Back to 2008: I Helped My Dad Become the Richest Man

Luo Xinde held the phone, his palms sweating. He had made very few phone calls in his life, mostly to inform relatives about weddings or funerals, or to ask his foreman for leave. He had never spoken to the manager of any big hotel.

"Dad, don't be nervous, just think of it as chatting with someone." Luo Xiyuan noticed her father's embarrassment and encouraged him from the side.

"I...I'll give it a try." Luo Xinde cleared his throat and, with slightly trembling fingers, pressed the number keys one by one according to the number Luo Xiyuan had given him.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hello, Golden Bay Hotel, how can I help you?" A sweet female voice came from the receiver.

Luo Xinde was stunned. He subconsciously glanced at Luo Xiyuan, who quickly pointed to the manuscript in her hand.

"Uh... hello... hello," Luo Xinde stammered. "I... I'm looking for... the purchasing manager."

"May I ask who you are? Do you have an appointment?" The other person's tone remained very polite.

"I...I'm from the Luo Family Farm, my surname is Luo. I...I'd like to talk to your manager about...a cooperation on pork supply." Luo Xinde stammered, finally managing to finish a sentence.

The woman on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, as if she was thinking about what kind of place the Luo family farm was.

After a few seconds, she said, "Okay, sir, please wait a moment, I'll transfer you to the purchasing department."

After a brief musical interlude, the phone was answered again, this time by a somewhat languid male voice: "Hello, purchasing department, who is this?"

"Hello... Manager. I'm Luo Xinde from Luo's Family Farm." Luo Xinde quickly introduced himself.

"Luo's Farm?" The other person's tone was tinged with doubt and impatience. "What do you want? Get to the point quickly, I'm busy here."

Luo Xinde was so flustered by his attitude that his mind went even more muddled, and his hand holding the manuscript trembled. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Luo Xiyuan immediately grabbed an extension phone from the side, put it to her ear, and then winked at her father, signaling him to come over.

She cleared her throat and, in a voice more composed than her age, spoke into the microphone, "Hello, is this Manager Wang from the purchasing department?"

The man on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then asked, "Who are you? Why does it sound like a young girl's voice?"

"Hello Manager Wang, I am Luo Xiyuan from Luo's Farm. Luo Xinde is my father. Our farm specializes in raising high-quality commercial pigs. We are calling today to establish a long-term pork supply partnership with your hotel." Luo Xiyuan spoke slowly, but each word was clearly pronounced.

"Cooperation? Young lady, are you kidding me?" Manager Wang scoffed. "Our pork suppliers in Jinhai Bay are all the biggest food companies in the city. Your family farm wants to cooperate with us? How many pigs do you have?"

"Our first batch has two hundred heads," Luo Xiyuan replied calmly.

"Two hundred pigs?" Manager Wang laughed even harder. "What can two hundred pigs do? Our hotel consumes more than one pig a day. Little girl, stop fooling around. I don't have time to play house with you."

As he spoke, he seemed about to hang up the phone.

"Manager Wang, please wait a moment!" Luo Xiyuan immediately raised her voice, "I know two hundred pigs aren't much for your hotel. However, we're not supplying ordinary pigs, but Duroc-Landrace-Landrace-Large White crossbred pigs raised according to an ecological recycling model!"

"Ecological cycle? Three-way hybridization?" Manager Wang let out a soft "hmm" and stopped hanging up the phone.

These two words clearly piqued his interest.

Luo Xiyuan knew there was a chance, so she quickly pressed her advantage: "Yes. Our farm was converted from an abandoned primary school. We built standardized pigsties and a biogas circulation system, and we use scientifically formulated feed throughout the entire process, without adding any hormones or prohibited drugs."

"Our pigs have a feed conversion ratio of 2.8:1, a high lean meat percentage, tender meat, and a much better flavor than ordinary pork. We are absolutely confident in this."

She didn't go into too much detail; she simply explained clearly what Master Liu had taught her, as well as the core selling points she had summarized herself.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Manager Wang was clearly processing this information. He was indeed somewhat surprised that a young woman could use professional terms like "ecological cycle," "ternary hybridization," and "feed-to-meat ratio."

"You've got a good story to tell." After a long pause, Manager Wang spoke again, his tone less sarcastic but still skeptical. "Even if what you say is true, why should I believe you? There are plenty of people these days who say their pork is good; I can't believe everyone, can I?"

"Of course you don't have to believe everything we say," Luo Xiyuan immediately replied. "We just wanted to ask if we could be given a chance. We're willing to provide a pig free of charge, according to your requirements, and deliver it to the hotel so your head chef can personally taste and inspect it."

"If our pork doesn't meet your hotel's requirements, we'll leave without a second thought, and won't cause any trouble. If the quality is acceptable, then we can sit down and discuss cooperation. What do you think?"

Free pig delivery to your door!

This suggestion startled Luo Xinde and Li Minxia, ​​who were standing nearby. A pig, weighing nearly 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), was worth over a thousand yuan! Just give it away like that?

Manager Wang remained silent. This suggestion offered him no loss whatsoever. He'd get a free pig and get to test the pig's quality—why not?

"A free one?" he confirmed.

"Yes, it's free." Luo Xiyuan's tone was very certain. She knew that you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. This investment was necessary to gain access to Golden Bay.

"That's interesting." Manager Wang seemed to smile. "Alright. Since you're so sincere, I'll give you a chance. When can you deliver the pigs?"

"Anytime is fine. You can set a time."

"Then... how about 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow? Just deliver it directly to the unloading area in the hotel kitchen. Just find a Mr. Li." After saying that, Manager Wang added, "Let me make this clear, our hotel has very high standards. We don't accept ordinary pork. Don't make a wasted trip."

"Don't worry, Manager Wang. We have confidence in our products," Luo Xiyuan said calmly.

"Okay, that's settled then." Manager Wang said and hung up the phone.

Luo Xiyuan put down the receiver and let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's...it's done?" Luo Xinde looked at his daughter, still as if in a dream. He hadn't quite grasped the conversation between his daughter and that Manager Wang, but he understood the final result—the other party had agreed!

"We did it! Dad, we got our chance!" Luo Xiyuan excitedly pumped her fist.

"But...but are we really going to give them a pig for free?" Li Minxia was heartbroken. "That's over a thousand yuan!"

"Mom, this isn't just giving it away for free, it's an investment, a stepping stone," Luo Xiyuan explained. "Think about it, if we can secure this contract, we can earn over a hundred yuan more per pig than if we sold it to the slaughterhouse. Giving away one pig can bring in a good price for hundreds or even thousands of pigs later. Isn't that a good deal?"

Li Minxia thought about it blankly for a moment, and it seemed... that made sense.

Luo Xinde also realized what was going on, and he slapped his thigh: "That's right! Xiyuan is right! If you can't afford to spend small amounts, you won't make big money! It's just a pig, right? We'll give it away! And if we're going to give it away, we'll give away the best and prettiest one in our pigsty!"

"Uncle Liu!" Luo Xinde shouted excitedly into the yard, "Come quick! We need to pick out a good pig; we're sending it to a big hotel in the city the day after tomorrow!"

Hearing the noise, Master Liu walked in. He had overheard the whole thing, and now an approving smile appeared on his face: "Girl, well done. You're brave and resourceful."

He then became serious again: "However, there's a fine way to choose a pig. We can't just pick the biggest one. Come on, let's go choose one now. We need to pick one that's well-proportioned and has a good balance of fat and lean. If it's too fat, people will find it greasy. If it's too lean, it won't be chewy."

The whole family, including Grandpa Liu, immediately marched in a grand procession towards the pigsty.