Urban Super Medical Saint

Chapter 138 Talking Business

"How could that be, Sis? You're getting younger by the day, aren't you? If you're still worried, next time I come, I'll bring you some of my homemade medicinal wine. Drink a little before bed every night, and I guarantee that even when you reach your forties or fifties, you'll still look like you're in your twenties or thirties," Ge Dongxu hurriedly reassured her.

"Really?" Liu Jiayao said with surprise and delight.

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"Of course, it's true. Would I lie to you?" Ge Dongxu nodded.

"I knew you'd be good to me!" Liu Jiayao glanced at Ge Dongxu with a smug look, then hugged his arm gleefully.

Feeling somewhat uneasy at her embrace, Ge Dongxu, the young man, tried to suppress his discomfort to avoid being looked down upon by Liu Jiayao, who seemed completely unaware, thinking he might be a lecher.

The revolving restaurant was on the twentieth floor, surrounded by huge, transparent, floor-to-ceiling glass windows. As the restaurant slowly spun, diners sitting by the windows could enjoy a 360-degree view of Mingyue Lake and Lincheng.

Liu Jiayao had already reserved a table for two by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hall, and upon reaching the twentieth floor, a waiter naturally led them there.

Their seat was directly facing Mingyue Lake, and looking down from there, one could see the myriad lights along the lake's edge, and the illuminated pleasure boats on the water, antique and charming, adding layers of historical elegance to Mingyue Lake and making one feel as if they had traveled through time.

"So beautiful!" Ge Dongxu felt that even if the food wasn't great, the view alone was worth it.

"Hehe, beautiful, isn't it? In winter, when I have nothing to do, I like to sit by myself with a cup of coffee, quietly enjoying the scenery outside," Liu Jiayao said.

Ge Dongxu imagined the winter sun warming him through the huge glass windows while the sunlight on Mingyue Lake turned the water into rippling gold, and couldn't help but daydream for a long while before he exclaimed, "The life of the rich sure is comfortable!"

"Oh please, as if you're short on money?" Liu Jiayao gave Ge Dongxu a look, then stood up and said, "What do you want to eat? I'll get it for you."

Liu Jiayao had ordered the buffet in the revolving restaurant.

"I'll come with you," Ge Dongxu said, getting up to follow her.

"Sure, let's go together then," Liu Jiayao said with a happy smile, then took Ge Dongxu's hand and went with him to get their meal.

...

In Huaxia Country, there's always been a custom of talking business over drinks.

Manager Zhang Huowang, who had been rather arrogant and dismissive towards Cheng Yazhou earlier in the lobby, softened significantly after a few drinks. With Che Yingying flatteringly buttering him up occasionally at the side, his mood improved considerably. From time to time, he'd crack dirty jokes with Che Yingying while intoxicated, his beady eyes leering at her, which greatly annoyed Cheng Yazhou. However, knowing how society operated, Cheng Yazhou could only send apologetic glances towards Che Yingying.

Since she began working, Che Yingying had clearly experienced such behavior frequently. Although her eyes hid indignation and humiliation, her face still bore a sweet smile, and she raised her glass to toast Zhang Huowang from time to time.

After a while, Cheng Yazhou gave Che Yingying a signal, and she took the excuse of needing to use the restroom to leave the private room.

Once Che Yingying had left, Cheng Yazhou pulled an envelope from her bag and handed it to Zhang Huowang, saying, "Manager Zhang, you've just seen our samples; you don't need to worry about the quality or the price."

Back then, it wasn't common to send cards as a backdoor gesture; people generally just stuffed money into an envelope.

Zhang Huowang, seeing that Cheng Yazhou was playing ball, had a smile on his face. But when his hand felt the thinness of the envelope, his smile quickly vanished. He pushed the envelope back and said, "Boss Cheng, Qinglan Cosmetics is a big company. Last year, the total sales volume of Qinglan's various cosmetic products reached 30 million bottles. Just think about how many labels we'd need if we switched to laser brand labels!"

At this point, Zhang Huowang paused and showed a hint of difficulty, "Honestly, with such a large quantity, I really can't call the shots!"

Zhang Huowang's words were, of course, a pretense. As the purchasing manager, bulk purchases of raw materials, which greatly affected product profit margins, were definitely overseen by senior executives, and even Chairman Liu Jiayao might personally get involved in negotiations. For laser brand labels that cost at most one cent each, 30 million bottles would cost at most 300,000 yuan—within the decision-making power of Zhang Huowang as the purchasing manager of a big company like Qinglan.

Claiming to be unable to make the decision meant either he didn't want to give the business to Yaxu Trademark Factory, or he thought the money was too little.

As an experienced businessman, Cheng Yazhou caught on when Zhang Huowang specifically mentioned Qinglan Cosmetics' sales volume from the previous year, emphasizing the vastness of the numbers. Cheng silently cursed, "Damn, he's really got a big appetite!"

To get this deal, Cheng had already put ten thousand yuan in the envelope.

Back then, ten thousand yuan was certainly not a small amount! And according to business custom, it wasn't just a one-time payment; if they wanted to continue business next year, they'd definitely have to keep paying. Cheng had thought this amount would be enough, but Zhang Huowang still found it lacking.

Of course, the essence of business is profit, and as long as there was a margin, Cheng would certainly not give up on the deal. In fact, since the market profit for laser brand labels was still quite high at the moment, giving a little extra was still very profitable, albeit somewhat irritating.

"Manager Zhang, as the purchasing manager, how can you not be in charge of this matter?" Cheng Yazhou wanted to push further, to see whether Zhang Huowang was genuinely finding the amount too little or was just putting on airs to haggle.

"Let's talk about this some other time, some other time. Let's drink for now, drink." Zhang Huowang pushed the envelope back again, and Cheng reluctantly took it back, feeling an internal urgency.

Qinglan Cosmetics was a well-known brand in Jiangnan Province, and countless packaging and label manufacturers were eyeing it. Qinglan Cosmetics wanted to switch their labels to laser anti-counterfeit labels, and Cheng had found out about this in advance through a friend's daughter—Che Yingying—who worked in Qinglan's purchasing department. Anxious not to be beaten to the punch by other label manufacturers, he had hurried over.

The matter certainly couldn't be delayed; it had to be finalized tonight, or else Yaxu Trademark Factory might miss its chance.

Luckily, Zhang Huowang didn't decline outright. Of course, Cheng couldn't openly ask Zhang how much he wanted. This was a part of Huaxia's culture, akin to wanting to be a saint but also a sinner!

Everyone knew what was going on, yet such matters always had to be conducted subtly.

ps: Why are all of you so smart, guessing everything correctly? Do you think it's easy for me to set up a plot? I need your recommendation tickets for comfort! Also, the third update has now been moved to noontime.