"So you're the owner of Xu's Fast Food Restaurant! I've heard so much about you, but meeting you today, I'm amazed to see you're such a talented young man!" The middle-aged man sitting next to Xu An smiled warmly and extended his right hand to Xu An.
Xu An glanced at the triangular sign in front of the middle-aged man out of the corner of his eye. This middle-aged man was the person in charge sent by the Black Swan Hotel.
"Hello, I just happened to be here to take a look. Today is a big stage for your well-known hotels." Xu An grasped the man's right hand, leaned forward slightly, and said with unusual humility.
Apart from the manager of Jinxiu Hotel, the other hotel managers present had all learned about Xu's Fast Food Restaurant through the documentary "Visiting Fast Food Restaurants" on the local Shanghai TV station. Therefore, they did not find Xu An's self-deprecation inappropriate.
It's just a fast food restaurant, nothing more than that. Being able to participate in the bidding is already his greatest fortune, and this will be his bragging rights in the future.
With Xu An showing weakness, the tense nerves of the other managers, except for the manager of the Black Swan Hotel, relaxed, and their eyes became more friendly as they looked at Xu An, no longer so aggressive.
During the conversation, the meeting room door was pushed open again, and two more people entered from outside. One of them gave Xu An a sense of familiarity.
After a brief recollection, I finally remembered seeing this person at the entrance of the Bauhinia Garden construction site.
I just don't know if he works at the Jinxiu Hotel or the Xiuli Hotel.
He greeted everyone, including Xu An, with familiarity, then walked straight to the chair in front of the triangular sign for "Jinxiu Hotel" on the table, pulled it out, and sat down.
Oh, it's the Jinxiu Hotel!
With the arrival of the two, all six participants in the bidding were now present, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became tense. Everyone quieted down, staring at the titles of the documents in their hands without saying a word.
This situation continued until 9:55, when the conference room door was pushed open again, and a young man entered first, holding the door open.
An elderly man with a slightly hunched back slowly walked into the conference room, smiled and nodded at the six people present, and sat down on the left side of the main seat at the conference table.
The old man was clearly weathered by time, giving off a reserved and profound air. His face was lined with deep wrinkles, and his eyes were deep and sharp, like those of a wise man who had experienced countless storms and understood everything.
The old man's arrival made everyone even more tense.
Walking behind the old man was a dignified middle-aged man in his forties, with a handsome face, downturned corners of his mouth, and a head of black hair neatly combed back.
After the elderly man took his seat, the middle-aged man stood in the main seat, scanning the room with his gaze, giving off an aura of authority without being angry.
"Today, we are all gathered here."
The middle-aged man began his opening remarks for the bidding process with a firm yet slow demeanor.
At the beginning, Xu An was a little excited because this was the first time in his two lives that he had attended such a formal meeting.
But as the opening remarks went on and on, Xu An began to feel his eyelids getting heavy.
He stood up straight, seemingly listening intently, but his hands were under the table, pinching the tender flesh on the inside of his thighs hard to create pain and keep himself awake.
"Alright, next up is the first hotel to participate in the bidding – Xiuli Hotel."
With those words, the long opening finally came to an end, and the six people in charge of the bidding were instantly refreshed and sobered up.
The manager of the Xiuli Hotel picked up a thick stack of documents, distributed a copy to the members of the expo preparation team, and then walked to the front of the conference table, picked up the microphone, and began his speech.
Xu An took out his notebook and took notes on the key points of the conversation between the person in charge of Xiuli Hotel, such as the dishes, the way they were served and when, and the prices.
After one hotel manager after another finished giving their speeches, it was soon time for the manager of Jinxiu Hotel to speak.
The presentation prepared by Jinxiu Hotel was as exquisite as that of other hotels, but as it played, it became more and more sloppy towards the end, especially the last few pages which presented the content required by the expo. It was really just data slapped on, giving it a somewhat anticlimactic feel.
The old man showed his first change of expression since entering the meeting. He turned his body slightly to the side, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the person in charge of the Jinxiu Hotel for two or three seconds before looking away.
Xu An was completely focused on the documents he had brought with him, quickly organizing the words for his speech, and did not notice the old man's change in expression.
After the person in charge of Jinxiu Hotel finished speaking, the next person in charge of Black Swan Hotel was to speak.
He must have experienced many such situations before; he appeared calm and composed, completely at ease, standing at the very front of the conference table.
He first politely greeted everyone in the conference room, then opened the presentation file, held the microphone to his mouth with his right hand, and began his speech.
The first part is similar to other hotels, introducing the hotel's advantages and the services it can provide.
The description included aspects that made it better than other hotels, as well as aspects that made it worse than other hotels; everything was perfectly normal.
But when the Black Swan Hotel manager announced the final bid, the entire room erupted in uproar.
The boxed meals provided by the Black Swan Hotel are 8 yuan for three dishes and one soup!
Previously, the lowest meal price was 8 yuan for two dishes and a soup offered by Jinxiu Hotel. Black Swan Hotel not only has the same price as Jinxiu Hotel, but also offers an extra dish!
Is this a case of losing money to gain publicity?
The old man paused for a moment with his pen, then wrote "Black Swan - 8 yuan for three dishes and one soup" in his notebook, circled it, and wrote a big question mark outside the circle.
This meal plan is quite interesting!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com