NOVPUBPantela chattered on and on, while Suming remained expressionless, not batting an eyelid. After about thirty seconds, Suming once again picked up his teacup.
Jiao Shou stood up and politely said, "Mr. Pantela, we understand your company’s point of view. Let’s talk another day."
Pantela was stunned, looking towards Suming. Suming nodded and also stood up, smiling, "Mr. Pantela, thank you for the visit. Why not enjoy a few days in Yangchuan City before you go back? My assistant will arrange for someone to accompany you, as I am rather busy and won’t be able to join you."
Even Pantela, clueless and ignorant of Huaxia culture, understood at this point.
This young boss had refused him, had refused Disney.
Pantela suddenly stood up, astonished, "I swear to God, I did not deliberately lowball the offer. No North American company can make a higher offer! Apart from collaborating with Disney, you won’t have a second path to take! Oh no sir, I just don’t understand! Can you tell me why?"
After speaking, he positioned himself as if to say ’I’m not leaving until you explain,’ unmistakably demonstrating the tenacity of a good salesperson.
"Well, your persistence is quite endearing."
Suming shook his head, smiling, "You Westerners have your ways of doing business, and perhaps you believe your method is the most excellent and scientific. But we Easterners, over thousands of years, have also developed our habits. If you want to measure our friendship in US dollars, I must say, four hundred thousand US dollars is far from enough to win me over."
"But..."
Suming waved his hand to prevent him from interrupting, continuing, "Moreover, when we Easterners make friends, we do not speak in the tone you just used. I think, even in the West, interrupting someone is considered very impolite, right?"
"But all that is meaningless. US dollars are what matter!" Pantela said.
"For an employee of your level, face might be meaningless, but for me, sometimes face is more important than money," Suming said with a smile, addressing the still puzzled Pantela, "Dear Mr. Pantela, you don’t understand Eastern customs, which I can understand. However, there’s no need for us to continue this negotiation."
Suming was resolute, and Pantela could only sigh dejectedly, shrugging and spreading his hands, "Alright sir, perhaps I have angered you, and even though we may not understand each other due to cultural reasons, at least we can leave with the utmost respect. I respect your decision, goodbye."
"Goodbye," Suming nodded with a smile.
As Pantela reached the door, he paused, turned back, and handed Jiao Shou his business card, saying, "If your boss changes his mind, he can call this number. Business is business, after all."
"Alright," Jiao Shou accepted the card with a smile, "But I think he won’t change his mind. Please, Mr. Pantela."
After Pantela left, Jiao Shou returned to the office and closed the door.
Despite the deal not going through, Jiao Shou felt somewhat excited, "Boss, that kid was too arrogant. It’s a relief to have taught him a lesson. However, he wasn’t entirely wrong. The fact that a Huaxia film sold for four hundred thousand US dollars in North America is indeed impressive."
Suming nodded, "This amount of money is insignificant, and besides, their proposal for the unconditional right of first refusal to use the animals is a big limitation. I can’t possibly prioritize Disney over my own needs for the animals for the next year. This means even if I need the animals myself, I would have to accommodate Disney’s needs first."
"But what if I negotiate with him to replace the unconditional right of first refusal with a right of first refusal or to increase the fee for the animals?" asked Jiao Shou.
"It’s unlikely. If they were open to it, why would they bother with this four hundred thousand dollars? When needed, they could just rent the animals through the normal process. Of course, you can try contacting him again. This guy does have a point; maintaining a good partnership with Disney would indeed be beneficial for publicity."
Jiao Shou was stunned, not expecting Suming to be willing to keep in touch with them, "Ah? But what about face..."
Suming laughed, "Face? Face is just a thicker skin. How can you do business if you’re not thick-skinned?"
...
On the way back to his accommodation, Pantela thoughtfully considered the refusal. Beyond the so-called face, it likely had something to do with that ’unconditional right of first refusal.’
As soon as he returned to his hotel room, he immediately went online to contact headquarters, roughly describing the negotiation process and the other party’s attitude in an email, and adding his own analysis to ask if the unconditional right of first refusal could be relaxed.
Soon, the distribution department’s top boss replied to his email.
The cost for purchasing the distribution rights could be moderately increased. If four hundred thousand US dollars was not enough to gain the other party’s ’friendship,’ it could be increased to a maximum of six hundred thousand US dollars.
But the unconditional right of first refusal was non-negotiable.
After hesitating for a few minutes, Pantela directly called the headquarters’ boss long-distance.
In the call, the boss didn’t budge at all but did disclose to Pantela some information: if the deal went through, Disney was planning to start shooting a blockbuster starring real animals in the latter half of the year, and they needed a large quantity of animals. That priority right of use was indeed the company’s true objective.
"Damn it! These guys sitting in the office, unwilling to spend the money yet expecting others to cede the most core benefits, do they think the whole world is full of fools?" Pantela cursed dejectedly after hanging up the phone.
...
Jiao Shou met with Pantela privately twice and finally negotiated the price up to six hundred fifty thousand US dollars, but because they could not agree on the usage rights, the negotiation ultimately fell through.
Suming was not in a hurry, though.
"Terror Animal City" had made over three hundred million domestically, and Disney was willing to negotiate distribution. If in the future he could produce a film that made five hundred million or even a billion, that would certainly attract more companies. It was just a matter of patiently waiting.
Moreover, Long Wu brought news that "Animal City" was doing quite well in other Asian countries, triggering a strong response.
"Still sold it short, just in Japan, the box office has already approached 2.1 billion yen, and in Korea, it’s nearing seventy million Huaxia currency..." There was a hint of regret in Long Wu’s voice. His casual remark had come true, and judging by the current actual box office figures, if the overseas distribution rights could really have been sold for one billion Huaxia currency.
"I only hope that one day we can make a film with box office sales over thirty billion yen like a Hayao Miyazaki film," Suming smiled.
In the following days, Suming led quite a leisurely life, cataloging the zoo’s assets in his office and figuring out how to divest the assets from the zoo to prepare for the eventual acquisition.
Another piece of good news arrived; the panda Lele’s due date was here!
