Chapter 356: Contempt and Arrogance (Part 2)

Jiang Ming said, annoyed, “So they’re here. Don’t they know how to wait a bit? Seriously, they have no manners at all. Let them come over.”

With that, he turned and went back into his office to make a cup of tea, leaving Li Juan with a sudden bad feeling. This President Jiang’s attitude toward Yang Hui was a stark contrast to his predecessor, President Wu. When President Wu was around, he had insisted on giving special consideration not just to Yang Hui’s own ventures, but to all of Ruijing Commerce’s business.

Yang Hui and Shen Meng arrived at the general manager’s office. Li Juan knocked, then pushed the door open for them to enter.

As they entered, they saw a middle-aged man sitting imposingly in the host’s seat on the sofa. He didn’t rise to greet them, merely pointing indifferently at the sofa opposite him. “You’re from Yanghe Commerce?” he asked Yang Hui. “Sit.”

His tone was completely level. Jiang Ming, however, let his gaze linger on Shen Meng, his eyes raking over her—the natural instinct of a man, perhaps, to admire a beautiful woman. Without a change in expression, Shen Meng edged closer to Yang Hui, using his body to shield herself from Jiang Ming’s view.

Jiang Ming finally seemed to recall himself and turned to Yang Hui. “So, what brings you here today?”

He didn’t offer them tea. It was Li Juan who stepped out and returned with two bottles of water from her own desk, easing some of the awkwardness.

Yang Hui could clearly feel the man’s contempt; ‘this negotiation is going to be difficult,’ he thought. Still, since he was already here, he had to see it through.

He stated the purpose of his visit, laying out his proposal to open NLB and Zen stores in Jiang’an City. He also presented data on both brands’ performance since their grand opening at the Xinyue Square No. 1 Store.

He had come prepared, bringing brand portfolios and recent sales figures. As he spoke, he handed a folder of the documents to Jiang Ming.

Jiang Ming gave the documents a cursory flip-through before tossing them onto the coffee table. “These are all new stores,” he said dismissively. “It’s not hard to hit these numbers with a few opening promotions. The key is long-term sustainability. I’m not a big believer in these hype-fueled sales bursts.”

Yang Hui didn’t bother to explain. ‘When someone’s already prejudiced against you,’ he thought, ‘anything you say is wrong.’

“Here’s the deal. I definitely won’t be partnering with you for NLB. Futong Commerce is one of the largest retail enterprises here in Qingjiang. Whether we’re talking about future potential for collaboration or sheer company strength, I’m obviously going to choose them. As for Zen, we can give that brand a try. I have a spot on the second floor, at the far eastern end. It’s 130 square meters. You can take a crack at it there.”

Yang Hui’s brow furrowed. ‘He probably didn’t even read the file I gave him,’ he thought. The proposal clearly stated they required a space of at least 220 square meters on the first floor.

For a trendy brand like Zen, Yang Hui couldn’t just accept any location he was offered. The parent company had to approve it, and they would never agree to a subpar location or a floor that didn’t meet their standards. It would damage the brand’s image.

Besides, in Qingzhou, a top-tier project like the Xinyue Square No. 1 Store had given them a prime location in the heart of the first floor. If he accepted a cast-off spot on the second floor from a place like Jiang’an City, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to Xinyue Group? The next time he tried to negotiate with them, they might just toss him a second-floor corner location as well.

“President Jiang, we require over 220 square meters, and the location needs to be in the central section of the first floor.”

Yang Hui was already exercising restraint. He hadn’t demanded a prime, center-stage location, which was already a concession.

Jiang Ming scoffed. “There’s no space on the first floor of my mall. And that second-floor spot is in high demand. If you don’t want it, there are plenty of others lined up for it.”

This was just a show of bad faith. Yang Hui offered a faint smile and rose to his feet. “In that case, President Jiang, we won’t disturb you any further.”

Jiang Ming was surprised. ‘This kid’s got quite an attitude,’ he thought. ‘Walks away at the first sign of disagreement. He’s clearly never been humbled. Does he really think one success at the Xinyue Square No. 1 Store makes him something special? He doesn’t seem to understand who holds all the cards here.’

Jiang Ming felt he couldn’t indulge someone like this. He nodded and said arrogantly, “Well, think it over. If you don’t take this location, there won’t be another one available for a long time. And let me be perfectly clear: if you want to work with Jiang’an City, you play by our rules. I’m not short of brands to choose from.”

Yang Hui said nothing more. When two parties were this far apart, another word was a word too many. He led Shen Meng out of the office.

Li Juan saw them from a distance and walked over. Seeing the grim look on Yang Hui’s face, she guessed the talk had not gone well. “This is my fault,” she said apologetically. “I should have scheduled you to come in before President Wu left.”

Yang Hui understood what she meant. If President Wu had been there, the negotiations would have gone smoothly. But that wasn’t a sure thing, either. Even if they had reached an agreement, the location hadn’t been finalized yet. The new President Jiang could have come in and overturned any verbal agreement, especially since no contract had been signed.

“Don’t worry about it. But thank you for trying,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to take you out to dinner to thank you. Let’s find a time next week.”

“Okay, sounds good. We’ll talk then.”

Shen Meng had been quiet the whole time, knowing Yang Hui was in a bad mood. She gently tugged his hand. “He doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it. If we keep working hard, one day he’ll be the one coming to us.”

His girlfriend’s comfort worked wonders. He squeezed her hand and said, “You’re right. Today he gives me the cold shoulder; next time, he won’t be able to afford us.”

Shen Meng laughed playfully. “Come on. I’ll buy you a fruit tea. The extra-large size.”