The second batch of lotus root products from Han's Group sold out immediately upon being put on the shelves; the sales speed was simply astonishing!
The workshop foreman scratched his head, puzzled: "Why are they selling so well? I've never seen Chinese people love lotus roots this much before!"
Zhang Jianguo said with a smile, "This is the bandwagon effect. After a while, people get tired of it and stop liking it. It's just that our country has so many delicious foods."
He looked at Chen Hai and Zhang Qi. These two had been team captains in other companies before, and now, due to their outstanding performance, they had been promoted to team captains again in the Han Group.
"You two take some people to Lake B and make a long-distance trip."
"Alright! We guys love long-distance driving!" Chen Hai grinned sheepishly, calculating in his mind that after finishing this long-distance trip, he would probably get an extra thousand yuan in overtime pay.
Zhang Qi laughed and said, "I have a few young men under me who are strong and have good stamina. Having them drive at night will ensure both speed and safety!"
"Okay, I'll leave this to you. Get the lotus roots to the factory as soon as possible."
"No problem, Mr. Zhang!"
A slight blush rose to Zhang Jianguo's face as he said somewhat awkwardly, "I still prefer you to call me Jianguo, or Xiao Zhang."
He never imagined that one day he would transform from a small steamed bun shop owner into the general manager of a group with thousands of employees. The thought made him feel ashamed, a sense of unworthiness, since his educational background wasn't even as high as that of the new employees hired this year.
Day and night, the drivers took turns driving the trucks to reach the supplier's delivery point in Lake B in the shortest possible time.
When they arrived, Zhang Qi, Chen Hai, and the truck drivers they brought were dumbfounded. The warehouse, which should have been full of lotus roots, was now completely empty!
"Brother Chen, what do we do now?" "Brother Zhang, did we go to the wrong place?" the truck drivers asked anxiously.
Zhang Qi checked the address and frowned: "The location is correct."
Chen Hai stamped his feet in frustration, his heart filled with anxiety: "I was the one who received the last shipment. I've been here before, this is the right place. What are they doing? It's clearly the agreed time, why is there no shipment!"
Zhang Qi frowned deeply, his heart filled with worry: "I'll call and ask Mr. Zhang. Old Chen, don't panic."
After receiving the call and learning about the situation, Zhang Jianguo quickly said, "Wait here, I'll call and verify."
"Hey, Wang Haozi, what's going on? Our men are all here, why is your warehouse empty? There's not a soul in sight!"
"Hey, Mr. Zhang, I've run into a bit of a problem."
What issues could affect shipping?
"Mr. Zhang, as you know, the premiere of 'Following Grandpa on a Culinary Journey' on Longshi TV was a huge hit, which has caused our lotus root harvesters to be very dissatisfied with their current wages. As the tide rises, everyone wants more money, and if they don't get more, they'll go on strike. I'm at my wit's end!" Wang Haozi's tone was urgent and distressed, sighing repeatedly, as if he was being tormented by this matter.
Zhang Jianguo frowned, sensing that he wasn't faking it, and asked, "How much more do they want to add?"
"They're asking for an exorbitant price, ten times the original amount."
"Ten times? That's a bit too much."
"That's right, we simply can't agree to that. If we were paid ten times the wages, we suppliers wouldn't make any money at all."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianguo had a vague idea that, besides the lotus root harvesters' strike, these suppliers probably also wanted to take this opportunity to raise prices.
"You know that the price that Mr. Han gave us was not high to begin with, because it was a five-year long-term contract. The price we gave Mr. Han was actually lower than what we gave others in previous years."
Zhang Jianguo's suspicions grew stronger, his gaze gradually turned cold, and he secretly plotted his next move.
His tone turned cold: "How long will it take you to resolve this matter? If you fail to deliver the goods by the agreed time, you will have to pay a penalty for breach of contract."
"Sigh, if we have to pay the penalty for breach of contract, we have no choice but to do so. We're helpless right now; the lotus root harvesters are on strike and not harvesting, so we have no goods to supply the Han Group."
Zhang Jianguo's expression was uncertain: "Okay, you guys transfer the breach of contract fee to the company account first. Hopefully, this matter can be resolved smoothly."
After hanging up the phone, he took a deep breath, ruffled his hair, and felt increasingly anxious.
He went to find Han Fei, but Han Fei had personally taken Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi to the Boy Scout training camp, and he bumped into Han Heng instead.
Han Heng asked in confusion, "Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"
Zhang Jianguo lowered his head in shame: "I'm so useless, I can't even handle such a small thing."
At this moment, Zhang Jianguo was covered in sweat and looked very anxious.
“I want to talk to the boss. There’s been a problem with the supplier, and I… I can’t handle it myself.”
After understanding the situation, Han Heng immediately discerned the trickery involved. He thought to himself, "The supplier probably wants to raise prices but is using the lotus root harvesters as a shield."
At the same time, he recalled asking Brother Han, "Brother, with such good sales, why don't you let them pre-order?"
Brother Han patiently explained, "There are countless eyes watching the Han Group right now, some with good intentions and some with bad intentions. If we do pre-sales, what if the suppliers cut off supplies?" Brother Han had anticipated this situation at the time.
"I think Brother Han already has a plan for this."
"The boss already has a plan?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianguo finally felt relieved.
In front of the training camp's iron gate, Xiaoqi clung tightly to Han Fei's leg, her little face full of grievance, and she mumbled with a sob in her voice, "Grandpa, Xiaoqi doesn't want to go! Xiaoqi wants to stay home and play with Grandpa!" She was filled with reluctance and didn't want to be separated from her grandfather.
"I don't have time to play with you, little brat. Hurry up and go inside," Han Fei said curtly, but a hint of reluctance lingered in his heart.
"Grandpa, you don't like me anymore!" Xiaoqi pouted, tears welling in her eyes, her face full of sorrow. She felt extremely sad, thinking that Grandpa wanted to send her away because he didn't like her.
Han Fei sighed, squatted down, scooped up the little girl, and hugged her tightly: "Can't you be a little more obedient?" He felt extremely helpless; this little girl was just too clingy.
"I'm very good, I'm the best child!" Xiaoqi pouted and held her head high.
Han Fei held her in one arm; the little girl was much lighter now, and it was easy to carry her with one hand. He gently pinched Xiao Qi's chubby cheeks with his other hand: "Grandpa has to clean up your mess, so I really can't play with you. You stay in the training camp for now; it's safer here."
Is it safer than home?
"Yes, it's safer than home." Han Fei prayed silently, hoping that Xiao Qi would be safe and sound in the training camp.
He used to think that having bodyguards with the children would ensure their safety. But after the experience with Han Rou's two bodyguards, he realized he couldn't trust bodyguards too much.
Before his Han's Perfume Company opened, it was safer for the little girl to stay in the training camp.
While absolute safety cannot be guaranteed, the safety factor is at least quite high.
"Grandpa, is it because of Xiaoqi's flowers...?"
She reached out her little hand and gently touched her bangs, her face full of confusion. Her little mind couldn't understand why her body odor was causing so much trouble.
"I guess so. Grandpa has to open a perfume company to produce perfumes that smell the same as you, to cover up the fact that you have a natural body odor." Han Fei felt a little helpless. He really didn't want Xiao Qi to get hurt in any way, so he could only try to protect her.
"Grandpa, is this a bad thing? But I feel like I smell nice, which is a good thing!" Xiaoqi still couldn't understand; she felt that smelling nice was a good thing.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing, but there are more bad people than good people in this world, so you can't be too careful."
Han Fei sighed inwardly, wishing that Xiao Qi could understand the complexities of this world.
"Grandpa, when will you come to pick me up again? When you do, will you take me, my brother, and my sister out to play and eat delicious food?" Xiaoqi's big eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Han Fei affectionately tapped the little girl's cheek: "Two weeks, I guess. We'll see how lucky your sister is. If she picks an interesting place, you two can have more fun."
"Grandpa, let's pinky swear! I'll count every day, and when I reach 14, you have to show up!"
"Okay, count them every day." Han Fei looked at Xiao Qi, his heart filled with affection.
Han Fei watched the little girl enter the training camp before turning back to his car. Though he felt reluctant, this was all he could do.
However, just as Han Fei's car drove away, the little girl hiding behind the iron gate ran out, with Xiao Liu anxiously chasing after her: "Little sister, don't run around!"
"I don't want to stay here!" Xiaoqi wrinkled her little nose and ran even faster, accidentally bumping into a tall foreigner.
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