A Triumphant Return

His quoted price was really low, almost right above his cost basis.

The Four Seasons Hotel order was so important to him that he was willing to earn less or nothing to secure the client.

Yinghai's benchmark five-star hotels are all clients of its own laundry facility, so why worry about not having customers?

So, ten yuan, let's be friends.

"Ten dollars for a set?" Anderson was clearly surprised by the price.

It's not high, it's low.

"Mr. An, our price is really quite reasonable. You might not believe it, but we're actually barely making any profit." Meng Baoliang, seeing Anderson's expression, thought there was something wrong with his price.

So he quickly explained in a low voice.

"No, I don't disbelieve you." Anderson quickly waved his hand. "No problem, let's go with the price you mentioned. Shall we sign the contract now?"

"Sign a contract?" Meng Baoliang was overjoyed. "Okay, okay, let's sign the contract now!"

A huge deal from the Four Seasons Hotel, worth at least two or three million a year, and they just snagged it like that?

It's like a dream.

Everything that followed went so smoothly, it felt like a dream.

When he finally held the annual laundry contract worth over two million yuan in his hands, Meng Baoliang was still a little dazed.

This is what they call "a blessing in disguise"?

"Mr. Meng, it's a pleasure doing business with you." Anderson smiled and extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you!" Meng Baoliang was flattered and quickly bent down to shake hands.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming harmonious, Anderson's phone suddenly rang.

He apologized and answered the call first.

"Who?"

"Mr. Wang from Fusen Laundry Factory? I'm not seeing him."

The Meng Baoliang couple, standing nearby, perked up their ears and listened intently, holding their breath.

The Four Seasons Hotel is now partnering with itself, which means its partnership with Fusen Laundry Factory has to come to an end.

Fusen Laundry Factory took away the laundry orders from Jinling Hotel, but lost its most important client, Four Seasons Hotel, which is now its client.

For a moment, Meng Baoliang was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, feeling a sense of cause and effect, and that retribution was inevitable.

A moment later, Anderson escorted them the entire way.

The Meng Baoliang couple felt a mix of emotions as they experienced this special treatment.

The lobby on the first floor of the Four Seasons Hotel.

"President An, please wait, please wait!" Meng Baoliang pleaded repeatedly outside the elevator.

"It's alright, it's alright, this way please," Anderson said with his usual warm smile.

The three of them walked through the hotel lobby on the first floor.

Suddenly, a figure who had been waiting for a long time came forward.

"Mr. An, I couldn't reach the new director of the guest rooms department, so I took the liberty of coming directly to you." Wang Fusen, who had been at the Jinling Hotel just a few hours earlier, looked anxious. "Our two companies have been cooperating for a long time, how can you just stop cooperating like that? We can rectify any problems..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, his eyes fixed on Meng Baoliang and his wife standing to the side.

"You... you all..."

He held out his finger, his lips and finger trembling together.

Ultimately, it's human nature; people live for their pride. In this situation, how could Meng Baoliang not feel pleased?

"Haha, Mr. Wang, we meet again."

"You... you... could it be that you've changed the laundry partner for the Four Seasons Hotel?" Wang Fusen asked, his face pale.

"It is indeed my family," Meng Baoliang said with a smile, then turned back and shook Anderson's hand again. "Mr. Andy, we'll be going now."

"Take care," Anderson said with a smile as he saw him off.

A moment later, Meng Baoliang and his wife left first.

Inside the hall, Anderson glanced at Wang Fusen, then turned to leave.

Although the Four Seasons Hotel and Fusen Laundry Factory had been cooperating for a long time, the Four Seasons Hotel had countless suppliers, and as the GM, he couldn't directly deal with everything.

For a simple laundry service, the housekeeping director handles everything directly, and he makes the final decision.

"President An... President An." Wang Fusen, still unwilling to give up, came forward seeking clarification. "If it's about the price, actually..."

"Mr. Wang, don't waste your time. This was personally instructed by the boss. There's no point in talking to me about it here." Anderson waved his hand and left without looking back.

Wang Fusen stood there, stunned.

"The big boss of the Four Seasons Hotel personally intervened? How is that possible?"

··

On their way back, feeling quite pleased with themselves, Meng Baoliang and his wife naturally didn't forget to promote their newly achieved cooperative results, which also served as publicity for their laundry factory.

So he posted it on his WeChat Moments.

[Thanks to Anderson, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel, for his support in successfully establishing a long-term laundry business partnership with Four Seasons Hotel.]

The moment the post was published on WeChat Moments, it immediately received a flood of likes.

To Meng Baoliang's surprise, many hotel managers who had previously contacted him but had not been able to reach an agreement for various reasons were now proactively contacting him for consultation.

The Four Seasons Hotel truly lives up to its reputation as a benchmark five-star hotel in Yinghai.

Just as he expected, securing the laundry business from the Four Seasons Hotel would be worthwhile, even if it didn't generate profit.

Because it has a potential promotional effect.

"By the way, Director Tang from Jinling Hotel just posted something on his WeChat Moments." While waiting at a traffic light, Meng Baoliang, with a mischievous grin, liked Director Tang's post and left a comment.

I wonder if he saw my post on WeChat Moments.

"Old Meng, don't just get carried away with your happiness. You haven't figured out the most important thing yet," Meng's mother suddenly said abruptly.

Meng Baoliang was taken aback, but quickly realized what he meant.

Yes!

On what grounds?

How did their little-known laundry factory manage to win the laundry outsourcing contract from the Four Seasons Hotel?

Based on strength?

Don't be ridiculous. In terms of both strength and scale, their company can't compare to that Fusen Laundry Factory.

But on what basis?

Recalling the Mr. Zhang that Mr. Anderson, the general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel, kept mentioning, the couple's doubts only deepened.

The only way to find out the truth is to ask your own daughter.

The couple felt a mix of joy at having just secured a big order and a slight sense of unease.

I'm not confident.

Around noon, the couple returned home.

As soon as he entered the house, Meng Baihan greeted him with a smile.

"Mom and Dad, did you close the deal?"

"Got it, got it." Meng Baoliang glanced at his wife and nodded quickly.

"That's good. I knew Zhang Yang had put in a good word, so it was definitely going to be fine," Meng Baihan said with a smile. "Have you guys had lunch yet? I cooked for myself at noon and brought you some."

"What a coincidence, your mother and I haven't eaten yet," Meng Baoliang said.

A moment later, inside the restaurant.

On the table were tomato and egg soup, sweet and sour pork ribs, lettuce with oyster sauce, and asparagus salad.

The dishes were simple, yet they were delicious and visually appealing.

Normally, whenever Meng Baoliang tastes the cooking of his daughter, he can't help but praise her.

But today, both of them had something on their minds.

"Xiaohan, you said your high school classmate Zhang Yang went to say hello, and... his words are so effective, how come people are so obedient?" Meng Baoliang finally asked the question that concerned him the most.

"This?" Meng Baihan smiled as he observed his parents' expressions, secretly amused and somewhat proud.

She suddenly felt a strong anticipation for her parents' expressions after she revealed the truth.

"Mom and Dad, let me ask you, which Four Seasons Hotel is the biggest?" Meng Baihan asked.

"Who's the biggest? It's definitely General Manager An." Meng Baoliang blurted out without thinking.

"President An only earns an annual salary, Dad, think about it again," Meng Baihan asked with a smile.

"If that's the case, then the one bigger than President An must be the big boss behind the Four Seasons Hotel. That entire 200-meter-long building belongs to him." As Meng Baoliang spoke, he suddenly felt that something seemed amiss.

"No... you mean?"

He stared blankly at his daughter, an unbelievable thought suddenly rising in his mind.

Meng Baihan smiled without saying a word, then reached out with his chopsticks and placed a chicken wing into each of his parents' bowls.

The couple ate the chicken wings in their bowls blankly and mechanically.

With a snap.

Meng Baoliang's chicken wing fell onto the table.

He tried to grab it twice, his hands trembling, but he failed each time. On the last try, he simply gave up and sat there in a daze.

"I talked to Zhang Yang about this yesterday, and he said he'd look into it and give me an answer this morning," Meng Baihan said with a gentle smile. "By the way, Mom and Dad, you two better not let me down, okay? The Four Seasons Hotel has pretty strict requirements for laundry."

"No, absolutely not!" Meng Baoliang suddenly snapped out of his daze, patting his chest, his whole body trembling as if he'd come alive. "Xiaohan, tell Mr. Zhang that we will absolutely complete the laundry task for the Four Seasons Hotel with guaranteed quality and quantity."

Both mother and daughter were a little stunned by Meng Baoliang's sudden shout.

What's going on? And you're guaranteeing to complete the task?

"Haha, Xiaohan, why didn't you tell me about this relationship sooner? Your parents must have been on tenterhooks yesterday and today." Meng Baoliang laughed heartily, devouring two chicken wings in one go.

Only Meng's mother, while pleasantly surprised, was still a little worried.

"Xiaohan, is your relationship with Mr. Zhang... real?"

"Yes." Meng Baihan nodded, making no attempt to hide the tenderness in her eyes. "I like him a lot, and I really want to be with him."

No one knows a daughter better than her mother.

How could Meng's mother not understand her own daughter? Looking at Meng Baihan's expression now, how could she not understand what she was thinking?

She looks exactly like a woman deeply in love.

"Then, Mr. Zhang, is it true that you have a girlfriend?"

"It's true." Meng Baihan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I didn't mean to ruin other people's relationship, but... but I just couldn't help it. After all, feelings are something you can't always control."

Mother Meng sighed, but couldn't say anything else.

If this had happened yesterday, she would definitely have strongly opposed it. How could she allow her precious daughter, whom she had doted on since childhood, to be involved in an ambiguous relationship with a guy who already had a girlfriend?

No matter how good the conditions are, it won't work.

But now?

They're not just well-off, they're better than you can imagine... Owning a city landmark like the Yinghai Four Seasons Hotel, with such wealth and status, they naturally don't need to follow the rules.

What's more, they've now placed a large order with our laundry factory, which can be seen as saving us from dire straits.

"You're overthinking it." As a man, Meng Baoliang's thinking was naturally different. "You're here worrying about your daughter, fearing she'll fall into a fire pit, but there are plenty of other girls rushing to be like moths to a flame. If a man like Mr. Zhang had been born a few years earlier, he'd have seven or eight wives..."

"Meng Baoliang! What are you saying in front of our daughter!" Meng's mother glared at her.

"The words may be rough, but the principle is sound. Xiaohan knows right from wrong, and Mr. Zhang is surely a kind and righteous person, so I'm really not worried." Meng Baoliang said with a smug smile, unconcerned. "Just relax."

After the meal, Meng's mother pulled Meng Baihan aside and whispered something to him.

"Do you... have any?"

Meng Baihan gently shook his head.

"No?" Mother Meng was clearly surprised. "Then... where are you at?"

"Oh my god, why are you asking such detailed questions?" Meng Baihan said reproachfully, a little embarrassed.

"Okay, okay, I won't ask. By the way, your dad praised Mr. Zhang to the skies, saying he's one of a kind. Do you have any photos? Show them to Mom." Meng's mother was a little curious again.

While wealth and power certainly play a role in making her daughter so infatuated, she also has confidence in her daughter.

It should be not only the other party's strength, but also their personal charisma that makes them irresistible.

"I... I'll look for it." Meng Baihan nodded, rummaged through Zhang Yang's current photos, and then placed them in front of his mother. "Mom, look."

"Let me see... Oh my!" When Meng's mother saw the photo, her eyes widened and she gasped.

I used to think my husband was just flattering me when he said I was handsome, but now... his looks and his demeanor are beyond just handsome! He's absolutely dashing and a true gem!

He's not just handsome, he's incredibly handsome.

His looks are on par with those top-tier celebrities that young people are currently obsessed with, and he might even surpass them in terms of charisma. Compared to that Xiao Wang I introduced before, Mr. Zhang is like a grain of sand compared to a star—there's no comparison at all!

No wonder... he didn't like it.

She now understands her daughter; what girl wouldn't fall for a guy like that?

"Zhang Yang bought a villa for his parents in Purple Garden No. 1, but Zhang Yang himself lives in Magic City now." Teacher Meng sighed softly as she spoke, "Speaking of which, we're still in a long-distance relationship."

"What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force." Looking at her beloved daughter, Meng's mother gently stroked her long hair. "As for you and Mr. Zhang, your parents will not interfere or force you. You should handle it well yourself."

"I know," Teacher Meng nodded gently.

"And... you young people..." Mother Meng lowered her voice and gave a few more instructions, which made Teacher Meng's cheeks turn bright red.