Chapter 684: The Difference Between Automatic and Manual Transmission (2)
“I really thought Aston Martin had come out with an electric car. Who would’ve thought it’s still a prototype. Sigh!” Si Cong shook his head.
They had barely taken a few steps when they arrived at the Porsche booth. There, they saw another electric car on display, which seemed to be better than the Aston Martin they had just seen.
“Wanna check it out?” Zhou Chao turned to Si Cong and asked.
“Sure, as long as it’s not another prototype like the Aston Martin.”
The two of them then walked through the crowd towards the booth. Just as a security guard was about to approach, they heard an urgent voice behind them.
“Don’t stop them, let them through!”
Because many of the cars exhibited at this car show were new models from various brands, they were mostly for viewing only. However, qualified customers could definitely get in the cars.
“Good day, young gentlemen. I’m Xiao Chen, the manager of Porsche. Please come inside!”
Zhou Chao was somewhat surprised by Xiao Chen’s hospitality.
“Let’s go!” Si Cong said.
The two followed Manager Chen to the car on display.
“Taycan!” That was the name of the electric car.
After a brief introduction from Manager Chen and their own firsthand experience, they both felt that the car was indeed quite impressive.
“What do you think of this car?”
“It’s pretty good, just not suitable for me to drive!” Si Cong shrugged.
“Hmm?” Zhou Chao was curious now.
“You think I, Si Cong, would stand in line to charge? Isn’t that just embarrassing for me? You know I value my face the most!” Si Cong said seriously.
Hearing this explanation, Zhou Chao, Lin Wu, and Manager Chen felt as if a car had run over their faces, back and forth.
Zhou Chao glanced at Si Cong in silence, feeling a bit speechless. Then he turned to Manager Chen and asked, “When can we get these cars?” Excitedly, Manager Chen asked, “Excuse me, sir, what’s your surname?
“I’m Zhou.”
“Mr. Zhou, currently, we have three Taycans in Modu. One is the top model, and the other two are high-end models.”
“Only three in Modu?” Zhou Chao frowned.
There was a moment of hesitation, but soon he realized that the main issue here was not just one or two cars.
“I’m not sure how many Mr. Zhou needs. We can arrange for more from headquarters at any time!” Manager Chen’s mood was also somewhat tense. He didn’t know if he could secure a big deal today.
Zhou Chao didn’t rush to answer but turned to Lin Wu beside him and asked, “Do you know when this year’s annual meeting will be held?”
“Boss, isn’t that something you decide?” Lin Wu now understood what Zhou Chao was asking. It was probably about using these cars as prizes for the annual meeting.
After all, that was what they did last year, even though it was just Mercedes-
Benz at the time.
Zhou Chao calculated that there were about three months left until the New
Year.
“Manager Chen, I’ll need twenty of the top models, but I’d like the delivery date to be extended to the end of December. I’ll have someone contact you with the specific date later. Is that okay?”
“Twenty top models!” Manager Chen almost shouted in a low voice. If they weren’t in the convention center, he would have jumped up and screamed loudly.
“Alright, twenty! Any problem?”
“No problem, no problem. It’s just that Mr. Zhou, with twenty top models, the total price would be around 36 million!” Manager Chen looked a bit nervous, afraid that this price would make Zhou Chao hesitate.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chao nodded slightly and took out an anonymous gold card from his pocket. He had obtained it earlier for the sake of convenience in spending; after all, it wouldn’t be practical to use a black card with billions of dollars in balance every time.
For this purpose, he had obtained dozens of these gold cards, each containing a deposit of one hundred million.
“Lin Wu, you stay here and coordinate with Manager Chen. I’ll go check out the others with Si Cong!” Zhou Chao handed the card in his hand to Lin Wu behind him.
“Sure thing, boss!” Lin Wu quickly took the bank gold card with both hands. Without further ado, Zhou Chao and Si Cong headed towards other exhibition halls. Meanwhile, Manager Chen excitedly led Lin Wu to the VIP area.
As they walked, Si Cong suddenly asked, “Zhou, do you prefer automatic transmission or manual transmission?”
“Automatic or manual, it doesn’t matter to me. They’re both the same to operate. Why do you ask?” Zhou Chao looked at Si Cong with some confusion. “Hehe, it’s not that simple. There’s a lot to it. Seems like you really don’t enjoy playing with cars, Young Master Zhou!” Si Cong smirked.
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“You see, there’s a big difference between automatic and manual transmission. Let’s talk about automatic first. Once you’re in, there’s no other operation involved, at most just controlling the speed.
But manual transmission is different. You have to shift gears manually, sometimes it won’t go in smoothly, and you might have to try several times. Plus, each gear has its speed requirements. So, manual transmission really tests a person’s skill. Otherwise, you might stall the car!”
After listening to Si Cong’s explanation, Zhou Chao looked at him strangely and asked, “Is the car you’re driving even proper?”
“Of course it’s proper. Why wouldn’t it be? Look, Young Master Zhou, I’ve become a well-known veteran driver. I have some insights, don’t I?” Si Cong chuckled.
Zhou Chao still didn’t fully understand what Si Cong meant by the car he was driving, but upon careful thought, there seemed to be some truth to what he said.
“I’d say you should focus less on automatic or manual and more on how to safely drive the car home and park it in the garage!” Zhou Chao patted Si Cong s shoulder and said.
Upon hearing this, Si Cong paused for a moment, then shook his head. Let it be. Who knows, maybe I can get it done next year!”
Zhou Chao smiled and didn’t say anything. He had also heard about Si Cong’s love life, so he didn’t want to comment further.
“Let’s go check out the others and see if there’s anything worth getting.
The two of them continued to stroll around the exhibition hall, looking at several internationally renowned luxury car brands in succession.
During this time, Zhou Chao once again made a purchase, this time acquiring a McLaren 600LT Spider and a Bugatti Chiron, adding two new members to his luxury car collection.
Although these two cars cost a few million dollars in total, they were still quite impressive.
As for Si Cong, he treated this as a sightseeing trip and didn’t particularly fancy anything. In his words, “I won’t buy anything that’s not a limited edition!” After about three hours of wandering around, they all felt a bit tired.
“I’ll host tonight. Let’s go to Bund 18, and I’ll treat everyone to a three-star Michelin dinner!” Si Cong, who hadn’t spent any money today, directly waved his hand and booked tonight’s dinner.
Then, the group of them each drove their own luxury cars straight to the Bund. As the sun set in the west, the remaining glow of the sunset was always so fleeting. By the time Zhou Chao and his friends arrived at the Bund, the sky had gradually darkened, and even the streetlights along the road had come on.
The Michelin restaurant Si Cong booked happened to be located directly opposite the Oriental Pearl Tower. Sitting by the window, they could enjoy both delicious food and the nighttime view of the Oriental Pearl Tower.
It was quite an experience.
“What? Zhou Chao spent over forty million on cars today?” Hou Ting exclaimed in surprise.
Lao Piao and Shu Yi, who were beside him, also looked at Zhou Chao curiously, wondering what kind of car he bought to spend so much money!
When they learned that most of the cars Zhou Chao bought were intended as prizes for the group’s annual meeting, they all envied those who wanted to work for his company!
With laughter and chatter, they continued to eat until around nine-thirty in the evening before reluctantly dispersing.
Just as Zhou Chao returned home, he received a phone call.
“What! Is it true or not?”