My Dongguan Love Story

Chapter 25

Zhang Xiaoqian's face flushed with excitement. After hanging up with Secretary Wu, she immediately dialed the driver's number. As soon as the call connected, she anxiously called out:

"Xiao Wang, go and arrest Chen Dazhuang."

"what?"

Driver Xiao Wang hesitated, looking somewhat taken aback. Although he was Zhang Xiaoqian's driver, his salary came from General Manager Zhao. He was also under General Manager Zhao's command; how could he dare to make the arrest without General Manager Zhao's permission?

"Alright." Zhao Fengyue stopped Zhang Xiaoqian and then instructed the driver, "Keep a close eye on him. If Dazhuang really tries to run away, stop him again."

"Okay, Mr. Zhao."

Zhang Xiaoqian's face immediately showed displeasure when she saw her mother hang up the phone:

"Mom, even Secretary Wu has said so, do you still want to continue protecting Chen Dazhuang?"

Zhao Fengyue placed her phone on the table: "Until the person runs away, nothing is settled yet. Let's wait and see."

"Fine, you won't give up until you've hit rock bottom, huh?"

Zhang Xiaoqian pouted and sat down, turning on the TV. She was going to wait a little longer with her mother.

We can wait, it probably won't be long. Chen Dazhuang has already left, and if he wants to run, he should be able to finish in an hour or two.

Let's wait a little longer and let Mom give up completely.

.......

Shenzhen in 98, although not as prosperous as it is today, was still quite prosperous compared to my hometown in Sichuan.

The road was bustling with people coming and going.

I've heard that Shennan Avenue is brightly lit, and the Diwang Building there is over 300 meters tall. I'd really like to go and see it for myself.

It's a pity, it's already late. I can't go too far, or I'll come back late and won't be energetic when I wake up tomorrow, which will delay my meeting with Mr. Liu to discuss the cooperation.

After thinking about it, I decided to just have a simple meal near the hotel.

I ordered braised pork knuckle rice at a stall not far from the hotel.

I have to say, the pork trotter rice in Shenzhen isn't necessarily better than in Dongguan, but it's more expensive and the portion is much smaller. I had to order three bowls before I was full.

Three bowls of braised pork trotters with rice cost forty-five yuan in total. My goodness, that's half a day's wages! It's even more expensive than the clothes I'm wearing.

Sigh, I wonder if the company will reimburse me?

After having a good meal, I strolled around the neighborhood for a while. Around nine o'clock, I headed back to the hotel.

Beep~

When Zhang Xiaoqian saw Xiao Wang calling, she quickly answered:

"Xiao Wang, did Chen Dazhuang run away?"

Zhao Fengyue frowned and remained silent.

"No, I didn't run away."

"You didn't run away?" Zhang Xiaoqian looked surprised.

"Um, he ate some pork knuckle rice, wandered around for a bit, and then went back to the hotel. I'm in the hotel lobby now."

Zhang Xiaoqian was stunned when she heard his words, and then put down the phone.

A rare smile appeared on Zhao Fengyue's face as she spoke into the phone:

"Alright, Xiao Wang, you keep an eye on things."

He hung up the phone after saying that.

"How could he not have run away? That's impossible."

Zhang Xiaoqian never expected that Chen Dazhuang wouldn't run away. She was stunned for a moment.

In fact, now that it's dark, this is the best time for Chen Dazhu to abscond with the money.

The fact that he didn't run away tonight means he really won't abscond with the money. After all, he would transfer the money directly to Mr. Liu after discussing the cooperation each day.

If he really wanted to embezzle this money, he wouldn't have waited until tomorrow.

In other words, the fact that he didn't run away today means he didn't intend to embezzle the money.

Zhang Xiaoqian just couldn't understand how he could not be greedy. All these signs pointed to his desire to be greedy.

Is he planning something else that I don't know about?

"Alright, I already told you you were just making unfounded assumptions. Luckily, we didn't arrest Dazhuang earlier, otherwise, how would we have handled the situation?"

Zhao Fengyue patted Zhang Xiaoqian on the shoulder.

She was in an exceptionally good mood at that moment. The dark clouds that had been hanging over her had all dissipated.

I knew it! How could the man I've set my sights on be short-sighted and greedy?

Zhang Xiaoqian gritted her teeth, racking her brains, but still couldn't figure out what Dazhuang was up to. Seeing her mother speaking to her with a boastful air, she crossed her arms and muttered:

"Don't worry, there's another test tomorrow. I don't believe he's really not greedy."

The second test was with Mr. Liu, the general manager of Hengtai Textile.

Mr. Liu is very familiar with them, and he specially asked her to help put on a show this time. It's all about seeing if Da Zhuang will take the bait tomorrow.

Zhao Fengyue listened to Zhang Xiaoqian's words and calmly said:

"I believe in Dazhuang."

Even though she said that, she was also feeling uneasy. She was a little worried that Dazhuang wouldn't pass the test.

hotel lobby.

I was smoking here, looking at the clock on the wall. When the clock slowly climbed to eleven o'clock, I got up and walked towards the elevator.

After all, I felt awkward about going back and sharing a room with Secretary Wu after refusing her earlier. So I waited a while and decided to go back after she fell asleep.

It's already quite late at 11 o'clock, she should be asleep by now, right?

I picked up the room key, swiped it, and slowly pushed the door open.

The main lights inside were off, with only the spotlights on. The room was dimly lit.

I peeked into Secretary Wu's bed. She was lying on the bed with her back to me, motionless. I wondered if she was asleep.

She was covered with a white blanket, her shoulders were bare, it was hard to tell if she was sleeping naked or wearing a tank top.

I gently closed the door, took a pair of pants from the plastic bag, and turned to go into the bathroom.

After washing up, he came out wearing pants and shirtless.

As soon as she came out, she felt Secretary Wu's gaze on her. She turned her head and her eyes met.

Secretary Wu was sitting on the bed when she saw my eight-pack abs. Her eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting me to have such a good physique.

She looked at me for a few seconds, then looked up and said:

"Dazhuang, if you don't want to talk about what happened earlier, then forget it. Don't tell General Manager Zhao."

"Hmm." I nodded. I hadn't planned to tell Mr. Zhao about this anyway. After all, I didn't record it or have any solid evidence. Telling him would be like tattling, making me look like a petty person.

Besides, even Mr. Zhao might not believe it. As long as the money is protected, that's all that matters.

"Hmm." Secretary Wu nodded in satisfaction upon hearing my response and lay back down on the bed. (I sneered inwardly.)

"That's great. Judging from his reaction just now, he probably didn't tell President Zhao."

"I framed him first, and when Mr. Zhao questioned him, he said that I had embezzled the money. Mr. Zhao was not going to believe him."

........

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Secretary Wu's phone rang.

"Feed?" Secretary Wu squinted and picked up the phone.

I was also woken up by the phone ringing, so I turned over and prepared to go back to sleep.

"Are you Secretary Wu? I'm Liu Huilin."

"Mr. Liu?"

Upon hearing President Liu's voice, Secretary Wu quickly sat up. Her previously muddled mind cleared up.

"Yes, I'm in the hotel lobby right now. Would it be convenient for you to come down?"

"Convenient, convenient."

Secretary Wu nodded, hung up the phone, and called out to me:

"Dazhuang, wake up."

"Hmm." I rubbed my hair and slowly sat up.

I heard the phone call just now, so I quickly got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Five minutes later, we took the elevator to the hotel lobby.

"Mr. Liu!"

Secretary Wu walked into the hotel lobby and saw a middle-aged woman with purple hair. She smiled and quickly greeted her.

"President Liu," I greeted her along with her.

Liu Huilin, owner of Hengtai Textile.

With her long, dark purple hair and fair complexion, she looked like a girl in her early twenties, even though she was forty-three years old.

She was wearing a white satin silk blouse with the collar turned up.

The two buttons on her chest were undone, revealing an alluring cleavage.

She was drinking her coffee when we called her, and she greeted me warmly.

"Secretary Wu."

After saying that, he looked at me and asked, "You're Chen Dazhuang, right?"

I was a little surprised that Mr. Liu knew my name. I nodded nervously, "Mr. Liu, it's me. You've heard of me before?"

"Yes, I've heard Feng Yue mention it."

Mr. Liu nodded, took a document out of his bag, and handed it to Secretary Wu:

"This is a new fabric from this year, take a look."

"Okay." Secretary Wu nodded and took the document to read it.

Hengtai Textile mainly produces outer fabrics for plush toys, such as short plush. This material is currently the mainstream.

A sample was included in the document.

Secretary Wu touched it with his hand; the fur was soft and comfortable to the touch.

There is another type of long plush, which has a very good luster and is mainly used to make dolls' clothes, facial features, and other decorations.

These new products are of excellent quality and feel even better than the older ones.

Having worked as Mr. Zhao's secretary for so many years, she has frequently come into contact with the fabrics used in plush toys and is quite familiar with these materials.

Moreover, they have always cooperated with Hengtai Textile Industry and know that the raw materials they provide have always been stable and there has been no cutting corners.

The reason I came to Shenzhen this time is to check out the raw materials for their new products, and then we'll discuss the price.

This is why General Manager Zhao asked her to bring Dazhuang, who had never been involved in raw material procurement before.

This time, General Manager Zhao instructed Dazhuang to be in charge of negotiating prices, while she was responsible for overseeing the samples.

After agreeing on the price, she would take the samples back to General Manager Zhao for the final decision.

While it's called making a decision, it's really just a final check to avoid any oversights.

"I have no problem with the raw materials."

After reviewing the raw materials, Secretary Wu looked at me and said...

"Mm." I nodded.

Before I left, Mr. Zhao asked me to discuss the price, which I really didn't understand.

He took the document from Secretary Wu and looked at it. The document listed the raw materials, the corresponding samples, and the corresponding supply prices.

I fell into deep thought.

The mainstream short plush fabric has a supply price of 13 yuan per meter.

The plush toy is 18 yuan.

The price agreed upon verbally with General Manager Zhao was a bit high.

"Mr. Liu, I have some objections to this price."

"Oh?" Mr. Liu nodded and stood up. "It's not appropriate to discuss the price in the lobby. How about we go to my room? I've already booked a room."

Mr. Liu shook the room key in his right hand.

"Okay." I picked up the documents and followed Mr. Liu.

"Secretary Wu." After entering the elevator, President Liu suddenly turned around and smiled at Secretary Wu.

"What's wrong, Mr. Liu?" Secretary Wu asked Mr. Liu with a smile.

"When we discuss the price this time, will it be the two of you working together, or will Dazhuang and I be the ones negotiating?"

"Dazhuang talked to you, Mr. Liu."

"Oh? Then Dazhuang can come with me alone. You go ahead and do your work."

"Huh?" Secretary Wu was taken aback upon hearing this.

She never expected to be left out by President Liu.

Besides, is it convenient for a man and a woman to go into a room without me accompanying them?

Putting aside the taboo of a man and a woman alone together, let's say it's just the two of them discussing the price alone. What if Dazhuang secretly takes a kickback without her even knowing?

She wasn't worried about Dazhuang taking kickbacks from the company and causing losses. Her main concern was that if Dazhuang really wanted to take kickbacks, she wanted a share too.

If they can't run away with a large sum of money, surely they can at least eat some small fish and shrimp?

She looked at President Liu with a hint of hesitation, wanting to try and persuade him, but seeing his serious face, she could only remain indifferent in the elevator.

The elevator doors opened, and we arrived at the sixth floor.

Mr. Liu stepped out of the elevator first, and I followed closely behind.

Secretary Wu stood in the elevator, quietly watching us leave. She gritted her teeth, pressed the button for the fifth floor, and went back to her room.

I was quite puzzled when Mr. Liu asked me to go to his room to talk alone.

It's not that I feel uncomfortable being alone with a man and a woman in a room, it's just that I'm by myself and I don't know how to negotiate prices. It would be even better if Secretary Wu were here to assist me.

Mr. Liu booked a deluxe king room, which was priced at 1888 yuan by the hotel. The room was quite large.

Upon entering, you'll find a living room with a large sofa.

There is also a color television.

There is a desk next to it, which can be used for working.

The bedroom is next to the TV, separated from the living room by a door.

After she closed the door, put down her luggage, walked to the desk, and waved to me:

"Dazhuang, come, sit down."

"Mm." I nodded.

When I came in, I looked at the layout of the room and felt that it was quite suitable for the two of us to talk here.

First, there are no unauthorized personnel present, so trade secrets will not be leaked. Second, the living room is large, like a company meeting room, suitable for negotiations and office work.

After Mr. Liu asked me to sit down, he looked at me with a smile:

"Dazhuang, what happened to the price you mentioned earlier?"

Looking at the prices, I remembered that before I left, Mr. Zhao had given me a form that said the price for short plush toys should be negotiated down to below 11 yuan, and the price for long plush toys should be negotiated down to below 16 yuan.

With the mindset of haggling at the market and underestimating the price, I said:

"Mr. Liu, it's like this: the short-pile plush will cost 9 yuan, and the long-pile plush will cost 14 yuan."

"Nine yuan?" Mr. Liu stared at me with wide eyes. This is a brand new product with new fabric.

"I know, Mr. Liu. The old fabric was 8.3 yuan, and this new fabric is 9 yuan, which isn't expensive."

"It can't be done for 9 yuan." Mr. Liu shook his head, then added, "Besides, this is imported."

We chatted for a while longer, but we still couldn't agree on a price.

Mr. Liu suddenly waved to me:

"Come on, Dazhuang, sit next to me."

Her behavior puzzled me. But I didn't dare to disrespect her, so I quickly sat down in the chair next to her.

Mr. Liu lowered his head and whispered something to me:

"Dazhuang, how about this, we'll settle on 11 yuan for the short-pile plush, and then I'll give you a 2 mao refund, okay?"

Seeing that I was about to refuse, she quickly said:

"Don't underestimate the 2-cent price difference; it's just for one meter. Do you know how much Dingsheng buys in a month?"

"How many?"

"Last month, Dingsheng purchased 112,000 meters from our company."

"112,000 meters? That many?"

I was startled.

110,000 meters! That's 110 kilometers if you put it all together. That's farther than the distance from Dongguan to Shenzhen, which is only 70 or 80 kilometers.

My goodness, is Dingsheng's purchasing volume really that large?

"Yes, if they give you 20 cents back for every meter, that's 56,000 a month."

"If it's a long-pile plush toy, and we break it down to 18 yuan, I'll give you a 20-cent rebate. That can make over 40,000 yuan a month."

Good heavens! I was so shocked by her words that my eyes widened, and I stared at her in astonishment.

One hundred thousand yuan a month is more than the entire village earns in a year.

Seeing my surprised expression, Mr. Liu was very pleased, certain that I would agree. He smiled and said, "The monthly commission will be at least 100,000 yuan, as long as you agree to the price I'm offering."

She looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer "ok".