After the meeting ended, Lu Nan nodded to everyone, then headed out. 

The city manager was the top authority here—who would dare ask her where she was going? 

Huang Dafang bumped Luo Junjie’s arm and said, “Do you think Manager Lu can handle Hongtu Liquor Industry?” 

Although Manager Lu is indeed quite capable, the boss and the boss’s wife of Hongtu Liquor Industry are about to split, so how can the business continue? 

Divorce is a serious matter, and Huang Dafang wasn’t optimistic about Hongtu Liquor Industry. 

Luo Junjie thought for a moment and said, “Since Manager Lu just said there’s no major issue, the renewal with President Han should be stable, right?” 

“You don’t understand,” Huang Dafang shook his head. “President Han’s wife is not easy to deal with. Once the divorce lawsuit starts, she’ll take half of his assets for sure. Even if President Han wants to renew the contract, wouldn’t he prioritize securing that yellow liquor brand ‘Some Mountain’ that he holds?” After all, Hongtu Liquor Industry still distributes the top-selling yellow liquor brand in Hua’an City. According to people from Hongtu Liquor, their yellow liquor’s annual sales amount is more than double that of their white liquor. 

Luo Junjie lowered his voice. “I heard from someone at Hongtu Liquor that the boss’s wife also wants to get into the liquor business. Last Friday, when Manager Lu went over to discuss things, the boss’s wife was there too.” 

Li Bin and Guo Yu, who weren’t usually in the city, were listening attentively since they weren’t as informed about this kind of news as Luo Junjie and Huang Dafang. 

Supervisor Li couldn’t help but speak up, “The boss’s wife? Sister Tian? That’s impossible, I remember she has a son and a pair of twins. She can’t even take care of the kids, how could she have time to get into liquor?” 

Guo Yu also looked doubtful. “Yeah, if she gets the divorce and the money, she should just focus on raising the kids. Why make a fuss?” 

Zheng Jing slammed a stack of documents on the table in front of the seasoned workers: “If you’re going to say that, does it mean that women should stay at home and raise kids and not work at all?” She didn’t like what Guo Yu said, implying that married women shouldn’t work. Her irritation was evident as she almost mimicked Guo Yu’s accent, despite being a local. 

As mentioned before, although the internal staff doesn’t have high ranks or salaries, they are in the upper middle of the office hierarchy. The salespeople don’t fear them, but they definitely don’t want to offend them. So, Guo Yu quickly apologized, cupping his hands: “I misspoke!” 

“Supervisor Li, here’s the information for 32 prospective clients. I’ve sorted it out, Qian Xin, this stack is yours,” Zheng Jing handed the thinner stack to Qian Xin. 

Huang Dafang was puzzled, “Aren’t these just 32 wholesale departments? Why is there so much information? Store name + address + contact person should be enough.” 

Zheng Jing snorted, “Take a good look. It’s all organized by Manager Lu. Oh, and there’s a white paper, just printed.” 

Huang Dafang asked Qian Xin for the file and went dizzy just looking at it: Clearly, he and Manager Lu had very different definitions of “customer data”! This wasn’t data—it was more like intelligence gathered before a battle! It was way too detailed! 

He didn’t want to look at it further and handed it back to Qian Xin. “Xiao Qian, you need to work harder. Don’t let Manager Lu down.” After returning the client info, Huang Dafang picked up the white paper and looked it over carefully. “Hey, are these numbers accurate? Is the drinking rate really that high?” 

Zheng Jing had already glanced over it when she helped with the printing. “Didn’t Manager Lu say it’s of some reference value? For Hua’an City’s 5.5 million permanent residents, based on the percentage…” 

She let them look at it for themselves. 

The drinking rate for women in China is 16%, and for men, it’s about four times higher. The highest drinking rate is in the 45-59 age group, with a 62% drinking rate, and 28.26% of them drink every month. 

No matter which percentage you multiply by 5.5 million, you get a large number. 

Theoretically, about 1.55 million people in Hua’an City drink alcohol every month. Last year, the lowest-priced liquor series from Yuan Chuan Liquor Sales Company sold a maximum of 250,000 bottles in Hua’an City in total, averaging just over 20,000 bottles per month. While one is an approximation and the other an average, neither may be entirely accurate, but as Manager Lu said, it’s of some reference value. The sales of Yuan Chuan’s liquor are indeed quite poor. 

Huang Dafang took a calculator and quickly did the math. “So, it seems like the sales are a bit low.” 

Seeing that Li Bin’s face was a little grim, Huang Dafang quickly added, “I mean, our city’s sales across all channels aren’t doing well either, hahahaha…” 

“Everyone, take a good look at this.” Huang Dafang passed the white paper to Supervisor Li, then called out to his own team, “Xiao Hu, let’s go. Time to hit the terminal stores.” 

… 

When Lu Nan exited the city office, she casually replied to a message from Sister Tian, which had been sent during her meeting. 

After getting into the car, she hadn’t started the engine yet when she received a call from Han Jianxin: “Manager Lu, I’ve gathered the funds here. Should I go ahead and transfer the money to your company now?” 

There are only six days left until the deadline for the 800,000 yuan payment from Hongtu Liquor. 

In other words, Han Jianxin was testing Lu Nan’s attitude toward excluding Tian Aizhen. 

Lu Nan believed that if it weren’t for the fact that when the distributors made payments, the city manager needed to report the goods in the company system, Han Jianxin would have likely bypassed her step altogether. It was similar to last year in Hailin City, where when Feixiang made a payment, Chen Xiao had to help Mr. Yang with the goods. This was because in cities with a brand specialist for Classic Liquor, reporting the goods was the responsibility of the brand specialist. This clearly showed how dominant Classic Liquor was in the Yuan Chuan Liquor Sales Company. 

“President Han, there’s only one account for Hongtu Liquor in the company system. If I report goods worth four hundred thousand today, and another four hundred thousand in a few days, the headquarters will surely verify the situation with me, which will lead to unnecessary trouble. Don’t you think so?” Lu Nan didn’t reject firmly, but her attitude was clear. 

Han Jianxin paused for a moment, still a bit reluctant: “Manager Lu, let’s put it this way. I understand Tian Aizhen; her personality is somewhat stubborn. I’m worried that, in order to spite me, she might borrow some high-interest loans or something to come up with the money. So, I thought, for her own good…” 

“President Han,” Lu Nan interrupted him, “let’s talk in person. Sister Tian just texted me, and we’re meeting at your store. She should be arriving soon. I’ll be there in about 20 minutes. You two might need to wait for me a bit.” 

On the other end of the phone, Han Jianxin immediately stopped talking: “…Okay, see you later.” 

After the call ended, Lu Nan shook her head and started the car. 

Twenty minutes later, Lu Nan parked her car in front of Hongtu Liquor, walked inside skillfully, bypassing the antique shelves, and smiled as she greeted the people inside, “Sorry, I’m late.” 

“No problem, I’m the one who should apologize. I was the one who suddenly asked Manager Lu to come,” Tian Aizhen said warmly. “Please, Manager Lu, have a seat.” 

After sitting down and having a few sips of tea, Tian Aizhen smiled and said, “Actually, I wanted to meet with you today to let you know that the payment for the goods is ready. Considering that I haven’t split up with Old Han yet, for this batch of 800,000 worth of liquor, we should sit down and discuss the appearance and quantity of the goods together, so that Manager Lu won’t have to communicate with both sides and be caught in the middle.” 

Han Jianxin didn’t expect Tian Aizhen to raise the money so quickly. He glanced at Lu Nan from Yuan Chuan, and luckily, the other party just listened calmly without any intention of speaking up. 

After years of marriage, how could Tian Aizhen not understand Han Jianxin? 

She retorted, “Han Jianxin, you wouldn’t want to leave me behind and report the goods on your own, would you?” 

“Of course not,” Han Jianxin chuckled awkwardly. 

“Then it’s best if you don’t,” Tian Aizhen gave Han Jianxin a meaningful glance. “Let’s get on with the order. No need to keep Manager Lu waiting.” 

Last year, Hongtu’s top-selling channels were premium tobacco and liquor stores, followed by restaurants, general distribution and group purchases, and finally supermarkets. In terms of Yuanchuan’s five main products, Classic 10-Year sold the most, followed by the budget small bottles, then Special Aged 3-Year, with Nande Hutou(Rarely Confused) and Harmony at the bottom. 

As a full-range, full-channel distributor, Hongtu had to include all product types in every order. Nande Hutou and Harmony could be ordered in smaller quantities but not skipped entirely. 

Han Jianxin asked, “How do you want to split the order?” 

Tian Aizhen said, “What’s so difficult about this? Just follow the usual order ratio. After the goods arrive, we’ll split all the liquor evenly. If there’s an odd number, just let me have it. Are you really going to haggle with me over a few hundred or a thousand yuan?” By the end, she seemed to be joking a little. 

Han Jianxin had assumed Tian Aizhen came to assert some claim, but to his surprise, she only made the simplest request. 

Han Jianxin thought: Is Tian Aizhen retreating to advance? 

However, this arrangement didn’t harm him, so in the end, Han Jianxin nodded and said, “I have no objections. Let’s go with this plan.” 

Lu Nan observed everything silently. 

She understood Tian Aizhen—what she was asking for was simply fairness. 

As for Lu Nan herself, she didn’t use her authority to offer any convenience to the other party. She only gave Tian Aizhen a small hint in terms of information, at least ensuring she would be treated fairly when competing with Han Jianxin for the Yuan Chuan distribution rights. 

So, Lu Nan worked on-site at the Hongtu Liquor store, listing the distribution categories, quantities, and amounts for confirmation with Han Jianxin and Tian Aizhen. 

After both of them reviewed it, they said, “No problem, let’s proceed as planned.” 

Tian Aizhen suggested, “I think there’s no need to delay. Let’s make the payment now and let Manager Lu report it to the headquarters directly. I’ll transfer the 400,000 to your account now.” She was worried about delays, as payments to Yuan Chuan had to be made to Hongtu Liquor’s corporate account. 

Han Jianxin reluctantly agreed, but he couldn’t go back on his word in front of everyone—especially with the store staff and people from Yuan Chuan present. Tian Aizhen could throw a fit, but he still had to save face. 

Seeing her soon-to-be ex-husband reluctantly call the finance department to process the corporate payment, Tian Aizhen couldn’t help but find some humor in the situation. She thought: It’s good to care about face, but people who care about face have to endure and comply in situations like this. At least my judgment of character isn’t completely off, right? 

A few minutes later, the payment was completed. Lu Nan received the payment receipt and saved it before logging into the company system on her tablet and reporting the goods on the spot. 

She said to the soon-to-be-divorced couple, “President Han, Sister Tian, I’ve reported the goods. The headquarters will send out the invoice and arrange the shipment once they verify the payment. I’ll set up a group chat so it’s easier to share the relevant information.” 

Han Jianxin pinched the bridge of his nose and agreed. 

Tian Aizhen, of course, fully supported the idea.