The morning meeting ended, and it was almost ten o’clock. 

Lu Nan said, “Manager Liu, I’ve covered everything on my end. Do you have anything else to add?” 

Manager Liu shook his head. What more was there to say? Everyone here was on their way out, anyway. 

Lu Nan clapped her hands and addressed the group, “Alright then, everyone can go back to your tasks. There’s no rush on the forms — it’s Wednesday today, just hand them in to me by Friday morning’s meeting. Any questions?” 

Huang Dafang, probably the boldest in the city office—or maybe just because he was a local and had the confidence of someone who could walk away if he wanted—tilted his head back slightly and asked in a somewhat cheeky tone, “Manager Lu, what if I don’t know how to fill out the form?” 

“Do you mean you’re not sure how to identify potential clients, or you don’t know how to use the form?” Lu Nan wasn’t annoyed at all. Instead, she asked patiently. 

“I don’t know how to fill out the form. Maybe Manager Lu could teach me?” Huang Dafang seemed to be asking seriously, or perhaps testing her? 

He was testing how tolerant the new city manager was after the meeting and whether she could take a joke. 

Lu Nan nodded in understanding, then turned to Zheng Jing and said, “Help me order three introductory computer AOA operation manuals, charge to the daily office expenses of the city office.” 

Then she looked back at Huang Dafang and replied seriously, “I’ll be visiting distributors with Manager Liu the next couple of days, so I might not have time to teach you. You could hand the materials to Hu Yueqing and have him fill it out for you. If you’d like to learn the basics of office software, you can study the book, or come to me later. But just so we’re clear—if I teach you, I charge a fee. Not much, just the cost of three wine decanters. Manager Liu can vouch for that. A few days ago, Manager Zhang Fei from Jujiang City wanted to discuss ‘how to develop new market channels’ with me. We followed my rules. In the end, we had a great drink and a pretty decent conversation.” 

Hu Yueqing, who hadn’t spoken all morning apart from giving his work report and plans, looked genuinely surprised that the new city manager not only knew his name but also remembered which channel he was part of. 

Huang Dafang, hearing the first part of the conversation, thought she might be a humorless, serious city manager. But the latter part was quite interesting. And since she dared to say that, it was clear that she was confident about her drinking abilities. 

With that in mind, Huang Dafang became even more curious about how that other city manager, Zhang Fei, had fared. It sounded like he hadn’t exactly come out on top in that exchange. He glanced at Manager Liu and noticed his expression was… complicated. 

Manager Liu—well, Manager Liu wasn’t sure whether the other city managers had told their teams about the province’s only female city manager and what a force of nature she was. 

Either way, he certainly hadn’t warned his own old-timers. 

He was leaving anyway, so why bother worrying about whether the newcomer would stir things up? Or whether the ‘dragon crossing the river’ would clash with the local veterans? 

As the small talk wrapped up, Lu Nan was well aware that Huang Dafang wouldn’t let Hu Yueqing complete the form for him. Even if he really didn’t know how, he wasn’t about to hand over his resources to a subordinate. Besides, someone who’d lasted this long in Yuan Chuan surely knew how to use a spreadsheet. 

Lu Nan quickly dropped her smile and ended the jokes, turning to Manager Liu, “Yesterday, I asked Manager Liu to arrange meetings with the heads of sales from Hongtu Liquor and Sifang Construction. Were the appointments confirmed? What’s today’s schedule?” 

What schedule? I’m in full panic mode here! 

Watching Lu Nan deftly alternate between firm and friendly, Manager Liu suddenly felt that this young newcomer was already more like a city manager than he was, even after three years in the role. That old saying, “the waves behind push the ones ahead onto the shore,” suddenly made a lot of sense. 

Even if Lu Nan hadn’t won over these experienced employees yet, she had definitely left an impression. 

After all, very few people could memorize an entire year’s worth of market data in just half a day, and do it better than the people actually working that market. 

Too scary. So this is what a college graduate can do? But that can’t be right—Xiao Luo and Xiao Feng also joined us last year as campus recruits. Why aren’t they like this? 

Manager Liu thought the meeting room’s air conditioning was too warm. He wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead. 

And then he felt a wave of gratitude: thank goodness Lu Nan hadn’t been assigned to Hua’an City last year. Otherwise, instead of being transferred, he might’ve been replaced altogether. Lucky! Very lucky. 

“Manager Liu?” Lu Nan called. 

What was he thinking about, with such a complicated look in his eyes? 

“Ah? Oh! I’ve got everything arranged. Lunch with President Han from Hongtu Liquor, and dinner with President Zhang from Sifang Construction,” Manager Liu replied, then added, “Is that too much for one day? You just arrived, and probably still have a lot of things to handle.” 

If he was worried about the schedule, why bring it up now after already setting it? Does he expect me to suggest canceling the dinner meeting? Manager Liu doesn’t strike me as someone that careless. Lu Nan glanced at him and replied casually, “This schedule works well. Thank you for arranging it.” She turned to the others, who were half packing up and half watching the drama, and called out, “Liu Yang, come with us. By the way, how long does it take to get to Hongtu Liquor from here?” 

Manager Liu answered, “About thirty minutes by car.” 

“Alright, we’ll leave in fifteen. Please call President Han from Hongtu now to confirm,” Lu Nan said, gesturing politely. 

Manager Liu made the call. After confirming with President Han, he turned to Lu Nan and said, “Everything’s set. We can head out on time.” Then, it suddenly struck him—why do I feel like I’m the assistant here? 

As they headed downstairs, the landlady who was sweeping the dust near the entrance said, “Heading out, Manager Liu, Manager Lu?” 

“Yes, I’m having Manager Liu take me to meet some clients,” Lu Nan replied with a smile, pressing the car unlock button. 

The red Mercedes flashed its headlights. 

Liu Yang silently sized up the car a few times. 

Lu Nan opened the driver’s side door and said to the others, “Let’s get in.” 

Manager Liu looked at Liu Yang, then at Lu Nan, and took the front passenger seat. “I’ll give directions.” 

Naturally, Liu Yang took the back seat. 

Lu Nan silently noted the exchange, then started the car. 

Inside, Manager Liu occasionally gave directions—turn left, turn right—and then asked curiously, “Manager Lu, this car… wasn’t cheap, right?” 

“It’s fine, my family helped out a bit.” She couldn’t exactly say she made the money from her side business investments. 

Manager Liu made an impressed noise. 

Lu Nan found it amusing. Just a few hours ago, she had been admiring the landlady who owned this place. Now, she had become the one others envied. 

Half an hour later, they arrived at the Hongtu Liquor storefront. 

The storefront design incorporated elements from Yuan Chuan’s classic liquor branding, and there was a row of parking spaces right in front. 

After Lu Nan parked the car, she watched as Manager Liu, clearly familiar with the place, pushed open the glass sliding door of Hongtu Liquor Co. and called out inside, “President Han, I’ve brought our new city manager.” 

Lu Nan followed him in, walked up to Manager Liu, and after passing a display shelf, finally saw the well-known President Han. 

Mr. Han, whose full name was Han Jianxin, was around forty years old, of average build, and had a scholarly appearance. Although he was somewhat surprised by Lu Nan’s overly young looks, he quickly composed himself, stood up, and shook hands with the city manager. 

Manager Liu was playing the role of the middleman today. He tactfully introduced Lu Nan and President Han to each other, then added with a cheerful smile, “President Han, our Manager Lu is a talent transferred from the provincial capital. And Manager Lu, President Han is a top figure in Hua’an City’s liquor industry.” As he spoke, he gave a thumbs-up gesture. 

President Han responded modestly, “You’re too kind. Come, have a seat, all of you.” 

Once the three visitors from Yuan Chuan were seated, President Han personally poured tea for each of them. 

Lu Nan was the first to be served. 

As President Han poured her tea, Lu Nan naturally tapped three fingers on the tea table in a traditional gesture of thanks. The smoothness of her movement surprised Manager Liu again—She doesn’t seem like someone who just graduated half a year ago. More like a seasoned sales pro used to social engagements. 

The four exchanged a few pleasantries like “Did you run into any traffic on the way?” and “Is this your first time in Hua’an?” 

Then President Han moved straight to the point with a sigh: “Manager Lu, are you here to talk about renewing the contract?” 

“If I said that we aren’t concerned at all about the renewal of the contract, that would be quite dishonest,” Lu Nan replied with a polite smile, setting down her tea cup. “But this is my first visit, so today I’m mainly here to familiarize myself with the company and the people. After all, our current contract hasn’t expired yet. Regardless of what happens next, we at the city office still need to do our part and apply for support from headquarters as appropriate.” 

Lu Nan’s words were sincere. 

President Han, meanwhile, was under a lot of pressure. 

Issues with a public affair had spilled over into his personal life. His wife had filed for divorce and was demanding a division of assets, making it impossible for him to focus on business. 

After years of effort, President Han had built Hongtu Liquor. into one of the leading distributors in Hua’an, second only to the one that carried the national brand. 

In fact, due to restrictions imposed by the national brand on its distributors, that competitor could only sell their product line. Hongtu, by contrast, also distributed the best-selling local yellow wine. If it weren’t for the divorce, President Han had even planned to negotiate for the rights to distribute an imported red wine brand this year. 

Now, forget red wine. With his wife pushing for divorce and having filed for asset preservation with the court, President Han couldn’t even come up with the initial payment for renewing the Yuan Chuan contract. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to negotiate; he simply couldn’t. 

Unless the supplier was willing to leave the market idle while he settled the divorce case, there was no way to sign a new agreement. 

But would that ever happen? 

President Han glanced at Manager Liu and then at the young new Manager Lu, and a thought occurred to him: She’s so young—and a woman, too. Maybe she’d be easier to persuade? Perhaps I can verbally commit to the first payment, delay a bit, and at least retain distribution rights in two or three channels. After all, it’s nearly impossible for Yuan Chuan to find another distributor here stronger than Hongtu. 

Maybe the situation wasn’t completely hopeless. 

With that in mind, after a brief chat, President Han invited the three of them to lunch. 

Lu Nan declined politely at first, but in the end, they accepted. 

President Han took them to a nearby rustic-style restaurant, adding, “This place has a few signature dishes that are quite good.” 

Manager Liu chimed in, “Yes! President Han brought me here before—it’s really good. Manager Lu, you should definitely give it a try.”