma Cheng glanced at Xu Cang warily: "What do you want to say?"
"The A380 is indeed a very good topic focus, but this alone is not enough to form a real hot topic, so we must add something else to the A380." Xu Cang smiled and said, "For example, the Universiade and the Olympic Games you mentioned before."
Ma Cheng sighed: "The Universiade has been confirmed, but whether the Olympic Games can be successfully bid is still unknown. Even if it is successful, how to operate in the future to achieve the most perfect publicity effect, the marketing department and the publicity department do not have a suitable plan."
When mentioning this, Ma Cheng's face was full of worry again. This matter was probably the first major matter after he took over Muhua Airlines. If this matter was not done well, his already unstable position would be shaken a little bit.
"If you find it difficult, let me do it."
Ma Cheng was stunned: "You want to do it? The A380 case?"
"To be precise, it's the A380-Olympic project." Xu Cang said, "If this is done well, it will surely add a lot of weight to convince the board of directors."
"That's true. But the problem is, we don't even know if the Olympics can be held yet, and you're already working on a plan to link the A380 with the Olympics? If this goes wrong, won't it be a laughing stock?"
"No risk means no value, Mr. Ma, you should understand this principle very well." Xu Cang said slowly, "Although I am sure that Guoda Airlines will agree to your A380 stationed in Hanjing, you should still make some compromises on this matter. After all, expanding your influence at Guoda's doorstep is a taboo for them."
Ma Cheng nodded: "We are all prepared for this. It would be abnormal if the National Congress did not discuss conditions. It is a good thing that they are willing to talk."
"The premise of being willing to talk is that you can get what you promised in the UK." At this moment, Yue Sheng came slowly from a distance: "If you return empty-handed from your trip to the UK, then there is no need to talk about the rest. In addition, when are you going to Japan?"
"Japan?" Ma Cheng looked at Xu Cang in confusion. He could tell that Xu Cang had paid something for Guoda Airlines to agree to Muhua Airlines to place the A380 in Hanjing, and that this had not yet been fulfilled.
This also means that there are still variables regarding the A380's arrival in Beijing.
Facing Yue Sheng's question, Xu Cang was calm and composed: "The dishes are not ready yet. If we go to Japan now, won't we have an empty stomach? I will notify you when the dishes are served."
"At least give me an approximate time." Yue Sheng snorted.
"No matter what, that will be after we return from England. My people are already taking action in Japan, and there should be results soon. Besides, compared to the cooperation in power, isn't the matter in Japan just a dessert? Why does President Yue take it so seriously?"
Yue Sheng rolled his eyes. "Although it's just a dessert, I can still look forward to it from your description. Never mind, going to England is the top priority, I'll just wait. However, Ma Cheng, I look down on you a thousand times, but you're pretty good at standing in line and you know who to rely on."
Hearing Yue Sheng's comments, Ma Cheng's expression was very interesting. No matter what, he was going to succeed Muhua Airlines, and in theory he was on an equal footing with Yue Sheng, but from Yue Sheng's tone, he still didn't take Ma Cheng seriously at all.
"If Xu Cang delivers on his promise to me, I will naturally abide by the agreement, but we still need to discuss the profit sharing of the A380 routes."
"That's no problem. We Muhua can make concessions." Ma Cheng didn't care much about this issue.
"I hope you remember what you said during the negotiation." Yue Sheng looked at Xu Cang, "When did you start doing publicity work? Muhua's marketing and publicity departments are OK, but they don't know how to do it. Why are you interfering? If you have this idea, hurry up and deal with the Japanese matter for me."
"Yue..." Xu Cang had just opened his mouth when his cell phone suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that it was Chen Tianyang's number.
Some time ago, Chen Tianyang had already dealt with things in Korea, and then he rushed to Japan without stopping to complete the tasks assigned by Xu Cang. After these few days, could it be that there was some progress?
Xu looked at Yue Sheng and the others, and said apologetically, "I'm going to answer a call."
After saying that, he walked more than ten steps away.
Yue Sheng saw Xu Cang avoiding them and snorted in dissatisfaction: "So mysterious."
When they were far away, Xu Cang answered the phone: "What's wrong?"
Chen Tianyang's voice immediately rang out from the other side: "I just came back from JCAB."
Xu Cang's heart tightened, and his tone rose slightly: "Found it?"
"That's right." Chen Tianyang's tone was also a little excited: "As soon as I arrived in Tokyo, I followed your instructions and checked the garbage discarded by JCAB every day. Today I finally got something."
On the other end of the phone, in a hotel room in Tokyo, Chen Tianyang was talking on the phone while looking at a pile of shredded paper not far in front of him. The width of these shredded paper was the same, and it looked like they were destroyed by a special shredder.
"I just confirmed that this should be the telephone minutes of the Aviation Safety Office that Kuroda Takashi reported to JCAB. However, these things have been processed by the shredder, and it will take a lot of work to restore them."
"Do you need any help?" Xu Cang asked immediately.
"My Japanese is average, and it will take too much time for me to recover it by myself. Besides, I don't have any acquaintances in Japan, and I don't trust anyone else. How about I send it back to China, and you find someone to recover it?"
"Okay!" Xu Cang immediately agreed to Chen Tianyang's plan: "You stay in Japan for a while, and if possible, contact Kuroda Takashi."
"No!" Chen Tianyang said, "Takashi Kuroda's visitation is restricted now. When he recovers, he will probably be sent directly to the detention center to await prosecution. I won't have a chance to see him."
Xu Cang hesitated for a moment and said, "Then let's go find his friends. Kuroda Takashi has a very strong desire to show off. If he has something, he will prefer to confide in his friends."
"I understand. I will find a chance to contact the people around him."
Xu Cang thought for a moment: "There is no need to force or deliberately contact the people around him in the future, and the main thing is to hide yourself. If the phone minutes can be successfully restored, the evidence is actually sufficient. The confessions of those people around him are just icing on the cake."
Chen Tianyang agreed without hesitation, just like a robot: "I understand."
"Okay, go ahead and get busy. Send the stuff back to China as soon as possible." Xu Cang added, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not that hard." Chen Tianyang, who had been quite serious before, suddenly laughed. "The garbage classification in Japan is quite strict, so paper garbage will be placed in a certain trash can, so it's not difficult to find it."
Xu Cang was stunned by these words, and then he also laughed: "I really didn't expect that garbage classification would have such an effect. After this is done, let's meet and talk about your future plans."
"I am also looking forward to meeting you, Mr. Xu." Chen Tianyang said solemnly.
After hanging up the phone, Xu Cang took a deep breath and forced himself to suppress his pounding heart.
The opportunity has really come!
Others may not know, but Xu Cang knows that Kuroda Takashi must have contacted JCAB, and JCAB will communicate with the airport about this matter. As long as it is considered that further processing is needed, JCAB will make a paper record based on the phone recording, which is the so-called phone minutes.
This kind of thing is legally binding.
However, it was obvious that the people from JCAB were not careful in destroying the paper documents. They just passed them through the shredder and discarded them at will. This gave Xu Cang an opportunity, a huge opportunity.
After thinking for a while, Xu Cang found a number in the address book and dialed it.
The call was quickly connected, and Nagano Hideki's voice rang out: "Mr. Xu, I didn't expect you to take the initiative to contact me. I'm really surprised."
"You're back in Japan?"
"I just got back from the conference. Any questions?"
"President Nagano, let's make a deal." Xu Cang suddenly suggested.
"Domestic airline endorsement? I'm afraid this is going to be difficult. Mr. Xu, your reputation in Japan isn't very good right now. Are you aware of this?"
Xu Cang pointedly asked, "Is this what you asked me to be careful about before?"
Previously, at the National University Aviation Simulator Training Center, Nagano Hideki had mentioned to Xu Cang that someone was targeting him and asked Xu Cang to be careful. It might be due to the occasion, or it might be that Nagano Hideki did not intend to make it too clear, anyway, this reminder was quite obscure.
Now it seems that Nagano Hideki's reminder was probably about the leak of Xu Cang's cabin sound on ANA Flight 45.
"True, but it doesn't make any sense now."
"That may not be the case." Xu Cang said with a smile: "President Nagano, if you do this, aren't you afraid that JCAB will find out?"
This matter is actually very clear. Who else in the country could make Nagano Hideki so fearful except JCAB?
"Hey, I don't know what I did." Nagano Hideki obviously wouldn't admit it: "I guess you didn't call me about this, did you?"
"That's definitely not the case." Xu Cang said, "Let's not talk about international routes. On domestic routes, Japan Airlines is under a lot of pressure, right?"
Nagano Hideki had sensed something: "Mr. Xu, do you have any good ideas?"
"As for the stubborn problems of Japan Airlines, even gods cannot help. However, if you want to suppress ANA's domestic market, I do have a way."
Hearing this, Nagano Hideki suddenly became alert: "What method?"
"Shouldn't the terms of this kind of thing be negotiated first?" Xu Cang asked back.
Nagano Hideki said anxiously, "Do you still want our Class A shares? The board of directors hasn't approved the 1% subscription yet."
"No, no, no, it's a different price now." Xu Cang said, "Although the extent is still unknown, I can be sure that this will be ANA's biggest crisis of public opinion and trust in the past decade. Feedback to the domestic market will have a huge negative impact."
Nagano Hideki understood the meaning of Xu Cang's words and became anxious: "Do you have something on ANA?"
"I guess so." Xu Cang admitted readily.
Nagano Hideki's voice suddenly became louder: "What is it?"
"President Nagano, it really bothers me when you ask questions like this."
Nagano Hideki reacted and suppressed his inner excitement: "What are your new conditions?"
"Not much, 3% of the Class A shares."
"Three percent!" Nagano Hideki was really shocked by Xu Cang's conditions.
Although 3% of Class A shares was not enough to support Xu Cang's entry into the board of directors, and most of the time he could not influence decision-making, such a stake was enough to have the upper hand, and even in some special stalemates, 3% of the shares could have the final say.
Xu Cang whispered: "President Nagano, this is your only chance."
Xu Cang's voice was full of temptation. If hiring Xu Cang as the spokesperson for domestic routes before had some chances of turning things around, then according to Xu Cang's intention this time, ANA's domestic market would be suppressed, which was a foregone conclusion.
JAL needs this opportunity so much.
However, Nagano Hideki did not lose his mind and rashly agree to it. Instead, he changed the subject , "I want to see your chips with my own eyes. I want to confirm whether the chips are enough to qualify for the 3% Class A share subscription."
This was not an excessive request, so Xu Cang immediately replied: "No problem. However, I have to go to the UK to deal with some important matters later, so please wait until I come back."
"Okay." Nagano Hideki agreed: "When you come back, I will come to find you in person."
"It's a deal."
After saying that, Xu Cang hung up the phone. However, he did not stop for a moment and dialed Guan Yueling's number again.
After a moment, Guan Yueling's voice rang out: "Xu Cang?"
"President Guanyue, when we met in Hanjing before, you didn't come to me so that I could show my hospitality."
After hearing this, Guan Yueling chuckled: "Mr. Xu is busy, so I'd better not disturb him. Besides, you don't seem to be from Hanjing, so how can you show your hospitality as a host?"
"If it's President Guanyue who invites us, other things can naturally be postponed." Xu Cang said with a smile.
Guan Yueling said immediately: "I will remember that. But why did Mr. Xu suddenly take so seriously inviting me to dinner? I am a little flattered."
"We always talk about things while eating. I have something to talk to you about, so I naturally think of eating."
"Oh?" President Guanyue's expression became more serious. "What's the matter? I'd like to hear the details."
"I wonder how the negotiations for ANA's US routes are going. Is there any progress?"
"Hmm?" Guan Yueling really didn't expect Xu Cang to mention the American route. However, thinking that Xu Cang also shared the profits from the American routes, Guan Yueling was slightly relieved: "Mr. Xu, you also know that most of the American routes were previously monopolized by Japan Airlines. We are now discussing cooperation with American Airlines, but the progress is not optimistic. I know that the remuneration Mr. Xu asked for before included the profit share of the American routes, but the current situation is definitely not what we want to see."
According to Guan Yueling's estimation, the cooperation with American Airlines would not have any results. In other words, the profit sharing of the American routes that Xu Cang had requested before was just a mirage. ANA exchanged Xu Cang's promise to help open up China-Japan routes between Shanghai and Guangzhou with a blank check that could not be cashed, which was a huge profit for ANA. In fact, Guan Yueling was also afraid that Xu Cang would go back on his word and change the terms when he saw that the American routes were unprofitable.
But Xu Cang's next words directly shocked Guan Yueling.
"If I could convince American Airlines to work with ANA, what would you be willing to pay?"
"Xu Cang, you...are you serious?" Guan Yueling's voice could no longer remain calm: "Are you saying that you have a way to convince American Airlines? How is that possible!"
"Doing things in the United States requires connections. You don't have them, but I do!" Xu Cang said calmly.