In his early years, Hong Lijun was indeed involved in some shady businesses. However, he is now a law-abiding citizen and a legitimate businessman. Since founding a microloan company, he has shed his streetwise demeanor, started wearing suits, earned a diploma, and even enrolled in EMBA courses to keep up with the times. 

Perhaps his studies inspired him to explore new industries. Moreover, given his personal fondness for smoking and drinking—and considering that in his line of business, socializing is frequent and alcohol and cigarettes are widely used—he figured it would be better to run his own supply rather than buy from others. Thus, he opened a premium tobacco and liquor store. 

In fact, this rationale is behind the entry of many companies that transitioned into the alcohol distribution business. 

Securing a wholesale license for tobacco resale is notoriously difficult, and even with money and connections, Hong Lijun found the process frustrating. 

However, getting licensed for alcohol distribution was a different story. Hong Lijun was confident that if his company, Mingjiu Shijia, expressed interest, liquor manufacturers with offices in Hua’an City would be eager to collaborate. 

And he was right. 

Guojiu Group, mindful of its prestigious position in the industry and existing local distributors, did not pursue Mingjiu Shijia aggressively. Instead, they conveyed a message: if Mingjiu Shijia was willing to distribute some of their less popular products, Guojiu could allocate a small batch of their signature “Porcelain Series” as well. 

But Hong Lijun understood the true meaning behind Guojiu’s offer. He turned to his team and said, “Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.” 

In other words, he decided to bypass Guojiu and look toward second-tier brands like Yuan Chuan and Lingyang. 

Given that these two were fallback options, it was understandable why Hong Lijun maintained a vague, wait-and-see approach. 

Yesterday, he first met with representatives from Yuan Chuan and felt somewhat disappointed. Later, after talking with Wu Kecheng from Lingyang, he even thought the young female city manager from Yuan Chuan had been a better option. 

To make a final comparison, he organized today’s banquet, which was unlikely to be peaceful. 

Lu Nan could roughly guess what Mr. Hong had in mind and was also well aware of Wu Kecheng’s intentions. 

One aimed to profit by playing both sides; the other aimed to seize the initiative. 

The business world is a battlefield without gunfire. 

Everyone holds back their cards instead of revealing them immediately, and some just make a few ambiguous remarks. 

Lu Nan, for her part, had ample patience and composure to stay the course. 

“I must admit, when it comes to wine tasting, I do have some expertise,” Lu Nan said with a smile, then turned to the waiter. “Could you please bring over another bottle of Yuan Chuan’s 20-Year Classic? No need to open it yet. Thank you.” 

Earlier, Wu Kecheng had been slightly provoked by Lu Nan’s remarks. Now, with an exaggerated fake smile, he said, “What, Manager Lu, do you think one bottle isn’t enough for you?” 

Ah, Lu Nan thought, even though the trope of “the other side acts up so I can slap them down” feels overused, sometimes these clichés serve a purpose. After all, people often need a contrast to highlight their strengths. 

With that thought, Lu Nan looked up sincerely at Wu Kecheng and said, “Why rush, Manager Wu? Good wine needs to breathe. While we wait, I’ll show off a little with my bottle-opening skills. Mr. Hong, please feel free to give me some pointers. Maybe it’ll be a good show for you too, Manager Wu.” 

Her bottle-opening performance was flawless and elegant—so much so that even Lingyang’s team couldn’t deny it looked impressive. 

Mr. Hong showed genuine interest. “That’s quite a clever technique.” 

Lu Nan accepted the compliment gracefully, fluidly pouring the wine into decanters for the other guests from Mingjiu Shijia. She then respectfully poured a glass for Mr. Hong and invited him to taste it. 

“Our company featured this technique in last fall’s promotional video. It’s just a little embellishment; the real focus is on the quality of the wine itself. Mr. Hong, the wine in this decanter should have opened up nicely by now. Please give it a try.” 

Without thinking, Mr. Hong followed her suggestion, took the glass, and sipped. “Yuan Chuan’s classic series has always been impressive.” 

Wu Kecheng became anxious; the wine he had poured earlier hadn’t even been tasted yet. 

But he couldn’t just snatch the glass from Mr. Hong’s hand, so he desperately tried to find a way to steer the conversation back to himself. “Manager Lu, that wasn’t very fair. You said Mr. Hong would try our Lingyang liquor first, but now you’ve gone back on your word,” Wu Kecheng said, half-joking. 

Lu Nan gave him a puzzled look, then sighed, seemingly letting it go. 

“I thought, since Manager Wu is a bit older, you’d understand that there’s no such thing as ‘letting someone go first’ at a wine tasting. Looks like I was wrong. Manager Wu clearly holds others to strict standards while being lenient with himself. You didn’t offer me the first seat or pour me the first glass, after all. Why should I, as a brand representative, worry about whether Lingyang’s wine will taste as good afterward?” 

“You—!” 

Lu Nan quickly added, “I’m just kidding, Manager Wu. Don’t take it to heart. By the way, has the purified water arrived? A sip of water between tastings helps cleanse the palate. Our Classic series has a lingering finish, but it shouldn’t overpower Lingyang’s cellar-aged aroma.” 

Lu Nan had covered both the harsh and soft remarks, leaving Wu Kecheng fuming yet helpless—any harsher reaction would make him look petty, especially against a young woman. 

He figured it was better to rely on action than words to teach her a lesson about handling business banquets. 

Unfortunately for Wu Kecheng, he was somewhat unaware of his own shortcomings in rhetoric and judgment. 

Deciding not to continue the verbal sparring, Wu Kecheng shifted focus. 

Lu Nan, too, refrained from further escalation. After all, her goal was to secure a distributor, not to bicker with competitors. 

With that, Wu Kecheng concentrated on flattering Mr. Hong, displaying his seasoned skills in social drinking. He was indeed an experienced hand at smooth-talking and flattery, though his jokes veered into crudeness under the guise of humor. 

In Lu Nan’s view, if this were the Hong Lijun of ten years ago, they might have gotten along well. 

Now? Probably not. 

From the way Mr. Hong conducted himself at yesterday’s and today’s events, Lu Nan inferred that he was transitioning from merely chasing financial gain to valuing social image and status. 

He might still indulge in crude humor privately, but he certainly wouldn’t tolerate it in formal settings, especially when evaluating business partners. 

As expected, the more Wu Kecheng cracked jokes about men and women, the fainter Mr. Hong’s polite smile became. 

A few minutes later, realizing he had overstepped, and that Mr. Hong had been silent for a while, Wu Kecheng quickly changed tactics and offered a safer move: drinking. 

He laughed and said, “I’ve been talking too much! I’ll punish myself with a drink.” 

This is the result of years of experience in liquor sales — never feeling awkward and being able to put aside pride easily. 

After punishing himself with a drink, to be on the safe side, Wu Kecheng decided not to continue performing a one-man show. He found it difficult to push drinks onto Mr. Hong, but he could always drink with someone from Yuan Chuan instead. 

“Manager Lu?” “Manager Lu.” “Manager Lu!” “Come on, Manager Lu…” Wu Kecheng kept calling out and raising his glass. 

Xiao Hu still remembered that before they came, Supervisor Huang had instructed him to step in if necessary. He tried to intervene, wanting to shield Manager Lu, but Wu Kecheng clearly didn’t take a low-level salesperson from Yuan Chuan seriously and dismissed Xiao Hu with just a few words. 

And soon after being pushed aside, Xiao Hu got entangled with other Lingyang staff—he couldn’t even protect himself now. 

Seeing his subordinate being brushed aside so easily, Huang Dafang couldn’t help but speak up: “Manager Wu, that’s not very fair—you’re only asking our Manager Lu to drink, but not drinking with me at all. Seems like the brotherhood we had before was just for show!” 

Wu Kecheng thought to himself: Brotherhood? Who has brotherhood with someone from Yuan Chuan? 

But outwardly he said, “Old Huang, we’re old acquaintances—a few drinks between us won’t matter. But Manager Lu is new to Hua’an and still young. She might not be familiar with the customs here. Based on my age and experience, I can be considered her senior. Since we’ve met today, I thought I’d take the opportunity to teach her a thing or two about the local drinking etiquette. The first rule: drink cleanly and decisively!” 

Huang Dafang tried to stand up, retorting, “As if our Manager Lu needs you to teach her the rules?” 

Lu Nan lightly patted Old Huang’s arm to signal him to calm down, then turned to Wu Kecheng and said, “Manager Wu, it seems you’re not teaching very sincerely. In Hua’an, when you propose a toast, you have to give a reason. I don’t drink for no reason.” 

Mr. Hong, who had been quietly observing, also chimed in, “That is the custom.” 

Giving a toast with a few words wasn’t difficult at all. 

Wu Kecheng composed himself and continued trying to clink glasses with Lu Nan, who responded to each toast. Along the way, she even managed to drink a few glasses with Mr. Hong. 

Gradually, Wu Kecheng felt something was off: he had already gone through three decanters of wine, and Lu Nan had kept up with him the entire time—yet her expression hadn’t changed one bit. Looks like she’s got real skills. But with both of them drinking this much, they needed a way to bring the contest to a proper close. 

Wu Kecheng had guessed that Lu Nan could hold her liquor, but he hadn’t realized that her drinking ability was far beyond “just good.” 

As the tasting event started turning into a drinking contest, Lu Nan glanced at Hong Lijun and half-jokingly reminded him, “Manager Wu, the wine we brought today was meant for Mr. Hong to taste. If we drink it all ourselves, what’s the point?” 

Unexpectedly, Hong Lijun replied, “No worries. I had my secretary bring extra bottles when we came. Once we finish this batch, we can just get more from the car.” 

Wu Kecheng seized the moment and asked with a laugh, “So Mr. Hong came prepared — were you planning to test whether our team or Yuan Chuan’s can drink better?” 

Hong Lijun laughed and said, “Haha, there is a bit of that. In my view, understanding, appreciating, and loving liquor are crucial for doing a great job in the wine business. Though Mingjiu Shijia is a relatively young company, we are confident and ambitious when it comes to the baijiu market. That’s why we are very cautious when selecting partners.” 

Wu Kecheng thought to himself: Selling liquor is selling liquor, what’s with all the fancy talk? 

Lu Nan, however, nodded sincerely. “Mr. Hong, your foresight is admirable.” 

Feeling like Lu Nan had beaten him to the punch with the flattery, Wu Kecheng hurried to add, “Mr. Hong, you’re absolutely right. You truly have vision and boldness!”