Zhang Liunian noticed the supervisor's displeasure but politely replied, "Yes, that's me."
"Oh, you don't look particularly special. Come with me first!" the supervisor said brusquely and turned to leave, giving Zhang Liunian no time to react.
"..." Zhang Liunian remained silent, his long legs carrying him along.
On the way, the supervisor informed Zhang Liunian, "We are a food factory, and we are very particular about the taste of our dishes. If they're not delicious, we won't cooperate."
"Understood." Zhang Liunian was very confident in his cooking, so he wasn't flustered.
Seeing his confidence, the supervisor's eyes darted around, and she deliberately led Zhang Liunian to the packaging workshop to show him the scale of their factory, a massive undertaking employing tens of thousands of people.
Zhang Liunian remained calm throughout, which subtly altered the supervisor's impression of him.
Upon arriving at the back kitchen office, the supervisor sat at her desk, hands clasped, and asked Zhang Liunian, "How do you wish to cooperate with us?"
Zhang Liunian sat opposite her, took out two aluminum lunch boxes, and pushed them towards the supervisor with a smile, "I have two dishes. You can taste them first, and then decide whether to cooperate and which dish you'd like to partner with."
Upon hearing this, a faint smile finally appeared on the supervisor's face. She reached out, took the lunch boxes, and opened them. A fragrant aroma instantly filled her nostrils.
It smelled so good!
Just by smelling it, she wanted to eat.
The aroma was truly exceptional. No wonder he was so confident and unconcerned about their refusal to cooperate.
The supervisor swallowed, took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of lobster meat, and said, "Let me try."
Earlier that morning, the factory director had told her that a gentleman would be coming in the afternoon for food cooperation and that she should entertain him.
If the dishes were good, they would cooperate. If the taste was mediocre, they would feign ordering for a day or two to maintain their relationship with the machinery factory.
However, what the director didn't know was that she despised people who relied on connections the most. Before Zhang Liunian even arrived, she had already planned to find an excuse that the food wasn't good to prevent the cooperation from proceeding.
But to her surprise, Zhang Liunian's cooking was so delicious that she felt like she could eat her chopsticks.
Swallowing again, she shifted her gaze to the braised meat, thinking that if the braised meat wasn't good, she would have a reason to refuse cooperation.
But once the braised meat entered her mouth, she wished she could sign a contract with Zhang Liunian immediately.
It was too delicious!
It was outrageously good. How could she refuse?
Ah, forget it. Since it was so delicious, let's cooperate then!
After tasting the lobster and the braised meat, the supervisor was completely won over by these two culinary delights.
However, when the factory director mentioned it that morning, she had only spoken of one dish. Now that there was an extra dish, it was best to ask the factory director about it.
"Mmm, the taste is indeed very good. If we were to cooperate, how would it work?"
The supervisor suppressed her urge to clear the plates, struggled to pull her gaze away from the braised meat and lobster, licked her lips, and inquired.
Zhang Liunian saw her satisfaction and smiled, "There are two ways to cooperate with this lobster: one is for me to provide the ingredients and teach you how to make it, and the other is as it is now, where I prepare it and deliver it directly to your factory.
As for the braised meat, I can only prepare it and deliver it. You just need to inform me of the daily quantity needed for the next day."
"If we're receiving ready-made dishes, how is the pricing calculated?"
"The braised meat is two yuan per jin, and the lobster is forty cents per jin, the same price as with the machinery factory."
The supervisor smiled upon hearing this and said, "Please wait a moment. I'll go and ask our factory director." With that, she picked up the two food containers and went to find the director.
Their food factory director was a woman, a rare powerhouse in the entire South City.
She had tasted countless delicacies, but after tasting Zhang Liunian's braised meat, she immediately realized that the recipe for this braised meat was not simple.
If they could obtain this recipe, they would undoubtedly make a fortune.
Therefore, she now needed to meet with Zhang Liunian for a renegotiation of cooperation.
"Let's go. I need to meet this person," the female director, Fang Yan, said and headed directly to the back kitchen.
...
"Are you Comrade Zhang Liunian, recommended by Old Yan?"
A voice came from behind. Zhang Liunian turned around at the sound, and the next moment, their eyes met, and both were stunned.
Zhang Liunian was taken aback because this factory director was his second sister-in-law's elder sister, Fang Yan. He had heard of her in his past life and had even had the honor of meeting her once.
Fang Yan, on the other hand, was stunned because Zhang Liunian looked familiar, yet she couldn't recall where she had seen him. Moreover, this man was incredibly handsome, the most handsome she had ever seen.
Pulling out her chair and sitting down, Fang Yan instantly regained her composure.
"Yes, that's me. Hello." Zhang Liunian stood up with a smile.
"Sit down! Your dishes were delicious, but I'm more interested in your braised meat recipe." As a factory director in the food industry, she possessed the most sensitive olfactory senses.
The reason Zhang Liunian's braised meat was so delicious was due to its ingredients.
She understood this, and Zhang Liunian naturally did too.
"I will not sell the braised meat recipe." This was the foundation of his accumulated wealth; how could he kill the goose that laid the golden egg?
Fang Yan was somewhat disappointed. She really wanted the braising recipe. Tapping her index finger on the table, she unconventionally said, "We can pay a high price for your recipe. Name your price."
Zhang Liunian, however, was determined not to give up the recipe and refused, "You cannot afford it."
"How do you know I can't afford it if you don't say? We are the largest food factory in South City. Are there any recipes we can't afford?"
"I want one hundred million. Can you afford that?" Zhang Liunian didn't want to offend them, but their fixation on his recipe caught him off guard.
"One hundred million? Why don't you go rob a bank?" The supervisor, upon hearing Zhang Liunian's figure, almost fell off her stool, glaring at him irritably.
Fang Yan was equally speechless. One hundred million, was he serious?
Not to mention their food factory, there were very few factories in the entire country that could afford one hundred million.
Zhang Liunian quoting this price was clearly trying to make things difficult for her; it had to be. "You overestimate the value of this recipe. It's truly not worth that much."
"In fact, I've understated it. Its value is far more than that," Zhang Liunian said to Fang Yan with a completely serious expression, without a hint of falsehood.
This was the truth; in his previous life, Zhang Liunian had earned two hundred million with this very recipe. The amount he had quoted earlier was actually quite conservative.
Fang Yan's mouth twitched slightly. She crossed her arms and stared at Zhang Liunian for a long time, then tested again, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Zhang Liunian's only answer was a shake of his head.
"Do you have a misunderstanding of the unit 'hundred million'? It's above ten million, not above a thousand yuan."
"Ten times ten million is one hundred million."
"..."