After hanging up, Lu Nan blinked at herself in the mirror: Is Chen Xiao trying to take things further? No, no, our current contact frequency isn’t that high, and our conversations are just about work and gossip, nothing inappropriate, let alone any ambiguous flirting. 

Besides, he’s probably overwhelmed with work at headquarters. Knowing his character, he’s unlikely to be bored enough to flirt. It’s probably just stress. So, I’ll just treat him as a friend I get along with. We can chat when we have something in common, and if distance makes us drift apart, there’s nothing much to regret—well, maybe regret for three seconds, since he is quite the powerful backer. 

As a fully grown adult, Lu Nan wasn’t going to dwell on such trivial matters. 

If soldiers come, send generals; if floods come, use earth to block them. 

… 

On Sunday, Xianwang Wholesale in Wucheng received the goods from his order—the 100,000 yuan worth of Yuan Chuan liquor. 

Since Lu Nan had already sent the logistics update to Supervisor Li, Supervisor Li was able to determine the arrival time and promptly informed the boss, Mr. Wei. He even volunteered to work overtime to assist Mr. Wei with receiving and inspecting the goods. 

Speaking of which, those who have worked in sales know that it’s a 24/7 job, and there’s no such thing as a day off. 

As long as a client reaches out, as long as you can still breathe, as long as you want to earn money, you must respond quickly to the client. For a big order, you’ll even crawl out of bed if necessary. 

But sales isn’t always high-intensity work. 

When things are busy, it’s really busy. Once you get familiar with it, you can manage smoothly, and even find ways to slack off. 

Take Huang Dafang, for example—an expert slacker who’s never been fired. 

Since last week, Huang Dafang, the top slacker at the Hua’an office, has finally found a potential client and started working on it slowly. 

Being a local gave him a huge advantage. 

His subordinate, Xiao Hu, who had been sent to the county town to dig for potential clients, hadn’t made much progress, but Huang Dafang had already started negotiating a contract worth around a million yuan with a shop owner who had three top liquor stores in Hua’an—yes, it’s rare, Huang Dafang actually made an effort. 

Everyone at the city office knew that Supervisor Huang’s greatest skill was talking: 
He was better at sweet-talking and giving orders than at actually working. 

Now that he even sent Xiao Hu to neighboring counties to “work the market,” it was like seeing the sun rise in the west. 

When Restaurant Channel Supervisor Guo Yu came to the office for the weekly meeting on Saturday, he even bet with Supervisor Li on how many days Huang Dafang could last without Xiao Hu. Guo Yu said five days, Li Bin said seven. 

Huang Dafang overheard and laughed, “Can I bet on this?” 

After the Monday morning meeting, everyone went out to work. Zheng Jing couldn’t help but whisper to Lu Nan: “Manager Lu, you’re really something. I’ve been working as office staff here for three years, and I’ve never seen Huang Dafang work so hard.” 

Lu Nan smiled: “Actually, he’s very good at networking, and he’s popular with the distributors. He’s just lazy.” 

“Yes, even Manager Liu used to say that you could whip Huang Dafang and he still wouldn’t budge.”  

“Ultimately, it’s because the city office’s past performance was so poor,” Lu Nan said objectively. 

“If your annual collection is only six or seven million yuan, how could anyone be motivated?” 

Honestly, if she weren’t the city manager, Lu Nan might have slacked off too… maybe? 

Zheng Jing nodded. She worked in the office and was paid a fixed salary, with only the year-end bonus tied to the office’s performance. The better the performance, the more she’d get. Thinking that it was already early March and they had collected 1.1 million yuan, Zheng Jing sincerely said to Lu Nan: “Manager Lu, I really admire you.” 

Lu Nan shook her head helplessly: “Don’t put me on a pedestal. The year has just begun. How it’ll go later depends on their motivation.” 

Aside from the unusually diligent Huang Dafang, other salespeople in the office had also been working diligently. After a month and a half since the start of the year, Lu Nan felt like she could finally take a break. 

Thinking of this, she took some time to check on Ms. Huang’s progress with her driver’s license. 

On the other end of the phone, Ms. Huang didn’t even realize how much she was subtly bragging: “I passed the theory test last Friday. I thought it would be hard, but after reviewing the books and doing some mock exams, I got 98 points. There was a woman sitting next to me during the exam. She looked a few years younger than me and got 95 points. She said to me, ‘Big sis, you’re amazing.’ Well, I think as long as I pass, it doesn’t matter if I lose two points or five points.” 

Lu Nan held back a laugh and said seriously: “Wow, 98 points is impressive! So, are you starting to learn the second part now?” 

At this, Ms. Huang sighed: “I started last Saturday. Reversing into the garage and moving the car are too difficult. I often forget, especially with the steering wheel—turn it too far and then back half a turn. I’m getting older, and my mind is a little muddled. I don’t know if I’ll pass the second part on the first try.” 

“Don’t worry, the UN says you’re not a senior citizen until you’re 60. You’re in the prime of your career, so where’s the old age? I bet my mom would be an exam pro,” Lu Nan predicted confidently. 

“I should’ve signed up earlier. A few years ago, the exam didn’t require infrared, so it was much easier.” Ms. Huang said, still bitter.  

“Do you think I should slip my instructor a couple of packs of cigarettes?” 

Lu Nan didn’t know how to respond to this and just said, “Well, you decide. See how other students are handling it.” 

“Oh, by the way, I’m going to Wucheng this week.” 

Lu Nan asked, “When are you coming?” 

“Maybe Friday or Saturday,” Ms. Huang said, not entirely sure. 

Lu Nan, with a clear idea of what was going on, replied: “Are you coming to look for goods in the market? It doesn’t matter what day you come. Let’s say Friday. After the morning meeting, I’ll stop by the Wucheng distributor and then come to see you in the afternoon.” 

Ms. Huang was pleased with this response and said, a little reserved: “Well, let’s see then. If it’s not on your way, don’t bother.” 

Lu Nan thought to herself: Heh, do you think I’ll believe you? 

“It’s on my way. This is a newly signed distributor, and I should visit their store more often anyway.” Well, that was actually Supervisor Li’s job. 

After chatting for three minutes, Ms. Huang said, “I have to go, the logistics company is calling. I don’t know what it’s about.” 

Women with careers sure have a way with words, Lu Nan thought to herself and obediently hung up the phone: “Okay, take care. Bye, mom.” 

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, she watched her experienced subordinates handle business with care, listened to their morning meeting reports, and estimated they worked more than four hours a day. Lu Nan was quite satisfied. 

But as they say, plans can’t keep up with changes. 

Such a coincidence happened. After the Friday morning meeting, Huang Dafang’s phone rang. After he finished the call, he shamelessly approached Lu Nan and said, “Manager Lu, um, I was talking to Mingjiu Shijia about the distributor matter, and their boss, Mr. Hong, would like to meet with you today. I’m not sure if it’s convenient for you.” 

Mingjiu Shijia is a prominent liquor and cigarette store that has recently emerged strongly in Hua’an city. In the past year, they opened two branches in the city, making a total of three locations, including the flagship store. This type of new, energetic business often has abundant capital and is easily persuaded, making them a favorite target for liquor company salespeople. 

Huang Dafang had been negotiating for nearly two weeks and finally made a breakthrough. 

Lu Nan glanced at her watch and asked, “When is the meeting? Where is it?” 

“1:00 PM, at their flagship store, the one on Lianhua Road.” 

“Alright, come with me to my office and tell me more about the situation,” Lu Nan nodded. 

She didn’t need to guess, as she already knew that the person who called Huang Dafang earlier was from Mingjiu Shijia. 

Of course, Lu Nan couldn’t blame the client for acting on impulse, nor could she blame Huang Dafang for not informing her earlier. 

On the way back to her office, Lu Nan sent a message to Ms. Huang, briefly explaining that she had a last-minute client meeting and might not be able to go to Wucheng. 

Ms. Huang replied quickly with: “Okay, got it.” 

Less than half a minute later, she sent another message: “No problem, work is more important.” 

Lu Nan read the message and sent back: “Sorry, Mom, 😘333.” 

She flipped her phone face down and said to Huang Dafang, “Sit down and tell me how things are going with Mingjiu Shijia.” 

Huang Dafang briefly explained the situation: “Mr. Hong’s main business is a small loan company. I heard he really likes drinking, so a couple of years ago, he started Mingjiu Shijia as a side business. It seems the wealthier people are, the easier it is for them to make more money. Last year, Mingjiu Shijia expanded from one store to three branches.” 

The most important point was: “People from competing companies are also in contact with them. It seems Mr. Hong is a bit hesitant now.” 

Lu Nan nodded, “We can spot potential clients, but the people from competing companies aren’t amateurs either. Signing distributors is a matter of skill; as long as the competitors play by the rules, we don’t need to worry about them for now. Go ahead, continue about Mingjiu Shijia—if I remember correctly, their flagship store opened two years ago, right?” 

“Yes, at the end of two years ago,” Huang Dafang genuinely admired Manager Lu’s good memory. “Has she memorized all the client information we’ve handed over?” 

“It seems Mingjiu Shijia is making big strides,” Lu Nan said with a mysterious tone. “When you spoke with them, they must have mentioned plans to open more branches this year, right?” 

“Yes, how did you guess that?!” Huang Dafang looked at her in admiration. 

Lu Nan smiled and shook her head. “Enough with the theatrics.” 

Huang Dafang quickly wiped off his exaggerated expression and looked at her with a pleading face. “Manager Lu, I’ve done everything I can, but I need you to help with the negotiation.” 

Lu Nan couldn’t help but laugh. “You mean ‘extra efforts,’ not ‘everything.’” 

“Huh? Oh, right,” Huang Dafang took a moment to process and scratched his head, laughing. “It’s fine, as long as you understand.” 

“Alright, tell them I’ll be there on time this afternoon,” Lu Nan said. 

Huang Dafang was so happy that he started calling back before even stepping out of her office. 

Lu Nan thought for a moment and sent a message to Tian Aizhen: “Sister Tian, there’s something I want to ask you. Would you be free to have lunch together?” 

Tian Aizhen quickly replied and was available, so half an hour later, they met at a quiet restaurant. Lu Nan booked a private room for their conversation. 

“Manager Lu, what did you want to ask? Is there a change in the distributor situation?” After entering the private room, Tian Aizhen asked with some concern. 

“No, no, don’t worry, Sister Tian, it’s not about that,” Lu Nan quickly denied. “Our local office is currently looking for single-channel distributors, and I wanted to ask if you’ve heard of Mingjiu Shijia.” 

Since it wasn’t about what she had feared, Tian Aizhen’s expression relaxed a little. She smiled with a touch of embarrassment: “Mingjiu Shijia, huh? The boss is Hong Lijun. I know him. He used to run fireworks businesses but recently started a small loan company to do legitimate business. Just last month, when I was short on cash to pay for goods, I borrowed from his loan company. Why? He’s interested in becoming a Yuan Chuan distributor too?” 

Lu Nan nodded and explained: “One of my colleagues at the city office is in talks with them. But don’t worry, Sister Tian. The clients we’re negotiating with right now are all single-channel distributors. The full-channel distribution rights are still reserved exclusively for Hongtu Liquor.” 

Tian Aizhen nodded: “I understand. You couldn’t possibly expect your company to wait for me and Han Jianxin to get divorced. This is business—things don’t work that way. I’m already very grateful you reminded me early on to get involved with Hongtu Liquor’s top sales channels.