Chapter 188: The Secret of Pretentiousness

'As far as I know, Mr Brown, Hamlet doesn't seem to be a compliment,' Zhou Ming said with a bitter smile.

'Really? But as you yourself said, my words also don't have a so-called compliment or insult, only how you judge them,'

Brown laughed and teased, then he said seriously, 'But in my opinion, I still like you very much, because in this impetuous society, everyone is competing to be in Hamlet in everyone's eyes. Just like your friend here, he believes whatever I say, without thinking for himself, forgetting that every Hamlet has their own most distinctive characteristics.'

Cheng felt a little embarrassed at this, but Brown said to him again, 'You don't need to feel bad about it, because you're just an ordinary person. But this Mr. Zhou Ming is the one who really understands the world and can truly not be corrupted by filth!'

Zhou Ming was embarrassed by Brown's endless praise, and he said to him, 'I think I'm just a little bit paranoid . I don't think I've reached any heights, especially not the heights of having seen through the world. And I'm meeting with Mr. Cheng today, and I do have some questions that I need you to answer for us.'

'But in my opinion, Mr. Zhou Ming, this is not paranoia, but a kind of obsession with the truth!'

Brown sat back down after finishing speaking, and after a while continued, 'As for Mr. Zhou Ming's question, I think I know it is about the project to comprehensively update the equipment and software systems of our logistics department's information base, right?'

Zhou Ming was not surprised that Brown could say it so directly. After all, even in Silicon Valley, a project with a budget of 2 million is not a small amount, and there will definitely be many companies competing for it. and as the most important direct contact for this project, Brown naturally became the primary breakthrough target for various companies. So after being bombarded with countless messages over meals and conversations, he naturally developed a subconscious response.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'That's right, let's formally get to know each other. Mr Brown, I'm Zhou Ming, the new first vice president of Jieke. I'm not sure how much hope you think I have for this project.'

Brown raised his eyebrows meaningfully: 'It seems that you are really very different from other people. At least so far, no one has ever asked me how much hope I have when they first meet me. This is ridiculous!'

Brown scolded Zhou Ming for being impolite, but he wasn't angry. He said cheerfully, 'But please forgive me for being blunt, Mr. Zhou Ming, if you just sit to chat with me, then I can assure you that you have no hope at all, because firstly, you have too many competitors, and secondly, in this project, I only have the power to make suggestions but not any decision-making power, and your documents do not allow me to make a direct decision.'

'That is the most important reason why I made a special trip to meet with you today, Mr Brown,' asked Zhou Ming. 'I would really like to meet the rest of your company, including the CEO who actually makes the decisions.'

In response to Zhou Ming's question, Brown looked up at him for a few moments and then said, 'For the sake of Hamlet, I can introduce you to a few people, but don't think I'll betray the interests of the company and do any dirty deals with you.'

Zhou Ming smiled and said thank you, and Brown then told Zhou Ming some basic information about Suffolk, which was similar to what Zhou Ming had learned through other channels. The company was a large investment company, and its chairman and president were not the same person.

Schiller is the chairman of the board and the founder of the company, as well as the final arbiter of all major matters. Liebowitz is the president of the company, or more appropriately, the executive president. He is is responsible for all the company's day-to-day affairs. If something major comes up that concerns the company's strategic direction, he has temporary disposal power, but in the end it still has to be submitted to the board of directors, which means that Hiller makes the final decision.

'In addition to Chairman Hiller and President Liebenthal, there is another name that is very important, and that is Kam,' Brown reminded.

'The CFO?' Ming Chow asked.

Brown was not surprised. He nodded and said 'He is the CFO, but he is also one of the founders of the company. He controls all the company's funds. Without his consent, even if he is the CEO of Liebherr, he can only move a very limited amount of funds within the company.'

Brown thought for a moment and said, 'There are many other people in the company, but compared to them, the influence that others can exert on major company decisions is too small. Especially since this project is only for the information database, many departments are not involved at all, so it is mainly these three people.'

Zhou Ming thanked Brown and, thanks to Brown's introduction, he could already picture the situation at Suffolk in his mind's eye: Chairman Hillaire was like a king , looking down on all the employees of the company, his subjects, while President Liebermann and CFO Kam act as the prime minister and the minister of finance, each doing their own job and checking each other's work.

'You don't need to thank me, I'm just like Hamlet's favourite hobby, and I've only given you information that you can find out for yourselves,' Brown added, 'But there is one more thing I think I must remind you of. This time, the information base equipment and software have been upgraded because the previous processing was too slow. Therefore, your solution must ensure the stability and advancement of the entire project, and it must also ensure compatibility with the previous equipment.'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'I think you can rest assured on this point, Mr Brown. This must be our top priority!'

As he spoke, Zhou Ming gave Cheng Qian a wink, and Cheng Qian very clearly told the violinist to play the Canon again. Then, to the melodious music, Zhou Ming and Brown finished their dinner together.

'I wonder if Jacko will also be attending the IT technology exhibition in three days' time? Because then the president of Liebherr will personally go to the exhibition to inspect it. Perhaps he will take this opportunity to select the company and solution that he thinks is most suitable. I will also be there at that time, and I am very much looking forward to seeing how Mr Zhou Ming and Jieke perform. Goodbye.'

With these last words, Brown and Hois got into their car and left the restaurant. Cheng Qian looked at the car carrying Brown and Hois until it disappeared at the end of the road. He said with some emotion, 'I really can't believe it. I never thought that Mr. Brown would reveal such important news at the end!'

Cheng then changed the subject and said, 'But this time, thanks to you, Vice President Zhou, I always thought that I had been cramming classical literature for a few days and had already achieved a good level of mastery, but Mr. Brown simply didn't take me seriously.'

Cheng Qian laughed at himself when he mentioned this, saying, 'It seems that this cramming was ultimately in vain. Fortunately, Vice President Zhou really understands classical literature, otherwise I'm afraid we would have had a hard time sitting down and chatting with Mr. Brown this time, let alone getting such important information.'

'Classical literature? Are you talking about Hamlet? I want to say that I don't know if you believe it,' said Zhou Ming.

Cheng Qian was stunned at the time, looking incredulous as if he had seen an alien: 'How is this possible? Didn't Mr. Brown just say that you, Vice President Zhou, are the real Hamlet? And you even told him so many classic lines from Hamlet. If you didn't really know Hamlet by heart, how could you have just blurted them out?'

'I really don't know anything about Hamlet.' After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ming asked Cheng Qian in return, "Don't you feel familiar with the lines I said?'

Faced with Zhou Ming's question, Cheng Qian was at a loss again. He had no idea what Zhou Ming meant by this question, and could only reply without understanding, "It seems a bit familiar. These seem to be lines I also remember...'

Before Cheng could finish speaking, Zhou Ming said to him, 'Don't be so unconfident. The lines I spoke in front of Mr. Brown were those classic lines you picked out.'

'I see. That's why I knew those lines so well...'

Cheng Qian's words came to an abrupt end. He looked at Zhou Ming with a face of horror, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't believe it.

Zhou Ming said to him with a smile, 'It seems you have guessed it already. I really don't know anything about Hamlet. The reason I said those lines is that they are the only lines I know.'

Although Cheng Qian had already thought of this point just now, when Zhou Ming said it himself now, he still felt very incredible, because he could not imagine how doesn't understand Hamlet, how can he conquer someone who knows a lot about classical literature with a few lines of dialogue that he learned at the last minute? This logic simply doesn't make sense!

Zhou Ming saw Cheng Qian's confusion, so he suddenly asked, 'Do you know the secret to being a show-off?'

Faced with Zhou Ming's sudden question, Cheng Qian felt that his brain could no longer keep up with Zhou Ming's pace. Just now, weren't they discussing Hamlet and classical literature? Why did it suddenly turn to pretentiousness? What are the secrets of pretentiousness? Are there any secrets to this? To these questions, Cheng Qian suddenly felt how he was as retarded as a primary school student, and could only shake his head blankly.

This time, Zhou Ming did not keep Cheng Qian in suspense. He told Cheng Qian, 'The most important thing about bluffing is to bluff when you should, and not to bluff when you shouldn't.'

Zhou Ming's words were a bit of a tongue twister, but they made Cheng Qian suddenly understand: 'I see, Vice President Zhou, what you mean is that I've been talking too much.'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'Yes, from the moment you met Mr. Brown, you kept bragging to him about how passionate you are about classical literature and art. You even took out your collector's edition of Hamlet. It was so fake and hypocritical that anyone could tell. And you don't really know Hamlet, so if you talk about him, aren't you just making more mistakes?

'But I didn't do that,' said Zhou Ming. 'I just used Hamlet's words to stop him when he was about to leave, that's all.'

'But is just one sentence that pops out suddenly enough?' Cheng Qian still couldn't understand.

'You have to remember that you are dealing with a completely unknown customer, and you are not a university professor giving a lecture to him. He won't and isn't in the mood to listen to your long-winded speech. You have to learn learn to give him the biggest impact and surprise in one or two sentences, so that he will be impressed and want to chat with you more. Otherwise, you will easily fail,' Zhou Ming said to Cheng Qian.

Every word of seemed to be ringing in Cheng Qian's ears like a morning bell and an evening drum, giving him a feeling of enlightenment.

'I remember, and I thank you very much, Mr. Zhou Ming!' Cheng Qian said very seriously to Zhou Ming.

Indeed , when dealing with an unknown customer, one cannot speak at length as if giving a speech. One must use the most concise and simple language to get straight to the point, in order to most effectively capture the customer's heart. But while everyone understands this principle, not everyone can actually do it.

Now Zhou Ming has grasped the words of Brown, and Cheng Qian is even more convinced that it is Zhou Ming who has conquered Brown with his wisdom and charm, and that Hamlet is just a disguise he has put on. Because without his own foundation, relying solely on Hamlet.