When Chen Pingjiang brought Li Xi to Wangyue Lou, it was still early.
The proprietress, Lü Xingzhen, brightened up when she saw Chen Pingjiang, greeting him warmly:
"Little brother, you're here?"
Chen Pingjiang smiled, nodded, and asked,
"Did you contact the phone number I sent you yesterday?"
At the mention of this, Lü Xingzhen's face was full of joy:
"Yes, I did! I arranged a trial lesson last night and I'm very satisfied."
"Glad to hear you're satisfied."
"I really have to thank you this time. You don't know, normally my husband and I can't eat or sleep well because we're so worried about our child's math grades."
Lü Xingzhen had an exceptionally good impression of Chen Pingjiang.
Not only did he bring her business, but he also introduced a tutor to solve her problems, making her feel indebted and always thinking about how to repay him.
"It's just a small favor, don't mention it. Shall I go up first then?"
Chen Pingjiang led Li Xi into the private room.
The reason he brought Li Xi was, first, it would inevitably be a bit quiet with just him and Wan Qiping eating, and second, Li Xi was very capable but lacked social experience, which Chen Pingjiang wanted to help him develop.
Seeing Li Xi's chest rising and falling, and his stern expression, Chen Pingjiang asked with a smile,
"Relax, why are you so nervous?"
Li Xi gave a wry smile,
"Boss, I feel a lot of pressure."
Through their long working relationship, Li Xi had completely forgotten the fact that he was two years older than Chen Pingjiang, and inwardly regarded him as omnipotent.
"I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing and messing up the contract, and also afraid of saying nothing and being overlooked. I don't really understand some of the rules. My mind is blank now, I don't even know what I should do later."
Chen Pingjiang waved his hand indifferently and consoled him,
"It's an already negotiated contract, what's there to worry about? It's precisely because you haven't experienced it that I brought you here to gain experience."
"Let's not talk about the rules for now, let's first seriously and correctly approach business dinners. Salespeople are always on the go, and dinners are indispensable.
As a senior salesperson, you should have the ability to refuse dinners but also learn to accept them, and even find opportunities to organize more dinners. We live in a society built on human relationships, and dinners are the ties that bind circles, the main channel for people to interact.
Maintaining customer relations is a must for sales, but it's definitely not as important as our products and services. And don't expect to close a big deal with just one meal; approach it with a normal mindset. The more pressure you put on yourself, the worse it will be."
Li Xi nodded,
"What should I pay attention to later? Should I frequently propose toasts? I still can't drink baijiu."
He sounded a bit uneasy here.
"It's definitely not okay to say nothing. I'll take the lead, you assist, and respond a few times when others speak. Break down your old ideas and temperament, liven up the atmosphere. If you don't speak at a dinner, the client will think you're pretentious, and the boss will think you're not up to the task."
Pausing, Chen Pingjiang continued,
"It's best to only pick dishes in front of you and turn the table less. If the client is turning it, you should help. Serving tea and pouring water, I don't need to tell you about these, right? In short, figure out the role you need to play."
Li Xi was truly enlightened.
Many things he vaguely knew, but without experiencing them, he might not do them well.
Chen Pingjiang's words calmed him down a lot.
At the same time, he felt deeply how wise it was to have come to Renren.com for work earlier.
This period was his fastest time for learning and growth, acquiring many things that couldn't be learned in school.
"Oh, sorry, sorry for being late."
The two waited for a while, then Wan Qiping pushed open the door and quickly walked into the private room.
"I was supposed to come earlier, but I got caught by some people downstairs at the school gate and they lectured me for a long time."
Chen Pingjiang exchanged a few pleasantries and introduced Li Xi, then asked,
"Are they asking for a raise?"
Wan Qiping slapped his thigh and shook his head,
"Exactly."
Chen Pingjiang turned back, looked at Li Xi with a smile, and said,
"Don't you ever learn that in the future."
Li Xi also laughed, which helped him relax his tense mood.
Wan Qiping gave Chen Pingjiang a meaningful look, thinking this young man was like a monster.
A simple sentence had enlivened the atmosphere, eased the nervousness of his subordinate, and changed the subject, avoiding the awkward situation of prying into private matters.
With Chen Pingjiang at the table, it was impossible for the atmosphere to be dull.
Li Xi wanted to speak, but he didn't know how to interject, so he simply proposed a toast at the end.
Everyone chatted about everything except work, rambling about various topics.
For Chen Pingjiang, this meal was about maintaining relationships and expressing gratitude.
For Wan Qiping, this was Chen Pingjiang's post-deal expression, which seemed more sincere, rather than someone who just signed the contract, took the money, and then said nothing more.
Halfway through the meal, Lü Xingzhen arrived.
Chen Pingjiang quickly stood up and introduced them:
"Mr. Wan, this is Ms. Lü Xingzhen. Ms. Lü, this is Mr. Wan Qiping from Guoqiang Driving School."
Wan Qiping greeted her first, having long heard that Lü Xingzhen and her husband were both in the catering business, and especially that her husband had opened two very famous private kitchens in the city.
"A pleasure to meet you."
Lü Xingzhen raised her wine glass to toast, then politely asked,
"Hope I'm not interrupting your discussion?"
Chen Pingjiang gave Li Xi a look, and Li Xi quickly refilled Lü Xingzhen's glass.
"We're just chatting idly, no interruption at all."
Li Xi became even more excited with Lü Xingzhen's appearance; he had a premonition that another deal was about to be made.
After a few pleasantries, the topic somehow shifted to mahjong.
Lü Xingzhen was quite addicted to cards and usually played with a few other young wives.
"Mr. Wan, I'll arrange it later. We can call Little Chen and play mahjong together."
Wan Qiping also felt a bit eager to play, but he subtly replied,
"Haha, sure. However, I just invested in advertising with Mr. Chen's company recently, so once this busy period is over, we'll set a time."
Chen Pingjiang's eyes lit up; the main event was here.
As expected, Lü Xingzhen quickly followed up with a question upon hearing this:
"Mr. Chen? What kind of advertisement?"
Chen Pingjiang explained,
"Don't I have an internet company, Renren.com? It's been quite popular in the university town recently. Mr. Wan supported my business and signed a 130,000 yuan deal."
As the saying goes, 'many hands make light work,' Wan Qiping's heart also stirred, and he added,
"It's not really about support; we're collaborating. My niece told me Renren.com is very popular now, so I imagine the advertising effects should be good."
Through the conversation between Lü Xingzhen and Chen Pingjiang, Wan Qiping roughly gathered that they had only recently met.
Out of recognition for Chen Pingjiang and hoping that Chen Pingjiang would put more effort into the subsequent ad promotion, he assisted.
"Oh, Little Chen actually owns a company? I just found out."
The last time they met, when Lü Xingzhen asked Chen Pingjiang what he did, Chen Pingjiang only said he was involved in the internet industry.
Lü Xingzhen didn't think much of it, assuming Chen Pingjiang was just a small supervisor or something, as he was so young, and she didn't consider him an owner.
Now, hearing that Chen Pingjiang actually owned an internet company, she was very surprised.
She already wanted to thank Chen Pingjiang:
"Little Chen, save an advertising spot on your website for me, sis."
"No problem, sis," Chen Pingjiang replied with a wide smile.
Everything fell into place so naturally.
Li Xi held his water glass, drinking, and thinking to himself that his premonition was indeed accurate.
The day before yesterday, when he left Guoqiang Driving School, the boss had said he would introduce Wan Qiping and Lü Xingzhen.
Today, he deliberately brought Wan Qiping to Wangyue Lou.
Wasn't it just waiting for Lü Xingzhen to take the bait?
Unsurprisingly, given Lü Xingzhen's trust and good impression of Chen Pingjiang, and with the intention of repaying a favor, plus Wan Qiping's assist, there was no reason for her not to finalize this deal.
(End of chapter)
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