“Boss, you can send the experienced staff in my team to work at the branch first. I will train the new staff. Once they have completed the training and meet the requirements, they can be sent out.” Liu Daxi noticed the look of interest in Xu An’s eyes and quickly added a weight to Xu An’s decision.
"Hmm," Xu An remained silent for a long time before finally agreeing, but he didn't reject the suggestion either: "The branch store will take some time, at least a week, at most a month or two. There's no rush, I'll think about it carefully."
Liu Daxi wasn't surprised by Xu An's hesitation. Since he hadn't given up outright, there was still a chance. He couldn't rush it!
While pondering Liu Daxi's sudden suggestion, Xu An walked upstairs to his office. When he reached a desk, he suddenly stopped, stared at Wang Fulong, exaggeratedly rubbed his eyes, and then jokingly said in feigned surprise, "Manager Wang, what are you doing at your desk? I thought I was seeing things!"
Since Wang Fulong joined Xu's Catering and took on the job of bidding to attract business, he has been elusive, always on the go, either submitting documents to relevant departments or attending bidding meetings for companies that have submitted bids. It's considered a lot if you see him in the office twice a week.
Xu An had never seen a scene like this, sitting in the office at around 10 a.m. this morning.
"Hey, stop talking!" Wang Fulong waved his hand weakly and said with a wry smile, "There was supposed to be a bidding meeting this morning, but when I woke up I got a message that it was canceled!"
"Oh, why was it canceled?"
"Officially, the plan has changed, there have been major personnel adjustments in the company, and it's difficult to determine the number of people to order. We'll have to wait until after the Chinese New Year, once the company has finished its restructuring, before we can relaunch the bidding process."
"That's the stated reason, but what about the underlying reason?"
"The real reason is...!" Wang Fulong said dejectedly, pursing his lips. "Someone cut off the bidding!"
"Bidding deadline?"
"right!"
"Someone used connections to win the bid from the client. Since it had already reached the bidding stage, it would be too conspicuous if another person joined and still won the bid. So, they simply found a reason to cancel the bidding and handed the bid to the other party privately. That's how the bidding process ended."
"Oh, I see." Xu An nodded in understanding, then exclaimed, "This bid belongs to a large company with thousands of employees. It seems that the person who won the bid is someone of great importance!"
"It's definitely a big deal. Fengshou Farm, a subsidiary of Qiansheng Group, won this bid. Don't think I won't find out just because you did it discreetly."
"You're saying the company that acquired this bid is Harvest Farm?"
"Yes, I just asked around, and it's this company. I heard they've also got their eyes on the group catering market and plan to join in," Wang Fulong said worriedly. "Fengshou Farm is really planning to enter this field. The group catering market in Haishi won't be easy in the future."
From hearing the news to learning that Harvest Farm had actually entered the group catering industry, it only took four days. Their execution capability is truly astonishing!
However, for every coin, there's a countermeasure; Xu's Fast Food has already taken the lead and established a firm foothold in Shanghai.
Although expansion will be more difficult after Harvest Farm joins, there are more cities in this world than just Sea City, and it's time to explore cities outside of Sea City as well.
"Manager Wang, starting today," Xu An said seriously, "when you're looking for business, you no longer need to limit yourself to Hai City. All cities in the entire Haiyang Province can be considered!"
Cough cough—cough cough—
Wang Fulong was taken aback by Xu An's words, coughing more than ten times before finally recovering. He asked incredulously, "Boss, did I hear that right? The entire Haiyang Province?"
"right!"
"Boss, I'm in charge of Xu's Fast Food's boxed meal business, not Xu's Braised Food," Wang Fulong reminded cautiously.
"Yes, what I meant was that Xu's Fast Food business no longer needs to be limited to Hai City, but can be done throughout Haiyang Province."
"But isn't transporting our boxed meals outside the city a bit too much of a project?"
"Why transport the boxed meals from Haishi? Can't I just open a Xu's Fast Food restaurant there?" Xu An asked, somewhat puzzled. He really couldn't keep up with Wang Fulong's thought process!
"Oh!" Wang Fulong finally recovered from his shock: "Boss, you're planning to open branches in other cities? That's a great idea! Boss, which cities are you particularly interested in? I'll prioritize getting business from those cities!"
"There are 21 prefecture-level cities. Whichever city you bring in business, that's where you'll open a branch," Xu An said generously.
Three million is the amount the bank can lend to Xu An, but if Hannan Financing Guarantee Company is used as an intermediary, let alone three million, even thirty million is not impossible!
How much money could a mere branch store, a few pieces of equipment, and a few employees possibly cost?
With Wang Fulong staring in disbelief, Xu An, having successfully shown off, returned to his office in high spirits. He then took out his phone, found the phone number of the Hannan Financing Guarantee Company employee he had previously added, and dialed it.
Beep beep—beep beep beep—
The sudden ringing of the phone interrupted the man's thoughts. Just as he reached out to press the answer button, he saw the note next to the contact's name and his movement suddenly stopped.
I remember now, isn't that the owner of that fast food restaurant? He said he wanted to take out a loan, but after he had all his documents ready, he suddenly said "I'll think about it" and then never heard from him again.
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