Su Peizhen had worked in Li Group for three years. Su Chenghui started to cultivate her with great efforts before she even went to college.
Above all else, she was especially good with numbers. Reading a report form like that was easy for her.
Compared to running Li Group, running two chain markets wasnât much of a challenge.
âMiss Su...â Manager Wang used to work for Xiang Caiping. He was in a good relationship with the latter. He had been showing full respect towards Su Peizhen too.
âMr. He, the owner of Xingsheng, said that the price of the raw materials has gone up. This price is fixed last month.â
Xingsheng produced office equipment. According to the form, the prices of all paper products had gone up.
âWhat kind of rise in the price of raw materials can make the prices of the products go up by ten percent? Are you blind? Itâs not just the paper products; the prices of some other products have increased as well. Why would you even give me these numbers?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Did they think that, since she was new, she could be easily fooled?
âMiss Su, this isnât our fault. We have talked to Sister Xiang about it. She said itâs okay because Xingsheng is one of our long-term partners...â
âAlright.â Su Peizhen didnât have the patience to listen. She was bored anyway, so she decided to fix the problem.
âMake an appointment with this Mr. He for me. I want to see him tonight.â
âHe may not have the time.â
âHe doesnât have the time? Does that mean he doesnât care about the sales volume that our two chain markets brought to him? In that case, we can end our partnership with him. I will also let the entire Rong City know about what heâs done. Letâs see who will feel ashamed by then.â
On hearing Su Peizhenâs words, Manger Wang didnât respond. Instead, he turned and left to contact the owner of Xingsheng.
As it turned out, Mr. He had time tonight. The meeting would take place in a restaurant called Xiangshan.
Walking into Xiangshan, Su Peizhen looked much happier than before. Xiangshan was better than ChaoWen Courtyard in Lin City.
She followed Manager Wang upstairs. Before long, He Xingxian arrived.
He Xingxian, the owner of Xingsheng, was a slightly chubby man in his forties with an amiable smile. His small and beady eyes made him look cunning.
Su Peizhen had met quite some people in Lin City. For a man like that, she didnât take him seriously.
Manager Wang introduced the two of them to each other. After some small talk, all three of them took seats.
Su Peizhen went straight to the point. She wasnât in the mood to carry a long conversation with a man who she deemed to be nothing.
âMr. He, I am a straightforward person. Iâm just gonna tell you how I feel directly. Iâm not happy with the quoted prices provided by your company this time. Weâve been partners for a long time. I donât think what youâre doing now is what a friend would do, Mr. He.â
âItâs hard to run a business nowadays. The prices of all the raw materials have been rising. The prices change daily. We have no other choice.â
Of course, He Xingxian would not lower the prices as Su Peizhen wished. Su Peizhen furrowed her brows, displeased with how the conversation was going so far.
However, she didnât show her discontent on her face. With a smile, she continued the conversation with He Xingxian.
That was another thing she had a problem with accepting. In Lin City, all companies were eager to work together with Li Group. While she was working in Li Group, she never needed to be as humble as she was now.
He Xingxian looked like a nice man but was very sagacious. The conversation led to no ideal results.
Before Su Peizhen lost her temper, the door was opened as two waiters started serving food.
At that moment, both Su Peizhen and He Xingxian saw someone pass by the door.
He Xingxian hurriedly stood up and said to her, âExcuse me.â
Ignoring Su Peizhen, he walked straight out of the room.
Manager Wang had been silent the whole time. He had seen that person too.
That person looked familiar, but he couldnât remember when he had seen them before.
âMr. Huo?â He Xingxian wasnât expecting to see Huo Jinyao there. Earlier, he saw the latter and hurriedly went out to meet with him.
âMr, Huo,â he called Huo Jinyao again.
Huo Jinyao stopped walking and looked at him. âAnd you are?â He didnât remember who the man was.
âMr. Huo, you probably donât know me yet. I am He Xingxian, the owner of Xingsheng Office Equipment. Iâve talked to someone from your company about some issues regarding cooperation.â
Tianyu Group had over ten thousand employees among tens of branch companies. The supplier of office equipment of Tianyu Group could not only deliver considerable profits but also bring Xingsheng to a whole new level in Rong Cityâs business.
âMr. Huo, this is my name card. Iâve talked to someone called Manager Zhang from your company, but...â
âYou can keep talking to him then.â It wasnât Huo Jinyaoâs job to worry about small things like purchasing office equipment.
âI surely donât have the guts to bother you, Mr. Huo,â He Xingxian said with a fawning smile, âBut Mr. Huo, can you please consider choosing us to be your supplier when Manager Zhang talked to you about it? I can guarantee you both the best quality and price.â
âAlright, I get it.â Huo Jinyao had an appointment with someone today and didnât have the time to keep talking with He Xingxian.
âThatâs good to hear, thank you.â He Xingxian stepped aside, wearing an even bigger grin.
He didnât return to his room until Huo Jinyao disappeared into a room on the other end of the hallway.
Huo Jinyao didnât say yes to He Xingxian, but seeing him was already enough for He Xingxian to get thrilled.
When he faced Su Peizhen again, the smile on his face grew a little more sincere than before.
âMr. He?â It was obvious that Su Peizhen knew Huo Jinyao, but she still intended to make sure if it was him or not. âWhoâs that man? Is he your friend? Why donât you invite him to have dinner together with us?â
He Xingxian glanced at Su Peizhen as if she was an idiot.
âMiss Su, I assume youâre not from Rong City.â
âWhy? What made you think that?â
âDo you know who that man is? Invite him to have dinner with us? Iâm telling you, not even the mayor of Rong City is lucky enough to have dinner together with him.â
âIs that so?â Su Peizhen popped her eyes to make herself look surprised, âIs he such a big deal?â
âOf course. Heâs the president of Tianyu Group. I didnât have the chance to meet him in person, but luckily I have a cousin who works in Tianyu Group. He hooked me up with a department manager in his company. Otherwise, I wouldnât even be able to set foot in Tianyu Group.â
As Su Peizhen seemed curious, He Xiangxian didnât mind telling her about it more clearly, âThat man is Huo Jinyao, the president of Tianyu Group. Heâs also the eldest grandson of Huo Family, the richest, most powerful family in Rong City. Heâs been keeping a low profile lately and has rarely appeared in the media. I wouldnât have a chance to see him in person if he didnât come here.â
âIâm impressed, Mr. He.â Su Peizhen gave a bigger smile with a cunning look in her eyes, âI didnât know that you know someone like him. It seems I have a lot to learn from you.â
Being complimented by a pretty girl like Su Peizhen pleased He Xingxian.
Earlier, he agreed to sell some products to Xiang Caiping at low prices. As Xiang Caiping quit running the business herself, he regretted it later on.
That was why he took the opportunity to raise the prices this time. To his surprise, Su Peizhen knew how things worked.
âMr. He, I would like to propose a toast to you.â Su Peizhen said as she poured He Xingxian a glass of wine. As He Xingxian was drinking the wine, she continued with, âMr. He, do you know Mr. Huo well?â
âNot really.â He Xingxian didnât dare borrow Huo Jinyaoâs fame. He couldnât afford to displease the Huo Family. âBut everyone in Rong City knows about Tianyu Group. Itâs well known nation-wide. Only people like you donât know about them.â
Su Peizhen poured him another glass of wine as she said, âIâm surely not as experienced and knowledgeable as you, Mr. He. Why donât you tell me more about them?â
âLet me tell you, this Tianyu Group is really something,â He Xingxian said humbly.
He only knew some superficial things about Tianyu Group, though. For a long while now, Su Peizhen had known about everything he brought up.
Even so, she pretended to listen to him very carefully. While listening to him, she even nodded and gave compliments from time to time.
As He Xingxian finished, she looked at him and said, âMr. He, can you take me with you next time you meet with Mr. Huo? Itâs not for any particular reason, I just want to meet him myself.â
He Xingxiand didnât dare make that kind of promise. He and Huo Jinyao werenât even friends. It was pure luck to have met him just now.
âMr. Huo is very busy. How could he have the time to meet you?â
He said that to Su Peizhen because he didnât want to admit that he could never manage to make an appointment with Huo Jinyao.
Su Peizhenâs expression looked a little sullen, but she stayed calm and smiled as she said, âI know. The common folk like me surely donât get to meet with a president like that. But you are different. Maybe you can make that happen, right?â
He Xingxian was happy to be flattered like that. He drank another two glasses of wine, then waved a hand and said, âNo big deal. Iâll let you know when I go to Tianyu Group next time.â
âThank you, Mr. He.â Su Peizhen poured him another glass before starting to talk about the business, âYou see, Mr. He, you seem like a nice person. You donât need to change the prices that you agreed on with my Mom, do you?â
âSure, sure. Weâll stick with the old price.â He Xingxian looked at the pretty Su Peizhen with glowing eyes. If Manager Wang wasnât sitting next to him, he would have reached out his hands to take advantage of her.
Su Peizhen felt disgusted, but she didnât let it show on her face.
âTianyu Group? Huo Jinyao? So what? Iâm here now. Some things will be different.â
The drunk He Xingxian didnât notice the look in Su Peizhenâs eyes.
Su Peizhen was wearing a cold smile the whole time.
âSu Qingsang, Huo Jinyao, you two just wait and see.â