Chapter 1

Under the archway of Nanluoguxiang, Wu Di was guiding a man and a woman behind him while introducing:

"Nanluoguxiang is one of the 25 old city protection zones in the capital, the only traditional residential area in China that has completely preserved the layout of the Yuan Dynasty alleys and courtyards, with the largest scale, highest grade, and richest resources. There are 8 alleys on each side..."

"Hehe, Xiao Wu has done a lot of work."

Liu Zong, who was slightly overweight, interrupted Wu Di's introduction with a smile.

Wu Di scratched his head embarrassedly and said shyly:

"Knowing I had to come today, I memorized it all night..."

"Haha, don't take it so seriously. It's just that Xiao Li heard that the cheese and lamb skewer pizza here are the best, and insisted on coming to see. Women, you know, are always so greedy."

"Oh, I've done my job. We only have this half day to relax in B City, and I still get criticized."

The young woman in a standard secretary outfit pouted her red lips and coaxed. Wang Lei, who was following behind the three, smiled and gave Wu Di a secret wink.

"Alright, alright, just half a day, so we don't get accused of exploiting labor again."

Wu Di looked at Secretary Li and said with a smile:

"It's not the weekend today, so there shouldn't be many people. Usually, you have to queue for a long time to buy anything."

"Then let's get started and see what this place, which is famous for tricking outsiders and foreigners, has to offer."

The streets of Nanluoguxiang are very narrow, with shops on both sides selling cultural items like T-shirts, matchboxes, various cups, and old B City's rabbit figurines, all kinds of things you wouldn't find in regular stores. Before long, Wu Di was already carrying two large bags, all souvenirs bought by Xiao Li.

Wu Di stood in front of a glass display case, examining a few imitation enamel mugs from a special period, when someone suddenly patted his shoulder. He turned around to see a young man in a blue robe handing him a blue-covered booklet. Seeing Wu Di's puzzled look, the young man said with a smile:

"Free gift."

Wu Di looked at the large bags at his feet and didn't reach out, asking:

"What's this for?"

"The boss is having a promotion. Just come into the store and take a look, and you get a free notebook. Brother, do me a favor, it's the store right over there."

Wu Di followed the young man's finger and saw a large sign three meters ahead, which startled him.

"Wow, a Sutra Pavilion, you're not afraid of copyright infringement!"

"Just some old books and Buddhist scriptures, no one cares. Come, little brother, take it first, and remember to come back and take a look."

Wu Di took the booklet from the young man, and it was a blank book. He opened it to find it was a notebook, interesting. Wu Di put the blank book in his bag and said with a smile:

"Sure, I'll definitely come."

"What's in there?"

Wang Lei, who had just come out of the store, saw Wu Di putting something away and asked. The young man was quick, flipping his wrist to hand Wang Lei a book on the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms." After thanking him, Wang Lei nudged Wu Di and nodded toward the front. Liu Zong and the others, who had come out of the store, were already ahead, with Xiao Li's hand resting on Liu Zong's arm, almost hanging on his shoulder. Wu Di shrugged, bowed his head in silent mourning for a second, and said:

"Let's go, buy a couple of notebooks from the Sutra Pavilion for the guys."

Wu Di bought a "Nine Yang Manual," a "Nine Yin Bone Claw Manual," and an "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms Manual." When Liu Zong saw, he asked:

"Xiao Wu, what did you buy?"

"Hehe, notebooks. I'll get a 'Nine Yang Manual' for Manager Zhao, that's the main outline. A 'Nine Yin Bone Claw Manual' for Sister Leng, and an 'Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms Manual' for Xiao Gao. Running projects with these will be so cool."

"See, that's corporate culture. Even when out shopping, you're thinking of your colleagues, the team."

Liu Zong patted the small hand hanging on his elbow and said:

"Signing a contract with such a company is reassuring. Boss, give us two hundred notebooks, one for each employee when we get back!"

After more than two hours of shopping, Liu Zong thoroughly played the role of a tricked outsider. After tasting various snacks like double-layer cheese and lamb skewer pizza, they skipped the main meal and experienced the traffic jam in the capital again before being sent to the airport. Before leaving, he held Wu Di's hand and promised repeatedly that he would stamp the contract as soon as he got back to the company and send it to Wu Di's branch in Guangzhou.

Returning to the Chuanqi Building in Guang'anmen, it was already 6 PM. Wu Di thanked Wang Lei, who had accompanied him, and walked directly into the No. 3 meeting room.

The small meeting room was crowded with about a dozen people. When Wu Di entered, everyone stopped discussing and, led by the branch manager Wang Siqi, gave him a round of applause. Wu Di's face turned red as he thanked them repeatedly and sat down at his business group.

Clearing his throat, Manager Wang said with a smile:

"Xiao Wu, you did a day's inspection and secured the contract, you should treat us to a meal, right?"

"No problem!"

"Haha, this meal isn't for free. I have some good news for you. I and your manager negotiated with the branch manager in Guangdong Province. The division between the branch and the business department will still be 50-50, but the commission distribution among your salespeople will be 70-30 in your favor. How does that sound? This will get you an extra 30,000 yuan. Should you treat us?"

"Of course!"

Everyone answered for Wu Di. After a bit of commotion, they started reviewing the projects.

Reviewing projects is a tradition in Wu Di's company. Every two weeks, everyone brings their difficult projects to the table for a group discussion to brainstorm ideas. Wu Di quietly distributed the notebooks to the business department and opened his blank book, taking out a pen and listening attentively to the project being introduced.

"The Second Machinery Factory public construction project is a self-developed office building by the Second Machinery Factory, with four sets of equipment. The construction company is Nantong Second Construction, the supervising company is Fangyuan, and the main contacts are Engineer Wang from the Engineering Department, Manager Liu, Director Tian from the Procurement Department, and Director Yuan from the Infrastructure Department. The higher-ups are Deputy Factory Manager Liu Ligong and Factory Manager Wang Dali. Our equipment is small, so we only need to reach Director Yuan. Director Yuan is easy to communicate with, but there's no substantial progress. We're trying to find a way to reach the factory manager..."

The one introducing the project was Li Qinglong from another business department, a chubby and shy young man.

"How do you know Director Yuan can get it done?"

"Engineer Wang from the Engineering Department gave me the inside information. This is a state-owned factory, mainly producing oil extraction equipment, with good performance, but complex internal relationships. This is the only infrastructure project in the past ten years, and many people are involved, with each part already divided. Director Yuan is close to retirement, so the leadership gave him a part, but for some reason, we can't make progress."

"What's Director Yuan's name, and what else do you know?"

"Director Yuan's name is Yuan Jianguo, he is 57 years old, and his birthday is on December 11th. He has an only daughter, Yuan Lili, who is a third-year student at the Capital Normal University. I think there are two ways: one is to find the factory manager, and the other is to find this Yuan Lili..."

Wu Di threw himself heavily onto the bed, the day's work done, and the bed felt so comfortable. After lying down for a while, he turned over and started calculating.

Liu Zong is the general manager of a real estate developer in GD, introduced by another client of Wu Di. Because of this, he didn't sign with the Guangdong branch but came to the headquarters in the capital and signed directly with Wu Di. Four sets of equipment, 1.67 million yuan. Wu Di's commission alone would earn him 110,000 yuan. One project exceeded his total savings from two years of work, amazing!