Zhang Yang Had Already Said Hello

In the video, Meng Baihan paused slightly, seemingly surprised by Zhang Yang's nonchalant attitude.

"I'm asking you, what's the name of your laundry factory? What's the equipment like?" Zhang Yang asked in great detail.

"Huh?" Meng Baihan froze for a few seconds, then suddenly covered her mouth in surprise and disbelief. "You wouldn't be thinking of..."

"Don't get too excited yet," Zhang Yang said with a smile. "I do have that idea, but the premise is that we have to guarantee the quality of the finished product. I can't let customers sleep in our hotel beds and end up with skin problems, can I?"

"Zhang Yang, don't worry, all our equipment has just been replaced, and it's all strictly in accordance with washing standards. We absolutely won't cut corners or try to save costs," Meng Baihan said quickly, but his voice trailed off as he spoke.

"However, precisely because of this, our prices are slightly higher, since the costs have gone up."

"That doesn't matter," Zhang Yang smiled. "How about this, I'll go look into it, and I'll get back to you."

Price doesn't matter, because outsourced laundry services aren't cheap these days. It doesn't matter who does it, since the money has to be spent anyway, so I might as well help Teacher Meng's family out.

After the chat ended, Zhang Yang received many messages from Teacher Meng.

It was all about their various qualifications, equipment, and so on, along with a string of pitiful emojis.

Zhang Yang shook his head and smiled, checked the time, and then called Anderson directly.

"Anderson, I have a question for you. Which laundry company do we outsource our hotel's linen washing to? How much does it cost?"

He had never bothered with such trivial matters before.

But now, because of what happened to Teacher Meng's family, he specifically wants to find out more about it.

"Mr. Zhang, we are currently cooperating with Fusen Laundry Factory, a large local laundry company with excellent qualifications. However, the price is... not low. It costs twelve yuan to clean a set of linens, and we have an average of two sets per room, which is twenty-four yuan per room."

"Tell me honestly, is this price normal?" Zhang Yang continued to ask.

"It's within the normal range," Anderson said honestly, adding, "It's slightly above the normal range."

"Okay, let's not renew our order with them when it expires. We'll find another company. I'll send you the details later. As long as their quote isn't higher than the current price from Fusen Laundry Factory, we'll finalize the deal. No need to haggle. If it's higher, just let me know."

He didn't need to explain any reasons; he just needed to pass on the notification, and Anderson would carry it out.

For Anderson, the tasks assigned by his boss were of paramount importance; what was changing a linen washing company compared to that?

"However, I'll tell Teacher Meng about this tomorrow," Zhang Yang muttered to himself.

Agreeing too quickly makes the matter seem insignificant.

Although in reality it was a very trivial matter for him.

··

Early the next morning, Yinghai.

Mr. and Mrs. Meng hadn't slept all night, and got up very early in the morning, intending to go to the Jinling Hotel to find the housekeeping manager, Mr. Tang, in person.

"When the time comes, let's be sincere and proper. As long as the cooperation can continue, we can even reduce the profit margin a bit more," Meng's father said in a low voice.

"Take the initiative to lower prices? We've already lowered our prices to what extent. Any lower and we'll be touching costs. What are we still doing?" Meng's mother frowned.

"I'm afraid even lowering the price won't work," Mr. Meng sighed, shaking his head.

Around 9 or 10 a. m., the couple arrived at the Jinling Hotel.

Jinling Hotel is one of the older five-star hotels in Yinghai. When it was first built, it was very popular, but it gradually became outdated.

However, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; after all, this is Yinghai's first five-star hotel.

The two men discreetly approached Manager Tang, the head of housekeeping.

"Mr. Tang, weren't we cooperating so well? How can you just stop cooperating like this?" Mr. Meng followed behind with a big smile. "There must be a reason, right?"

"Reason? No reason." Manager Tang, the director of the housekeeping department, walked hurriedly.

Behind them, the Meng couple followed closely, looking quite like they were begging and pleading.

"If we have to say why, your equipment is outdated and can't keep up with our hotel's needs. Is this enough?" Director Tang glanced at the couple.

"The equipment... we've already replaced the equipment..." Meng's mother tried to say from the side.

"It's too late, the hotel has already decided to change." Director Tang turned around and smiled. "Fusen Laundry Factory, you in the same industry, you should know them, right? We were planning to cooperate with them, and their staff are already here."

As he spoke, he pushed open the office door.

As soon as I entered, a man with a fair complexion and an air of authority, who looked like a boss, stood up in the office with a smile on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Tang."

Meng's parents both froze, their hearts sinking, knowing that the cooperation with Jinling Hotel was definitely off.

Of course they knew about Fusen Laundry Factory. A local laundry factory that was even larger than theirs had big clients, such as the Four Seasons Hotel, which they dreamed of working with and was Fuson's number one client.

Everyone knows that the Four Seasons Hotel has high standards for laundry services, and naturally, they are generous with their spending, offering quite high prices for laundry services.

Everyone in the industry wants to take orders from Four Seasons Hotel, but unfortunately, Four Seasons Hotel has been using Fuson for its laundry services.

And the man in front of us is Wang Fusen, the boss of Fusen.

"Hello, Mr. Wang." Director Tang nodded, then looked back at Mr. and Mrs. Meng. "By the way, Mr. Wang, this is your colleague, do you know him?"

"Of course I recognize him. Isn't this Meng Baoliang. Meng Baoliang, the owner of Meijie Laundry Factory?" Wang Fusen cupped his hands in apology. "Sorry, Mr. Meng, I'll take this business."

Immediately, the expressions on Meng Baoliang and his wife's faces turned quite ugly.

Isn't this the same as having your partner poached to your face, and then the other party swaggering around in a show of arrogance?

Seeing the order contract already on the table, Meng Baoliang and his wife exchanged a glance, seemingly both seeing the embarrassment in each other's eyes.

"Well... Mr. Tang, since you're busy, we won't bother you any longer," Meng Baoliang said awkwardly, his hands hanging limply at his sides.

"Take care, I won't see you off any further," Director Tang said without looking up.

The couple walked out of Director Tang's office looking completely bewildered.

Jinling Hotel, a client we've collaborated with for so many years, has just vanished like that?

"Sigh, in the end, it's because Xiaohan was too ruthless yesterday. She didn't give her any face at all. How could Director Tang, as her uncle, not be angry? How could he not stand up for his nephew?" said Meng's mother.

These are things she would never say in front of her daughter, lest Meng Baihan overthink things.

But since there was no one else around, just the two of them, they didn't have many formalities to follow.

"Forget it, earning a little less is fine. As long as An An, and as long as my daughter is happy, I'm satisfied," Meng Baoliang said, shaking his head.

However, the couple knew that behind this casual remark about earning a little less was a loss of hundreds of thousands in net profit for the year.

The losses are enormous!

"Go back now. You'll have to work harder later to expand your customer base. Our machines have such a large production capacity; we can't let it go to waste, can we?" Meng's mother said.

"At my age, I still have to run around to find clients," Meng Baoliang said helplessly.

The factory used to have sales representatives.

However, in recent years, as business has stabilized and the factory has reached near-capacity, we no longer need sales representatives.

But now...

The couple sighed deeply, preparing to leave the Jinling Hotel.

Suddenly, Meng Baoliang's phone rang.

"Who is it?" asked Meng's mother.

"Who else could it be but our precious daughter?" Meng Baoliang shook his head and chuckled as he answered the phone, "Hello, Xiaohan?"

"Dad, Dad, I've found you a big order! Are you free now?" Meng Baihan's voice on the phone was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Meng Baoliang and his wife exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

"A large order?"

"Dad, go directly to the Four Seasons Hotel now and find General Manager An," Meng Baihan said.

Meng Baoliang held his phone, his mouth agape, thinking he had misheard.

"Go to the Four Seasons Hotel to see President An? No... Dad, did I hear that right? What's going on?"

"Dad, didn't you say you lost an order? Now the order has come in. You just need to go there and you'll get it," Meng Baihan said on the phone.

"But..." Meng Baoliang wanted to ask something else.

"Oh, Zhang Yang already said so, you can go over there." Meng Baihan didn't explain much, he just kept urging Meng Baoliang to go over.

After a long while, Meng Baoliang blankly put down his phone.

"What happened?" Meng's mother asked nervously, grabbing Meng Baoliang.

"Xiaohan called and told me to go to the Four Seasons Hotel and talk to the general manager directly. She said there's an order for me," Meng Baoliang muttered to himself. "She also said Zhang Yang put in a good word for me... Zhang Yang, isn't he Xiaohan's high school classmate?"

He still vaguely remembered that name.

"Her high school classmate, the one with a girlfriend..." Meng's mother was also a little at a loss, "This... this young man, does he have so much influence? And he even has connections with the Four Seasons Hotel?"

"Let's go take a look first," Meng Baoliang said decisively.

Whether it succeeds or not, there's no point in the couple guessing riddles here; they have to see for themselves.

Without further hesitation, the two left the Jinling Hotel and drove straight to the Four Seasons Hotel.

It took just over half an hour to get there.

"The Four Seasons Hotel!"

Outside the car, Meng Baoliang looked up at the two-hundred-meter-tall building in front of him and sighed.

Yinghai's five-star ceiling is a landmark.

Although he had come to eat at various banquets more than once, this was the first time he had come to discuss business.

It was his first time here, and because of a phone call from his daughter, Meng Baoliang was a little unsure of himself, afraid of losing face and making a fool of himself.

However, he still gritted his teeth and walked into the hotel lobby with his wife, heading towards the front desk.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" the young and attractive hotel receptionist asked politely.

"Um... I'm looking for your general manager, Mr. An," Meng Baoliang said as he stepped forward.

"Did you make a reservation in advance?" the hotel receptionist asked.

"Yes... I guess so," Meng Baoliang said, not entirely sure.

The hotel receptionist gave the middle-aged man a strange look, but still picked up the phone and dialed.

After what seemed like an eternity, she put down the phone, her voice several degrees more enthusiastic than before.

"Sir, Ms. An is waiting for you. There's an elevator up ahead; please go directly to the twentieth floor." She pointed in the direction warmly.

A moment later, inside the elevator.

Meng Baoliang and his wife looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"There's actually such a thing..."

"Don't you know your own daughter? She called you even though there was no such thing? Since she said it, then it must be true." Mrs. Meng said with great certainty.

A moment later, the elevator stopped.

The office floor was completely empty and eerily quiet.

Following the address, the couple finally found the general manager's office.

Meng Baoliang stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Please come in," a gentle voice came from inside the door.

The couple gently pushed the door open and entered.

Meng Baoliang spotted the figure sitting behind the desk at a glance and knew that this was the current GM of the Four Seasons Hotel, Mr. Anderson.

"Hello, Mr. An, I'm Meng Baoliang from Meijie Laundry Factory." He put on a smile and stepped forward to extend his hand.

"Oh, Mr. Meng." Anderson stood up before them, warmly shaking the outstretched hand with both of his. "Come, come, please sit here."

His enthusiasm clearly surprised Meng Baoliang and his wife.

This seems a bit too enthusiastic, doesn't it?

A moment later, Anderson arranged for tea to be served and engaged in another round of pleasantries, which made Meng Baoliang keep having doubts.

"Um... Mr. An, actually I..." He tentatively tried to get to the point.

"Our hotel's laundry service, right? Oh, don't worry, Mr. Zhang has already spoken to everyone, there won't be any problems." Anderson got straight to the point, "Let me give you a detailed explanation of our current laundry needs."

He gave a detailed introduction to the average hotel's laundry services, which include not only the full set of linens in the guest rooms, but also tablecloths and napkins in the catering area.

Then, specific washing requirements were also mentioned.

As Meng Baoliang listened attentively, the image of Mr. Zhang that President An had just mentioned flashed through his mind.

Could this Mr. Zhang be Zhang Yang, Meng Baihan's high school classmate?

Why did the GM general manager seem to show him so much respect in his words?

"By the way, Mr. Meng, could you give me a specific price? We'd like to sign the contract today," Anderson suddenly said.

These words instantly brought Meng Baoliang back to reality.

Sign a contract?

The Four Seasons Hotel's linen washing contract?!

In an instant, his heart started pounding so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.

It went so smoothly?

The Four Seasons Hotel's order includes all the linens for the guest rooms, plus tablecloths and napkins for the food and beverage department. Mr. An also mentioned the required quantity.

These are orders that come in several hundred units every day!

So, this price...

Meng Baoliang weighed the Four Seasons Hotel's strict requirements for laundry services, quickly calculated the costs, and then gritted his teeth and gave a figure.

"Mr. An, how about ten yuan for a set?"