Pressure had been building on Chaoran Xu for months, and a faster schedule would not fix a stalled program. He did not really understand engines; he did not even truly understand cars, but that had not mattered when the money flowed. Deliver results, smooth the future, that was the logic he lived by. Then Audi arrived with a domestically controlled engine platform, and the wind shifted.
The higher-ups stopped nodding on sight. Budget requests that once sailed through returned covered in red marks, every yuan questioned. Even the government fleet switched to the Audi A6, and leaders rode in Audi instead of Hongqi. For Chaoran, that was fatal momentum. He needed something that read as capability, not excuses.
So he aimed at Heifeng Lu. In his mind, status carried weight. If he showed up to ask for technology, the other side would agree out of respect, because he represented more than a single company. Helping Hongqi should count as a blessing for a private outfit. He told himself that story right up until Heifeng said no.
A flat refusal was not in his playbook, but it did not mean he had no levers. "Young people get arrogant the moment they taste success," he muttered, snapping his briefcase shut. He would fly to Beijing and turn the easy way into the hard way, a dance he knew well.
After dropping Heifeng at the hotel, Chengming Liu followed him into the lobby café. Over the table, Heifeng laid out the headline he intended to make real. He wanted to donate one hundred Audi A8S, on the condition that it be turned into a proper, front-page story tied to the A8 launch. It was not random philanthropy.
It was a marketing play that aligned with national optics, and it would cost real money. A single A8 could efficiently run at least ¥1,000,000 (≈ $142,857). A hundred cars meant a number that would make most executives swallow hard.
Chengming nearly choked, then grinned. "Old brother, I admire the nerve. I will handle it." He would take it upstairs, frame it correctly, and speak for Heifeng where it counted. They clinked coffee cups and split duties. Heifeng would prepare cars and logistics. Chengming would prepare the stage.
That night at the old courtyard house, Grandma scolded as always. Heifeng took it with a smile and a promise to sleep more. Work never honestly stopped, but family ritual had its own gravity.
Early the next morning, the phone rang. Chengming skipped small talk. "You are lucky. There is a summit in seven days. They need a lot of cars for delegations. They were going to use BMW." He let the brand land plainly. "After I told the leader you intend to donate one hundred A8S, he switched the fleet on the spot. They want Audi. How fast can you deliver?"
It was more than good news. A summit motorcade meant television, camera pans, convoy shots, the sort of exposure ad budgets try to imitate and rarely match. "Three days at most," Heifeng said, smiling into the receiver. "The cars will arrive on time."
The moment he hung up, he called Jianhua Zhao to confirm the status. The reply came crisp. One hundred A8S were already loaded and on the highway to Beijing. He ended the call satisfied.
With the donation locked, Heifeng went to inspect the launch site in person. The venue was the Beijing Exhibition Center, a sprawling complex built for large shows and auto exhibitions. The launch had been set for eight days out. With the summit in seven, he pulled the date forward to four. First, the flagship on stage, then the motorcade on television. The cadence would feel inevitable.
Staff were already walking the floor and rehearsing cues. Heifeng watched a mock run-through, then turned to the manager at his side. "Ming Huang, we are moving the launch up. Four days," he said. "It is yours to run."
Ming blinked, then turned his head. "President Lu, you are not hosting it yourself this time."
He had not expected Heifeng to hand him the launch. It would be his first time doing something like this, and he had no idea where to start. He had no experience at all.
"If I do everything, I will be exhausted," Heifeng said. "Besides, you are a department head. Do not panic over a routine launch."
Heifeng did not plan to go on stage for this one. He wanted his people to get real practice at an occasion like this.