The weather was so hot that Liu Yifeng, seeing everyone working diligently, decided to go back.
He put the things Du Ziheng had given him in the kitchen and then sat in the living room, blowing on the fan for a while.
He had originally wanted to buy an air conditioner, but he figured he would be moving into a new house soon anyway. It would be too much hassle to take it apart and move it, so he decided to wait until the new house was built before installing an air conditioner.
Fortunately, his old house was quite cool to live in; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stand the summer heat.
"Daddy, can I have some ice cream?" Tongtong asked pitifully.
"Sure, but only one a day. Otherwise, your stomach will act up," Liu Yifeng agreed.
Tongtong nodded vigorously, "Okay, Daddy, I understand."
With that, he scampered off to the refrigerator to get an ice pop.
"Tongtong, get one for Daddy too!"
"Daddy, what flavor ice pop do you want?"
"Anything is fine!" Liu Yifeng wasn't picky about food.
He had bought this small refrigerator a while ago specifically to wholesale ice pops.
After all, it was so hot, how could he survive without something cold?
Before long, Tongtong brought Liu Yifeng a mung bean ice pop, while he himself ate a milk-flavored one.
"Do you want Daddy to unwrap it for you?" Liu Yifeng asked softly as he took the ice pop.
Tongtong shook his head, "No need, Daddy, I can do it myself!"
He then forcefully opened the wrapper and began to eat it with relish.
Seeing his young master eating, Da Bai trotted over, his tail wagging like a propeller and his tongue hanging out in a show of eagerness.
Seeing the dog also wanting some, Tongtong asked, "Daddy, can Da Bai eat ice pops?"
"No, Da Bai is too young. Eating cold things will give him a stomachache."
Whether Da Bai understood Liu Yifeng or not, he immediately looked dejected when he heard he couldn't have any, whimpering softly.
"Da Bai, it's not that I won't let you have one, it's just that you're too young to eat them."
Tongtong squatted down, stroking Da Bai's head with one hand while holding the ice pop with the other.
To prevent Da Bai from snatching it, he deliberately held his hand up high.
Da Bai lay on the ground, clearly unhappy.
So, Tongtong went into the room and got Da Bai's treats for him.
Upon seeing the chicken-flavored chew stick, Da Bai finally stood up and began to eat it happily.
Watching this scene, Liu Yifeng smiled, "What a little glutton."
After finishing his ice pop, Liu Yifeng planned to go select land to build his agritainment business on.
However, just as he put on his straw hat, Liu received a call from his cousin, Liu Kaichen.
Ever since Liu Yifeng had refused to sell him crayfish for a client last time, they had parted on bad terms and hadn't spoken since.
It was a bit strange that Liu Kaichen would call him today.
But Liu Yifeng didn't overthink it and answered the call immediately, "Hello, Kaichen, what's up?"
"Yifeng, what are you doing? Am I disturbing you?"
Liu Yifeng was taken aback by Liu Kaichen's politeness.
When had his proud cousin learned to act this way?
Didn't he always look down on his family? Liu Yifeng thought to himself.
However, he remained outwardly calm, "I was just about to go out and do some errands. What is it? Just tell me!"
Liu Kaichen's voice sounded a bit awkward on the phone, "It's not really a big deal. You mentioned last time that you had vegetables for sale, right? I was wondering if you were still selling them?"
He couldn't help but feel awkward. Liu Yifeng had offered to sell him vegetables before, but he had contemptuously refused. Now, after such a short time, he was calling again to ask. It was like slapping himself in the face! But he had no choice. He had just taken office, his subordinates didn't respect him, and they were forming factions behind his back to isolate him. Therefore, he desperately needed to achieve something to prove his capabilities and earn their respect. However, his old clients weren't buying into his plans; many had followed the previous branch manager to other companies. He had tried to secure new business, but as a newcomer, he lacked connections and influence. As a result, he hadn't achieved any results yet.
Just as he was at his wit's end, the owner of Jing Tian Hotel personally called him, saying he was interested in a batch of vegetables and needed him to facilitate the deal. If he successfully helped him cooperate with the vegetable supplier, the hotel would place an order for five million yuan worth of mechanical equipment and establish a long-term partnership. Five million yuan was no small sum, so he immediately became energetic.
However, he was curious. What kind of vegetable supplier was it that even a five-star hotel owner couldn't get to cooperate, and could he, a mere branch manager, succeed where they failed? It wasn't until Director Zhou told him that the vegetable supplier who refused to cooperate with him was his cousin, Liu Yifeng, that he understood why the owner of Jing Tian Hotel had called him.
It was understandable if Liu Yifeng, who had no relation to him, refused to do business with him. But it was different for him; he was his cousin. If he didn't give face to others, would he not give face to his own cousin? The thought of how he had unhesitatingly rejected Liu Yifeng's offer to sell him vegetables earlier made him regret it deeply. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to make this awkward phone call. But for his career, he had to brace himself and communicate with Liu Yifeng.
Liu Yifeng listened, feeling puzzled, "Didn't you say last time that no one wanted my vegetables? Why are you suddenly calling to ask if I'm selling them? Do you want to buy them to eat? If you want to eat, just come and pick some. I wouldn't charge you, would I?"
Seeing that Liu Yifeng had misunderstood his intentions, Liu Kaichen quickly explained, "No... it's not me who wants to buy them, it's a client of mine. They want to cooperate with you through me!"
"A client? What do they do? And how do they know about our relationship?" For some reason, the words "Jing Tian Hotel" immediately popped into Liu Yifeng's mind. He had just refused to cooperate with them yesterday, and his cousin was calling him today. It was hard not to connect the two.
Liu Kaichen didn't hold back any longer. He immediately said, "It's the owner of Jing Tian Hotel. He wants to purchase vegetables from you to sell in his hotel. You can name your price. Yifeng, I'm not kidding, Jing Tian Hotel is one of the top high-end hotels in our city. If you cooperate with him, you'll earn much more than from smaller hotels. This is a golden opportunity that won't come again!"
"Kaichen, you should know that the representative from Jing Tian Hotel contacted me yesterday and offered twice the price of Long Teng Hotel to acquire my vegetables. But I refused. Otherwise, they wouldn't have approached you, so it's not about the money."
Liu Kaichen was alarmed, "Yifeng, are you stupid? They offered you double the price, and you refused? You can't let money slip away like that, no matter what!" If it were him, he would have agreed immediately. Not making money when it's available was foolish!
"Money is important, of course, but in business, integrity is even more crucial. Although I didn't promise Long Teng Hotel that I would only supply them with vegetables in the future, I did agree to supply them long-term. However, the owner of Jing Tian Hotel wants to monopolize the market and offered a high price on the condition that I only sell to him. If I did that, wouldn't I be breaking my word?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Kaichen dismissed it, "Integrity is important, but what's the original purpose of doing business? Isn't it to make money? Now you're foregoing big money to make small money, isn't that going against your original intention? Besides, 'man is selfish by nature.' As long as you haven't signed a contract with Long Teng Hotel, it's your freedom to sell to whomever you please, and they have no right to sue you."
Listening to his cousin's words, Liu Yifeng felt disappointed. This was a postgraduate, yet his words and actions were not as good as his son's. His son knew that the most important thing in life was integrity, but he was willing to betray it for money. As the saying goes, "those who walk different paths cannot plan together." Liu Yifeng had nothing more to say to him, so he replied, "It's impossible for me to sell only to him. If you have nothing else, I'll hang up now, as I have other things to attend to!"
"Don't hang up, don't hang up. We can discuss this. Yifeng, to be honest, I'm in a difficult situation. I've been in this position for a while, but I haven't achieved any results, and the pressure is immense. The head office said that if I don't show some results this month, I'll be demoted. If I'm demoted, it will be extremely difficult for me to get promoted again."
"But I don't know anyone in your company, so I probably can't help you."
"You don't need to know anyone in my company. As long as you agree to sell your vegetables to the owner of Jing Tian Hotel, he'll sign a five-million-yuan deal with me and maintain a long-term partnership. With this five-million-yuan deal, I'll be able to establish a firm foothold in the company. I've never asked you for anything before. This time, you must help me!" Liu Kaichen pleaded.
This made it difficult for Liu Yifeng to outright refuse. While Liu Kaichen's promotion or demotion had nothing to do with him, if he failed to achieve results because of this matter and was demoted, he would definitely resent him, and his third uncle would also have opinions. If he were alone, it would be fine, but his father was caught in the middle, so he didn't want the two families to fall out. However, he couldn't bring himself to do something so treacherous.
After much thought, he came up with a compromise: "Kaichen, I can agree to sell vegetables to Jing Tian Hotel, but on the condition that I won't sell exclusively to him. I'm already building vegetable greenhouses, and the future vegetable yield will be very large. He won't be able to consume all of it. As for the price, he can pay the same as Long Teng Hotel. I won't charge him extra."
He hadn't intended to sell vegetables to other parties before the greenhouses were built. Honestly, if Wan Hui knew he was selling vegetables to his competitor so soon, he didn't know how displeased he would be! But he had no choice. It was a choice between family and a business partner. He could only choose the former. If Wan Hui stopped purchasing vegetables from him because of this, he wouldn't be angry.
Liu Kaichen, upon hearing this, didn't seem particularly pleased, "But that owner said he would only sign the contract with me if you sell exclusively to him. If you sell to him and others, why would he sign a five-million-yuan deal with me?"
"This is my final concession. If he still refuses, there's nothing I can do. I can't betray my word for your career; it would affect my reputation for life."