Manager Wang said with visible satisfaction, “Lu Nan, it’s great that you’re willing to bring this matter to the company’s attention. It shows that you truly consider yourself part of the team. I’ll give Director Tong a call later to check when he’s available. Then we’ll schedule a video meeting to discuss the details of submitting an application to headquarters. As for the export data on Chinese baijiu you just mentioned and that small-scale market research in the U.S. about Harmony Liquor…” 

Lu Nan wasn’t the type to share information she had worked hard to gather just because of a few compliments. So, she pretended not to understand and replied, “Don’t worry, Manager Wang. I’ll present everything in detail during the video meeting and do my best to convince the district office to support our local branch.” 

“Oh, right, great. Let’s go with that. Prepare your materials and wait for my notice,” Wang Xinglong said, though he couldn’t help thinking that with the confidence and composure Lu Nan now displayed, she didn’t seem like someone who would stay in Yuan Chuan for long. What a pity. 

Lu Nan nodded in agreement. 

… 

Manager Wang didn’t keep Lu Nan waiting for long. After the next morning’s meeting, he said to her, “Come to my office for a moment.” 

Some people still lingering in the meeting room subtly glanced at Lu Nan. 

She ignored the looks and calmly followed Manager Wang into the office. 

Once the door was closed, Manager Wang logged into the company system and sent a video call request to Director Tong, who accepted quickly. 

Director Tong nodded to both Manager Wang and Lu Nan, then got straight to the point. “Lu Nan, Manager Wang gave me a general overview yesterday, but there are a few parts I’d like to hear directly from you.” 

Lu Nan nodded and repeated what she said the day before, this time with more detailed and intuitive data. 

After she finished, there was a brief silence from Director Tong’s side of the screen. 

Lu Nan, smiling patiently, waited for the questions she knew would come. The key now was to stay composed. 

For a full thirty seconds, the only signs of movement were a thoughtful “hmm” from Director Tong and a tap of his right hand on the desk. Otherwise, the video feed seemed frozen. 

Just as Lu Nan anticipated, Director Tong intentionally kept her waiting, but found that the young woman on the screen had far more patience than he had expected. 

“So, Lu Nan, you’re saying the owner of Weigou Import and Export Trading is your mother, and she wants to secure the U.S. distribution rights for Yuan Chuan’s Harmony Liquor?” Director Tong asked. 

Of course, a seasoned leader would begin with the sharpest question, flipping the dynamics in an instant. 

At this point, Lu Nan actually felt a bit excited. Dealing with an old fox like Director Tong could be… quite interesting. 

More precisely, talking to intelligent people really saved effort. 

She didn’t deny it: “To be frank, it was my idea to have my mother sign on. She’s not particularly interested in the liquor industry and originally wanted to shift her business focus toward small commodities and daily goods. But I convinced her. After half a year in this line of work, I’ve come to really appreciate our company’s products, brand, and culture. That’s why I suggested Harmony Liquor to her as something worth recommending to overseas clients.” 

What she said was basic polite business talk, but both Director Tong and Wang Xinglong had to admit—her tone made it especially pleasant to hear. 

Director Tong nodded. “I’m glad to see you hold the company in such high regard. As for overseas distribution rights, I already discussed this yesterday afternoon with Mr. Xia, head of our sales division. He was quite pleased to see someone from the Hailin office proposing something so innovative and expressed support. But Mr. Xia’s stance is personal. This morning, several executives at headquarters also began discussing the matter…” 

He paused briefly. 

Lu Nan listened respectfully. 

“Headquarters is open to trying it, even though there’s no precedent,” Director Tong continued, saying exactly what Lu Nan hoped to hear. 

She didn’t show satisfaction on her face, though. She suspected there was more to come. 

Sure enough, he continued: “But from the company’s standpoint, there’s still no established policy for vetting overseas distributors. There’s also no reference for how to set the contract amount. So there are still some differing opinions among the executives.” 

This, too, was within Lu Nan’s expectations. But if she were so easily swayed and followed their lead, she wouldn’t be Lu Nan. 

She nodded in agreement. “The company already has procedures in place for vetting domestic distributors. I believe foreign ones should follow the same standards. Headquarters has always been thorough in its decisions. We shouldn’t lower standards just because it’s overseas, but we also shouldn’t raise the bar unreasonably. Either way would be unfair. Although demand for baijiu is growing in the U.S., I’ve already told my mother that if she wants to work with Yuan Chuan, she must follow Yuan Chuan’s rules. If overseas clients urgently request a second shipment, she’ll find alternative solutions for now. But when it comes to Harmony Liquor, we’ll wait for the city office to repurchase Green Trading’s inventory before making further decisions. That way, everything stays by the book, right?” 

Both Director Tong and Wang Xinglong understood the implication: if Yuan Chuan couldn’t make a timely decision on overseas distribution rights, Lu Nan’s mother’s company, Weigou, could easily choose another baijiu brand. With so many domestic brands, surely someone would offer a deal to gain the advantage of being labeled “exported overseas.” 

After delivering that subtle warning, Lu Nan added, “I personally think exporting baijiu is a tough business but one with great potential. The export tax rebate alone is very attractive.” She continued calmly, “All brands get the same rebate, but as the saying goes, it’s better to work with someone you know. My mother negotiated with Green Trading on a cash-before-delivery basis and got them down to 90% of the ex-factory price. If she buys out the inventory in one go, there might even be room to negotiate further. But rest assured, once the liquor is exported, the overseas distributor will strictly follow the company’s suggested retail pricing.” 

Retail pricing compliance wasn’t actually the key topic of this meeting. 

Because of exchange rates, Director Tong wasn’t worried Harmony Liquor would sell for too low a price in the U.S. 

Instead, what caught his attention was how much Lu Nan’s previous remarks revealed. 

He glanced at Wang Xinglong, then said, “I understand what you’re getting at. I’ll talk more with Mr. Xia about it later. But since overseas distribution is new, whether it’s a challenge or an opportunity depends on actual sales performance. We also can’t dump all the pressure on potential distributors.” After all, the Green Trading situation had been dragging on, and the company could drop the deal and dump the stock at any moment. Everyone on both sides of the video knew that. 

Lu Nan smiled appreciatively. “If Director Tong would be willing to put in a good word for my mother’s small company, I’d be very grateful.” 

“Come on now, no need to be so formal. Your mother has good judgment for picking our Harmony Liquor and strong capability if she can sell it abroad. If the overseas market really takes off, it’s a win-win for everyone.” Director Tong revealed a bit more. “That said, Green Trading’s inventory is only worth a little over one million. If her company wants to sign a distribution contract, in my personal opinion, the contract amount should be at least double that.” 

Lu Nan nodded to show understanding—an agency contract worth two to three million was quite reasonable. 

However, the size of the corresponding distribution area still needed to be discussed further. 

Finally, Director Tong asked, “Lu Nan, are you aware of a company policy that might apply here?” 

Lu Nan waited quietly for him to continue. 

Director Tong reminded her, “If your mother’s company signs the distribution rights for Harmony Liquor—even though it’s for overseas distribution—the company is still based in Hailin City. That would likely make it inappropriate for you to be involved in any sales channels related to Harmony Liquor within Hailin City. Originally, you were with the group Purchasing department for Classic Liquor, which didn’t involve Harmony Liquor directly, but Liu Tao once told me that you were a strong candidate to replace Zhou Tian.” 

Zhou Tian was the provincial group sales manager for Harmony Liquor. 

Coincidentally, the office for that role was also located in Hailin City. 

In other words, from Director Tong’s perspective, Lu Nan was likely to miss out on this promotion opportunity. 

Lu Nan nodded. “I understand.” 

“So, are we losing a capable group sales manager?” Director Tong felt that Lu Nan was surprisingly calm, as if she already had another plan in place. It wasn’t hard to guess why—he figured that if her mother’s company was in Hailin City and the contract went through, it would be much more natural for her to return home and work there rather than stay in Yuan Chuan. That seemed obvious enough. 

To be honest, Director Tong felt it was a shame. He had previously doubted whether Lu Nan could really take over Zhou Tian’s role and thought Chen Xiao might have been compensating her too much. But after speaking with her today, those doubts were gone. He now recognized her courage and competence—only to realize she might soon be leaving. 

“Yes, to avoid any conflict of interest, it would be best for me to transfer out of Hailin City,” Lu Nan said, lowering her head slightly with a confident smile. “Although the city office will be short one group sales manager, I believe the other excellent managers can take over my responsibilities. As for myself, I’d like to formally inform you today, Director Tong, that I intend to participate in the company’s year-end competitive selection. I want to apply for the position of city manager.” 

As soon as she finished, Director Tong was the first to respond. He burst into laughter and even applauded her: “Good! Very good!” 

He truly hadn’t expected Lu Nan to have this kind of courage. 

According to Yuanchuan Group’s regulations, after New Year’s Day each year, business managers who have ideas about their career progression and confidence in their abilities can take part in the internal selection process. They report to the next level of leadership and are interviewed in person or via video by leadership and HR. Of course, since Qianjiang Province was currently in a special situation with the provincial general director position vacant, Lu Nan approaching Director Tong directly wasn’t considered overstepping. 

Theoretically, Lu Nan, already a business supervisor in the group purchasing department, had two potential paths and positions to aim for: a city manager role on the business track, or a provincial group purchasing manager role on the group sales track. 

In reality, though there were clearly more city manager positions (since a province can have seven or eight or more cities, but typically only two provincial group purchasing managers), almost no one from the group purchasing department pursued the city manager path. More specifically, almost no women applied for city manager roles. 

Lu Nan’s statement not only earned applause from Director Tong but also left Manager Wang stunned. 

“Lu Nan, you’re impressive,” Director Tong nodded with approval. “I’m very optimistic about you. But when the time comes, you’ll still need to prove yourself.” 

And what does proving herself mean? 

Successfully resolving the issue with Green Trading would be the proof. 

Lu Nan smiled, her words carrying double meaning: “Of course. I’ll give it my all.”