Chapter 188 - 171: The Sky Has Already Changed

Chapter 188: Chapter 171: The Sky Has Already Changed

After finally signing all the documents, Zhou Yaodong left the room with the files. Xu An flexed his right hand, stiff from writing his name over and over, and stood up to survey the VIP room.

The room was simply furnished, one might even say spartan. White walls, gray floor tiles, a sofa and coffee table, a painting on the wall, and a freezer in the corner—that was the extent of it. The main advantages over the lobby were the lack of a queue and the privacy, which ensured no one could overhear your business.

As Xu An glanced around, a figure suddenly appeared beside the glass wall of his VIP room. The man was facing the glass, talking on his phone with an obsequious smile plastered on his face. It was an acquaintance of the Xu Family—Ren Peng, the owner of Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, a chain with fifteen locations in Hai City.

’The man is facing right at me but isn’t reacting at all. Did he not recognize me, or can he not see me?’

Xu An walked up to where Ren Peng was standing, waved, and even made a face. Ren Peng, on the other side of the glass wall, didn’t react at all. Instead, the smile on his face slowly vanished as he seemed to get into an argument with the person on the phone.

’Looks like this is one-way glass. I can see out, but he can’t see in.’ As Ren Peng’s face grew redder and his gestures more animated, it was clear the dispute was escalating rather than being resolved. Xu An felt a burning curiosity; he had to know what could make the great Big Boss Ren this furious.

He tiptoed to the door, carefully turned the handle, and pulled it open just a crack. Ren Peng’s voice immediately filtered in. It was filled with rage, but he was clearly trying to keep it low since he was in a bank.

"...President Cao, I’ve already founded the company and secured the loan. Isn’t it a bit late to back out now? I never would have gotten things moving this fast if you hadn’t agreed to join. It’s not right to bail at the last second! This project has so much potential. You even said yourself that if we handled it right, we could make a killing..."

Some sound bled from Ren Peng’s phone, but from that distance, it was just unintelligible noise to Xu An. In stark contrast to Ren Peng’s furious outburst, however, the person on the other end of the call sounded remarkably calm.

Ren Peng, apparently tired of arguing, cut straight to the point. "President Cao, just give me a straight answer! Are you doing this project or not? You know I’ve founded the Hai City Delivery Association. If you don’t want in, I’ll do it with the association members! They might not have your deep pockets, but we can scrape together enough to fund the app’s initial launch!"

’An app? The members of the Hai City Delivery Association? What is Ren Peng plotting?’

Just as he was about to pull back, Xu An changed his mind. He kept his hand on the doorknob and continued to listen in on Ren Peng’s conversation.

Ren Peng’s tone softened slightly. "Oh, come on, President Cao. What business is without risk? Risk and opportunity always coexist. If this works, we’ll be riding the trend and taking off. How will we know if it’s a risk or an opportunity unless we try? President Cao, I told you about the ’Let’s Eat!’ app. We’re just copying their playbook. It’s a massive success in the Central Plains, and Hai City, which already has the delivery infrastructure, is a perfect market."

"’Yes, exactly. And you’ve looked into Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. They were the first ones to dip their toes in the water. But now they’re just resting on their laurels. We need to seize the initiative before they wake up and smell the coffee, or things will get much more difficult. Hai City isn’t big enough for two delivery platforms, wouldn’t you say?’"

"..."

Hearing this, Xu An pretty much figured out Ren Peng’s plan. A smile crept onto his face as he gently closed the door and returned to the sofa.

’The owner of Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant wants to build a delivery app? What a brave soul. If he’d started a year or two ago, or even at the end of last year, he might have stood a chance against apps like ’Let’s Eat!’. But now? ’Let’s Eat!’ is opening a branch in Hai City in just over four months. With Ren Peng’s clumsy copycat approach, in four months, ’Let’s Eat!’ will probably just waltz in and happily take over the platform this volunteer has so painstakingly built for them.’

’Still, if he actually pulls it off, he could probably sell it to ’Let’s Eat!’ for a nice profit. From that angle, I guess his plan isn’t entirely without merit.’

KNOCK KNOCK—

There was a knock on the door, and Zhou Yaodong entered with a fresh stack of documents. For Xu An, it was time for another round of "punishment by signature"...

「Brocade Hotel.」

Ever since the new logistics supervisor, Ren Jialun, had taken over, life had not been easy for Wang Fulong.

He had been with the Brocade Hotel for nearly a decade, working his way up from a waiter to the number two man in the back-of-house, right under the supervisor. When the last logistics supervisor resigned due to illness, Wang Fulong had been certain the position was his. It was only a matter of time. All the chefs and kitchen staff already called him Supervisor Wang out of respect. Besides, he’d secured several major contracts in a row. ’The margins were a little low, but it was still profit, wasn’t it?’

He’d planned on using the expo contract as leverage to officially apply for the promotion. But not only did he fail to land the contract, the supervisor position itself was snatched from under him, given to some young executive who’d been parachuted in.

Having knocked around the professional world for years, Wang Fulong quickly adjusted his mindset, resigning himself to his role as second-in-command. But the new supervisor seemed threatened by his long tenure at the hotel and his close relationships with the staff.

This was especially true during meetings. Whenever Ren Jialun gave an order, everyone would instinctively glance at Wang Fulong to gauge his reaction before they responded. This, of course, made him a thorn in the new supervisor’s side.

The first day, things were civil enough. On the second day, his procurement authority was revoked, stripping him of his purchasing duties. On the third day, everyone in the department, aside from the chefs and other essential staff, was transferred to new posts under the euphemism of "job rotation." On the fourth day, he was sent out of the office to "develop new business," with the flimsy excuse that such an important task could only be entrusted to him...

Wang Fulong drained his bottle of water and loosened his tie, which was starting to feel tight. He sat in the shade of a park tree, watching children play. A sudden thought occurred to him. ’This isn’t so bad, actually. Getting paid to slack off outside every day... what’s not to like?’

The only problems were the heat, and the ache in his chest.

He glanced at his watch. 4:37 PM. Just over an hour until he could clock out. The walk back from the park would take about twenty minutes. That left him with a full hour to stand in the air conditioning and cool down before heading home.

He crushed the empty plastic bottle and handed it to a sanitation worker, then began the trudge back toward the Brocade Hotel, his steps heavy.

Just before reaching the hotel, Wang Fulong pulled a tissue from his briefcase to wipe the sweat from his brow. He straightened the tie he’d loosened, brushed off his suit, and only then did he stroll in through the back entrance to the kitchen.

The kitchen staff was already busy prepping for the dinner rush. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were busy or for some other reason, but not a single person greeted him as he walked in.

He did a few laps around the kitchen and spotted several minor problems. Before, he would have pointed them out immediately. Today, however, he just stared at them for a few seconds before turning on his heel and leaving.

’This kitchen isn’t my problem anymore! Things are different now! I can’t be bothered with any of it!’

He managed to hold out until six o’clock. In the past, he would have stayed during the evening rush to help wherever he was needed. These last few days, however, he had learned to let things go. The moment it was time, he changed his clothes, clocked out, and left without a second’s delay.

After Wang Fulong left, the oppressive atmosphere in the kitchen lifted. The staff began to whisper amongst themselves, and smiles reappeared on their faces...