Chapter 1 First Meeting
The four sisters meeting for the first time naturally wouldn't miss out on the evening. Since school hadn't officially started yet, and knowing that students needed to buy many things and familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment, the school's gate control wasn't very strict. The four sisters left the school very easily, preparing to find a place nearby for a gathering.
"Where should we eat? Shan Li, you're from the capital, why don't you recommend something for us?" Liang Tiantian asked.
"Hehe, since you all don't know what to eat, then we should eat in the most popular way in the capital: Jiangnan style!" Shan Li said with a giggle.
"Eat Jiangnan? Is there a restaurant called that in the capital? Isn't the Jiangnan Group going to destroy these guys?" Liang Tiantian asked in surprise.
"No, it's a way of eating. Just follow me!" Led by Shan Li, the four sisters left the school gate and walked directly onto the nearby street. They casually scanned the street with their eyes and found a large poster with "Jiangnan Blind Box" written on the wall. They walked in and asked the boss, "Boss, do you have any food blind boxes here?"
"Yes, and it's the latest issue, all of Quanjude is inside!" the boss quickly replied, then pointed to the shelves in the most prominent position of the shop, where many boxes were displayed.
Various small boxes were placed on this shelf, each about the size of a fist, with various exquisite pictures printed on them, densely packed together.
A rough estimate showed that there were at least 30 different types of blind boxes on this shelf, and the vast majority of them had the Jiangnan Group's logo.
"So you meant eating Jiangnan style was eating Jiangnan's food blind boxes!" Liang Tiantian finally realized.
"That's right. When we people in the capital are indecisive about what to eat, we just buy food blind boxes. Whatever we get, we eat. Anyway, each box is 20 yuan, and it's at least equivalent to a 30 yuan voucher, which is definitely cheaper than eating directly. It's become a habit over time!" Shan Li said with a giggle, then found the food blind boxes at the counter. She was going to pick one herself, but then she thought about it and gave the opportunity to Liang Tiantian.
Liang Tiantian didn't refuse. She very directly took the topmost box from a pile of boxes and opened it. Sure enough, she took out a consumption voucher from inside.
"Not bad! It's a blue one. This is rare, not common. A 10% chance!" Shan Li's face split into a wide grin when she saw Liang Tiantian pull out a blue voucher.
"A 100 yuan voucher for Haidilao!" Liang Tiantian excitedly held up the voucher.
"Take a closer look, is it without any minimum spend, or does it require a certain amount of consumption to use?" Liu Ruoting reminded her from the side.
"Oh, no need to look. When has the Jiangnan Group's food blind box ever given out vouchers with a minimum spend? Their vouchers are always without a minimum spend, they just don't give change. Unlike other brands of catering blind boxes, they always require you to spend a certain amount to use them. If you don't have money, don't sell food blind boxes, it's infuriating. That's why we old capital residents only buy Jiangnan blind boxes!" Shan Li said proudly.
"Whether this voucher has a minimum spend or not doesn't matter to me. Anyway, we'll spend several hundred dollars together. I'm just curious about what this Haidilao means? Is there a type of food called 'lao' in the world?" Liang Tiantian asked curiously when she saw it was a hot pot voucher. She had never seen a restaurant with such a name before.
"I'm not sure either! But we'll know when we go. The vouchers all have addresses, and they even write how to get there by bus, so it's very convenient!" Shan Li said.
"Why take the bus? I'll call a taxi to take everyone there!" Liang Tiantian was in a great mood because it was rarely easy to get a 100 yuan voucher. Usually, they were 50 or 30 yuan vouchers. Her luck today was really great.
With the support of the wealthy Liang, the sisters quickly arrived at the nearest Haidilao. It was then that they realized it was a hot pot restaurant. Fortunately, there weren't many people waiting in line, and the service staff were very enthusiastic. Three or four waitstaff led the four of them to their seats.
Then they were given glasses cloths, phone cases, chargers, and various fruits, which completely stunned the sisters.
"The service here is so good!" Even the quiet Liu Ruoting couldn't help but exclaim.
"Thank you for your praise, beautiful lady. Haidilao is established on service. We aim to be the best catering company in all of China!" the waiter serving them tea introduced with a smile.
Since the conversation had started, Liang Tiantian couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why do you call yourselves Haidilao?"
"Because in Sichuan, many people call hot pot 'lao,' and we are a company that originated from Sichuan, so we have always kept this name," the waiter explained.
"You've expanded from Sichuan all the way to the capital. It seems your business is doing very well!" Liang Tiantian said.
"Actually, it's because our company received investment from the Jiangnan Group. About a year ago, Mr. Huang He was traveling to Sichuan to visit relatives and passed by Jianyang. He ate at our Haidilao there and was deeply moved. He took the initiative to ask to meet our President Zhang. The two hit it off, and after only three sentences, Mr. Huang decided to invest in Haidilao, injecting a full 100 million yuan to help Haidilao open all over the country!" the waiter said with pride. Everyone around listened with respect.
Indeed, in this day and age, if a company could gain Huang He's approval, it meant that the company's future was full of promise, a golden unicorn.
"Nonsense, Sis... Huang He never went to Jianyang!" As soon as the waiter finished speaking, Leng Zhiyuan retorted unceremoniously.
"Hehe, beautiful lady, Mr. Huang spent a long time in Sichuan last year. It's normal for you not to know he went to Jianyang!" the waiter said, slightly embarrassed.
"Then do you want me to check the Jiangnan Group's official website? Mr. Huang's itinerary last year is listed in detail on the entire website. If there are no words 'Jianyang' on it, how about you treat this meal for free!" Leng Zhiyuan rolled her eyes. The waiter's smile became even more awkward, and he didn't dare to continue this topic.
But she underestimated women's curiosity about gossip, especially Shan Li, who eagerly asked, "Zhiyuan, I remember you're from Wenzhou, right? Do you know a lot of gossip about Huang He!"
"I know a little bit!" Leng Zhiyuan nodded. "Take Haidilao for example. I heard that Haidilao's president, Zhang Yong, heard that Huang He was in Bazhou. At that time, his Haidilao was on the verge of bankruptcy due to blind expansion. So he chartered a car, brought his most skilled chefs, purchased fresh ingredients locally in Bazhou, and kept begging the Jiangnan Group staff there for an opportunity to invite Huang He for a meal."
"Huang He, annoyed, finally agreed and ate his hot pot. Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed, he invested 100 million yuan for a 40% stake!" Leng Zhiyuan revealed a secret, which made the people around her eyes gleam. Even the waiter licked his lips, because she herself didn't know this version of the story. After all, President Zhang wouldn't tell employees like her about such experiences.
"How do you know so clearly?" Liang Tiantian felt her core position was somewhat threatened. While gossiping, she couldn't help but ask somewhat unconvincedly.
"All of us in Wenzhou know this. You can ask around in Wenzhou, and you'll understand!" Leng Zhiyuan bluffed. In fact, this was something Huang He had told everyone as a joke during a meal. Ordinary people would naturally not have the chance to know such things.
At everyone's request, Leng Zhiyuan shared several more pieces of gossip about Huang He, such as how Huang He's Jiangnan Leather Factory currently only had about a dozen employees left, serving only as a symbol of the Jiangnan Group's beginnings. All the leather shoes sold externally by the Jiangnan Group were now imported from Italy, not produced by the Jiangnan Group itself.
There was also the rumor that Huang He was a pervert who specifically harmed his secretaries.
And Huang He had an illegitimate child who was already several years old, and there might be inheritance wars in the future. Various gossip made everyone's hearts flutter, and they all sighed that the world was truly chaotic.
"By the way, Zhiyuan, I also heard a rumor that Huang He's wife is actually his sister-in-law. Is that true?" Liang Tiantian asked curiously, recalling some gossip she heard from her father.
"I don't know about that. I'm not his sister-in-law!" Leng Zhiyuan said with a grin, but she seemed quite displeased in her words. Thus, the topic of Huang He abruptly ended.
After that, the four sisters chatted about many topics relevant to girls. Then, at Liang Tiantian's suggestion, they ordered a few bottles of beer and started drinking. However, Liang Tiantian was the loudest and had the worst tolerance for alcohol. In the end, she put her hands on her hips and said, "Actually, I've met Huang He. Back then, when Huang He came to Shanxi to inspect, my father, as a representative of the business community, attended his welcoming banquet. My dad brought me along."
"Huang He is an old pervert. Seeing that I'm pretty and cute, he was hugging and kissing me. He must have liked me. If I hadn't been under 14 at the time, he might have gotten engaged to me!" Liang Tiantian said proudly, eliciting bursts of laughter from her girlfriends, especially Leng Zhiyuan, who laughed the loudest.
"Zhiyuan, if you really know internal information about the Jiangnan Group, then help me find out if their super-high-speed maglev pipeline is really going to start construction next year. My dad is planning to transform and become their supplier, but he's afraid it's all fake. If it doesn't start construction, my dad's investment will be all lost."
"I don't know, but it should be true. Although Huang He is a scoundrel, he has never broken his word," Leng Zhiyuan said seriously.