Wu Chuan looked like he had a headache. 

But Lu Nan could see the smile in his eyes and knew he was just joking. 

Lu Nan said a bit cheekily, “You’re the boss—at critical moments, aren’t you supposed to shield us underlings from the wind and rain?” 

Wu Chuan laughed and teased, “Manager Lu, you have the nerve to say that? I approved all those requests you submitted before the New Year. Remember, the 800,000 deal with Hongtu Liquor must be closely monitored by the end of this month.” 

“Rest assured, Director Wu, I’ll stay on top of it,” Lu Nan replied without hesitation. 

From this, it was clear that among all the city managers, Wu Chuan was relatively satisfied with Lu Nan. 

At first, he was genuinely concerned—what if she was just a reckless newbie who only knew theory and not practice, or just a decorative figure good only for small talk at banquets? Should he override Director Tong and remove her? But after more than a month of interaction, Wu Chuan now felt that if all his city managers were like Lu Nan—or even half like her—the whole province’s sales would see a significant leap. 

He thought to himself: No wonder the chairman and head office leaders had insisted on campus recruitment for two years straight. Sometimes, people who are more educated really do handle things differently, and their mindset and demeanor are very different. 

It wasn’t that Wu Chuan judged people solely by education—after all, he himself hadn’t completed a bachelor’s degree. But unlike some city managers and channel supervisors who strongly resisted and even secretly looked down on university graduates, he was someone who could see clearly the gap between theory and practice, and the clash between old and new work styles. 

So he was willing to take the time to listen to Lu Nan talk about how to boost that 50%, rather than dismissing the ambitious goal like the jaded old-timers in the conference room. 

Lu Nan thought: maybe it’s because Wu Chuan was truly broad-minded, or perhaps because he knew that although it was relatively easy for fresh graduates to become business supervisors or city managers, reaching the level of provincial general director would still be a long journey — thus, she posed little real threat to him. 

Whatever the reason, compared to leaders like Xiang Yunfeng, who was petty, or Wang Xinglong, who limited his subordinates’ freedom, Wu Chuan was much easier to work with. 

After leaving Wu Chuan’s office, Lu Nan encountered Wang Xinglong, who was holding a cup of water. “Finished your discussion?” 

Lu Nan nodded. “Manager Wang, you don’t think I was talking nonsense, do you?” 

“Of course not,” Wang Xinglong glanced around, lowered his voice, and said, “Old Tang heard that Zhang Fei is currently negotiating a 9-million yuan distributor deal. Even if that’s exaggerated, even a scaled-down version could mean a major distributor. I think that Zhang Fei doesn’t have good intentions toward you. You should be careful.” 

Lu Nan almost laughed at the mention of that so-called 9 million. Zhang Fei never missed a chance to brag. 

She was quite certain that this supposed 9 million deal didn’t even exist. 

Nonetheless, Wang Xinglong’s reminder was out of goodwill, and Lu Nan nodded in thanks. 

Although she was now staying clear of Zhang Fei, remembering his despicable tactics from her previous life, Lu Nan decided to chat a bit more with Old Wang: “Manager Wang, may I sit in your office for a while?” 

“Of course,” Old Wang welcomed her without hesitation. 

Once seated, Lu Nan asked, “Right now, the municipal office’s group sales team consists of Xiang Feifei, Lin Yan, Hong Danni, and Wang Xiaoxue, right? Wang Xiaoxue doesn’t have an assigned distributor yet?” 

Manager Wang smiled bitterly. “It’s been getting harder to recruit new distributors for Harmony Liquor in Hailin City these past couple of years. Even when Chen Lu got promoted to provincial group sales and handed over Weigou to Hong Danni, she still barely had any concrete work month-to-month. You know, city managers from other cities were already unhappy that only the provincial capital had a dedicated group sales manager. Hey, Lu Nan, you’re not thinking of asking for one of them, are you?” 

Lu Nan shook her head. “Not for me. I’m concerned that if that ‘9 million’ deal is real, Zhang Fei might ask Director Wu for manpower.” 

“Ah, right!” Wang Xinglong immediately realized. “Even if Zhang Fei doesn’t really sign a 9-million deal, if he can secure even two or three million from a single group sales channel, Director Wu might pull someone from my team to assist him.” 

“I’m not asking you to oppose Director Wu,” Lu Nan explained objectively. “If it comes to that, just try to stall a little. If Zhang Fei files a request, you don’t need to approve it immediately, right? They say you shouldn’t shoot until you see the rabbit. Make sure the contract is signed first. Last time, you gave someone to Hua’an City so quickly, and now that person’s resigned and joined the distributor! It wasn’t a big loss, but I really lost face. And who knows? Once it happens once, it might happen again.” 

She added, “Besides, these four young women are still quite new. Forcing one of them into an unfamiliar city could easily push her to resign.” 

Lu Nan spoke honestly, “I also admit I have my own reasons. Zhang Fei always thinks everyone else is a fool.” 

Manager Wang thought about it and realized she made a good point — he disliked Zhang Fei as well. 

Clearly, what Lu Nan said today was an open strategy. 

But Wang Xinglong didn’t mind falling into the ‘trap’; in fact, he figured it was about time he stopped being so easygoing and started asserting himself more. 

After all, he was the city manager of the provincial capital. 

Still, Wang Xinglong couldn’t resist saying, “You’re barely older yourself, and you’re already calling others ‘young women.’” 

Lu Nan smiled — it was just a slip of the tongue. 

Whether or not a group purchasing manager would be unlucky enough to get transferred to Jujiang City this time remained uncertain. But even if it were someone she wasn’t particularly fond of, like Wang Xiaoxue, Lu Nan figured it was better to stay out of it — no need to let her fall into the hands of someone like Zhang Fei. 

“Thank you, Manager Wang, for listening to me. I’m just glad you don’t think I’m meddling too much,” Lu Nan said at last. 

“There’s no need to be so polite between us,” Old Wang said with a grin that—surprisingly—wasn’t greasy at all. He actually looked kind of like Winnie the Pooh. 

Lu Nan shook her head: Definitely looking through rose-colored glasses! 

Her phone vibrated twice. After checking the message, Lu Nan said to Wang Xinglong, “I’m off to get lunch.” 

Wang Xinglong smiled, “Meeting Pan Sasha again, right?” 

Lu Nan wasn’t the least bit surprised that Old Wang knew she often had lunch with Pan Sasha on Saturday afternoons. She nodded openly, “Yes.” 

“Go ahead, see you tonight,” Wang Xinglong said casually, waving his hand. 

By “see you tonight,” he meant after the monthly meeting. It was customary for the regional general director to treat everyone to dinner afterward. This was also why Lu Nan had explained to her subordinates that she couldn’t make it back home that Saturday. 

“So Liu Yang has gone to work for a distributor?” Pan Sasha asked, clearly surprised. 

Lu Nan nodded. Since it wasn’t appropriate to discuss internal details about business development with Sasha, she shared some harmless gossip—something she was sure Sasha would appreciate. 

Pan Sasha shook her head, “What’s the point? I thought she was changing industries after quitting, but she ended up at a distributor. Honestly, it would have been better to stay with the manufacturer. There’s much less wining and dining involved there compared to working for a distributor.” 

Lu Nan couldn’t quite figure out Liu Yang’s reasoning either. However, based on their past interactions, Liu Yang didn’t seem like someone who would make impulsive decisions based on emotions. Considering her actions in Hua’an City and her emotional outburst that day, Lu Nan said uncertainly, “Maybe the commissions over there are higher.” 

“That’s true,” Pan Sasha agreed. “But those commissions don’t come easy. You really have to work for them. I don’t get it—compared to being a group purchasing manager at Yuan Chuan, working for a distributor is much more of a young person’s game. In just two years, I’ve seen so many key account managers at distributors drink themselves into health issues. Liu Yang isn’t that young anymore. Why push herself so hard?” 

Lu Nan said, “Maybe she just felt she’d hit the ceiling at Yuan Chuan.” 

Pan Sasha didn’t know Liu Yang well—she couldn’t even remember where Liu Yang was from—so she didn’t really care about her career prospects. 

What she did care about was: “Now that Liu Yang’s working for a distributor, is she going to cause you any trouble?” 

Lu Nan laughed, “You’re overthinking it. What Liu Yang knows, any ordinary salesperson at the company would know. It’s not exactly top secret. Besides, if a distributor wanted to cause trouble, it would usually be through unauthorized sales or undercutting prices. But at Sifang Construction? I don’t think it’s likely at the moment. Most likely, they’re just trying to move stock because the guy surnamed Liu pushed them to overstock last year. Now that they realize their internal sales aren’t fast enough, they probably want to get serious about group sales.” 

Pan Sasha raised an eyebrow, “Wow, that sounds like a good thing for you.” 

Lu Nan pouted slightly, “Not necessarily.” 

With an overly confident young executive and someone like Liu Yang, who might not play by the book, cooperation with Sifang Construction—which had always been poor—was unlikely to improve in the short term. 

After lunch, Pan Sasha commented, “Talking to you now, I feel like you have more experience than I do. Does becoming a city manager really toughen you up that much?” 

Lu Nan blinked innocently, “Maybe I’m just naturally talented.” 

“Ugh, Nan Nan, you’re so shameless!” 

*** 

Today was the first day Ms. Huang opened for business after the New Year. In the afternoon, with nothing much to do, Lu Nan went to a flower shop and bought a bouquet. Considering that Weigou definitely didn’t have a vase, she also bought a vase. She drove to CIMC Building, but Xiao Hu said that President Huang was out. 

Lu Nan just shrugged, “Okay, I’ll head out then.” 

A few hours later, Ms. Huang called, “Did you come by earlier?” 

“Yeah, nothing important. I just stopped by since I was in the area for the monthly meeting.” 

“Oh,” Ms. Huang hesitated, then quickly added, “I signed up at a driving school.” 

Mom must have finally realized how inconvenient it is not to have a car. 

Lu Nan responded cheerfully, “That’s great! Wishing you a driver’s license in three months and a new car in six!” 

“Stop being sarcastic,” Ms. Huang replied, somewhat embarrassed, and changed the subject awkwardly, “So, you’re staying tonight? Want to come over?” 

“No need. It’s too much trouble to set up a bed. There’s a partner hotel nearby—the one you stayed at last time. I’ll just stay there.” 

Ms. Huang mumbled, “As if staying at a hotel is free.” 

Lu Nan giggled, “Mom, I have reimbursement, so I’m not passing up free stuff.” 

“Whatever, whatever.” Ms. Huang said before hanging up, “You won’t drink tonight, right?” 

Of course, she wouldn’t. But since she knew she wouldn’t actually drink much, Lu Nan maintained her good habit of not lying, “I won’t.” 

Satisfied, Ms. Huang hung up. 

Dinner was at Zui Qian Wei again. 

Fortunately, tonight’s dinner went smoothly. Although drinking was unavoidable, no matter how the seasoned city managers might view Lu Nan in the workplace, at the table, she had already proven herself the last time by outdrinking them all. 

The story about the 9 million deal in Jiujiang spread through the provincial office by the afternoon, and whether they believed it or not, the veteran city managers all went looking for Zhang Fei for drinks. 

Watching Zhang Fei getting flattered and carried away by all the attention, Lu Nan found it rather amusing: Had he bragged so much that he started believing it himself?