hotmtlnovel Chapter 8: If this chapter doesn't come soon, the character's persona will collapse.
Chapter 8: If this chapter doesn't come soon, the character's persona will collapse.
Amidst the thorns and weariness of reality, their love is the most solid support when they are tired, the light that illuminates each other in the darkness, and the "driving force" that helps them grit their teeth and run towards the future.
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But less than half an hour later, Zhang Zhishan got into the car and drove off into the city, looking rather listless.
To maintain appearances, he chose to sleep in the oldest self-built house in the village. The bed was so hard it hurt, and it creaked every time he turned over. Plus, there were lots of insects buzzing around him all night, which was really incongruous with his net worth of hundreds of millions.
Before he left, he also told Zeng Jia to revise the contract she had prepared. "Young people should use their brains more and not be so rigid. Before the contract is signed, all the terms are just nonsense."
The Mercedes-Benz V260L disappeared in a flash. Zeng Jia, clutching her soft bedding, nestled on the hard kang (heated brick bed), listening to the buzzing of mosquitoes in her ears and having to swat away the insects that crawled up to warm the bed every now and then. Her sleep was completely ruined and she couldn't fall asleep.
The key point is that she is a human resources specialist who has only been cramming on small commodity business for three days, and Zhang Zhishan has dumped this hot potato on her.
This is clearly asking Pigsy to embroider; she doesn't have the claws or the brains.
Zeng Jia wasn't in the mood to berate her boss; solving the problem was the key. She glanced at the time—11:30 PM—and wondered if Wang Haowen had returned home yet. She made a video call.
Wang Haowen had just entered the room with his hair all frizzy like straw, his shirt collar torn and twisted, and a dark red wine stain on his cuff.
He spent the whole day accompanying Yu Li to social events, essentially acting like a subservient servant. Not only did he have to put on a smiling face for everyone he met, but he also drank alcohol like it was water, downing countless gulps.
He slumped on the sofa, exhausted to the bone, but when the video call connected, he saw Zeng Jia's puffed-up cheeks, like a squirrel stuffed with pine nuts. "What's wrong, baby? Did Zhang Zhishan cause trouble?" Wang Haowen's voice was weary, but his heartache was undeniable.
Seeing that he looked like a wilted eggplant, Zeng Jia felt bad and told him all about Zhang Zhishan's slutty behavior.
"Everything was agreed upon. We bought 30% of the goose down from Gaoyou, and the price was fixed. But suddenly he wants me to reduce the wastage to 1%. Isn't that just making things difficult for him? 2.5% is already the lowest in the industry. What can I do? I wish I were that goose myself, pouncing on him and giving him a few bites... Do you have any brilliant ideas? My head is spinning right now. I can only ask you for help." When one person is at a loss, they have to call for reinforcements, but even this reinforcement is exhausted.
Wang Haowen inquired about the contract details in detail. "I think what he really wants isn't that 1% actual loss. He just wants the financial statements to look good and fool the shareholders."
He gulped down half a vat of cold water to moisten his parched throat before speaking: "There are three ways to profit from securing the goose down distribution rights: First, monopolizing the supply and profiting from the price difference; second, selling under our own brand, emphasizing a minimum 1% loss rate, which will encourage consumers to pay more; and third, appeasing shareholders on the financial statements, as low loss rates make the supply chain appear robust, management excellent, and costs tightly controlled, which will even boost the stock price."
Zeng Jia raised an eyebrow, immediately opened her notebook, and turned on the phone's recording function.
Wang Haowen didn't waste any words and directly offered his advice: "Why don't you put some thought into the logistics solution? Have the cooperative use layered vacuum packaging, but don't compress it too much, otherwise the velvet will break. Put shock-absorbing pearl cotton in each layer, and stuff it with food-grade desiccant to prevent moisture. Use a constant temperature cold chain line for transportation. This way, the actual loss can be reduced from 2.5% to about 1.5%. Then have Chen Dewei fill in 1% loss on the outbound slip. The 0.5% gap can be considered as the cost of logistics upgrades, and it can be deducted from the platform entry fee and commission."
"In this way, Zhang Zhishan got the excuse of low loss, Chen Dewei also benefited from the logistics upgrade, and they could cooperate in the long term. The 2% entry fee and commission were just a pretext for bargaining, and they didn't have to pay any real money out of their pockets."
Zeng Jia lay on her pillow, listening and taking notes rapidly. When she got stuck, she would interrupt and ask a few questions. Wang Haowen was very patient and explained things to her in detail.
Before she knew it, the sky outside the window was turning a pale, fish-belly white. Zeng Jia checked the call time and, wow, four hours had passed.
"It's my fault, it's almost dawn. You've been sitting like this all night, you must be exhausted."
Zeng Jia looked at Wang Haowen's bloodshot eyes on the screen and felt a pang of sadness. Apart from a few trips to the toilet, he hadn't moved an inch. His back must be as stiff as a door. "You should take a nap, or you'll be in big trouble tomorrow when you're with Yu Li."
"No matter how tired I am, I have to sort this out for you first."
Wang Haowen rubbed his face with both hands, but couldn't wipe away the tenderness in his eyes as he looked at her. "It took me four years of college plus three years of work to figure out all these tricks. You, who studied human resources management, figured it out in four hours. You're like a fairy descended to earth. My future wife is really amazing."
Zeng Jia felt a warm glow inside after being praised. "Wenzi, I missed you so much. I'm so grateful to have you."
She hugged the pillow in her arms, feeling sweet and content, as if she had drunk honey.
Although they were still a long way from making a down payment on a house and had to be extremely frugal, they could help each other out when things got tough, and their hearts were set on the same goal, so their lives felt more hopeful. She was genuinely worried about Wang Haowen staying up all night to help her, and she was determined to get through this, otherwise she'd be incredibly stupid and deserve to be struck by lightning!
Hearing her cloying longing, Wang Haowen's gaze softened, but it wasn't tender; instead, it carried a hint of ruthlessness. "I want money, I desperately want money! If I had money, would I need you to come all this way and suffer like this? You could just stay home all day, lying around like a princess, bossing me around. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Zeng Jia grinned and said, "I'm not afraid of hardship, but when I'm completely clueless and don't know where to start, it's really frustrating."
"Don't try to tough it out. Just let me know if anything happens." Wang Haowen gave the screen a kiss. "Baby, I'm on call for you 24/7."
Zeng Jia returned the kiss with a kiss, "I missed you. You should go to sleep too."
After hanging up the video call, she began organizing Wang Haowen's voice recordings. She didn't know when she dozed off, clutching her pillow; she was just too sleepy to stay awake any longer.
She hadn't slept for long when the honking of geese and the shouts of the villagers woke her up.
"Is Mr. Zhang awake? Breakfast is ready."
Zeng Jia was still half asleep when she realized the voice sounded so familiar. She sat bolt upright with a start – Chen Dewei?!
She checked her phone; it was only 6:30. Gaoyou had already achieved a moderately prosperous life, so why were people still up so early?
She quickly put on her coat and went out to greet him, running her fingers through her messy hair. She gestured with her chin towards Zhang Zhishan's house and said in a low voice, "Mr. Zhang is still asleep. After you left last night, he was chatting away with the old man next door, saying he hadn't had such a good talk in ages. He just fell asleep a little while ago. Why don't we go get something to eat first, and we can talk about the logistics?"
She also needs to find out Chen Dewei's background first, and then try out Wang Haowen's method.
Chen Dewei paused, a look of confusion in his eyes, as if wondering which old man next door Zhang Zhishan had been chatting with all night. But seeing Zeng Jia's expectant look, he could only nod, "Okay, whatever you say."
Zeng Jia breathed a sigh of relief. While rushing to have breakfast with Chen Dewei, she quickly sent a WeChat message to Zhang Zhishan urging him to come back soon. "Chen Dewei is here. Mr. Zhang, please come back quickly!" Any later and her image would be completely ruined!
Meanwhile, Wang Haowen rushed to the company after only two hours of sleep, his eyelids feeling as heavy as lead. He had spent the past two days accompanying Yu Li to visit high-end luxury brands to discuss collaborations, and the brochures he had memorized could fill a roof. But today, they were meeting with a niche brand called ULUL. He quickly hid in a corner to avoid being caught by Yu Li and her group of ladies asking him questions. If he couldn't answer, he would lose face completely.
Today's gathering was organized by Yu Li, and the guests were all prominent socialites and investors. The main host was Su Manli, the boss of ULUL. It was supposed to be a casual chat and networking event, but Su Manli kept bringing up her newly invested AI smart home technology, turning the afternoon tea into a project roadshow.
She wore a burgundy velvet suit, the diamond necklace at the neckline dazzlingly bright. She kept repeating the same few phrases: "AI smart home technology is definitely going to be a hot trend! We have to sell everything we own to get on board!"
Mrs. Zhang, who works in real estate, approached us in ten-centimeter stilettos. "But how exactly do you use this AI? It can't just be letting the curtains open and close by themselves, or the refrigerator calculate recipes on its own, can it?"
Su Manli's smile froze instantly, the diamond ring clinking against the glass. She subconsciously smoothed her hair, her tone indistinct, "High-tech...it's all about convenience, not having to do anything yourself."
"What makes it so much easier?" Mrs. Li, an investor, pressed on, her Hermès scarf perfectly tied, a stub of unlit cigarette between her fingers. "What's the average order value? What's the repeat customer rate? How does it compare to ordinary smart home appliances?"
A barrage of questions came crashing down on her, and Su Manli's face turned ashen, unable to utter a coherent sentence for a long time.
Yu Li wore a standard, fake social smile, but her fingers were gripping the champagne glass so tightly it was almost deformed. Su Manli was her guest; if she lost face at a gathering she had organized, wouldn't Su Manli hold a grudge? If she had known Su Manli was just a spendthrift fool, she would have never let her bring up this topic.
But now, advancing is like taking a minefield, and retreating is like falling into a pit, causing her a terrible headache.
Yu Li had no choice but to glance at the corner of the wall and then stab Wang Haowen like a knife.
Wang Haowen inwardly groaned, "Another hot potato has been dumped on me?"
He smiled obsequiously as he stepped forward, inwardly cursing: So not all rich people are shrewd. With such a mediocre eye, where did they get all that money?