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墨書 Inktalez
The days at school revolved around the dormitory, classroom, cafeteria, and playground. With Jie Bing, that immature person, gone, there wasn’t much left to say about the school. Let’s talk about what’s happening outside instead.
On Monday noon, during her lunch break, Hu Ruoyun received a call from Lai Wen. “Brother Xiao Hu, do you have time tonight?”
Lai Wen had helped her a lot, and if she needed anything, Hu Ruoyun felt obligated to assist. She replied immediately, “No problem, Sister! Just let me know what you need!”
Lai Wen continued, “Great! Let’s have dinner tonight at ‘Xiangli Family’ near your school. You can come over at six-thirty. Just tell the front desk that Ms. Liu booked the room… My classmate you met yesterday wants to talk to you. We’ll discuss the details when we meet.”
That must be Liu Ru Yan, sister Lai ’s classmate who had returned from overseas. They had only shared a meal together; why would she want to find Hu Ruoyun?
Whatever the reason, she decided to wait until they met.
At six-twenty that evening, Hu Ruoyun arrived at ‘Xiangli Family’ located at the south gate of Jiangbei University. After mentioning Ms. Liu’s reservation at the front desk, a staff member in a qipao said, “Sir, please follow me. Ms. Liu and her party are already in the room!”
Following the staff member upstairs to room 218, Hu Ruoyun entered after a knock on the door.
Inside the room, there were only Lai Wen and Liu Ru Yan drinking tea at a table meant for six. Upon seeing Hu Ruoyun enter, they both stood up and gestured for her to take a seat.
The three of them ordered dishes: chopped chili fish head, Dong’an chicken, dry pot cauliflower, grandmother-style Xiangxi vegetables, smashed cucumber, and cold bitter chrysanthemum salad—six dishes in total. Liu Ru Yan brought red wine.
Having spent over nine years in America, Liu Ru Yan spoke directly without the usual politeness of her compatriots. “Mr. Hu, I’ll get straight to the point. The Mutton Hot Pot you introduced yesterday—I really liked it. I also noticed that we dined at a hotel I’m quite fond of… Would it be possible for you to introduce me to the manufacturer?”
Hu Ruoyun shrugged it off casually. “You don’t need me as an intermediary; the manufacturer’s address and phone number are on the product packaging. You can contact them directly!”
“NO, NO, NO!” Liu Ru Yan waved her hands repeatedly. “I’m not just looking to buy something; I want to discuss cooperation! If there isn’t someone familiar in between, it’s hard to reach an agreement!”
Intrigued now, Hu Ruoyun asked, “What kind of cooperation are you thinking about?”
Lai Wen interjected, “My classmate here has money—American dollars—and she doesn’t plan on going back to America. She wants to invest steadily here in Jiangbei and live a stable life… Of course, she’s looking into many projects right now, but most are trade-related. She wants her own products and brand that can gradually grow stronger… So she’s being cautious; currently, she believes your mutton is still relatively niche in Jiangcheng and wants to learn more.”
Hu Ruoyun understood somewhat but cautioned her: “Miss Liu, if that’s the case, I advise you to be careful. Most Mutton Hot Pot producers in our area are still small family-run operations that guard their recipes like treasures! I think you can distribute their products but if you’re looking to invest or take shares in them, they might have many concerns and it’s likely negotiations won’t succeed.
However, I have a suggestion for you: there’s a good project in Annan that you might consider. Of course, just my words or those from Annan aren’t enough; you should investigate yourself… It involves processing wild vegetables commonly found in rural areas for preservation and sale to high-end dining establishments like Dong Wangfu Holiday Hotel in Jiangcheng—leveraging seemingly small products to tap into a large market while achieving high returns at low costs! From our perspective in Annan, it also benefits local farmers and boosts regional economic development.
As far as I know, if needed, officials can even provide funding support without interfering with normal business operations aside from supervision and guidance.
If you engage in processing and production of these wild vegetables, you will definitely need a trading company for operations. If you’re still interested in our mutton products, you could register a trademark and have them produce according to your specifications and quality requirements. I believe as long as your business is well-managed and mutually beneficially structured, no mutton producer would act shortsightedly by cutting off supply or creating bottlenecks.
In some ways, this would give you your own brand and product.”
Liu Ru Yan listened attentively as Hu Ruoyun finished speaking; she appeared thoughtful while looking at Lai Wen.
Lai Wen said reassuringly, “Sister, I don’t know much about business matters and won’t comment on them. But I can vouch for my little brother's character and intellect.”
After finishing a meal, Hu Ruoyun's "Miss Liu" was corrected by Liu Ru Yan to "Sister Liu," and Hu Ruoyun became "Brother Xiao Hu" in her mouth.
Liu Ru Yan left first by taxi, and Lai Wen probably talked to Hu Ruoyun about Liu Ru Yan's situation. Liu Ru Yan was originally from Hunan, and her father was once the director of a certain department in Jiangbei Province. After graduating from university, he wanted her to work within the system, but Liu Ru Yan's rebellious phase came relatively late... She insisted on going abroad, and her parents couldn't go against her wishes, so they arranged everything for her. Who would have thought that this strong-willed girl would marry a senior bank executive (known as a banker there) after studying abroad for three years?
Due to the inherent prejudices of their culture, her father fell seriously ill from anger and could no longer continue working, retiring early due to health issues. After seven or eight years of marriage, both she and her foreign husband were busy with their careers and had not had any children. However, last year, her husband, with whom she had a very close relationship, suddenly died in a car accident.
Although she inherited nearly ten million US dollars, she did not want to stay in America, that place filled with sorrow. She sold her property and returned to China to heal her own wounds and those of her parents. Liu Ru Yan worked as an investment consultant in America, but there were no suitable job opportunities for her back home. She wanted to start something on her own.
For a while, Lai Wen accompanied her, but as they became more familiar, she no longer needed Lai Wen's company. Liu Ru Yan had several long conversations with Hu Ruoyun; sometimes they discussed serious matters, and other times they just chatted casually.
Once, they somehow got onto the topic of education. Hu Ruoyun mentioned that the key high schools in Annan County were all located in the county town. The southern and eastern parts of the county had no other high schools apart from Annan Eight Middle School and Annan Qizhong—not only in education but also in healthcare... Liu Ru Yan, being an investment professional, was inherently sensitive to these issues. She said to Hu Ruoyun, "Whenever you have a free weekend, bring your girlfriend along, and let's take a trip around Annan County together."
Hu Ruoyun readily agreed.
Later on, when he mentioned this to Mao Na, she said, "It would be great if we could get her to invest in our county!"
Hu Ruoyun teased her: "Sure! Now you're thinking about attracting investment for our hometown; I’ll have to ask your dad to reward you later."
School had been in session for three or four weeks now. Seeing that Hu Ruoyun hadn’t initiated any new "projects," Cui Shuigen grew a bit anxious: "Brother San, you can't just focus on eating and chatting with your sister Lai and Sister Liu; you need to find a new way to make money! I spent most of the money I saved up this year on my family!"
The legends and ghost stories he shared with Hu Ruoyun had been compiled and sent to Story Collection; they were likely to be published. However, this boy from Shu Region who had once made big money no longer cared about those few or dozen yuan in manuscript fees. He was hoping that Hu Ruoyun could come up with something new so he could earn another windfall alongside him.
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