As soon as the contracts with the four chain supermarkets were signed and sealed, Liu Chen sent a message to Chen Hu, informing him that the batch of goods could start shipping.
With the suspension of express delivery services, Liu Chen's online store had no sales. The goods produced daily were directly allocated to the waiting supermarkets before they were even put into storage.
Fortunately, the previous inventory was still intact. The goods shipped today would deplete even that.
The warehouse, which had initially stored twenty thousand items, was now empty, leaving only tire tracks on the floor. Yu Bing stood in the vast, high-ceilinged space, looking up at the ceiling that seemed impossibly tall.
"My goodness, the boss really sealed the deal."
After saying this, Yu Bing looked at the empty warehouse and frowned slightly.
"It's good that it's sealed, but our inventory and production capacity can't support it..."
-
After signing the contracts, Shen Hong arranged for the four general managers to be taken home. The remaining three sat in a private room.
"Boss, you really hit them hard just now. We're big, cough cough, what clause did Liu Chen change that you won't let me see?"
As Shen Hong spoke, he leaned forward curiously towards Liu Chen. Liu Chen then handed him one of the contracts.
Shen Hong didn't meticulously read it like Liu Chen. He immediately flipped to the modified sections and his face darkened.
"These guys! They're practically trampling on my face!"
Liu Chen was about to try and placate him, mentioning that he had also set some traps for them, but Ren Yu stopped him.
"Helping out this time wasn't just Shen Hong's idea, it was also from Elder Shen. If they dare to set traps like this, it's not just because they look down on him, but they also look down on the Shen family. If Shen Hong doesn't react, others will think the Shen family is weak and can be bullied by anyone."
Ren Yu rarely spoke so much. After hearing her, Liu Chen no longer tried to stop Shen Hong.
So, the next day, after the four general managers woke up from their hangovers, they filed the signed contracts at their companies and were subsequently fired.
Meanwhile, the leaders who had instigated them were nowhere to be found.
As Cai Fu emerged from the company with his belongings, he couldn't help but complain, "This President Liu is truly a smiling tiger. Discovering she's been cheated, she immediately complains. Doesn't she understand you should always leave a way out for others?"
People like Cai Fu would never dare to blame the third generation who were truly responsible for him losing his job.
The Liu Chen being criticized was just waking up. She was leisurely having lunch with Ren Yu in the hotel's Chinese restaurant. Shen Hong had a last-minute engagement and couldn't make it.
It became a lunch for the two of them alone.
A waiter led them to a small square table by the floor-to-ceiling window of the restaurant. A vibrant red rose was placed on the table, and the waiter handed them the menu.
Liu Chen opened the first page. The words "Couple's Set Meal" in large print indicated the restaurant's commitment to making this a popular choice, essentially offering it at 60% of the à la carte price.
"Madam, our couple's set meal is very popular. All the items included are signature dishes from our restaurant."
Liu Chen nodded while holding the menu, then secretly glanced at Ren Yu, who was sitting opposite her. As soon as she looked up, she saw Ren Yu smiling at her.
What's so funny? Does she think I'd be embarrassed to order it? What a joke!
"Ahem, then we'll have this set meal," Liu Chen said, closing the menu.
The waiter took the menu from Liu Chen and ticked the couple's set meal with a ballpoint pen.
"Certainly, one couple's set meal. The meal will take approximately twenty minutes to prepare. Would you like to have dessert first?"
Liu Chen felt a little awkward hearing the words "couple's set meal" from the waiter. This was the first time in both her lives that she had ordered a couple's meal.
But she also knew the waiter was just doing his job by confirming the order. She simply nodded, "Okay, thank you."
After speaking, she looked up at Ren Yu, who was sitting opposite her at the square table. Liu Chen couldn't help but explain, "Money doesn't grow on trees, so we'll just make do with the set meal."
Ren Yu looked at Liu Chen with her eyes, a smile in them, and nodded slightly. "Mhm, I understand."
You understand? If you understand, why are you smiling so flirtatiously?
Her heart racing because of Ren Yu's smile, Liu Chen turned her head to look out the window. Initially, Liu Chen admired the pedestrians outside. It was nearing the New Year, and everyone was dressed festively. Even walking on the cold streets couldn't hide their fervent anticipation for the new year.
Gradually, the first snowflake began to fall. The pedestrians, wearing woolen hats, didn't notice at first. When the snowflakes landed on their cheeks, they finally looked up at the sky.
Liu Chen expected them to dislike the snow, as beautiful as it might be, it would dampen their clothes and make them feel cold.
However, contrary to Liu Chen's expectations, the pedestrians who noticed the falling snow all showed joyful smiles. They even took out their phones to capture the moment the snow began to fall.
Ren Yu, following Liu Chen's gaze out the window, saw this scene and recalled Beijing's first snow the winter before last. It was that night that she truly clarified her feelings. It had been over a year in the blink of an eye.
Seeing a hint of loneliness on Liu Chen's face, Ren Yu interrupted her, pulling her out of her reverie. "Chen Chen, after dinner, let's go to the nearby supermarket for a browse. I still haven't bought a New Year's gift for Grandma this year."
Liu Chen was pulled out of her thoughts by Ren Yu's voice. Hearing this, she nodded. "That's good. I also want to check the shelves to see if my goods have been displayed. After all, my contract clearly states that the rental period starts today. One thousand yuan a day for a monthly rent of thirty thousand. If they're not displayed, I'll have them extend the lease."
As they had just finalized their plans, the couple's set meal was served. The waiter hadn't lied; the portion size was generous and included a bottle of red wine. Considering they would be driving later, Liu Chen didn't open the wine, asking the waiter to pack it to go when they finished.
They drove to a mall on the East Third Ring Road, where one of the chain supermarkets Liu Chen had signed with was located on the B1 floor. Liu Chen and Ren Yu drove directly to the underground parking lot and took the elevator to the first floor. Liu Chen planned to accompany Ren Yu to buy her grandmother's New Year gift first, then take the escalator down to browse before heading back down to retrieve their car.
Liu Chen took the elevator from the B1 floor to the first floor. Hu Qian was waiting at the elevator entrance on the first floor. She had just finished lunch at the employee canteen and was now going down to the staff changing room to put on her mascot costume.