RoleplayNovel Chapter 61 Where did Tang go?
Chapter 61 Where did Tang go?
The restaurant chosen by Tang Jingqing and Matonglang was not far from the hotel, only about a ten-minute drive away.
The restaurant's private rooms are quite private, making them a good place for secret meetings.
Although Tang Che needed this meeting to leak information, and Toilet Wolf was willing to cooperate with Tang Che in leaking information, the way information is leaked is to pretend to cover it up, so Tang Jingqing and Toilet Wolf would not choose a restaurant with drafts coming from all sides.
Toilet Wolf: "Good morning, Tang. Good morning, Jingqing."
It might seem odd to invite someone to breakfast to discuss business, but for busy people like F1 team principals and drivers, scheduling is all about finding the perfect opportunity, so whether it's strange or not doesn't matter too much.
Tang Che/Tang Jingqing: "Good morning, Mr. Wolf."
"I still hope you call me Toto... Calling me Toto shouldn't mean anything different." Toilet Wolf casually invited Tang Che and Tang Jingqing to sit down, as relaxed as if he were greeting old friends. "The herb-roasted chicken at this restaurant is very good, you must try it."
Those who frequently participate in negotiations know that negotiations at the dinner table never start right away. If you were to start right away, what would you eat? You have to eat, drink, and chat first to set the tone before getting to the main topic.
"I thought you were going to bring more people," Tang Jingqing said.
If the "Toilet Wolf" (a nickname for a person) is to start negotiations at this meeting, he will definitely bring more people with him. If not a whole team, he will at least bring a few senior executives from Mercedes-Benz.
But Toilet Wolf came alone.
Toilet Wolf: "In your impression, am I a very impatient person?"
Tang Che and Tang Jing shrugged in unison.
Toilet Wolf mimicked the player's signature move: "It's just a regular dinner... maybe with a touch of business."
It needs to have a touch of business aspect.
After enough eating and drinking, enough pleasantries, and enough groundwork laid, the business begins.
"Tang, Jingqing, do you know why Schumacher was able to succeed at Ferrari?" Toilet Wolf asked.
"Jean Todd, Ross Brown, Rory Byrne, and a reliable team of engineers," Tang Jingqing said. "Of course, Schumacher's driving skills are also a very important factor."
Ma Toilet Wolf nodded: "In the 90s, Ferrari was mired in internal strife and had been out of the championship for many years. The then CEO of the Ferrari Group, Montezemolo, was determined to reorganize the team, so he hired Jean Todt as the team principal of the Ferrari F1 team and supported Jean Todt in reforming the Ferrari F1 team."
"After Jean Todt took office, he rebuilt the team management system, poached Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and an entire engineering team, completely overhauling Ferrari, which led to the Prancing Horse dynasty."
"After Schumacher retired in 06, Jean Todt became CEO of the Ferrari Group, and Ross Brawn took a break from racing, Ferrari began to decline. Only Kimi managed to win a WDC in 07 thanks to the legacy of the Prancing Horse dynasty. After Kimi, Ferrari has never won the world championship again."
Tang Jingqing immediately understood what Toto was trying to say: nothing more than burying ethane and staying away from the red team—a common negotiation tactic to highlight one's own strengths by arguing that the competitor is incompetent. But how can business negotiations completely cater to the other party's wishes?
Tang Jingqing: "Ferrari still has a very good chance of winning the world championship this season. Although there were some setbacks in these two races, it doesn't change the fact that Ferrari is a strong contender for the world championship."
Toilet Wolf confidently declared, "Ferrari will definitely collapse."
"Ferrari's strategy team is terrible, Ferrari's engineering team has to give up on the 21 season and prepare for the 22 season in advance in order to build a good car, and the car they build is still unstable. Ferrari's current team principal has no idea how to be a team principal at all... Ferrari's drivers can indeed compete for the championship, but the whole team does not support competing for the championship."
"This team has been in a slump for too long. Apart from the absence of internal strife, Ferrari now is almost no different from the Ferrari before Jean Todt joined. There are problems from top to bottom, which cannot be overcome by a good car and a top driver."
"Unless Ferrari finds another Jean Todt to overhaul the team, Ferrari has absolutely no chance of winning the world championship. The current Ferrari CEO doesn't have Montezemolo's boldness; he won't support anyone's reforms. Ferrari's only fate remains decline."
Tang Che and Tang Jingqing were unable to refute it.
Toilet Wolf smiled slightly: "McLaren isn't a good place either. First, their cars are terrible, and second, Zach Brown has close ties with the Norris family... Tom, you seem to have a lot of choices, but actually you have very few."
Tang Che: "So, you're saying my only options are to stay with Red Bull or transfer to Mercedes?"
Of course, you should go to a team with championship-contending ability or potential, and in the paddock, only the four major teams have the strength or potential to contend for the championship. According to what Ma Toilet Wolf said, Ferrari is just a circus and not worth going to; McLaren has terrible cars and is suspected of having connections, so it's not worth going to; the only teams worth going to are Red Bull and Mercedes.
Toilet Wolf: "I've said it before, Red Bull isn't a humane team... or maybe that's not entirely accurate, they're only humane towards Max, the team is completely centered around Max. And there's also the risk of internal strife within the team."
"Red Bull can at least build a good car, and their strategy team is doing a great job," Tang Che said. "Mercedes' cars... look incredibly fun to drive."
Low emotional intelligence: What kind of shitbox is this that's so hard to open?
High emotional intelligence: This car is extremely fun to drive.
"We did encounter some problems before the Spanish Grand Prix. But as you've seen, we've basically resolved the car's issues," Toto smiled confidently. "Our strategy team, our engineering team... our entire team remains world champion caliber."
Tang Jingqing: "A world-class strategy team has lost the podium that was already in their grasp..."
Tang Che: "A rebound in just one race doesn't mean Mercedes is back in the title race."
Toilet Wolf remained unfazed: "You know, our strategy wasn't flawed; it was Tang's individual skill that made our strategy fail. As for our car... we're on the right track, and our car will only get faster!"
This statement is quite credible, given the performance in the Spanish Grand Prix and the enduring legacy of Mercedes' eight-time world champions.
As long as the car is in good condition, Mercedes is indeed a very good choice. However, Tang Jingqing also had something to say: "George and Lewis' contracts don't expire until the end of the 23 season. Before the 24 season, Mercedes doesn't have any vacant seats. Are you going to make Archer go to Williams and wait for a seat again?"
Upon hearing this, Toilet Wolf was overjoyed!
Today, Ma Tonglang originally only intended to subtly influence Tang Che and Tang Jingqing to lean towards Mercedes, so that Mercedes could have a slight advantage in subsequent negotiations. But now, judging from Tang Jingqing's words, it seems that Tang Che's transfer to Mercedes is already on the horizon!
Toilet Wolf's face tightened, and he quickly said, "As long as Archer is willing to join Mercedes, there will definitely be a place for him! I guarantee it!"
You'd even call someone Archer just to gain favor? Toilet Wolf, you bastard!
Toncher: "George is my dearest friend, my brother!"
The Toilet Wolfs guarantee that there will definitely be a seat for Taunter. Besides having Taunter replace Russell, do they have any other options?
The Toilet Wolf once again made that player's signature gesture: "That's how cruel the paddock is... With George's great performance at Mercedes, he'll find a good place."
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VIP lounge at Barcelona's Josep Tarladlias el Prat Airport.
Horner suddenly came across a news article: "Breaking News! Alfa Romeo Toli driver Toncher secretly meets with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff! [Images] [Images] [Images]"
Several photos taken secretly through the curtains of a restaurant private room were taken at a very good angle, capturing Tang Che, Tang Jingqing, and Toilet Wolf chatting happily.
Seeing the evidence, Horner's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly handed his phone to Marco beside him: "Helmut, take a look at this."
Marco, who was feeling drowsy, was instantly wide awake and immediately took out his phone to call Tang Che... but the phone was off.
Marco's face darkened: "Chris, call Jing Qing."
Without Marco saying anything, Horner was already calling Tang Jingqing... but the line was busy.
Horner/Marco: This is not good.
Horner frantically dialed Alfa Romeo team principal Franz Tost: "Where's Tang?"
Horner is trying to locate Towne and then go directly to him.
Toster was unaware of what had happened: "Tom said an old friend was visiting him and he needed to stay in Barcelona for a while, so I gave him a day off."
Horner cried out urgently, "I need to know where the fuck Tang is!"
Tost realized something was wrong: "I'll contact Tang right away."
"I just couldn't get in touch with Tang, that's why I'm asking you!" Horner laughed angrily. "Fine, why don't you check the news first to find out what happened?"
Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Tost finally realized something serious had happened. He immediately took out his phone and searched for Taunter, only to find news about Taunter's secret meeting with Toilet Wolf.
Tost's pupils dilated in shock. He immediately dialed Tang Che's number... It was off. He dialed Tang Jingqing's number... It was busy.
Tost opened WhatsApp:
"Tang, where are you now?"
"Remember to call me back when you have some free time."
……
"Jingqing, are you next to Tang? Can Tang call me back?"
……
"Is everything alright?"
……
"Tang, say something!"
……
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Why is Tang Che's phone switched off? Why is Tang Jingqing's phone line busy?
Behind all this, is it a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?
In fact, they were robbed in front of the restaurant.
Just as Tang Che and Tang Jingqing left the restaurant and reached the roadside, a thief on a bicycle suddenly appeared from the side and snatched Tang Jingqing's handbag.
In a flash, Tang Che kicked the thief's motorcycle, knocking the thief down and sending his own cell phone flying out of his pocket.
At that moment, Tang Che didn't care about the flying phone; he only cared about rushing over to subdue the thief who had been kicked over.
With his hands tied behind his back and his knees on his back, the entire sequence of movements was swift and decisive. Before the thief could even react, he was already immobilized.
After the restaurant staff came out to help Tang Che control the flying thief, Tang Che finally had a chance to deal with the phone that had been thrown out.
That phone has been tragically destroyed.
When Horner contacted Tang Jingqing, Tang Jingqing was making a call to the police; when Tost contacted Tang Jingqing, Tang Jingqing had already hung up the police call, but then answered Horner's call.
As soon as Tang Jingqing answered Horner's call, he immediately started saying he had just been robbed, which made Horner even more anxious: "Are you alright? Is Tang alright?"
Tang Jingqing: "Ache is fine, and so am I. However, Ache's phone is broken, so you probably won't be able to get through to him for the time being. If you need to talk to him, you can just tell me directly."
Is this the time to talk about this? I just got robbed!
Horner: "It's alright! It's alright! Give me your location, Helmut and I will be there right away!"
After hanging up Horner's call, Tang Jingqing had a similar conversation with Tost, who also asked for his location and rushed over.
Guess who's here first?
Sebastian! Vettel!
The four-time champion arrived on a shared electric scooter and immediately pounced on the thief, snatching the bag from his back.
"This is my bag! He stole my bag!" Vitter rummaged through the bag, making sure everything was there, and said with a sigh of relief, "I put my backpack in the car when I checked out this morning, went back to the hotel to get my suitcase, and didn't close the car window properly when I left. When I came back, my bag was gone. I quickly came up with a plan and tracked it down using the GPS location of my AirPods in the bag... By the way, what are you guys doing here?"
Before Tang Che and Tang Jingqing could speak, the visiting employee who had witnessed Tang Che subdue the thief began to excitedly recount the entire process in broken English, leaving Viter bewildered: "Chinese Kung Fu?"
Tang Che nodded.
Tang Che learned Bajiquan from a famous master through family connections—the kind of Bajiquan that can kill people, of course, he didn't learn it to kill, just for self-defense. His training wasn't too outrageous; he could beat someone with no fighting background, but against someone with fighting background, it depended on the opponent's skill level.
Given the security environment in Europe and America, self-defense is quite necessary; even Tang Jingqing has learned a few self-defense techniques.
"Can you teach me?" Vettel got excited and immediately struck a classic Bruce Lee starting pose. "Hey~ I think I have a talent for learning kung fu."
Tang Che: "Are you sure you have time to learn? Even if you do have time to learn, I don't have time to teach you."
F1 drivers are very busy; how could they possibly have the time to teach or learn kung fu? Besides, the two aren't even on the same team, and they're scattered all over the world, only having the chance to meet during race week.
Vettel was deflated: "Looks like I'll have to wait until I retire to learn it."
Tang Che: "That will take many years."
Vettel is only 34 years old. If we take Alonso, who is 40 years old, as a benchmark, Vettel has many more years in his career.
Vettel shrugged noncommittally.
The police arrived before Horner, Marco, and Tost. Horner, Marco, and Tost were the last to arrive at the police station and picked up Tang Che, Tang Jingqing, and Vettel, who were giving statements.
The sight of former favorites and current favorites standing together still left Horner and Marco with a slight sense of melancholy.
Vitter was much more relaxed: "Good afternoon, Chris. Good afternoon, Helmut. Congratulations on finding another super genius."
"Good afternoon, Seb," Horner said. "Where are you going? We'll give you a ride."
"No need, I have teammates waiting for me." Vettel smiled and patted Tanger on the shoulder. "I hope you can get a great contract. I'll treat you to dinner when we get to Monaco."
Vettel rode off on a shared electric scooter, while Tang Che, Tang Jingqing, Horner, Marco, and Tost got into the same vehicle.
Horner and Marco said in unison, "Tang, Jingqing, I think we need to have a serious talk."