"What?!" Dai Shiya tightly grasped the phone, her face instantly turning pale. Everyone in the banquet hall focused their attention on her, but she was unaware and just mechanically repeated the words on the other end of the phone, "What did you say? Raw materials... all cut off? How is this possible!"
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be trying to explain something, but Dai Shiya could no longer listen. She had only one thought in her mind: It's over, everything is over. Without raw materials, her project would be like a tree without roots, and all her hard work would go to waste.
Trying to calm herself down, Dai Shiya hurriedly said "I know" and hung up the phone. She took a deep breath and reminded herself to stay calm. She looked up and searched the crowd, and finally saw Boss Li in the corner.
Boss Li is her supplier of raw materials for many years, and has always been stable. How could the supply suddenly stop? Dai Shiya suppressed her uneasiness and walked straight to Boss Li. She forced a smile and said, "Boss Li, I'm really sorry to bother you. I have something to talk to you about."
Boss Li obviously noticed the abnormality when Dai Shiya answered the phone. He pretended to be calm and put down his wine glass, smiling and responded: "Boss Dai, what's the hurry? We have been cooperating for a long time. Just tell me if you have anything to say."
"Boss Li, I just received a call from the company saying that you can't deliver the goods on time. I would like to ask what's going on?" Dai Shiya asked directly, staring at Boss Li sharply, not missing any subtle changes in expression on his face.
"Oh, you're talking about this," Boss Li's eyes flickered, and he coughed lightly and said, "There have been some problems in the factory recently, and the production capacity can't keep up, so..."
"Boss Li, you should be aware of the importance of this matter to our project," Dai Shiya interrupted him, "I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation, not..."
"Boss Dai, are you doubting me?" Boss Li's face darkened and his tone became unpleasant.
"I just..." Dai Shiya wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Boss Li who stood up suddenly. He straightened his clothes and said coldly: "Boss Dai, if there is nothing else, I will leave first." After saying that, he didn't even look at Dai Shiya, turned around and walked into the crowd, disappearing in the hustle and bustle of the banquet hall.
Dai Shiya stood there blankly, looking at Boss Li's departing back, her heart chilled. She knew that this matter was definitely not that simple...
Dai Shiya seemed to be isolated from the noise of the banquet hall. She stood alone, everything around her became blurry, and only the cold words of "Excuse me" from Boss Li echoed in her ears. She knew that she was facing an unprecedented crisis.
"Shiya, what happened? What did Boss Li say?" Wei Qing, who had been paying attention to the situation here, saw Dai Shiya standing there alone with a pale face after Boss Li left, so she immediately rushed over and asked worriedly.
Dai Shiya shook her head helplessly and briefly recounted the conversation she had just had with Boss Li. Her tone was full of bitterness and helplessness: "...He said that there was a problem in the factory and that they couldn't deliver on time, but how is that possible? We have been working together for so many years, and he has always been on time, and..."
"And what?" Wei Qing keenly caught Dai Shiya's hesitant words.
"And I feel like he is deliberately hiding something. His eyes and his tone make me think that this matter is not that simple." Dai Shiya clenched her fists tightly, her heart filled with powerlessness, but she knew that now was not the time to be discouraged, she must find a solution as soon as possible.
"Don't worry, let me think of a solution." Wei Qing calmly comforted Dai Shiya, while quickly analyzing various possibilities in her mind. Boss Li suddenly stopped supplying, there must be something else behind it, but who is behind it?
Wei Qing decided to start with Boss Li. She used her personal connections and inquired from many sources, and finally found some clues. It turned out that Boss Li had a problem with capital turnover recently, and their competitor Mr. Zhou took the opportunity to tempt Boss Li with a high price, asking him to stop supplying Dai Shiya, in order to hit Dai Shiya's company.
"This is too much! President Zhou actually used such despicable means to suppress us!" After learning the truth, Dai Shiya was furious. She did not expect that President Zhou would be so unscrupulous in order to compete.
"Now is not the time to get angry. We must find a new supplier of raw materials as soon as possible." Wei Qing analyzed calmly, "Otherwise, if the project is delayed, we will face huge losses."
Dai Shiya certainly understood this, and she immediately began to contact other suppliers. However, what made her despair was that many suppliers refused as soon as they heard it was her project, and some even refused to disclose the reason.
"How could this happen..." A series of blows left Dai Shiya exhausted both physically and mentally. She slumped powerlessly in the chair, feeling that the flame of hope was dying out bit by bit.
At this time, Wei Qing came over, put a document in front of her, and said, "This is the last possible supplier, but..."
"Just what?" Dai Shiya seemed to have grasped the last straw, raised her head suddenly and asked anxiously.
"It's just that I heard that the boss of this company is very shrewd, and..." Wei Qing paused, as if considering her words, "and he will probably put forward some very harsh conditions."
Dai Shiya took a deep breath, a trace of determination flashed in her eyes, she picked up the car keys on the table, stood up and said: "No matter what, I have to give it a try."
In the late autumn afternoon, the sun was still a bit scorching, shining on Dai Shiya's slightly tired face. She held the steering wheel, looking forward firmly, but her heart was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.
According to the address provided by Wei Qing, Dai Shiya drove to a materials company called "Hengtai". The company is not large, but from the simple and elegant decoration style, it can be seen that the strength of the company's boss should not be underestimated.
Dai Shiya took a deep breath, sorted out her emotions, and walked into the company gate.
"Hello, I'm here to visit Mr. Wang. Is he here?" Dai Shiya asked the front desk receptionist politely.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked without looking up.
"No, but..."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wang is not seeing guests today." The receptionist interrupted Dai Shiya directly, with a hint of impatience in her tone.
Dai Shiya was not discouraged. She was ready to be rejected. She took out a business card from her bag, handed it to the receptionist, and said sincerely, "Please give this business card to Mr. Wang and tell him that I want to talk to him about the supply of raw materials. It's a big deal. I hope he can give me a chance."
The receptionist took the business card, glanced at it casually, and was about to refuse again, but was interrupted by Mr. Wang who suddenly appeared.
"Ms. Dai, I've long heard of your name." Mr. Wang is a slightly plump man with a kind smile on his face, but his eyes are shrewd and sharp.
Dai Shiya quickly stood up and responded politely: "Hello, Mr. Wang, nice to meet you."
President Wang invited Dai Shiya into the office. After they sat down, Dai Shiya stated her purpose directly and expressed her sincerity for cooperation.
After listening to the speech, Mr. Wang did not immediately express his opinion. Instead, he picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea slowly, and then slowly said, "Ms. Dai, I have also heard about your situation. To be honest, your project does have great potential, but..." He paused, and his tone became serious, "You also know that the market for raw materials is tight now, and our company's production capacity is also limited, so..."
"Mr. Wang, as long as you can supply the goods, we can discuss the price." Dai Shiya said anxiously. She already had a premonition of what Mr. Wang was going to say next.
"The price is easy to talk about, but..." Mr. Wang looked at Dai Shiya meaningfully, "I heard that Miss Dai has encountered some troubles recently, and there seem to be some problems within the family as well?"
Dai Shiya's heart sank. She didn't expect that President Wang knew so much about her family's internal affairs. It seemed that the other party was planning to take advantage of her misfortune.
Sure enough, Mr. Wang then put forward several very harsh conditions, including a price 30% higher than the market price, and requiring Dai Shiya Company to give priority to using their company's products in the next three years.
Dai Shiya is caught in a dilemma. If she agrees to Mr. Wang's conditions, the company will be burdened with huge cost pressure and may even get into trouble; but if she does not agree, the project cannot be completed on time, the company will face greater losses and even lose its reputation.
To make matters worse, just when Dai Shiya was worried about the raw materials, family members began to express dissatisfaction with the project she was in charge of. Some relatives who were already dissatisfied with her inheritance of the family business took this opportunity to attack her and put pressure on her to solve the problem as soon as possible, otherwise they would take back her management rights.
Dai Shiya felt unprecedented pressure, but she did not give up. She knew that she had no way out. She returned to the company and locked herself in the office, looking through the supplier's information over and over again, trying to find a new breakthrough.
At this time, Wei Qing knocked on the door and walked in, holding a document in her hand, and said solemnly: "Shi Ya, I just received the news..."
"Is there any movement from Hengtai?" Dai Shiya rubbed her tired temples and took the documents handed to her by Wei Qing.
"It's more than just a rumor. They're asking for too much!" Wei Qing frowned. "They spread the word that they're willing to supply us with goods at a price 50% higher than the market price, but they want you to transfer 15% of the company's shares to President Wang."
Dai Shiya sneered and threw the document on the table, "This old fox has a big appetite."
"What's even more infuriating is that several other raw material suppliers have also started to raise prices, with ambiguous attitudes. It's obvious that they are in collusion." Wei Qing clenched her fists angrily, "There must be someone behind this!"
Dai Shiya certainly knew that someone was behind the scenes, but she didn't have time to find out who was stabbing her in the back. The most urgent task was to solve the raw material problem. Otherwise, once the project was stalled, the company would suffer huge losses. By then, even if she found out who was behind the scenes, it would be of no avail.
"How long can the raw materials of the project last now?" Dai Shiya asked calmly.
"At most half a month." Wei Qing's tone was a little heavy.
Half a month... Dai Shiya lowered her head and pondered. She must find a new supplier within half a month, or...
"I remember you said that in addition to these big suppliers, there are also some small factories producing similar raw materials, but the quality and output are not very stable, right?" Dai Shiya raised her head, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Wei Qing nodded, "Yes, but the production of those small factories is limited, and the quality varies, so it is difficult to meet our needs."
"We can't care about so many things now, let's try it out." Dai Shiya made a prompt decision, "Contact those small factories. As long as they are willing to supply, we can negotiate the price. As for the quality, we can try a small amount first, and if it is qualified, we can increase the purchase volume."
"Okay, I'll do it right away." Wei Qing also knew that the situation was urgent, so she stopped hesitating and turned to contact those small factories.
In the next few days, Dai Shiya and Wei Qing rushed around and visited the raw material markets in several surrounding cities. They finally collected some raw materials from some small channels and temporarily maintained the operation of the project.
But Dai Shiya knew that this was only a stopgap measure. The production of those small factories was limited and could not meet their needs in the long run. She had to find a large supplier with whom she could cooperate for a long time as soon as possible to completely solve the raw material crisis.
However, things did not develop as she wished. Those large suppliers seemed to have received some instructions and ignored her requests for help. Even if she offered a high price, she could not impress them.
Dai Shiya felt like she was trapped in a quagmire, and every step she took was extremely difficult.
Just when she was at a loss, news suddenly came from the project base that the technicians' work status was not right, and the research and development progress of some key technologies suddenly slowed down...
Dai Shiya's heart tightened, and an ominous premonition came to her mind. She immediately drove to the project base.