On Friday morning, Lu Nan went to visit President Han of Hongtu Liquor, only to find that Sister Tian was also there. However, she seemed to be in a bad mood. 

Lu Nan had no intention of prying into anyone’s privacy and simply smiled, saying, “Perfect, this will make things easier to discuss.” Her original plan was to visit President Han first and then meet Sister Tian afterward. 

Lu Nan continued, “I’m going to the provincial office tomorrow for the monthly meeting. President Han must have heard it from Manager Liu. The new provincial office director was transferred from the headquarters, and as the saying goes, ‘new officials take three steps with fire,’ so they’re paying particular attention to distributors and tightening control. I’ve worked really hard to convince the leadership to extend Hongtu Liquor’s distribution rights for another month under the agreed conditions, so you and Sister Tian should be prepared. Please make sure you don’t make things difficult for me.” She said the last sentence in a joking tone. 

Considering that many local businesspeople in Hua’an City follow the practice of not rushing payments in the morning, Lu Nan subtly hinted at the issue without directly addressing it. 

However, both Han Jianxin and Tian Aizhen understood the message. 

This meant that the last batch of payments had to be transferred to Yuan Chuan’s corporate account by the end of February. 

With less than ten days left, both parties needed to raise 400,000 yuan each. 

For Han Jianxin, this wasn’t a problem. With his years of business experience and connections, he could easily borrow the money if needed. 

But for Tian Aizhen, it was much more difficult. Her house and car had not been fully divided yet, so she couldn’t sell or use them as collateral. Few relatives or friends supported her “hustling” efforts. In the end, her parents gave her 100,000 yuan, she contributed another 100,000 yuan from her bank cards, and borrowed 200,000 yuan from a local microfinance company. 

Hua’an City wasn’t very big, and Han Jianxin had heard about Tian Aizhen’s financial struggle. He called her over this morning, hoping to persuade her to give up on becoming a Yuan Chuan distributor—in his heart, he felt that this advice was for her own good. 

But Tian Aizhen didn’t appreciate it. She immediately darkened her face and argued back. 

That was why she looked unhappy when Lu Nan arrived. 

After hearing Lu Nan’s words, the couple, who were about to split up, simultaneously replied, “Manager Lu, there is no problem on my side.” 

Han Jianxin glanced at Tian Aizhen and decided to privately discuss her current financial situation with Manager Lu later. 

Lu Nan sat for about half an hour, saw that it was nearly time, and then politely excused herself. 

Tian Aizhen, taking advantage of her gender, stood up and walked over to Lu Nan’s side. “Manager Lu, I didn’t drive today. Could I shamelessly hitch a ride with you to the nearby supermarket? I just need to buy some fruit.” 

Han Jianxin knew she was trying to build a good relationship with Manager Lu, but becoming a Yuan Chuan distributor wasn’t about personal connections. 

What mattered to the company was the ability to repay. 

“Of course, Sister Tian. Please.” Lu Nan smiled at President Han, then left with Tian Aizhen. 

Once in the car, Tian Aizhen said, “Lu Nan, this year during the Spring Festival, I sent people to track channel sales. I think you might need this too.” 

Lu Nan took the paper that Tian Aizhen handed over, mildly surprised. All the channel sales data she wanted was on the paper, even including the quantity, product type, and amount of the group-purchasing shipments for Hongtu Liquor. 

It seems that her success in her past life was certainly not by chance. 

Lu Nan couldn’t help but admire and respect this kind of woman. She glanced at the data on the paper: based on the more easily obtainable data from the catering and supermarket channels, the sales data Tian Aizhen tracked seemed largely accurate. 

“Thank you, Sister Tian. I’ll take this,” Lu Nan said, shaking the paper in her hand. This information could indeed be useful to her. 

Tian Aizhen smiled, with fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “You’re being polite. If you hadn’t pointed it out to me, I wouldn’t have thought of it.” 

Lu Nan smiled without commenting. 

“Also, Han Jianxin has been trying to persuade me to give up on becoming a Yuan Chuan distributor, but he can’t convince me. I think he’ll contact you later and say some vague things. Lu Nan, Manager Lu, I can assure you that I really want to work with Yuan Chuan. Even if my financial strength isn’t strong at first, I can still sign contracts for 500,000 or 1 million yuan. I’m not boasting. You’ve probably seen it—being a local, I do have some advantages. Furthermore, once the divorce is finalized and I get my fair share, I can sign contracts for two to three million yuan with you directly this year,” Tian Aizhen said earnestly. 

“You don’t need to worry about renewing contracts for now. As you said, 500,000 or 1 million is still a distribution contract. I have no reason to turn away a customer who hasn’t had issues with counterfeit goods or selling at low prices. Hongtu Liquor is a quality distributor, and it’s co-owned by you and General Manager Han. Once you split, it should become two very high-quality distributors. Don’t you think so, Sister Tian? For now, just make sure the payment is arranged on time, and the rest will be evaluated and audited fairly by the company and me,” Lu Nan said. 

Tian Aizhen nodded. “Yes, Manager Lu, hearing you say that, I’m more at ease.” 

Lu Nan dropped Tian Aizhen off at the supermarket and about half an hour later, received a call from Han Jianxin. 

It turned out that Tian Aizhen had accurately predicted Han Jianxin’s actions. 

On the phone, of course, Lu Nan didn’t give him any leverage. Han Jianxin expressed his concerns about his ex-wife’s mental and financial situation, and Lu Nan, after listening, paused for a moment before replying seriously, “Alright, President Han, thank you for telling me about this situation.” 

Han Jianxin felt that Lu Nan had taken his concerns to heart. 

But in fact, Lu Nan was just brushing him off. 

In the afternoon, Zheng Jing sent over all the channel sales data from the Spring Festival period. 

Lu Nan compared this data with the one Tian Aizhen had given her earlier: there were slight discrepancies in some of the other channel data, but they were within an acceptable margin of error. However, the group-purchasing channel data was a bit off because, due to the lack of local office personnel, the sales quantity for Hongtu Liquor had been reported a bit higher than it actually was—by about 20% more than the data Tian Aizhen had provided. 

It seemed that Han Jianxin was also not as confident as he appeared. 

The next morning, Lu Nan drove to Hailin City. 

At this monthly meeting, Provincial Office General Director Wu Chuan first addressed the city managers, conveying the latest headquarters’ documents: 

1. The city’s investment layout should be as diversified and multi-product as possible, aiming to achieve the goal of multiple dealers and multiple channels flourishing in a single city. 

2. In the new year, Yuan Chuan will focus on assisting distributors with business alcohol and private banquets, while suspending activities such as sponsorships for the two meetings and donations of alcohol for the August 1st holiday. 

3. It is strictly prohibited to pressure distributors into stockpiling goods to meet payment collection targets. Half-year and year-end assessments will include random checks of distributor inventory. If the inventory reaches one-third of the contract amount, the city manager will be demoted, and the General Manager of the Provincial Office will be jointly responsible. Note: Existing inventory does not count. 

4. The non-compete agreement for city managers has been updated. Everyone should go and sign it later. Note: This signing is required nationwide. If anyone has objections, they can report it to headquarters, but until they receive a response, they must pause any ongoing work. 

When Lu Nan heard the third point, she thought to herself, “Talking to smart people is so much easier. I only casually mentioned Manager Liu in that phone call to take advantage of the situation, and Chen Xiao immediately understood the core of the matter. Not to mention the non-compete agreement that he had made clear. 

Once the matter is settled, I’ll quietly walk away, keeping a low profile. 

Lu Nan lowered her eyes, thinking: “I’d better not get involved in destroying anyone’s financial path or becoming an enemy of everyone in the city manager group.” 

Wu Chuan finished reading the headquarters’ documents and glanced over the city managers: “I know some of you have more inventory than others, most of it leftover from the previous managers’ messes. After the meeting, go to He Manlin to report the actual numbers for registration. Let me remind you, this is your last chance to report the actual numbers.” 

Everyone nodded solemnly, realizing the seriousness of the issue. 

Wu Chuan paused, allowing everyone to digest the information, before moving on to another topic. 

Wu Chuan paused to let everyone digest the information before continuing: “Next month (March), the Spring Sugar, Tobacco, and Alcohol Expo will be held in Chengdu. Our province has two spots for the event.” 

It was like a government-sponsored trip, but participants had to write a report afterward. Many of the seasoned city managers had attended before and had little interest in the event. 

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to go?” Wu Chuan asked with a smile, looking around, “Don’t want to go, or don’t want to write the report? If no one volunteers, I’ll call on someone.” 

Most city managers lowered their heads, practically wishing they could disappear. 

Lu Nan said, “Director Wu, I’ve never been, so count me in.” 

“Good. He Manlin, make a note… there’s one more…” Wu Chuan thought, “Who else?” 

Zhang Fei, the city manager from Jujiang City, cleared his throat and said, “Director Wu, I’d like to go and expand my horizons.” 

Wu Chuan was stunned for a second, then said, “Alright, anyone else? If not, it’ll be just Manager Lu and Manager Zhang.” 

Manager Wang exchanged glances with Old Tang, who sat closest to him: “Tsk, tsk, Zhang Fei really doesn’t learn.” 

Old Tang raised his eyebrow: “Manager Lu is good at drinking; I wonder if she’s good at writing reports too?” 

Manager Wang nodded: “Of course, she’s a college graduate, different from us rough folks.” 

And so, it was decided. 

As the monthly meeting was about to end, Wu Chuan remembered to ask Lu Nan and Zhang Fei: “I remember you two haven’t submitted the Provincial Office’s annual plan yet, right?” 

Both nodded. 

“So, what do you think? Should we talk about the plan now, or do you need more time to familiarize yourselves with the market?” Wu Chuan asked. 

Zhang Fei glanced at Lu Nan and, without hesitation, said, “Director Wu, there are a few potential clients we’re currently negotiating with in Jiujiang. If we close those deals, the provincial office’s internal annual plan could be significantly improved this year.” 

A few? Potential? Significantly improved? 

It was flattering, but also vague and meaningless. 

What it really meant was that he would need more time before he could submit the plan. 

Lu Nan had originally planned to wait until March to assess the situation with Hongtu Liquor before submitting the provincial office’s internal annual plan. However, since Zhang Fei spoke up first, if she repeated something similar, it would sound like she was just brushing off the leadership.