KC | Chapter 83

“What books does Xiao Chen usually read?” Wang Yaohua’s voice was gentle yet firm, a faint smile hanging at the corners of his lips, his body leaning slightly forward in a posture of listening.

This fat guy looked gentle on the surface, but in fact his thinking was jumpy and he was good at playing the pig to eat the tiger, setting pits for people and making the naive Xu Dongxu loyal to him. Brother Lin had said he liked to listen to opinions, that was absolutely a misjudgment. Looking at it this way, the Brother Lin from ten years ago only looked at the surface and not the inside, and was not even as good as me.

“I’ve been reading “Positioning” and “Underlying Logic” recently,” Chen Xi said. He couldn’t figure out what medicine he was selling in his gourd, so he could only go along with it.

“Oh, at my age my brain turns slow, I don’t read many practical books. I recently read a book called “Enlightenment,” and I felt it quite fit our meeting.” Wang Yaohua poured boiling water to warm the teapot. His round, full face was behind the steam, and his facial outline became hazy and drifting, impossible to tell what was real and what wasn’t. “The so-called everything has its Dao, ‘the Dao follows nature’ is the common principle of the world, the highest goodness is like water, able to take any shape, and be broad-minded toward people while bearing great responsibility.”

Wang Yaohua’s way of speaking was very much like Brother Lin’s. He always gave people the illusion of being close and comfortable, and one slip could get you led into the maze. Maybe older men all shared this quality of wearing a skin, and who knew whether this fat guy would be a dog or a person after taking off his skin.

Chen Xi did not understand all that life philosophy and classical gibberish, but he also could not just leave the client hanging. He could only use his existing understanding and, bracing himself, recite a few familiar lines, wanting to muddle through: “The Dao that can be spoken of is not the constant Dao; the name that can be named is not the constant name. My cultivation is still shallow, I will learn more from President Wang in the future.”

“Haha!” Wang Yaohua divided the cups and served tea. Chen Xi took it with both hands, his posture humble.

“Many people found me through different channels. Most of those who called me never got a chance to meet me; most of those I met, I did not feel an affinity with; and the few who slightly matched my taste, I did not like what they said. In all these years, you are the only one who both fits my eye and knows what I want. I feel our magnetic fields must really match.”

Chen Xi took a sip of tea, nodded slightly, and endured the nausea with all his might. He tried hard not to let his gaze drift, his tone firm and ringing with certainty: “For me to get to know President Wang is fate.”

A salesperson who could dare to call you out of the blue was mostly someone with water in his head. After being rejected, there was no room left to turn things around. It was better to find someone to bridge the gap and come meet in person directly. The reason our first meeting could fit his eye was because the slogan I planned suited his taste. This time, being able to know what he wanted was all thanks to Xu Dongxu. You first “discussed the Dao” with me, and now you described our meeting as if it were “fate”. Isn’t it just that you wanted to cooperate with Lanhai and deliberately found yourself a way down the steps?

But what you said wasn’t without reason. There had been so many people who found you through connections before, but their proposals were not up to par, so the key factor that could pry open our cooperation was the proposal. It was the proposal I revised no fewer than four times, combining Xu Dongxu’s relay of your needs.

Since you cared about “cultivation” and “magnetic fields,” then I would max out the sense of destiny and go along with you.

The two of them talked from the Dao and Buddhist scriptures to the micro and the macro, from nuclear fusion to nuclear fission, dragging it out for more than ten minutes, not a single word on the point.

Xu Dongxu listened quietly to their chat, pouring tea and water without saying a word, his face calm, but the muscles in his cheeks were twitching uncontrollably.

“Young people nowadays, those without money who can touch upper-class society are mostly short-sighted, and those with money and connections are mostly ambitious beyond their reach. There aren’t many like you who can assess the situation and have both courage and strategy.” Wang Yaohua might have been afraid of being strangled, so the frog buttons on his Tang suit were not fastened all the way to the top. Earlier, when he wore that smiling but not-smiling expression, he looked like a dignified Maitreya Buddha. At this moment, laughing out loud made several layers of chin appear, and he had no choice but to open another frog button.

“How much does Lanhai give you a month? Want to consider coming to Gulin? Brother Wang definitely wouldn’t shortchange you.”

Chen Xi kept a smile on his face, but talking to a business owner worth hundreds of millions still made him tremble a little, and he had already worked up a palm full of sweat. To steady his aura, Chen Xi deliberately slowed his speech, showing the calm and unhurried air that matched the “octopus” persona.

This fat guy had been acting nice from the start until now, but he kept not mentioning the details of cooperation, only talking about life and ethics. And now he brought up poaching me, what was that about?

Whatever it was about, the essence of closing a deal was, going along with the client. Whatever Wang Yaohua said, I would just follow the grease and that would be right.

“Brother Wang, my negotiation skills are limited. I only happened to know a few people, so Brother Wang definitely isn’t poaching me because of my professionalism or connections. Could it be that you’ve taken a liking to me as a person, haha!”

As soon as those words were thrown out, not only Wang Yaohua, even Xu Dongxu, who had been acting as a tea attendant all along, froze.

“Only know a few people,” and all of them were people related to Gulin. Who would believe he had no connections? “Negotiation skills are limited,” slick tongue and the ability to use a feather to move a thousand catties, who would believe he didn’t know how to negotiate?

Wang Yaohua laughed and said, “As for me, I’m used to being casual on ordinary days, and I also interact with many friends. Some people are easy to talk to, and as we chat, business comes out of it; some people aren’t easy to talk to, and maybe there won’t be any business. You have strategy without lacking sincerity, and you also know a lot about the renovation industry. I really like chatting with you.”

With a kindly face and deep brown pupils carrying warmth, Wang Yaohua finally settled it after circling around for ages: “Old Li from the construction company has been my friend for more than 20 years. I trust people recommended by friends, and on top of that, our magnetic fields match. I really have taken a liking to you as a person, so, Gulin chose Lanhai.”

Because I have taken a liking to you as a person, Gulin chose Lanhai.

Because I trust you, I am willing to cooperate again.

Because of you, I am cooperating.

Wang Yaohua’s pace of speech was neither fast nor slow, like a trickle of water, moistening the barren land in Chen Xi’s heart that had suffered so much.

The road of sales was not easy. Thorns and bumps filled the winding path. Chen Xi had stepped through mud, one foot after another, leaving clear traces along the way. When he was trapped in confinement, when he was covered in filth, when he was pricked by thorns, he had been lost, shaken, and confused. He had complained that fate was unfair, but driven by money, he kept moving forward. At this moment, he was incomparably grateful that because he had no money, he had no choice but to walk this rugged road to the end.

When Heaven is about to place a great burden on a man, it must first strain his mind, toil his sinews and bones. Chen Xi had kept moving forward, never looking back. At this moment, the client’s recognition was like starlight in the dark night, illuminating all the roads. Looking back suddenly, the dirty footprints along the way had turned into the foundation stone that laid the path to success. The suffering he had once endured had bloomed into brilliant flowers in a field of desolation. Effort would eventually be rewarded, and every step was worth it.

When large private enterprises or state-owned enterprises, listed company bosses chose suppliers, they would not ask in detail about the cooperation process, because the people who could stand before him were mostly ones who had already interfaced with departments like quality control, marketing, and planning. Responsibilities were clear, each side taking responsibility for its own part. If there was a problem, it was enough to hold the corresponding person accountable. So when the boss participated in the decision-making, what he considered was the contractor on the other side.

The boss of a key client would only evaluate whether the person standing before him was trustworthy and whether he could fulfill his promise.

Wang Yaohua believed that Chen Xi could fulfill his promise.

His excitement overflowing from his face, Chen Xi held back tears and stood up solemnly to say: “Thank you, Gulin, for your trust. I will definitely do my utmost to do my best and absolutely live up to your expectations.”

Wang Yaohua shook hands with him and laughed, “For proposal revisions and the cooperation process, you and Xiao Xu can coordinate. We cooperate for mutual win.”

Seeing that the conversation was about done, Xu Dongxu spoke for the second time in this negotiation: “Um, Brother Wang still has other arrangements later, how about we stop here for today?”

Chen Xi read the room and went along with the slope, saying respectfully, “Brother Wang, you go ahead and handle your business first. I’ll come drink tea again another day.”

Repeated practice had proven that the secret to signing was turning “President XX” into “Brother XX”, the more brothers, the more deals. Calling him Brother Wang every sentence came more smoothly, and sounded much better than President Wang.

Wang Yaohua nodded. Xu Dongxu saw Chen Xi out to the door, and the two of them stayed silent all the way.

After stepping out of Gulin’s main entrance, Xu Dongxu used the suit to block the view and secretly gave a thumbs-up, saying softly, “I’ve worked with Brother Wang for more than ten years, and I’ve never seen him eat his words and come back to old grass. Brother, you’re really something, it really has to be that you have connections.”

Chen Xi’s back was already soaked through with sweat. In order not to let Xu Dongxu notice anything, he continued to keep his face calm and said slowly, “Many thanks to Brother Xu for your great help, next time we’ll change places and have a few good drinks.”

When talking about kickbacks, the words had to be measured. At this time, Chen Xi did not mention going through the cooperation process, nor did he mention revising the proposal, only mentioning eating. What to talk about while eating was self-evident.

Although Xu Dongxu addressed him as brother, he was after all the client, and this string still had to be kept taut, he could not relax his guard.

“Workdays are tight during office hours, if it’s convenient for you, shall we find a place to sit tomorrow afternoon?” Xu Dongxu had been the marketing manager for more than ten years, and even if he was dull, he could still understand this.

He moved a little closer to Chen Xi, but because they were at the entrance he did not dare get too close, hypocritical and pretentious, trying to hide it under a false cover.

“Let’s find someplace with fewer people, that restaurant last time was full of smoke and chaos.” Places with too many people were not suitable for kickbacks.

“Last time it really was rushed. This time, brother, rest assured, we’ll definitely eat well and drink well.” I thought you were a different kind of person from Sun Xingshun, but it seems Brother Lin was right, all crows under heaven are basically the same black, I shouldn’t have thought so highly of you.

The two of them smiled at each other, tacitly understanding.

Chen Xi watched Xu Dongxu pull open Gulin’s main door, go inside, and close the door. Only then did the tightly strung heart finally let go.

He slowly walked toward the noisy street. In the first few steps he was steady, then his steps gradually became drifting, faster, faster, and faster, until they reached a critical point, like an athlete competing in race walking, but afraid of being too unusual, he did not dare to start running.

The sun had already shifted west. Chen Xi had almost not eaten anything all day, and he did not feel tired at all, only that his lips were dry and peeling from dehydration. He bought a bottle of Nutrition Express at the entrance of a supermarket and downed more than half of it in one gulp. The intake of sugar made his brain happy, and the tightly drawn nerves suddenly relaxed. Pleasure and joy gnawed at his nerves, and in an instant the world turned upside down.

The soft feel under the leather shoes, the ground as soft as a lump of cotton, felt so drifting and unreal when stepped on. The wide road became narrow, the colorful shops by the roadside focused into his pupils, and the deep blue sky was dyed by brilliant colors. The world was like a huge kaleidoscope, and every step he rolled forward was a different shape.

So this was what the world looked like after signing a key client.

A route that used to take 10 minutes now took less than 5. A person who lacked exercise and suddenly walked too fast got a bit of side stitch. Chen Xi stood at the subway entrance and breathed heavily. He wanted to light a cigarette, wiped his sweat-soaked hand on his suit pants, took out the cigarette case, put one between his lips, and when he lit it, his hand could not stop trembling.

One puff, two puffs, then a deep inhale. His brain seemed to rust over, his spirit collapsed, like smoking marijuana, drifting, ascending to immortality, rising to the sky, floating among the clouds.

The huge joy that came with the signed contract was screaming wildly in his heart. Chen Xi could not wait to find an outlet to vent it.

He wanted to throw away the fake goods and buy a real bag, wanted to take a few days off to travel and relax, wanted to cling to Lin Yiran and do it all night…

He wanted Lin Yiran.

Chen Xi pinched out the cigarette that had been smoked halfway, threw it into the trash can, squatted by the bin, and dialed Lin Yiran’s number.

“Brother Lin, come home earlier today.”

Lin Yiran froze.

What Chen Xi said was not “are you coming home today,” nor “can I go to your place,” but “come home earlier.”

It was not a question, nor a statement, but an imperative sentence expressing an order.

Chen Xi was rarely this strong. There was only one reason for the sudden change in personality.

Lin Yiran instantly understood this emotion, and laughed. “Gulin signed, right?”

“Well done.”

“Go home and wait for me.”