“Director Wang,” Xu Ying began, her voice Like a soothing balm, “the previous cooperation between the food factory and the department store… Director Sun handled it improperly, yes. But he has since realized his mistake. He’s been wanting to apologize to you, truly. But you know Director Sun’s nature; he’s a proud man, he’d never admit defeat in his life, and he just can’t bring himself to save face and apologize directly. But let me tell you, Director Wang, who in this town doesn’t know what a generous and broad-minded person you are?”
Xu Ying poured out a torrent of flattery, praising Director Wang until his face glowed with satisfaction. He struggled to suppress his beaming smile, adopting a stern, tiger-like expression. “Master Xiao Xu,” he asked, feigning seriousness, “are you truly speaking the truth? Director Sun truly realized his error? And do outsiders truly praise me so highly?” As Director Wang spoke of his public acclaim, his toes curled with suppressed excitement. His hands, clasped together, rubbed back and forth, a testament to his rising elation. Unbelievable! My reputation, Lao Wang’s reputation, is actually that good!
Xu Ying cleared her throat, a twinge of guilt for the white lie she was about to tell. But for the factory’s benefit, for the sake of earning foreign exchange, it had to be done. “Director Wang, it is absolutely true.”
Director Wang’s mood was visibly brightened. “Actually,” he said, a wave of his hand dismissing the past, “it’s been many years since that happened. I don’t hold a grudge anymore.” Who could blame him? He was simply too broad-minded. The villain, Lao Sun, had indeed tried to pawn off a batch of nearly expired goods on him. In the end, Director Wang had been left with nothing but wasted effort, fortunately without having paid anything back then, or he would have been furious enough to die.
Seeing Director Wang’s willingness, Xu Ying knew he was ready to cooperate but was still concerned about maintaining his dignity. What’s dignity worth when there’s profit to be made? These “delights” could bring in so much more. When they sold well in the department store and generated new revenue, wouldn’t he be praised by his superiors then? By that time, his “dignity” would shine even brighter.
Xu Ying pressed on. “Director Wang, please consider this cooperation. You’ve tasted these fried goods yourself. The flavor is absolutely incomparable.” She gave a confident thumbs-up. “And you’ve seen the braised duck products. They’re not just popular in our county, but in other counties too! The Xiangxian Department Store next door is practically begging for them! How can I give them any when our own department store doesn’t even have them?” Xu Ying embellished the truth with practiced ease.
Director Wang, surprisingly, believed her. He had indeed tasted the braised duck products; his wife bought them constantly. In fact, when the braised duck products first appeared in state-owned restaurants, he had thought about selling them in the department store. But the moment he learned they came from the food factory, he dismissed the idea, refusing to humble himself. But now, with “Lao Sun” having seemingly capitulated, and with his own magnanimous nature, he would reluctantly agree to cooperate. He looked at Xu Ying, his chest puffed out with pride. “I’m not cooperating with Lao Sun because he apologized to me. I’m only agreeing to cooperate with you because I want to see more bonuses for our department store’s performance and for our employees. And we also have to carry those braised duck products in our department store.”
With a pleasant smile, Xu Ying casually pulled a document from her bag and presented it to Director Wang. “Director Wang, this is the contract our food factory drafted for our cooperation. Please take a look; this is the lowest price we’ve offered. Honestly, I think this price is almost too low. Making braised duck and these fried goods is complicated and requires many seasonings. But Director Sun felt truly apologetic about what happened before, and he said he specially lowered the price significantly to make amends. However, if we cooperate on other new products in the future, the normal price will apply.” Director Wang had originally intended to bargain, but Xu Ying’s words swayed him. He glanced at the price, then read the contract again. Despite a slight doubt, he signed the contract with a triumphant flourish. As expected from a department store, their order was generous: one hundred boxes of each item. The braised duck products were ordered by the kilogram—one hundred kilograms of each kind.
“Master Xiao Xu,” Manager Zhang interjected, a worried frown creasing his brow, “I heard from people outside that our department store is going to do a ‘buy one, get one free’ event? We never discussed that. What if these people start causing trouble?” He still had no idea who had spread those rumors.
Director Wang, however, was no fool. His expression hardened as he looked at Xu Ying. This girl actually tried to trick him! If he hadn’t agreed to cooperate with the food factory today, she would have forced him to cooperate one way or another!
Xu Ying chuckled, quickly offering a charming smile. “To show our factory’s sincere willingness to cooperate with the department store, we will provide the ‘buy one, get one free’ items for that day’s event. Our food factory will bear the cost entirely.”
Manager Zhang’s face instantly brightened at the news. This was a tremendous boon for their department store. Director Wang, mollified by the concession, decided to overlook her little schemes.
Sun Erming watched from the sidelines, utterly dumbfounded. Just like that , Xu Ying had resolved a conflict between the director and the food factory that had festered for over a decade. It was truly astonishing.
Manager Zhang was elated, his managerial title now safe and sound. Thank God, I’m still the manager! However, he couldn’t afford to relax. When the department store launched the new products, he had to work tirelessly to boost sales. If he impressed the director, he wouldn’t be replaced by a newcomer.
Xu Ying, clutching the signed contract like a precious treasure, happily made her way to the food factory and presented it to Director Sun. Director Sun was initially surprised to see her. Recently, rumors had been swirling that the department store was launching a new “All-Purpose Fried Delight,” supposedly made by Xiao Xu. He had been confused; Xiao Xu hadn’t mentioned developing a new product. Furthermore, his relationship with Director Wang of the department store was notoriously bad. How could he possibly cooperate with their food factory to introduce these new “delights”? He had even begun to wonder if Xiao Xu had defected to the department store.
Now, seeing the contract Xiao Xu presented, Director Sun’s eyes widened in disbelief. His hands, clutching the document, trembled slightly. He was so excited he could barely speak clearly. “Xiao Xu, are you joking with me? The department store is going to cooperate with us? And order so many goods?” Director Sun pinched his arm hard. He couldn’t be dreaming! Their food factory’s performance last month had been decent, but their goods were scattered across various smaller sales points, with no major orders. But securing an order from a department store was a game-changer. Department stores had high foot traffic, drawing in countless people. Moreover, people from other areas who wanted to buy things would naturally visit department stores. If their products sold well there, it would open doors to other department stores in other cities.
Director Sun was ecstatic, yet he still managed to lift his head proudly, mimicking Director Wang’s earlier demeanor. “Old Wang agreed to cooperate with me? Didn’t he declare he’d never cooperate with me in this life? Why, is he jealous because our food factory’s business is so good?”
Xu Ying’s lips twitched. Fortunately, Director Sun hadn’t been allowed to attend the negotiations himself. Otherwise, the entire contract might have collapsed!