There was, indeed, a new gimmick.
As President Pan poured the champagne, the tower of glasses lit up with dazzling colors. Golden fireworks suddenly erupted in the background, and the pool of water surrounding the stage transformed into a small fountain.
The whole display was incredibly grand and impressive.
It was meant to symbolize burgeoning success and a roaringly prosperous future.
The next second, the fountain jets abruptly changed direction, aiming squarely at President Pan, who was grinning from ear to ear.
Before President Pan could react, he was drenched to the bone. His meticulously styled hair was plastered wetly to his scalp, making him look two inches shorter in an instant.
The crowd’s expression of wild excitement instantly twisted into one of stunned shock.
Everyone looked at each other, completely bewildered. For a moment, no one could tell if it was a mistake by the hotel or part of President Pan’s plan.
"Water brings wealth, and fish guard the home. President Pan already has the water, so I can only offer a couple of fish as a small token of my regard." Mr. Sun emerged from backstage, holding two fish.
Compared to the drenched and pathetic-looking President Pan, the impeccably dressed Mr. Sun was the very picture of dignity.
Beaming, Mr. Sun tossed the two fish directly into President Pan’s arms. "I got held up with something and arrived a bit late. I hope you don’t mind, President Pan."
President Pan’s eyes were as cold as ice, as if they could materialize into daggers and skewer Mr. Sun right through.
If not for the thousand pairs of eyes watching from the audience, he would have slapped Mr. Sun right across the face.
’He did it on purpose.’
’This was absolutely deliberate.’
’That bastard Sun Liang can’t beat me fair and square, so he resorts to these scummy, underhanded tricks. So low-life!’
"Oh my, President Pan, how did you get all wet? You can’t be careless in this weather. Come, come, I’ll take you to change your clothes. This is your first appearance since taking office as president of the Commerce Association; you can’t lose your dignity."
Sun Liang grabbed President Pan’s arm and, with a stern face, berated his staff. "What kind of job did you do? How could you let President Pan end up like this at such an important moment! Just you wait until after the banquet, I’ll deal with you all then!"
"President Pan, please don’t be angry. I will definitely give you an explanation."
Sun Liang had played both sides of the issue perfectly. Everyone knew full well who was responsible for the "accident."
But they were all masters of smoothing things over. No one pointed it out. They just went along with Mr. Sun, urging President Pan to go change and comforting him that this little "accident" was a sign of great fortune to come.
The words were hollow, but at a time like this, it was all that could be said.
Shen Lu was dumbfounded. She had expected President Pan to deliver a psychologically devastating blow, but in a complete reversal, it was Mr. Sun who got his satisfaction.
"Come to think of it, wasn’t Mr. Sun pretty polite to me before?"
"You’re not President Pan. He has no reason to go to the trouble of dealing with you," Fu Cheng said.
’True. Beating me wouldn’t get him much.’
Back then, if Boss Jin hadn’t pressured them, Sun Liang and General Manager Chen would have never wanted to go after Shen Lu. Just cutting off her supply would have been enough; resorting to price cuts and prize drawings was simply ridiculous.
In the end, not only did the two of them gain nothing, they also lost money.
But that was all in the past. Boss Jin was dead, and Mr. Sun had thought he would smoothly take over. Who would have thought President Pan would come out of nowhere?
President Pan hadn’t been prominent in the Commerce Association before, mainly because he and Boss Jin didn’t get along.
Now that Boss Jin was dead, he had quickly risen to prominence, throwing money around to secure the position of president.
Only then did Sun Liang realize that this low-key President Pan was actually so wealthy.
As soon as he took the president’s seat, the first thing President Pan did was host a banquet to announce it to everyone, deliberately choosing Skytop Hotel.
Sun Liang was so angry he had to laugh. He didn’t refuse. Instead, he accepted the massive order with a smile and meticulously arranged the champagne tower segment.
’You want a glorious inauguration?’
’If President Pan hadn’t tried to lord it over me, I probably wouldn’t have bothered with all this.’
’But since he insisted on flexing, he shouldn’t blame me for not holding back.’
The two of them left the main hall, and President Pan immediately shook off Sun Liang’s hand.
"What a fine move, Mr. Sun." In the hallway, with only a few servers around, President Pan no longer had to suppress his fury. "I give you my business, and this is how you treat an honored guest? Mr. Sun, to the victor go the spoils. If you’re not happy with the result, you’re welcome to try and snatch the presidency away. Aren’t you afraid of losing your own status by resorting to such underhanded tricks?"
"This is truly a misunderstanding, President Pan. I’m not dissatisfied at all. This was genuinely a mistake by my staff. How about this: I’ll cover the entire cost of the event as an apology. What do you think?!"
"Hah."
The only answer Mr. Sun received was a disdainful sneer.
By the time President Pan had changed his clothes and dried his hair, half an hour had passed.
The rest of the meal was rather awkward. The smile on President Pan’s face looked like it was pasted on.
Shen Lu, on the other hand, ate with peace of mind, taking the time to properly critique the quality of Skytop Hotel’s cuisine.
"This braised pork belly with preserved greens has some skill to it."
"The Lotus Pond Stir-fry is decent, too."
"The Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a knock-off version, so... it’s just so-so."
Shen Lu served a spoonful of steamed egg with shrimp to Fu Cheng on her left and ladled a bowl of seaweed and pork rib soup for Xue Can on her right.
She was the picture of perfect impartiality.
"You two are quite fated, aren’t you? One with an injured left shoulder, the other with a broken right arm. You could almost make a pair of good hands between you."
A silent, shared sentiment passed between Fu Cheng and Xue Can: ’Thanks, but we could do without this kind of fate.’
After the meal, as everyone was leaving, President Pan came over specifically to invite Xue Can to his home for a casual meal when he had time.
Xue Can didn’t outright refuse him. After all, they might have business dealings in the future. He simply said he was busy lately but would definitely pay a visit when he had the time.
They all went to their respective cars. Shen Lu leaned back in her seat and let out a sigh of relief.
"Feels like we’ll have a period of peace and quiet."
President Pan and Mr. Sun probably still had a big fight ahead of them, so they wouldn’t have time to bother with a small fry like her.
’This is good news.’
Shen Lu immediately sent a message to Boss Huang, her meat supplier, telling him she needed an extra 50 pounds of pork ribs for tomorrow.
That’s right, she was adding a new dish to the menu.
Also, by attending the banquet, Shen Lu had been added to the Commerce Association’s main group chat.
This kind of large group wasn’t for core members; anyone could join with an invitation.
The group chat was full of all sorts of conversations. Shen Lu had glanced at it when she first joined, but after seeing no useful information, she had muted the notifications.
Just now, she noticed someone in the recent messages talking about food delivery.
Curious, Shen Lu tapped on it. A user named "AAA Pro Fruit Wholesale - Brother Zheng" was complaining.
AAA Pro Fruit Wholesale - Brother Zheng: The weather is only going to get worse, making business tough. Didn’t the Commerce Association say last year they were going to create a delivery platform? Is it actually going online this year or not?
Beautiful You Hair Salon: Yeah, Boss Jin even collected a fee for it last year.
Old Fan’s Restaurant: President Pan just took over. He probably doesn’t have time to deal with this, right? Sigh, business for the last few months of this year is going to be a waste again.
Lehehe Supermarket: Don’t be so pessimistic, you guys. I have reliable information that the delivery platform should be launching soon.
Fashion & You: @Lehehe Supermarket The scissors you sell are terrible quality! I bought a pair to snip some loose threads, but the threads didn’t even get cut clean and the scissors just fell apart!
Lehehe Supermarket: Bullshit! Stop trying to scam people on here!
...