Distributors who make payments during the New Year holiday are extremely rare. However, Hongtu Liquor made their payment in less than two hours. By that same afternoon, the headquarters had confirmed receipt of the funds and arranged for the warehouse to dispatch the goods. 

On Tuesday morning, Lu Nan received a call from Wu Chuan: “Manager Lu, we have received the payment, and the contract expiration date has been extended by one month. However, you still need to keep a close eye on Hongtu Liquor. If they can’t continue cooperating, we’ll have a large gap in the Hua’an market, and our competitors won’t wait for us to slowly find a new distributor.” 

“Don’t worry, Director Wu. I’ve already asked my colleagues at the city office to start visiting potential distributors. We aim to secure two to three small-scale distributors for circulation channels by mid-March,” Lu Nan replied calmly, knowing that Wu Chuan valued action over grand promises. 

“Good. As long as you’re on top of it, I’m reassured.” 

*** 

The logistics company, which had just resumed work for the year, was surprisingly efficient, much more than during the year-end rush. 

Han Jianxin and Tian Aizhen made the payment on Monday noon, and by Thursday noon, Lu Nan had sent a message: “Around 3 PM today, goods will arrive at Hongtu Liquor’s warehouse. Please arrange for your staff to inspect and receive the goods.” 

When the goods arrived, Lu Nan wasn’t in the city, so she didn’t go herself. Of course, such small matters didn’t require her personal attention anymore. 

Hongtu Liquor Industry was a full-channel distributor, so tasks like receiving goods and materials were handled by whoever from the relevant channel was available. Usually, this would fall to Qian Xin, but he was extremely busy this week, even asking Huang Dafang for advice multiple times. 

In the end, Huang Dafang’s subordinate, Xiao Hu, went to assist with receiving the goods at Hongtu Liquor Industry’s warehouse. 

Around 4 PM, Xiao Hu returned to the city office, waving the signed receipt excitedly: “Zheng Jing, did you know? Sister Tian actually showed up with a truck and two movers at the Hongtu Liquor warehouse!” 

Zheng Jing gave him a look, signaling him to get to the point: “And then?” 

“Since President Han wasn’t there, no one dared stop her. They just watched her move away half the goods,” Xiao Hu said, handing over the signed receipt. “Look, besides the warehouse manager’s signature, Sister Tian also signed.” 

Zheng Jing glanced at the receipt and said casually, “No need to worry, as long as the goods were delivered.” 

Not long after, Qian Xin and the exhausted Huang Dafang returned as well. 

The moment they walked in, Huang Dafang complained loudly: “Xiao Qian, I’m telling you, this isn’t something a few cigarettes can make up for. I’ve been dragged around for two and a half days. Tell me, who’s supposed to be handling circulation channels? You or me? Didn’t Old Li teach you anything?” 

Knowing it wasn’t wise to criticize Supervisor Li, Qian Xin quickly handed Huang Dafang a cup of hot water respectfully: “Brother Huang, please take a break. I was just worried I might mess up the negotiations. Honestly, because our names are similar, and both you and the owner of Shunfa Wholesale are locals, he gave you a lot of face.” 

Qian Xin kept his tone humble—exactly the way to win over Huang Dafang—who, after taking a few sips, relented: “Fine, fine. Just watch carefully how I negotiate with Shunfa’s owner today. Next time, you’ll have to handle it yourself.” 

“Thank you, Brother Huang! Thank you!” 

After finishing, Huang Dafang remembered that Xiao Hu had already finished his task and returned. “Xiao Hu, what were you saying just now? You seemed excited.” 

Xiao Hu repeated the conversation with Zheng Jing, and Huang Dafang clicked his tongue. “You really think women from Hua’an are easy to bully?” 

This earned him an eye-roll from Zheng Jing. 

But Huang Dafang clearly had more insider information: “Scared? You think Tian Aizhen acted like a bandit? Half the payment for that batch was hers. So, she took her half of the goods—Han Jianxin couldn’t stop her even if he wanted to. Maybe he stayed away on purpose to avoid the awkwardness.” 

Xiao Hu and Qian Xin hadn’t known this detail, so Huang Dafang took the opportunity to show off a little: “I’m telling you, this came straight from Hongtu Liquor’s people…” 

*** 

Meanwhile, Tian Aizhen called Lu Nan while on the way back after inspecting the goods: “Manager Lu, I’ve taken the goods, and I’ll need your city office people to handle the rest,” Tian Aizhen called Lu Nan after counting the goods on her way back.  

She was careful with the formalities when discussing business. “I can’t set up another business license right now, so I have limited staff. A few people from Han’s side are willing to come here, but I’ll need Yuan Chuan’s help to train them properly.” 

“No problem,” Lu Nan agreed immediately. “I’m out of town at the moment—can we discuss it in detail when I return?” 

“Of course, of course. Take your time.” 

And what was Lu Nan busy with? Signing new distributors in Wucheng. 

Regarding Supervisor Li—Lu Nan had no personal opinion about his character, but his ability was clear: if he could become a business supervisor, he must be competent. 

After receiving Lu Nan’s materials on Monday, Supervisor Li reviewed and divided the leads. He personally went to Wucheng, and sent his associate Li Ziheng to Wenxiu to learn from Guo Yu. 

Among the distribution channels, Supervisor Li was the fastest to finalize a contract—he had nearly completed a deal for 500,000. 

That morning, after finishing the city’s morning meeting in Hua’an, Lu Nan drove straight to Wucheng to finalize contract terms with the owner of “Xianwang Tobacco & Liquor Wholesale.” 

As expected, when they met, the owner was visibly surprised and turned to Supervisor Li: “This is your boss?” (She looks way too young!) 

Li Bin nodded: “She’s the City Manager for Yuan Chuan’s Hua’an operations. The whole city is under her management.” 

Probably worried that the wholesale boss might say something inappropriate and upset Lu Nan, Supervisor Li took the time to explain things carefully. 

It was understandable — although the materials had been prepared by Lu Nan, the sales achievements would be fully credited to the distribution channel. No one wanted to risk losing their bonus, and Supervisor Li certainly didn’t want to let a sure thing slip away. 

As for Lu Nan, if she cared about the wholesaler’s harmless questions, she probably would have been angered to death in a past life and reincarnated early. 

She simply smiled and sat down to discuss business. 

They talked for half an hour. Previously, when Supervisor Li had mentioned certain terms and costs, he had been vague. Lu Nan, however, laid everything out clearly, one item after another. 

Some points were negotiable, others were not. For example, they could supply a few extra promotional materials and gifts, but when it came to the contract amount and payment timeline, she was firm and refused to budge. Lu Nan understood how wholesale bosses thought: offering small concessions made them feel their requests were being met and helped them save face when discussing the deal with others. 

The wholesale boss no longer hesitated. Seeing Lu Nan’s decisiveness and businesslike manner, he was convinced: anyone able to make decisions like this must be a real leader. So what if she was young? Youth just meant she was capable! 

After another hour, Lu Nan was already discussing how to distribute products in Wucheng’s market: “Wucheng is the most economically active area in Hua’an City. I noticed there are a lot of tricycle trucks and motorcycle taxis—it would be very convenient for small-batch deliveries, and they can be called anytime.” 

The boss listened happily, nodding continuously: “Manager Lu, you clearly know the market. 

Her practical, down-to-earth talk was completely different from the managers that other companies, or even Yuan Chuan before, had sent. Those people seemed to have spent too much time at banquets—half of what they said was untrue, and they acted arrogantly, as if securing millions in contracts and payments was purely their own doing. They never considered that without the backing of a big distillery or a major company’s brand, no one would even give them the time of day—most of them barely graduated from middle or high school. 

Lu Nan smiled and said:“Riding an electric bike, visiting 30 or 40 shops a day, it’s no problem to cover 200 stores a week.” 

“Amazing! Not many young women are willing to work that hard anymore. No wonder your leader promoted you,” the owner of Xianwang said, giving Lu Nan a thumbs-up. 

Meanwhile, Supervisor Li, sitting quietly nearby, was thinking: Wasn’t Lu Nan in group purchasing before? When did she ever go door-to-door like this? Maybe the city managers in Hailin trained all new hires the same way, regardless of gender? 

That would be pretty harsh — no favoritism at all. 

Thinking about how tough she was, Supervisor Li glanced at Lu Nan talking enthusiastically with the owner and changed his mind. No, no, she’s not a delicate flower— she’s a battle-hardened warrior, a diamond in the rough. 

In truth, the wholesale boss had been hesitant to sign a distributor contract largely because Supervisor Li seemed no different from the smooth-talking salespeople he’d encountered before. It made him worry that promises would be left unfulfilled later. 

His concerns weren’t unfounded. In the liquor industry a few years ago, many sales reps from manufacturers were little better than street hustlers—once a dealer signed and paid, they would disappear, neglecting follow-up support like product placement, promotions, or events. 

Thus, even though the wholesaler’s liquor business had remained decent over the years, he had always been cautious about signing agreements. 

This time, after being persistently persuaded by Li Bin—and noticing that Yuan Chuan had been fairly reliable in Hua’an these past two years—he finally agreed to have a proper conversation. Then he met Manager Lu, who spoke and acted decisively. 

When the negotiations wrapped up, the boss offered to treat Lu Nan to a meal. He wasn’t sure whether to take her somewhere fancy or just a small stir-fry restaurant. Since they were about to sign a contract, he understood that building a good relationship with the city manager was important. 

Lu Nan smiled and said: “I noticed the clay pot noodles nearby look great—it’s a Wucheng specialty, right?” 

Hearing this made the boss feel even better—clay pot noodles were inexpensive, and even adding a big pork chop and some chicken feet wouldn’t cost more than thirty yuan! 

After eating, they returned to the store to have some tea and digest a bit. 

In the afternoon, Lu Nan began drafting the formal contract. Most of the content was standard, with the special promotional agreements from the morning discussion added as supplementary clauses. 

When Tian Aizhen called Lu Nan, the boss had just gone next door to the print shop to print the contract and prepare it for stamping.