How the Big Boss is Made

Author: Ding Li
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-25
Features: The poorer one is, the more they should donate to foreign causes, which is similar to his earlier thinking of "the more one wants to promote someone, the more they should go down." However, this time the risk was greater.
Zhang Zhengzhong was then negotiating a cooperation project. The client was a state-owned factory located in the city center. The factory wanted to build an apartment building on its roadside plot, but it had no money. The factory manager thought of partnering with someone, with the condition of a 35-65 split. That is, the factory would provide the land, and the developer would provide the funds. After the building was completed, the developer would get 65% of the building area, and the factory would get 35%. They tried negotiating with several parties but failed, due to disagreements over the split ratio. At that time, the common split ratio was 30-70, and the factory manager's demand was too high, so they couldn't reach an agreement. The factory manager then approached Zhang Zhengzhong, thinking he was the big boss of a foreign-invested real estate company. Although this assumption was incorrect, he had the right person. The "big boss" was generous and very willing, agreeing to everything. Fearing that things might change, the factory manager rushed to sign the agreement the next day.
When signing the formal agreement, the factory manager noticed two "minor clauses" added by Zhang Zhengzhong. One clause specified that all the apartments allocated to the factory would be on the upper floors, above the third floor and below the top floor. The factory manager thought Zhang Zhengzhong was foolish. Based on his experience, the most troublesome parts of the housing allocation were the ground floor and the top floor—the ground floor was dirty, and the top floor was too sunny, so employees didn’t want them. Now, the "big boss" had voluntarily taken the hard-to-divide "tough nut," which was even better. The second clause stated that if the developer’s efforts increased the building’s total area, all additional investment would be borne by the developer, and the expanded area would also belong entirely to the developer. The factory manager thought this clause was acceptable too. After all, it was the developer spending extra money to build more, as long as it didn’t reduce the factory’s original share. The factory manager signed the agreement, feeling he had gotten a great deal.
After signing the agreement, the factory manager realized the "big boss" was too generous and felt the factory owed Zhang Zhengzhong a favor. He wanted to find a way to repay him, but before he could even think of how, Zhang Zhengzhong called him aside and quietly handed him a red envelope worth 10,000 yuan! Later, Zhang Zhengzhong explained to those around him that this red envelope was important—it would ensure the factory manager would never regret the deal and would cooperate fully in future expansions and construction.
It was around this time that Zhang Zhengzhong proactively proposed donating 400,000 RMB to the Chongqing Education Fund. His only condition was that the mayor must personally attend the donation ceremony. The mayor not only had to attend the ceremony but also the reception that followed. All expenses for the reception were covered by Zhang Zhengzhong’s real estate development company. 400,000 RMB was no small amount, and such a major event naturally caused a stir in the local media. The mayor was looking for hot news to promote Chongqing’s bid to become a direct-controlled municipality, and the two sides quickly agreed.