Ding Mei didn't react for a moment and asked, "How did you get the key..."
"Of course I got it in exchange for money. The landlord is not a fool. Would he give it to me for free?"
"What?" Ding Mei's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, "You rented this?"
Wen Liang smiled and said, "Don't worry, the rent is not expensive, 100 a month, and you have to pay for your own water and electricity. This is the only place on such a long street with such a low price."
"So cheap?" Although 1200 yuan is two or three months' salary for many people these days, it is not too expensive in a hot area like Huashan District. Ding Mei looked at Wen Liang with a squinting eye, and became suspicious. He asked, "Who is the landlord? Why would he give you such a low price? Is he setting a trap to cheat you?"
Wen Liang did not expect that Ding Mei, who was always carefree, would become shrewd at this moment. Fortunately, he was prepared. He said, "What a trap. It's a coincidence that you also know the landlord. She is my former chemistry teacher Si Yajing."
Ding Mei didn't have a deep impression of Si Yajing. After all, the person parents usually interacted with the most was the class teacher. After thinking for a while, she remembered who it was and asked in surprise, "She?"
"Yes, didn't Teacher Si resign from Qingyi Middle School? Later, she happened to join Qinghe Soy Milk and worked with Uncle Li. She bought this store and planned to rent it out. I happened to know about it. I thought that if Bi Yasi opened here, the business would definitely be booming, so I talked to Teacher Si... This twelve hundred yuan is to give your son face, mom, don't hesitate, do you want it or not?"
Now that he had figured out the whole story, Ding Mei naturally would not refuse. He snatched the key from Wen Liang's hand and said, "Yes, of course. Let's go in and take a look!"
After a round of inspection, everyone was naturally happy. The house was empty, with almost no traces of previous decoration. This made it much easier to redecorate. Ding Mei was delighted and said, "Invite Teacher Si out tomorrow, we will have a meal together and then sign the contract."
Wen Liang didn't care, but Si Yajing probably wasn't ready to meet his parents yet. Even the few times she met Wen Huaiming were for work. Having dinner with Ding Mei in private like this, with her thin skin, she would probably reveal everything in no time.
"No need to have a meal with him. He's a very busy man. He handles hundreds of thousands of dollars a minute. How can he have time to have a meal with you?" Wen Liang joked, "The contract is in triplicate and is ready. Teacher Si has already signed it. Just ask Auntie San to sign it and it's done!"
In order to avoid any negative impact on Wen Huaiming, or to be prepared for a rainy day, the business license of Bi Ya Si was changed to Ding Lan's name. Wen Liang's third aunt was a very good person and very reliable, so there would not be any disputes such as usurping the throne.
Ding Mei didn't force it. He sighed and said, "Look at him. He used to be a poor teacher, but now he can afford to buy a store in Huashan District. No, I have to make money quickly. Otherwise, how can I find you a wife in the future with your father's meager salary?"
This is an old saying again. It can be said that a large part of Ding Mei's motivation for making money is to find a wife for Wen Liang, which makes him laugh and cry: "Mom, all the money I make is yours. If I want to marry a wife, I will make her pay for it. That's awesome!"
"Bah! You shameless fellow, that's called a gigolo, you know that?"
Ding Mei grabbed Wen Liang's ear and was about to start a lecture when the phone rang. Wen Liang made a begging expression and waited for his mother to let go of his hand. After taking out the phone and answering it, he asked, "Congjiang, have you arrived in Beijing?"
"Boss, we've arrived. We're staying at the Fuxingmen Hotel near CCTV! Wow, there are quite a few of you here. If you hadn't called in advance, it would have been hard to book a room here..."
There were waves of excitement in Zhong Congjiang's words. There are countless entrepreneurs in China, but not many of them have the confidence, courage and heroism to participate in the CCTV bidding conference. He was able to go from obscurity to being among them in just two years. The sense of pride and honor he felt was beyond words.
"Just settle down. This time we are going to see the world, make more friends, and see who will be the winner of this year's bid..."
Wen Liang did not underestimate the actual significance of the bid winner in this era, but with his current financial resources, it was too difficult to win the bid among a group of big fish, and the gains would not outweigh the losses. On the other hand, CCTV, through propaganda and deification, used its absolute advantage in discourse power to push the advertising value of the bid winner to a position that was unprecedented and unparalleled, thus laying a huge and almost unavoidable hidden danger. This also caused the previous and subsequent bid winners to rise and fall like meteors, as if they were cursed. Doing business requires a good start, so it is better not to join in the fun!
As a businessman, Zhong Congjiang was naturally very concerned about the annual bidding war. He asked excitedly, "Boss, who do you think will win the bid?"
Wen Liang smiled but did not answer. He just asked, "Has Mr. Xue from Lingqu Liquor arrived in Beijing?"
"I didn't see him, but I heard from Lingyang's friends that Xue Sheng had arrived three days earlier. He hosted banquets at the Grand Emperor Hotel every night. Many celebrities from the political and business circles gathered there, and the ceremony was grand."
Tomorrow night, Xue Sheng will be re-elected as the top bidder with a domineering .1 billion, which will usher in the "billion era" in the advertising industry. However, the glory of Lingqu Liquor and Xue Sheng himself will also be frozen at this moment, and will be in tatters from then on, becoming a classic negative teaching material for studying corporate economy and development!
Zhong Congjiang asked cautiously again: "Are you saying that Xue Sheng might win the bid again this year?"
Wen Liang smiled and said, "That's not the case. I met Mr. Xue once in Lingyang and was deeply impressed. I just asked casually."
On November 18, after nearly fourteen hours of competition, Xue Sheng became the biggest winner of the day with a bid of 1.1 billion yuan, which shocked countless friends. When asked by reporters why he won the bid at this price, Xue Sheng smiled and said that it was his own phone number that he wrote down casually.
If we talk about arrogance, this is the best; if we talk about ignorance, this is also the best! Therefore, Lingqu started with advertising, and eventually disappeared because of advertising!
When the news came out on TV, Wen Liang was having dinner with Qin Yin at the restaurant where they had first dined. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and Qin Yin called to complain that he was forgetting his old friend, so Wen Liang had to treat her to a meal to make amends.
The restaurant owner actually remembered them. Perhaps because the birthmark on Qin Yin's face was too conspicuous, he ran over happily and said, "See, I was right. This wine shop is very powerful. This year, it won the bid again. We should buy more goods to stock up, so that the supply will not be tight and the guests can't buy it. The one you are drinking now was finally obtained from Lingyang by me through my friends!"
Wen Liang said half-truthfully, "Boss, have you ever heard that too much is as bad as too little? In my opinion, you'd better buy less of this wine, otherwise you won't lose money if you can't sell it!"
The boss asked curiously, "What do you mean by that? Looking at the situation on CCTV, Lingqu Liquor will definitely be more popular than this year. People here drink from a certain brand. The more popular the brand, the better it is. How can it lose money?"
"Ha, no wonder you can make a fortune, boss, you are quite good at business!" Wen Liang stretched out his five fingers and pinched them, lowering his voice and saying mysteriously: "Although I don't understand business, I know this. I calculated with my fingers that Lingqu wine will not sell well next year. Believe it or not."
Wen Liang was just joking, but the boss believed in ghosts and gods. He would ask for fortune telling no matter what happened. Especially since it was related to his business, he immediately became interested. He pulled a small stool and sat down, saying, "I realized you are not an ordinary person, but a little god. Please tell me, is the feng shui of the winery bad?"
Wen Liang shook his head and said, "Buddha said it cannot be said, it cannot be said. I'm going to say this. If you believe me, boss, you can waive our meal fee. If you don't believe me, just pretend I never said it!"
The boss hesitated. The vendors on the street were either very good-looking or gray-haired. How could there be a fortune teller of Wen Liang's age? Could he be here to eat and drink for free? However, judging from his clothes and temperament, he did not look like a poor man. He was also a repeat customer. He calculated that the meal would not cost much, so he gritted his teeth and said, "This meal is mine. Please tell me clearly whether you will buy this wine or not?"
"You can buy less, just enough to sell for a month or two, don't buy too much!"
The boss thought this was a good idea, so he waved his hand and said, "I'll give you another dish, it's on me!"
After the boss left, Qin Yin smiled and said, "Okay, you little charlatan are really good at cheating people out of food and drink!"
Wen Liang sighed and said, "I'm a poor student, and you treated me to such a luxurious meal. How can I afford to pay for it? If I don't make some extra money with my real ability, I'll probably be left to wash dishes!"
Qin Yin laughed so hard that she fell down. What made her different from other girls was that her every move was so natural, without a trace of affectation or deliberateness. She could play the flute and the piano quietly and elegantly, and she could also laugh heartily and heroically. There was no pressure at all when getting along with her. She was casual, friendly and natural, as if she herself was a landscape painting. The more beautiful the mountains, the clearer the water!
"Well, for the sake of 'such a luxurious meal'," she said in a gentle tone, emphasizing the word "luxurious", "Our school is organizing a trip to Huangshan this weekend, and we can bring one family member. How about you accompany me?"
If it were someone else, Wen Liang would definitely ask in a flowery way, "What kind of relative am I to you?" But facing Qin Yin, he would not say such a thing, nor did he want to say it. He apologized, "I really want to go, but I promised someone else in advance that I have to go to Lingyang to attend a cocktail party this weekend, so I'm afraid I can't turn it down."
Qin Yin shrugged and smiled indifferently: "I said it too late, it doesn't matter, business is more important. Come, cheers, try the wine of Xinbiaowang, what's the difference!"
She drank it all in one gulp, and the half of her pretty face without the birthmark was smeared with a faint blush, her eyes were like water, and she was more drunk than wine! (To be continued)