Around 3 PM, Lu Nan officially received the contract signed and stamped by Mr. Wei, the boss of Xianwang. 

As he handed over the contract, Mr. Wei rubbed his hands together and reminded her repeatedly, “Manager Lu, you must deliver on the materials and promotional activities you promised.” 

Lu Nan glanced at Li Bin. At first, Supervisor Li didn’t quite understand, but after a few seconds, he caught on and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Wei. Our manager has written all your requirements into the contract. While others might talk empty words, we have it in black and white now, there’s no backing out.” 

Mr. Wei thought about it and agreed — having everything clearly stated made him feel more reassured, especially as a smaller distributor. 

Then, he politely suggested, “Manager Lu, how about having dinner together tonight?” 

“Thank you, Mr. Wei. Dinner can happen any time. Right now, the most important thing is to complete the process as quickly as possible and start distributing in Wucheng,” Lu Nan replied with a smile, politely declining. “As you know, up until now, Wucheng has only had secondary and third-tier distributors under the Hua’an City dealership. The incentives in the distribution channel were minimal, activities were rare, and placing and receiving orders was a hassle. Plus, the coverage from those smaller distributors was very limited. Now that you’re coming on board, revitalizing the Wucheng market is just around the corner. After all, the better you sell, the more support we as the manufacturer will provide. It’s a positive cycle.” 

“Yes, yes, that makes sense,” Mr. Wei nodded repeatedly. 

He continued to insist that Lu Nan stay for dinner, but after thinking for a moment, Lu Nan said, “Let’s put a rain check on dinner. Once Yuan Chuan’s small liquor is widely distributed in Wucheng and the sales take off, Mr. Wei, you can invite me then—and I’ll definitely come. You can take care of the food, and I’ll bring the drinks!” 

In business, it’s common to say a few auspicious words. 

Though Lu Nan’s remarks had a bit of exaggeration, Mr. Wei was pleased and didn’t press further: “Then I’ll take your good wishes, Manager Lu. May we both make great profits!” 

“Of course. You saw for yourself how popular Yuan Chuan’s small liquor was during the New Year season. Signing this contract is a sure path to big profits,” Lu Nan said with a smile. “Now, Supervisor Li and I will head back. The headquarters will need one to two working days to review the contract. I’ll keep an eye on it and try to get everything finalized by Friday. Once it’s approved, I’ll bring you the official stamped contract. In the meantime, you can start thinking about how to allocate the initial shipment. Since you’ve been active in the Wucheng market for so many years, you know the local conditions well. If you’d like to refer to the ordering strategies of Weipu or Huaquan, you can ask Supervisor Li. In short: time is money!” 

“Yes!” Mr. Wei was energized by Lu Nan’s decisive attitude. He watched as Lu Nan drove away. 

The owner’s wife, who had been watching TV earlier, walked over and commented, “That Manager Lu seems quite capable.” 

Mr. Wei nodded, “Now that is someone who gets things done. Those other managers from different liquor companies only knew how to bluff and drink at the table, always trying to get free meals and drinks. You wouldn’t believe it—during lunch today, when I suggested going to a restaurant, Manager Lu simply said noodles were enough, with just a side of chicken feet and bean curd sheets. It only cost fifteen yuan. I’ve never seen a city manager so down-to-earth.” 

“Maybe she’s just young and shy? Didn’t Manager Li mention she only graduated last year? Maybe she feels embarrassed to ask for expensive meals or favors,” the owner’s wife guessed. 

Mr. Wei shook his head, “Forget it, you probably weren’t paying attention. When I was negotiating the contract with her this morning, she didn’t budge an inch. She’s not someone shy at all. I finally managed to get an extra point in the rebate, but when I tried to negotiate a lower down payment, she wouldn’t budge.” 

“Do you think this new liquor brand will really sell?” the owner’s wife asked. She usually didn’t get involved in business matters, spending her time at the store watching TV and handling small retail sales, while Mr. Wei took care of wholesale operations. 

“If it wouldn’t sell, why would I bother?” Mr. Wei replied. “Small bottles might have a low unit price, but they sell fast. Those expensive liquors sitting on the shelves for hundreds or even thousands of yuan—they’re just for display. We barely sell a few cases a year.” 

*** 

In the car, Li Bin, sitting in the passenger seat, said to Lu Nan, “Manager Lu, you can just drop me off at the bus station.” 

Lu Nan nodded. 

She was thinking about her plan: this year, more than five new distributors would be added in Hua’an City alone—and that was a conservative estimate. 

With so many new distributors, each one would need dedicated support. They couldn’t continue the old approach of passing responsibilities around like they did with Hongtu Liquor—whoever got it, handled it. 

But this expansion would also bring small challenges. For example, aside from Luo Junjie, most of the city office staff were already accustomed to letting distributors treat them to meals. Even the usually quiet Qian Xin was no exception. When submitting expenses or delivering materials each month, grabbing a free meal here and there had become almost routine—with the mindset that if you don’t eat for free, you’re missing out. 

For larger, well-funded distributors like Hongtu Liquor or Sifang Construction, or hospitality-based ones like Wenxiu Hotel, a few meals weren’t a big deal. But most of this year’s new distributors would be small—amounting to 500,000 to 1 million yuan, small business owners or self-employed individuals. These people were generally more worried about factory representatives coming to ask for free meals, like Mr. Wei from Xianwang, who subtly expressed this concern. 

In Lu Nan’s view, some of these “unspoken rules” were completely unnecessary — even shameful. 

The relationship between a manufacturer and distributor should be mutually supportive. But in today’s market, it had become one side chasing payment or the other side chasing fees—a relationship distorted from its original purpose. 

Think about it: small distributors like Mr. Wei, whose annual contract was just 500,000 yuan, could argue with Lu Nan for half an hour just to secure an extra 1% rebate — a mere 5,000 yuan. How could they possibly feel good if they were constantly expected to host lavish dinners? 

On the flip side, when the contract lasts a year, if the distributor initially offers generous hospitality but later scales it back, how would the office staff feel? 

Lu Nan thought to herself: It’s better to start with myself, as the city manager. I’ll cut down on unnecessary social events to improve work efficiency and help distributors reduce unnecessary expenses. 

As for whether the salespeople below would mind losing this hidden benefit? 

Lu Nan quickly calculated: the perks they got from the distributors amounted to no more than a few meals and a few packs of cigarettes—perhaps 200 yuan a month, totaling about 2,400 yuan a year. However, if the Hua’an office achieved a significant performance leap this year—as she had promised at the provincial office, with contract and payment amounts increasing by over 50%—then their year-end bonuses would rise by far more than a mere 2,400 yuan. She believed they would be able to do the math. 

However, Lu Nan didn’t expect all her subordinates to be smart. What if some want both the watermelon and the sesame seeds? 

So, when she dropped Li Bin off near the bus station, she reminded him before he got off: “Going forward, Supervisor Li, you’ll be responsible for the dealers in Weipu and Wucheng. It’ll be tiring traveling between the two cities, so I’ll approve an additional 400 yuan in travel expenses for you each month.” 

In fact, a round-trip bus fare between Weipu and Wucheng cost only about 20 yuan. Even if Li Bin traveled twice a week, the total additional travel cost would barely reach 200 yuan a month. Hearing about the extra 400-yuan subsidy, Li Bin was quite pleased and nodded, saying, “Don’t worry, Manager Lu. I’ll make sure the work in Xianwang is well handled.” 

Let’s hope you mean what you say. 

By the time Lu Nan returned to Hua’an City, it was already 6 p.m. After parking her car, she glanced at her phone and saw an unread message—good news:”Manager Lu, the boss of Shunfa is very interested in signing a distributor contract with us! He said he’ll come directly to the city office tomorrow to discuss!!” 

From the two exclamation marks, it was clear how excited Qian Xin was. 

Lu Nan thought for a moment and called him: “Qian Xin, I was driving just now and only saw your message. I hope I’m not disturbing your rest?” 

“It’s fine, Manager Lu,” Qian Xin said, his speech slightly slurred. “It’s still early. I haven’t gone to bed yet. I’m having dinner with Brother Huang.” 

Realizing it wasn’t a good time to talk business, Lu Nan said, “Pass the phone to Supervisor Huang.” 

Huang Dafang, looking puzzled, took the phone: “Manager Lu?” 

“Supervisor Huang, are you still sober? Qian Xin said the boss of Shunfa will come to the office tomorrow. What’s the situation? Morning or afternoon? Specific time?” Lu Nan asked. 

Fortunately, Huang Dafang hadn’t had too much to drink. He replied: “In the morning, probably around nine or ten…” though he didn’t sound very sure. 

Lu Nan sighed helplessly: “Where are you having dinner? I’ll come to you.” 

Huang Dafang obediently gave the address. 

Lu Nan recalled that the restaurant was near the city office and said, “Give me fifteen minutes.” 

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Nan arrived at the restaurant, pulled out a chair, and sat down across from Qian Xin. 

Qian Xin, who had been given some hot tea to sober up, was much clearer-headed now. Feeling embarrassed, he said: “Manager Lu, sorry to trouble you by making you come all this way. I really…” 

Lu Nan, slightly annoyed, said: “Your message was vague, and the phone call wasn’t clear either. What else could I do but come in person? Otherwise, tomorrow we’d be staring blankly at each other across the table with the boss of Shunfa. Now, tell me the details.” 

Qian Xin glanced at Huang Dafang, who said: “Why are you looking at me? It’s your channel work. You explain.” 

Thus, Qian Xin swallowed hard, cleared his throat, and began: “This past week, following the materials you organized, Manager Lu, I visited twelve wholesale departments in one day. None of the bosses were willing to hear me out about our dealer policies. I realized this wouldn’t work, so I asked Brother Huang for advice. He suggested I first observe their sales activities—brands, quantities, and so on…” 

Lu Nan nodded. As she had expected, although Huang Dafang was a bit lazy, he still had some skills. 

“I couldn’t cover everything on my own, so I hired some temporary workers from the labor market to help. After observing one day’s sales volume from all twelve departments, we identified the three that sold the most of our small liquor. I then approached them one by one. Since most of the bosses were locals, I asked Brother Huang to accompany me twice. Eventually, we convinced the boss of Shunfa. This afternoon he said he wanted to meet with the city office head. Since you weren’t in the city this afternoon, he said he’d come tomorrow morning.” 

Qian Xin said all at once, his eyes practically sparkling. He never thought he could make it this far, and he was just one step away from securing another distributor. “I really appreciate your trust, Manager Lu, and Brother Huang’s help. I… I owe it all to you.” 

He was about to raise his glass for a toast, but Lu Nan stopped him: “It’s too early to celebrate. Tomorrow, we still have a tough battle. If I were you, I’d be preparing the sales materials for tomorrow, not celebrating and getting drunk.” 

“Sales materials?” Qian Xin said, surprised. “But I don’t know how to make them.” 

Huang Dafang looked like he wanted to smack him: “You didn’t get it? Are you stupid? If you don’t know, can’t you learn? Ask Manager Lu for help!” 

“Manager Lu, I…” Qian Xin was a bit flustered. “I’ll learn?” 

Lu Nan nodded:”Of course you have to learn. Supervisor Huang too. Going forward, we’ll be constantly developing new distributors in Hua’an. If I have to prepare all the materials myself every time, wouldn’t I be overwhelmed?” 

Huang Dafang regretted his involvement: I only helped Qian Xin a little in exchange for a couple of packs of cigarettes and a free meal, and now I have to learn this too?!