The next day was Sunday, and Lu Nan finally got to sleep in for once. 

Normally, her schedule was quite regular and she didn’t often sleep late, but perhaps the past week had been particularly exhausting, so her internal clock had finally taken a break. 

When she woke up, it was nearly ten o’clock. 

There were unread messages on her phone. One was from Tian Aizhen of Hongtu Liquor, sent about half an hour ago. The message said she wanted to meet Lu Nan for tea that afternoon. 

Of course, such a meeting wasn’t just for tea. Lu Nan thought for a moment, then returned the call. “Sorry, Sister Tian, I overslept and didn’t hear the phone.” 

Sister Tian responded casually, “I figured. Young people tend to sleep well. So, Manager Lu, how about we meet this afternoon and have a chat?” 

“Sure,” Lu Nan agreed. 

“I’ll send you the time and place shortly…” 

… 

At 1:30 in the afternoon, Lu Nan drove to the location Sister Tian had mentioned in her message: a lavishly decorated women’s wellness center. 

After parking her car and walking to the entrance, the sensor door — marked with a sign saying “No Men Allowed” — opened automatically, releasing a wave of warm, fragrant air. 

The receptionist smiled and looked up, preparing to check the appointment records. 

Before Lu Nan could say who she was there to meet, a short-haired girl in a light purple uniform came down the spiral staircase. “Are you Ms. Lu Nan?” 

“Yes, I’m Lu Nan.” 

“You’re a guest of Sister Tian’s. I’ll take you up.” The short-haired girl said a quick word to the front desk, then smiled at Lu Nan. “Please follow me.” 

Lu Nan was led upstairs, where she changed into comfortable slippers and was shown into a room styled in Japanese decor. 

The floor was covered with tatami mats, and there were low tables and floor cushions. 

Sister Tian was already there. On the low table in front of her sat a glass teapot. From the scent in the air, Lu Nan guessed it was longan and red date tea. 

Sister Tian stood to greet her. “Manager Lu, you’re here. What would you like to drink?” 

“This is fine,” Lu Nan replied to the short-haired girl. “Could I trouble you for another cup?” 

The girl quickly returned with an extra teacup, then said to the two women, “Sister Tian, Ms. Lu, I’ll leave you to it. Press the bell if you need anything.” 

Once they were alone, Sister Tian said, “Manager Lu, I haven’t contacted you in over a week—not because I’m backing off from the request I made, I hope you didn’t misunderstand.” 

“No need to be so formal, Sister Tian. Just call me Lu Nan,” she said calmly, waiting for her to continue. 

“These past few days, I’ve had several discussions with Han Jianxin,” Sister Tian said, sipping her tea as if trying to dispel some invisible chill. “To be honest, I could come up with the 800,000 yuan if I had to, but I can’t fully trust him.” 

Lu Nan nodded in understanding. 

Sister Tian set down her cup. “In the end, we agreed to split the 800,000 repayment evenly. The priority is to keep our full distribution rights with Yuan Chuan—for all product lines and sales channels. After all, this contract wasn’t easy to get. It took years of cooperation to build the trust that led Yuan Chuan to offer us this kind of agreement. After the New Year, worst case, we renegotiate with your company and split the product lines and channels between us. I’ll run my own side of the business, and he’ll run his.” 

This essentially meant that after the New Year, Hongtu Liquor was likely to be split into two separate distributors, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Yuan Chuan. 

Lu Nan was moved by Sister Tian’s words. 

In her previous life, Lu Nan had only heard of Sister Tian two years later. 

At that time, Sister Tian was representing a competing liquor brand and had made a name for herself by capturing nearly half of the liquor market in Hua’an City. 

Every time the Hua’an city manager attended provincial meetings, he wore a troubled expression. After all—Han Jianxin had renewed the contract with Yuan Chuan, but the contract value had significantly dropped, and Yuan Chuan’s market share in Hua’an continued to decline. For some reason, President Han had shifted focus to imported wines. 

Lu Nan didn’t know how the city manager in her past life had evaluated President Han and Sister Tian. 

But based on her guess, it was highly likely he had given up on Sister Tian outright, even when there was no need to choose between the two. 

Seeing that her reminder had had an effect on Sister Tian, Lu Nan felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. 

It meant that her presence in Hua’an was genuinely making a difference. 

“I also called Mr. Han a few days ago,” Lu Nan said tactfully, carefully choosing her words. “You know, Sister Tian, since Mr. Han is still the legal representative of Hongtu Liquor, our city office still contacts him first about promotional events and such.” 

Sister Tian nodded. “I understand. I’ve also heard that your Yuan Chuan sales reps have been working hard lately. Sales of Tequ and the small bottle line have increased significantly in several channels.” 

Lu Nan responded seriously, “But to be frank, it’s ultimately the distributor’s responsibility to move inventory. As the manufacturer, we’re here to provide support and assistance. Our stepping in last week to take over some roles was out of necessity… Hongtu Liquor is in a state of uncertainty right now. Since you and Mr. Han have already reached an agreement, it’s really not the time to waste the opportunity for strong year-end sales. After all, the more that ships now, the more payments you’ll receive. And payment recovery—isn’t that a key part of how we evaluate our distributors?” 

“Yes. I get what you’re saying,” Sister Tian smiled and repeated, “I really do.” 

Lu Nan gave her a look—it seemed she genuinely understood. 

As she poured more tea for Lu Nan, Sister Tian said, “Now that I’m ready to commit to this business, I have no intention of sabotaging Hongtu Liquor. Otherwise, with my local knowledge, it would be easy to report Han Jianxin for tax or fire code violations and cause him some trouble. But as you said, the company is still co-owned. Those kinds of tactics would hurt him, sure—but they’d hurt me too. Unless absolutely necessary, I won’t take that path. After all, from a business perspective, I want to continue working with Yuan Chuan. And personally, we still live in the same city. If I ruined him, he might not be able to afford child support.” 

This was something Lu Nan had struggled to understand in the past. 

Why had Ms. Huang Li always cursed her ex-husband at home, yet never tried to destroy his business? Was all that talk of “if you wrong me, I’ll get back at you” just empty words? But with age, she had come to understand the concerns of women like Ms. Huang and Sister Tian. 

Out of appreciation for Sister Tian, Lu Nan couldn’t show favoritism—but she could chat a bit… 

“This is just casual talk,” Lu Nan emphasized, then asked, “If—just hypothetically—Hongtu were to split (which they both knew was highly likely), what product lines and channels would you prefer to handle?” 

Sister Tian had clearly thought about this already. “I actually prefer the restaurant and distribution channels. But both of those depend on volume, and mid-to-high-end premium liquors like Classic and Harmony don’t sell well there.” And almost everyone in the country—at least the drinkers—knew just how iconic Yuan Chuan’s Classic Liquor was. 

Lu Nan lowered her head slightly and smiled, then casually said to Sister Tian, “Our company maintains strict control over the number of regional distributors to avoid excessive competition and price wars in the same area. However, group purchasing isn’t subject to that restriction. I understand you think group purchasing often involves a lot of social obligations, but to build a strong sales network, networking and entertaining clients is essential too. I’m not saying this just for the sake of the municipal office’s performance. After all, when distributors place contracts of 500,000 or 800,000 yuan for our classic liquor and request staggered deliveries, sometimes each order is just a few thousand yuan. Headquarters often complains to me that the orders are too small and hard to fulfill.” 

Sister Tian suddenly understood and smiled. “I’m really glad to have met you. As women, it does feel easier to talk business.” 

They chatted for over half an hour before Sister Tian invited Lu Nan to the next room, where she had arranged a spa and facial treatment. 

Lu Nan knew that if she declined, it might make things awkward, so she accepted graciously. “Thank you, Sister Tian, for your hospitality.” 

After a full set of treatments, including a hair wash and blow-dry, Lu Nan felt completely refreshed. 

Once they were done, the two returned to the tearoom and had some health porridge. 

Sister Tian said, “I’ve got a membership card here. If you’re happy with the service, just mention my name when you come next time. I’ve already spoken to Dandan.” Dandan was the short-haired beautician who had just helped Lu Nan. 

Sister Tian was clearly trying to gift Lu Nan a membership. 

Lu Nan declined politely, “That’s very kind of you, but I don’t usually go for these kinds of services.” 

“I see… Then if I invite you again next time, I hope you’ll join me. You know, working on a project alone can be pretty dull without someone to chat with for a couple of hours,” Tian Aizhen said, as if she were asking for a favor. 

Lu Nan agreed casually, thinking she could always decide whether or not to go later. 

As she left the wellness center, Lu Nan spotted a familiar face at the entrance. “Jiang Chutian?” 

Jiang Chutian was sitting in his car smoking. When he saw Lu Nan, he smiled sheepishly and stubbed out the cigarette. “Lu Nan, you’re here too?” 

Lu Nan turned to Tian Aizhen and said, “Sister Tian, I just ran into a friend, so…” 

“Go ahead,” Sister Tian replied. 

After waving goodbye to Tian Aizhen, Lu Nan turned to Jiang Chutian and said, “Thanks.” 

Jiang Chutian didn’t immediately understand. 

When Lu Nan said, “You’re waiting for someone, right? I’ll leave you to it,” he finally caught on. “Oh! You used me as an excuse just now?” 

Lu Nan couldn’t help laughing. “That took you a while.” 

Then Jiang Chutian answered the part of her comment that wasn’t really a question. “I’m here to pick up my mom.” 

Lu Nan nodded. “A dutiful son. Well, I’ll let you get back to it.” 

“Tiantian, is that your friend?” A delighted voice came from behind Lu Nan. Unsurprisingly, it was Jiang Chutian’s mother. 

Lu Nan turned and saw a well-maintained middle-aged woman. Jiang Chutian’s features clearly resembled hers. Lu Nan smiled and greeted her, “Hello, Auntie.” 

Jiang Chutian introduced them, “Mom, this is Lu Nan, a friend of Pan Sasha’s. She just moved to Hua’an City.” 

His mother looked very curious about Lu Nan. She first frowned at her son, “Have you been smoking again?” 

Before he could reply, she turned to Lu Nan and said, “Smoking is bad for your health, don’t you think, Xiao Lu?” 

Lu Nan had barely said “yes” when the auntie started chatting with her enthusiastically, asking all kinds of questions about her. 

Her overbearing friendliness made Lu Nan a bit overwhelmed, but thankfully her phone rang at just the right moment. She picked it up and said, “Hello? Yes, you need the detailed plan? I’ll email it to you right away.” Then, covering the phone, she softly apologized to Jiang Chutian and his mother before leaving. 

Back in her car, Sasha burst out laughing over the phone: “Nan Nan, what happened over there? Were you being swarmed by admirers?” 

“No, I ran into your childhood friend.” 

“Jiang Chutian? He’s not that big a deal.” 

Lu Nan added, “His mother was there too.” 

Sasha gave an “uh-oh.” “Yeah, Auntie can be… a bit too enthusiastic and assertive.” 

“By the way, why did you call me at this time?” 

“I heard Liu Yang resigned?” Sasha’s information network was as fast as ever. 

Lu Nan nodded. “Mm.” 

Sasha whispered, “I also heard she doesn’t have the best reputation in Hua’an.” 

Lu Nan cleared her throat. “That’s her personal life—we shouldn’t comment on that.” 

Sasha quickly changed the subject. “Alright, alright. But this next bit is about you. Word at the provincial office is that you forced Liu Yang out. They say you’ve been very assertive since arriving in Hua’an.” 

“Let them say what they want. Once there’s new gossip, they’ll forget about this,” Lu Nan replied nonchalantly. 

“You really are… so chill,” Sasha muttered. “Bonuses are coming soon. When are you coming to Hailin? Let’s go shopping!” 

“Probably during the holidays. I’ll bring my mom back with me too.”